In the ghastly blizzard, a writhing silhouette suddenly emerged.

Wings as wide as giant fans spread against the hurricane. They resembled the huge wings of a butterfly, riddled with holes and cracks, yet the two ferocious, ghost-faced black markings on them remained clear.

Like a woman.

Beneath the colossal wings, indistinguishable as those of a butterfly or a moth, lay a Giant Serpent almost the size of a light rail car. Most of her mottled scales had fallen off, leaving her skin riddled with festering sores oozing stinking pus that had frozen in the frost. Between the lesions, a dozen or so lizard-like claws grew haphazardly, distributed randomly over her body. One even protruded grotesquely from the corner of her mouth, its distorted shape chilling to behold.

"Why... why me..."

From several head-like sores on her belly, a voice wailed, "Why can't I... live..."

Amidst her cries, the demonic patterns on the moth wings, the ferocious serpent head, and the human-like faces on her sores all stared fixedly at the distant Huai Shi.

Ravenous and greedy.

Being intensely watched by the creature—one couldn't tell if it was a centipede-snake or a moth-snake—even Huai Shi, despite having transformed into a Giant Beast, couldn't help but feel a chill.

"Gods, that appearance is certainly creative…" Huai Shi turned to Fu Yi and asked, "Is it an Explorer?"

"Not just that."

Fu Yi poked her head out, eyeing the distant figure cautiously. She saw the data that appeared on her plugin: "It says here she's a biologist who studied reptiles, also bearing the symbol of the Astronomical Society... She has her own GM account, so be careful."

Huai Shi drew in a sharp breath.

Someone with a GM account ended up this wretched? How is anyone else supposed to survive? This woman clearly failed her evolution. She's showing traits from several animals, like some kind of jigsaw puzzle. The fact that she's still able to move is a miracle. But she's probably lost most of her sanity, right?

"No, that's not right," Fu Yi exclaimed. "Her data here is completely scrambled; her name doesn't even display… It's debatable if it's even her anymore."

"...If it's not her, then what the hell is it!" Huai Shi felt even more creeped out by what she said.

"You're asking me? Who should I ask?" Fu Yi stepped on his head and, using Psychokinesis, lifted herself into the air. "She's charging! You're up, Steel Garurumon!"

"Who still watches 'Digital Monster,' an old cartoon like that, nowadays!"

By the time Huai Shi finally understood what she was saying, the fang-filled serpentine maw had already lunged for his neck. Even weighed down by a bunch of cumbersome wings, the malformed Giant Serpent moved as fast as a racing train, striking Huai Shi with terrifying speed, her enlarged tail instantly slamming into him.

In an instant, a roaring explosion erupted. The force of the collision between the Giant Beasts churned the blizzard.

Huai Shi was actually knocked backward by this massive force. He then saw countless scales rubbing together as the Giant Serpent coiled tightly around his body, rapidly constricting. However, it was to no avail against Huai Shi's shell, which had a gold content of over seventy percent.

Subsequently, sharp teeth dripping with venom bit towards Huai Shi's neck.

"Lady, you can't do that!"

Huai Shi struggled fiercely, lifting his two front paws and, in a desperate moment, managed to hold the closing snake's jaw open. Scales rubbed against scales, producing a continuous, sharp grinding sound.

Suddenly, the Giant Serpent's moth wings fluttered, scattering countless particles of scale powder. Mixed with the flying snow, the gray powder was inconspicuous, yet it suddenly made Huai Shi dizzy and disoriented.

Deadly poison!

A roar erupted from nearby as the swirling snowstorm seemed to come alive. A Wolf Beast identical to Huai Shi emerged from the blizzard with a deafening sound, pouncing on the Giant Serpent in the blink of an eye.

Instinctively, the Giant Serpent recoiled in shock, quickly retreating. But then she saw the wolf-shaped Giant Beast suddenly dissolve into the snowstorm, as if it had never existed. Instead, countless snowflakes, stirred by psychokinetic force, flew up and enveloped her, congealing into countless Sharp Blades. This created a whirlwind effect, slicing mercilessly.

Yet, aside from inflicting many minor wounds, it was utterly useless.

Fu Yi clicked her tongue in frustration, flying even higher. The damage still isn't enough. Unless the psychokinetic projectiles hit a vital spot, they're just minor wounds to these increasingly massive Giant Beasts.

In a few short seconds, Huai Shi recovered his breath from the irritating scale powder, so furious his eyes practically turned green.

I almost got done in by such a simple trick!

Enraged, the Armored Giant Wolf lifted its head to the sky and howled. Its limbs, covered with a steel carapace, scraped four deep marks into the snow as its entire form shot forward through the air. It carried a weight almost equal to solid steel, thundering forward with crushing momentum.

Its jaw, sharp as a file, lifted, aiming at the Giant Serpent's stunned face.

Yu Step!

Second-stage acceleration!

The Giant Wolf and the Giant Snake crossed paths. Then, following a terrible shriek, a horrific gash appeared on the snake's back. Shortly afterward, a broken moth wing detached from her bloodied wound.

The Giant Snake, in a blind rage, flailed her countless deformed claws frantically. Ignoring her injuries, she charged at Huai Shi, splashing blood along the way.

But Huai Shi had already turned around. Facing her again, he once more employed his special move: "Charge!"

BOOM!

With a deafening crash, a blastwave swept out, engulfing everything in its path. It stirred up countless snowflakes, creating a breathtaking vortex of snow.

At the center of the impact, Huai Shi sneered as he lifted his hind paw, stepping on the middle of the Giant Snake and pinning her down.

Who do you think you're comparing strength with, you little twerp!

The Giant Snake, seemingly oblivious to pain, furiously raised her head to bite at his face. But Huai Shi's front paw pried her mouth wide open, and no matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't escape his grip.

As the Giant Serpent's neck suddenly swelled, a burst of pitch-black smoke erupted from her mouth, spraying directly onto Huai Shi's face.

Not good, it's poisonous!

Huai Shi inhaled and immediately felt a wave of dizziness and nausea. Anger rose from within him. "How dare you spit everywhere? Have you no public decency?"

You think you're the only one who can spit?!

He took a deep breath of the venom, once again pried open the Giant Serpent's closed jaws, positioned his head right at her throat, opened his mouth, and with an itchy and nauseous sensation in his throat, he expelled the discomfort lingering in his lungs.

"HE... PTUI!!!"

As Huai Shi made his move, a crimson glow burst forth from his mouth. A glob of molten, lava-like, red-hot iron phlegm shot into the Giant Serpent's throat.

Poison? You're joking if you're talking about poison to me, whose lungs are over eight hundred degrees at room temperature! One glob, outstanding results.

The Giant Snake struggled and hissed miserably, but it was in vain. With Huai Shi's pushing and prodding, she had thoroughly swallowed the entire mouthful of molten iron.

Immediately after, she began to tremble violently from the intense internal heat, convulsing until at last, she stiffened. After letting out a final, terrible shriek, she fell to the ground.

Completely motionless.

Dead as a doornail. Though it'll take a while for her to cool down.

"Tasty fruit, wasn't it!" Huai Shi disdainfully raised his paw and wiped the corner of his mouth. Then he saw Fu Yi's disgusted look.

"That spitting of yours was so gross…"

"As long as it works!"

Huai Shi's nose twitched. He caught the scent of roasted meat and involuntarily glanced down, then quickly looked away again. His nose twitched again, unable to resist. He was hungry.

"...You're not planning on eating what you spat out, are you!" Fu Yi's eye twitched; the White Weasel felt like her entire worldview was about to shatter.

"Actually, it's not that bad. It's not like I find my own stuff disgusting." Huai Shi guiltily looked away.

"…"

Fu Yi rolled her eyes and flew into the sky. I can't even bear to watch anymore.

Then Huai Shi, seeing no one else was around, gorged himself.

「One hour later.」

A satiated Huai Shi and Fu Yi hit the road again.

But inside the basket, Fu Yi couldn't help but look back at what Huai Shi was dragging behind him with his tail… It was a section of the Giant Snake's spine, resembling a huge log.

Nine segments in total.

It must have been the hardest part of the Giant Snake. After being covered with Huai Shi's cooled metallic saliva, it had turned into an uneven, spiky iron rod.

"Why are you dragging that with you?"

"It's good material. It'd be a pity to throw it away," Huai Shi said after a moment's thought. "Tonight, when we rest, I'll find a way to recycle it."

"…"

Fu Yi glanced at him. This guy is planning some new mischief, isn't he? Oh well, let him be.

Fu Yi suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her.

「. . .」

"Ah, Melly has been killed."

In the sky not far away, a Golden Eagle broke through the clouds and landed in the camp.

About a dozen Rat-men were busily setting up a temporary encampment, while several Giant Beasts were stooping to stoke the campfires.

Hearing his words, the Red Fox sitting in the middle of the camp simply nodded indifferently.

"After the failure of her Hybrid fusion, it's a good thing someone gave her a release. It seems that cross-species evolution is much harder than we thought; it's not something that can be solved just by a double inheritance Metamorphosis."

The massive Red Fox pondered, then looked up at the Golden Eagle. "Remember to send a message to the other research groups. Tell them to be alert and promptly destroy any failed Metamorphosis subjects—if they get parasitized by something born from the Witch's Night, they could turn into something truly terrible."

The Golden Eagle nodded in agreement.

"The edge of the Country of Mist is already this dangerous. Shall we still venture deeper?" asked the Snow Leopard, who looked as if carved from crystal. "I feel the danger level of the Illusion Forest is too high."

"Why don't we go underground? I've heard the ecosystem there is different from ours. Perhaps we'll find new research topics," proposed the Red Fox.

"That works." Several of the other beasts nodded. "Our projects have been stagnant for so long; it's time we moved on."

"Then, before we leave, shall we finish that evolution hypothesis project? Whose turn is it this time?"

"I'll take care of it myself," the Red Fox sighed. "It's a pity we couldn't recruit that young man named Huai Shi. He had quite the potential."

"Hey, luring people into being experimental subjects is bad karma," a Rat-man looked up and said. "He's a Military Officer, after all. If he comes to London to pound you, no one will plead your cause."

"Forget it, forget it." The Red Fox shivered and quickly shook its head.

"But why didn't Dr. Mei greet me?" The Golden Eagle scratched its chin with a talon. Did I offend her somehow?

The Snow Leopard suddenly interjected, "Speaking of which, isn't she about to marry Carter? Why would she be with a young Military Officer?"

The Giant Beasts exchanged glances, then the atmosphere fell into an eerie silence.

Their gazes all suddenly filled with pity.

It was as if they saw a green glow hovering over their colleague's head.

"That's probably love!" a passing Rat-man declared, shaking its head sagely and letting out a sigh filled with the weariness of ages.