Chapter 46: Evolution: The Unexpected

Based on Baichuan's long experience using the panel,

he had already roughly figured out the time needed for the panel to enhance an ability.

A normal LV1 ability generally takes a day and a night, while LV2 takes two days and two nights — but that's for a single ability, and not the kind that produces external limbs or involves a major overhaul of the entire body.

For those involving too much of the body's structure, he still hadn't figured out the exact time required.

Besides, once several abilities evolved together, that time would multiply several times over.

But for several abilities evolving together, he still hadn't figured out the exact time needed. It didn't matter here, though, because what he was enhancing was only a single LV2.

While thinking, Baichuan had already moved away from this nest. Of course, he hadn't gone too far.

He merely followed snake instinct to find a relatively hidden spot in the dense forest a few hundred meters away.

Then he began to dig.

Because what he was digging this time wasn't a permanent dwelling, merely a place to get through one evolution.

It didn't take too long — after all, one was a large nest dug underground where he had to consider cave-ins, ventilation, and access, expanded out.

While the other only needed to let his whole body hide underground and allow for ventilation.

The difficulty was on a completely different level.

He had only spent one night on it; by dawn the burrow was finished.

After that he returned to the previous spot to check on that little Xiao haozi, and found it still lying quietly there as before.

The only slight change was that the wounds on its body seemed to have healed a little, though not very noticeably — but it was clear things were improving.

This surprised him a little — it really did have some effect. But then he remembered this ability came from its fellow species, the Rat.

Thinking that way made it much more normal. Although after evolution every ability would adapt to his body to some extent, the essence still retained something of its origin, more or less.

But he still didn't know whether it could ultimately pull through this ordeal.

After all, there must be a difference between the true host of an ability and an outsider using it.

Baichuan thought silently.

Then he cut another slit and dripped some blood to feed it.

The temperature this season was still fine; the meat chunks he had brought back earlier hadn't shown obvious signs of rotting or anything.

It seemed that if it could wake up, it should still be in time for a full meal.

……

Inside the burrow, in the darkness.

As the panel unfolded once again.

The faint white light on the panel, visible only to Baichuan, shone on his snake head.

【Name: Baichuan.】

【Species: Yanjingwangshe.】

【Length: 6.8 meters.】

【Lifespan: 6 years 10 months.】

【Points: 8 (5%).】

【Abilities: LV3 Ability (expand), LV2 Ability (expand), LV1 Ability (expand).】

【Ability Structure Library (expand).】

「Kedianji…」

He looked at the panel above, silently selected the Ability Structure Library, and picked out the ability model named Ice Blood Cold Silkworm.

This was one of those rare creatures that possessed only four abilities, yet was so powerful it made Baichuan's heart tremble.

The familiar model rose up. Baichuan directly extracted the ability named 【Symbiosis LV2 (Shihan)】. Originally he had wanted to play it safe and enhance them all.

But when he tried, he discovered that the Ice Silkworm's other abilities were either incompatible with him, or heavily overlapped with abilities he already had, or would even give him a negative effect.

Take 【Spin Silk and Form Cocoon】, for instance — if it were like Spider-Man, spitting silk as an attack, that would be fine, but what was this?

Wrap himself up in silk threads, turn into a cocoon, and that's it.

Silkworms spin cocoons so they can break out as moths or butterflies. According to the ability model, it needs to be paired with the 【Metamorphic Development】 ability — but does he have that?

No!

As for that 【Metamorphic Development】 ability, if Baichuan's current understanding wasn't wrong, it should be similar to the snake's 【Zhongchang】 — a change in body size.

Once body size was enhanced, there might be a tremendous change.

As for 【Dormant Molting】, there was even less to say — he already shed his skin himself, and this ability also required entering a state similar to hibernation.

He had only just escaped hibernation; how could he possibly go back to needing hibernation?

It could be said that the three abilities, apart from the symbiosis one, were all part of a set. Would he dare to enhance them?

In other words, setting aside all the compatibility issues, once he enhanced them, he would very likely transform into an insect body.

Why would he give up being a perfectly good snake to become a Strange Insect?

He'd have to be out of his mind.

Even if he were to change, he'd want to evolve into something like a true dragon.

So in the end, what remained was only that one ability he highly suspected —

Symbiosis LV2 (Shihan).

Weighing the gains and losses of these past few days, Baichuan extracted this ability and merged it into his own body.

Then the familiar drowsiness came over him again.

Baichuan slowly drifted into slumber, and that strange viscous substance once again wrapped his body completely.

……

Time began to flow once more, and in the blink of an eye two days had passed.

After two days and two nights, amid a sound like an eggshell cracking, Baichuan burst out of the giant egg with a single sharp claw.

Instinctively, he took a deep breath.

The result was nearly a mouthful of dirt.

Sneezing several times in a row, Baichuan left the now somewhat deformed underground cave in speechless dejection.

Leaving the cave, he once again saw the vast, boundless sky and the lush green foliage.

Baichuan's mood was uncommonly brightened, and only now did he have the heart to sense his newly strengthened abilities.

He simply stood there quietly, closing his snake pupils to feel every subtle change in himself.

After a while, he opened his eyes again, filled with confusion.

Because just like before, there was absolutely no change at all.

What was going on? Had he lost two points for this?

No way! He had to go back and look at that Ice Silkworm first.

How strange — could he really have gotten it wrong? Was he truly fated to have nothing to do with these abilities?

For a moment, Baichuan was thoroughly baffled and rushed straight toward where the Ice Silkworm had been placed.

Before long, under Baichuan's urgent, rapid crawling, he returned to the cave, which was now somewhat more spacious than before.

"Squeak~ squeak~"

Before even going in, the moment his snake 【body】 reached the cave entrance, he heard a burst of utterly excited squeaking.

The excitement in those cries was like that of a dog who hadn't seen its owner in a long time, suddenly seeing its master come home one day.

In its excitement, it was both bouncing and jumping.

He was startled, then realized what was happening.

Was this Xiao haozi having survived?

At the same time, he slowly crawled inside.

The moment he came in, he saw a little mouse whose entire fur gleamed with a healthy sheen, full of vigor.

At that moment it was standing upright on its hind legs, hugging that little wooden box, calling out to him without pause — if the box weren't so heavy, it would probably have been jumping up and down.

Seeing him approach, it instinctively used its little paws to hand the wooden box over, its mouth never stopping its cries.

Even though he couldn't understand the language, he could still make out the excitement in them.

Seeing this, Baichuan instinctively nodded his snake head at it, and extended his claw — nearly as big as the little mouse itself — to take the wooden box.

And the moment he took it, an enormous reaction occurred.

A reaction Baichuan had never anticipated.

The wooden box began to vibrate wildly!

(End of chapter)