Chapter 2298: Lifelong Shadow

An ancient tree loomed ahead. Monde wanted to see the appearance of this ancient tree clearly, but something blocked it, leaving his vision foggy, as if separated by a layer of frosted glass.

'An illusion?'

Monde knew what he saw wasn't real, but he couldn't break free from this illusion. He felt something about to take root and sprout in his chest; his flesh would become nutrients, his soul would be the water for irrigation. Compared to that ancient tree, he was truly too insignificant.

*Slap! *

A faint sensation of patting came to Monde's face, making the scene before him even blurrier, but his physical senses became much clearer. The surroundings were no longer cold, but became dry and warm, as if lying on his own bed.

"The iron-headed fool has sprouted. A vegetable iron-headed fool."

"Vital signs stable, prepare for cutting."

Blurred conversation reached Monde's ears. He tried his best to open his eyes, but even with all his might, he could only open his eyelids a crack.

A man wearing a black oxygen mask, with a pipe as thick as a fist connected to it, came into Monde's view. The other party was wearing medical latex gloves and holding something that looked like a high-tech chainsaw.

Seeing this scene, the slightly dazed Monde thought he might have been caught by some crazy researcher, because the other party didn't look like a doctor at all. If a doctor dressed like this, he, Monde, would do a handstand and spin while having diarrhea.

"Increase the dosage, he will wake up in 3 minutes and 45 seconds."

"Understood, 16 milligrams of water-retention agent."

"At least 690 milligrams."

"He'll die, won't he?"

"No."

Hearing this vague dialogue, Monde really wanted to sit up and run. He had never had such an experience in his life. It felt like he had become a fish on a chopping board, and the butcher was holding a sharpening rod, honing a boning knife.

'Body, move! Sit up! Escape this terrifying slaughterhouse!'

Monde's consciousness struggled. A cold sensation appeared on his arm, followed by a faint heat at his spine, along with numbness. His eyelids, which he had opened a crack, gradually closed.

*Hum! *

A sound like a chainsaw being turned on came, and Monde's last thought was, it's over, this time I'm completely done for.

Not knowing how much time had passed, Monde's consciousness returned. He immediately felt an almond taste in his mouth, a sense of restraint on his face, and cool air coming from in front of him. He seemed to be wearing an oxygen mask.

Monde felt incredibly thirsty, as if fire were burning in his chest and throat. His tongue had lost sensation due to the dryness.

A very thin tube was stuffed into his mouth, and warm 'clear water' flowed into his oral cavity. Strangely, as soon as the water touched his oral mucosa, it was absorbed, and the thirst that was about to drive Monde crazy faded away.

Monde's strength recovered quite a bit. He slowly opened his eyes. The ceiling before him was pale blue, a translucent crystal. His gaze moved down, and he saw a thin membrane covered in meridians, with something jumping inside.

Monde was dazed for a moment, then his eyes suddenly widened, because that jumping thing was none other than his demon heart, his heart. And nearby, his stomach, liver, and other organs were also wrapped inside that biological membrane.

'Modified by a crazy researcher!'

This thought lingered in Monde's mind. Just then, footsteps came, and the man wearing the oxygen mask walked over. The black oxygen mask completely covered the other party's head; it was exactly that crazy researcher.

A certain conjecture surfaced in Monde's mind, but as soon as the thought appeared, he dismissed it. His ally was a sword master; he couldn't possibly be dressed like this. Something must have happened after the canyon battle.

Monde tried his best to shift his gaze. Sure enough, on the surgical bed next door, Monde saw a mass of blue light film with large pipes inserted into it. His ally was right there. It couldn't be wrong; he saw that black leather coat of the other party draped over a chair beside the bed, with bloodstains on it.

Seeing this scene, Monde felt a wave of sorrow. He and Bai Ye had fought four participants in the canyon and survived, only to encounter this after the battle.

"You, won't, die a good death."

Monde spoke with great difficulty. The crazy researcher who walked up to him paused, pondered for a moment, then picked up a metal hood full of wires from the side and clamped it onto Monde's head.

*Beep, beep, beep... *

Monde passed out again amidst the electronic sounds. Not knowing how long he had been unconscious, he woke up again.

"Ah!"

As soon as Monde woke up, he shouted and sat up, gasping for air. He instinctively looked down at his chest and could see a very long red mark. On both sides of the red mark were very shallow suture marks; the stitches had already been removed.

Just as Monde was about to get out of bed, his body stiffened, because that crazy researcher was sitting on a nearby crystal chair, holding a tablet computer, wearing the black oxygen mask, with the pipes on it connected to the equipment behind him.

"Awake?"

A muffled voice came from under the oxygen mask. Monde's shoulders trembled. This wasn't because he was scared, but an instinctive reaction after his body had been ravaged.

"You are..."

"Did you injure your brain?"

"Eh~"

Monde felt this muffled voice was a bit familiar, and the aura of this 'crazy researcher' was also very familiar.

"Bai... Ye?"

"Hmm."

"Why are you, dressed like this..."

"This is a sterile environment. You needed a thoracotomy... no, a chest incision. Amu needed to take out the energy threads inside your body."

Hearing Su Xiao's words, Monde almost slapped his thigh. He now understood what was going on; it turned out the patient in the bed next door was Amu.

"Eating the Medal of the Overlord had such serious consequences."

Monde's tone was heavy. He raised his hand to look at his wrist. A Medal of the Overlord was tied to his wrist with a thin string, and it was even a bowknot. This was definitely tied by Beni.

"The main reason you didn't die is that you are currently participating in the Strongest Contest. The Medal of the Overlord is carved from the branches of the Void Tree."

"I think I saw the Void Tree."

"Oh?"

"Separated by a layer of 'frosted glass', I didn't see it very clearly."

The muscles on Monde's torso bulged. He could feel a stinging pain. It was impossible for his injuries to recover in a short time. The soul injuries caused by Xiu Ge, the damage caused by swallowing the Medal of the Overlord, and the 'feather weave threads' that Quanyu had struck into his body were all very tricky problems.

The Medal of the Overlord and the 'feather weave threads' had been removed by Su Xiao. There was no way to deal with the soul injuries; that would have to wait until Monde returned to the Demon Race, where the old demons would find a way.

"What day is it today?"

"The fifth day, noon."

"It's the time Xiu Ge agreed upon. Are we going to Peak Mountain?"

"No."

"That's what I thought too."

Monde grinned. Although he didn't know how many Medals of the Overlord Su Xiao had, it definitely wouldn't be few.

In reality, that was indeed the case. Su Xiao originally had 4 Medals of the Overlord. He had 1 himself, obtained 1 from Yamu through strategy, the Night-Witch who was drawn by the battle also contributed 1, and the last 1 had a significant element of luck, as he had encountered the Twin Stars by chance.

After defeating Nameless Saint, Su Xiao obtained 3 more Medals of the Overlord: 2 from Nameless Saint and 1 from Afni.

Adding all these Medals of the Overlord together, Su Xiao had obtained a total of 7.

Monde only had 1. This guy was relatively unlucky; he hadn't encountered other participants for days, and when he finally did, it was four people hammering him alone. It was quite bitter.

Xiu Ge and Quanyu were intentionally avoiding other participants. Xiu Ge was relatively lazy; he wanted to wait until the end and obtain first place by eliminating everyone else.

"Xiang Bubu."

Hearing Su Xiao's voice, Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang, who was also wearing an oxygen mask, ran over.

Su Xiao took three Medals of the Overlord from Xiang Ignoring Bubu Wang's neck and threw them to Monde. Now he and Monde each had four Medals of the Overlord. As long as the time limit was reached, there were only two possibilities: one, he and Monde were both in first place—the probability of this situation appearing was very low; two, the Void Tree would open an area, Su Xiao and Monde would have a fight there, the winner would be in first place, and the loser would be in second place.

So Su Xiao had no need to actively look for Xiu Ge at all. It should be Xiu Ge coming to look for him. ===== CHAPTER 2299 =====