Chapter 57: New Divine-Level Commodity

Qin Hao smashed through the wall and seized the clawed insectoid that had been hiding beneath the bed. The clawed insectoids were an intelligent species, their mental prowess even surpassing that of humans. Despite their cunning, they had underestimated human intellect. Besides spoken language, humans possessed written words—symbols that the insectoids could not decipher.

“How can this be? No, I don’t want to die!” the insectoid shrieked. But in the end, Qin Hao severed its head.

He dug out the flesh from its chest and sliced off its claws. Bearing these grisly trophies, he ascended to the sixth floor.

“Thump, thump, thump!”

Qin Hao knocked on the door.

“I’ve left some things for you at the door. The meat is edible, and the legs can be used as weapons.”

Without waiting for a reply, Qin Hao turned and left. His mental senses told him someone was standing just inside, watching him in silence.

Only after Qin Hao had departed did the resident open the door, drag the offerings inside, and devour the insectoid flesh. It was the most delicious meat he had ever tasted. His empty stomach, starved for days, was filled at last, and a warm current surged through his body. He felt his strength multiply. Picking up one of the mantis-like arms, he swung it at his solid wood table, and with a single slash, a corner was cleaved clean off.

With such a weapon, those monsters were nothing to fear!

In that moment, a surge of heroic determination welled up within him.

Inspired by this, Qin Hao adopted a new approach.

“If you spot any aliens, hang a bedsheet outside your window!”

“Aliens spotted, hang a bedsheet…” Qin Hao called as he walked through the building.

The ordinary people didn’t know what the clawed insectoids were, but those creatures could “speak” and were prone to violence, making them easy to identify. Soon, many began to hang bedsheets or curtains as signals. Combined with Qin Hao’s mental abilities, these insectoids could not hide, unless they fled far from the city.

For two days, Qin Hao hunted these creatures relentlessly. By the time his combat log showed the death of eleven thousand clawed insectoids, only a few dozen remained—not enough to be a threat.

Qin Hao felt no urgency to continue the hunt. Besides, intelligent species couldn’t be sent in overwhelming numbers, lest the invading civilization be accused of prematurely stripping the planet of its star energy.

Now, even though the Thousand-Armed God of the clawed civilization knew Qin Hao had slain over ten thousand of their kin, there was nothing it could do to kill him. With the demise of all the venomous spider fiends, the threat from the clawed civilization abated for humanity.

This was a precious breathing space for the human race.

All of this, Qin Hao accomplished alone.

After two days of non-stop pursuit, he was exhausted. Sensing his surroundings with his mental power, he eventually found an uninhabited room and entered.

There was a bed and a blanket; Qin Hao collapsed into sleep.

Six hours later, he awoke, feeling utterly refreshed. The past days had been consumed by the hunt, leaving him no chance to rest or assess his growing strength.

“My vitality and mental power have both reached the level of a Level Two Evolver—especially my vitality…” Qin Hao reflected, feeling the changes within his genetic makeup.

Within him now resided four divine-level genes: the Fanged Demon, the Serpent Demon, the Venomous Spider Fiend, and the beastly gene he had absorbed from the Blood of the Thunder God.

These divine genes grew stronger as Qin Hao’s power increased. Ever since he unlocked the second gene lock three days ago, becoming a Level Two Evolver, the rate of strengthening had multiplied.

He now possessed the abilities of a Level Two Fanged Demon, Serpent Demon, Venomous Spider Fiend, and Thunder God Beast: swifter speed, greater strength, enhanced venom, and formidable lightning abilities.

If he faced a Level Two evolved clawed insectoid now, it would be crushed in a single encounter.

Divine genes were simply overwhelming.

“I’ve also devoured countless gene fragments before. I wonder if I can find the divine gene of the clawed insectoids,” Qin Hao mused, activating his innate ability.

The genes he had absorbed were not yet fused with his own; doing so carried great risk, and he would not attempt it unless the situation was safe. The stronger the gene, the greater the caution required.

He sifted through thousands of genes, discarding the useless ones.

The clawed insectoids had produced a deity, and from its powers, Qin Hao could discern the strongest aspect of their divine gene. The Thousand-Armed God possessed innumerable arms—this, Qin Hao rejected outright.

No matter how much he craved power, the human form was his principle.

His aim was to become divine in human shape.

Eliminating the genes that altered outward appearance, he finally found a divine-level gene. As he had expected, its main function was to greatly enhance mental power and enable multitasking.

“Devour!”

Qin Hao’s ability roared to life, fusing the divine gene fragment into his body.

Agonizing pain wracked his brain; his features contorted, and beads of sweat streamed down. Though he could endure the suffering, his body convulsed violently.

After ten minutes, the divine gene fragment finally melded with his own.

“Whew!”

Qin Hao exhaled deeply.

His mental power had not increased much, but he felt as if he now possessed countless extra hands—his mind was astonishingly agile.

The days spent hunting the clawed insectoids had not been wasted; the rewards were immense.

Each insectoid’s star energy crystallized into a star energy diamond, about twenty per creature.

With over eleven thousand slain, Qin Hao had amassed more than two hundred thousand star energy diamonds, more than replenishing what he had spent ascending to the second level of mental power.

His hero points had soared to even more frightening heights.

He now possessed one hundred and ten million hero points.

Alas, their purchasing power was the same as the one million from the beta test, enough to buy only a single artifact.

Qin Hao opened the hero system’s shop.

As a Level Two Evolver who had unlocked the third-level mental gene lock, many new items were now available, better suited to his current state.

He scrolled to the bottom of the store, seeking the most valuable item.

Soon, his gaze was fixed.

“Another one has appeared.”

A unique blue cursor glowed on the shop page, catching Qin Hao’s attention.

[Ability: Ice] [Divine Level]: Requires one hundred million hero points and ten thousand star energy diamonds.

Note: This ability originates from the Neptune civilization of the Universal Peace Alliance. It contains the power of ice and, when activated with star energy, can unleash wondrous effects.

It was a divine-level ice ability.