Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 598 Grandma Yaga
Li Zhongren did not immediately return the dilapidated hut.

Despite the harsh environment, the rent had been paid, and more importantly, there was a rule of thumb among the hunters that the twisted creatures, like wild beasts, each had their own territory.

When a powerful, twisted evil spirit has just been eliminated from a place, its lingering aura will create an invisible deterrent for a short period of time, preventing other weaker or different types of twisted entities from approaching easily.

This place is, for the time being, a relatively safe "safe house".

This place is barely usable until a more suitable base is found.

Seven hours passed quietly in the wait.

As the sky outside the window turned dusky again, a low, steady humming sound grew louder as it approached. Li Zhongren walked to the window, lifted a corner of the dirty curtain, and looked out.

A black, sharply styled, unmarked hovercar was silently suspended at the entrance of the alley.

Its size is comparable to a small armored personnel carrier. There are no visible propulsion units under its streamlined body, only a faint aura of energy that isolates it from the ground.

Several tiny scanning probes protruded from both sides of the vehicle, emitting pale blue beams of light, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

"The Hunter Association's intelligent hovercar."

Li Zhongren understood perfectly that AI-controlled deliverymen were indeed the best choice.

This eliminates the possibility of internal staff embezzling, switching items, or being tempted by money.

Moreover, judging from the size of this vehicle and the faint energy fluctuations it exudes, it is probably equipped with a fairly strong defense or even attack system. Any fool who dares to mess with it is probably long gone from the world.

A hatch slid open at the bottom of the hovercraft, and a metal box was precisely dropped by the robotic arm onto Li Zhongren's door. Then, without stopping, the hovercraft accelerated instantly and disappeared among the intricate buildings.

Li Zhongren opened the door and dragged the box into the house.

The chest requires a Hunter Badge to open.

A green light swept across, the lid of the box popped open, revealing two layers inside.

A weapon was fixed on the upper level, while the lower level was a cryogenic storage tube emitting a chilling aura.

He first picked up the "bloodthirsty chainsaw".

It felt lighter and more delicate than I expected. It doesn't have the bulky and rugged shape of a traditional chainsaw. Instead, it looks more like an enlarged, serrated, single-edged straight sword, about 1.2 meters long. The handle is ergonomic, and the whole thing has a matte metallic sheen. When you get close, you can feel an extremely faint flow of energy.

The association also thoughtfully included a sturdy leather pouch with strong magnetic attraction and a buckle, which can be easily hung on the waist or carried on the back.

Li Zhongren walked to the cracked mirror in the room.

He had changed into the standard combat uniform provided free of charge by the Hunter Association. It was a matte black, tight-fitting fiber fabric with a certain degree of toughness and abrasion resistance. Although it was basic, it was much better than his old tattered clothes and made it easier for him to move around.

At this moment, he had the Bloodthirsty Chainsaw sheath strapped to his waist, the saw blade pointing diagonally at the ground, the dark metal complementing his all-black attire.

The young man in the mirror still had an ordinary face, but his eyes were much sharper, and the highly offensive weapon at his waist added a touch of competence and danger to him.

"Tsk, he really does look like a hunter now."

He smirked, quite pleased with his outfit.

After admiring it, his gaze fell on the cryogenic storage tube in the box.

He took a deep breath and removed the tube.

A cold sensation traveled from my fingertips. Through the tube, I could see the silvery-gray liquid inside flowing and changing restlessly, sometimes coalescing into a blurry spiderweb, and sometimes spreading out into a chaotic nebula.

Just looking at it gives one a sense of unease, as if some living thing, yearning to break free of its constraints and drag everything into an abyss of madness, is sealed within the liquid.

"Neural extracts from the Moonshadow Spider"

Li Zhongren could feel his heart racing, not out of fear, but out of excitement and nervousness at the prospect of a great opportunity.

Success or failure depends on this!
He didn't hesitate any longer.

Following the instructions, he unscrewed the cap, and an injection needle popped out from the top. He rolled up the sleeve of his left arm, aimed the needle at the vein, and pressed down sharply!
A cold, stinging sensation came, and the silvery-gray liquid was quickly pushed into the bloodstream.

Almost at the same instant the injection was completed, Li Zhongren roared in his heart!

"Crossing!"

The world suddenly changed!

The dilapidated hut has been transformed into a sunny hotel room.

But Li Zhongren had no time to pay attention to the changes in the environment!
The moment the medicine entered his body, a violent, cold, and aggressive energy erupted within him!
It felt as if countless tiny, bristly spider legs were crawling and piercing through every blood vessel and nerve in his body! Strange lumps began to swell uncontrollably under his skin, his bones made a teeth-grinding "crunching" sound, as if they were about to change shape, and a tearing pain came from his back, as if something was about to burst out of his body!

The Moonshadow Spider's twisting power is forcibly transforming him into a monster in the most savage way!

However, at the very moment when this alienation reaches a certain critical point!
"buzz"

An invisible, vast, cold, and absolute force of rules, like the most precise scales, swept over his entire body.

Those bulging tumors, deformed bones, and arthropods trying to burst out of the back.
All the abnormal characteristics that do not belong to the category of "normal humans" melt away and are smoothed out silently the moment they come into contact with this power of rules, just like ice and snow under the sun!
His body structure was forcibly "corrected" back to the standard human template.

But the enormous energy originating from the potion did not disappear!

It continued to rampage through Li Zhongren's body, but it lost its "mutation" direction and became a pure and violent torrent of enhancement!

Thus, a tug-of-war unfolded within Li Zhongren's body.

The Moonshadow Spider's twisting power frantically tried to transform him, while the laws of the real world ruthlessly erased all inhuman mutations. The remaining pure energy was instinctively absorbed and fused by his body, strengthening his muscles, bones, and nerves.
The pain of this process is indescribable, as if the body is being torn apart and reassembled repeatedly, and consciousness is struggling on the edge of clarity and confusion.

Li Zhongren huddled on the hotel's soft carpet, his body drenched in cold sweat, his teeth grinding together, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.

Time has lost its meaning.

After an unknown amount of time, the violent energy within his body finally subsided and was completely absorbed by his body.

That cold, twisted feeling vanished without a trace, replaced by an unprecedented sense of fullness and power.

When Li Zhongren regained consciousness, he had already returned to that dilapidated little house.

Outside the window, the sky remained the same dim and gloomy as always in District 11.

He immediately checked the energy reserves of the external device, and found that the enormous energy provided by the Grade A crystal had been completely depleted!
The cost was enormous!

But Li Zhongren suddenly stood up from the ground, stretched his limbs, and his eyes flashed with an amazing light!

value! So worth it!

He didn't even need to take a test; a sense of awareness stemming from his very life instincts clearly told him that he had been completely transformed!
His muscle fiber density increased dramatically, and his bone strength rivaled that of an alloy; he felt he could dismantle a main battle tank with his bare hands.

No firearm of any caliber can penetrate even his skin!
But that's not the biggest gain!

The most terrifying thing is his nervous system!
Without him actively controlling it, every moment, an indescribable sense constantly spreads outward from him. Without using his eyes, he can "sense" cockroaches crawling behind the wall, the landlord's cautious footsteps downstairs, and even the trajectory of dust falling in the air.

Everything within a radius of tens of meters, big and small, is presented in his "mind's eye" as if it were a three-dimensional map!
This is far more powerful than the mere three seconds of "spider-sense" described in the product description!

This is simply an all-encompassing, all-around super-strong perception field!
Just like the manga I read in my previous life, the so-called "Observation Haki"!
"I understand," Li Zhongren murmured to himself, a look of enlightenment on his face.

"I completely let go of my mind and body, allowing the most primal power of the potion to wash over and transform me, while the laws of the real world helped filter out all the 'distorted' side effects and alienation characteristics, leaving only the purest 'enhancement' result."

High risk, but with unimaginable huge rewards!

Now, he is no longer that paper tiger who relies solely on external cheats and whose true self is extremely fragile.

A powerful physique combined with precognitive perception, plus the ability to travel through time and a bloodthirsty chainsaw.
Li Zhongren clenched his fist, his knuckles making a soft popping sound, and his gaze fell on the deeper shadows of District 11 outside the window.

The hunting grounds need to be expanded.

Feeling his body's energy reserves completely depleted, Li Zhongren knew that he would not be able to use his ultimate trump card, the ability to travel through time, for the time being.

The external device's energy recovery speed is extremely slow; it's better to rely on your own newly acquired power than to depend on it.

"My current advantages are my powerful physique, my superior senses, and this bloodthirsty chainsaw, but my weaknesses are also obvious. I lack effective supernatural attack methods. No matter how powerful the chainsaw is, it can't cut down ghosts."

Therefore, his next goal must be clear: to find those twisted objects that have physical form and are biased towards physical attacks.

After having a hearty meal downstairs to replenish his energy, Li Zhongren returned to the cabin and immediately opened the Hunter Badge quest interface.

The screen popped up, and he began to carefully select items.

[Task Filtering: Region - Outside the City; Type - Entity-based; Difficulty - Level B and above]

The list was refreshed, and the number of tasks decreased sharply.

Missions outside the city are inherently dangerous, and those with high difficulty are even rarer.

His gaze quickly settled on a unique task: not the usual clearing or hunting, but capture.

[Task ID]: B+-089-07
[Mission Name]: Capture the escaped twisted entity - "Grandma Yaga"

[Danger Level]: B+ (Highly dangerous, skilled in disguise and ambush)

【mission details】:
Target appearance: Resembles an elderly human woman, with a hunched and thin figure and wrinkled skin.

Known abilities:

1. Superhuman strength: Possesses terrifying strength far exceeding its physical size.

2. High speed: Extremely fast burst speed over short distances.

3. Hair manipulation: Can freely control its own hair to attack or restrain, the hair is tough and can secrete special neurotoxins.

4. Ecstasy Toxin: When the toxin comes into contact with the skin or enters the bloodstream through a wound, it induces strong hallucinations, causing the target to fall into a state of ecstasy, lose the ability to resist, and ultimately be preyed upon.

5. Regeneration of flesh and blood: As long as there is a complete piece of flesh and blood remaining, it can slowly regenerate, although the regeneration speed is relatively slow.

6. Transfer of Will: Granny Yaga's will can be transferred between her scattered pieces of flesh and blood to determine her rebirth point. This was the key to her previous escape from the laboratory by mixing a small piece of flesh and blood into the garbage.

Weaknesses/Limitations:

1. Range of Will Transfer: Its will cannot be instantly transferred between flesh fragments that are too far apart. There is an effective range limitation, estimated to be no more than ten kilometers. Flesh and blood outside the range will lose their activity and cannot be used as a rebirth anchor point.

2. Effective physical damage: Powerful physical attacks can effectively destroy its flesh and blood tissue, slowing down its regeneration.

Last known location: Southeast of the city, having infiltrated the edge of the "Weeping Forest".

Mission objective: Capture or confirm the location of its core will and destroy it completely. It is recommended to use a special restraint container, which can be exchanged at the Association.

Task reward: 80,000 credits, 1 B+ grade resource voucher.

Special Note: This target is cunning and extremely adept at using the environment to launch surprise attacks. Furthermore, the "Weeping Forest" is a complex environment with numerous twisted creatures, making it extremely risky. Please proceed with caution when accepting the mission.

"Grandma Yaga."

Li Zhongren carefully read the mission details, and a smile gradually appeared on his lips.

Sneak attack?

Within his heightened sensory domain, any attempt at stealth or ambush is a joke.

The will transfer is a bit troublesome, but unfortunately, I can handle it myself.
Without hesitation, Li Zhongren accepted the mission.

According to the instructions, he needed to go to the exit checkpoint in the southeast corner of the city first.

Leaving the oppressive Area 11, boarding the dedicated Hunter Rail Train, the scenery outside the window gradually changes from a dense steel forest to dilapidated industrial ruins, and finally to the border wall filled with fortifications and energy barriers.

At the exit of the high wall, after strict identity verification and warnings, Li Zhongren finally stepped out of this last giant city of mankind.

The air outside the city was polluted, carrying a mixed smell of sulfur and rotting matter.

The sky was a perpetually dusky yellow, and the distant howls of unknown creatures could be faintly heard.

The so-called "road" has long been covered by weeds and mutated plants.

Li Zhongren determined the direction; his destination was the "Weeping Forest" in the southeast.

He took a deep breath of the unsettling air, his eyes sharp.

It's time to try out this new ability.

He raised his right wrist and focused his mind.

Several tiny holes bulged slightly beneath the fibers of his combat suit at his wrist. The next moment, several crystal-clear, highly resilient white threads shot out and precisely adhered to the thick branches of a twisted giant tree nearly a hundred meters away.

Yes, he can also shoot webs. As the Moonshadow Spider Demon, it's reasonable for him to be able to shoot webs. Although his body is still human due to the parallel world, his internal structure has undergone unique changes, just like the original Spider-Man who shoots webs.

However, what he spat out was not real silk thread, but rather a thread of telekinesis.

In fact, he can shoot these psychic threads from any part of his body; shooting them from his wrist is purely a personal hobby.
"Whoosh!"

Li Zhongren slammed his feet into the ground and pulled his wrists back. The spider silk generated a huge pulling force, and he swung forward at an astonishing speed, as if he had been launched by a slingshot!

The wind whistled in my ears, and the scenery on the ground rushed past.

This feeling is more free and powerful than ever before!

He continuously sprayed webs, swiftly traversing the withered forest and the ruins of dilapidated buildings, his movements becoming increasingly skillful, as if he were a real Spider-Man swinging through the woods.

His exceptional perception allows him to anticipate every foothold and point of leverage, perfectly avoiding obstacles.

What would normally be a difficult journey of several hours was drastically shortened by his high-speed movement.

In the distance, the outline of the forest, shrouded in a gray-black mist and with the faint sound of wind like weeping, was becoming increasingly clear.

(End of this chapter)