More and more people were becoming Spiritual Inception practitioners every day, 'coincidentally', just as the Biomass Gear method of achieving [Origin] release began to spread.
Several people had even gone out on their own accords to kill mutated germ creatures and gather material for Biomass Gear.
It was a very interesting shift in position between hunter and prey.
Naturally, some hunters would occasionally lose their lives as well due to lack of strength, not to mention the fact that some mutated germs creatures had evolved to a ridiculous degree.
…
It took a lot longer for Fang Ze to make it back to his previous home than he expected it would take, the primary reason being that there were all kinds of enemies that appeared to obstruct their path.
For example, a mutated germ creature that hid inside a bicycle that, when no one noticed, ambushed the [Traffic Jam] Authority Holder from behind and took control of his body, then led them down the wrong path. It wasn't until a while later that Fang Ze noticed that something was wrong and saved him.
However by that time, they had gone severely off-course and needed to spend a lot of time to return to the correct one.
For another example, a mutated germ creature that evolved the ability to create hypnotic sounds that covered an entire block that caused them to unknowingly walk around in circles for a prolonged period of time. Only after they managed to find and kill that mutated germ creature did their sense of direction finally return to normal.
There was even a mutated germ creature that disguised itself as a survivor. Taking the appearance of a 12-13 years old little girl, it took advantage of their sympathy and asked them to help it find its so-called 'father', taking up a lot of their time. If Xiao Ba Fu hadn't accidentally discovered that it had no bones, not even Fang Ze would have managed to tell that it wasn't human.
In short, these mutated germ creatures evolved into all sorts of forms with myriads of abilities and obstructed Fang Ze's group every step of the way.
Aside from mutated germ creatures, they also had several run-ins with Spiritual Inception practitioners. All of these practitioners achieved release through Biomass Gear, obtained unusual powers, and attacked Fang Ze's group. They were either deluded by Negary and fought in order to obtain more power, or straight-up fell under the control of their Biomass Gear.
It wasn't until Fang Ze managed to defeat a certain Spiritual Inception practitioner, persuaded him to see the error in his ways and had him join their group that their journey became smoother. Using the practitioner's natural ability to sense mutated germ creatures, they managed to avoid most of the obstructions on their path, otherwise a trip that was supposed to take half a day would have been prolonged to half a month at worst.
Even so, by the time that Fang Ze reached a location he was familiar with, it had already been over a week since he last sensed Disaster King Black Death's Disasforce fluctuations.
Sometimes, pure strength simply couldn't resolve every issue. If one could not flexibly utilize their strength, it would only result in spending a lot for very little in return.
And that was exactly what Fang Ze was doing. Considering strength alone, he was terrifyingly strong, easily one of the strongest people in this world, but even someone with such strength was obstructed for days on end by some insignificant germ creatures. This was part of Fang Ze's shortcomings.
Naturally, he was also constantly maturing, improving himself, making up for his weaknesses, and continuously growing stronger.
"So we're finally here" Xiao Ba Fu sighed in relief. Running into so many strange abilities and creatures, this journey had been nothing but exhausting, both mentally and physically.
"Yes, we'll soon face a final battle against that guy" Chang Xia glanced at the worried Fang Ze and consoled him: "Wang Yuan wouldn't try to hurt He Qiao, although I don't clearly understand his goal, it is fact that he needs these infected people to become stronger"
"We can definitely win against him and rescue He Qiao"
"I understand, I'm just considering what means Wang Yuan might have set up and how to counteract them" Fang Ze nodded and replied.
"This should be far enough" at this point, a long-haired man spoke up in a gloomy manner: "My abilities are no longer needed here, and I… don't have the courage to go any further"
This person introduced himself as Luke, a Spiritual Inception practitioner who released his [Origin] through Biomass Gear. Due to forming a symbiotic relationship with his Biomass Gear, he was brainwashed by Negary to attack Fang Ze's group, causing them quite a bit of trouble.
In the end, he was defeated by Fang Ze, then got his brainwashing removed somehow by Fang Ze and regained his sanity. To express his gratitude to Fang Ze's group, he used Spiritual Inception to act as a guide and led the way for them, otherwise Fang Ze's group wouldn't have made it here so quickly.
"You don't understand what I went through when I was under his control. My morals, aspirations, dreams all became twisted and turned into 'him'. I could feel it at the time, I had fully committed myself to follow that person, regarding 'him' as the meaning of my life"
"Even now, after you've awoken me, I still feel a deep sense of fear towards 'him', afraid that if I faced 'him' again, I would once again consider 'him' the meaning of my life" Luke's expression started to warp, his tone rapidly quickening.
His body was constantly trembling, his tone could no longer be distinguished between frightful or excited: "It was as if there was another 'myself' inside my body. He was constantly talking to me, telling me that following that person is the true meaning of my life"
"It's ok, it's all over now" Fang Ze gently consoled him.
On one side, both Xiao Ba Fu and Zhang Zi Jie had gloomy expressions, they recalled when they had first met Negary, the sensation of fear they felt as they were practically dominated by his presence, as if they had become nothing but food.
"Good luck to you, I hope that you'll be able to defeat him" Luke spoke in a low voice. Thanks to Fang Ze's consolation, he managed to regain his senses, but from this slightly gloomy complexion, it was clear that he still hadn't escaped from the shadow of Negary.
Luke turned around and quickly left, if not to repay Fang Ze, he would have run as far away from this place as possible.
…
As he walked through an abandoned street, he cautiously used his heightened senses to check for any possible mutated germ creatures that might appear. Although he had released his [Origin], there was no telling when some random monster might appear out of nowhere with some ability, ambush, and kill him.
All of a sudden, he felt his body stiffening, a terrifying presence had appeared around him and evoked his lingering fear. His Biomass Gear constantly vibrated to create inaudible sound waves that echoed back to him whenever they crashed into something, creating a 3D model of his surroundings in his head.
This was his [Origin] ability, the same as a bat's echolocation, but significantly stronger. He could attack others through the biological effects of ultrasonic waves, forcibly cause their body temperature to rise rapidly, if affected long enough, this could even cause a cavitation effect and make them explode on the spot.
He couldn't detect any enemies around him at this very moment, but the lingering sensation of fear that still plagued his mind and continued to haunt him.
"Come out! I'm not afraid of you! I won't surrender myself to you, I won't dedicate myself to you!" Luke madly shouted, causing several items around him to undergo the cavitation effect and explode.
〖 You should not be afraid of me, because I am your life's pursuit 〗
A voice gradually resounded in his ears, causing Luke extreme fright, his Biomass Gear started morphing by itself, manifesting as a person with an extreme level of charisma.
〖 Otherwise, why would you refuse to give up your Biomass Gear even now? 〗
〖 So, let me have a look at how exactly you gave up your life's pursuit 〗his finger pressed against Luke's head, directly went through his skull and came into contact with his brain. Luke's soul was swiftly held in Negary's hand.
