Chapter 35: Subjugating the Aberration: Granny High-Speed Fish

The intensity of the combat was extreme. The monsters fought with a mindless, fearless savagery; even when their skulls were shattered or their hearts destroyed—injuries that should have been fatal—their bodies remained hyperactive, refusing to truly die.

Yuan Zhu watched a severed deer head, blown off by an explosion, roll across the ground. Even detached, it continued to snap its fangs, mindlessly chewing on the stones beneath it, driven by nothing more than a primal instinct to attack and rend.

Nearby, a pile of severed limbs and carcasses lay in a heap, with thick, dark-green blood flowing across the ground. The fluid seemed to possess a life of its own, snaking outward like living tendrils to cling to surrounding plants and trees, flowing against gravity to spread as far as possible. As the scent of blood filled the air, an invisible pollution expanded with it, heightening the urge to slaughter and leaving those who inhaled it drowning in a sea of destruction and carnage.

This contamination triggered a series of warnings from the "Immortal Sutra," which was sensitive to such influences.

"Boss," the sprite chirped, "you are currently resisting two distinct types of contamination. One comes from the uniform you’re wearing. It’s a milder type, constantly trying to deepen its connection with your body to gain higher-level access in exchange for granting you greater power. The immediate dangers aren’t obvious, but this little bitch is daring to imitate me? It’s unconditionally catering to your thoughts and needs."

"Oh? Elaborate."

Yuan Zhu retreated, dodging a spray of blood while tossing a grenade. Although he had killed many monsters, a group of wounded but relentless beasts remained. His magazine was empty, leaving him to rely on his palm-strike lightning. He kept his distance, moving with agility and using the trees as cover, his movements fluid and efficient.

Beyond the sprite’s background monitoring, he could feel the uniform’s enhancements firsthand. His strength, speed, defense, and agility had all been significantly boosted. With a single whip-kick, he could topple a beast attempting a sneak attack from behind. Furthermore, the garment provided powerful resistance; not only did it repel the corrosive, polluted animal blood, but its material was tough enough to withstand the tearing and piercing of claws and bone spurs.

"The uniform’s pollution intensity isn’t high, but it possesses a 'mental reading' capability I don't fully understand. It shifts according to your subconscious needs, constantly catering to your desires. If someone is violent, it prioritizes melee, strength, and defense; if someone is rational and prefers ranged combat, it boosts evasion, precision, and speed. These subtle, cumulative changes evolve into a personalized customization. Eventually, it shapes itself to you, deepening your dependency. It uses this transformation to lock you in, making it impossible to shake off. You must be vigilant!"

Was the sprite worried about losing her status? Had a rival appeared that was better at fawning over him than she was?

"And the other type of contamination? Is it this splattered blood?" Yuan Zhu asked internally.

"Correct. This animal blood possesses extremely potent flesh-corroding properties and abundant vitality. The plants stained by this dark green blood have all begun to warp and mutate. Simultaneously, the blood carries a manic, maddening spiritual pollution that forces the host to crave slaughter, suppresses pain, and turns the act of being wounded into a source of pleasure."

The sprite continued, "The uniform can effectively resist this, but I’ve discovered it is secretly absorbing the blood—or rather, filtering it. It filters out the intense pollution and frenzy, absorbs the nutritious parts, and feeds them back into your body through the fibers connecting to your skin, invigorating your spirit. The fatal flaw, however, is that you still end up absorbing a diluted trace of the corruption, drawing you deeper into a bloodlust from which you cannot escape. If you refuse to draw these external nutrients, your stamina will deplete too rapidly, leaving you weak."

Before the sprite could finish, the black butcher nearby had been pushed to the edge by the carnage. His eyes bulged, turning blood-red, and his mental state grew increasingly manic. He let out a roar, tossed his weapon aside, and drew a bone-cleaver from his waist. Like a heavy truck just roaring to life, he used the uniform's enhancements to grip the handle tightly, shouldering a monster out of his way before unleashing a flurry of rapid, brutal chops.

His professional talent was fully ignited; his years of butchering experience were pushed to superhuman levels by the uniform. With blood-red eyes and ragged, white-hot breaths, he swung his thick arm in a circle, his blade finding the joints and vital points of the monsters with surgical precision.

Limbs flew and screams echoed as green blood sprayed everywhere, clinging to his clothes and face, writhing as if trying to burrow into his skin. The uniform’s resistance held it at bay, allowing him to continue his systematic dismemberment. He was like a lawnmower tearing through the grass; sneak attacks against his back were all deflected by the tough fabric, which even began to self-repair upon absorbing the splattered blood.

"Look!" the sprite cried, as if reporting a crime. "That is the first type of infection I mentioned. His subconscious trusts the uniform too much, granting it further control over his physical form. The uniform has no brain; it doesn't think. It simply filters the blood and feeds it back to him, creating a seemingly virtuous cycle that is actually a dangerous, side-effect-laden corruption."

"Is this change having a major impact on his body?" Yuan Zhu asked.

"Hard to say, but I can tell that the uniform is acting as a medium, doing its best to mitigate the corruption of his flesh and spirit. It acts as a filter, bearing the brunt of the distortion. But it’s too crude; a massive amount of pollution still leaks into the host. That’s why I chose to shut down that energy exchange. Your performance might be slightly lower, but don't feel inferior—they are trading their health for that power. You, my master, are the purest!"

Yuan Zhu scanned the area. Besides the butcher who had voluntarily embraced the frenzy, the other person over-relying on the uniform was—of all people—the old woman!

Grandma Fish was undergoing a transformation even more drastic than the butcher's. She remained that elderly, shriveled figure, appearing only 1.4 meters tall, but her cheeks glowed with a flushed, healthy luster, her eyes flashed with divine light, and the muscles in her arms were bulging and defined. Her legs were thick and explosive; she remained in a crouched, predatory stance, darting through the beast pack with terrifying speed, using the very same claws as the monsters to disembowel them.

The clothes on her body, having absorbed vast amounts of blood, were no longer the standard uniform. Instead, large patches of dark green patterns had emerged, growing into bone-like armor scales, giving her a look that blended a tight-fitting suit with an exoskeleton.

What was this—an otherworldly version of a high-speed grandma?

Her mental state was worse than the butcher's. The corners of her mouth were pulled back in a wide, low, eerie giggle, occasionally muttering, "Baa-baa, time to eat!" as she chased down the weaker beasts, obsessively butchering them while letting the blood drench her, never dodging or flinching.

Her physical condition only improved as the uniform continued to ingest external nutrients, filling her near-withered vitality and allowing her to savor the thrill of slaughter and the high-speed dance between life and death.

This bizarre transformation only made the younger members, including Yuan Zhu, more vigilant, discouraging them from over-relying on their uniforms.

...

When the monsters' casualties surpassed two-thirds of their number, the fearless beasts finally realized that the hunt had failed—or perhaps they realized that among their prey, a creature even more savage and powerful than they were (Grandma Fish) had been born.

Eventually, the frenzied beasts suppressed their urge to attack. One by one, they bowed their heads, snatched up the limbs of their fallen kin as trophies, and turned to flee into the depths of the forest.

Yuan Zhu and the others, covered in the stench of green blood, did not pursue. Instead, they let out a collective sigh of relief and cautiously surrounded Grandma Fish, who was still clicking her teeth rapidly, and the black butcher, who stood panting with bloodshot eyes, struggling to contain himself.

"Rest easy. With me here, the two of them won't cause any trouble."

At that moment, the captain walked over, leading the trembling young monk. He looked at the group with satisfaction and said, "You all performed well today. Only Mai Lili needs to adjust her mindset. Rest for now. Once your stamina recovers, I will explain the changes and functions of the uniforms you are wearing."