Stronger with Crimson Modifier

A line of crimson text floated into view.

Surprisingly, the Modification Points provided by this white worm even surpassed those from White King Altdina, whom he had consumed earlier.

However, Hu Qi wasn’t focused on that.

At that moment, a vast torrent of memories flooded his mind.

’No, "memories" isn’t quite the right word.’

It was more like a kind of inherited vision.

Within the inherited vision was a boundless void.

Then, a point of light coalesced.

And fell downward.

It soon plunged into a black vortex below, one so massive it seemed to have no end.

...

As Hu Qi consumed the white worm and digested its inherited memory vision...

「On Kapu Star.」

At that very moment, the bodies of every Alien Origin Body shattered into pieces and vanished.

It was as if the power sustaining them had been lost.

Including the cat-eared girl.

However, compared to the other Alien Origin Bodies, she wasn’t dissipating very quickly.

But even so, half of her face continued to crumble away, scattering like smoke.

At that moment, she broke free from Hu Qi’s control and regained her own consciousness.

She was perfectly aware of what had just happened.

She just hadn’t been able to interfere or even react.

It also made her realize how ridiculous her previous thoughts had been.

She had originally thought that even if she couldn’t win, she could at least injure him.

Or temporarily seal him in the Alternate Space.

But the truth was that his power far exceeded her imagination—it was so immense that it could shatter one’s will to resist.

With power like that, it was no wonder even ’God’ had been defeated. They weren’t even in the same league.

If she had known this would be the outcome...

...she would have stopped Wu Yang, no matter what.

But now it was too late for everything.

She paid no mind to the changes happening to her body.

Her gaze was fixed blankly ahead.

She lifted a leg and, using the crumbling Long Saber in her hand as a crutch, dragged her heavy feet toward the pool of blood that had once been Wu Yang.

She slowly knelt, her knees sinking into the cold blood. With trembling fingers, she scooped up a handful of the dark red liquid.

Tears welled up and silently spilled from her eyes. They traced paths down her pale cheeks, paused for a moment at her chin, and finally fell without a sound into the pool of blood, creating a nearly imperceptible ripple.

"Master... I’m so... sorry... You told me... how in some storybooks, you can reunite in the next life... I... In my next life, I want to be with you again... as a human..."

Her words came in fits and starts.

After she finished speaking, she could no longer maintain her human form.

She reverted to a black cat, lying silently beside the pool of blood.

Its eyes, now normal amber cat pupils, slowly lost their light.

It listened to its own slowing heartbeat as its consciousness began to drift. ’Perhaps this is what death feels like.’

In these final moments, images seemed to flash before its eyes.

...

A curtain of rain fell like a woven tapestry, the dark sky turning the asphalt into a blurry mirror.

Dark red blood mixed with rain and snaked along the edge of a grassy median.

A jet-black cat, covered in blood, was curled up beside a holly bush, its chest rising and falling weakly.

If nothing changed, it wouldn’t be long before the only thing awaiting the black cat was death.

But just then, the sound of an umbrella slicing through the curtain of rain startled it.

As a stray who had been abandoned by its owner as a kitten, it had spent years wandering the city’s streets and alleys. It was exceptionally wary of any change in its surroundings.

Hearing the noise, it managed to lift its eyes and saw a blurry figure approaching.

Then, a pair of water-stained white sneakers stopped in front of it. As the edge of the umbrella lifted, a blurry human face came into view.

As the person squatted down, they brought with them a pleasant scent.

Then, warm fingertips gently parted its blood-matted fur.

"You’re hurt so badly!"

The voice that spoke was a magnetic, masculine one.

In its daze, the black cat was picked up and carried out into the rain.

Before long, it was set down again.

’So, I’ve been abandoned again?’

With that thought, it pried its eyes open a crack.

What it saw was the bright white light of a veterinary hospital overhead, which made its pupils contract.

It vaguely heard phrases like "ruptured organs" and "excessive blood loss."

Just as its consciousness was about to fade to black, it felt itself being wrapped in a warm jacket.

"There’s a way for you to survive."

The Young Man’s voice suddenly spoke, his cool fingers touching the tip of its nose.

"But it might have some serious consequences. If you’re willing, stick out your tongue and lick my hand."

Although it didn’t quite understand what the Young Man meant, its survival instinct took over.

The black cat licked the Young Man’s fingers.

Seeing this, the Young Man paused, then smiled.

"What a clever little thing! Looks like you understood me after all!"

Not long after, just as the black cat’s body was beginning to go numb, a special power entered its body.

Visibly, its horrific injuries began to heal at a rapid pace.

It was pulled back from the brink of death.

Later, it learned that the name of the person who saved it was Wu Yang.

He had used the Ability of a strange picture book to turn it into an Alien Origin Body, thereby saving its life.

Wu Yang may not have been a good person.

But in its eyes, he was a ray of light, its salvation. He was the best, kindest person it had ever known.