Chapter 15: Blood Amber

Realizing this, Li Cheng let out a long breath.

"The greatest immediate threat is the 【Gene Thirst】 caused by the 【Lord of Insects】 infection, putting me at risk of becoming a monster. To eliminate this hazard, the optimal strategy is to seek help from official agencies or guild organizations."

"They entered the Killing Ground over four and a half years ago; they must have accumulated considerable resources, knowledge, and experience."

"But the problem is, there's no such thing as a free lunch. First, I must demonstrate enough potential to be worth cooperating with—at the very least, I need self-defense capabilities. Otherwise, I might walk into negotiations and get reported to the Special Affairs Bureau, who'd shoot me in the back."

Li Cheng paused, then spotted a notice on the forum's registration page—only players could see the registration option; non-players could not register as official forum users.

After confirming his guest status prevented him from accessing more forum content or gathering further information, Li Cheng closed the webpage and pulled out two plastic boxes from under his bed, each containing a mantis and a pupa.

When he absorbed the genes and grew bone blades, Li Cheng had felt a connection between himself and this mantis.

After two days of reflection, he confirmed it was no illusion—he could indeed control the mantis to some degree.

Focusing completely and gathering his consciousness, he solidified the thought "raise the left arm," and the green insect slowly lifted its left forelimb.

He changed his thought again, and the mantis raised its right arm, moving exactly as Li Cheng intended.

"Because I absorbed its genes, it became my subordinate? If that was the case, would I have been controlled by the wasp-like monster if it hadn't died?"

"And how does this control work? Through sound, light, pheromones, or electrical signals?"

Li Cheng conducted further experiments: he sealed the gaps of the plastic box containing the mantis with tape, cutting off airflow, and found he could still control the insect—thus eliminating pheromone-based control.

Then he wrapped both the plastic box and his phone in an opaque bag, filmed the box's interior with the phone, and continued focusing his consciousness—control remained effective, eliminating the possibility of control via light or sound transmission.

"If I had a lead box, I could test whether control operates through electrical signals."

Li Cheng silently thought: "But one thing is certain—the strength of control is distance-dependent; the closer I am, the stronger the effect and the lower the delay."

After pondering, he used metal tweezers to remove a single 【Blood Amber】 from a sealed plastic bag he carried on his person, and gently pressed it against the mantis's body.

The moment contact was made, the once crystal-hard 【Blood Amber】 rapidly dissolved, seeping through the thoracic and abdominal spiracles into its body.

By the light, he clearly saw threads of blood-red spread throughout the mantis's body.

After half a minute, its forelimbs, left middle leg, and abdomen swelled into bulges; its dorsal cuticle ruptured under pressure, spraying out green fluid.

The entire insect trembled uncontrollably, as if unable to bear the power granted by the 【Divine Corruption】 fragment, on the verge of transforming into something else.

Li Cheng immediately reached out and touched the mantis; as their connection re-established, the excess power of the 【Divine Corruption】 fragment transferred to Li Cheng, halting his own mutation, and his body slowly returned to normal.

About fifteen minutes later, the mantis stopped trembling.

Its body had grown larger, its forelimbs now even more massive, its overall color shifted from emerald green to brown, resembling a Malaysian leaf mantis.

"Control effectiveness has increased. Precise control range extended from one meter to five meters; maximum range extended from three meters to fifteen meters."

Li Cheng sensed the subtle changes and commanded the new insect to perform complex actions—picking up a pencil, opening a drawer, and more.

"Its weight and strength have been greatly enhanced—it can now lift a bottle of water. Its forelimbs are stronger and sharper, capable of easily cutting through leather and fiber materials. Crucially, it can fly."

At Li Cheng's command, the brown mantis spread its hind wings, took flight, circled the bedroom ceiling once, then landed back in the plastic box.

Ordinary mantises could only flutter short distances—they could never fly so effortlessly.

"A creature with immense strength, forelimbs as sharp as daggers, and the ability to fly and hide among vegetation—this is essentially a stealth assassination weapon."

Li Cheng easily imagined its applications—he could send the mantis ahead to perch on treetops, wait for a target to pass beneath, then suddenly drop down, slit their throat in one strike, and fly away.

With the right position, angle, and lighting, it could completely evade surveillance cameras and carry out silent assassinations.

"No wonder the Special Affairs Bureau is so vigilant. The 【Lord of Insects】 infection can turn even low-tier organisms into deadly threats—let alone those at the top of the food chain."

He replaced the lid of the plastic box, twisted iron wire around it, and returned it under his bed—the mantis only needed feeding every three or four days, and once fed, it became lethargic, so no major concern.

Next was the pupa of the Longji Daidou Beetle.

Li Cheng took out the second 【Divine Corruption】 fragment from the bag and gently placed it on the pupa's surface.

As before, the pupa was easily penetrated by the 【Divine Corruption】 fragment and gradually swelled.

Li Cheng repeated the process—touching the pupa to absorb the excess 【Divine Corruption】 power and establish a connection.

He could sense profound changes occurring within the pupa as the insect inside underwent metamorphosis.

The pupa's color shifted from brown-yellow to gray-yellow, resting inside its artificial cocoon chamber, occasionally twitching—but showed no sign of hatching anytime soon.

The Longji Daidou Beetle was already the apex of the dung beetle family; after enhancement by the 【Lord of Insects】 infection, who knew what it would become upon hatching?

Four 【Blood Ambers】 remained. Under the lamp's glow, their surfaces shimmered with an alluring luster, stirring a powerful urge within him to absorb them all.

"For now, I'll leave them be."

Li Cheng took a deep breath, bundled activated charcoal, air-filter cotton, and deodorizing cotton into a ball, wrapped the 【Blood Ambers】 inside, sealed them tightly with plastic wrap, tied them with a rubber band, and stashed them in the most hidden box under his bed.

The 【Thirst Cycle】 hadn't arrived yet—no urgency—and he had another idea: perhaps he could sell the excess 【Divine Corruption】 fragments for information or healing agents.

Having put these away, he turned to examine his second acquisition of the day.

"When I picked up the 【Blood Ambers】, I touched the blood of the two 【Lord of Insects】-infected bodies and absorbed their genes. I wonder what ability I'll gain this time."

(End of Chapter)