Chapter 45: Developing the Stone Skin Genetic Ability, Escaping Alive

Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Developing the Stone Skin Genetic Ability, Escaping Alive

Ji Zhixing followed the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale back into the underground water cave and found a spot to go ashore.

He sat cross-legged on the rocky beach and took out the bottle of Stone Skin genetic potion he had just refined from his genetic furnace.

"This is the twelfth bottle. It’ll definitely work this time."

Ji Zhixing took a deep breath, twisted off the cap, tilted his head back, and downed the potion. The pale gray liquid flowed down his throat, carrying a familiar stony, metallic tang. Within his genetic aperture, the phantom of the stone monkey bloomed with a faint light, as if incubating something. Ji Zhixing rested his eyes and calmed his mind.

In his mind, the illusion of a monkey appeared, executing the Stone Skin ability over and over again. He watched the illusion, his consciousness even merging with it as he continuously gained enlightenment.

"Almost there, just a bit more!" he muttered.

At a certain moment, a sudden urge struck him. He abruptly channeled his genetic source energy, sending it surging into his arm. Instantly, his skin transformed at a visible rate. A pale gray stratum corneum emerged from beneath his skin, rapidly coating his entire arm until it became as rough and hard as rock. The hardened layer wasn’t particularly thick, but it was solid to the touch. When he tapped it with his fingers, it made a faint TAP TAP sound.

"Stone Skin!" Ji Zhixing stared at his arm, now encased in the pale gray layer, and a surge of irrepressible joy welled up in his heart.

With a mere thought, the hardened layer spread from his arm to his shoulder, across his chest, and down his back. The pale gray, stony skin covered more than half of his upper body like a crude suit of armor. He clenched his fists and stretched his body. The Stone Skin didn’t hinder his movements at all; instead, it gave him an added sense of security.

"Two-star ability, Stone Skin. Increases skin Defense Power." Ji Zhixing silently familiarized himself with his new ability. "Although it’s only two-star, its Defense Power is countless times stronger than normal skin. Even an ordinary person armed with swords and knives shouldn’t be able to hurt me."

With another thought, he retracted the Stone Skin back into his body. The pale gray layer receded, revealing his normal, completely unblemished skin beneath.

He let out a long breath and turned his head to look beside him.

On the rocky beach, there had originally been over a dozen Giant Footed Frogs huddled together. Now, only six remained. Over the past few days, the rest of the Giant Footed Frogs had successively ended up in the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale’s stomach.

"Even if I’ve developed the Stone Skin ability, it’s completely useless for my current predicament," Ji Zhixing thought silently. "No matter how strong the Stone Skin’s Defense Power is, it can’t possibly withstand the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale’s bite force. One chomp from it, and I’d be no different from those Giant Footed Frogs."

He glanced into the depths of the water cave, then at the dark, murky surface of the water near the entrance. His heart grew heavy.

"I can’t escape. It’s not giving me any chance at all." He leaned against a rock and closed his eyes.

He resolved inwardly, "If I can escape this time, once I have the money, I must buy a phone capable of wilderness communication."

For this outdoor training expedition, the school hadn’t expected such a massive incident to occur, and he certainly hadn’t had the money to buy that kind of specialized phone. Such communication devices that worked in the wilderness cost tens of thousands of genetic coins each. He simply couldn’t afford one.

"I’ll think about it when I get the chance to go back," he sighed, continuing to refine the Earth Spirit Liquid.

***

In Shihu Town.

A drone silently flew circles above the town. This was the military’s daily routine patrol.

Many days had passed. The missing students from Yu City Third Middle School had either been confirmed dead or found. Only a select few remained unaccounted for. However, no one believed those few missing individuals were still alive. The military continued their routine patrols, but it was merely a formality.

"Captain, we’ve got a situation!" the soldier operating the drone suddenly called out, his eyes glued to the monitor.

On the screen, someone had used a stick or something similar to carve several large lines of text into the sandy gravel beach at the edge of Lake Heart Island.

"Ji Zhixing?" The officer who had been called over looked at the writing on the screen, his face full of surprise. "That missing student from the Third Middle School? He’s still alive?"

He stared at the screen for a few seconds and read the words on the sand again. "Land-Traveling Ancient Whale... A Tier Three Genetic Beast. This thing is underwater. Unless a Tier Four Morning Star Cultivator intervenes, very few people can handle it."

He frowned, pondering for a moment before saying, "Do this: deploy a few more drones to monitor Shi Lake at all times.

"The next time Ji Zhixing comes out with the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale, if he sees a drone, he will definitely show himself on purpose to let us see him. When that happens, I’ll step in directly and rescue him."

"Yes, sir!" the soldier immediately complied.

***

The next day.

Ji Zhixing finished his cultivation and put away the Yellow Stone Rod. As he sat resting on the rocky beach, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale deep within the water cave began to move. Its massive body rose from the water, swimming slowly toward the cave entrance.

"Going out again." Ji Zhixing stood up. Without a second thought, he leapt into the water and followed it.

One human and one whale passed through the water cave and entered Shi Lake. The Land-Traveling Ancient Whale swam leisurely, occasionally opening its gaping maw to suck in a mouthful of fish and shrimp. Ji Zhixing trailed behind it, his eyes habitually sweeping the lakebed for any signs of petrified crabs.

In a coincidental moment, he glanced up at the sky. A machine was slowly moving through the air.

A drone.

Ji Zhixing’s heart skipped a beat. The drone wasn’t flying too high. The military emblem was painted on its chassis, its metallic surface glinting in the sunlight.

"The military!" Ji Zhixing’s heart rate abruptly accelerated. "Did they see the words I left on the island?"

He glanced at the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale. The big guy was busy devouring a school of small fish, its entire attention focused on its mouth. It hadn’t noticed the object in the sky at all.

"An opportunity!" Ji Zhixing forcefully suppressed his excitement and pretended to swim up for a breath of air. Kicking his legs, his body ascended as he silently slipped away from the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale’s side.

Upon reaching the water’s surface, he took a deep breath. After confirming that the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale hadn’t noticed him, he pulled a Genetic Source Stone out of his genetic furnace, aimed at the drone in the sky, and hurled it with all his might.

The Genetic Source Stone tore through the air, hurtling toward the drone with a sharp, whistling WHOOSH.

"This guy!" The soldier operating the drone jumped in fright. He hastily maneuvered the drone into a steep climb, narrowly dodging the Genetic Source Stone.

"They’ve spotted me!" Wild joy erupted in Ji Zhixing’s heart, but he tamped it down, refraining from making any more out-of-line movements. His heart, however, raced uncontrollably.

WHOOSH!

A moment later, the sound of something tearing through the air came from the distance. Ji Zhixing looked up to see a figure clad in a military uniform gliding rapidly toward him from the opposite shore of Shi Lake.

A pair of illusory black wings extended from the man’s ribs, boasting a wingspan of four to five meters. Every flap stirred up a fierce gust of wind, propelling him forward at astonishing speeds. The man flew over the lake, his gaze sweeping the area before spotting Ji Zhixing in the water. He went into a dive, skimming across the water’s surface, and reached out, scooping Ji Zhixing right out of the lake.

"Let’s go!" he barked in a low voice. Flapping his wings fiercely, he soared into the sky with Ji Zhixing in tow, flying back toward the opposite shore of Shi Lake.

Down in Shi Lake, the Land-Traveling Ancient Whale raised its head. It stared at the human figures flying further and further away into the sky, momentarily stunned.