Lu Chen stared blankly at the pale blue text moving with his line of sight, his mind blank.
System? Cheat code?!
He subconsciously looked down at his hand covered in black slime.
Logically, the strong acid that could melt iron should have corroded his hand bones by now.
But the expected agonizing pain of skin splitting open never came. There was only a slight tingling sensation, like wiping his butt with a fuzzy leaf when he was a kid.
The system panel flickered again, like an observer recording experimental data:
[Observation Log: Encountered strong acid attack. Passive Skill "Thick Skin (Mutated)" triggered. Damage Immunity 99%.]
Lu Chen was stunned. He looked at his unscathed (just slightly red) palm, then at the crushed monster corpse in his hand.
Shock, confusion, and a sense of absurdity flooded his mind.
I'm not afraid of acid?
As if responding to his confusion, the system refreshed the information, locking onto the "dead meat" in his hand.
[Monster Bestiary Unlocked]
[Name: Dark Cavern · Corrosive Slime (Deceased)]
[Weakness Analysis: The semi-transparent crystal nucleus floating within the body.]
[Observation Log: A very creative execution method. It is usually recommended to use sharp weapons to destroy the core, but the player chose to... squeeze it?]
[Evaluation: Heh. Savage, efficient, and delightful. S-Rank Brutality.]
Lu Chen had no time to mind the system's strange tone.
Because his body—or rather, the "monster gene" that had been starving inside him for eighteen years—completely took over his brain the moment he saw the small print at the bottom of the system panel.
[Energy Content: High (Rich in active mutated proteins)]
The system panel flickered, immediately popping up a warning line:
[WARNING: High-risk corrosive source detected.]
[Suggestion: Move away immediately! Do not touch! Do not...]
The red warning flashed frantically before his eyes, trying to stop this madman.
But Lu Chen's brain had filtered out all the text, seeing only three shining golden words—High Energy.
With the death of the monster and the shattering of its core, an unprecedented, extremely alluring aroma exploded from the splashing black juice, rushing straight to his brain.
He finally confirmed it.
The smell of "roasted lamb chop fat" he smelled outside was this thing in his hand!
It wasn't a scent perceived by the nose; it was an appetite cheered by every extremely deprived cell.
The feeling was like a person who hadn't eaten for three days and nights suddenly having a steaming, oily meat bun stuffed into their hand.
Lu Chen's brain screamed: "Throw it away! It's a corpse! It's poisonous!"
But his hand seemed to have a mind of its own, clamping onto the rotten meat like a steel cable, forcibly bringing it to his mouth.
Reason was roaring, but salivary glands were partying.
"No... no..."
Lu Chen's eyes were bloodshot, as if possessed. His mouth said no, but his body violently opened his jaw.
The next second.
In the dark basement of the old lab building, a scene occurred that made even the System lag for a moment.
The college student who was shocked and afraid a second ago, now looked like he was possessed by a beast. Revealing two rows of eerie white teeth, he took a fierce bite of the viscous monster corpse in his hand.
Gulp.
As the cold gelatinous mass slid into his esophagus, there was no expected nausea.
The moment it entered his mouth, it was a cold sensation with a strong rust taste, like chewing on raw iron soaked in mint water.
Immediately after, the jelly exploded on the tip of his tongue, turning into a spicy, scalding heat flow that poured madly down his throat into his stomach.
BOOM—!
An indescribable terrifying heat wave exploded instantly in his stomach.
It wasn't the warmth of ordinary food digestion; it was the burning sensation of magma rolling through blood vessels!
[WARNING! WARNING! Player is ingesting unprocessed Gray Fog organism!]
[Scanning... Digestive system running at overload... Purifying energy...]
[Conversion Successful!]
[Obtained: 5 points of "Bio-Source Energy".]
(Conversion reference: 1 point of Bio-Source Energy ≈ Total calories of 10kg premium beef.)
[Current Status: Cell Energy Overload (120%)!]
[Hunger Level: 0% (Saturated)]
Lu Chen's pupils constricted to pinpoints.
"Ugh—!"
He let out an uncontrollable grunt, stumbling back two steps and leaning heavily against the wall.
In this instant, every cell in his body was screaming, expanding, trembling.
It felt like an electric car that usually charged on 5 volts was suddenly plugged into 1000 volts of high voltage.
The blood flow in his vessels accelerated instantly, making a clear swish sound; his heart beat violently as if trying to break through his ribcage; his originally shriveled, sunken eye sockets filled up at a visible speed.
Hot.
So hot.
Muscle fibers all over his body were twitching madly due to "energy surplus," as if countless ants were crawling under his skin.
Lu Chen gasped for air, his exhaled breath actually carrying white heat waves, clearly visible in the cold basement.
That was the first time in eighteen years he experienced what it meant to be—"Stuffed."
Not the stomach being stretched, but the essence of life being filled with energy.
At that moment, the faint green glint that had lingered in his eyes for over a decade finally extinguished.
Replacing it was a scarlet glow, tinged with a hint of intoxication from the energy overload.
Lu Chen leaned against the wall, slowly sliding down to sit on the floor, looking at his hands.
His originally pale skin was now flushed with an abnormal red, his fingertips trembling slightly from the overcharge.
He let out a burp.
Exhaling a hot breath that smelled of sulfur.
"This kick..."
Lu Chen's eyes were glazed, his scarlet tongue greedily licking the black residue from the corner of his mouth.
Satiety? No.
The furnace that had been dormant for eighteen years had just been ignited, and it was roaring for more fuel.
Lu Chen slowly raised his head, those crimson eyes shining terrifyingly in the darkness.
"...is just barely, a little strong."
Still not enough.