Lance slowly loosened his grip. Actually, he wasn’t sure if Zhan Pingchuan could fulfill his promise. After all, the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl was an S+ beast created by the Outer God, and to date, he had only seen Zhan Pingchuan use two S-level abilities.
There were currently two possibilities. One was that he had guessed wrong, that there was no so-called mystery to this matter, just the inexplicable strangeness of the underground city that couldn’t be explained by common sense. In that case, Zhan Pingchuan’s sacrifice would be the only way to save everyone, because only he could potentially hinder the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl’s steps.
The other possibility was that he had guessed right, in which case, regardless of life or death, he wouldn’t lose Zhan Pingchuan in this timeline, because fundamentally, this timeline doesn’t actually exist!
Lance’s breathing gradually calmed. His sliding fingers suddenly stopped, fingertips resting on Zhan Pingchuan’s lower abdomen for a moment, then with a force, he pulled Zhan Pingchuan in front of him. He opened his lips, and without asking, his teeth firmly bit near Zhan Pingchuan’s gland.
One bite and done. He immediately let go, pulled away, his expression returning to calm. Only his lips, which had just bitten someone, remained slightly parted, faintly revealing white teeth tips.
Zhan Pingchuan drew in a sharp breath, his muscles tensing from the sudden pain. However, he quickly controlled himself, relaxing his sensitive nerves.
He tilted his head, finding his view obstructed, unable to see what should have been a very cute bite mark. So he raised his hand, feeling along the teeth marks left on his skin.
“Did I joke too much? Sigh, I didn’t say you’d be widowed… I mean, I wasn’t spreading rumors that you have a husband.”
Saying these words was truly against his heart, Zhan Pingchuan thought secretly.
Actually, he did want to spread rumors that Lance had a husband.
Lance could now ignore any of Zhan Pingchuan’s mood-breaking feedback anytime, anywhere.
He looked at the spot that had already turned red from the bite.
Actually, Alphas couldn’t be marked because their glands weren’t as defensive as Omegas’. Even when stimulated by foreign pheromones, they wouldn’t produce a strong rejection reaction.
When Omegas were temporarily marked, they would quickly experience side effects such as redness, swelling, soreness, pain, elevated body temperature, and even extreme reactions like stress-induced heat.
As for lifetime marking, it was a desensitization treatment forced upon Omegas under the Alpha’s unwavering coercion. Their bodies became able to completely accept foreign pheromones and actively welcome the Alpha with those pheromones to knot inside them.
The reason modern people preferred partners with high pheromone compatibility was that it made it easier for Omegas’ glands to accept Alphas’ pheromones. During the lifetime marking process, they wouldn’t suffer; they might even enjoy it.
“It’s a reverse marking… a tradition in our Harbor Tan.”
In the recruitment market of Harbor Tan’s underground city, such a scene often occurred: Awakened ones from families went to form teams with strangers to enter underground cities and mine crystal ores for a living. Their family members would mark their glands to give them something to long for, ensuring their safe return.
But Lance wasn’t Zhan Pingchuan’s family, so he very cautiously bit near the gland.
After explaining, Lance pretended not to be very guilty as he raised his chin, but moved his gaze to the side: “There.”
Actually, he couldn’t tell whether he had mastered the pure-hearted persona to the point of being pure as fire, or if the White Pharaoh had, for once, experienced an emotion like embarrassment.
Zhan Pingchuan didn’t feel at all challenged by the reverse marking. His lips slowly curled up, and as if reluctant to show others, he hid the bite mark with his collar before saying: “So Harbor Tan has such a nice custom? Can you bite anyone on the street?”
Lance: “……”
Zhan Pingchuan’s eyes added a hint of smugness, saying with interest: “I guess not. It should be cute and obedient little Omegas biting their husbands, or purely innocent little brothers biting their big brothers.”
“………………….” Lance wished he could slap him across the mouth.
Since birth, those who dared to call the White Pharaoh a cute and obedient little Omega could be counted on one hand—just one.
Lance couldn’t bear it anymore: “Just go.”
Zhan Pingchuan laughed, lazily allowing himself to be pushed away.
At least before leaving, he had comforted the person enough not to be anxious.
By now, Ashlen and Tu Mo had already left him far behind, getting closer and closer to the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl.
Zhan Pingchuan stepped into the dim passage, his expression instantly becoming solemn.
As he walked, he carefully observed the terrain inside the cave, keenly capturing any points that could be utilized.
The interconnected passages, the protruding stone tips on the walls, the firelight, the shadows, the Pouncers hiding in the depths…
When he was young, the manager had taught him that people don’t win just because they have high awakening levels. Many factors determine success or failure; the key is learning to utilize them.
Zhan Pingchuan spent a long time recording these details in his mind. This was his means of survival and the foundation for fulfilling his promise.
By the time he reached the familiar nest, the plot had developed exactly as he knew it would.
That minion who had faithfully accompanied Ashlen to his death four times once again fulfilled his cannon fodder duty, shouting at the top of his lungs: “Everyone make way, Brother Lun is starting the raid!”
Tu Mo naturally wouldn’t yield. His muscle-knotted forearm blocked the cannon fodder, followed by a chilling classic last words: “Did I agree?”
Ashlen lifted his eyelids, his sinister gaze sweeping over, the killing intent hidden for so long now blatantly written on his face.
“You really want to compete with me?”
Tu Mo: “We’re both A-level, with similar attributes. What’s wrong with competing!”
As he spoke, his muscles swelled increasingly larger. Before long, his entire body had transformed into a somewhat deformed enhanced superman.
Ashlen’s smile deepened. He loved those sensational, earth-shaking moments.
Even more, he loved being the protagonist of such moments.
He took a deep breath, indulging in beautiful imagination.
When Tu Mo’s fresh blood gushed out, when Tu Mo’s body crashed down, when screams of shock and horror echoed around—he couldn’t describe how wonderful it would be.
He would win first place in this Challenge Cup competition amid those mediocre, admiring gazes, becoming the outstanding student representative on Star University’s wall of honor, and even more, a favored child of heaven pursued by various guilds.
Ashlen raised his eyebrows, lifted his palm high, and suddenly clenched his five fingers!
Animal system A-level Awakened first-tier ability [Extreme Bite]!
A rift suddenly tore open behind Tu Mo, and a pitch-black, ferocious cheetah lunged toward his most vulnerable neck—
The shape-shifting cheetah was about to bite off Tu Mo’s neck, but just as it opened its fangs, Zhan Pingchuan flicked his finger, and a faint blue transparent barrier formed behind Tu Mo!
The cheetah crashed into it, nearly shattering its skull. It was dizzy and dazed, its expression blank, before dissipating into a wisp of black smoke.
Ashlen’s face changed drastically!
Before he could even say “What’s going on,” Zhan Pingchuan, with one hand in his pocket, squeezed through the crowd and pushed Ashlen aside like trash: “Move.”
Zhan Pingchuan didn’t even raise his eyelids, as if what had just happened was merely an insignificant interlude.
Tu Mo was still in shock, cold sweat nearly soaking his entire body.
At the crucial moment, he had seen the black cheetah lunging at him, but he had no chance to dodge.
He thought he was about to die, but unexpectedly, the cheetah hit something and retreated.
It’s known that abilities are divided into visible abilities and invisible abilities. Like Ashlen’s [Extreme Bite], which is a visible ability—regardless of whether one’s level is higher or lower, everyone can clearly see the black cheetah.
Invisible abilities are more special. Those of lower levels or the same level but disadvantaged attributes cannot see the abilities of those with higher levels or the same level but advantaged attributes.
Just now, Tu Mo only saw Ashlen’s ability but couldn’t see the other ability that saved him. This meant that whoever saved him was either higher level than him or had an advantaged attribute, like insect system or elemental system.
Among the current people, there were only three A-levels. Without being told, Tu Mo could guess that the person who saved him was Zhan Pingchuan.
He stared blankly at Zhan Pingchuan, gasping for breath. Still in shock, he couldn’t express his gratitude yet, but at least he understood that the strongest among this year’s freshmen was definitely not him or Ashlen, but this person.
Sweat rolled down Ashlen’s profile. He tightened his palm, gritting his teeth and warily looking at Zhan Pingchuan, fearing he might suddenly use some killing move to send both him and Tu Mo away.
However, Zhan Pingchuan wasn’t interested in dealing with him. Instead, he turned his head and coolly said to Tu Mo: “Now you know those people were telling the truth?”
After a moment of shock, Tu Mo had an epiphany!
Yes, the other batch of freshmen had warned him that his neck would be bitten off, with blood spurting three feet high.
So they hadn’t been lying. Ashlen had awakened a first-tier ability, and Ashlen really did want to kill him!
If that was the case, then—
Before he could sort out all the incredible events, the previously quiet and deep nest suddenly exhaled waves of white mist. The sound of hard claws scratching the walls came through, making people’s scalps tingle and hearts race.
Zhan Pingchuan’s pupils suddenly contracted, a mocking smile tugging at his lips: “If you don’t run now, you might end up like a certain A-level, with your internal organs emptied, leaving just a bloody skin.”
In an instant, the white mist had become so thick it obscured the entire nest entrance, while the scratching and heavy breathing sounds hadn’t stopped. A very eerie fragrance wafted through the air.
Ashlen’s jaw clenched so hard it ached, his beast-clawed forearms trembling uncontrollably.
He didn’t want to believe that everything those suddenly insane cowards said was true—that he would be instantly killed by whatever was in the white mist, dying miserably.
He was an A-level, a cheetah form animal system A-level!
If even he would be instantly killed, what made Zhan Pingchuan think he could handle it?
However, time didn’t allow him to stand there showing off. The dense mist parted like the Red Sea, creating a gap, and a human face with a beak peered out from inside.
Its head was covered with layers of golden scales, and in the center of its deep red eyeballs was a thin black line, now rolling as it looked at the humans before it.
“Holy shit, what the hell is that thing!”
“This isn’t the Frightening Bird. They were right, run!”
The more than two hundred freshmen from the death-bound faction frantically fled backward, no longer showing the arrogance they had when confronting the informed faction.
In an instant, the crowd tumbled chaotically, the lamp shadows flickering. Several students were tripped by small stones and trampled to death in the chaos.
The Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl let out a sharp cry, tearing through the white mist and pouncing out.
Ashlen’s scalp tingled. Only now did he see clearly that this monstrous thing had two blood-colored flesh wings that looked severely burned, and on these two flesh wings were countless claws, all frantically scratching.
Just thinking that he might have his internal organs emptied by these claws, with his intestines hanging on that ghostly face, made Ashlen want to vomit.
The moment the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl fully appeared, Zhan Pingchuan sensed the warning from every cell in his body.
It was the threat of death, the fear of unknown power.
It was as if he wasn’t gazing at the ugly human-faced bird before him, but at the deeper chaos and void.
It was a power capable of swallowing consciousness. Under such power, humble and tiny humans could only choose to give up resistance and submit to death.
The Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl spread its two flesh wings, swung its neck, and let out a long howl before charging toward the crowd like a sharp sword.
Once caught, the outcome could only be death.
Zhan Pingchuan’s eyes darkened. His strong, rich pheromones instantly spread out, and a huge faint blue transparent barrier blocked the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl.
With a flip of his wrist, his gland sent a painful sting, and the transparent barrier was immediately reinforced with another layer.
The Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl could indeed see his ability clearly. Its deep red eyeballs fixed in place, and its two flesh wings lashed like whips toward the barrier—
Bang!
A huge crashing sound. The faint blue barrier violently shook, but the cracks that formed were instantly repaired, once again firmly blocking the path.
Although it was only a few seconds, it was enough to save several lives.
Seeing people running farther and farther away, the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl howled in anger, continuously and violently crashing into the barrier.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
It seemed to feel no pain at all, its crashing speed becoming faster and more vicious, that human face leaving afterimages in the air.
Zhan Pingchuan could no longer endure. He pressed his hand against his sharply painful gland and violently vomited a mouthful of blood.
He felt his chest tighten, his internal organs almost displaced, as if the monster wasn’t crashing into the barrier, but into his bones.
The fear of imminent death overwhelmed him. He raised his dark, heavy eyes, almost about to use the spatial system third-tier ability [Void Realm]. Although this ability wasn’t fully mature, it could at least…
However, Lance’s reminder made him forcibly suppress this impulse.
If someone was watching all this through the camera, he must appear like an A-level student without any threat.
The black vortex at his fingertips instantly dissipated, replaced by silver threads as thin as silk but as tough as blade edges.
“Hey brother, do me a favor, let’s make a deal?” Zhan Pingchuan continued to vomit blood but didn’t forget to be flippant.
“Stop crashing, my ribs are about to break. Hey, do you like cat’s cradle? I happen to have some string here. Why don’t we compete in a different way? I’m the number one string player in Desert City.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the faint blue barrier was completely shattered. Simultaneously, Zhan Pingchuan violently flung his hand, and the silver threads shot like crossbow bolts toward the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl’s eyes.
The silver threads were extremely thin, not easily noticeable in the dim light. At the moment the faint blue barrier disappeared, with a “puchi” sound, two threads pierced into the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl’s deep red eyeballs.
“Phew…” Zhan Pingchuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as this thing was blind, it would be easier for him to escape.
The Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl’s eyeballs burst like two water balloons, with tiny blood fragments splattering from its eye sockets, turning into a pool of sticky red liquid.
However, in an instant, it grew two new eyeballs, and this time, they were a more sinister, cold yellow.
“Damn it! Usually, monsters like you that can’t be defeated have a weakness in the eyes, right? Brother, why aren’t you following the script?” Zhan Pingchuan couldn’t help but curse. He quickly bounced away from his original position using the barrier. The next second, the flesh wings swept across where he had been standing, carving deep grooves in the ground.
Zhan Pingchuan took the opportunity to quickly scan the crowd with his peripheral vision.
It wasn’t enough, far from enough.
If he left now, all these students who hadn’t reached the iron door would die within seconds.
But he—
His train of thought broken, Zhan Pingchuan violently spat out another mouthful of blood.
In his urgency to use the barrier, he had accidentally torn his internal injury. Now blood foam was continuously surging to his throat. Almost every time he spoke, he would spurt blood.
Zhan Pingchuan wiped away the remaining blood from his lips. His fingertips instantly exploded with countless silver threads, like a silkworm spinning a cocoon, completely wrapping up the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl.
He looked toward the depths of the passage with complex emotions, but all he could see were flickering lamp shadows and dismembered remains.
“Help!!!”
“The door… where is the door they mentioned?”
“Can someone tell me! Which way should we run!”
“This way! Hurry!”
The swarming crowd, guided by the informed faction, quickly ran toward the iron door, plunging in headlong in their panic.
At this moment, they no longer cared about dignity or stance, only the wild joy of escaping with their lives.
“That thing is coming, it’s too dangerous outside the door. Let’s go in too.”
“With more than ten more people coming in, we can definitely continue the regression!”
“Hurry, hurry, damn it, my legs are weak with fear!”
“It’s getting closer and closer. I really don’t know how long they can hold out over there.”
“Fewer and fewer people are running over. I think those A-levels might all be dead.”
……
Lance didn’t rush to enter the door like the others. He stood outside the door, gazing deeply toward the end of the crowd.
Unfortunately, the cave was dim, the passages complex, the crowd chaotic, and the shouting deafening. He couldn’t catch even a glimpse of Zhan Pingchuan.
Liu Bo’s lips trembled slightly as he pulled at Lance’s clothes, saying diplomatically: “Classmate Lance, let’s go in too. When we open our eyes again, Brother Zhan will be back.”
Both being A-level, with Ashlen instantly killed, he didn’t really think Zhan Pingchuan could hold out for long.
But no matter how long, he would always be grateful. He would never mock Zhan Pingchuan who would lose his memory after the regression. He understood that it was Zhan Pingchuan who gave everyone hope of getting out.
Lance said indifferently: “You go in, don’t mind me.”
For some reason, with Zhan Pingchuan gone, he suddenly lost patience with his disguise, his tone even carrying the White Pharaoh’s characteristic coolness and assertiveness.
Liu Bo’s lips moved, but he still couldn’t persuade him. He grabbed Tang Li nearby: “Let’s not stay here and cause trouble. Let’s wait for them to come.”
Tang Li had some sympathy for Zhan Pingchuan. After all, in his life, he had never seen an Alpha with such a miserable family background who could still face life with a smile.
But he also knew they had to help reach 363. If they accidentally died outside, they would be hindering rather than helping.
Tang Li gritted his teeth: “Classmate Lance, we’ll go first. You must come quickly!”
With that, he and Liu Bo quickly stepped through the door.
Lance didn’t look back, only silently counting in his heart as they entered: 288, 289…
The Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl was wrapped into a ball by countless silver threads.
These silver threads didn’t harm it—too thin and soft to get a grip on.
It was the first time it had seen such a thing, so it inevitably fell for the trap, tripping and rolling a couple of times.
Zhan Pingchuan, even while spitting blood, couldn’t control his mouth: “Look, how fashionable. That’s why they say white goes with everything—it even looks good on you.”
As he spoke, he glanced again at the fleeing crowd.
He noticed that some were so frightened they had lost their senses, their legs too weak to do anything but crawl on the ground, trembling as if they would die of fright even if not killed.
Zhan Pingchuan was so angry he wished he had a forklift to cart away all these useless people.
The Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl could only be trapped temporarily. It quickly became furious with embarrassment, and the countless small claws on its flesh wings tore apart the silver threads like ripping cloth.
Seeing that its eyes were about to be exposed, Zhan Pingchuan’s nerves jumped. He suddenly shot two threads toward the rubble opposite, while he himself summoned a barrier, silently hiding himself.
His barrier could be transparent, frosted, or even one-way transparent.
Now the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl had finally torn apart the silver threads. Sure enough, the next second, it crashed toward the rubble, its flesh wings sweeping out, directly turning that passage into a pile of stone debris.
Zhan Pingchuan, hiding behind the one-way mirror, secretly drew in a cold breath.
If he had still been standing there, he would truly have become a dead husband now.
The Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl’s yellow eyeballs rolled around wildly but didn’t find Zhan Pingchuan’s corpse. It turned its head back, only to see the dark passage walls.
Fortunately, its intelligence wasn’t high. It just shook its head and chased after the other freshmen.
Once it had run far enough away, Zhan Pingchuan finally couldn’t hold on anymore and slid to the ground.
He couldn’t help but wonder, if he survived in this timeline, what would the world become? Would there still be a Lance in this world?
No, there wouldn’t be.
If he stayed in this timeline, he would never see Lance again.
Thinking this, he suppressed the surging blood, supported himself against the wall to stand up, and shouted at the distant Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl: “Hey brother! Long time no see!”
Hearing the commotion behind it, the Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl slammed on the brakes and viciously whipped its head around.
Zhan Pingchuan stood in the center of the passage, politely waving at it with a smile: “Come on, I owe it to myself to die first.”
The Golden Parasite Human-Faced Owl was indeed attracted. It abandoned those panicked freshmen, roaring angrily as it turned back toward Zhan Pingchuan!
##
(advanced chapters available on kofi)
