I Received Messages From Future Self!
Chapter 554 - 550: The Origins of Zuo Ci

Chapter 554: Chapter 550: The Origins of Zuo Ci

"My dear Tom, it’s quite rare to see you in such a sorry state."

"I’ve lived so long, this is only the second time."

Zuo Ci clicked his tongue, his expression laden with sentiment, even tinged with regret.

Tom glared at Zuo Ci with hatred, his furious gaze practically willing Zuo Ci to be torn apart limb by limb.

Tom swore, he had never wanted to kill someone as badly as he did now.

"Oh, my dear Tom."

"Your gaze... it’s so familiar."

"It reminds me of when I killed my grandmother. You glared at the young me with the same kind of eyes, that terrifying glare etched itself into my mind, becoming the nightmare of my childhood, thus shaping the person I am today."

Zuo Ci’s exaggerated gestures and expressions resembled a madman—comical yet deranged—leaving Tom in a daze, quietly wondering if he had ever truly terrified a young Zuo Ci in the past.

Could it be that everything he suffered from Zuo Ci today was caused by his failure to eliminate a certain target during some long-forgotten mission, inadvertently creating this boomerang that circled back years later to strike him and harm Princess Your Highness?

Watching Tom sink into self-doubt, Zuo Ci’s mouth stretched into a silent grin.

"Mr. Tom, that was two hundred years ago. Perhaps I should call you ’Grandpa.’ After all, my grandmother was Jiang Nannan..."

Lost in his spiral of self-reflection, Tom failed to catch Zuo Ci’s murmur.

As he spoke, Zuo Ci’s lips curved into a mocking smile: "Taotie Grandpa, you spent a lifetime ruthlessly cold-hearted, yet of all people, you couldn’t bring yourself to strike the one who murdered your daughter. Not only that, under the pressure of Grandma, you raised me. Seems like that old saying holds true—tigers don’t eat their own cubs."

Zuo Ci lifted his gaze toward the car.

His eyes pierced through the wrecked body of the vehicle and zeroed in on the trunk, where Taotie lay.

"Grandpa, I wonder... after I kill you, will I cease to exist?"

"If I disappear, I’ll be free."

"If I don’t, it means fate has other plans for me."

"I will hunt down everyone who brought misery to my childhood, raise my grandmother, ensure she marries my grandfather, that they give birth to my father, then ultimately to me. Then I will kill them all. This time, I’ll personally raise myself, pouring everything into my upbringing, ensuring I start from a higher vantage point."

To any ears, Zuo Ci’s words sounded like the ramblings of a lunatic.

But the chill they carried made one’s hair stand on end.

Unsettling, chilling, yet filled with traceable horrors when pondered deeply.

Thankfully, neither Tom nor Mantis paid attention to Zuo Ci’s muttered soliloquy.

Anger clouded their thoughts.

Both were preoccupied with planning how they might kill Zuo Ci.

Zuo Ci ignored the two men entirely.

He took deliberate steps toward Fang Xiaocao.

Noticing Zuo Ci creeping closer to Fang Xiaocao, Tom and Mantis snapped back to reality.

Their enraged gazes locked onto Zuo Ci: "Bastard, what are you planning? Don’t go near Princess Your Highness!"

Tom roared furiously, dragging his heavily wounded body across the ground with sheer effort, unwavering as he positioned himself between Zuo Ci and Fang Xiaocao.

His cold stare fixed on Zuo Ci: "If you want to approach Princess Your Highness, you’ll have to walk over my corpse first."

Tom had firmly resolved to sacrifice himself for Fang Xiaocao, prepared to use his life to protect his princess. Until his last breath, no one was allowed to harm Princess Your Highness.

"Heh heh..."

Zuo Ci sneered, observing Tom.

"Mr. Tom, your loyalty is commendable."

"But injured as you are, can you truly stop me?"

Zuo Ci retorted, his scorn blatant.

"How will I know if I don’t try?"

Tom shot back, his gaze firm.

Zuo Ci shook his head lightly, resuming his steps toward Fang Xiaocao.

He completely disregarded Tom’s obstruction.

Tom clenched his fists, glaring daggers at Zuo Ci, his eyes flashing with determination when the distance between them closed to less than two meters.

The next moment!

Tom moved!

Tom leaped toward Zuo Ci.

Fists clenched, hidden weapons between his fingers.

He hurled them ruthlessly at Zuo Ci’s face.

The hidden weapon clenched in Tom’s fingers was one Fang Xiaocao had embedded into a Suture Monster—one that Tom had snatched during his jump to save Fang Xiaocao from the charging beast.

Now, this accidentally acquired weapon had become Tom’s sole armament.

Zuo Ci glanced at Tom, his gaze icy.

The rugged, scale-covered arm of Zuo Ci swept toward Tom with reckless ease.

Tom mustered his full strength, miraculously dodging Zuo Ci’s incoming strike before landing a blow to Zuo Ci’s ribs—a strike aimed at driving the sharp hidden weapon through Zuo Ci’s ribcage.

Should luck be on his side...

The weapon might pierce Zuo Ci’s lung.

No matter how terrifying Zuo Ci may appear, as long as he remained a living organism, breathing via lungs, Tom refused to believe he wouldn’t suffer from such damage.

Zuo Ci cast Tom a sidelong glance before letting out a cold string of chuckles, entirely unfazed by Tom’s attack. He allowed Tom’s calculated punch—hidden weapon and all—to slam into his ribs with a resounding "thud."

Upon being struck, Zuo Ci paused mid-motion.

With a casual sweep of his arm, he sent Tom flying backward.

Reaching out, he pinched two fingers around the bone-penetrating nail embedded in his ribs before smoothly extracting it.

His gaze fell on the nail, coated in sticky fluid.

Zuo Ci shook his head and looked at his ribs.

From the punctured scales and keratin, a stream of viscous liquid seeped.

"Mr. Tom, I’m afraid I’ve disappointed you," he remarked.

"The bone-penetrating nail doesn’t work on me."

As he continued, his smile brimmed with pride.

"This body of mine—just like the one Fang Xiaocao killed, and every single one of my Lizardmen minions—is equipped with laminated ribs."

"Do you know laminated ribs?"

"In folk tales, Li Yuanba—from Innate Divine Strength fame—had laminated ribs. It means the rib cage isn’t composed of individual ribs but rather a singular piece of bone plate."

At this point, Zuo Ci tapped his own ribs and chuckled: "Among billions of people, perhaps not one carries this rare deformity. But I view it as human evolution. People with laminated ribs enjoy higher defense, superior impact resistance; their ribs rarely fracture and offer unmatched protection for the lungs and heart."

"What you might not know is: beyond Li Yuanba in those tales, the only other person gifted with laminated ribs was my dear Grandpa Taotie. My body, along with those of my minions, was cultivated using my Grandpa’s genes, through cloning and other methods, shaping perfected vessels for martial arts mastery."

As he spoke, Zuo Ci’s gaze involuntarily settled on the car trunk housing Taotie once more.

Zuo Ci’s eyes flared with fervor.

Taotie was lying in the trunk, waiting.

Once he killed Fang Xiaocao and reclaimed the Blood Jade Ring and Phoenix Gall, he would seize Taotie.

He would obtain the flawless experimental body.

He could then utilize Taotie’s form, Taotie’s genes, to craft the ultimate vessel.

Not the defective shell he currently inhabited.

Listening to Zuo Ci’s words, Tom felt as if he were hearing nonsense for the first time.

He didn’t fully comprehend it, but that didn’t stop him from concluding that Zuo Ci was clearly deranged...