Transformation!!
Lin Ran didn’t hesitate for a moment.
His body liquefied and reformed instantly.
He transformed into a slime, then triggered his mimicry ability and turned into a locust.
The reason was simple—a completely different body structure brought a completely different breathing method.
Locusts breathe through the spiracles in their thorax and abdomen, which is very different from humans.
A single bodily transformation might be enough to remove the special curse imposed on him.
Fresh air rushed into his body through the abdominal spiracles.
He lay on the ground, greedily breathing for several seconds before regaining his senses.
The effect was excellent.
It seemed the opponent’s curse only blocked his ability to send air into his trachea—it wasn’t a conceptual god that directly stripped away his ability to breathe.
This gave him room to counterattack.
When was he attacked?
If it was Chen Jing who attacked him, it made sense, since he had just gone to see her.
If it was the skeleton mage, being attacked in Qi Xiaoyu’s room wasn’t surprising.
If it was the projection of that little sister… not impossible either.
Countless thoughts flashed by.
But—
The time left for him to think was nearly zero.
During his brief unconsciousness, the backlog of offensive notifications started flooding his mind all at once.
[Third Wave: The third wave of the Thief Frenzy is about to strike]
[Enemies in this wave: Undead]
[Enemy Description: About to journey to the land of the dead, the Nation of Ten Thousand Bones—they were buried beneath the abyss for thousands of years, accumulating endless resentment and hatred. They envy everything of the living and seek to steal it all.]
[Enemy Information: They will steal your flesh, your life, your ability to feel your heartbeat, your sight, your ability to breathe fresh air, your sense of touch! They long to steal everything you have!]
[Failure Condition for this round: If any member of the team has their heart stolen. Before your heart is stolen, you will not truly die.]
[Note: Organs other than the heart that are stolen this round can be recovered by killing the corresponding thief!]
[Victory Condition: Kill the Undead BOSS—Mountain]
[May fortune favor your blades]
In his locust form, Lin Ran beat his wings and flew up, looking out the window.
The surroundings had changed drastically.
The lush green plains had turned into a land of rot filled with dead trees and wasteland.
Under the ashen sky, countless undead were crawling up from the ground, howling as they charged toward their wooden cabin.
Locust-form Lin Ran rubbed his segmented limbs together, rapidly analyzing the characteristics of the enemy in this round.
With the great enemy at hand, he had to focus on the threats before him.
Stealing the heart?
What would happen if this ability stole Wang Pangzi’s special heart?
Lin Ran hadn’t thought about it before, but it was highly likely that Wang Pangzi would be instantly killed by the system.
The risk was too high!
He had to find a unit without a heart, or one whose heart couldn’t be stolen, to serve as the main force.
His gaze fell on the trembling mushroom—Qi Xiaoyu.
As a Mushroom Girl, Qi Xiaoyu currently didn’t have a heart!
She was practically a cheat in this round’s offensive—she could be a major force in the battle.
But… how does a mushroom move?
She had probably just become a Mushroom Girl and hadn’t evolved enough to move yet.
Should he try a naming evolution?
No, she already had a name.
Just like An Mengyue, people who already have names both resist renaming and don’t gain any benefits from it.
However, Lin Ran thought of another way.
“Qi Xiaoyu, if I pick you up, you won’t die, right?”
Lin Ran spoke suddenly.
He used his mimicry ability to simulate a human mouth, gaining the ability to speak.
But only then did he realize that Qi Xiaoyu’s expression had twisted in shock.
Oh… right, they hadn’t seen him transform before.
After a while, she finally regained her composure, pointing at Lin Ran with a trembling finger:
“Lin… Lin Ran, your trump cards really are endless… The Lin Xi that Wang Pangzi keeps talking about, could she be another one of your identities?”
“Just don’t break his spirit too early.”
“Mm… Mm… I get it.”
Qi Xiaoyu took a deep breath, trying hard to accept this shocking reality, then finally answered the earlier question:
“As long as my roots are intact and you plant me back in time, I’ll be fine…”
“Wait, why are you picking me up? Do you want me on the front lines?”
She reacted instantly, shaking her head like a rattle-drum:
“No, no, no! I’m no different from an ordinary mushroom right now! I can’t run, can’t fight—putting me up front is sending me to die!”
This reaction was within Lin Ran’s expectations.
Qi Xiaoyu had just become a monster; it was normal for her not to know how to grow stronger.
But Lin Ran had seen firsthand how a slime grew stronger.
“Do you remember how mushrooms grow?”
He didn’t comfort Qi Xiaoyu directly but instead asked a seemingly unrelated question in a gentle, guiding tone.
“Um… first they spread spores, then the spores land on decaying animals or wood and absorb nutrients to grow.”
Qi Xiaoyu thought about it as she answered instinctively.
Lin Ran nodded.
That was common sense.
“Exactly, nutrients. So, do you think there’s enough decaying animals around here?”
As he spoke, he flew to the window, reverted to human form, and held his breath as he opened the window.
——“Roar~”
——“Awooo~”
——“Grrrr…”
All sorts of howls and roars came from the undead outside the window.
Outside, Wang Pangzi fought like a war god, battling the undead with all his might.
Scarface, as an old adventurer, used his experience to precisely sever the bone claws that skeletons stretched toward his teammates.
Meanwhile, Zhou Qingqing stood at a high vantage point, firing arrows while warning the others about high-threat enemies, ensuring every ounce of Wang Pangzi’s strength was used to its fullest.
So, at this very moment, thanks to the efficient teamwork of the three, countless undead corpses already lay outside the defensive circle, piled up into a small mountain.
And besides skeletons, whether you were a zombie, a Stitch Monster, or a Vampire, you still possessed the body of a dead creature.
In other words—
“They’re your best source of nutrients.”
Lin Ran whispered like a tempting sorcerer in Qi Xiaoyu’s ear.
“And they’re almost endless—take as much as you want, use as much as you need!”
“You should know that as a monster, the best way to get stronger is to feed!”
This time, even Qi Xiaoyu understood Lin Ran’s intent.
“Although… well, like usual with you, it’s a bit disgusting, but it’s the most efficient way.”
“But I’ll do my best!”
Saying this, Qi Xiaoyu closed her eyes, straightened her stalk a little, and waited for Lin Ran to pick her up.
Waiting for him to send her onto the battlefield that belonged to her alone.
…
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.