The Only Player in ‘Child of Stardust’
Chapter 118 - 93 The Weaver

Chapter 118: Chapter 93 The Weaver

Morgue.

Each morgue table was etched with a complex magic array, known as "Preservation Magic," which could freeze the condition of a body, ensuring it wouldn’t decay.

Zhou Yuan took out Yan Sheng’s body. Under the effect of Preservation Magic, the body no longer bled. Since the player’s backpack froze the item’s condition, Yan Sheng’s body still retained some warmth and hadn’t gone completely cold.

"Oh—"

Feng Jun let out an exaggerated gasp upon seeing the body, his eyes wide open and a bright flame burning in his pupils: "So beautiful..."

"Beautiful?" Zhou Yuan was puzzled.

"A kind of... wild beauty."

Feng Jun’s fingers lightly brushed over Yan Sheng’s bicep, sliding down his arm to his chest. His gaze was like he was admiring a delicate piece of art: "Look at this form, these lines, these muscles... Is this a body modified by Divine Power? How can something so perfect exist in this world!"

He took a rectangular instrument from his Storage Ring, fiddling with it. The instrument emitted a yellow beam of light, scanning Yan Sheng’s body back and forth, displaying various data on the screen.

"Unbelievable, unbelievable..."

Feng Jun marveled, "His skin has incredible toughness and anti-corrosive properties, immune to most chemical substances such as strong acids and alkalis, and toxins. Beneath the skin, there are two cushioning layers that greatly absorb impact.

The density of his muscles and organs is six to eight times that of a fourth-tier Martial Artist. The strength of his bones rivals Super Alloy No. 97. With such physical qualities, even a direct hit from a tank shell wouldn’t be an issue.

Additionally, he had two oversized hearts to supply blood to his entire body, lungs with specialized toxin-filtering membranes. Besides that, there were three extra glands in his body that could secrete massive amounts of hormones when needed, acting as either stimulants or sedatives.

The strength of his nails rivaled Wolverine’s claws, easily tearing through steel. His leg muscles were so developed that he could sprint a hundred meters in just one second at full force..."

The more Feng Jun spoke, the more excited he became, almost wanting to dissect the body right there.

He took several deep breaths to suppress his inner excitement: "The body looks human on the surface, but internally, it’s drastically different due to Divine Power’s modification. It’s practically another species. I really want to see what his brain structure looks like.

So far, some of my conjectures have been validated...

Feng Jun pondered for a moment before asking: "Can you sell me this body?"

Zhou Yuan shook his head: "Not for sale. Let’s discuss the price for the modification experiment directly."

"Ten million straight," Feng Jun said sincerely, "Trust me; within a month, I can turn him into a terrifying biological weapon."

"Eight million." Zhou Yuan haggled.

"Deal, and as a personal gesture, I’ll give you one chance to use the [Random Forge] for free," Feng Jun agreed readily, even offering an extra gift, leaving Zhou Yuan, who intended to continue bargaining, momentarily stunned.

"Random Forge?"

Zhou Yuan remembered there was such an item in the abnormal items compendium.

[Abnormal 2427 · Random Forge. Requires the input of two or more materials imbued with Supernatural Power to activate. The forge randomly produces a piece of equipment based on the materials’ characteristics. The more materials used, and the higher their quality, the higher the quality of the equipment.]

This forge was a treasure of the Forge Association, costing three hundred thousand for a single use. It was famously known as the Transcendent World’s "blind box."

Some people had gathered a pile of treasures to smelt, only to forge a short stick that could vibrate at high frequencies.

Meanwhile, someone who had casually tossed in two mediocre materials ended up forging a flying sword, broadcasting their daily sword flights and making countless people envious.

Notably, the Random Forge was unaffected by "luck" based abnormal forces. Even applying a good luck buff beforehand wouldn’t change the outcome. It was entirely random, reliant on one’s luck.

Some people chanced it and turned a bicycle into a motorcycle, while others lost everything in one go.

According to statistics, the rooftop of the Forge Association had the most instances of skydiving in the Transcendent World.

"Deal." Without much thought, Zhou Yuan agreed. It was a good opportunity to get rid of some useless junk items.

They signed the contract on the spot.

Zhou Yuan let Feng Jun take the body away. The latter didn’t linger and hurried off, eager to start the experiment.

As Zhou Yuan was about to leave, a coroner pushed in another body.

The man’s face was frozen in terror, as if he had experienced something dreadful before dying.

[Yang Yuanqing, twenty-eight years old, cause of death: autopsy.

Just kidding, his real cause of death was having his soul devoured by an abnormal creature. The perpetrator had escaped from a mental hospital amidst the chaos.]

[Event detected, generating task...]

[Task Name: "Aftermath"]

[Task Objective: Kill the Weaver 0/1]

[Task Reward 1: Experience Points *400]

[Task Reward 2: Star Coins *2000]

Zhou Yuan was astonished upon seeing the task: "After the mental hospital was destroyed, an abnormal creature actually escaped?"

He quickly asked the coroner: "What happened to this man?"

The Pheromone Field made it difficult for others to refuse him, and the coroner answered truthfully: "He went crazy in the shopping mall, claiming he could constantly hear a countdown above his head, insisting the world was ending and everyone would die. He screamed and rushed into the restroom.

When the mall staff opened the door, he was already dead, seemingly scared to death. The police found the matter suspicious and handed it over to the Control Bureau."

"Countdown?"

Zhou Yuan immediately thought of the fifth rule of the anomaly folklore: [If you hear strange sounds from the ceiling and someone counting down, flee immediately.]

Had that abnormal creature escaped?

"Which mall did this happen at?"

"Sun Moon Mall."

·

Sun Moon Mall.

Due to a recent death incident, the mall was forced to close early. Tourists and merchants left one after another, and with the lights turned off, the vast mall fell into dark silence.

Two investigators were probing the crime scene in the restroom with instruments.

Beep beep beep!

When the instrument was aimed at a corner of the ceiling, it suddenly emitted a series of alert sounds.

"There’s a Supernatural Power response," one investigator said, "An abnormal creature was here not long ago."

The corner of the ceiling was directly above the restroom stall where the deceased had been.

"Then, it’s confirmed as an abnormal event. It seems like the work of a spiritual body, a very terrifying fierce ghost that scared someone to death."

"It’s not a ghost spirit; there’s no residual Yin energy..."

The speaker suddenly frowned, "Do you hear a countdown?"

"Countdown?" The other investigator listened carefully. A woman’s voice counting down suddenly echoed from above, "Ten, nine..."

Both of their expressions changed slightly as they looked up, but there was nothing on the ceiling.

Beep beep beep beep beep...

The instrument emitted urgent warning sounds, detecting a dangerous level of abnormal response.

They immediately dashed for the door, sprinting towards the mall exit.

"Eight, seven..."

With seven seconds left, their speed should have allowed them to safely reach outside, but the countdown from above abruptly shifted.

"Three, two..."

It jumped directly from seven to three!

"One!"

As the final number was called, both investigators’ movements suddenly became stiff and slow, a force contending for control over their bodies!

Damn it... thoughts... becoming... slow... one investigator was horrified, a slow thought crossing his mind.

Must... try... to break free... he desperately activated his Aoneng Power, flaring rose-colored flames around him, which expanded in all directions, engulfing a five-meter radius indiscriminately.

The other investigator was blasted away by the scorching flames, unexpectedly shaking off the stiffness and sluggishness. Without hesitation, he took out a red button from his Storage Ring, about to press it when his movements slowed again.

As if pulled by invisible threads, the finger that was about to press the button slowly lifted.

Press down... he struggled with all his might against the force, but it was of little use. He was quickly losing control over his body, and his consciousness began to blur.

A few seconds later, they both trembled all over, no longer resisting.

The investigator who had taken out the emergency rescue button put it away and stood up. Together with the other, they moved towards the interior of the mall. Their movements were identical, even the strides as if they were cut from the same mold.

·

[Unfortunately, you’re a step too late. Two investigators have already fallen prey.

The weaver knew it was getting out of hand and was preparing to change locations and hide for a while. If not dealt with now, it will be a future threat.

Current number of abnormal creatures in the mall: 32]

Outside the mall, Zhou Yuan’s steps paused for a moment upon his arrival, then he headed straight for the entrance.

He transformed into a shadow, merging with the mall’s darkness, moving swiftly like a fish in water. Before long, he found the two mechanical-looking investigators.

The shadow moved silently, slipping into one of the investigators’ shadows.

·

A few minutes later, the two investigators arrived at a shop on the top floor of the mall, still under renovation.

The place was covered in sticky webs, with shadows crawling all over the ceiling. At the center of the web sat a woman.

To be precise, only her upper body was human, while her lower half was a spider’s, with eight sharp legs.

The weaver smiled satisfactorily as she looked at the two investigators, thinking she now had two powerful henchmen...

No... Her smile twisted into a sinister grin.

It should be three!

Whoosh!

She spread her fingers, and five invisible threads shot towards one investigator’s shadow like venomous snakes.

They hit nothing.

The shadow... was just a shadow!

A dark shadowy demon emerged from the investigator’s shadow, followed by a second and a third...

A total of six shadowy demons, armed with swords, spears, halberds, staves, and sticks, charged at the weaver without a word.