Chapter 72

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Chapter 72: The Divine Gift of Vocal Cords

Lin Qingliu had emerged from the kitten’s dream, but the creature, which seemed to have exhausted most of its strength to piece together its body, still lay dormant in In Dream.

It appeared that it would need to rest for a considerable time.

With this insight, Lin Qingliu continued to enhance his observation of this patchwork body using the observational skills gained from the knowledge path.

After cleansing the kitten, the seams between its differently colored parts became even more apparent. Composed of various small creatures’ flesh and bones, the kitten gave off an unsettling impression of fragility, as if it might fall apart at any moment.

Lin Qingliu pondered for a moment. If he intended to train this kitten to become a competent double agent, there was no better time to start than now.

Coincidentally, after advancing to the Third Level of the Blood and Flesh pathway, Lin Qingliu had recently developed a number of new techniques.

This natural experimental subject presented the perfect opportunity to test them.

The reserves of flesh and strength accumulated from reshaping Wang Xiao’s body were still plentiful.

Since he aimed to establish a strong communicative bond, teaching the kitten to speak seemed like a logical first step.

But before that…

Lin Qingliu glanced at the slumbering kitten and extended his dimensional-shifted hand into its body, sifting through its contents.

Guided by his enhanced vision, Lin Qingliu finally located what he sought—

The mycelium, a crucial element for extraordinary beasts.

According to the dream’s content, all extraordinary beasts must inhale gray spores that control the brain once they reach a stage of development suitable for the outside world.

Although the kitten had narrowly escaped the grim fate of being manipulated, the spores had already taken root within it.

This was also why it could sustain itself with only a head remaining.

Lin Qingliu observed that the mycelium had become intricately intertwined with the kitten’s nerves, particularly in areas where connections were essential.

The kitten resembled less of a living creature and more of a head piloting a mech.

Lin Qingliu carefully extracted the nerves and mycelium from the kitten’s tail.

Under the influence of Dimensional Shift, the fragile mycelium and nerves offered no resistance, surrendering effortlessly.

Holding the writhing strands in his hand, Lin Qingliu swiftly deposited them into a white enamel instrument tray.

At that moment, Lin Qingliu felt a pang of regret for not having a fully equipped laboratory; it seemed this matter would need to be addressed soon.

Watching the mycelium exposed to the air gradually lose its vitality, Lin Qingliu picked up a scalpel and pricked his fingertip.

“Drip.”

A drop of blood fell beside the mycelium, and the filaments stirred as if sensing the nutrient source, inching toward the blood like a single-celled organism regaining a flicker of life.

It must be acknowledged, regardless of his character and actions, Zhao Kai possessed a truly imaginative mind.

Although his experiment had ended in failure, Lin Qingliu had gleaned a small but valuable insight from it.

This was one of the experiments he had been pursuing recently.

Perhaps because his Blood and Flesh pathway level surpassed Wang Xiao’s, or perhaps due to his unique status as a divine reserve,

Lin Qingliu’s own blood, once released, remained partially under his control—unlike the hapless subject of Zhao Kai’s experiment, who had been subjected to organ harvesting and bleeding.

Moreover, the abundant life force within Lin Qingliu’s blood did not act recklessly, standing in stark contrast to Zhao Kai’s uncontrollable state at the time.

Lin Qingliu would not actively unleash the terrifying power within.

Now, he aimed to test which power was superior: his own or that of the mycelium.

The combination of mycelium and nerves twisted and crawled towards the drop of blood like a ravenous beast.

Soon, the wrinkled filaments were immersed in the warm blood.

Its body quickly relaxed, greedily absorbing the surrounding nutrients.

In just a few seconds, the drop of blood was completely absorbed, and the restored, swollen mycelium-nervous composite body bore a tinge of bright red.

In that moment, Lin Qingliu sensed a slight extension of his awareness, as if a part of him had detached and begun to act independently.

He pondered briefly and then used his mind to guide that detached part back toward himself.

Sure enough, the mycelium creature in the instrument tray began to wriggle toward Lin Qingliu.

But in the next instant, as if controlled by two opposing forces, the composite body fell into a struggle.

The crimson part began to converge toward Lin Qingliu, while the other end attempted to escape.

A faint smile curled at the corner of Lin Qingliu’s lips; it indeed possessed a resistance, but there was no need for concern, as he had merely been testing its limits.

Now, it was time to go all out!

His fist clenched, and the drop of blood absorbed by the mycelium-nervous composite began to spread rapidly, like soldiers annihilating the consciousness of the mycelium.

That’s right, annihilating the consciousness of the mycelium.

With the experience from the dream, Lin Qingliu had gained a fundamental understanding of humanity’s true enemy and developed a keen interest in mycelium.

If successful, this could potentially bring immense benefits to humanity as part of biotechnology, but the prerequisite was that the mycelium must become a pure tool, devoid of any independent will.

Thinking this, Lin Qingliu’s blood surged with vigor as it relentlessly pursued the enemy.

In mere seconds, the blood once again dominated the composite body, now asserting control over the unconscious mycelium as the dominant force.

Objectively speaking, this act of usurping control from its host would not be praised under human moral standards.

However, in the life-and-death struggle between different species, it was entirely justified.

Lin Qingliu’s fingers twitched slightly, and the composite body in the instrument tray began to curl.

Freed from the mycelium’s restraint, the two sides achieved near-perfect synchronization.

Lin Qingliu nodded in satisfaction; he had already formulated his next plan.

Though it was the dead of night, enveloped in complete silence, Lin Qingliu felt more alert than ever.

He picked up the nerve he had modified and, using a combination of his abilities, carefully placed it back into the kitten’s body.

But that wasn’t enough; a single drop of blood proved too slow to sweep through the entire body.

Lin Qingliu swiftly drew five milliliters of his blood with a syringe and, like feeding a kitten, placed the syringe at the kitten’s mouth.

As the blood slid down the kitten’s throat, Lin Qingliu closed his eyes, focusing intently on directing his power within its body for a thorough cleansing.

From that moment on, the life of this extraordinary beast was entirely in Lin Qingliu’s hands.

With just a thought, his blood could transform into the most potent poison, ending its life instantly.

Additionally, to ensure smooth communication between them, Lin Qingliu planned to activate the growth-promoting aspects of the blood, enabling the kitten to develop a vocal cord akin to a human’s for their future interactions.