Liu Zhiyuan reached out and accepted the lump of flesh; he stared at the pulsing mass.
As if possessed, he brought it to his mouth. The instant it touched his tongue an indescribable deliciousness flooded his senses.
He wolfed it down in a few bites; the flesh melted into a surge of heat that spread rapidly through his body.
Before he could speak to the old man in front of him, a searing agony erupted across his face.
"Aaaah!" Black flames burst from Liu Zhiyuan's face; he clawed at it, shrieking in torment.
Chen Xingwen smiled, stood up, and walked out.
Mission complete; now they only had to wait for news.
Out on the street, Han Qi—sunglasses on—stood beneath an eave. Watching Chen Xingwen, he asked curiously, "Old-timer, you could've just shoved it down his throat. Why the whole speech?"
He had been assigned by Lei Xiangchen to guard the flesh; Li Yong was with Lei Xiangchen, and Wei Gaocheng was protecting Chen Yeliu.
Chen Xingwen chuckled: "For the future. A few casual words might win the Association another powerhouse."
"Let's see if they survive first." Han Qi glanced at Liu Zhiyuan, still screaming.
Once those who've consumed the flesh come within a certain range of each other, they can sense one another.
Devour the other, and their strength undergoes a qualitative leap.
On the street, rain poured.
Liu Zhiyuan's screams continued; something seemed about to tear its way out of his face.
Rip! His entire facial skin split and bled; a white mask pushed through the gore.
On the mask, the eyes were pure black, the mouth stretched in a wide grin lined with long, razor teeth.
"What is this?!" Liu Zhiyuan's fingers felt the smooth mask, terror in his eyes.
A peculiar power surfaced inside him; instinctively he knew how to wield it.
Whoosh! A meter away, a patch of black shadow appeared; raindrops fell into it and vanished without a sound.
"This—" Liu Zhiyuan's pupils shrank. With a thought, the dark shadow vanished.
He remembered the old man's words: wipe out the evildoers.
"Now that I have this power, first I'll retrieve Grandfather's mask." The mask retracted; his shattered face re-formed, stiff and lifeless.
The rain stopped; he set off in the direction the thugs had taken.
He hadn't gone far before several punks appeared ahead, arms slung over one another's shoulders.
"Stick with the boss and there's always booze—life's good."
"Haha, we're bros, no need for thanks."
They staggered along; one wore a mask at his waist.
At the sight of them, Liu Zhiyuan's stomach twisted.
Gurgle—hunger surged, mingled with disgust.
A twisted smile cracked his stiff face: "Scum like you don't deserve to live…"
He walked toward the four; the white gruesome mask re-formed over his face.
The thugs noticed him. The stocky leader, dead-drunk, pointed at the masked man thirty meters away: "Look, bros, another clown—why so many idiots tonight? Hahaha!"
"Haha, the circus is in town."
Behind the mask, Liu Zhiyuan's black eyes fixed on them; he raised his left hand and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
The crisp sound echoed; under the street-lamp, the four thugs' shadows rose up.
They seized their owners, black arms throttling throats.
"Ah—mmph!" The punks struggled, but the shadows' strength was overwhelming.
Faces flushed purple, then blue, then white; eyes rolled back.
Five minutes later the shadows released the lifeless bodies, letting them drop.
"Worthless trash shouldn't breathe." Saliva dripped from the mask's grinning mouth.
Fresh from devouring flesh and using his power, hunger now ruled him; instinctively he moved toward the corpses.
Standing over them, he bared long fangs… Tizi Country, a remote village.
Inside the village stable, Chen Yeliu sat on a hay bale by the door; her work-clothes gave her a dashing look.
Before her knelt a weather-beaten man whose calloused hands trembled.
"As long as you can save my daughter, I'll do anything you ask!" His only child had been seized by a local rich bully.
The man had powerful connections; the father was powerless.
Chen Yeliu produced a lump of flesh, calm: "Eat this, and you can rescue her yourself."
Without hesitation the man accepted; he knew the woman before him was no ordinary human.
He swallowed the flesh at once.
Chen Yeliu stood and walked out. After a few steps she looked back: "Once you eat it, there's no retreat. Only by growing stronger can you protect her. Shirk, and both of you will meet death."
With that she left.
Her words froze him; then he finished every scrap of flesh.
To him, refusing meant death; he had no idea when his daughter might suffer.
The tycoon who took her delighted in torturing victims; a year's toll of women dead by his hand was at least eight.
Yet because he donated to local officials, he remained untouchable.
Through the efforts of Lei Xiangchen's trio, the nine lumps of flesh were strategically placed—eight scattered across the continent, one left inside Nanwu Country.
Those who absorbed the flesh needed time to grow; Xie Gongming's calculations showed the later stages required ever more flesh.
Without mutual devouring, mere consumption of flesh could raise a person to Level Four in half a month, Level Five in three months—astonishing speed. Some Awakened spent decades just to reach Level Four… Liyang Country, Research Base No. 1.
On the lowest, fifth level, Dong Guangjie, Xie Gongming, and Beaton were all present.
Jiang Yan stood beside them, along with numerous researchers.
"The Demon's genes are extraordinary—able to be stored in this manner." Excitement shone on Dong Guangjie's face as he studied the ten tubes of different colors.
Inside a special apparatus lay the desiccated, lifeless body of the Crimson Demon.