Chapter 20 - 15: Evolution
A short while later.
Lin Yi rendezvoused with his Mosquito Avatar.
His original body and the avatar began to unleash the terrifying power of their coordinated hunt.
The Mosquito Avatar hunted its prey with high efficiency. Whether it was an ordinary rat or one of the rat demons at the Martial Disciple Realm, they would die instantly with a single bite, completely powerless to resist.
Meanwhile, as his Qi and Blood increased, Lin Yi followed close behind at a steady pace, handling the cleanup. He cut off the rats’ tails as trophies and put them into his backpack.
One, two...
The remaining space in the backpack was rapidly shrinking, its heavy weight heralding an astonishing haul.
In just two short hours!
After only two hours, the first backpack was already stuffed to the bursting point. The efficiency was so frightening that even Lin Yi himself was a little shocked.
SWOOSH!
The Mosquito Avatar locked onto its prey again: a lone rat cowering in the corner of a pipe.
The avatar descended like a black shadow, landed on the rat’s back, and pierced it with its proboscis.
The moment it finished feeding—
[Mosquito Avatar Experience Points +1.]
[The Mosquito Avatar has reached LV10 (100/100). Initiating evolution!]
[Please select an evolution path—]
A virtual light screen instantly unfolded before Lin Yi’s eyes, presenting four options, each radiating a different aura.
[1. Evolve into ’Bloodthirsty Sword Mosquito,’ known for its powerful attack. Awaken Skill: Slash LV1.]
[Slash LV1]: Wings like swords, annihilating all! A chilling edge, unstoppable in its sharpness.
[2. Evolve into ’Thunder Blood Mosquito,’ known for its extreme speed. Awaken Skill: Extreme Speed LV1.]
[Extreme Speed LV1]: The might of thunder, a thousand miles in an instant! Can unleash terrifying speed beyond all limits.
[3. Evolve into ’Bedrock Mosquito,’ known for its defense. Awaken Skill: Savage Blood LV1.]
[Savage Blood LV1]: Body like bedrock, Qi and Blood like mercury! The physical body will be fundamentally strengthened, becoming incomparably tough.
[4. Evolve into ’Shadowless Blood Mosquito,’ known for its stealth. Gain Skill: Concealment LV1.]
[Concealment LV1]: Vanish without a trace, retracting all Demon Qi! Can perfectly suppress its own Demon Qi fluctuations and gain an optical camouflage-like invisibility.
Lin Yi’s gaze swept over the four options like lightning.
Attack, Speed, Defense, Stealth—
Four completely different evolutionary paths were now clearly imprinted in his mind.
"Evolve into the ’Shadowless Blood Mosquito’!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yi issued the command to the system.
The thing that worried him most right now was the Mosquito Avatar’s Demon Qi problem.
The presence of this Demon Qi made it far too easy for the Mosquito Avatar to be exposed.
After all, major core areas in human cities were now all equipped with Demon Qi detection devices. If it couldn’t suppress its Demon Qi, the Mosquito Avatar entering a city would be like walking straight into a trap.
But now, the problem was finally solved.
The appearance of the [Concealment] skill was practically a tailor-made solution.
Although, compared to the first three evolutionary paths, a stealth-focused evolution wouldn’t immediately grant the Mosquito Avatar powerful combat abilities.
But Lin Yi didn’t care in the slightest.
In his long-term plans, the Mosquito Avatar was, first and foremost, an irreplaceable ’cultivation accelerator’!
Its core function of hiding its tracks and safely acquiring resources was far more important than any temporary offensive power.
Without the ability to remain hidden, its very existence would be greatly diminished in value.
Besides, evolution wasn’t a one-and-done deal!
Just like the [Iron Body] skill it had acquired earlier—that should have been a skill from a defense-type evolution, but the Mosquito Avatar got it anyway. This proved that the Mosquito Avatar had the potential to be versatile and adaptable.
Even if he chose a specific evolutionary path, it wasn’t impossible to acquire skills from the other paths!
As Lin Yi issued the command.
[Evolving...]
A system notification flashed.
[Evolution successful!]
[Mosquito Avatar has been upgraded to LV11!]
In an instant.
BZZZZ!
An indescribably vast wave of Demon Qi, like a dormant volcano suddenly awakening, erupted from the Mosquito Avatar’s tiny body!
This aura—violent, cold, and tinged with primal ferocity—instantly churned the surrounding foul air, forming tiny, visible cyclones.
This qualitative change in its aura was a clear declaration: the Mosquito Avatar had completely broken free from its mundane shackles and officially entered the ranks of First Grade Demon Beasts!
At the same time, the avatar’s form underwent a drastic change.
Its body was no longer minuscule. It swelled, growing to the size of an adult’s fist!
Its dark exoskeleton was no longer a set of fragile plates but was now like tempered steel forged a thousand times over, covering its entire body. Every inch of it glinted with the cold, hard light of metal.
Its once-slender proboscis was now as menacing as a drill, its compound eyes were as deep as bottomless, frigid pools, and the edges of its wings were so sharp they looked as if they could slice the air itself.
Its overall appearance radiated a ferocity and pressure that was chilling to the bone.
Merely hovering there, it inspired fear.
Only now was it truly worthy of the name "Demon Beast"!
With a thought, Lin Yi called up the system panel:
[Avatar]: Shadowless Blood Mosquito.
[Level]: LV11 (First Grade).
[Experience Points]: 0/1000.
[Skills]: Blood Sucking (First Limit Break), Concealment LV1 (0/100), Flight LV3 (38/300), Tracking LV3 (106/300), Paralysis LV2 (170/200), Iron Body LV1 (0/100).
"Good!"
An irrepressible thrill flashed in Lin Yi’s eyes.
’The Mosquito Avatar has already broken through to First Grade... Next, it’s my turn!’
He focused his mind and immediately checked his own Qi and Blood.
[Qi and Blood]: 9.995!
The number was nearly at Perfection. He was just a hair’s breadth—0.005—away from touching the crucial 10.0 threshold of the Martial Artist Realm!
He immediately controlled the Mosquito Avatar to use its newly acquired [Concealment] skill.
At his command, a wondrous change occurred instantly.
The vast Demon Qi swirling around the Mosquito Avatar vanished without a trace in an instant!
Immediately after, its silhouette began to blur and fade under the effect of its optical camouflage invisibility, completely disappearing from view in the dim sewer.
Not a shadow, not a shape, all Demon Qi retracted!
This was what it meant to be a true "Shadowless Blood Mosquito"!
"Let’s go!"
Suppressing his excitement, Lin Yi took the invisible avatar and threw himself back into the hunt.
’What’s a mere 0.005 gap in Qi and Blood?’
’I just need to drain a few more ordinary rats...’
Before long, the invisible Mosquito Avatar locked onto a new target: a large rat painstakingly rummaging through human leftovers in the sewage.
SWOOSH!
Despite its increased size, its [Flight] skill, now at LV3, had gained a wind resistance-canceling ability, allowing the Mosquito Avatar to fly without a sound!
The rat didn’t even sense death’s approach before it was completely drained by the Mosquito Avatar in a split second.
Since the Mosquito Avatar was optically invisible, to the naked eye, the rat’s body simply seemed to shrivel up out of thin air. It was an extremely bizarre sight.
[Paralysis Experience +1!]
A system notification popped up.
Lin Yi froze, stunned.
This time, the Mosquito Avatar’s hunt didn’t feed back any Qi and Blood. Even the avatar’s own Experience Points hadn’t increased.
"Hm?"
He frowned, a sense of foreboding quietly sprouting in his mind.
’A coincidence?’
’Or...?’
He immediately commanded the avatar to continue searching for prey.
SQUELCH! SQUELCH! SQUELCH!
The avatar’s hunting remained efficient and ruthless.
One, two... a total of five filthy rats were silently reduced to shriveled husks.
However, the result made Lin Yi’s heart sink.
Still no Qi and Blood feedback. The Mosquito Avatar’s Experience Points also remained unchanged.
’Just as I thought... it’s not a coincidence!’
Lin Yi sighed. The cold reality was laid out before him.
A thought flashed through his mind like lightning:
’Could it be...’
’After evolving into a First Grade Demon Beast, hunting these ordinary animals no longer provides Experience Points or Qi and Blood feedback?’
He felt this guess was very likely correct.
Now that the Mosquito Avatar was First Grade, ordinary animals were no longer worthy of being its food. They couldn’t provide the nutrients it needed to evolve.
The skill proficiencies, however, could still be increased.
But that wasn’t what Lin Yi desperately needed.
’Does this mean... from now on, I can only continue to gain Experience and Qi and Blood feedback by devouring Demon Beasts that have also reached First Grade or higher?’
This thought instantly complicated Lin Yi’s mood.
He suddenly felt that the Mosquito Avatar’s evolution wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
’Where am I supposed to find so many First Grade Demon Beasts for it to drain?!’
What was worse...
...he was only a measly 0.005 away from that coveted 10.0 Qi and Blood threshold!
Victory was right there, within his grasp!
And what happens? The Mosquito Avatar goes on strike!
’This sucks!’
Lin Yi couldn’t help but curse inwardly as a strong sense of frustration washed over him.
It felt like he was about to score a goal, only to trip on thin air at the last second.
"Hooo..."
He let out a long, frustrated breath, forcibly suppressing his anxiety.
Fortunately, the gap in his Qi and Blood was extremely small.
He had just received a huge sum of thirty thousand yuan from the Zhou family. Worst case, he could just buy a few Qi Blood Pills and use the Pills to push his Qi and Blood up.
With his mind made up, Lin Yi’s gaze became resolute again.
’The hunt can’t stop!’
Although there was no hope for more Qi and Blood or Experience, every feeding could still increase the proficiency of skills like [Paralysis], [Flight], and [Tracking].
Besides... each rat was worth ten yuan.
"Even a mosquito’s leg is still meat!" Lin Yi gritted his teeth, looking at the two remaining empty backpacks. ’At the very least... I have to fill these up before I go back!’