He was alright thanks to his thick shell, but that giant octopus at the bottom of the lake probably wasn't so lucky; if it wasn't blown to death on the spot, it likely wouldn't last much longer.
Just now, in a stroke of inspiration, he finally remembered he could use his Soul Ability. With a spark of ingenuity, he created a super-sized Alchemy Bomb. He realized that as his shell grew, the total amount of Source Substance also increased dramatically. It was far beyond anything he had experienced before, and even the explosive yield of the Alchemy Bomb was much more exaggerated.
He stuffed the bomb into the creature's mouth. The explosion was instantaneously fragrant, both inside and out; the delicious, charred scent was irresistible.
When Huai Shi finished off that tentacle and was still licking between his Teeth, feeling unsatisfied, he saw the giant octopus in the lake behind him slowly surface as well.
Its mantle was ruptured and completely charred; it was obviously dead.
But Huai Shi didn't see any change in his experience progression bar. In fact, after his Metamorphosis, he noticed... the experience bar was gone?
After asking Fu Yi, he discovered she was in the same situation.
It was as if the novice period of the Cruel Game was over.
From now on, Explorers would have to find their own way...
Huai Shi wasn't concerned. He thought there was no rush, dog-paddled into the lake, dragged back the remaining bulk of the giant octopus, and continued to eat ravenously.
Too bad there's no cumin, or the kids next door would be crying with envy.
Eating away, he absentmindedly looked up at the sky and said, "Come eat, Fu Yi, aren't you hungry?"
"...No need, you eat by yourself."
The White Weasel's ears twitched, and she drew back a little further. Just when Huai Shi was about to be half-full, her protective shield suddenly activated on its own, and the system plug-ins began frantically displaying warnings.
A bizarre filter suddenly popped up and began to load.
After it finished loading, she looked at Huai Shi again. She glimpsed the massive and terrifyingly fierce skeleton beneath the enormous carapace. Then, the analyzer interface popped up, telling her that as Huai Shi frantically ingested soil, the metal content in his bones was rising sharply.
And soon, beneath that layer of bones, roughly where the stomach would be, a ghastly green light, invisible to the naked eye, began to glow.
Even from tens of meters away, it still produced an illusory burning sensation.
Fu Yi didn't understand the other jumbled data and terms, but she felt she had seen the word "radiation" somewhere before.
Fu Yi could feel her own cells undergoing a change. Right after that, she ignored the faintly strange light. It was like crystal, allowing it to pass through her body without causing any further effect.
Regardless of what it was, she was certain: whatever Huai Shi emitted while eating was definitely not a good thing…
"The taste is quite nice. You're missing out," Huai Shi shook his head, clicking his tongue in regret twice, and continued to eat. While eating, he recalled, "Speaking of which, I make a pretty good squid dish. I even won a prize for it in a professional culinary competition! How about I make it for you next time?"
"No thanks..." Fu Yi refused curtly. She knew in her gut—or rather, her tail—that Huai Shi couldn't possibly cook anything good.
In the end, Huai Shi actually consumed the entire giant octopus, which was even larger than himself.
It took a full two hours.
The hunger he'd felt since his Metamorphosis finally abated, at least temporarily. He yawned, feeling the itch and drowsiness seeping out of his marrow. He opened his mouth to the sky, preparing to say something, but unexpectedly let out a burp. It was a blast of gas from his stomach that even carried wisps of sparks.
Scared, he quickly shut his mouth.
Eating made him sleepy.
After giving Fu Yi a heads-up, he simply lay down on the ground. He curled up into a ball and fell asleep, the friction of his scales sending out a dazzling shower of sparks.
After a long while, the strange green light on his body finally dissipated. Only then did Fu Yi descend cautiously from the sky. Out of habit, she returned to her designated spot on Huai Shi. Before she even sat down, she jumped up again as if she had sat on a furnace.
Huai Shi's head was so hot it was almost glowing red. The skin beneath his scales was faintly crimson, as if coursing with molten lava.
Even in Deep Sleep, Huai Shi's body began to grow again. The muscle fibers beneath his scales pulsated chaotically, becoming even more robust, while more growth concentrated in his bones. Accompanied by a sound like scraping metal, two sharp, antler-like, bifurcated bony protrusions with distinct edges emerged from his forehead.
Moonlight shone on them, casting a cold, steely gleam...
Only in the latter half of the night did the fever gradually subside. Fu Yi cocked her head, examining the two horns that now occupied her usual sleeping spot. Growing increasingly annoyed, she angrily kicked the base of the horns twice.
Then she stood up, paced on Huai Shi's body, and after finding a flat spot near his neck, lay down, curled up, and fell into a Deep Sleep.
In the long night, a faint singing could be heard in the distance.