418: Chapter 418 Nothing in this world is more delicious than this.

The giant red eyeball still remained in its original position.

It floated quietly, seemingly completely unaffected by the aftermath of the previous battle.

When Fang Cheng's gaze landed on it, its pupil even turned slightly, unexpectedly making direct eye contact with him.

The surface of the eyeball was covered in intricate, blood-vessel-like patterns, emitting a unique red luster.

It did not look like the eyeball of an ordinary creature, but rather like a flesh-and-blood machine constructed from some unknown substance.

Thump, thump.

Even without external energy input, it remained active, like a beating heart.

With every pulsation, the flesh and blood of the entire nest contracted and expanded in response.

At the same time, the countless blood vessels extending from it lit up with a dim red glow, transmitting energy to every part of the nest like a network of life.

Nourished by this strange red light, the charred wounds remaining on the ground were covered by layers of bright red granulation tissue, the ruptured tumors on the walls swelled up again, and the withered tentacles stretched and spread once more.

The entire nest actually exuded a bizarre vitality.

"It's self-repairing..."

Fang Cheng stared at this strange creation, thoughts churning in his mind.

He recalled what Choi Suyoung had said earlier in the Inner World.

The crimson eye was some kind of biological remains that the Noah Organization's expedition team had accidentally excavated from beneath a glacier after encountering an avalanche in the Himalayas.

Minister Luo Lie had desperately run to the laboratory earlier, likely aiming for this very object.

The three Men in Black who had snuck in here had also risked making an enemy of the Noah Organization to try and steal it.

From this, it was clear that the secrets contained within this eyeball were absolutely extraordinary.

Perhaps it was the energy leaking from it that had spawned those gray mists and created the mutated, deformed monsters.

Which in turn warped into a bizarre Inner World, causing the entire Noah Building and the people inside to fall into it.

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

Just as Fang Cheng made eye contact with the crimson eye, a sudden noise reached his ears.

It was not like the previous sound of countless flies buzzing, but rather resembled someone whispering softly in his ear.

However, Fang Cheng still couldn't hear it clearly.

And so, the blurry voice raised its volume slightly, turning from a whisper into a call.

It seemed to be trying very hard to convey some kind of message, or to tell the person in front of it something important.

Unfortunately, Fang Cheng was like a deaf man, completely unable to make out what it actually wanted to say.

The crimson eye did not give up because of this.

A faint red light suddenly burst from its pupil, focusing on the face of the naked, masked man in front of it.

As their gazes met, Fang Cheng felt a slight stinging pain in his eyes.

Immediately after, his sense of hunger seemed to be magnified several times over in an instant.

A tearing pain shot through his stomach, as if it were being seared with a branding iron.

Every cell in his body was screaming, so starved that he felt on the verge of consuming himself.

This hunger had transcended the physical realm, reaching the level of a mental torment.

It made Fang Cheng feel dizzy, and his limbs even began to tremble slightly.

The extreme hunger, like thousands of ants biting, spread to every muscle in his body.

Fang Cheng clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles popping loudly from the excessive force.

Images of devouring food in large mouthfuls couldn't help but surface in his mind; saliva secreted wildly, and the tip of his tongue went numb.

The eyes behind his mask were now bloodshot due to congestion.

He raised his head, staring intently at the giant eyeball floating in the air, his Adam's apple bobbing with difficulty.

The floating "crimson eye" seemed to perceive his change.

Its pupil turned slightly, and the red light grew brighter, locking onto the ravenous man.

Deep within that eye, nebulae seemed to shift and change, harboring secrets from the Universe.

The buzzing whispers subsequently became more urgent, filled with temptation.

This time, Fang Cheng could finally hear it clearly.

[Eat me...]

[You will become stronger...]

[All pain will disappear...]

The various calls were like countless hands, attempting to entangle his consciousness and guide him somewhere.

Fang Cheng could ignore those deliberately enticing whispers.

But the very real hunger was like a bursting dam, surging violently, attempting to submerge his remaining sanity.

It was the depletion of his life's Origin, a bone-deep craving that seared his esophagus and wrenched his internal organs.

Deep in his consciousness, that eyeball seemed to turn into a piece of sizzling, greasy roasted meat, exuding a temptation that made his Soul tremble.

"I'm so hungry..."

Fang Cheng couldn't help but groan.

The hunger began to blur his vision, casting a blood-red filter over everything around him.

Only the beating "crimson eye" emitted a bizarre light in the darkness, appearing exceptionally distinct.

The crimson eye detecting the movement of the person before it, trembled with excitement in the air.

Its shape also changed accordingly, and the blood vessel patterns on its surface became clearer, as if real blood were rushing through them.

That deep pupil was no longer staring blankly, but had completely come alive.

Like an abyss, it reflected Fang Cheng's figure within itself, carrying a greed that threatened to devour everything.

A low growl escaped Fang Cheng's throat as he suddenly ripped off his mask, revealing a face with blood-red eyes.

He then took a step forward, walking toward the eyeball floating in the air.

Every step seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, slow yet firm.

However, just as Fang Cheng was about to get close to the crimson eye...

A blazing, incomparable flame suddenly surged in his mind, instantly incinerating all illusions into ash.

"Looking for death!"

Fang Cheng's steps halted. A trace of anger flashed in his eyes, and his face was filled with the annoyance of being offended.

This damned "eyeball" actually dared to try and seize control of his consciousness?

If not for his epic talent "Omniscient Language," which increased his resistance to all negative language-based abilities like curses, bewitchment, and malice by four times...

By now, he would probably have completely lost himself to his ravenous desires.

This kind of mind-control tactic was undoubtedly a provocation to his personal will.

Fang Cheng's eyes blazed like torches, locking dead onto the "crimson eye."

In the next second.

Boom!

The crimson-gold flames around his body, which had just subsided, flared up once again.

This time, they were even more blazing, even more violent than before!

It was also the most powerful response to the provocation!

His flaming palm, carrying a scorching wave of heat, grabbed the washbasin-sized eyeball in a single sweep.

"Sizzle—"

A piercing wail, like some creature being torn apart alive, erupted from inside the eyeball with extreme agony.

Fang Cheng's palm, like an iron vise, gripped it firmly.

The eyeball trembled violently, the blood vessels on its surface writhing like snakes as it tried to break free from the man's grip.

But Fang Cheng showed no mercy, suddenly clenching his five fingers.

With a muffled "pop," the eyeball was crushed raw, fracturing to reveal a gaping tear.

Flesh and blood splattered out, and several pieces of translucent, gel-like substance mixed with mucus splashed onto the corner of Fang Cheng's mouth.

It sizzled and emitted white smoke, seemingly having a certain level of corrosive effect.

Fang Cheng instinctively stuck out his tongue and licked it.

In the next second.

His pupils shrank abruptly, and he froze slightly.

An indescribable delicacy instantly exploded in his mouth!

It was not an ordinary taste, but a satisfaction that reached straight to the depths of his Soul.

Fishy and foul yet sweet and rich, spicy yet mellow.

No appropriate adjectives could be found in the mortal world to describe this delicacy.

Yet, in an instant, it alleviated the hunger that had reached its absolute limit.

Following it was a majestic energy, like a volcanic eruption, surging into all his limbs and bones, rapidly repairing his body's deep-seated exhaustion.

Fang Cheng's eyes burned with heat; he could deeply feel that this was absolutely what he needed.

"Heh..."

The corners of his mouth curled up as he said in a low voice:

"Since you want me to eat you so badly, fine, I will satisfy your desire!"

Then, without any hesitation.

Fang Cheng opened his mouth, revealing sharp teeth, and took a fierce first bite out of the ruptured eyeball.

"Crunch, crunch, gulp..."

The sound of chewing was exceptionally clear in this deathly quiet flesh-and-blood nest.

Fang Cheng tore at the thick outer membrane of the eyeball with his mouth, swallowing in large gulps.

Viscous liquid slid down the corners of his mouth, leaving dark red streaks on his chest.

If anyone were to secretly witness this scene right now, they would absolutely not think this naked man was a normal human.

He was entirely like a wild beast, fiercely tearing into the prey before him.

Even the disgusting tentacles and tumors around him seemed perfectly normal by comparison.

As the flesh of the "crimson eye" was continuously devoured, Fang Cheng's body underwent dramatic changes.

On his naked body, muscles writhed frantically like waves, and veins knotted and bulged one by one like coiled pythons.

The space between his brows throbbed rapidly, as if something were about to break out of its cocoon.

The crimson-gold flames on his body's surface also began to deepen, faintly revealing an ominous dark red.

It was as if they were going to completely transform him into some indescribable monster.

At the same time, with the "crimson eye," which served as the hub of the flesh-and-blood nest, being devoured, the surrounding scenery also changed rapidly.

Those swollen tumors withered away rapidly as if losing their life, and the writhing tentacles shriveled up one after another, emitting a rotting stench.

The vitality that had originally filled the entire nest was disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Just as Fang Cheng was about to swallow the last piece of the eyeball's flesh, his movements suddenly froze.

His ears instantly perked up, hearing a sequence of footsteps approaching from the distance.

Someone was heading this way.

Fang Cheng chewed quickly a few times, casually tossing the few remaining scraps onto the ground.

He inhaled sharply, his chest heaving violently.

Then, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and put the demon mask back on.

The flames on his body also quickly receded, returning to their previous calm.

Afterward, without staying for even a second, Fang Cheng pushed off hard with his feet.

Like a phantom, he leaped toward the passage exit and vanished into the darkness.

In the flesh-and-blood nest, only dead silence and a complete mess remained now.

The air was thick with a strong, fishy stench and decay.

Suddenly, the air in a corner faintly rippled with a wave of ripples.

It was as if a transparent mirror was being gently lifted by an invisible hand.

The light warped there, ultimately revealing a tall, slender, and handsome figure.

It was none other than Cheng Jiashu.

He looked around, his gaze drifting across the withered flesh-and-blood tissues.

He muttered to himself:

"My uncle said that the relationship between the Xiao Family and the Noah Organization is murky, and he was indeed right."

At this moment, he held a silver voice recorder in his hand, his thumb gently pressing the switch on the side of the pen body.

With a barely audible "click," the indicator light at the tip, which had been flashing green, instantly went out.

Clearly, all the previous conversations between Fang Cheng and the three members of the Xiao Family had been fully recorded.

Cheng Jiashu stepped forward, doing his best to avoid the rotting pieces of meat underfoot.

After parting ways with Officer Zhou Liang and the others, he had relied on his memory to feel his way along, eventually finding this secret laboratory where the "crimson eye" was hidden.

However, the bizarre changes here exceeded his expectations.

Just as he was preparing to conduct some small experiments, he unexpectedly discovered three mysterious Men in Black breaking in.

To avoid exposing his identity, he made a prompt decision to use his spatial ability to hide himself and watch from the shadows.

"It seems the Xiao Family and the Noah Organization have been colluding in secret all along, to the point where they even know such top-secret information as the 'crimson eye'..."

Cheng Jiashu murmured, his eyes flickering slightly.

This voice recorder in his hand was originally meant to guard against the Special Investigation Team and Gao Jin, but he hadn't expected it to actually come in handy now.

Thinking of this, he quickly tucked the voice recorder back into his pocket.

His gaze fell upon the remains of the "crimson eye" on the ground, which had been gnawed down to nothing but scraps.

Cheng Jiashu's eyes were filled with complexity.

Recalling how a certain someone had devoured the eyeball alive just now, with such primitive and brutal eating manners...

He couldn't help but give a bitter laugh:

"This guy Fang Cheng... just what kind of monster is he?"

After a brief sigh, a strange light flashed in his eyes.

The air ahead instantly rippled like the surface of water, spreading ring after ring of ripples.

Cheng Jiashu raised his hand and reached into the ripples, as if pulling a silver briefcase out of the illusory space.

Then, putting on disposable gloves, he carefully used tweezers to pick up the few remaining scraps of the eyeball's flesh from the ground and placed them into the case.

Just then, a faint sound of footsteps came from the hallway.

Cheng Jiashu's gaze sharpened, and he closed the briefcase without hesitation, the strange light in his eyes growing even brighter.

Buzz—

A low hum appeared out of thin air.

The space in front of him, like a shattered mirror, showed a clear distortion.

It immediately collapsed inward, forming a pitch-black vortex.

The vortex expanded abruptly and then suddenly contracted, swallowing Cheng Jiashu's figure as he held the briefcase.

With his disappearance, the flesh-and-blood nest returned to silence once more, leaving behind only a trace of imperceptible fluctuation.

...

Inside the darkness-shrouded laboratory, damaged equipment and scattered debris lay everywhere.

From the outer experimental area, the faint echo of alarms drifted in, occasionally interspersed with a few brief gunshots.

A squad dressed in combat gear and wearing night-vision goggles was carefully making its way through the collapsed equipment.

Their footsteps landed on shattered test tube glass, making a cracking sound from time to time.

"All units pay attention, maintain a fan-shaped security perimeter!"

At the very front of the squad, a team leader lowered his voice to issue instructions through his earpiece.

His movements were swift and efficient, his gaze scanning every corner that might hide danger through the green light of his night-vision goggles.

Zzzt...

A weak static hum came from the earpiece, accompanied by the responses of various units to the orders.

Suddenly, the team leader raised his hand to make a "stop" gesture.

He seemed to have noticed something, abruptly raising his head and looking up at the ceiling through the lenses of his night-vision goggles.

The muzzle of the assault rifle in his hand raised upward at the same time.

There, he seemed to have caught a fleeting disturbance in the airflow.

He stared for a long time, but other than charred cables and collapsed partitions, there was nothing on the ceiling.

"Captain, did you find something?"

The team member behind him asked in a whisper, a trace of confusion in his voice.

The captain shook his head and replied in a low voice:

"Nothing, probably just a change in airflow. Team One, keep advancing. Team Two, follow up. Team Three, stay in position and maintain security, guard the entrance."

After issuing the operational commands, he immediately contacted his superior via the earpiece:

"Commander Qin, this is the 'Sharp Knife' squad."

"We have penetrated deep into the 87th-floor experimental zone of the Noah Building, and are currently located inside Laboratory No. 3 of the Genetic Engineering Department..." (End of Chapter)