A mosquito hovered before his eyes. Tu Xiao'an tested it out—whatever he thought, the mosquito did. He could make it fly wherever he wished.
It was as nimble as his own hands and feet. 'This is amazing.'
Now that he could control it, another question arose.
'Can this mosquito I'm controlling bite people?'
Mosquitoes suck blood. A single bite might be painless and barely itch, but if Tu Xiao'an could command tens of thousands of them in the future, he could drain even an elephant down to a skeleton.
Any creature, no matter how humble or weak, could be earth-shatteringly powerful once its numbers reached a critical point.
Don't underestimate mosquitoes. According to one survey, the animal responsible for the most human deaths worldwide is the mosquito.
Even venomous snakes couldn't compare. Although countless people died from snakebites every year, that number was a far cry from the one caused by mosquitoes.
Every year, at least a million people worldwide die at the hands of this tiny creature.
To test if he could make a mosquito bite someone, he needed a target. Tu Xiao'an wasn't stupid enough to use his own body, and with only his mom and older sister at home, he certainly couldn't test it on them.
Tu Xiao'an was exasperated. He couldn't even find a test subject.
Suddenly, he saw a dark shadow flit across the kitchen and dart into a dim corner.
'Heh heh, a target has finally appeared.'
Tu Xiao'an grinned. He'd never believe anyone who claimed their house was so clean it didn't have a single rat.
His house had plenty of them. Back when he used to sleep in his room, he was often woken up by those pesky rodents.
Since he couldn't test on people, a rat was the perfect substitute.
The rat was small and scrawny, sniffing around furtively as it foraged in the middle of the night.
Tu Xiao'an didn't slither over himself, lest he scare off the skittish creature. With a single thought, the mosquito hovering before him drifted silently toward the shadowy corner.
The mosquito did exactly as Tu Xiao'an willed, landing on the rat and plunging its long, sharp proboscis into its body.
The rat's body twitched, likely feeling a bit of discomfort.
But it was futile. Without an order from Tu Xiao'an, the mosquito clung to it like a maggot to bone, impossible to shake off.
A rat doesn't have hands, so it couldn't just swat it away like a person could.
The mosquito fed for a full ten seconds before Tu Xiao'an commanded it to leave. When it took flight, it wobbled, its speed noticeably slower.
'Looks like it's full.'
'Insight.'
"Ding... Level 1 common rat. Host can obtain 10 Energy Points by Devouring."
'Not bad, not bad at all. Even a scrawny rat like this can provide 10 Energy Points.' Tu Xiao'an smiled, pleased.
Snakes and rats were natural enemies on the food chain. A snake eating a rat was the natural order of things. Besides, this rat was trespassing in his house, so devouring it was an act of justice.
At that moment, a small, silver-white snake with glowing Snake Pupils slithered silently through the darkness toward the corner where the rat was.
The scrawny rat, still sniffing around, was completely unaware of the approaching danger. Tu Xiao'an opened his serpentine mouth, bared his sharp fangs, and struck at the rat like lightning.
Only then did the gray rat sense the danger, letting out a series of frantic squeaks.
CHOMP!
The small, silvery-white snake bit down on the rat with swift, precise cruelty. It held on for a second before releasing its fangs, then rose up to watch the panicked creature.
After being bitten, the rat turned and fled, crashing into things in its frenzy.
Tu Xiao'an's eyes glinted coldly. He simply watched the rat flee, not giving chase, silently counting in his mind: 'One, two, three...'
By the time he reached ten, the rat, which had only managed to scurry a few meters, collapsed with a THUD. Its small body twitched a few times, and then it went still.
'Looks like my Venom is pretty potent,' Tu Xiao'an mused. 'It killed that rat in under ten seconds. That's about the Level of a common venomous snake.'
Surprised, Tu Xiao'an slowly slithered over. He glanced at the rat, its body already starting to stiffen, and without any sense of disgust, began to swallow it whole.
Having become a snake, his physical and psychological responses had changed dramatically. He didn't find the act of swallowing it awkward or unpleasant at all.
A short while later, Tu Xiao'an had swallowed the entire rat. His snake body's digestive system was incredibly efficient; the rat quickly dissolved, converting into 10 Energy Points.
He could clearly feel a subtle change in his body after devouring the rat. He was a little bit stronger.
But this was just the beginning.
Evolutionary Energy Value: 15.5/200.
Afterward, Tu Xiao'an continued to both subjugate mosquitoes and hunt for more rats around the house. Bolstered by his first success, he was now full of confidence. The snake truly was a predator of the dark.
They hide quietly in the shadows, waiting to deliver a fatal blow to their enemies. Whether venomous or not, their methods were the same.
If there was one rat in the house, there was bound to be another. Soon enough, Tu Xiao'an found a second small gray rat.
It was just as scrawny, nothing but skin and bones, and it wobbled as it crawled. It looked so starved that Tu Xiao'an almost felt bad about eating it.
Of course, that feeling was just a fleeting thought, which Tu Xiao'an immediately cast aside. Reality was harsh; the natural world was a place where the strong preyed on the weak.
The food chain existed for a reason: you eat me, I eat you. That was how the ecosystem maintained its balance.
He locked onto the small gray rat, crept closer, and waited for the right moment to deliver a fatal bite.
Then, Tu Xiao'an happily began to devour it, watching his Energy rise.
Suddenly, Tu Xiao'an felt a sliver of happiness. Even though he had become a snake, he could at least help his family out in this small way.
'Catching mosquitoes, killing rats... bringing a little peace and quiet back to this house.'
Tu Xiao'an constantly scanned with his consciousness. Any mosquito he found was immediately absorbed into his system. Any rat he discovered was promptly poisoned and devoured.
Mosquitoes...
'Five!'
'Ten!'
'Twenty!'
'Fifty!'
Five Energy Points in hand. Tu Xiao'an tirelessly collected mosquitoes. For him, this had nothing but benefits; maybe he could even raise his Level just by catching them.
But so far, his Energy Points were only at 30, a far cry from the 200 mark.
Tu Xiao'an needed to raise his Level to Level 2 within a day. It was an arduous task with a long road ahead.
An hour passed. Tu Xiao'an had subjugated two hundred mosquitoes and devoured four rats.
He wasn't sure if this was fast progress or not, but his Energy Value still hadn't broken the 100 mark.
The night was long. Reborn as a snake, he had no desire to sleep. He continued his struggle, grinding monsters to level up.
Another two hours passed. As Tu Xiao'an roamed the house, growing more experienced, he managed to absorb a staggering five hundred mosquitoes. Even he was shocked by the number.
'Isn't that too many? Our house backs up to a mountain, sure, but to think there were so many mosquitoes hiding inside... that's terrifying.'
If all five hundred of those mosquitoes were to bite a single person at once, they might never wake up.