Fear of food

Chapter 118 The Sewer Ruler

Looking at that familiar face, Chen Qi felt a mix of emotions.

At this moment, Sun Xuechao and the person Chen Qi remembered looked no different, but the feeling they gave off was completely different.

Their demeanor is completely different.

Beneath his calm and indifferent exterior lies an undeniable arrogance.

That sense of superiority unique to high-level Nightmare Clan members, whose origins are unknown, can be smelled even through their skin.

"Long time no see," Sun Xuechao said casually.

“We… have probably never met before,” Chen Qi said indifferently.

In his eyes, the Sun Xuechao of this time was no longer the same person as the Sun Xuechao of the past.

“You don’t need to be so hostile towards our Nightmare Clan.” Sun Xuechao smiled. “Actually, after the complete fusion, I am Sun Xuechao, and Sun Xuechao is me. We are no longer distinguishable.”

"Is something wrong? If not, I was just about to go upstairs to check on things."

Chen Qi had no intention of wasting words with him and deliberately probed as he walked towards the second floor of the cafeteria.

Sun Xuechao just came down from the second floor, which means the source of pollution is most likely hidden on the second floor.

What Sun Xuechao, a second-generation Nightmare Clan member, personally guards is likely an S-level pollution source!

Surprisingly, Sun Xuechao didn't stop him. He followed Chen Qi leisurely upstairs and said, "I know what you're looking for, but what can you do even if you find it?"

Chen Qi didn't answer. There was really nothing he could do now. He had lost the ability to devour the Nightmare Clan and the source of pollution. Even if he determined the location of the S-level pollution source, he could only watch helplessly.

Moreover, even if his true form were to come, he wouldn't be able to digest the S-level pollution source in his current state.

This is also why Sun Xuechao did not stop him.

However, for Chen Qi, finding the S-level pollution source is a gain in itself.

As he walked up to the second floor, Chen Qi frowned slightly, wondering why he hadn't been pulled into the illusion.

He had entered a hallucination as soon as he approached the Jinghai Medical College laboratory, and the source of contamination in the laboratory was only at level A.

If there is an S-level pollution source on the second floor of this cafeteria, then the affected area should be much larger, and he should be in the illusion right now.

"Could it be because my current body is immune to the effects of illusions?"

"Or... have I already entered an illusion, but I'm not even aware of it?"

The reason he was able to immediately perceive the illusion the last time he entered it was because he had transformed from a dog into a human.

Chen Qi slowed his pace, cautiously observing his surroundings and checking for anything unusual.

As a result, after walking all the way to the center of the second-floor cafeteria, they found nothing unusual and did not see anyone else.

His food detection ability also failed to detect the presence of the contaminant.

"not here?"

Chen Qi looked puzzled.

"It seems you still can't find it," Sun Xuechao chuckled. "What you're looking for is right in front of you."

Chen Qi frowned slightly, realizing that his ability level was not high enough to detect the S-level pollution source.

This is similar to how Chen Qi couldn't even detect the Class B contaminant disguised as a candied hawthorn skewer when he had it in his hand.

Only after eating the candied hawthorn and undergoing his first qualitative leap in ability can he detect Class B pollution sources.

Chen Qi didn't know what level of pollution source he could detect with his current food detection capabilities, but it seemed that he couldn't detect S-level pollution yet, and he hadn't tried A-level pollution and wasn't sure.

"We can't detect the S-level pollution source, and it seems we haven't fallen into the illusionary realm created by the S-level pollution source..."

Chen Qi turned around and walked straight downstairs without lingering.

Although the source of pollution could not be detected, Sun Xuechao's presence almost certainly proved that the source of pollution was there.

Staying in the cafeteria wouldn't yield any further gains, and if Sun Xuechao didn't stop him, he wouldn't mind continuing to wander around Jinghai Medical College.

Sun Xuechao hasn't made a move against Chen Qi yet, which doesn't surprise Chen Qi. He guesses that the Nightmare Clan in Jinghai City are now having a headache just looking at him.

You can't hit him, you can't kill him, there's absolutely nothing you can do about him.

"Since you've come all this way, won't you stay and catch up with me?" Sun Xuechao finally said.

Upon hearing this, Chen Qi knew that Sun Xuechao had no intention of letting him leave.

He stopped and chuckled, "What, does Jinghai Medical College have some secrets you don't want me to know?"

"Could the source of pollution in Jinghai City really be here?"

If you let S-level pollution sources approach him without hesitation, and you know he poses no threat to other pollution sources, why are you still unwilling to let him leave?
The only source of pollution that Chen Qi could think of that could be more important than a Class S pollution source was the pollution source in Jinghai City.

Chen Qi had never seen what the source of pollution in a city looked like, but judging from the situation in Kangning City, the source of pollution might not be hidden; at least ordinary people with abilities could see it.

Unlike pollution sources ranging from S to E levels, which require special abilities like Chen Qi's to detect, this is not the case.

Otherwise, those powerful officials in Corning City wouldn't have been able to threaten the source of pollution in Corning City.

Instead of answering Chen Qi's question directly, Sun Xuechao asked, "Are you curious why you didn't fall into the illusion?"

Chen Qi glanced at Sun Xuechao, but did not press Sun Xuechao for answers. He simply walked downstairs on his own.

Sun Xuechao didn't chase after him. He crossed his arms and watched Chen Qi's figure walk away quietly, muttering to himself, "You can't escape."

Seeing that Sun Xuechao hadn't followed, Chen Qi quickened his pace, leaped up and jumped down the stairs, leaving the cafeteria in a few steps.

He headed straight for the nearby teaching building, but before he had run two steps, he heard Sun Xuechao's voice.

"Since you're here, stay a little longer."

Sun Xuechao appeared behind Chen Qi at some point, following him like a ghost.

Chen Qi sped up again and dashed off like lightning. He thought he had left Sun Xuechao behind, but when he turned around, he found that Sun Xuechao was following him again.

Although he knew he was unlikely to be a match for Sun Xuechao, Chen Qi did not hesitate and launched an attack on him. His arm split into countless sharp spikes, aiming straight for Sun Xuechao's face.

Pfft!

The sound of flesh being pierced rang out as Chen Qi pierced Sun Xuechao's head, leaving countless tiny holes from which various colored fluids flowed out.

He collapsed to the ground, as if he were already a corpse.

But before Chen Qi had gone far, another Sun Xuechao appeared in front of him.

Chen Qi hesitated slightly, but still made another move and easily killed him.

And so another body of Sun Xuechao was added to the ground.

But then another Sun Xuechao would appear... Chen Qi would kill one, and another would appear, as if he could never kill them all.

A moment later, Chen Qi looked back and saw that the ground was covered with Sun Xuechao's corpse. Seeing that another Sun Xuechao had appeared, Chen Qi simply ignored him and headed straight for the teaching building's main entrance.

But as soon as he reached the door, before he could even pass through the locked gate, the "Sun Xuechao corpses" lying on the ground rose up one by one. Their deaths were gruesome, as if vengeful ghosts were swarming towards Chen Qi.

Chen Qi remained calm and composed. He knew the Nightmare Clan wouldn't do anything to him, and asked calmly, "So when did I fall into the illusion?"

The corpse of Sun Xuechao, with only half a head remaining, replied: "The entire Jinghai Medical College is within the coverage of the illusion. We can pull you into the illusion at any time, and we can also send you out at any time."

Chen Qi pondered for a moment and said, "So the S-level pollution source has such a wide impact range that it can cover the entire medical school?"

Compared to that, the hallucinations he had experienced in the laboratory seemed insignificant.

Moreover, he must be careful, as he may be sent back to reality from the illusion at any time. This silent switching between reality and illusion is impossible to guard against.

This time, he was not possessing the dog's body, so he could not determine whether he was in a hallucination or reality by observing changes in his physical form.

He finally understood why this illusion was called a "real illusion"—one had to enter it personally to feel its reality.

Chen Qi addressed the group of Sun Xuechao, saying, "So you're the one who holds the remote control for the illusion, right?"

Sun Xuechao did not answer, but his lack of denial was essentially an admission.

Upon confirming that he was in an illusion, Chen Qi remained calm. In fact, when he realized that he couldn't do anything about the source of pollution, he had the idea of ​​exploring the illusion again.

He might not make any new discoveries at Jinghai Medical College in reality, but there are many things that interest him in the illusion.

At least in the illusion, he can enter the "delivery room" and the "morgue," which are things he cannot do in reality.

"Now that I'm already in an illusion, why do you keep following me?"

Faced with the men surrounding Sun Xuechao, Chen Qi offered no resistance and simply sat down on the ground—"Go ahead and kill me if you dare!"

"We're just old friends meeting up, we just want to catch up a bit," dozens of Sun Xuechao replied in unison.

"You're trying to keep me occupied, aren't you? It seems that even in this illusion, there are things you don't want me to discover."

"No, not really. I was just worried you'd cause trouble. After all, even in an illusion, there's order we have to maintain." Sun Xuechao didn't try to hide anything. "And you'll be staying here for over ten hours."

"So just tell the truth, why don't you just say I'm annoying?" Chen Qi said with a sneer. "Why bother with all this 'old friend reminiscing' stuff? When did you Nightmare Clan learn this human trick?"

“Strictly speaking, after merging with Sun Xuechao, I can be considered half-human,” Sun Xuechao said seriously.

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Qi's entire body suddenly exploded like fireworks.

It was fried into countless pieces of meat paste, splattered everywhere.

Although these meat pastes split into more than a dozen clumps, each crawling in a different direction.

The dozens of Sun Xuechao adopted a one-on-one marking tactic, each keeping a close watch on a lump of meat paste, and following closely behind.

But after a short while, most of the meat paste burrowed into the sewer and crawled away in different directions along the drainpipe.

Some even burrowed directly into the school's artificial lake and dispersed at the bottom.

This made it impossible for dozens of Sun Xuechao's to track Chen Qi's whereabouts, forcing them to give up.

This was the first time Chen Qi had used the abilities of his body to such an extreme degree, and he also experienced what it felt like to "incarnate in countless forms".

He navigated the drainage system of Jinghai Medical College, passing through "tunnels" only snakes, insects, and rodents could traverse, wading through sewage, battling cockroaches, and fighting swarms of rats...

Of course, in reality, this was nothing more than a one-sided massacre on his part.

Cockroaches and rats were utterly powerless against Chen Qi, who had split into a pulpy mess; they were instantly killed the moment they showed their faces.

Here, he is the absolute king!
Chen Qi dispersed and passed through different paths. After walking around, he almost wiped out all the snakes, insects, rats and ants in the sewers of Jinghai Medical College.

Meanwhile, another portion of the fleshy tissue that entered the artificial lake was attacked by the fish in the lake.

Chen Qi took advantage of the situation to enter the school of fish, using them as a means of transportation to control them to swim in different directions, thus escaping Sun Xuechao's pursuit.

Afterwards, these fleshy tissues leave the school of fish and land from different directions. The fleshy tissues that move through the sewers establish a sense of connection and act as guides on the ground.

This was a very novel experience for Chen Qi.

Chen Qi originally planned to go to the laboratory of Jinghai Medical College again, since he had entered the delivery room and morgue from there before.

But seeing a group of Sun Xuechao heading towards the laboratory from the writhing flesh on the ground, Chen Qi had no choice but to abandon the location.

Finally, all the minced meat gushed out from the sink pipes of a teaching building and reformed into the shape of Chen Qi.

He quickly opened the doors to each classroom and found them all empty.

I ran up and down three floors, but I didn't see a single person.

"Are all the school buildings in the illusion this deserted?"

Chen Qi had thought the teaching building in the illusion would be as lively as the laboratory, but he didn't see a single parasite or even a corpse.

"Is it necessary to explore the other teaching buildings?"

After passing through several teaching buildings, Chen Qi arrived at the school's second canteen. After thinking for a moment, he decided to go and check out the second canteen first.

Anyway, it's still early. If we don't find anything in the second canteen, we can come back and check the other teaching buildings later.

To be on the safe side, Chen Qi did not walk directly through the ground to enter the second canteen. Instead, he entered the sewer and used the drainage system to enter the second canteen.

When he crawled out of the sink in the second canteen, his eyes lit up. He saw that all the tables in the first-floor hall were full of people.

There were also people queuing up at the window to get their food.

Behind the window, a group of cafeteria ladies were serving food to people in line with large ladles.

The sink where Chen Qi was located was in a blind spot for these people, so no one noticed him. He leaned closer to the window and looked inside.

The food was indeed bizarre, leaving him momentarily unsure whether he was in reality or a dream.

After all, it was the first time he had ever seen bizarre food in a hallucination.

The cafeteria lady's hands didn't tremble at all. She scooped out a large spoonful of the tofu-like cysts and poured it into the plate. She glanced at Chen Qi outside the window and reminded him:
"Student, please line up at the back for your food."

Chen Qi silently stepped back, glancing at the crowd of people getting food and eating. He noticed that most of them didn't look like students, and they all had blank expressions, as if they had lost their souls.

"Is this just like the morgue in the lab before, a process of human taming?"

Chen Qi understood that these people were like corpses in a morgue, probably all formed from human nature, and the way they were tamed seemed to be through eating.

They are mechanically fed repeatedly, which gradually erodes their humanity until all of their humanity is exhausted, at which point they are sent to the morgue.

Each person here corresponds to a parasite in the outside world.

As the contamination spreads, the number of parasites also increases.

"There must be somewhere here that connects to the delivery room, right?"

(End of this chapter)