Aberrant

The Holy Light magic essence on the surface of Jiang Lin's body circulated spontaneously, forming a very faint golden halo.

When the pollution touched the halo, it made a subtle sizzling sound, like water droplets falling on a red-hot iron plate, quickly evaporating and dissipating.

However, Jiang Lin could feel that his Holy Light magic essence was being slowly consumed.

But after sensing carefully, there were still faint magic essence fluctuations in the air.

This allowed him to replenish the magic essence within his body at any time.

If it were only consumption without replenishment, he would probably need to end battles quickly.

Otherwise, even if he had brought a fairly sufficient supply of magic restoration potions, there would come a day when he would run out of resources.

At the same time, he grew serious: "Is the air in this world... toxic by nature?"

Just then.

"Crack."

Thirty yards to the left, inside the ruins of a half-collapsed clock tower, came the sound of rubble being crushed.

Jiang Lin's figure instantly vanished into the shadow of a fallen stone pillar, his breathing nearly coming to a halt.

Through the gaps in the ruins, he saw the creature.

It was about two meters tall, with a torso that had a wax-like texture, its surface covered in eye-like protrusions that constantly opened and closed.

Its limbs were slender with backward-curving joints, ending in sharp, crystal-like claws.

The most bizarre part was its head.

It had no facial features, only a large mouth filled with spiral serrated teeth that extended from its neck all the way down to its chest.

At that moment, it was using its claws to dig through the rubble, dragging a semi-decayed corpse out from the ruins.

The corpse wore some kind of uniform with a damaged emblem on the chest.

But what caught Jiang Lin's attention was something tightly grasped in the corpse's hand.

It was an irregular polyhedral crystal the size of a thumb, with dark red light slowly swirling inside.

The monster extended a long, slender tongue toward the crystal; the tongue was also covered in crystal-textured scales, making Jiang Lin's skin crawl.

But just as the tongue was about to touch the crystal...

"Whoosh!"

A dark red ray shot out from the ruins to the right, accurately hitting the monster's head!

The struck area instantly crystallized, turning into a cluster of dark red, constantly proliferating crystals.

The crystals spread rapidly along the monster's torso, and in just two breaths, the twisted creature was completely transformed into a crystal statue.

"Bang."

The crystal statue shattered, turning into a pile of dark red powder.

A figure leaped out from the shadows of the ruins.

It was a woman.

She wore a tattered brownish-gray cloak, with a hood covering most of her face.

Her exposed jawline was thin, and her complexion was an unhealthy, pale color.

But the most striking thing was her right arm.

From the shoulder to the fingertips, the entire arm had been completely crystallized.

It was not a decoration or armor, but flesh that had been entirely converted into a kind of dark red, semi-transparent crystal.

Inside the crystal, fine veins were flowing, as if they had replaced her blood vessels.

She walked quickly to the corpse, knelt down, pried open the corpse's fingers, and took the dark red crystal.

Then she raised her head.

Under the hood, a pair of amber eyes looked toward the stone pillar where Jiang Lin was hiding.

“I see you. Come out.”

Jiang Lin remained silent for a moment before stepping out from the shadows.

The two faced each other from fifteen yards away.

The woman sized him up, her gaze lingering for a moment on his intact limbs, clean clothing, and his blonde hair, which was still conspicuous under the dark red sky.

Then, she alertly raised her completely crystallized right arm, pointing it at Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin could feel that she seemed to be gathering power, preparing to attack.

At the same time, she asked a question that left Jiang Lin puzzled.

“You... are you human?”

Jiang Lin had not expected her to ask such a question.

Nevertheless, he nodded as if it were a matter of course.

“Of course. What else would I be if not human?”

However, the woman still did not lower her raised right arm; instead, she muttered to herself.

“What's going on? Have I already started having hallucinations?

“Reasonably speaking, my mutation shouldn't have reached this level yet...”

Hearing this, Jiang Lin was even more confused.

How was he not human?

So he asked: “I really am human. You can check if you don't believe me.

“However, it seems my head took a heavy blow, causing me to lose a lot of my memory.

“Can you tell me where I am?

“Also, what was that monster just now? Why do you think I'm not human?”

Hearing Jiang Lin's words and seeing the serious expression on his face, the woman seemed to believe him a bit more.

“What is your name?” the woman asked.

Jiang Lin thought for a moment before answering, “My name is Matthew. And yours?”

Seeing that Jiang Lin could indeed communicate, the woman lowered her guard slightly and replied, “Ed. An outer-rim scout for 'Ember'.

“If you don't know what 'Ember' is, then your amnesia is indeed quite severe.”

She lowered her raised arm, put away the dark red crystal, and turned to leave.

“I'm not interested in taking care of newcomers.

“If you want to stay alive, head thirty miles east. There's a temporary shelter there. That is, if you can make it there alive.”

“Wait,” Jiang Lin spoke up.

“I want to recover some of my memory first.

“In exchange, I can offer some help.”

Ed turned around, her eyes narrowing under the hood. “Help? What kind of help can you provide?”

Jiang Lin thought for a moment and released the aura from his body. “I'm very good at fighting.”

In the next moment, a terrifying pressure centered on Jiang Lin and spread in all directions.

There seemed to be sharp sword qi slicing through the air, and at the same time, the surrounding temperature dropped by several degrees.

In Ed's perception, Jiang Lin suddenly transformed from the refined and handsome youth he had been into a terrifying existence akin to a humanoid monster.

Sensing Jiang Lin's change, Ed's amber pupils shrank violently, and a stormy sea of shock rose in her heart.

At the same time, she noticed her body was trembling slightly.

It wasn't because of excitement, exhaustion, or any other factor.

It was purely because she was trembling from biological fear!!

It was as if every cell in her body was screaming, urging her to flee—to flee from this boy who was like a monster.

For a moment, her mind raced.

The heart she had just lowered began to hang in her throat again.

Something was wrong! Something was very wrong!!

This guy is definitely not human!!!

How could a human possess such a terrifying and powerful aura without any mutation!!!

Could he be a new creation of the evil god?

She had never felt this kind of aura from any creature before...

Ed's body was frantically urging her to flee from the being in front of her, but a ruthless look appeared in her eyes. Gritting her teeth, she made a decision.

No, I have to stabilize him first!

Then I'll let the other members of 'Ember' find a way to deal with it!!!

However, Jiang Lin's aura was only revealed for a moment before he withdrew it.

Without Jiang Lin's pressure, Ed finally began to gasp for air like a drowning person who had just reached the shore.

“Lord Matthew... you are indeed incredibly strong...”

Jiang Lin nodded. “Yes. I feel like I've been asleep for a long time. Can you tell me what exactly happened?”

The other person seemed to think he was an anomaly, so there should be some hidden reason, perhaps related to the "toxic" air of this world.

If he could ask properly, he would take his time to understand.

But if the other person was truly unwilling to cooperate, he wouldn't mind letting them experience his brand of physical persuasion before taking his time to understand.

Ed's rapid breathing gradually calmed down, but the vigilance and horror in her eyes did not dissipate.

“Mr. Matthew...”

She deliberately kept her voice steady, yet she could not hide a hint of tension.

“If you really have amnesia, then let me tell you: this place is called 'Silent City', one of the countless dead cities on Planet Teluofuto.

“That monster just now is what we call an 'Aberrant'. They are one of the most common threats after the 'Great Cataclysm' of this world, transformed from humans and other creatures that have mutated to the extreme.

“They live by devouring life and organic matter.”

After saying this, she was silent for a moment before continuing, “Follow me. It's not safe here. The commotion just now might attract more Aberrants.”

She turned and walked into the depths of the ruins, her footsteps as light and agile as if she were not someone with a completely crystallized right arm.

Jiang Lin followed.

The two traversed through the collapsed buildings. Ed was extremely familiar with the terrain here and could always find the most concealed paths. Occasionally, a few Aberrants would be wandering in the distance, but she would avoid them in advance.

About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at a building half-buried underground.

The entrance was hidden behind a collapsed archway. The internal space was not large, about twenty square meters. Several crystals emitting a faint blue light were embedded in the walls, barely providing illumination.

Ed took off her cloak, revealing her full appearance.

She looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, her face clear but haggard, with a thin scar under her left eye. Her dark brown short hair was messily plastered to her forehead.

And her right arm—Jiang Lin could see it more clearly now.

It was indeed not external gear. At the junction where the crystal met the flesh of her shoulder, there were fine, root-like veins extending into her skin, proving that this crystal had grown together with her body.

Inside the crystal, those flowing veins were spreading toward her shoulder at a slow but steady speed.

Her gaze swept across Jiang Lin's unmutated limbs and face.

“As for why I think you're not human?

“It's simple. In this day and age, no human can remain as 'complete' as you.

“The 'pollution' in the air will gradually erode all life, leading either to mutation or death.

“Someone like you... someone so clean that it's as if you just stepped out of a cultivation pod, I've only seen in the ancient video records preserved by 'Ember'.”

Jiang Lin frowned slightly.

He did indeed feel that viscous pollution in the air trying to erode him, but the barrier spontaneously formed by his Holy Light magic essence completely isolated it.

It seemed that the humans of this world had long since adapted to the pollution and had even undergone some kind of mutation, making an "intact" individual like him the anomaly.

“So people of this era are all like you, with some body parts undergoing mutation?”

Jiang Lin glanced at her crystallized right arm.

Ed shook her head and said, “No. At my current stage, I belong to those with a relatively severe degree of mutation.

“However, even if others don't have organs that have directly mutated, they wouldn't be like you, radiating such a... pure aura from the inside out...”

Hearing this, Jiang Lin continued to ask, “Then can you tell me why your degrees of mutation are different?”

Ed sighed. “It seems you really don't understand anything...”

Ed raised her crystallized right arm.

“In this day and age, using supernatural power leads to erosion by pollution.

“Below the 1st-rank, it's not so bad; glowing patterns just appear on the skin, and there's a sense of pleasure when using abilities. That's considered the most comfortable period of using supernatural power.”

She paused.

“Starting from the 2nd-rank, organ functions begin to mutate.

“For example, my lungs can now breathe in pollution energy, so I don't need to rely on purification reagents. But the price is... I haven't tasted any food for three years.

“And some organs begin to materialize.

“Crystallization, petrification, plantification... it varies from person to person.”

Ed tapped her right arm, and the crystal made a crisp sound.

“At the 3rd-rank, large areas of the body materialize.

“And by this stage, memories will start to be lost. Many people carry memory crystals with them, playing them repeatedly to remind themselves of who they are.”

As she spoke, she took a thumb-sized transparent crystal from her bosom.

Inside the crystal, a small cluster of faint golden light was sealed.

Ed held the crystal to her ear and closed her eyes.

A moment later, she opened her eyes and carefully tucked the crystal back into her bosom.

“That was my sister's last laughter,” she said softly.

“Memory crystal?” Jiang Lin was puzzled.

Ed reached out her hand, and a wisp of dark blue energy appeared in her palm.

That energy was viscous and restless, originating from the same source as the pollution Jiang Lin had sensed, but it was more condensed.

“In this era, those who master supernatural power can 'extract' a part of themselves and turn it into a crystal,” Ed said.

“Memories, sight, hearing, speed, strength... even emotions can be extracted.

“The price is the permanent decline of the corresponding ability.

“For example, if you extract a sight crystal, you will go blind.

“If you extract a memory crystal, you will forever forget that memory.

“However, memory crystals can be viewed repeatedly.

“I was afraid I would forget the memories of my sister, so I extracted that memory.

“Although the memory of that experience has vanished from my mind, I can preserve the memory of playing the memory crystal afterward.”

Jiang Lin digested this information.

A world completely consumed by pollution, where power and price were tightly bound...

“Then what happens after the peak of the 3rd-rank?” he asked.

Ed's face darkened.

“Self-cognition blurs, and one begins to attack indiscriminately. Eventually...”

She spoke one word at a time.

“They are absorbed by the evil god, or they become a new Aberrant.”

“Evil god?” Jiang Lin was puzzled.

How was Little Black's relative involved in this?

“The source of this world's pollution.”

Ed stood up, walked to the wall, and ran her fingers over a tattered mural on the wall.

The mural depicted a giant, heart-like tumor suspended above a city.

Countless tentacles hung down from the tumor, piercing into buildings, streets, and human bodies.

“It is sucking this world dry,” Ed said.

“All supernatural power originates from its pollution.

“And everyone who uses that power will eventually become its nourishment.

“The 3rd-rank is the limit, not because there are no higher-rank paths, but because if you exceed the 3rd-rank...

“You will completely become a part of it.”

...