Chapter Thirty: Skill Mutation

The rules of interdimensional trading had no loopholes. Seeing the ferocious monster pursuing them, and realizing that Wood's advanced magic scroll had failed to inflict serious damage, the four were utterly shocked and scrambled to flee. Suddenly, the creature's tentacle stretched out with a sharp whip-like sound, lashing toward them. In their panic to dodge, a scream rang out—Mu Siyu, the weakest among them, was struck. She coughed up blood, crashing into several shelves, lying still and unconscious, her fate uncertain.

Wood was seized by both terror and anger. He felt a wild surge of true energy below his dantian, and the sight of the monster’s writhing tentacles ignited a burning rage in his chest—a desperate urge to obliterate the creature. Without thinking, he unleashed a "Particle Wave." Yet, the moment this wave left his hand, Wood felt dizzy, nearly unable to stand. His remaining true energy, already halved, now dwindled to a third. The "Particle Wave," having absorbed a tremendous amount of energy, mutated; instead of a single shockwave, it became a series of layered "Particle Waves," striking the monster in succession.

Though the energy cost was enormous, his attack dealt significant damage, blasting the monster—just emerged from the basement—back down with force. Its tentacles, previously thrashing wildly, retracted defensively. Even so, the creature was smashed against the basement wall, its tentacles drooping limply, seemingly stunned and unable to recover.

Wood did not believe this strike would prove fatal. He rushed forward, scooped up Mu Siyu, and shouted, "Quick, run!"

The other two reacted swiftly, beckoning, "Follow us!" They led the way, sprinting out of the market. By the time Wood caught up, they had already started a car and called him aboard, fleeing at top speed.

Only then did Wood have a moment to check Mu Siyu’s injuries. Her eyes were closed, face pale, but she still breathed. Lifting her shirt, he saw a vivid purple bruise—a clear mark left by the tentacle. Judging her to be gravely wounded and unconscious, he hurriedly took out a "Miraculous Bean," pried open her delicate mouth to feed it to her. Yet, in her deep coma, she couldn’t swallow. Having already shared intimacy, Wood didn't hesitate; mouth to mouth, he blew the bean into her throat.

The bean lived up to its name. Once swallowed, Mu Siyu’s breathing eased, her cheeks began to flush, and soon she drifted back to consciousness. Seeing her safe, Wood finally took out a Vitality Fruit for himself; that last strike had consumed not only a third of his true energy but nearly depleted his mental strength as well.

After consuming the fruit, he felt his true energy and spirit swiftly recover. Wood finally relaxed. Even if the monster caught up now, he was ready for battle. At that moment, the dimensional system sent him a startling message:

"Crisis stimulates adrenal secretion... Mental strength increased by 100."
"The B-grade skill ‘Particle Wave’ has mutated under sudden mental power increase, evolving into the advanced skill ‘Particle Cascade.’ Level: unknown; Rank: unknown; Function: Instantly releases twelve ‘Particle Waves’ in succession, each wave’s power doubled, range increased; if all twelve waves hit, the final blow inflicts cumulative twelve-fold damage."

Damn! This skill is monstrous, Wood thought, dumbfounded. If not for the system failing to indicate mission completion, he might have suspected that his ‘Particle Cascade’ had already destroyed the monster. Yet, the tremendous power consumed a third of his true energy, and apparently, the mental power cost was due to the recent mutation; logically, both energies shouldn’t be depleted simultaneously.

While Wood pondered the skill’s mutation, the two other ability users had already parked the car. He looked up to find himself in another market. As the four stopped, the iron gate swung open, and two middle-aged men with submachine guns stepped out, scanning the surroundings warily.

It seemed these two were the leaders here. They respectfully ushered the four inside, quickly shutting the gate. Only then did the other two breathe a sigh of relief. Leading the way, one said, "Brother, thanks to your intervention, we’d have been done for back there."

Wood, noting they were older than himself, replied politely, "You flatter me. I was only defending myself!"

The one with electrical abilities declared, "No need for modesty! I think you’re stronger than us. By the way, I’m Lei Tong. If you call me ‘Boss Lei,’ I’d be honored. This is my comrade-in-arms, Lu Bingyi—he specializes in telekinetic attacks. How should we address you, and what is your ability? We’ve never seen anything like it!"

Wood quickly gave his name. The two, impressed by his power, respectfully called him "Mr. Wood."

From their conversation, Wood learned that in Peo City, there had originally been seven ability users, who had gathered refugees and occupied three main markets to fend off zombie attacks. But a month ago, ability users began disappearing. In one market, two users and fifty armed refugees were wiped out overnight. The two suspected a powerful hidden zombie beast in Peo City, so they joined forces with the ability users from Starshine Chain Market to investigate. Unexpectedly, the Starshine ability users were also killed, but this time the pair arrived in time to uncover the truth.

"In fact, we arrived as the witch was speaking," Lei Tong explained. "We thought we’d catch her off guard together, but she was far stronger than expected. Before we could react, she killed Boss Qiang. After mutating, she became even fiercer. The four of us barely survived. If not for Mr. Wood’s power, none of us would have made it. From what she said, she’s the culprit behind the zombie tide, seeking to absorb our genes to evolve into a perfect life form. It’s likely those ability users died from her seduction! We must join forces to eradicate the monster and restore peace to the world."

Lei Tong was truly a man of noble intent—planning to fight the witch even at risk to himself. Wood privately mused that the monster seemed even stronger than the Queen Mother. If only Gu Feng, Baldy, and the others were here, they could easily deal with it.

Thinking of Baldy, Wood suddenly remembered the S-type virus evolution serum Baldy had given him. Unfortunately, it would be another ten days before he could inject it. After that, his power would rise another level; combined with the might of "Particle Cascade," he should be able to handle the monster. Yet a very real concern remained: in ten days, the monster might evolve further, and if she grew stronger, even their combined forces might become her prey.

"If only Invincible One were here!" Wood sighed inwardly, recalling the awe-inspiring presence of Invincible One in the sci-fi dimension.

After some hesitation, Wood spoke up. "If the monster doesn’t evolve further, in about ten days, my abilities will advance another step. Maybe then I’ll be able to deal with her."

"Evolution shouldn’t be possible," Mu Siyu reasoned. "She said herself that she needs superior genes from ability users. If all of the city’s ability users are here, she can’t find the genes she needs to evolve."

"What if she has another way to evolve?" Wood voiced his concern.

"That’s unlikely," Mu Siyu replied. "She released the virus specifically to trigger evolution. The virus creates zombies and ability users—meaning she needs the virus to identify superior genes, then absorb those genes to evolve. In other words, zombies can’t be her evolutionary nourishment. Evolution has direction; since she’s chosen this method, without ability user genes, she can’t evolve by other means."

Mu Siyu’s analysis was logical, and everyone nodded in agreement. Wood’s thoughts stirred; he discreetly sent mechanical bees to scout Starshine Market, but found the monster gone. Meanwhile, another bee at the pharmaceutical company discovered her in the CEO’s secret elevator room, once again cocooned and suspended, apparently in dormancy to heal.

As for Wood’s claim that his strength would rise after ten days, Lei Tong and Lu Bingyi were puzzled. Unwilling to reveal the true reason, Wood simply said, "My cultivation has reached a bottleneck. In about ten days, I hope to break through to the next level!" The two accepted this explanation.

For safety, Wood and Mu Siyu brought Kong Yangyun and others from outside the city. With four ability users united, they no longer feared the monster’s assault.

The monster recovered after a day of recuperation, then howled to summon zombies to search for Wood and his companions. Unfortunately, the zombies lacked intelligence; Lei Tong and Lu Bingyi ordered the iron gates shut, and the zombies failed to breach the market. Since Wood had destroyed the monster’s upper body in its latest mutation, its tentacles flailed like an octopus, but its intelligence seemed greatly diminished. Unable to find Wood and the others, it rampaged through the city, determined to vent its fury, but luck favored Wood’s group. Peo City was vast, and as the monster focused its search on the Starshine area, Wood and his companions enjoyed ten days of peace—until the day Wood injected the S-type virus evolution serum.

"Beep... Basic Matter Dimension Agent: S-type virus evolution serum injected. DNA evolution: Constitution Strength 215; Agility 230; Mental Power 500; Body now possesses immunity. Result... Agent’s physical attributes now meet E-grade warrior standard."