Chapter 46: The Deal

Just as the two were about to give chase, Yuan Liming suddenly called again.

“Damn it, a monster has appeared in East City District One! Some damned doll is tearing down buildings!”

Li Zhicheng was shocked. “East City District One? Isn’t that the address of Anxin Orphanage?”

Guo Yixian’s gaze grew sharp. “What else are you hiding?”

Li Zhicheng had no time to argue. “Damn it, it’s Chen Tu! He’s been hiding that Leviathan! Now Leviathan is out of control—there’s nothing we can do to stop her!”

As the two paced about in a panic, a fighter jet suddenly split the sky, roaring eastward.

Guo Yixian exclaimed with delight, “It’s reinforcements from the Association!”

“Who is it? I didn’t think the Association could spare any manpower.”

Li Zhicheng’s expression darkened. The stronger the Association’s presence, the less room he had to maneuver. There were many things he had to keep from them. He glanced toward the distant sky and quietly sent out a message.

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Perhaps the attack from the Pulse-bearer had jolted Lin Jicang awake. He managed to regain a shred of clarity. Seeing the terror on the faces around him, he forced down his urge to wreak havoc and fled.

He ran helplessly through the streets, dodging anyone he saw. The city was in chaos: animalistic roars echoed from all directions, and the ground was streaked with shocking trails of blood.

He had no idea what was happening, nor did he have the luxury to care. He ran for his life, but ultimately, he was unable to resist the most primal drive surging from the depths of his body.

Hunger.

The glucose and lipid emulsion from his earlier IV had long since been consumed by the violent transformation of his body. Now, as he gazed at the fleeing crowds, his eyes saw only loaves of bread.

Startled by his own thoughts, he forced himself into a restaurant.

The restaurant had closed early due to the dangers outside, and the sudden appearance of this hospital-gowned madman terrified everyone inside.

“Eat, eat, I need food!” Lin Jicang’s tongue trembled as he spoke.

The owner blinked, “We’re closed.”

Lin Jicang could bear it no longer. Grabbing the owner by the collar with one hand, he exhaled a foul breath into his face. “Food. Now!”

Faced with a mouth full of protruding fangs, the burly owner screamed in terror.

Lin Jicang threw him aside and staggered into the kitchen, knocking away two chefs who tried to stop him. He ravenously tore into the raw meat and vegetables on the table.

But the hunger only intensified. His bloodshot eyes brimmed with madness, and his muscles writhed beneath his skin. Bulging lumps of muscle burst through his hospital gown, swollen veins ruptured his flesh, writhing eerily in the air as if they too craved blood and meat.

In a frenzy, Lin Jicang smashed a table in two and rammed himself against the wall, seeking to relieve his body’s unbearable itching with pain.

He realized that if he couldn’t suppress these monstrous changes, he would soon go mad—and then, nothing could contain what would happen.

The whole kitchen shook with his rampage, sending the two chefs cowering in a corner.

Then, Lin Jicang accidentally knocked over a bowl of hot oil. Scalding droplets splattered his skin, charring it black before it swiftly healed anew.

But the sudden burst of pain seemed to spark an idea.

He walked over to a steaming pot of soup, gripped the rim—his hands sizzled with the heat—and, his teeth chattering, his face twisted in agony, he made up his mind.

With a guttural scream, Lin Jicang lifted the heavy pot and poured the boiling soup over his own head.

The scalding pain obliterated everything—all sensation, even the awareness of his own body, vanished.

But in the next instant, the agony crashed down on him, so intense it bent him double on the floor like a pill bug. His swollen skin peeled away under the heat, revealing pale muscle. His limbs tensed and contorted into a fetal curl.

The scent of cooked flesh wafted through the air, making the two chefs gag and vomit.

To witness a living man boiled into a swollen, festering horror was enough to make even trained soldiers retch, let alone two ordinary cooks.

But Lin Jicang laughed.

His shriveled, burnt lips parted in a cracked grin. His hoarse laughter sounded like the ghostly wind howling from hell.

For the first time, the excruciating pain eased the torturous itch inside him, bringing a fleeting clarity and release—as if the incessant jabbering in his mind had suddenly fallen silent.

His muscles still writhed, and the food he’d devoured quickly converted into energy, restoring his battered body. But the itch was stirring again, threatening a new onslaught.

Lin Jicang shouted, “Again!”

The two chefs exchanged glances, frozen in terror.

“Pour the oil on me!” he demanded.

Still, neither moved.

Lin Jicang glared at them with his blistered, ruined eyes. “Hurry, or I’ll kill you both!”

The two chefs jumped into action, firing up the oil.

As the saying goes, those who are ruthless with themselves are even more ruthless with others.

Having endured unspeakable torment by dousing himself with boiling soup and oil, Lin Jicang’s very nature had begun to shift. If not wholly reborn, he had at least shed an old skin.

He hadn’t even noticed he was now threatening, commanding, and taking from others.

Watching the oil begin to smoke, the two chefs trembled, unable to lift the pot.

Lin Jicang’s body was a mass of scorched, twisted scars, yet beneath it all, his strength was undeniable.

He shoved the two pitiful men aside and pressed his hands to the rim of the pot, his flesh instantly blackening and fusing to the metal.

Unable to bear it any longer, the two chefs fled the kitchen in terror.

His battered body seemed to flare with unnatural vitality, mutating anew—even his belly began to bulge and contract, as if something was trying to break free.

But having finally learned to fight instinct with pain, Lin Jicang let out a bleak laugh.

“Come on, you bastard. Let’s see who can endure more!”

In the kitchen, his inhuman screams rang out as the scent of burning meat drifted far into the street—a stray dog cowered nearby, too frightened to approach.

The monstrous parasite that had fused with his body twitched, then, as if resigned, finally gave up its struggle and melted into Lin Jicang’s heart.

In that moment, Lin Jicang was reborn—setting out on a new path, a painful struggle for survival.