Hijacking the Timeline

Just as Mala was on the verge of death, Feng Qi’s fist finally landed on its carapace, delivering the finishing blow.

The dying Mala shuddered slightly. The life value on the external electronic display plummeted to 0, and the life detection waveform below flattened into a straight line.

As the savory aroma of cooked meat filled the air, a dense surge of qi blood emerged and surged into Feng Qi’s body.

To Feng Qi’s delight, the Big Spicy Lobster had granted him 273 points of qi blood, bringing his total to 852. He was now only 148 points away from breaking through to the primary human bloodline.

Opening his status panel, he confirmed that he had indeed gained a brand new innate ability:

Regeneration (Cellular) LV1: Enhances cellular regeneration, maintaining the original structure and function of bodily cells. Preserves the integrity and stability of tissues and organs, significantly extending lifespan while slightly improving physical attributes.

A good ability. With this, even if your arm gets torn off in battle, it’ll heal quickly. Perfect for a muscle-bound brawler’s fighting style—no need to fear injury, a must-have for any reckless fighter... Though the lifespan extension is rather underwhelming. After all, no matter how long you live, it won’t change your fate of dying young.

Feng Qi: ...

”Narrator, have you noticed anything strange?”

What’s strange?

”The Spicy Crayfish had a Great Strength Python’s rune crystal implanted in its body. Logically, the ability I extracted should have been related to the python. Why did I gain an innate ability associated with the crayfish’s traits instead?”

Hmm... My theory is that as the Spicy Crayfish adapted to the rune crystal’s growth, the crystal was also adapting to the crayfish. This fusion amplified the crayfish’s biological characteristics, giving rise to a completely new ability. Since your power extracts the optimal ability, you obtained the crayfish’s ”cell regeneration” ability.

”That makes sense. That’s probably the reason.”

After closing the status panel, an idea suddenly occurred to him.

Could he have the Scarlet Research Institute cultivate rune-modified creatures for him in the future?

This would guarantee he could acquire a new ability each time he entered the Dream Realm.

Furthermore, he could obtain a large number of bloodline evolution points by killing these cultivated rune-modified creatures.

Of course, he could raise multiple creatures, but that would be too cruel.

After all, the Scarlet Research Institute’s Secret Base already lacked resources. According to Wei Wei, raising even one ”Mala” was a stretch.

If they tried to raise multiple creatures like this at once, the entire staff of the Scarlet Research Institute would have to tighten their belts.

But if this plan worked, it would mean that every time he entered the Dream Realm, an ”experience baby” would be waiting for him to harvest.

And it would be a blind box of innate abilities.

Following this line of thought, he remembered ants that could lift 400 times their own weight, fleas with incredible jumping power, and other insects.

Insects in nature were practically cheaters.

Take ants, for example. A tiger of the same volume would be a mere child in comparison. An ant could easily kill it in a single round.

If these insect abilities could be fused with rune crystals to create Innate Traits... he suddenly felt like he had found a way to rapidly grow stronger.

Good idea, but you need to understand that not all rune-modified creatures have Mala’s lifespan, let alone the ability to grow infinitely.

How do you plan to embed rune crystals into these insects? The crystals are larger than the insects themselves. Moreover, the body structures of rune-modified creatures are extremely unstable. Mala is ultimately an exception.

You could use the Mala to test whether the domain creatures you kill disappear from this timeline. Even if they don’t reappear after being killed, you could have Wei Wei cultivate a different Mala for you each time. This would continuously upgrade your regeneration ability, essentially giving you a ”regeneration” upgrade package.

Perhaps by the time your ”cell regeneration” ability is fully upgraded, you’ll gain near-immortality. Maybe even little black won’t be able to kill you.

”You’ve finally come up with something useful for once. Not a bad idea,” Feng Qi said, nodding in agreement.

He decided to fulfill Wei Wei’s dying wish: to eat the Big Spicy Lobster for her.

What a waste of time... Oh well, considering the old woman kept mentioning the Big Spicy Lobster even on her deathbed, constantly reminding you to eat it and not waste it... In that case, let’s grant her final wish.

Climbing onto the steaming lobster’s back, he grabbed its antennae and yanked forcefully, tearing open the Mala’s spicy head.

Immediately, a rich, meaty aroma filled the air, mingling with the fresh scent of the lobster meat. The white-streaked flesh, still glistening with freshness, was as pure and translucent as white fish.

Following the grain of the lobster meat, Feng Qi tore off a piece and popped it into his mouth. The meat was springy and tender, its savory juices instantly igniting his appetite.

Feng Qi had few hobbies, but eating ranked among his top three.

After chewing and swallowing the lobster meat, he tore off another piece and savored it.

The delicate sweetness and rich umami of the lobster filled his mouth and nose. Each chew released a lingering fragrance, and with prolonged chewing, he could appreciate the unique tenderness and resilience of the meat.

”This is unbelievably delicious,” Feng Qi murmured, his face alight with pure bliss. He felt he had never tasted anything so heavenly in his life.

After all, this lobster is a domain creature. Its body has been cleansed by spiritual energy, naturally making it incredibly flavorful. Too bad I can’t eat it. Damn it, why am I just a system?

Ignoring the Narrator’s grumbling, Feng Qi, now fully immersed in his meal, broke off a piece of the lobster’s head, revealing the creamy, pale-red roe.

The roe had a slightly fishy aroma, like congealed fat. As he chewed, a rich sweetness followed. His tongue could clearly feel the once-solid roe gradually dissolving in his mouth, the granular breakdown delivering an exquisite sensation to his taste buds.

Remember the seasoning! The old woman said she wants it Mala-flavored!

At the Narrator’s reminder, Feng Qi nodded and slammed his fist against the Big Spicy Lobster’s back shell.

In just a few minutes, he had peeled away the Mala’s shell, revealing the tender, pinkish-white lobster meat piled high in a visually striking mound.

Leaping off Mala’s back, he approached the electronic screen outside the isolation chamber and activated the ”fire prevention system.”

A shower-like metal pipe extended from the ceiling of the chamber, sprinkling seasoning over the meat.

After pressing the heating button again, the aroma inside intensified.

At that moment, he suddenly felt a grudging admiration for Wei Wei.

Even the seasoning process had been designed with such meticulous detail, revealing the depth of her obsession with Mala.

Moments later, he stepped into the steaming isolation chamber, a smile spreading across his face as he gazed at the Big Spicy Lobster.

This was the first time Feng Qi had experienced genuine joy in the Dream Realm.

The lobster meat, now infused with the Mala seasoning packet, had transformed completely. Though it had lost its original freshness, the subtle spiciness elevated the flavor to new heights.

Especially the translucent, glistening claw meat, speckled with seasoning, was a revelation. Each bite of its firm, succulent flesh surpassed any delicacy he had ever tasted. His teeth effortlessly crushed the meat along its grain, the chewing process itself filling him with contentment.

If only he had a bottle of ”fat otaku happy water” to complete the perfect pairing.

TL/N: Meme term for Coke.

His only regret was that his body couldn’t retain anything.

Everything he ate simply passed through him, but thankfully he could still taste it. Otherwise, he would have missed out on a truly divine meal.

As the gluttonous feast concluded, he left the isolation chamber in high spirits.

His only lingering regret was not being able to bring the ”Big Spicy Lobster” back to reality.

If he could, he would immediately invite Wei Wei over for a feast, satisfying her cravings. Then he’d invite Mu Qing, Lin Ran, and his students to share the joy.

The flesh of domain creatures undoubtedly contained immense energy.

This meal alone might have filled his energy progress bar completely.

Of course, these were just daydreams. If he could truly bring things from the Dream Realm into reality, his first priority would be copying the data from the database back to the real world.

Feeling content and satisfied, he returned to the database.

After opening the search bar, he typed in his name.

A few seconds later, relevant information appeared on the screen.

Most of the entries were discussions from the Scarlet Research Institute about him.

For example, regarding how to utilize his Future Dream Transcending ability, the institute had brainstormed numerous potential Future Lines.

One option was to infiltrate the technology research institute and steal the technical data for creating ”little black.”

Another option was to join the Dawn Army, investigate Mu Qing’s motives for massacring the city, and try to uncover Mu Yao’s secrets.

Alternatively, he could abandon all research, lie low, and simply witness history unfold, seeking to understand the truth.

He had already considered many of the plans discussed in the list.

However, the Scarlet Research Institute had overlooked one crucial factor:

He was destined to die young, for reasons beyond his control. Many plans requiring longevity were not options, not because he lacked the will to try, but because he lacked the time.

He longed to live long enough to see his plans through, but his lifespan remained a mystery, a matter of pure chance.

It was as if some unseen force, like an antivirus software, was suppressing his lifespan, sensing that his existence would disrupt the timeline and erasing him while he was still young.

Each time he returned from a Dream Realm vision of the future, the timeline inevitably shifted again, leaving every aspect shrouded in uncertainty.

He felt he alone should control the future’s trajectory.

Regarding the future development of humanity, the Scarlet Research Institute had proposed numerous strategies.

Many of these plans explicitly urged him to continue advancing cultivation studies and refrain from bringing back technological knowledge.

They reasoned that any technological knowledge he acquired would inevitably flow to the technology research institute.

The higher the technology tree is developed, the stronger the technology research institute becomes. This is definitely not a good thing for human development. The institute might even use these advanced technologies to inflict greater harm on humanity.

However, the final consensus of the meeting also pointed out one crucial point:

Technological advancement itself is not inherently flawed. The only problem is that the technology research institute must be destroyed first. Only then can the technologies developed by humanity truly belong to humanity.

In addition to this, the Scarlet Research Institute strongly advocated for advancements in biological sciences, such as gene warriors, longevity techniques, cloning, and more.

Some members of the Scarlet Research Institute even proposed combining the unique biological characteristics of various domains to create a ”chimera creature.”

This technology would require him to continuously acquire the latest knowledge and dedicate several 1,500-year cycles to its development.

The envisioned chimera creature would be capable of implanting its offspring into the bodies of other domain creatures.

The chimera larvae would then absorb nutrients from the host’s body, grow, and eventually burst forth, inheriting the host’s innate abilities upon birth.

By continuously breeding these chimera creatures, humanity could constantly acquire new domain creature abilities.

Each generation of chimera lifeforms would gain significantly enhanced power.

If a controllable chimera creature could truly be created, humanity would possess a super-biological weapon.

However, this plan also faced strong opposition.

The opposition argued that, first, the technology to create chimera creatures didn’t exist, not even on the starting point. Second, constantly combining genes from various domain creatures would inevitably lead to genetic collapse.

Chimeras would completely collapse and go extinct after just a few generations of reproduction.

Furthermore, if chimera creatures were actually created and then lost control, humanity would face a new crisis.

Therefore, they believed the concept of chimera creatures was pure fantasy, offering no practical advancement.

Feng Qi was stunned by the wildly imaginative discussions.

The chimera creatures, in particular, reminded him of the terrifying monsters from pre-cataclysm science fiction films, like the Xenomorphs.

Even if such unique lifeforms could be created, losing control of them would inevitably lead to disaster.

Humanity might suffer the same fate as the creators in those films, facing annihilation.

After reviewing the discussions, he realized the terrifying potential inherent in every growth system.

He had previously envisioned the futures of the mechanical science system and the Cultivation Studies System.

Both paths had incredibly high ceilings and limitless possibilities.

The Scarlet Research Institute’s discussion on the future of biotechnology revealed a path toward becoming creators, equally boundless in potential and with an equally high ceiling.

If possible, he wanted humanity to develop all these systems comprehensively.

With humans possessing starships, Great Luo, creators... he refused to believe they couldn’t overcome the Domain Invasion.

Boss, wake up! Time to get back to work!

The Narrator’s voice interrupted Feng Qi’s beautiful fantasy of humanity’s rise.

(End of the Chapter)