A few minutes later…
Carrying a heap of bloody flesh, wrapped only in a bedsheet, Lynn rushed back to his apothecary shop, moving like a whirlwind.
The main hall was a mess, utterly destroyed after yesterday's battle. The place looked like a war zone.
Lynn didn’t waste any time. He quickly found the soul lamp, lit it, and hung it on the doorpost before dashing straight into the backyard.
The attic and front hall were beyond repair. However, most of the backyard seemed intact. The cellar door was wide open.
Clearly, Little Treasure had returned.
But Lynn didn’t have time to deal with that troublesome creature. His own situation was critical.
“Calm down… think. What do I do?”
Lynn quickly centered himself, his mind racing.
"If there's a mutation in my body, what do I do? I remember my teacher had some kind of records on this..."
Without another word, Lynn bolted for the basement, kicked the door open, and charged straight into his teacher's library.
This was a place his teacher never allowed him to enter, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He had to figure out what was going wrong with his body, and fast.
A while later, inside the library...
In the dim light of a candle, Lynn, with his monocle on, brows furrowed in concentration, flipped through a multitude of books.
“Radiation-Induced Malignant Cell Mutations”
“One Hundred Odd Curses that Twist the Human Form”
“The Novel: Mutant Loli and Her Tentacles—A Tale Too Wild to Tell”
“A Guide: Thirty-Five Practical Techniques for Taming Evil Spirits”
A series of specialized books were pulled from every hidden corner, their spines creaking under Lynn’s swift search.
He had been at it for over an hour.
Snap!
Lynn slammed the book shut, his expression grim.
“One hundred methods… I’ll try them all. If that doesn’t work, I’ll take risks!”
After careful thought, Lynn outlined his findings.
First, the mutation in his body seemed to be in its latent phase. Or, due to some specific reason, it was unable to fully manifest and take him down immediately. It made sense. If the mutation were ready to take over, the system wouldn’t have given him a twelve-hour deadline.
Second, the mutation was uncontrollable, possibly with its own will.
Third, the creature he had fought last night was probably devoured by the mutation within him. The force that destroyed it was likely that very mutation, which Lynn knew was far stronger than him.
Fourth, the system had provided him with extra help.
Lynn’s eyes hardened as he quickly opened his skill list.
[Infectious Aura]
[Curse Diagnosis]
[Function: Flesh Mutation]
Lynn’s pupils shrank.
That was it!
The very skill he had earned after completing the "Blood Night" mission.
[Function: Flesh Mutation]
[Quality: Special]
[Description]: A unique ability gained after intense blood and flesh reorganization and mutation. It allows the host to freely control their flesh for secondary recombination and growth. The skill’s limit is determined by the host's physical attributes.
“Flesh control?”
Lynn stared at his hands, pondering the implications. It seemed that the deadly battle with that monster had unexpectedly granted him this new power.
No matter what, he had to test it.
Lynn closed his eyes and focused his will on a part of his body.
Buzz—
In an instant, his pupils dilated.
He felt it. He could feel the strange change happening inside him!
Indeed!
This ability let him manipulate his flesh, reshaping it as he wished.
“Holy hell! It’s bigger, more defined, stronger than before!”
Lynn’s voice almost cracked with excitement.
No!
He shook himself out of his daze.
Now was not the time to be distracted by bizarre changes. He had more urgent matters to deal with—like confirming the mutation inside him, and, more importantly, finding a way to suppress it.
And if the creature from last night had been consumed by the mutation, where did all that flesh go? His emaciated body couldn’t possibly store all of it. He didn’t feel any weight gain either.
“Let’s assume those remains are still inside me… Maybe the mutation’s presence is masking their existence, making it impossible for me to sense them.”
Lynn thought.
“And since the mutation is still part of me, any unusual changes in my body should affect it as well. After all, we’re sharing the same flesh.”
He narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint flashing in his gaze.
“If that’s the case…”
He slowly turned his head, his eyes locking onto a bottle in the corner.
Faintly, he could make out the words: “Pestilence” written in large letters.
An eerie silence filled the room.
Suddenly—
“Oli! Gei!!”
Without hesitation, Lynn grabbed the bottle of pesticide, ripped off the cap, and started gulping it down.
This was the ultimate insecticide he had made over the past two years, after learning alchemy from his teacher and drawing on memories from his previous life.
Drinking it would guarantee uncontrollable diarrhea, intense nausea, and a slew of painful side effects that would make anyone wish they were dead.
But a real man...
Would never fear the pesticide!
[Warning! Host life dangerously compromised. Received abnormal buff: Pesticide Poisoning.]
Still able to move, Lynn sprinted into his alchemy room, ransacking the cabinets for expired potions he had yet to feed to Little Treasure.
He squinted and popped open one bottle, a dangerous grin crossing his face.
Suddenly, skull-shaped smoke began rising from the bottle.
These potions, expired for months, were unpredictable in their effects. Even Lynn wasn’t sure what would happen.
But that didn’t matter.
“Oli! Gei!!”
Clenching his teeth, Lynn tilted his head back and chugged the bottles one after another.
[Warning! Host has received abnormal buff: Severe Itching]
[Warning! Host has received abnormal buff: Severe Skin Rash]
[Warning! Host has received abnormal buff: Viral Spread]
The system warnings kept ringing in his ears.
Lynn’s plan was simple. Since the mutation shared his body, if it had its own will, he could use his own death as a bait to lure it out.
And now, it was a test of whose willpower was stronger.
Without hesitation, Lynn grabbed a pile of ingredients from his stockroom, pulled open his teacher’s alchemy book, and frantically started throwing ingredients into a pot.
Gurgle… gurgle…
The pot began to bubble with colorful foam, the fire burning brightly.
Lynn grinned wildly, eyes glowing with a feverish intensity. The swirling colors reflected off his face, making him look downright monstrous.
[Ding! You have created a Deadly Plague Potion x1]
[Ding! You have created a Severe Weakness Potion x1]
[Ding! You have created a Malignant Virus Potion x1]
[Your Alchemy Experience +1]
[Your Alchemy Experience +1]
The constant beeping echoed in Lynn’s ears.
In less than two hours, Lynn had followed his potion recipe and brewed up a dozen terrifyingly strange concoctions.
To improve the taste, he even dug up some old wine his teacher had carefully preserved underground.
Everything was ready.
Lynn set up a rocking chair in the backyard, lay back, and kicked his feet up.
A gulp of the viral potion, a sip of the aged wine—his face relaxed into a smug grin (￣︶￣), swaying gently, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
【Ding! You have been poisoned! Your health is rapidly declining. Estimated time of death: 20 minutes.】
Gulp—
【Ding! You took a healing potion. Your health has been temporarily restored.】
【Ding! The virus is destroying your organs. You are expected to die from various complications in 15 minutes!】
Gulp—
【Ding! You took two more potions. Your health has been temporarily restored.】
Just a few minutes later,
Lynn grinned as he stretched his arms out, feeling the shocking wave of unbearable complications flood his body.
The pain was overwhelming—there were at least a dozen types of pain, not to mention the itching, burning, melting, cold chills, and fever. It felt like ants were crawling under his skin, or like someone was using an air pump to apply pressure to his chest.
Every possible bad reaction was hitting him at once.
“Hehehe—if this were a normal person, they’d have split open a dozen times by now!”
Lynn gritted his teeth, sneering.
Now was the time to test his willpower.
Lynn clicked on his stopwatch.
Twenty minutes.
If nothing happens in twenty minutes, I’ll give it another twenty!
...
Soon, the first twenty minutes were nearly over.
Lynn still didn’t feel anything outside of the complications.
He gritted his teeth and gulped down more healing and antidote potions.
Smack—
He slammed the table and grabbed several bottles of deadly toxins from nearby.
“Bring it on!”
...
Time flew by.
The second twenty minutes was almost up.
Lynn’s left hand twitched a little, but he didn’t notice. His whole body was trembling, not just his hand.
His complexion cycled through every color of the rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple.
“More...more…”
Lynn shakily reached out, weakly swallowing another antidote.
...
The third twenty minutes began.
Lynn lay stiffly in the rocking chair, his entire body wracked with the pain of countless horrific complications. It felt almost like undergoing the most brutal tortures.
His left hand was now shaking violently.
Something yellowish seemed to seep from his palm.
But Lynn, in his current state, didn’t even notice. Every part of his body felt wrong.
He had pushed himself to the brink.
“More...more...more…”
Lynn could barely speak.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
But still, he forced himself to grab a bottle of pesticide, drinking it down with trembling hands.
...
And finally, as the fourth twenty-minute mark approached,
A trembling system notification sounded in his ears.
【Ding...??? Fear level toward you increased by...+10...】
By now, his left hand had turned outward, foam pouring from his palm. The hand twitched violently.
But Lynn, in his dazed state, couldn’t hear it anymore.
He was almost completely out of it, but still dragged himself toward that bottle of pesticide.
His obsession was almost overwhelming.
“I...I...can still...”
System: “!!!”
Left hand: “Ahhhh (ΩДΩ)!!!”
【Ding! ??? Fear level toward you increased by +10】
【Ding! ??? Fear level toward you increased by +11】
His left hand, barely able to control itself, grabbed the rocking chair’s frame and wrapped around it tightly, its palm splitting open.
Vomit—
Countless bubbles spewed from his hand.
It was clear: Lynn was beyond saving.
The drugs had overwhelmed him!
But in his state, Lynn couldn’t feel it—he dragged himself closer to the bottle, his body completely shutting down.
And from this, one could only imagine the sheer willpower that kept him going.
“I...I can still...”
System: “!!!”
Left hand: “Ahhhhhh (ΩДΩ)!!!”
【Ding! ??? Fear level toward you increased by +15】
【Ding! ??? Fear level toward you increased by +20】
Finally, his left hand, desperate, reached out and grabbed the antidote bottle, opening it with shaky hands and forcing it into his mouth.
Midway through, the left hand instinctively glanced over at Lynn.
Left hand: “Whaaaaat?!”
It was horrified to see that while it had been gulping down the antidote, Lynn had already begun drinking pesticide faster than it had.
Gulp—gulp—
Clearly, Lynn was finishing his poison faster than the antidote had been consumed.
This wasn’t good.
His left hand was cracking apart.
【Ding! ??? Fear level toward you increased by +10】
【Ding! ??? Fear level toward you increased by +10】
At this point, time was of the essence!
The left hand quickly grabbed another antidote, swallowing it desperately.
It was used to toxins, but it couldn’t handle the sheer volume being forced into its body.
Too much poison could break even the toughest body.
Finally, after finishing an entire bottle of antidote, the left hand collapsed, exhausted and barely functioning.
But just as it hoped to recover, it felt the wretched body shift again.
“Eh?”
The left hand turned, shaking, and saw that despite being drugged out of his mind, Lynn was still crawling toward the unopened bottle of poison.
That willpower to self-destruct was... unthinkable.
Left hand: “Ahhhhhh!!!”
【Ding! ??? Fear level toward you increased by +20】
【Ding! ??? Fear level toward you increased by +20】
At that moment, the left hand gave one last desperate pull and grabbed the pillar nearby, letting out a panicked scream:
“Dame! Dame! Daaaame!!!”
It really couldn’t be endured anymore!
After eating all those strange things earlier in the evening, he originally planned to digest them well, but then suddenly had all these strange poisons forcefully poured into him!
???????????
If it was just a little bit, he could’ve endured it, just gritted his teeth and gotten through it.
But…
This guy was pouring in a lethal dose!
If he died, then fine, but this person kept him stuck right between the point of life and death, constantly making him oscillate back and forth between the two!
This was too much!
The left hand gripped the pillar tightly (〃＞皿＜), not letting go no matter how much the body behind it tried to crawl forward. It clung to the pillar with all its might.
Meanwhile, drugged up, Lynn was still awkwardly trying to drag himself forward.
The immense willpower, even after the fragmentary consciousness faded, still firmly followed through on his intent.
“Let go… Let go… The medicine… the medicine…” Lynn murmured, spitting out white foam.
“No letting go! No more medicine!!” The left hand screamed.
For a moment, the two were locked in a tense deadlock.
This was truly a life-or-death battle; if the left hand let go, it would be over.
So, after a long time, the left hand still held on tight.
Eventually, Lynn’s eyes began to swirl with dizziness, and his shaking hand finally reached the bottle of poison.
Just two more centimeters…
But then, his body slumped to the ground.
(ヾ????)——
White foam poured from his mouth, and a wisp of smoke rose from his head.
Unfulfilled, unsatisfied...
So close, just two more centimeters…
Dead, lonely death.
Lynn had finally, after all that, drugged himself into oblivion.
…
“Ugh——”
The left hand finally couldn’t hold on anymore. It trembled and slid down the pillar, leaving a long trail of white foam.
But it didn’t fall!
It was still fighting!
It dragged itself with all its strength, its body already foaming and twitching, towards the alchemy room.
Every step wobbled.
A long white foam trail was left on the ground behind it.
The desperate struggle for life was on full display.
“Medicine… medicine 0Дq… antidote… Wuwu…”
Finally.
The trembling left hand dragged the smoking body into the alchemy room and climbed onto a shelf, shakily opening a bottle of recovery potion.
Gul- gul——
Gul- gul——
After using every bit of strength to gulp down all the available potions…
The left hand flipped its palm, and just like Lynn, it coughed out white foam, finally passing out.
…
How much time had passed, Lynn didn’t know.
【Ding! Your poison resistance +1】
【Ding! Your poison resistance +1】
【Ding! You’ve unlocked the achievement: Poison Jar, gaining 300 experience points】
【Ding! You’ve unlocked the achievement: Poison Won’t Kill Me, gaining 300 experience points】
【Poison Jar】: Special achievement for enduring over 500 poisonings within a short period without dying, granting permanent bonuses: +1 to all attributes, +10 poison resistance.
【Poison Won’t Kill Me】: Special achievement for enduring over 200 different poisons within a short period without dying, granting permanent bonuses: +2 to all attributes, +5 to constitution, +5 poison resistance.
Amid the bombardment of system notifications, Lynn finally groggily opened his eyes.
Rubbing his aching temples, Lynn winced as he slowly crawled up from the floor, feeling like his body wasn’t his own—so weak and uncomfortable.
“That mutation I triggered with all that poison… did it work?”
He tried to stand up but collapsed back down onto the floor.
His body was so weak, like he had just gone through dozens of rounds of extreme physical exertion.
Shaking his head, Lynn tried to recall the events before he passed out, his thoughts still fuzzy and head dizzy. But he vaguely remembered…
At the very end, it seemed like he had noticed something strange happening in his body, like one of his limbs had moved on its own.
“What was it…?”
Lynn rubbed his eyes, trying hard to remember.
However, what he didn’t notice was that his left hand, placed on his leg, suddenly twitched.
Then, with a sudden twist, the palm flipped upward, and the wound on his palm began to twitch and breathe heavily, whispering:
“Saved… saved…”
In an instant.
Lynn froze.
His stiff gaze fell on the left hand that was twitching on his leg.
At that moment, a system interface appeared before his eyes.
【???】
【Race】: Abnormal Mutation
【Alignment】: Lawful Evil
【Level】: None
【Combat Ability】: Strong Devouring Instinct (Currently in Weak State)
【Description】: A special mutation born in the body of a young human due to certain circumstances, blending with parts of the Blood Puppet Type 3, the heart of a Faceless Demon, fragments of a Vengeful Spirit, co-existing with the host. Extremely powerful, but particularly averse to poison…
And the left hand immediately noticed Lynn’s gaze, and its attention was drawn to him.
Though it had no eyes, there was an odd sensation as if their eyes were meeting.
“…”
“…”
For a moment, everything around them fell into an eerie silence.
【Lynn’s SAN: -10】
【Left Hand’s SAN: -9】
Then, in the next moment, the left hand’s blood-red mouth opened wide, revealing sharp teeth, and it lunged at Lynn’s head, viciously attempting to bite him.
“I’ll eat you (〝▼皿▼)!”
Lynn reacted almost immediately. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the left hand’s wrist with his right hand and shoved it back with all his might.
“I remember now! Of course it was the left hand that mutated! No wonder I couldn’t take the medicine earlier (｀皿′)?”
With a crash, Lynn was thrown to the ground by the force.
The left hand’s mouth grew larger, fiercer, and sharper, clashing its teeth together with a clicking sound as it tried to bite the air in front of it.
At this critical moment, Lynn’s fighting spirit was ignited.
He rolled, grabbed the left hand’s wrist with all his strength, gritted his teeth, and fought back.
No! This mutated body was too strong!
At this rate, he was going to get his head bitten off!
He had to come up with something!
That’s right! There’s that ability!
In an instant, the thought of the skill he had just gained flashed in his mind.
【Skill: Flesh Disaster!】
Zing——
Lynn immediately concentrated his mind on his left hand, gritting his teeth as he activated the skill.
In an instant, blood surged through his arm, and flesh writhed violently.
But immediately, he felt a huge resistance coming from the left hand, as if something was trying to prevent him from controlling it.
Clearly, this was the will of the mutation!
“You have this kind of disgusting ability, huh? You think you can control me? I’ll eat you (〝▼皿▼)!”
Chomp, chomp, chomp——
The teeth clicked loudly, gnashing even harder.
Even though Lynn didn’t fully control the left hand, he was able to somewhat suppress its attacks, alleviating the pressure on his right hand.
“You piece of crap! You can still talk! I’m gonna exhaust you! Let’s see who wins today! Damn!” Lynn shouted angrily, about to snap.
Lynn was rolling around while holding onto his left hand.
For a moment, the whole room was in chaos.
“Stop talking big! You nasty bastard! Don’t think that just because you’re attached to my body, I won’t dare to move you! (〝▼皿▼)! You little shit!”
Lynn pressed the left hand down forcefully, growling:
“Come on! If you’re so tough, then bring it on! Do you think I, Lynn, will be afraid of a hand?!”
This was outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!
A small mutation actually dared to be so arrogant!
No matter what, he was going to destroy it today. If it came to that, he’d just lose this damn left hand!
Without further ado, Lynn gathered all his strength, (`皿′) and rushed toward a wall, slamming the left hand into it with a thud.
【Lynn's Health -1】
【??? Health -1】
“You dare to slam into me (〝▼皿▼), huh? Take this!”
Swish——
In an instant, the tongue in the left hand’s mouth extended several times its size, shooting straight for Lynn’s face.
Clearly, if that terrifying tongue hit him, even if he didn’t die, he’d definitely be pierced through.
And just as the tongue was about to pierce him,
Lynn seized the opportunity and viciously opened his mouth.
Snap——
The left hand (ΩДΩ): “Wahhh—”
Lynn bit the tongue in one go.
【??? Health -10】
【Lynn's Health -10】
Taking advantage of the opening, Lynn gritted his teeth and rushed into the next room, the operating room.
He grabbed a cleaver with a savage expression and raised it high, ready to chop his left hand in half.
“Die—wah—”
But in this critical moment, the left hand swung its tongue violently, flinging Lynn backward to the ground.
The cleaver fell heavily, making a sharp clattering sound.
However, Lynn’s ferocity was already ignited.
One of them would die today!
Without saying a word, Lynn grabbed the cleaver that had fallen on the ground, still fuming with anger.
The left hand wasn’t going to back down either, instantly grabbing a surgical knife from the operating table.
“Come on then! Let’s hurt each other!”
Clang——
Clang——
The two blades clashed immediately, sparks flying, the sound echoing like a bell ringing.
Lynn (〝▼皿▼) kept pressing forward, saying:
“You’re finished! I’ll chop you up first, then stuff you into a jar, and turn you into a specimen!”
The left hand (｀皿′) pushed back, pressing the knife against his: “Try it, flower q!!”
Clang——
Clang——
For a moment, Lynn and his left hand swung their knives fiercely at each other, showing no mercy.
The clash continued, both determined to take down the other.
They fought from the operating room to the alchemy room, from the alchemy room to the front hall, and finally, from the front hall to the backyard, unable to tell who would win. The battle was intense!
【Ding! Your combat ability +1】
【Ding! Your combat ability +1】
【Ding! Your combat ability +1】
After fighting his left hand for over ten minutes,
Clang——
Once again, the two knives collided with a loud crash, and they found themselves in another intense standoff.
“I’ll give you one chance. If you willingly leave my body, I’ll spare your life!”
“(艹皿艹) That’s something I should say! If you obediently let me eat your head, I’ll let you go!”
“Looks like we’re not negotiating, huh?!”
“Who wants to negotiate with you! I’ll eat you!”
Clang——
Clang——
In the next moment, the two knives collided again with immense force, the rebound sending both blades flying.
The more agile left hand immediately seized the opportunity, (`皿′) opening its giant mouth and lunging at Lynn’s head.
“I’m going to eat you!!”
As Lynn saw the crisis approaching, he stopped caring about anything else.
He quickly pushed his right arm into the giant mouth, (〝▼皿▼) forcing it open and preventing it from biting his neck.
For a moment, the standoff grew even more intense.
“You’re finished!”
The left hand struggled hard, pushing Lynn down with immense force, but Lynn took this chance to yank his head out of its mouth.
Looking at the vicious mouth in front of him, Lynn gritted his teeth.
“You’re the one who’s finished, not me!”
At this moment of crisis, lying on the ground, Lynn spotted a bottle of pesticide among the various jars and bottles, which he had made earlier.
Instantly, it felt like a glimmer of hope had appeared.
That’s right!
This was probably the last bottle before he lost consciousness!
At that moment, Lynn gritted his teeth, rolled over, and opened his mouth, precisely biting onto the bottle of pesticide.
With one swift motion, he slammed the left hand beneath him.
And in that instant, the left hand saw the wicked smile on Lynn’s face.
It also saw the bottle of pesticide in his mouth.
The left hand: “Wahhh (ΩДΩ)!!”
【??? Fear towards you +10】
【??? Fear towards you +10】
“You won’t be able to open the cap! Stop dreaming!”
The left hand (ΩДΩ) struggled, trying to twist free.
“Really?”
Lynn sneered.
And right in front of the left hand, Lynn activated Flesh Disaster.
A tiny hand started growing out of his cheek, and in front of the left hand,
Pop——
He twisted the cap off the bottle.
The left hand: “Wahhh (ΩДΩ)!!!”
In an instant, as the left hand’s terrified screams echoed, the entire bottle of pesticide poured into its mouth, gurgling down.
“Choke on it! I’ll choke you out! (╬￣皿￣)”
“Damn! Damn! o(≧口≦)o!!”
Several seconds later.
Burp——
The left hand lay there, constantly hiccuping.
Its mouth was filled with a strange, slimy liquid, smelling foul and hard to swallow.
It had… been… filled up...
“…”
“…”
【Ding! You’ve acquired an abnormal status: Pesticide Poisoning (Mild)!】
【Warning! Warning! The pesticide you consumed has triggered a reaction with the residual toxins in your body, causing the poison to fight back!】
【Ding! Your abnormal status: Pesticide Poisoning (Mild) has turned into: Pesticide Poisoning (Severe)!】
Lynn froze.
Buzz——
His expression immediately blanked out.
Wait—
Wait!
He forgot!
If his poisoning caused the mutation to react, then by poisoning this mutated part, wouldn’t that mean...
In an instant,
Gurgle——
A massive feeling of nausea surged from his stomach, instantly rising throughout his entire body.
His face turned from white to red, then purple, then green.
Lynn (ヾ????)—
The left hand weakly mumbled:
“You foolish host... poison me, and you’ll… you’ll…”
The left hand (ヾ????)—
Suddenly, Lynn turned his head and forcefully shoved open the basement door, vomiting uncontrollably.
Vomit——
Vomit——
【Ding! Little baby’s affection towards you -10!】
【Ding! Little baby’s affection towards you -10!】
With difficulty, the left hand climbed up, grabbing a nearby knife, trembling as it prepared to strike Lynn.
“I’ll kill you...”
“I’ll kill you, you nasty bastard...”
“How dare you poison me with that terrifying pesticide... I’ll definitely kill you...”
The left hand (ヾ????)—
At that moment, the left hand could no longer hold back. It collapsed beside Lynn, o(x﹏x)o, vomiting as well.
“Wait till I finish vomiting… then I’ll kill you...”
Vomit——
【Ding! Little baby’s anger towards you +10!】
【Ding! Little baby’s anger towards you +10!】
...
They continued vomiting for several minutes.
Lynn collapsed against the edge of the basement, trembling all over, gasping for breath. His face was deathly pale.
The left hand, in a similar state, lay beside him, its long tongue drooping down, exhausted from vomiting.
“Truce...”
Lynn gasped.
“Give me a moment to recover, and then I’ll chop you up...”
“Agreed.” The left hand o(x﹏x)o replied.
“I’m not hungry for you now. I’ll eat you later…”