Chapter 165: Sixty-Five!

A multitude of questions churned within Liu Chang's mind.

"First, my eyes inexplicably evolved the ability of dynamic tracking under the threat of crisis. Then, I inexplicably poisoned all the lizards that bit me to death. And now, I’ve suddenly turned into this ghostly appearance."

Liu Chang thought long and hard, but still could not make sense of what was happening. After all, according to what Li Qingshui had told him initially, the process of recessive gene manifestation was supposed to follow a strict sequential order. Never had he mentioned that such a non-voluntary expression of genes could be triggered by a crisis.

Recalling the three inexplicable evolutions, the first two had indeed mutated under life-or-death crises—or rather, if they hadn't mutated, he would have been dead without any room for maneuvering. The first time, a cannon shell was about to land directly on him; the second time, he was already poisoned, rendered unconscious, and had become someone else's food.

Those two instances were somewhat understandable. After all, under life-or-death circumstances, a human body and its instincts reacting made a certain kind of sense. Even without being injected with genetic modification fluid, there were many historical precedents of humans unleashing dormant potential in extreme crises. Liu Chang was aware of such phenomena.

Yet, this third sudden mutation defied all logic. There was no crisis whatsoever; he was simply in the middle of beating someone when the mutation suddenly erupted, completely unannounced and out of nowhere.

None of the previous transformations had been as intense as this one. His body had generated that avalanche-like sense of hunger just to keep up with the drastic energy demands, and his physique had morphed into a bizarre shape. This form had also brought him no end of trouble.

In the apocalypse, although strength and power came first, losing a human appearance inevitably created massive barriers to communication. Liu Chang had never been one to care deeply about his looks, and over the past four years of the apocalypse, he had experienced facial disfigurement several times. But none of those compared to the utter thoroughness of this one—his entire body had completely changed. If he stripped off his clothes and stood in the middle of the jungle, he would look like an entirely different, highly evolved intelligent species.

"Sigh." He let out a heavy sigh as he looked into the mirror, feeling as though this matter was giving him a splitting headache with no solution in sight.

There was still a small fraction of the day left, but he had no intention of going back outside. Waiting silently until nightfall, Liu Chang lay down on the dilapidated bed and fell asleep.

His mind was filled with chaotic thoughts, but the physical exhaustion brought on by the bodily mutation still allowed him to sleep soundly until dawn.

The next morning, as he sat up from the bed, Liu Chang's very first thought prompted him to look down at his arms. He had expected to see even thicker scales greeting his eyes, but upon lowering his gaze, he was met with smooth skin and muscles that had noticeably slimmed down.

"Well, what do you know? It's back to normal?" A ripple went through Liu Chang's heart, and the faint luster of scales flickered across his arm once more.

"What is going on here?" The moment the thought of his physical form from yesterday crossed his mind, the texture of scales immediately emerged on his arm again. His muscles showed signs of bulging once more, and a surging wave of power welled up from deep within his body.

Not only that, but Liu Chang could clearly perceive the existence of these newly awakened faculties. Much like his own arms, they could be controlled at will. This sensation required no explanation; he could feel and utilize it to perfection—much like an adult using their own fingers.

After all, it was all part of his own body; naturally, he could sense it and control it.

"Retract." To test his thoughts, the moment he saw the scales just beginning to surface on his arm, Liu Chang swiftly halted that mental impulse, whereupon he commanded the scales to sink back beneath his skin.

"Such a miraculous feeling." Watching his body return to its original state, Liu Chang felt a surge of excitement. If he could freely control these scales and this strength, that would simply be the best-case scenario.

After all, in the apocalypse, everyone wished to become stronger. These scales and folds of skin could provide him with immense defensive capabilities, and the reptile-like physiological sensations were far more intense than his original ones. Power and defense were both indispensable elements in battle. With these assets, Liu Chang was confident that his combat prowess would multiply several times over.

Especially when it came to dealing with ordinary humans.

When facing humans, what he feared most was stray gunfire. Although he could now clearly see the trajectories of bullets, if a large group of people were to open fire on him simultaneously, creating a dense barrage, even with his ability to track ballistic paths and Li Qingshui-level calculation skills, too dense a hail of fragments meant there would simply be nowhere to hide. That entire sector would fall within the attack zone, leaving no evasion route possible.

But now, with defensive capabilities, everything would be different. Ordinary bullets simply could not pierce his scales, while heavy artillery shells and weapons of massive destructive power could not be fired at him infinitely. In combat, he would only need to focus on dodging those heavy threats, making things several times easier than before.

At this thought, Liu Chang excitedly commanded his scales, willing them to surge outward at top speed.

Creak, creak... Under the command of his mind, his body began to transform. Liu Chang stripped off his upper garments and watched as layers of scales erupted across his body. His joints grew larger, his muscle fibers thickened continuously, and his skin rippled into overlapping folds, forming a perfect shock-absorbing layer.

"Amazing!" The transformation process took a mere three seconds, and that was even with him deliberately slowing down the pace. He could clearly witness the entire process of muscles bulging and scales flipping outward, while also perfectly experiencing the wondrous sensation of physical power slowly welling up.

This feeling of instantly growing stronger would evoke the most primordial sense of joy in any male creature. Stimulated intensely by the surge of power, male hormones flooded his system. Feeling utterly exhilarated and with his adrenaline spiking, Liu Chang punched the wall of the abandoned building.

Boom!

The already dilapidated wall collapsed under his blow, and the entire structure, having lost this crucial load-bearing wall, gave way and caved in. A chaotic cascade of rubble and dust rained down from above, covering Liu Chang in a layer of grime.

"This feeling of strength..." Liu Chang stood amidst the mound of dirt, clenching his fist. "My life force must have reached at least sixty-five now, right?"

Such formidable power brought with it a surge of fierce confidence. "If I run into the Amphibians again this time, even with the help of their clones, I have the confidence to fight them. Xiaojing, wait for me."

Pulling a jacket on over the ruins and finding a bandanna to wrap around his head and face, Liu Chang stepped out and began walking slowly in the direction of yesterday's office building.