H City Library.
To facilitate his constant learning, the Corpse King had established his base of operations right here.
By now, the library was unrecognizable. Its exterior was draped in thick layers of pulsating, rhythmic flesh. The stench was so potent that Ren Kurogane could smell the rot from several blocks away.
Standing alone atop a nearby skyscraper, Ren gazed at the massive "Corpse Nest" in the distance.
Even from here, the smell is revolting, he thought, wrinkling his nose. Did the nest form this quickly in the original story? Did my presence change something that accelerated the Corpse King's development?
He went through his actions mentally. He had only given the serum to Xiaofei and Xiaowei, and the God Gene was limited to himself and Mu Tiancai. He had only met the Corpse King once. He couldn't see how he had altered the timeline that drastically.
Ren had come here with a specific goal: to harvest the genetic data of both the Immortal Qinglong and the Corpse King during their inevitable clash.
Both were once-in-a-millennium martial arts prodigies. If he could assimilate their genes, he might become a peerless talent himself. With this "scavenger" mindset, he approached the nest to wait for an opening.
Suddenly, several attack helicopters appeared in the sky, and Ren's radio crackled to life.
"Comrade Ren Kurogane! This is Operations Command 001. I am the Supreme Commander of this operation; you may call me Commander Lin."
"Speak," Ren replied.
On the other end, Commander Lin let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He had been genuinely afraid Ren would simply ignore them. After all, according to the Immortal Master, this young man's strength was on par with the Master's prime—a God-level combatant.
The Yan Huang high command viewed such an unstable variable with the utmost gravity.
Clearing his throat, Commander Lin continued, "Comrade Ren, the Guardian of Yan Huang, Qinglong, is about to commence the capture of the Corpse King. A battle of immense scale is expected. We request that you do not interfere."
This caught Ren by surprise. He had expected them to ask for his help in subduing the King, not for him to stay out of it entirely.
Originally, Qinglong had been tied down abroad holding back God-level threats from other nations. However, due to the emergence of two unknown variables—Ren and Mu Tiancai—Qinglong had decisively abandoned the stalemate to return to H City and deal with the Corpse King first.
Is he that confident in Qinglong? Or does he just not trust me at all? ...Probably both, Ren mused. Whatever. If that's what they want, so be it. I'll just watch the show.
He picked up the radio. "Understood. I won't interfere in the fight between Qinglong and the Corpse King."
With that, Ren leaped from the roof and headed straight toward the Corpse Nest.
The nest was currently a den of "Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons," making it the perfect place for him to harvest some unique abilities.
Commander Lin relaxed at the response, but as he watched Ren charge into the nest on the monitors, his face contorted.
"Dammit! Didn't he say he wouldn't go over there?!"
"Commander, he said he wouldn't interfere in the fight with the King. He didn't say he wouldn't enter the nest."
"I don't need a play-by-play! I'm not an idiot!"
"..."
Commander Lin, having recently lost his beloved daughter, was exceptionally irritable.
Ren reached one of the nest's entrances in a few breaths. Up close, the sight made even him feel nauseous. A fortress made of rotting, writhing meat was truly stomach-turning.
The Corpse King has some... questionable tastes.
He recalled the image of the King bathing in human blood and shuddered.
Disgusting. Purely revolting.
He stepped into the nest, and the world plunged into darkness. Ren toggled his vision to night-vision mode, and the interior of the hive came into focus.
Rotten meat. Fresh blood.
Nothing else.
It seems the King hasn't started condensing the Blood Essence yet. No matter. Collecting the genes of the strong comes first.
He had already sent Mu Tiancai out of H City to prepare a new lab and establish a short-video company. Ren had arranged the logistics long ago; Mu just had to follow the steps.
Once Ren finished harvesting genes here, Mu should be ready. They could mass-produce a "Basic Edition" of the God Gene for the Yan Huang authorities—making a fortune while cementing a relationship with the top brass. It would make their future expansion much smoother.
Though Ren was now God-level, he knew there were tiers above him: Super-God, Overlord, and likely even more powerful entities beyond that. Even within Yan Huang, a God-level combatant couldn't be too reckless, or Qinglong would show up with the Nine Dragon Pins to settle the score.
Ren entered through the western gate. Before long, he encountered the guardian of this sector: the former Special Ops member, Ghost Stick.
A true hero in life, he had fought the Corpse King with everything he had. However, the gap was too wide; the King had dismantled him and, after death, infected him. Now, he served as a subordinate, modeled after the Monkey King, Sun Wukong.
Beside him stood a massive pig-type variant, at least five meters tall.
"Hehehe! Finally, a guest! I've been waiting a long time!" Ghost Stick sat on a chair, gesturing to the pig. "Go, test him out!"
The massive pig lunged, its hoof descending toward Ren like a falling pillar!
Ren dodged effortlessly. Killing intent swirled in his hand, enveloping the creature in an instant.
"Rasengan!"
Splat!!!
The high-speed rotation of the killing intent shredded the pig's head into a mist of blood and bone.
Killing the pig was as easy as crushing an ant. Ren turned his gaze back to Ghost Stick. The latter turned serious, gripping his specialized staff and locking eyes with Ren.
One second. Two seconds. Two and a half seconds!
Zip!
Ghost Stick turned and bolted.
Fight? He wasn't a fool. He had attempted to use his staff to emit infrasound waves to disrupt Ren, only to find his weapon's frequency had been synchronized by the sheer power of Ren's heartbeat.
The gap was undeniable. If he stayed, he'd be vaporized.
Ren was stunned. Weren't the Corpse Brothers supposed to be "fight to the death" types? Why did Ghost Stick just bail?
"Hey! Hold on! I didn't say you could leave!"
Ren gave chase. Using infrasound tracking, he easily locked onto the target. After a high-speed pursuit, Ren's eyes lit up as a group of people in tactical gear appeared ahead.
"Eh? How did I end up outside?" Ren looked around. It was still overcast, but he was definitely out of the nest.
"Dammit! I thought he was leading me to the King! I should have just killed him!"
Across from him, the tactical team spotted Ren. Thinking he was an evolved variant, they raised their weapons in alarm!
"Easy! Everyone stay calm!" A middle-aged, balding man signaled the team to lower their guns. He smiled at Ren. "This is our Yan Huang God-level powerhouse, Ren Kurogane! He's one of us!"
Ren gave them a small smile. "You're with Team One, right? Don't worry, I won't get in the way. I was just chasing a Sun Wukong-lookalike with a stick. Did you see him?"