I Contracted Myself

On the battlefield, countless Mutated Beasts were tearing each other apart, completely lost in a bloodthirsty frenzy.

In fact, the aroma of Zhang Ping's roasted rabbit meat had no impact on the battlefield.

The battlefield itself was already filled with a stench that reached the sky—blood, excrement, and various foul-smelling superpowered liquids. With so many mixed odors, the smell from Zhang Ping's side was insignificant.

Zhang Ping walked along the edge of the battlefield, and the most striking impression was the heat wave of blood and the indescribable stench emanating from the battlefield. This was also why he dared to roast a rabbit; he knew it wouldn't attract the attention of the Mutated Beasts.

However, he overlooked one thing.

...

At the edge of the battlefield, a black dog sniffed the air and then looked toward the battlefield's outskirts, its gaze locking onto the rock where Zhang Ping was hiding.

This was a Corpse-Eating Dog, drawn to the battlefield entirely by the scent of corpses.

The nose of a Corpse-Eating Dog is extremely sensitive, able to smell corpses from several kilometers away.

"Howl, howl, howl!"

The Corpse-Eating Dog caught the scent of the roasted rabbit and immediately let out a howl similar to that of an African hyena.

Moments later, two more Corpse-Eating Dogs gathered and began moving toward Zhang Ping's location.

Behind the rock, Zhang Ping tore off a rabbit leg and took a bite, his eyes lighting up slightly. The meat tasted incredible.

He had eaten gourmet food before, but this rabbit meat was better than any he had ever tasted—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and each bite was juicy and flavorful.

The Corrosive Water Bullet Rabbit had numerous poison glands connected to its sweat glands. When the corrosive water mixed with blood and was heated, it lost its corrosiveness and turned into a unique flavor.

This was a taste you couldn't find on Earth.

Zhang Ping was devouring the meat when his ears twitched slightly, and he quickly jumped up from the ground.

Suddenly, a Corpse-Eating Dog launched an attack from behind the rock. He quickly jumped back to dodge, but another Corpse-Eating Dog appeared behind him.

In a split second, he released the misty knife in his hand.

The knife, made of mist, instantly transformed into a flying knife and shot toward the Corpse-Eating Dog behind him with a 'whoosh.'

The Corpse-Eating Dog reacted quickly, dodging to the side, but it didn't know that Zhang Ping's flying knife could change direction. In the blink of an eye, the knife pierced through its head, and it fell to the ground with a wail.

In the nick of time, after dealing with the threat from behind, Zhang Ping continued to retreat. At the same time, he waved his right hand forward, and flames shot out from his palm, forming a barrier. The Corpse-Eating Dog in front instinctively retreated, and a black flying knife emerged from the flames, decapitating the Corpse-Eating Dog before it could react.

"Black skin, red eyes, human-like teeth—this is a Corpse-Eating Dog?"

Seeing that both Mutated Beasts were killed, Zhang Ping finally had time to observe.

But recognizing the Corpse-Eating Dog, his face changed slightly. He immediately jumped up, and as he did, the ground beneath him exploded, and a Corpse-Eating Dog emerged, snapping its jaws upward, almost biting his privates.

"Die!"

Zhang Ping, both shocked and scared, immediately controlled the misty flying knife to shoot through the Corpse-Eating Dog's head.

Fortunately, he had learned about Corpse-Eating Dogs from Liu Tiefeng and knew they could dig tunnels quickly and liked to use two dogs to feign an attack while another dug a tunnel for a sneak attack.

Their habits were similar to African hyenas, experts at attacking from behind.

Thinking about the consequences of being successfully ambushed by a Corpse-Eating Dog, Zhang Ping felt a chill down his spine.

It took him a while to calm down.

Recalling Liu Tiefeng's teachings, he began to collect useful materials from the Corpse-Eating Dogs.

"Were they killed by you?"

While Zhang Ping was cutting off the Corpse-Eating Dog's claws with his misty knife, Liu Sishan returned.

She was still spotless, surrounded by water balls, holding a Salt Frost Fruit in her hand. Clearly, obtaining a Salt Frost Fruit was not difficult for her.

Zhang Ping stopped what he was doing and was about to speak when a water whip appeared at his neck.

"Sister Sisi, what are you doing?" Zhang Ping quickly raised his hands and asked in confusion.

Liu Sishan didn't answer. She slowly approached Zhang Ping, first checking his eyelids and then circling behind him, inspecting something. After a while, she withdrew the water whip.

"Did you encounter a misty Mutated Beast?" Liu Sishan asked seriously.

Sensing something from Liu Sishan's attitude, Zhang Ping recounted his previous experiences to her.

There was no need to hide anything unless he had some treasure or ability to conceal his attributes. Otherwise, once he returned to Mingzhu City, others could still appraise his attributes, and there would be no way to hide it.

After listening to Zhang Ping's account, Liu Sishan was silent for a moment. Then she turned around and took several deep breaths, seemingly trying to calm herself. Finally, she turned back and pinned Zhang Ping against a rock, glaring at him angrily, "Zhang Ping, do you have a death wish? How dare you eat something of unknown origin? Do you know you almost died?"

"Almost died?" Zhang Ping frowned, incredulous.

Liu Sishan said sternly, "Appraisal Skill can indeed provide you with a lot of information, but not all of it. If Appraisal Skill could provide all the information, do you know how much information a single stone contains? If it can't even appraise all the information of a stone, why do you think you understand everything you appraise?"

"Sister Sisi, are you saying that what I ate was actually dangerous?" Zhang Ping immediately grasped Liu Sishan's point.

Liu Sishan said in a deep voice, "Misty Mutated Beasts are creatures of unknown origin. They have no specific form and usually parasitize other organisms, like parasites. But once the host dies, they burrow into one of the host's organs, waiting for the next host.

In other words, you were almost parasitized."

"What are the consequences of being parasitized?" Zhang Ping asked.

Liu Sishan glanced at the misty knife in Zhang Ping's hand and replied, "Once parasitized by a misty Mutated Beast, it's equivalent to brain death. That black goat you mentioned was probably a puppet of the misty Mutated Beast. Do you understand the consequences now?"

Brain death meant death.

Zhang Ping suddenly recalled the faint scream he heard when his abdomen was in severe pain. Was that the misty Mutated Beast trying to parasitize him?

Then why did the parasitization fail?

Wait a minute.

The abilities displayed by the Appraisal Skill seemed to be listed in the order they were acquired.

Unusual Eater was listed before Misty Body. Could it be that I activated Unusual Eater by eating random things?

Then Unusual Eater digested the misty Mutated Beast?

"Listen carefully, Zhang Ping. I'm telling you seriously, any external object that might grant you abilities carries unknown risks. There's no such thing as a free lunch. If you easily obtain an item that grants you abilities, the first thing you should do is be cautious.

Think about it carefully. How many people in Mingzhu City have more than one superpower? If it were that easy to gain superpowers, do you think there would be so few dual-powered Awakeners, or even triple-powered Awakeners, in Mingzhu City?" Liu Sishan said earnestly.

Zhang Ping finally realized.

Throughout Mingzhu City's history, countless heroes had emerged, but there were indeed very few Awakeners with dual abilities.

If there were exceptions, they weren't nonexistent.

But those abilities were derived from their own powers.

For example, Situ Shibai's replication ability and the Awakeners with the 'Transcendent Adaptation' ability that Liu Sishan mentioned earlier. Their other abilities stemmed from their primary powers, not from external objects.

However, Zhang Ping thought of his earlier speculation.

If Unusual Eater really digested the misty Mutated Beast, then it might be worth trying again in the future.

But he had to verify this hypothesis first; otherwise, it was better not to risk his life.

After her anger subsided, Liu Sishan quickly calmed down. Mainly, Zhang Ping was not only unharmed but had also gained a very special ability. Continuing to scold him would be excessive.

In the end, she just didn't want Zhang Ping to take such risks in the future.

"Let's go. Something big is about to happen here," she said, glancing at the battlefield.

Zhang Ping asked curiously, "What big event?"

"Have you ever wondered why so many Mutated Beasts are fighting to the death here for just a few fruits that increase potential?" Liu Sishan asked as they walked.

Zhang Ping nodded, "I have, but I couldn't figure out the answer."

"When the Salt Frost Tree absorbs a large amount of blood in a short time, one of its fruits will transform from an ordinary Salt Frost Fruit into a Blood Salt Fruit. Mutated Beasts that eat the Blood Salt Fruit have a chance to evolve again. This is the real treasure they seek!" Liu Sishan said, handing the Salt Frost Fruit to Zhang Ping and looking at the distant Salt Frost Tree.

Zhang Ping was surprised, "What about humans?"

"The Blood Salt Fruit is useless to humans. Past predecessors in Mingzhu City have tried it, and the result was death by explosion," Liu Sishan said.

Some natural treasures are only useful to humans, but the heavens are fair. Some natural treasures can only be consumed by Mutated Beasts and are poisonous to humans.

Zhang Ping and Liu Sishan returned to the camp.

At night, many salt transporters were resting in the camp, while others gathered around the campfire, chatting and laughing.

When they returned to the tent, Liu Sishan took out a bottle of water and handed it to Zhang Ping, saying, "Eat the Salt Frost Fruit now and drink plenty of water."

"Okay."

Zhang Ping took the water, bit into the Salt Frost Fruit, and his face immediately scrunched up. He quickly drank several gulps of water.

It was too salty.

Although Liu Sishan had warned him that the Salt Frost Fruit was extremely salty, he hadn't expected a fruit to be so salty it was bitter and sour.

The bitter and sour taste was mixed with a strange fruit flavor, making it very unpleasant to eat.

"Zhang Ping, didn't your teacher ever teach you not to drink water from others or even natural water sources easily in the wild?" Liu Sishan suddenly asked.

The next moment, Zhang Ping's eyes widened as he felt the water in his stomach sloshing around.

"Sister Sisi, was the water I just drank your Pure Water?" he asked, looking at Liu Sishan with a bitter expression.

Liu Sishan said calmly, "Now your life is in my hands..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the Pure Water in Zhang Ping's stomach lost its connection with her.