"Heh, this guy—feeding on the defeated, his combat ability is truly top-notch. Heh, and you actually managed to beat him, Ethan Zhang. Not bad, not bad at all. Heh, you really are worth studying."
I clenched my fists in fury. This monster—after leaving that gorilla-like body, the body stopped moving, except for the massive head, still spurting blood, twitching.
"Now you can talk, bastard."
I cursed again, and Thousand Hands clapped his hands with a sharp slap, laughing.
"Alright, Ethan Zhang, I'll tell you—the so-called selection process of the Immortality Society."
Thousand Hands began to explain. In the past, if you wanted to become a full member of the Immortality Society, after passing the initial selection, you had to first burn off your cheeks. Then, you’d be taken to a special place belonging to the Society.
That place was saturated with Deathbane Aura, and what they had to do was endure its corrosion day and night. Many couldn’t take it—their bodies would mutate, then rampage and grow monstrous.
"The scene is truly unbearable, Ethan Zhang. When the Deathbane Aura fuses with your bones and goes berserk, it bursts through bone and flesh—ah, the whole body becomes a bloody mess, bones explode, heh."
"I have no interest in listening to your twisted speech."
I swore again, then glared fiercely around at everyone.
"You know, in the past, the Immortality Society would at most keep intact organs from the failures—hands, feet, hearts and such. Only those who lost limbs on the job could get replacements. But ever since I arrived, things have changed."
In an instant, I understood what Thousand Hands meant—after he came, all those so-called failures became his experimental material, transformed into monsters by his hands.
"What exactly are you trying to do?"
"Me? Ever since I was little, I loved stitching together the bodies of animals and insects. It's fascinating, heh."
I had no intention of responding to Thousand Hands. There had to be some way out of this place—I needed to investigate.
"There's no way out, Ethan Zhang. Not from this place."
I flew over to a square building and looked inside. There was nothing—three floors, all empty. With a bang, I punched the bars, sending them flying, then entered a room on the third floor.
There was nothing inside, just a stench. The space was much larger than I expected—almost four meters high, about seventy or eighty square meters.
At that moment, a noise came from outside—the sound of the cage door opening.
"Alright, Ethan Zhang, there's no time for you to rest. Hurry up! The next round—I can't wait. Show me what your power really is."
I absolutely couldn't reveal too much. In the last fight, I'd already exposed plenty. This time, gripping the Hell's Sentinel, I stood at the doorway, planning to observe for a while.
A huge flapping sound erupted. I looked out—a green, mantis-like monster appeared. It was human-shaped, with two arms ending in massive, razor-sharp white bone blades. The blades were serrated, truly resembling a mantis.
"This one is different from the last you defeated. He nearly passed the selection, but at the final moment, he went berserk."
Sure enough, the mantis monster instantly swooped to the fallen gorilla corpse, raised its twin blades, and with a series of slicing sounds, split the tough hide and carved the body into neat chunks—meat and bone together.
The mantis monster began to feed, eating slowly, bit by bit. I stayed at the doorway, not stepping out. Then I turned to the wall, raised my fist, and struck. With a thunderous crack, the wall split open, but inside was a dark, thread-like mesh. I reached out, and the moment I touched it, my specter web stung painfully—not something ghosts fear, but something of ghostly nature, almost as if it was made for me.
I tried using my specter web to sense, but besides a wave of yin energy, I felt nothing. Very strange, these things.
"I'll be honest, Ethan Zhang—this is my ghost array. I call it the Capillary Network. Heh, since I'm a doctor, the name fits, doesn't it?"
Thousand Hands's voice rang out again. I raised the Hell's Sentinel and slashed at the black mesh—clang! It couldn't be cut. Instantly, I turned into mist, trying to slip through the cracks, but as soon as I touched the black fog, I was bounced right back.
"I told you—only the strongest in this arena can leave. The rest, the losers, have only one fate: death."
Outside, a thunderous roar echoed—the sound of wings beating violently.
I turned around, drifting to the doorway. The monster was flying all over the place, searching for something. I didn't step outside.
The mantis monster seemed unwilling to approach the white buildings, and it couldn't sense or see me—even standing at the doorway, it passed right by with a whoosh.
"Hiding is useless, Ethan Zhang. There are five more here, each stronger than this one. You'd better hurry and defeat them, one by one."
I ignored him. Since he called it a ghost array, and I already understood the basics of formations, I had to determine which side was west and find a way to break through from there.
If I kept fighting like this, I'd expose myself even more—and I still might not get out. I decided to keep watching. The one I defeated earlier was gone, likely eaten by the mantis monster.
I took out the Bing app, but found it completely unresponsive. Surprised, I realized my only option was to fly above the facility and check my bearings. Since I came from the north, the left side of the facility was west.
Once decided, I shot into the air. Looking down, I was facing east, so behind me was west. Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine—my specter web sensed something.
I raised the Hell's Sentinel—clang! The mantis's bladed arms slashed at my head, but I blocked the attack. Instantly, it twisted and shot to my side. Two piercing sounds—at once, I turned into mist.
My speed was too slow. Dodging backward out of the mist, I found two deep wounds on my chest, stretching from shoulder to abdomen.
Once I confirmed my position, I flew straight west. The mantis chased after me again.
"What's wrong? Don't run, Ethan Zhang!"
Thousand Hands shouted after me, but I ignored him, flying quickly. Then I saw a cage on the west side and crashed into it with a bang. I breathed a sigh of relief—the mantis didn't chase me further.
But then I heard a sigh.
"What, a ghost actually came in? Have those guys changed? Why let a ghost in?"
I turned in surprise. This was a cell on the third floor, and I saw a normal-looking person sitting opposite me, one leg raised, the other bent.
"Who are you?"
I looked closer and was stunned. The man sitting there had a vertical mouth on his cheek, with an eye on each side. His body was otherwise normal, dressed in tattered clothes.
I stepped closer and was shocked again. His skin was uneven, covered in black lumps.
"Heh, this is what happens to failures."
He spoke, then with a swish, stripped off his ragged clothes. On his chest, the bones were interlocked like blades. I swallowed hard.
"How about we work together to get out of here?"
He spoke, but I didn't nod—just watched silently. Suddenly, he shot past me in a blur, too fast for my eyes to follow.
I looked over—bang! A thunderous roar echoed in the sky, the sound of fists striking. Members of the Immortality Society all have such fists—absolute power.
A screech sounded—the mantis monster's bone blades shattered, and then its body was punched through by the man. He reached in, and with a rip, tore the monster in half.
I swallowed, staring blankly at him. Clearly, he was no ordinary man—his speed and strength were first-rate.
"Well? Let's work together. The other five aren't so easy to handle."
As he spoke, with a creak, another cage opened.