As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 180 The Strange Changes in the Sewers
The most important issue now is to confirm which enhancement potion the Shattered Star team used, as well as the dosage and scope of its use.

Ultimately, it was Chu Zhifeng alone who used the banned drug.

All the players who were poached from the Kuangtie team and used no-card strategies all used banned drugs in order to quickly switch to the multi-card strategy.

Or perhaps the Shattered Star Club has a long-standing unspoken rule of using banned drugs on all Spirit Masters, including "Golden Boy" Carlos?
Of course, even if the Shattered Star Club had been using banned drugs for a long time, Xu Yan wouldn't be so naive as to report it to the Spirit Card Association.

It's almost certain that the Lingka Association in this border region is in cahoots with the local clubs, acting as their protector.

However, while banned drugs can significantly enhance physical and mental abilities, they certainly come with various side effects and long-term consequences.

Some of the side effects are quite deadly.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been banned by the Spirit Card Association.

The big boss's confidential documents contain records of more than a dozen enhancement agents being tested in underground laboratories, detailing their specific side effects and the conditions that trigger them.

If they encounter players from the Shattered Stars team in the upcoming matches, this information might just help the Mad Irons team create a miracle.

Xu Yan grinned and wandered around the Shattered Star Club, thoroughly investigating the environment of the three floors.

He then went to the toilets on the third floor, memorizing the structure and layout of the water supply and drainage system.

He stayed until 10 p.m., when the club was about to close, before leaving.

But after going around in circles, they ended up back in the alley behind the club.

Xu Yan found the manhole cover deep in the back alley.

Dive into the sewers beneath the Shattered Star Club.

He moved forward unhurriedly in the dark and damp environment.

The pungent stench did nothing to disturb his bright eyes.

His gaze was like radar, scanning every movement in the dark corners.

Just as he expected.

The snakes, insects, rats, and ants lurking here engage in an exceptionally fierce struggle.

Deep inside the sewers, there were soft, scraping sounds everywhere, the screams of the dying struggles of the weak and the greedy eating of the victors.

Xu Yan followed the sound.

We found a cluster of unusually active earthworms.

The earthworms in the drainage pipes below the Shattered Star Club were fat and large, like dead people's fingers that had been soaking for several days.

The deformed, swollen body was inlaid with rings of purplish-red circles. Through the translucent body, one could see that the contents were vibrating at a high frequency, continuously releasing a powerful life force.

These earthworms are not afraid of light at all, but they are afraid of people.

Even after Xu Yan activated the lighting card and released twinkling fireflies, they didn't scatter. Instead, they crawled towards Xu Yan, arching their backs like venomous snakes.

Xu Yan noticed that their heads were covered with dense thorns.

There is also a slit that serves as a feeding cavity.

Inside their lair, there were also some small, scattered bone fragments.

It was clearly the scraps left behind after they had devoured their prey completely.

These little monsters are far more aggressive than ordinary earthworms.

It is definitely due to the corruption of the remnants of the past.

Xu Yan snapped his fingers lightly.

A firefly, which should have been harmless, suddenly emitted a sharp whooshing sound and shot towards an exceptionally thick mutated earthworm, transforming into a lightning-fast blade that cut the mutated earthworm in half.

The mutated earthworm, now split in two, writhed desperately. The sap gushing from its wounds solidified rapidly within five seconds.

The two severed bodies turned into two new earthworms. Instead of showing signs of weakness or trying to escape, they became even more ferocious due to their hunger.

This scene confirmed Xu Yan's guess.

The Shattered Star Club did indeed use banned substances on a large scale and for a long period of time.

After the players of the Shattered Star team took banned drugs, their excrement was contaminated with the drug's components. This substance then flowed through the drainage system into the sewers, contaminating the earthworms living there.

Judging from the degree of mutation in these earthworms, this pollution has been going on for a long time.

It couldn't possibly have started just two weeks ago, with the arrival of players like Chu Zhifeng who played without cards.

However, it is not possible to determine the specific types and ingredients of banned drugs from lower animals like earthworms alone.

Xu Yan held his breath and listened intently to the faintest sounds coming from the deeper parts of the sewer, from those hidden corners and crevices.

Three seconds later, he summoned "Jelly".

At this moment, the "crystal slime" has become lighter, more transparent, and more flexible than before, with its extensibility and ability to change at will greatly improved.

If we were to say that the "crystal slime mold" of the past was like a trembling lump of crystal jelly.

Now, it's more like a nearly transparent fog.

The mist, baring its fangs and claws, seeped deep into the sewers, into the cracks in the rusty pipe walls.

Soon, a screeching sound came from deep within the crevice.

Half a second later, the screaming stopped abruptly.

Three seconds later, the "jelly" containing a mouse returned to Xu Yan.

A dozen fireflies danced around the "jelly," illuminating the mouse, which was firmly controlled and spread out in a "big" shape, clearly.

This rat was also much larger than its kind.

Its entire body was covered with bristles like iron brushes.

Especially the mane running from the top of its head to its back and then to its tail, which is as sharp as a blade.

When this rat curls its body into a ball and rolls and rams at its enemy, it could very well tear the enemy to shreds.

In addition, its teeth do not conform to the characteristics of rodents.

Apart from the shovel-like incisors.

Two snake-like, hollow, sharp teeth grew on either side of the mouth, capable of spraying out acid with corrosive and anesthetic effects.

However, these were not Xu Yan's main concerns.

Parting its mane, Xu Yan observed that the mutant rat's skin was covered with purple rashes that could trigger trypophobia.

Its heartbeat and breathing were also abnormal. With the slightest stimulation, it would make a "wheezing" sound, and its chest and abdomen would heave violently, as if its internal organs were about to burst out.

When Xu Yan manipulated the fireflies to flash rapidly at a special frequency, the mutated rats curled up in fear. Just seven or eight seconds later, they foamed at the mouth, convulsed, and their thick, terrifying blood vessels bulged out from under their skin.

It's as if its heart and blood have developed their own independent will.

Induced by the high-frequency flashing lights, my heart rate and blood flow both increased tenfold and continued to increase.

Its eyes quickly became bloodshot.

Fresh blood seeped from the seven orifices.

The purplish-red rashes have all become plump and full, like spores that are about to burst open.

(End of this chapter)