Chapter 125: The Final Preparations

Qin Hao spent three full hours slaughtering before the spatial black hole, managing to hunt five thousand giant crab-beasts. It was not that his speed was lacking, but that the crab-beasts crawled too slowly, forcing him to wait for the next thirty-six-hour cycle to resume the massacre.

After finishing off these creatures, Qin Hao returned to the Sky Dome Base and took a piece of ambergris from his spatial ring. He lit an alcohol lamp and placed it near the ambergris, allowing the heat to bake the substance and accelerate its evaporation. Gradually, Qin Hao sensed an exotic fragrance spreading, enveloping his entire body. As the scent reached his nose and traveled to his brain, his mental tentacles began to dance.

Qin Hao was a Tier 3 mental evolutionist. Currently, his mental tentacles could cover a radius of twenty meters, still far from their limit. Fortunately, as long as one had star-energy diamonds and could endure the agony of brain expansion, one could reach that limit. Qin Hao brought out the star-energy diamonds he had accumulated recently; three million of them lay before him. His last promotion to the limit of Tier 2 mental evolution had consumed 100,000 diamonds, and this endeavor would require another massive expenditure.

"Begin."

Qin Hao’s mental energy surged toward the diamonds, drawing out the power within. The star-energy diamonds rapidly crumbled into powder as he absorbed their essence, fueling the continuous growth of his mental capacity.

[Your mental power has increased; you are now eligible to purchase items to unlock the Tier 4 genetic lock.]

The Hero System issued a prompt, but Qin Hao ignored it. He did not aim to be a hastily grown evolutionist with an unstable foundation; he intended to become an omniscient and omnipotent god. Unlocking the Tier 4 genetic lock was unnecessary; his goal was to push his mental limits. Qin Hao expanded his brain, spawning numerous new mental tentacles.

"It is not as painful as last time. Ambergris truly is a magnificent treasure."

Ambergris not only stimulated the mind but also quelled the pain of expanding one's cerebral region. Because his mental power was more active, he could perform more precise operations while opening new areas of his brain. The mountain of star-energy diamonds before him began to vanish. As 100,000 diamonds dissipated, his mental tentacles grew ten meters in length. As another 100,000 vanished, they grew further. By the time one million diamonds had been absorbed, his tentacles reached a length of one hundred meters, yet many new ones continued to sprout and grow. The diamonds continued to be consumed.

1.5 million. 2 million. 3 million.

The star-energy diamonds he had obtained from his recent hunts were completely exhausted, yet his mental power had not reached its limit. Approximately two-thirds of his mental tentacles still required further evolution. The piece of ambergris had burned away completely. Qin Hao let out a long breath. Unknowingly, a full day and night had passed.

Meanwhile, inside the Sky Dome building, as the fragrance of the ambergris faded, many people began to recover from their meditative states. They had sensed the unique aroma the previous day and had begun to cultivate, discovering a vast presence of mental power while enjoying the scent. Fortunately, this mental power posed no threat to them; otherwise, it could have crushed them to death. They already understood that this must be the mental power of Mr. Qin. Their awe for him deepened further.

Half a day later, Qin Hao returned to the Kaya Civilization's spatial black hole to continue slaughtering giant crab-beasts. Two hours later, the kill count on his Hero System finally reached ten thousand. The curse of the Kaya Civilization descended, and Qin Hao activated the Crab-Beast Curse. Under the interference of the dual curses, only one type of creature could emerge from the spatial black hole: the Frogmen.

"Croak!"

A green Frogman leaped from the spatial black hole with agile movements. Its large pupils flickered with a murderous gaze as it scanned for prey. Qin Hao, standing nearby, struck with his Star-Severing God-Weapon. The Frogman’s visual reflexes were sharp, and it reacted almost instantly, jumping to dodge the attack while slashing back with the sickle-like appendages on its arms. Yet, no matter how fast it moved, it could not outpace Qin Hao. With a single sweep of his blade, the Frogman’s head fell to the ground.

At that moment, more Frogmen poured out. Seeing Qin Hao and sensing that he was a Hero, they swarmed him, attempting to cut him in half. But before their attacks could land, Qin Hao’s speed proved superior, his longsword blurring into a trail of afterimages. On the perimeter of the trap, a group of Tier 1 evolutionists watched the scene; they could barely track Qin Hao’s movements, even with a blink. It was simply too fast.

Qin Hao’s speed of slaughter was breathtaking. In just half an hour, he hunted two thousand Frogmen. Then, the Kaya Civilization’s spatial black hole closed once more. Blood covered the ground, making every step feel like sinking into a quagmire.

"Genetic Devour."

In an instant, the blood formed streams and surged into Qin Hao’s body. The Frogmen possessed excellent genetic traits: keener vision, greater speed, and powerful leaping ability. After absorbing the blood of two thousand Frogmen, Qin Hao finally found what he sought: a God-tier genetic fragment. The ability contained within this fragment was speed. Qin Hao immediately integrated it into his own genome. He felt his speed surge, increasing several times over. This gene was truly remarkable; if a Frogman were to evolve to Tier 3, its speed would absolutely eclipse that of a human.

Qin Hao returned to the Sky Dome Base. A meeting was underway, and with the next [Survival] mission approaching, some in the base were clearly restless. Seeing Qin Hao appear, they all looked at him with hopeful eyes. Zi Hui greeted him.

"The mission starts in three days. Do you have any plans?"

Qin Hao replied bluntly, "Gather all Heroes who have reached Tier 2. Send word to the other factions in the Magic City as well—everyone must come out to survive this mission together. As for the location, let's choose the Dubei gathering point."

That place had long since been reduced to ruins, making it a perfect battlefield. Meanwhile, Heroes in other major cities began to mobilize. In Kyoto, Dr. Ling Bo convened a meeting.

"All Tier 2 Hero evolutionists are to gather at the Hero Prison. I will not be imprisoning you this time; I will even dispatch Tier 1 evolutionists to provide long-range support and help you eliminate the creatures. However, if anyone hides their strength and fails to show up for the mission, I will execute them personally afterward."

"Yes, Dr. Ling."

In Liancheng, Hai Hanting gave similar orders: "Our base is now far from the coast and safe from maritime threats. We will choose the sea-crossing bridge as our mission site, set up traps, and blow it up to destroy all the hunting creatures. The creatures from the Juye Civilization might fall into the sea and survive, but we cannot worry about that now. Survival is the only priority."