7: First transformation

The cold System prompt echoed in Han Chengyu's mind, but the scene he anticipated—an immediate transformation into a powerful slayer—did not occur. The watch on Lu Jianchuan's wrist merely continued to emit a faint blue glow, as if brewing something.

"What's going on? System! Why do I have to wait? What time is it now?!" Han Chengyu was extremely anxious.

[Performing deep operation: evo factor adaptation, guiding evolution direction, enabling gene modification function. This process requires time and cannot be skipped.] "Gene modification?! Guiding evolution? What is the principle behind this?" Han Chengyu was shocked by this vast concept.

[According to this world's underlying Law, the armor you designed is, in essence, a highly complex 'preset evolution template.' Activating it is not about loading external armor, but rather a precise, temporary, directional activation and form constraint of the Aptitude Holder's evo factor.] "Temporary?"

[Correct. Once the evo factor is permanently activated and its evolutionary path solidified, it becomes irreversible. The armor form provided by this System is a controllable, reversible solution. It guides the factor to achieve the template form and, upon deactivation, allows its activity to safely recede, restoring the user to their normal state. This aims to gain power while absolutely preventing factor loss of control or permanent solidification due to overuse, which could lead the user down an unpredictable path, just like that entity outside.]

"So... we're not just giving him power, we're also putting a 'safety valve' on him to prevent him from becoming like that monster?" Han Chengyu finally understood the profound meaning behind this.

[That is one way to understand it. What is currently underway is the genetic-level compilation of this 'safety valve' and 'temporary form.' Please wait patiently.]

Lu Jianchuan used all his strength, his right hand desperately digging into the metal watchband on his left wrist. His fingernails even folded back and bled from the effort, but the watch remained motionless, as if it had grown from his flesh and blood.

"What the hell is this thing?!" He was both anxious and furious, almost at his breaking point.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the temporarily repelled monster. Its vertical pupils lit up again from the darkness, and this time, it locked onto Li Ming, who had been slightly delayed while covering him!

"Look over here, you beast!" Seeing this, Lu Jianchuan knew there was no way to resolve it peacefully, which instead ignited his fighting spirit. He no longer retreated; instead, he abruptly stopped, let out a furious roar with all his might, and simultaneously concentrated the last bit of power from his phone into a beam of light, shining it directly into the monster's eyes, attempting to draw its hatred onto himself.

But the cunning intelligence the monster retained after its evolution made it choose the most ruthless option. It ignored Lu Jianchuan's provocation, its legs, covered in bio-steel bones, fiercely pushed off the ground, and its figure, like a ghost, traced a zigzagging path, its target clear—Li Ming, who had paused to draw fire! The pair of high-frequency vibrating claw blades tore through the air, carrying a deathly shriek, aiming straight for Li Ming's chest!

"Uncle Li!!" Lu Jianchuan's heart was shattered.

In the nick of time, Li Ming, relying on instincts honed over years of experience, rolled forcefully backward and to the side! "Bang! Bang! Bang!" His service pistol spat angry flames as he rolled, bullets barely grazing the monster's armguard and shoulder blade. One lucky shot even struck its waist, which was not covered by bone armor!

"Hiss-aow——!!!"

A sharp howl, completely different from its previous low growl, mixed with extreme pain and fury, suddenly erupted from the monster's throat, painfully piercing one's eardrums!

As the System had analyzed, its evolutionary path relentlessly pursued speed, attack, and hunting efficiency. One of the costs was relatively fragile defense and abnormal sensitivity to pain. The scorching penetration and tissue-tearing agony caused by the bullet instantly swept through its entire body like an electric current, far exceeding its pain threshold.

This sudden, intense pain interrupted its attack rhythm. Like a wild beast seared by a branding iron, it violently sprang backward, so fast that it created a gust of wind, instantly disappearing back into the darkness, leaving only that heart-pounding howl of pain echoing in the warehouse.

Seizing this precious moment, Lu Jianchuan scrambled to Li Ming's side. "Uncle Li! Are you okay?!" "I'm fine... run!" Li Ming's face was pale, his forehead covered in cold sweat. The extreme dodge and shooting just now had almost exhausted his stamina. He unhesitatingly shoved his empty service pistol into Lu Jianchuan's hand, his voice urgent and hoarse: "Take this for self-defense! Quick, help me up, we're going to rush out!"

Lu Jianchuan took the heavy pistol; it was cold to the touch, yet it gave his panicked heart a sliver of reliance. He forcefully helped Li Ming up. Ignoring the strange sensation in his wrist and the pain in his body, they supported each other, stumbling desperately towards the faint light of the exit, which symbolized a path to survival.

Supporting each other, the two stumbled towards the warehouse door. Beyond the half-open iron door, the clear moonlight, like a beacon of hope, was already in sight! Lu Jianchuan could even see the night dew condensed on the wild grass outside the door, reflecting a faint shimmer under the moonlight.

"Faster! Almost there!" Lu Jianchuan panted, his lungs burning, but the instinct for survival drove him to almost drag Li Ming towards the light that was now within reach.

However, just as his toes were about to step out of the door's shadow, and the sole of his shoe even felt the rough concrete outside—

A huge, resolute, and even somewhat desperate force suddenly came from behind him!

It was Li Ming! The Senior who had always protected him, using the last of his life's strength, grabbed Lu Jianchuan's shoulder blades like iron tongs and fiercely pushed him forward! He himself stumbled backward from the recoil.

Lu Jianchuan was unprepared, and he lunged forward like a kite with a broken string, his elbows and knees hitting the cold, rough concrete outside the door with a heavy thud. A burning pain shot through him, but he was oblivious. He looked back in astonishment, his pupils instantly constricting to pinpricks at the sight before him, his breathing abruptly stopping.

The moonlight, like a stage spotlight, clearly outlined the scene at the warehouse entrance: Li Ming still maintained the pushing posture, but his body was frozen in place, leaning slightly forward.

Right in the center of his chest, a terrifying bone claw, shimmering with a dark metallic luster, its edges still vibrating subtly at high frequency, and covered in viscous blood and some kind of tissue, had already pierced through! The monster's claw blade was sharp beyond common sense, cutting through the police uniform, muscle, and ribs like a hot knife through butter, without encountering the slightest resistance, the wound edges eerily smooth.

Li Ming opened his mouth, as if to utter a final instruction of "Run!" but only a thick, bubbling stream of blood uncontrollably gushed from the corners of his mouth and nostrils. He took one last look at Lu Jianchuan, who had fallen out the door, safe and sound. In those eyes, which had always held both sternness and concern, a flicker of peaceful relief appeared.

Immediately, his entire body was violently yanked backward by the bone claw piercing his chest, his feet leaving the ground, and he was instantly dragged into the gaping maw-like, light-devouring abyss of darkness behind him. Only the trickling drops of blood and Fragmented tissue (shattered tissue) brought out from the wound as the bone claw retracted, traced a brief and dazzling crimson trajectory in the clear moonlight.

"No——!!! Uncle Li!!!"

Lu Jianchuan's mind completely stalled. The world lost all color and sound in his eyes, leaving only the darkness that had swallowed Li Ming and the sickeningly thick smell of blood in the air. He let out a non-human, beast-like wail, and immense grief and heart-wrenching guilt like a tsunami completely engulfed him.

He lay on the ground, his right hand clenched into a fist, frantically pounding the hard concrete. His skin tore, his knuckles instantly a bloody mess, mixed with dirt and blood, but he felt no pain.

Tears, snot, and bitter bile overflowed from his mouth, smearing his face. He could only emit unconscious, broken, and desperate whimpers: "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... Uncle Li... it's all me... I'm the one who harmed you... I'm sorry..."

Just at this moment of extreme grief and despair, which almost destroyed his consciousness, the "watch" on his left wrist, which had been impossible to shake off like a maggot in the bone, suddenly underwent a drastic change!

It no longer just emitted a faint blue light; its entire structure began to writhe and reshape like a living thing! The cold metal watchband seemed to come alive, softening and extending like flowing mercury, then rapidly contracting and solidifying. Finally, it formed a more streamlined, exquisite silver-gray oval armband on his wrist, like the base of some biological carapace, fitting perfectly against his wrist bone as if it had grown there naturally.

And in the very center of the armband, a deep and translucent crimson gem, seemingly formed from solidified blood and an energy core, quietly emerged. Inside, living magma seemed to slowly flow, emitting a faint yet undeniable pulsating glow, regular like a heartbeat.

This strange change forcibly pulled a sliver of rationality back into Lu Jianchuan from the brink of collapse. He raised his left hand, heavy as if filled with lead, and stared blankly at this strange creation that had completely transformed and from which he could even feel a faint warmth.

Was it the instinct to survive? Was it attracted by the power contained within the crimson gem, resonating with his currently boiling blood? Or was it the final protection and guidance of the sacrificed in the unseen world...? He trembled, his right index finger, covered in dirt and blood, involuntarily, with a sense of destiny, gently pressed against the crimson gem, which resembled a living heart.

Meanwhile, in the consciousness space.

[Adaptation complete. Life signal synchronization rate 100%. 'armor' System, standby activated.] "It worked?!" Han Chengyu's spirits lifted; all the waiting and torment transformed into urgency at this moment. [Detecting activation command... Receiving command. Executing initial manifestation. Energy pathways connected... Biomass Exoskeleton, construction initiated!]