As his body underwent transformation, Feng Qi found himself enveloped in both scarlet and golden light.
Eventually, the two energies fused, completely wrapping around him.
"Crack!"
A sound like an eggshell breaking echoed in his mind.
It was akin to a cosmic explosion; the previously invisible sea of consciousness gradually became visible, now a misty golden haze.
For the first time, Feng Qi could clearly observe the reservoir of his mental power and its fluctuations.
As the sea of consciousness formed, a golden bead coalesced in its center. Within it, a faint scarlet bead could be seen. Surrounding it were eight other beads of varying colors, orbiting the golden-red core.
Focusing his awareness, he realized that the eight outer beads represented the innate abilities he had acquired by killing domain creatures.
The sensation of evolution was profoundly unique.
It felt as though his very essence had ascended, granting Feng Qi a clearer understanding of his body's structure.
His sea of consciousness had transformed into a cosmos birthed from chaos. The golden-red bead represented his core self, while the innate abilities revolved like celestial bodies.
The evolution process continued for a long time, with the once-thin golden mist in his sea of consciousness thickening.
Eventually, his entire sea of consciousness became a cloud-like expanse of golden mist, with the golden-red bead and its eight accompanying abilities traversing its depths.
When he finally returned to his senses, the scarlet and golden mist surrounding his body had dissipated.
His skeletal frame was now covered in flesh, and the once-putrid stench of decay was gone.
Looking at his reflection, Feng Qi saw that his appearance was indistinguishable from that of a normal human. His skin was now pale but flawless, and his physique was perfectly proportioned—not the overly muscular form the narrator had been hoping for.
Realizing he had become human again, a smile spread across Feng Qi's face.
His hypothesis had been correct.
Since his bloodline was fundamentally human, it made sense that he could evolve back into a regular human.
Now, he could even hear the sound of blood flowing through his veins and the strong, steady beating of his heart.
"Whoa, that's impressive!"
Hearing the narrator's voice, Feng Qi instinctively looked down.
He quickly realized he was completely naked, with not a single piece of clothing on.
However, he made no effort to cover himself.
After all, this wasn't the real world, and there was no need to be self-conscious. Who was there to hide from?
"Ladies and gentlemen, behold! A newly transformed exhibitionist who walks with such flair. How terrifying!"
"Shut up!"
Ignoring the narrator's jabs, Feng Qi summoned his attribute panel.
His updated attributes now displayed:
[Steel Bones · Thorns · Regeneration · Hardened Teeth · Malice · Blood Source · Nightmare · Resilience · A Very Strong Zombie: Feng Qi]
Overall Combat Strength: Bronze – Lower Rank
Mental Strength: Black Iron – Intermediate Rank
Prefix Title: Very Strong – Enhances physical resilience by 30%, significantly improves self-healing abilities.
Resilience LV6, Nightmare, Blood Source, Malice (Upgradeable), Hardened Teeth (Prefix Evolvable), Regeneration (Cellular) LV1, Thorns LV1 (Upgradeable Prefix Title)
Bloodline: Human (Intermediate)
Bloodline Evolution Points: 77/10,000
Bloodline Abilities: Human Form, Combat Form (Switchable)
Beyond the significant boost to his overall combat strength, Feng Qi noticed a new addition: a Bloodline Abilities section.
He was puzzled by the descriptions of "Human Form" and "Combat Form," especially since "Combat Form" included the word "switchable," which left him perplexed.
"If you ask me," the narrator chimed in, "this probably refers to a form-switching ability. Haven't you noticed how weak your physical strength is right now? On the other hand, your mental power is incredibly strong. This could be due to the form you're in. Maybe you should explore this further."
The narrator's observation about his current lack of physical strength aligned with what Feng Qi had noticed.
After completing the evolution, he felt an undeniable sense of weakness.
It was as if his previously robust physique had been significantly diminished.
In exchange, his mental strength had received a massive boost, sharpening his perception of the outside world.
Everything in his vision now appeared vividly clear.
Even the spiritual energy particles floating in the air were faintly visible to the naked eye without needing conscious effort.
This confirmed that the evolution had overwhelmingly enhanced his mental faculties.
The improvement made his telekinetic control more intuitive and precise. If he had innate spellcasting abilities, they would undoubtedly have been greatly amplified after the evolution.
However, his physical-cultivation-related abilities were now far less impressive.
His physical strength had noticeably declined.
It seemed as though all his strength had been funneled into his mental faculties, a clear trade-off.
"Could I switch forms, transferring my mental strength to bolster my physical capabilities instead?" Feng Qi wondered aloud.
"That's my guess, but I could be wrong. Maybe you should experiment a little," the narrator suggested.
With curiosity piqued, Feng Qi began to explore the changes within himself.
During his experimentation, he manipulated his telekinetic power, observing its consumption within his mental sea. Previously, his mental power reservoir was akin to a small pond, but now it had expanded to the scale of a vast lake. Both its quantity and quality had undergone remarkable enhancements.
While exploring, his consciousness brushed against the golden-red bead at the center of his mental sea. Suddenly, the scarlet light within the bead began to seep outward, overtaking the golden hue and dyeing the bead blood-red. The gold retreated into the bead's core.
As the transformation of the bead completed, Feng Qi's physical body underwent a radical change.
The flesh on his body turned into a blood-colored mist and was absorbed by his skeleton. The lingering sense of weakness disappeared entirely. Opening his eyes, he realized he had reverted to his zombie form.
However, this time, his skeletal frame no longer exuded the stench of decay. Blood-red patterns emerged across the surface of his bones, giving him an intimidating and malevolent appearance—eerily reminiscent of a villain straight out of a movie.
Clenching his fists, Feng Qi felt a surge of raw power coursing through his being. He noticed that the golden mist in his mental sea had diminished by more than half.
This realization dawned on him: after evolving his human bloodline to an intermediate level, he had gained the ability to switch between combat forms freely. The core energy within his body remained constant.
Switching to his human form shifted his combat orientation toward mental energy and spellcasting. Conversely, in his combat form, his body became optimized for physical battle.
Though initially surprised by this discovery, Feng Qi quickly embraced it. Compared to his previous zombie state, which constantly emitted the foul odor of decay, this dual-form ability was a significant improvement.
Now, he no longer had to worry about his zombie appearance hindering his interactions with people in the future.
"I think your analysis is flawed," the narrator interjected. "Your combat form is clearly stronger than your human form. Sure, your core energy divides equally, but your combat form benefits from all your innate abilities. Your human form? It's just telekinesis… so yeah, combat form for the win!"
Feng Qi acknowledged the narrator's perspective. Until he mastered formidable spellcasting abilities, relying on his combat form made more sense in the Dream Realm. Not only did it provide superior defenses, but his innate abilities also leaned heavily toward close combat.
In this realm, appearances were irrelevant. Physical strength and survival mattered far more than aesthetics.
Using telekinesis was adequate for support, but relying on it exclusively would drain his mental reserves quickly. His combat form was evaluated at Bronze - Lower Rank, while his telekinetic prowess was merely Black Iron - Intermediate Rank—the disparity was evident.
With his evolution complete, Feng Qi began to look forward to what changes would accompany his ascension to higher-level human bloodlines.
"If I had to guess, I'd say your two forms will eventually merge, letting you wield both extremes of power simultaneously," the narrator speculated.
"That wouldn't be bad. At least I wouldn't have to keep switching," Feng Qi replied.
Familiarizing himself with his evolved abilities, Feng Qi wasted no time. He left Room 201 and returned to the data console.
He began sifting through the "Brain in a Vat" project files left by his peers at the Crimson Research Institute. If he decided to proceed with the project, he would need to endure all the pain his future self had once experienced.
Yet this would grant him the opportunity to relive his life, armed with the knowledge and experiences of his future self. As Wei Wei had described, it would be akin to reincarnation, but with the memories of a past life intact. This would allow him access to information not recorded in the email archives.
Pain, however, was something Feng Qi believed he could endure. He had long accepted that choosing the path of saving humanity meant becoming a sacrifice in one timeline to create value in another.
As Feng Qi delved into the Brain in a Vat files, he entered a state of focused learning. For now, he shut out all distractions, immersing himself in the knowledge contained within.
Yet, his limited background in biological sciences proved a hurdle. Frequently, he found himself pausing to re-watch sections of the data to grasp the concepts.
This prompted him to switch back to his human form. To his surprise, his memory retention and analytical abilities had significantly improved. Going through the Brain in a Vat materials, he found himself able to memorize entire sections with ease.
This revelation filled him with excitement. Although he had not yet gained an infinite memory ability, his enhanced mental sea suggested that his memory and comprehension would continue to improve as his strength grew.
In essence, his increasing power now directly correlated with his cognitive capabilities.
After a brief moment of excitement, Feng Qi once again immersed himself in learning.
He resolved to fulfill Wei Wei's last wish: to bring back the "Brain in a Vat" project data to the real world and hand it over to the Crimson Research Institute in the next timeline.
This would open up new directions for the institute's research. Who knew? They might even achieve a breakthrough that could change the fate of humanity.
With the Crimson Research Institute's assistance in Dream Realms, Feng Qi realized that the path to saving the world would become significantly smoother. Each journey into the dream realm not only offered him opportunities to obtain unique innate abilities but also provided a reliable ally in solving mysteries and investigating events.
His journey was no longer a lonely one.
Time slipped by as Feng Qi carefully reviewed the Brain in a Vat project plan twice over. In his human form, his memory efficiency had increased at least threefold. Information that previously took much longer to memorize now settled clearly in his mind.
Closing the project files, he turned and made his way toward the elevator.
There was still time, and he intended to verify a theory.
After passing the identity scan, Feng Qi arrived at the first floor of the underground plaza in the Crimson Base. As the elevator doors opened, a scene of chaos greeted him.
Little Black and Suction Cup were still locked in combat.
The surrounding buildings were mostly collapsed, and even the starlit ceiling lights above had been shattered. Suction Cup was clearly exhausted; her jade-like luster had faded significantly, and her punches were visibly slowing down.
Walking toward the corridor, Feng Qi switched back into his combat form mid-stride. His flesh dissolved into a blood-red mist, absorbed into his bones. He once again took on his skeletal appearance, with scarlet flames blazing in his skull.
"Suction Cup, you've got this!" Feng Qi cheered casually before heading toward the metal passageway without looking back.
"That was the most half-hearted encouragement I've ever seen," the narrator quipped.
"Revolutions come with sacrifices. But someday, I'll avenge her," Feng Qi replied without emotion.
"Next lifetime?"
Feng Qi: "…"
Acknowledging Little Black's overwhelming power, Feng Qi felt a sense of helplessness. Without Suction Cup's assistance, his time in the dream realm would have been drastically shortened.
Leaving the underground Crimson Base through the metal passage, he exited the abandoned hospital and sprinted toward the direction of the Star City Shelter.
The wind howled in his ears as he ran.
Thanks to his recent bloodline evolution, Feng Qi's physical abilities had seen a significant boost, and his running speed had increased considerably. Activating his Blood Source form now, he felt he could even wrestle with Little Black.
Of course, he understood that this was merely the illusion of newfound strength. Little Black was a bug-like existence—unkillable by any means currently at his disposal.
The thought crossed his mind: in the next timeline, perhaps he could consider joining the Research Institute to find a way to control Little Black.
If he succeeded, the dream realm would truly be his playground, with Suction Cup on his left and Little Black on his right.
"If you could control Little Black, forget walking sideways—you could crawl, roll, or even walk upside down, and no one would dare challenge you," the narrator remarked.
Feng Qi: "…"
After hours of travel, Feng Qi reached the Bone Pile Zone.
Without pause, he continued westward, bypassing the Star City Shelter along the way.
It wasn't that he lacked interest in the shelter's trove of cultivation manuals and other data. Time simply wasn't on his side. He had spent too much time in the underground Crimson Base, and Suction Cup was already showing signs of fatigue.
He even suspected that Little Black might have emerged from the base shortly after his departure.
With this in mind, he decided to use the remaining time to test his hypothesis.
When Feng Qi finally came to a stop, he stood before a dense wall of mist.
Turning to face east, he began to wait.
Time ticked by. Twenty minutes later, he suddenly shouted into the mist:
"Lin Ran, get your ass out here!"
At the same time, his mental energy surged outward, transforming into telekinesis that churned through the mist like crashing waves.
His provocation worked. A vague human face began to materialize within the mist.
From its contours, Feng Qi could tell that it resembled Lin Ran.
Just as he had suspected, the Black Mist Lord wasn't a single individual. Instead, it parasitized others, becoming whoever it inhabited.
This meant Old Wang hadn't betrayed humanity.
"Who are you?" a voice echoed in Feng Qi's mind.
"I'm your daddy," Feng Qi retorted, flipping the figure a middle finger.
As soon as he spoke, the mist roared toward him like a tidal wave. Without hesitation, Feng Qi turned and bolted eastward.
However, his speed was no match for the mist's relentless advance. It wasn't long before the mist engulfed him.
In this life-or-death moment, Feng Qi caught sight of Little Black approaching rapidly. He shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Brother Black, save me!"
Even in the face of imminent death, Feng Qi couldn't resist pulling a "trouble-shifting" maneuver on the Black Mist Lord.