By now, after undergoing serum enhancement and experiencing the trials of two different worlds, Chen Mo's appearance and aura had changed drastically. Even if he stood right in front of the police still searching for him, no one would believe he was the same Chen Mo.
After all, many people in the world look somewhat alike. Running into someone whose features resemble another person isn't surprising. But for someone's height, build, presence, and temperament to change completely within a few months—this was something no one living in the real world would ever believe.
Even plastic surgery or height-increasing procedures couldn't achieve such a transformation in such a short period.
Therefore, as long as he left this island, Chen Mo could reveal his real face without the slightest worry. By then, he would effectively be a different person—someone with no connection to the fugitive named Chen Mo.
But on this island, things were different.
After all, the passengers on the plane were all recorded. As long as Chen Mo didn't show his face, no one would connect the tall, muscular man he had become with the old Chen Mo. No matter how much the authorities investigated in the future, they would at most consider him another survivor with a similar build—or even a passing pirate from the sea.
But once someone saw his face and compared it with the passenger list, they would immediately suspect him. A change this drastic, in such a short time, would inevitably attract the attention of the state. That would bring him a great deal of trouble, and his secrets could very well be exposed.
In truth, Chen Mo could have appeared before the other survivors as early as his return from the Captain America world—so long as he kept his helmet on to hide his face.
It was precisely because he didn't want to wear a mask every single day that he chose to hide alone in the forest instead of showing himself to the others.
He could freely wander the island wearing nothing but beach shorts and a T-shirt, enjoying sunshine, sand, and a carefree island vacation—why trouble himself for no reason?
Just after returning from the Underworld world, Chen Mo stood with his eyes closed. Slowly, the heavy divine aura surrounding him faded away. After a while, he reopened his eyes. A sharp glint flashed across his pitch-black irises.
Now, compared to the moment he first returned, his entire presence had changed—more restrained, gentler. The sharpness in his gaze had softened into depth and calmness, like an unmatched divine sword sheathed once more. Its edge was hidden, but an unfathomable, mysterious power still lingered beneath the surface. In his dark, abyss-like eyes, it felt as though an entire world lay concealed.
This trip to the Underworld world had been incredibly fruitful. Although his physical strength hadn't increased significantly—from six times that of an ordinary human to seven—his combat skills, especially his swordsmanship, had taken a tremendous leap.
After all, he had absorbed the centuries of battle experience and honed skill of an unparalleled master—someone as strong as he was, who fought powerful werewolves day after day for hundreds of years.
Relying on his extraordinary memory, analytical ability, and learning capability, Chen Mo had absorbed every bit of that master's accumulated experience. The boost to his own combat power was immense.
Meanwhile, his long-stagnant mental strength had also grown steadily through years of constant battle. Especially during the intense fight with Alexander Corvinus—his combat techniques improved greatly, and under that immense pressure, his mental power surged.
Now, the internal space within his mind had expanded from a cube with a 3-meter edge—27 cubic meters—to a massive 5-meter cube of 125 cubic meters. Not only could it hold far more items, it could now store many things that were previously too large to fit inside.
Take transportation, for example. Before, he could at most store a few motorcycles. Anything measuring four or five meters long—like a car—couldn't fit, let alone his seven-meter, six-wheel armored off-road vehicle. Now, even though he still couldn't store that monster of a vehicle, several standard off-road cars would fit with ease.
As Chen Mo continued to travel between worlds and hone his mind, his mental strength grew faster than any other aspect—faster than his physical abilities and faster than his combat skills. The spatial ability that had once seemed almost useless now began to show its true potential. In the future, it would surely become one of his most valuable powers.
Above all, the greatest gain from the Underworld world was the Perfect Blood. It evolved his body into an immortal vessel, granting him eternal life and completely eliminating the accelerated aging caused by world travel.
With unlimited time, he no longer needed to rush. Strength could be accumulated slowly, step by step.
If he wished, he could even stay in the Underworld world indefinitely, letting his power grow over centuries. But waiting that long was far too slow. Real life still had many unresolved matters, and Chen Mo had no patience to wait hundreds of years.
Moreover, the Perfect Blood granted his body endless potential—breaking all bottlenecks and enabling him to grow indefinitely, with limitless possibilities ahead.
The Underworld world's primitive technology prevented deeper research, but Chen Mo was certain of this much: his immortal body and the Perfect Blood flowing through his veins still held many secrets waiting to be uncovered.
After adjusting his mindset and reviewing his gains, Chen Mo returned to his spacious tent, fully satisfied.
He removed his elegant black robe and changed into loose beach shorts and a simple T-shirt, stepping outside with a relaxed air.
At the hammock tied between two trees, Chen Mo lay down with a contented sigh, slipping right back into his island-vacation mode.
It was already afternoon. Soon the sun would begin to set. A soft streak of orange-red light appeared at the horizon. Chen Mo lay quietly, watching the glow spread slowly, gradually coloring the entire sky.
The salty sea breeze carried a trace of coolness as he lay beneath the sunset, enjoying this moment of peace and calm.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the island, the survivors were using the last light of day to catch and gather as much food as they could.
A week had passed since that night when three foreigners snuck into camp and abducted stewardesses Zhang Lan and Xu Shan—only to be swiftly killed by Chen Mo outside the camp.
Now, despite that incident, their daily lives were unchanged. They spent their days gathering food, and their nights collapsing into sleep from exhaustion.
As for rescue… their hope had almost completely faded. No one sat staring at the horizon anymore, waiting for a rescue ship.
Captain Zhao Jianmin, who understood the situation best, knew clearly that their chances of being found were almost nonexistent.
Once the engine malfunctioned, their flight path drifted far off course. By now, no one knew how far they were from the original route. The black box's underwater signal had only a range of a few kilometers, and by this time, the battery was almost certainly dead.
In the vast ocean, finding a group of survivors washed ashore on a tiny island was like finding a needle in a haystack. The government couldn't search forever. They would eventually define a search radius. If the crash site drifted beyond that range, then… the survivors might spend the rest of their lives on this island.
The others knew this as well. After nearly a month on the island, no one suddenly looked up from gathering crabs or clams hoping to see a rescue ship appear on the horizon.
Now, they focused only on gathering food. Few still stared blankly at the sea, lost in thought.
Of course, a group of elderly people, women, and children—even if they worked all day—could only find so much food on this tiny island.
Although the elderly guard Wang Jianqiang managed to catch fish and shellfish daily, it wasn't enough even for himself. If not for Chen Mo's scheduled daily air-drops, many survivors would have starved long ago.
With no rescue to wait for, their days were still busy and full. Survival left no time to dwell on the future. For now, all they could do was live.
Ever since Chen Mo returned from the Underworld world, nothing seemed to change. Days passed in quiet routine—until two weeks later.
By then, a month and a half had passed since the plane crash. Rescue was essentially impossible. They had likely already been declared dead—lost at sea along with the airplane. This island would probably be where they spent the rest of their lives.
Some felt lost. Some felt despair. Some cried quietly at night.
But one person—despite his disappointment—was secretly delighted.
There were eight survivors left on the island. Aside from the elderly man, the bodyguard, and the barely-recovered captain, all the remaining survivors were women. And all of them were young and beautiful.
As the only young, strong man on the island, Wang Jianqiang's mind began to drift toward darker desires.
Since he would spend the rest of his life on this island, there was no need to restrain himself anymore.
From now on, this island would be his territory. Everything on it would fall under his control.
And these beautiful women… would all be his to enjoy.
And the first would be the woman he had coveted for years—
Su Wan, the chairman's secretary.