40 minutes ago, at Ling Family Villa.

Ling Chen walked out with a pair of red eyes. Unlike Mu Xi’s single red eye, a bloodline extended from the corner of his eye, forming a crimson pattern.

After washing off the blood and changing into a new set of clothes, Ling Chen smiled and strolled to a mirror. His handsome, slender face hadn't changed much, but his originally somewhat scrawny body had grown a few inches taller.

Although it wasn't visible with clothes on, clear muscle lines could be seen beneath his attire.

This blood pattern wasn't a scar, nor was it a precursor to the awakening of some special ability. Instead, it marked Ling Chen's current rank—Corpse Ghoul, Level One.

The Corpse Ghoul rank is the lowest tier among mutated individuals, also known as evolvers. At this level, mutated individuals are merely walking corpses whose self-awareness is controlled by the instinct to feed and the urge to kill. Their actions are no different from zombies in movies.

The prevalence of this rank even led higher-tier mutated individuals to despise it, thus collectively referring to all mutated individuals at this level as Corpse Ghouls, and naming the rank the Corpse Ghoul rank.

The original consciousness of a mutated individual will be gradually eroded and obliterated by the desire for slaughter and the pleasure of consumption during the upgrading process, eventually giving rise to a new consciousness upon reaching the second tier.

However, this new consciousness is no longer that of the original human mutated individual, but rather a new awareness, forged through the cruelty of slaughter and a bloody world, capable of adapting to a life of killing without batting an eye.

In his previous life, many human ability users who lived to their life's limit and sought to extend their lifespan attempted to transform themselves into mutated individuals through scientific means. Most of them lost their original consciousness as a result, either becoming powerful walking corpses or simply defecting to the evolver side.

A very small number of human ability users, with unwavering consciousness, remained in the ability user camp, but their personalities had also drastically changed, no longer the same people they once were.

However, Ling Chen didn't need to worry about this problem.

He possessed the Soul Jade Physique, a special constitution born from the resurgence of spiritual energy. However, it was merely a lower-tier special constitution; its sole purpose was to strengthen the host's consciousness to be as firm as The Boulder, resisting various mental erosions of the host's consciousness, and enhancing the utilization of one's own spiritual power.

The erosion by the killing and consuming consciousnesses caused by mutation also belonged to mental erosion, which perfectly aligned with the effect of the Soul Jade Physique.

In his previous life, he also escaped from Mu Xi's maw because he awakened this physique.

"Next... it's time to go back and 'save' those lovely classmates."

Ling Chen faced the mirror, looking at his blood-red eyes, and tried to focus his mind.

Before long, the hideous blood pattern at the corner of his eye slowly closed, and at the same time, the crimson color in his eyes gradually faded, eventually returning to black.

Mutated individuals with strong self-control can actively retract these obvious mutated features. Of course, the blood and flesh energy within a mutated individual's body cannot be changed through simple self-control.

But this allowed for the most rudimentary disguise.

He wanted to infiltrate among the ability users, to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. As for his purpose, it was, of course, to advance quickly.

The Corpse Ghoul's advancement method was simple and brutal: consume 30 units of ordinary flesh and blood equivalent to one's own volume and weight. For every additional unit of flesh and blood consumed, a blood pattern would grow at the corner of the eye.

So, where would there be the most flesh and blood, or rather, the most blood bait to attract mutated beasts?

The closest place to Ling Chen was naturally Linghui Academy. Of course, Ling Chen wasn't going to eat human flesh; he had no special preferences. Eating Mu Xi was purely for revenge, and he didn't even bother with Mu Zhengyang.

In such densely populated areas, what was most easily attracted wasn't mutated individuals, but rather mutated beasts or spirit beasts. This difference in relationship was actually similar to the relationship between mutated individuals and evolvers.

Most animals kept in cities were cats, dogs, and birds, while animals that antagonized humans were mostly rats or mosquitoes.

And, by a strange coincidence, their foraging abilities were all extremely strong.

In his previous life, any survivor camp with over a thousand people would, without exception, string an electric net above their heads.

A swarm of mutated mosquitoes, or a swarm of mutated locusts, could bring about a truly terrifying disaster!

Before the resurgence of spiritual energy, African giant snails could gnaw through cement. So what about after the resurgence of spiritual energy?

Therefore, Linghui Academy would certainly attract many mutated beasts, not to mention that Linghui Academy itself had a huge base of mutated individuals.

The probability of humans undergoing different degrees of change due to disordered spiritual energy could be divided into 3:3:4.

Thirty percent mutated individuals, thirty percent ability users, and forty percent ordinary people.

But the difference was that mutated individuals could increase their numbers by infecting humans, while ability users couldn't forcibly infuse humans with abilities to make them ability users...

In his previous life, Mu Xi was the only mutated individual in Ling Chen's class. In this life, Ling Chen chose to kill Mu Xi precisely to protect his former classmates, fearing that they might be infected by Mu Xi in their confusion, lest Ling Chen arrive only to find the entire class already finished.

After all, it was easier to gain trust among acquaintances, and even if their relationship wasn't good, they had at least spent three years together.

So why did he have to blend in with the ordinary people? Wouldn't it be better to fight mutated beasts and mutated individuals, or even hunt humans, openly and honorably?

Firstly, newly mutated Corpse Ghouls actually have the same attributes as they did before death, but because their internal organs undergo significant mutation, they fall into a state of extreme hunger and rage.

—They recklessly consume the remaining, dwindling blood and flesh energy within their bodies, and their lifespan, to enhance their strength!

This causes their original attributes to triple, equivalent to growing three more blood patterns at the corner of their eyes! Mutated beasts are the same.

And ability users all huddle together for warmth; they haven't yet developed that kind of hierarchical thinking that distinguishes them from ordinary people.

You might casually kill an ordinary person, and an ability user who had a good relationship with them before the spiritual energy resurgence might jump out for revenge. The cost-effectiveness is too low.

Secondly, since there was a simpler, safer, and more efficient method, why would he take such a risk?

Just for so-called righteousness? Or for so-called benevolence and justice?

All the morals and justice written on bamboo slips were merely higher-level spiritual pursuits made by their compilers when they were well-fed and their granaries were full.

What's more, he had a bigger scheme... a spiritual artifact... he once possessed in his previous life. Only by possessing the spiritual artifact could he truly gain a genuine advantage!

"If I just go like this, will it be too natural and not pathetic enough?"

Ling Chen was expressionless. He reached for a kettle of water on the dining table and poured it all over himself from head to toe.

...

"Ugh, what, what are you doing?!"

Li Mingyu's muscular arm clamped tightly around Ling Chen's neck, slamming him onto the cold floor. Sun Qiang's knee, gleaming with metallic cold light, followed closely, heavily striking Ling Chen's waist and abdomen, emitting a dull thud.

"Speak!"

Li Mingyu's eyes were bloodshot, his surging strength causing his knuckles to dig into the skin on the side of Ling Chen's neck.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! Did you lure those monsters outside?!"

The heavy body brought by his toughening ability was like an Anvil, pressing Ling Chen almost to suffocation.

"Ugh—let, let go..."

Ling Chen painfully arched his body, broken syllables squeezed from his throat. His face was forced against the cold tile, his right cheek scraping against the rough floor, leaving faint bloodstains. "I... just came back..."

"Back to die?"

Sun Qiang's metallic, dull voice carried undisguised suspicion and brutality, and his knee pressed down with more force.

"Lin Wei said! Only you and Mu Xi weren't in class! She mutated and was eaten by a monster, so what about you?! How did you manage to run back alive?!"

"Cough... cough cough!"

Ling Chen coughed violently under the pressure, his handsome face turning slightly purple from lack of oxygen, and his eyes welled up with a layer of moisture from a genuine physiological reaction, making him look fragile and disheveled.

"Her... her car... was crushed by a tree..." His words were intermittent, as if he was about to pass out any second.

"Enough! Let him go!"

A sharp, angry shout suddenly rang out!

Lin Wei, the chemistry class representative, somehow found the courage to pick up a toppled thermos by her hand and smash it hard onto Sun Qiang's toughened shoulder, making a crisp "clang" sound!

"He just saved us! If he hadn't closed the door, we'd all be dead!"

Lin Wei's chest heaved violently, her amber pupils staring fixedly at Sun Qiang and Li Mingyu.

"What are you trying to do? Fight among yourselves?!"

The warm water mixed with a few tea leaves from the thermos splashed out, drenching Li Mingyu.

This sudden outburst and the coolness of the water made Li Mingyu's taut nerves jump.

He looked down at the disheveled Ling Chen, pressed beneath his iron arm. His shirt, soaked through, clung to his body, outlining unexpectedly un-scrawny shoulder and back lines, yet highlighting his current fragility.

Those familiar, deep-pool-like black eyes were now filled with pain and shock, and a hint of... unbelievable sorrow?

This gaze was like ice water, instantly extinguishing some of Li Mingyu's frantic rage.

The strength in his arm unconsciously loosened a bit.

Yes, just now, when that monster's claw was about to crush Wu Tao's head, it was Ling Chen's shout that attracted the monster's attention, giving them a chance to close the door... But... Lin Wei's questioning just now was also like a thorn...

Sun Qiang was stunned by Lin Wei's blow. His metallic defense instinct kept him unharmed, but the anger and questioning in the girl's eyes still made him pause.

Just then—

"Cough cough... Ugh... Ah!!!" A suppressed, beast-like death rattle suddenly came from the back corner of the classroom! It was Wang Lei!

Wang Lei, who had been fine just moments ago, was now convulsing violently, his bones emitting a teeth-grinding "clack" sound.

He suddenly lifted his head, his eyes no longer filled with the terror from before, but—a murky, chaotic crimson!

"Leizi?!" Chen Xue, closest to him, covered her mouth in terror.

It was too late!

"Roar—!"

Wang Lei let out a roar that was utterly inhuman, his arm muscles twisting and bulging at a visible rate, and his skin turned dark green.

His fingernails rapidly elongated and hardened, transforming into ghastly white, sharp bone claws!

Three times the strength of an ordinary person propelled him, and he sprang up from the ground like an out-of-control locomotive, rushing towards Chen Xue beside him with a fishy wind! His speed was astonishing!

"Ah!!!" Chen Xue had no time to react, watching the gleaming bone claws plunge directly towards her face, instantly terrified out of her wits!

"Get out of the way!" Wu Tao, closest to him, his eyes splitting, instinctively lunged forward, but he was just an ordinary person, far too slow!

Just as the death-bringing bone claws were less than ten centimeters from Chen Xue's throat—

A figure sprang from the ground like a leopard!

It was Ling Chen!

He had somehow broken free from Li Mingyu's loosened arm restraint, his movements so fast they left afterimages! But he didn't directly collide with Wang Lei. Instead, he abruptly grabbed Chen Xue's arm and, with all his might, pulled her back fiercely!

Rip!

The bone claw grazed Chen Xue's nose as it swept past! The piercing shriek of tearing air stung the eardrums!

Chen Xue was sent flying by the immense force, crying out as she fell to the other side.

However, when Wang Lei's attack missed, his scarlet eyes instantly locked onto Ling Chen, who had pulled him away! A furious roar erupted from his throat, and his other bone claw swept horizontally towards Ling Chen's chest with an even more ferocious gust of wind!

Too fast! Faster than when he had lunged at Chen Xue just now!

Clearly, Ling Chen's obstruction had completely enraged this newly born Ghoul!

Ling Chen's pupils constricted slightly, as if he wanted to retreat, but the action of pulling Chen Xue just now had made him lose his balance, causing his body to sway!

It was this instant of delay!

Pfft!

The sharp bone claw viciously swept across the outer side of Ling Chen's left arm! The fabric instantly tore!

Three deep, bone-visible wounds gruesomely gaped open, and blood, like squeezed berries, quickly gushed out, staining his torn sleeve red! The intense pain made Ling Chen grunt, and his body staggered backward!

"Ling Chen!" Lin Wei's scream changed pitch.

"Damn it!" Li Mingyu finally reacted completely; his earlier suspicion of Ling Chen was completely washed away by Wang Lei's ferocity and Ling Chen's gushing blood! Guilt and anger instantly overwhelmed him!

"Hold him down!!" Li Mingyu roared, his muscles bulging to their limit like a human tank, as he slammed into Wang Lei! The power he unleashed at this moment was terrifying, actually knocking Wang Lei, who had just completed his mutation and whose strength had tripled, into a stumble!

"You're asking for death!" Sun Qiang also roared, joining the fray. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, the metallic sheen on his skin glinting, and he stubbornly withstood Wang Lei's frantic counter-sweep with his other bone claw!

Clang!

The bone claw scraped against his metallic skin, producing a harsh grating sound, and sparks flew! Sun Qiang's body was jolted back a step by the immense force, his forearm tingling, but he held firm with his ability's defense!

Taking advantage of Li Mingyu and Sun Qiang holding Wang Lei back, Ling Chen quickly circled behind Wang Lei and picked up a broken table leg.

Wang Lei was like a trapped beast at this moment, his two bone claws wildly flailing. His strength had greatly increased, and he felt no pain. Although Li Mingyu and Sun Qiang had astonishing strength and tough ability defenses, they could only barely hold their ground, unable to fully suppress him!

Wang Lei twisted and struggled, his scarlet gaze fixed on Sun Qiang in front of him, as if he wanted to tear him to shreds!

"Quick!" Sun Qiang's veins bulged on his forehead as he tightly gripped Wang Lei's bone claw by the wrist, shouting at Ling Chen.

Ling Chen's eyes narrowed. Without the slightest hesitation, he used all his strength to smash the tip of the table leg hard into the back of Wang Lei's neck!

"Er-ah--!" Wang Lei let out a tragic howl of pain. Although the attack to the back of his neck wasn't a fatal injury, the immense impact caused his movements to suddenly stiffen! The grip of the bone claw holding Sun Qiang abruptly loosened!

Now!

Sun Qiang and Li Mingyu exerted force simultaneously! Li Mingyu wrapped his arms around Wang Lei's waist and slammed him hard onto the ground! Sun Qiang seized the opportunity to press his knee against Wang Lei's other bone claw, using his fully metalized, heavy body to firmly pin down Wang Lei's upper body!

"Ropes!" Ling Chen panted, clutching his continuously bleeding left arm, and shouted towards Lin Wei.

Lin Wei and Wu Tao had already prepared strips of curtain fabric and immediately rushed forward.

Working together, ignoring Wang Lei's frantic roars and struggles, they used the rough cloth strips to tie his suppressed arms behind his back, and also wrapped his knees and ankles with strips, tying them into dead knots!

"Hoo... hoo... hoo..." After all this, Li Mingyu and Sun Qiang collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. They were the main attackers, and the burst of their abilities consumed a tremendous amount of energy, especially in such high-intensity combat just now; they felt as if their bodies had been emptied.

Wang Lei, tied up like a dumpling, was thrown into a corner. He still emitted inhuman "ho-ho" sounds from his throat, his scarlet eyes frantically scanning everyone, but his body was securely bound, temporarily losing its threat.

The classroom was deathly silent, with only heavy breathing and Wang Lei's continuous low growls from the corner.

Everyone's gaze eventually fell on Ling Chen.

He slid down to the ground, leaning against the podium. A large area of his left arm's sleeve was soaked with blood, and deep red blood beads were still continuously dripping from his fingertips, accumulating into a small, glaring pool of crimson on the dusty floor.

He hung his head, his bangs covering his eyes, his face terrifyingly pale. His torn, soaked shirt clung to him, clearly outlining the slender yet unexpectedly sturdy physique of the young man—a mix of water stains, mud, and freshly gushing blood.

The ferocity he displayed in that desperate struggle to pull Chen Xue back and then charge forward to strike Wang Lei contrasted sharply with his current fragile, heavily injured appearance.

Sweat mixed with blood dripped from his chin. He seemed to have used up his last ounce of strength, completely immersed in silent pain.

Lin Wei practically pounced, frantically tearing open the lining of her school uniform, clumsily trying to bandage Ling Chen. When she carefully lifted the torn sleeve fabric, three gruesome, skin-peeled wounds were exposed in the dim light. The wounds were very deep, their edges slightly pale, and blood was still continuously seeping out.

Lin Wei's movements instantly stiffened, the color drained from her face, and her fingers trembled slightly.

"Ling Chen..." Her voice was filled with uncontrollable sobs and panic, "You... you've lost so much blood..."

Wu Tao also squatted beside him, his lips moving a few times. Looking at the shocking wounds, and thinking that if Ling Chen hadn't pulled Chen Xue just now, she might have... His expression was extremely complex. Class Monitor Wu Tao had always disliked Ling Chen's high and mighty demeanor, but now...

"Damn it, Sun Qiang, why did you press him down!"

Li Mingyu struggled to get up, his face full of regret and lingering fear. He looked at Ling Chen's pale face and bloody arm, and a huge sense of guilt surged over him like a tide.

If he hadn't lost his mind and forcibly suppressed Ling Chen just now, perhaps Ling Chen wouldn't have been injured... Perhaps he could have warned everyone about Wang Lei's condition sooner... And he himself had actually suspected that Ling Chen attracted the monster?

If it weren't for him... there might not even have been a chance to close the door just now!

Li Mingyu fiercely wiped his face, and his gaze towards Ling Chen completely changed. He walked to Sun Qiang's side and shoved him hard, questioning, "What was wrong with you just now?!"

Sun Qiang looked at Ling Chen's blood staining his knee, then at the three deep, bone-visible claw marks. The knee that had pressed down on Ling Chen trembled slightly.

His metalization ability made him feel physical damage dully, but the visual impact was even more shocking. He opened his mouth, and a hoarse sound came from his dry throat: "...I... damn!"

He punched himself hard in the face, producing a dull thud, "Ling... Ling Chen, I'm sorry! My brain was squeezed by a door! Just now... if it wasn't for you, Wang Lei, this madman, would have..."

He couldn't continue his words. His recklessness and suspicion seemed so unbearable and ugly in the face of Ling Chen's injuries sustained from saving a classmate.

"It's... nothing..." Ling Chen finally raised his head, struggling to pull at the corners of his mouth, trying to show a nonchalant expression, but the intense pain made his smile appear particularly distorted and weak.

He glanced at Wang Lei, who was tied in the corner, still struggling and roaring, then wearily lowered his eyelids, "I... just... had bad luck..."

These words were like a blunt knife, stabbing into the heart of everyone present.

Everyone simultaneously looked at Wang Lei's irrational scarlet eyes, and then at Ling Chen, who was weakly leaning against the podium, his arm dripping with blood, yet only saying he was "fine."

Under the immense contrast, an indescribable sense of shock and recognition quietly spread among the survivors. Suspicion? Distrust? In the face of a life-saving grace and this tangible sacrifice and effort, they seemed so insignificant.

"Stop talking about this! Quickly stop the bleeding!" Wu Tao shouted hoarsely. He looked around, his gaze sweeping over his classmates, who were equally disheveled, still shaken, but whose eyes were gradually converging.

"Li Mingyu, Sun Qiang, you two can still move, bring that desk from the back of the classroom over, lay it flat, and use it as a bed board for Ling Chen! Lin Wei, you continue bandaging! Chen Xue, you and a few others go look for any clean cloth or water in the classroom! Quick!"

The command was silently transferred. No one questioned Wu Tao's arrangements; everyone quickly sprang into action.

Fear still existed, but after jointly experiencing the ordeal of life and death, and witnessing the price Ling Chen paid for them, something more precious began to sprout in the dim, bloody classroom—initial trust and cohesion.

Li Mingyu and Sun Qiang gritted their teeth, enduring fatigue and pain, and together moved a relatively intact tabletop. Sun Qiang even took off his relatively clean jacket and spread it on top.

Lin Wei carefully helped Ling Chen lie down, wrapping the torn cloth strips around his wound layer by layer. Her hands were still trembling, but her movements were focused.

Ling Chen closed his eyes, as if dazed from blood loss, letting Lin Wei do as she pleased.

He could clearly feel the change in everyone's gaze towards him—from suspicion and fear to concern, guilt, and that careful gratitude.

Drip... drip...

Blood from his arm dripped onto the floor beneath the table, accumulating into a small, dark red puddle. No one but himself saw it, when Lin Wei turned her head to prepare new strips of cloth.

Ling Chen's pale fingertips, extremely subtly, reached out, quickly tracing lightly through the small puddle of viscous, dark red bloodstains under the table. Then, the fingertips, stained with warm blood beads, were swiftly brought back to his lips, as if unconsciously wiping away blood. His tongue flickered slightly, the movement so fast it seemed like an illusion.

A subtle, imperceptible surge of pure energy, mixed with the smell of rust and a strange sense of satisfaction, instantly spread down his throat, rapidly nourishing the depleted flesh and blood, repairing the real wound, and also causing the perfectly suppressed scarlet pattern deep in the corner of his eye to subtly pulse for a moment.

The hunger quietly subsided a bit.

And on the table, the blood-stained youth frowned deeply, as if he had fallen into a painful, unconscious coma.

Only when the shadows of his eyelashes covered them, did his deep, pond-like pupils, in their deepest core, coldly and callously reflect everything unfolding in this bloody classroom—fear, gratitude, guilt, and this exquisite cage called "trust" that he had painstakingly created.

As for Wang Lei, he wasn't unlucky. When everyone's attention was focused on the door that was about to be broken open, Ling Chen quietly extended a sharp bone claw, leaving an extremely tiny wound on his neck, so small that Wang Lei at the time only felt like he had been bitten by a mosquito.

His fangs were hidden, waiting only for the prey to fall into the trap.