In the next moment, his body shattered into a light purple mist. Within him, points of light, like shining stars, floated in a cluster of semi-transparent energy mist over the sea.
His senses in this state were... disorienting for a few seconds as his energy worked to adapt.
Changing your form of life was a complete change, including the way the individual perceived the world, an evolution is far from enough to get used to it.
Fortunately for him, he is not just anyone, his evolution allowed him to quickly adapt to the difference in sensations.
His vision became even more purple, this time with a 360-degree angle, and he could see souls at a much greater distance. Not only that, but he could even tell who was sleeping, who was having a good dream, and who was having a nightmare.
It was incredible, he almost lost himself in the feeling, but feeling his energy diminish as he released his consciousness without reserve, he quickly stopped and "sighed". Returning to his hybrid form, he floated toward the boat.
Since there were no sounds of swimming in the water, Jack and Will didn't wake up. They were sleeping on the deck near the ladder. Ringo laughed and felt a little warm inside. His dark eyes almost seemed to convey kindness as he looked at the cubs. He looked at them and focused. Even though he wasn't in full spirit form, he could still see their dreams if he focused.
They were having good dreams, the light aura over their heads clearly visible, unlike the dark aura of nightmares. He wouldn't try to enter either. Without practice, entering their dreams would instantly transform the dreams into nightmares. He needed to learn to restrict his energy before he could simply visit a dream without affecting it.
He descended onto the deck and returned to human form.
As soon as he stepped onto the deck, the pair widened their eyes and stood up, baring their teeth and growling at him. But when they realized it was him, they stopped.
They quickly ran to him, licking him and barking, still that old, strange, wolfbear bark.
They also smelled strangely for a while, but the pair didn't care, his scent had probably changed with his transformation into a nightmare.
But compared to the previous smell of sulfur and salt, it still wasn't enough to make them reject him.
Ringo played with them a bit before going to get something to eat, his evolution had made him very hungry.
The stockpile was full of seafood he caught when he was free.
With his reserves dwindling and unwilling to return, he began fishing, ranging from fish to squid, octopus, mussels and lobster. He also collected some seaweed to improve his nutrition.
Of course, in this world there were all sorts of mutant creatures, and the sea was no different. The octopuses looked like reptiles with scales, the squid had eyes everywhere, the fish had all sorts of strange shapes and he even caught a lobster with a huge claw that released compressed jets of water that could burn holes in steel!
To avoid having to go back for water, he began drinking seawater while leaving freshwater for the Wolf Bears.
Even his bathing frequency decreased—well, there wasn't much dirt left in a lava bath—but the smell and salt of the seawater were still bothersome, which was one of the reasons he didn't want to stay there.
Jack and Will quickly came to him. They loved seafood as much as regular meat, but he usually removed the bones and venom to avoid trouble. They especially liked it when he roasted the fish in its own fat, which is why they were so happy.
He made everything easy for them get the food on the boat storage, but frozen food doesn't compare to fresh food in their opinion. The roasted fish was also very good, so they kept pestering him, watching him with flat ears and grunting softly.
He really wanted to understand where they learned that from. Shit! They are wild animals! How can they act like cute cubs?!
...okay, they're cubs and they're cute.
They were also bored after a month on the boat, but since he was the leader, the duo didn't complain. They seemed to be more restless lately, luckily, they didn't destroy anything.
After dinner, he finally took a good bath and went to sleep contentedly, being buried by the two wolf bears, who were already two thirds his height, but were getting increasingly lanky.
He evolved them to look more like wolves, but with the agility of felines, even their claws became retractable, and they could move their bodies with much greater flexibility.
Ringo didn't mind the duo serving as a living blanket and fell asleep soon after laying his head on the pillow.
He planned to sleep a lot, but in the morning a saliva-filled tongue dragged across his face, making him groan irritably as he pushed Will's head away, who wagged his tail excitedly.
Will barked a few times as he called to him. Jack was already on the ground gnawing on a bone. Opening his eyes, Ringo recognized the bone as the beak of an octopus lizard.
Sighing, he stood up. He didn't think Will's call was a warning of danger. If it were, Will would have given him a light bite and remained silent. No, what he wanted was to play or eat, probably both.
Ringo sighed, his eyes watering, but within seconds he was back to 100%. He didn't know whether to be angry that he couldn't act lazy in the morning or grateful that he didn't feel like his bed was more important than a nuclear warning.
Looking at Will, who was running circles and sitting in front of him, his tail still wagging, he rolled his eyes, got up and scratched his but as he went to the bathroom.
Will ran around him the whole time. Jack also dropped the bone and ran with Will. Ringo, who had a dog before, was used to avoid them.
He went to the bathroom, where he stopped the pair from entering with him. It was a short fight using his foot and a quickly closing the door. No one deserves to take a shit with a dog looking at you with an idiotic expression and wagging its tail. The worst is when they start sniffling and looking at you as if they judge you for whatever you ate.
He took another shower, rolling his eyes at the pair lying in the bathroom doorway with their ears down, and walked past them before heading to the kitchen. Breakfast was fried shrimp. He lay on the lounge chair, eating shrimp and drinking a few beers. The duo voraciously ate their shrimp from the bowls nearby.
Ringo soon took another long nap, this time Will didn't bother him. He was full, and he lay down next to the lounge chair and dozed off, too. Jack picked up the bone and resumed gnawing contentedly.
When he woke up in the afternoon, Ringo finally started the engine and headed away from the sea, ready to return to civilization.
With the engine running, it took only three days to return to Hesla.
He handed over the boat and received the money after the inspection, leaving with Will and Jack running and barking excitedly on the floor. Ringo laughed, thinking the duo would refuse to get on a boat again so soon.
He headed to the Victory Hotel in the Dawn Wind City, ready to look for the next mission.
He still on the twentieth floor, even if in a different hotel.
Leaving the dogs in a hotel room, he went up to the twenty-third floor alone.
While choosing a mission, he overheard some assassins talking and heard that the Black Spider had been captured by Star Dragon.
Ringo looked thoughtful. Han Xiao had already joined the Division 13 group by this point. He thought of the Black Spider and was briefly interested.
His ability allows him to attach himself to the target's spirit. The Black Spider's Esper ability is to send his spirit away when he "dies." Isn't this essentially an instant transmission channel for him?
Of course, if Black Spider's spirit is destroyed, the ability is worthless, but he can to protect his spirit, even help him to die to activate spirit transmission in advance.
Controlling Black Spider seems very useful to him.
Unfortunately, when he asked the reception, there was no information about Death Bell Island. He wanted to go after Emerald Grass so it could help him continue evolving. Now Black Spider is another target he wants to find.
Of course, he didn't mind asking with his "real" face. Even if the six nations attack him, he's already reached the pinnacle of individual power in this world. He doesn't think they'll send a nuclear bomb because he asked about a maximum-security prison. At most, if they find out, they'll keep an eye on him for a while.
Shrugging, he began searching for a mission. He noticed the Desert Rose mission was still there, so Old Han hasn't started his career, nor has he sent any emails yet, but Ringo isn't really worried about him.
Han Xiao is a contradictory guy.
His main desire is to improve his strength. Knowing what awaits them, he can understand, he's the same.
But Hans morality is extremely flexible. At the beginning of the book, he seemed to have a softer personality, with a desire for growth, but not rejecting empathy and friendship. But the more time passed, the more he focused on his machines, business, and profits.
For example, he wanted perfect mechanical sense, so he raised his godson under an extreme regimen under the tutelage of Reynolds, who possessed this ability.
When Nero finally acquired the ability, he intended to put Nero in various dangerous situations so he could obtain this ability from him by triggering a mission.
He had to go through the suffering of "losing" the love of his life for Han Xiao to acquire what he desired.
If it weren't for Nero's "luck" to give Han Xiao what he wanted so quickly, he would have made the boy suffer for a long time.
Of course, with Han Xiao's gaze, Nero or Mia probably wouldn't be in any real danger, but what about the psychological damage?
Even if questioned, Han Xiao would say something like - Just let Feidin do a psychological treatment on him. - or something like that.
Of course, a reliable Psychic is all an individual needs to use their friends and relatives. (sarcasm)
Ringo understands the reason, but that doesn't change the fact that Han Xiao is willing to go to become stronger.
Ringo doesn't know what he'll become in the future. As a human being, he's constantly changing, but he doesn't think he'll be like Han Xiao.