The King of Specters and the Ghoul Serum

“What is this?” Liu Qi's interest was instantly piqued.

A smile appeared on the remaining half of the skeletal-faced woman's face. “These are special items produced on my side. I would like to trade them with the Liu family for something that can increase spiritual power.”

Hearing this, Liu Qi drew a crimson eye from his coat. If the Liu family possessed any items with spiritual power, it was likely the eyes of the Night Slaves.

He tossed the eyeball over, and the skeletal-faced woman reached out to catch it. She inspected it and nodded slightly. “This eyeball contains a small amount of spiritual power. We can trade, but only at a one-to-one ratio.”

Hearing this, Liu Qi casually picked up one of the fingers. “I'll have the composition of this thing analyzed once I get back. If it checks out, a trade is not out of the question.”

On the surface, he remained calm, but he was inwardly thrilled. In all the time since the supernatural had emerged, this was the first time he had encountered something that triggered an instinctive physical craving.

“Very well. I hope you act quickly. After all, the sooner we grow stronger, the better we can protect ourselves,” the skeletal-faced woman said with a nod.

If they only counted the supernatural entities that had emerged after the Lord of Evil made its wish, this massive gathering of Specters and Evil Spirits would certainly be a force capable of threatening the entire world.

However, supernatural beings had already existed before the Lord of Evil made its wish, and their terrifying strength put them far ahead. In such an environment, they could not afford to draw attention to themselves.

Liu Qi pocketed the finger and turned to leave. “I'm in more of a hurry than you are. It seems the benefits of the supernatural appearing on a large scale aren't just limited to expanding our ranks; all sorts of auxiliary items are showing up as well.”

Before these fingers appeared, if he and Liu Zhian wanted to improve themselves, they could only train—forcing themselves to repeatedly exhaust their abilities to raise their power bit by bit.

Then, Destiny altered the world, causing a unique energy to appear in the air, which accelerated their training speed several times over.

And now, these fingers had appeared.

Liu Qi could not help but grin. With this stuff, it'll be hard for the Liu family to stay weak.

Once the two had exited the tunnel, the skeletal-faced woman turned toward the darkness deep within the cavern. “Do you think it was wise of me to contact humans so rashly? After all, with so many of us monsters gathered here, we'll definitely face eradication if we're discovered.”

The sound of something clicking echoed from the darkness as a two-meter-tall figure, carrying three white triangular flags on its back, faintly materialized.

“Do not worry...”

“The Liu family is nothing good...”

“As long as there is an exchange of interests...”

“They will not betray us...”

A hoarse voice, sounding like a theatrical opera chant, echoed out.

Hearing the voice from the darkness, the skeletal-faced woman looked back at the Specter sitting on the stone throne. “We must accelerate the collection of Specters and Evil Spirits. The birth of the King of Specters requires the flesh and blood of as many different Specters as possible.”

This was the grand plan of her and the entity in the darkness. In fact, gathering so many Specters and Evil Spirits here had been their joint idea.

Their goal was to create a controllable King of Specters whose power could rival that of a god.

Only then would they be able to emerge from the underground and stand against those primordial supernatural monsters on the surface.

In the darkness, a colorful, rigid face silently stared at the entity on the stone throne.

The next morning, on the top floor of the tallest skyscraper in Xichang.

The elevator doors slid open, and Liu Qi and Liu Zhian stepped out.

Liu Qi held a red wooden box in his hand as the two walked deeper into the darkness.

After they ventured a few meters into the gloom, six crimson eyes lit up. The six eyes first swept over the two men before settling on the red box in Liu Qi's hand.

“Qi, it seems you have brought this old man something peculiar,” Liu Wen's voice rumbled.

Before Liu Qi could speak, an invisible spiritual force lifted the box right out of his hand.

The box burst open, revealing an ash-white, ten-centimeter-long finger.

Looking into the darkness, Liu Qi said, “Elder, this was traded to me by a Specter faction in Fengcheng. I originally planned to send some to the lab first, but after some thought, I felt it would be better to let you inspect it first.”

Liu Wen's ability to peer inside objects was already more powerful than an MRI scan. With a single sweep of his senses, he could see through anything unless the target possessed strength close to his own.

A soft swallowing sound came from the darkness.

A few seconds later, Liu Wen's voice sounded. “After consuming one, my physical body has strengthened a fraction. Though it is not much, if the quantity is sufficient, it can completely compensate for my physical weakness.”

He paused, adding with a hint of surprise, “The finger also has the effect of modifying genes. If you consume too many of them, you will likely undergo non-human mutations.”

“Elder, the mutations do not matter. What matters is that we grow stronger!” Liu Zhian said.

Beside him, Liu Qi nodded in agreement. “They want one Night Slave eyeball for each finger. Aren't those Night Slaves something you can easily produce, Elder? However, why didn't we feel any increase in spiritual power when we ate them? Is it simply because we are human?”

In the darkness, Liu Wen pondered their words for a few seconds before speaking. “I will prepare a thousand eyeballs for you to trade. These fingers are good items. Even if the increase is small, progress is progress.”

He could feel that if he continuously absorbed the fingers, his subsequent evolutionary path might undergo a unique mutation.

Once Liu Wen finalized the trade quantity, the Liu family began exchanging eyeballs for fingers with the underground Specter faction in Fengcheng.

During this period, Liu Zhian stopped taking action directly. He, Liu Qi, and Cao Liang, the three core members, were busy absorbing the fingers to increase their strength.

Meanwhile, the Special Bureau continued to expand, its membership growing to a scale that could cover every city in the Nanming Kingdom.

At the same time, the Coalition established an official supernatural department called the Demon Hunting Association, but without any powerful figures to oversee it, the creation of the association failed to suppress the rampant supernatural beings within their own borders, let alone the steadily growing number of Specters and Evil Spirits.

Time passed in this manner, and everyone in the world adapted to the frequent appearances of Specters and Evil Spirits—or rather, they had no other choice.

Until another month had passed.

In Yangcheng, inside the top official biological laboratory.

Inside an extremely high-strength cylindrical glass chamber, a young man with a buzz cut lay shirtless on a bed.

He was hooked up to various physiological monitoring instruments, and a needle extending from a nearby robotic arm was inserted into his arm.

A black liquid was pumped into the young man's arm by the machine, quickly flowing through his veins and spreading throughout his body.

Wearing a white lab coat and looking utterly exhausted, Wu Jingyi watched the experiment inside the glass chamber. “Begin the 3,672nd human trial. Record all physiological data.”

Beside him, researchers kept their eyes glued to the data on their computer screens.

“Subject 3672's heart rate is accelerating! It has exceeded 180!”

“The subject's muscle density and bone strength are rising significantly!”

“Subject's brainwaves are normal!”

Hearing the continuous reports from the researchers behind him, excitement flared on Wu Jingyi's face. Is it finally going to succeed?

Inside the glass cylinder, the buzz-cut young man's eyes turned pitch-black.

Sensing the endless torrent of power within his body, a thrilled expression broke across his face. “So strong... I can feel my strength increasing immensely!”

“Subject 3672, do you feel any discomfort anywhere, or any loss of control?” Wu Jingyi walked over to a control console, pressed the intercom button, and asked.

Hearing this, the young man shook his head. “I feel amazing. There's no discomfort at all. If I had to say, I'm just hungry. Very hungry.”

At his words, Wu Jingyi reached out and pressed a nearby button.

A slot opened at the bottom of the glass chamber, and a tray of raw, bloody organs slid inside.

The moment the young man saw the organs, his eyes locked onto them. He ripped off the monitoring devices on his body and began devouring them.

Watching this, Wu Jingyi could not help but shake his head. “Is the Ghoul's devouring instinct still impossible to eliminate?”

“Old Wu, this is already very good. No product can ever be absolutely perfect,” a black-haired elderly man sitting opposite them remarked.

They had been studying Ghouls ever since their time in Ningcheng; to rush the progress and yield results, all of the top biological experts in the Nanming Kingdom had gathered in Yangcheng, conducting simultaneous research across multiple laboratories.

The higher-ups had even authorized unrestricted human trials, providing them with as many subjects as they needed.

There were currently three laboratories researching Ghouls, and theirs was Research Institute No. 1.

Once the young man finished eating the organs, Wu Jingyi instructed, “Lie back down on the bed for another scan.”

The young man complied obediently. As the equipment scanned him, stream after stream of data appeared on the monitors.

Behind him, a middle-aged man with bloodshot eyes stared at the data. “It's such a pity that the most crucial ability—growing stronger by consuming flesh—was not inherited. If we had inherited that, our Nanming Kingdom could have built an army of Ghouls to sweep away those Specters and restore peace to the world.”

Next, they began testing the young man's physical parameters while initiating larger-batch trials.

Two days later, Wu Jingyi recorded the experimental data on his computer.

Ghoul Serum

Effect: Upon injection, the subject's overall physical fitness is enhanced by three to four times!

Side Effect: An abnormal craving for organs; physical fitness is slightly weakened under direct sunlight!

Summary: Although it lacks the Ghoul's strongest ability to evolve and grow stronger by feeding, it can be administered to front-line soldiers to enhance their capabilities against Specters, thereby reducing casualties!

Source: Ghouls kept across three laboratories. Each Ghoul can yield twenty vials of blood daily. With three Ghouls, sixty vials of Ghoul Serum can be produced each day!

Behind him, his disciple held a black syringe, his expression filled with excitement. “We finally did it! Relying solely on ourselves, humanity has taken its first step toward grasping the supernatural!”

“Teacher, seventy days and tens of billions in Ghoul research funding did not go to waste!”

“Old Wu, report to the higher-ups immediately! With our research results, we can definitely turn the tide for the Nanming Kingdom!” the black-haired elderly partner beside him urged.

Wu Jingyi nodded and immediately transmitted the data to the Capital.

Less than ten minutes after transmission, the data landed on He Wenxi's desk.

Sitting across from her, Zhu Weiliang said excitedly, “Director He, I didn't expect Yangcheng to deliver such a pleasant surprise. In the future, we can equip the members of the Special Bureau with Ghoul soldiers. With their assistance, we can drastically reduce our casualties.”

He Wenxi silently reviewed the data. A three- to four-fold increase in physical attributes was indeed impressive.

It would allow her to build an army of mini-superhumans.

After some thought, He Wenxi looked up at Zhu Weiliang. “Are there no test results on supernatural beings from the higher-ups?”

“Director He, supernatural beings are currently too rare. Every single one is a treasure,” Zhu Weiliang said with some hesitation.

He had personally approved the procurement of all the laboratory's experimental subjects. Currently, the number of supernatural agents in the Special Bureau had only recently broken into triple digits, let alone having any spares to use as lab rats.

A faint smile played on He Wenxi's lips. “If we lack subjects, use those rogue supernatural beings, or even foreign ones. Since they cannot be of use to me, they might as well serve as expendable materials to play their final part.”

Hearing this, Zhu Weiliang could not help but silently mourn for those rogue supernatural beings.

“Have Wu Jingyi prepare to bring the Ghouls back to the Capital. I will arrange for an escort to guard them.”

“If the news of the Ghoul Serum leaks, the security forces in Yangcheng won't be enough to protect them,” He Wenxi said flatly.

“Understood. I will arrange it immediately. We will also classify this as top secret and place all relevant personnel under guard!” Zhu Weiliang replied quickly.

Despite being a man who held immense power in the Nanming Kingdom, he could only bow and scrape in He Wenxi's presence.

However, this so-called top secret only remained secure for two hours before it was leaked.

At noon, when the sun was at its fiercest.

Inside the tallest skyscraper in the center of Xichang City.

Liu Zhian, along with Liu Qi and Cao Liang, stood on the ground floor, gazing up at the sky.

The sky above this area had actually darkened significantly out of nowhere. It was a deep blackness unobstructed by clouds, as if the space itself had turned pitch-black.

Cao Liang scanned the darkened sky in shock. The blackness blanketed at least seven to eight thousand meters of the central area.

Gulping, he said, “Elder Liu's strength is probably at the absolute peak of the world. Just the aura leaked from his evolution can affect such a massive area!”

Smoking a cigarette beside him, Liu Qi said casually, “Not quite the absolute peak—after all, there is still that damn thing, the Earth Mother. However, after this evolution, the Elder should start making moves to influence the global landscape.”

The Liu family had developed in Xichang for so long without making many public appearances precisely because Liu Wen was on the verge of evolving.

After this evolution, the Liu family would step back into the spotlight.

In front of them, Liu Zhian remained silent. He stared down at his phone, frowning deeply as he read the leaked information regarding the Ghouls.

The Night Slaves possessed only rudimentary consciousness. Although their physical fitness was far superior to that of the Ghoul soldiers, they could only use melee weapons.

On the other hand, if a Ghoul soldier were equipped with a large-caliber machine gun, their enhanced physical attributes would allow them to carry it, move freely, and fire with ease. The resulting destruction would be no less than that of a Night Slave—it might even surpass them.

At this thought, Liu Zhian's expression turned grim. We must seize this serum. Even if we can't seize it, we must utterly destroy it!

Given the Liu family's style of doing things, a clash with the Special Bureau was inevitable in the future; if they let this matter slide, then this serum would become a blade that the Special Bureau would use against the Liu family.