As the shadow finished speaking, Fang Chang felt a force pour into his body from the void. It was unlike any energy within him—more advanced, more orderly. Every other force in his body bowed before it. It was a strange phenomenon. For the first time, Fang Chang realized that energy could have different levels.
The words ended, and the shadow disappeared. The force from the void quickly spread throughout Fang Chang’s body, reaching every last hair. He felt unreal, as if the world were drifting away from him.
He could no longer trust his senses. The world seemed to become a whirlpool, ready to drag him in. To reassure himself that he still existed, Fang Chang opened his eyes despite the discomfort.
He was still in the room, but in an even stranger state. His vision had no blind spots, yet he couldn’t see what had become of his own body.
Fang Chang began to panic. Remembering how the monsters had changed earlier, he feared something had gone wrong again. He tried to raise a hand, only to realize that, in his current state, the very concept of having hands no longer existed.
Perhaps in the space between opening and closing his eyes, his body had changed into another state—the existence Li Zirong had described as something that could only be described. He existed as far as the world was concerned, but to ordinary people, he was nothing more than a description.
“What do I do?”
Fang Chang tried to ask, but no sound came out.
What do I do?
What do I do?
He was terrified. He wanted to know how to fix this, how to get his real body back.
Outside the room, Li Zirong wore sunglasses. Her gaze passed through the wall and the mana net, observing Fang Chang’s condition.
She saw the shadowy figure too and heard its whisper. She searched her memory for what she knew, then murmured to herself.
“It’s the Shadow-Devouring Lord, one of the deities of the chaotic world. His voice can lure out the darkness in living beings’ hearts. His name is the embodiment of shadows, and that has something in common with the nature of Fang Chang’s life. What a shame he isn’t a God of Destruction or one of the Four Horsemen. Then Fang Chang’s power would’ve been elevated even further, and the perfect virus he nurtures might even have taken on divinity. It wouldn’t be an ordinary evolved being anymore, but a special life-form with the nature of a demigod.”
“What a shame! Divine matter is so hard to pin down. If I could get my hands on some, it might give us a breakthrough with The Game. After all, just going by the names, there’s a strong connection between the two—Mm, I’m a little thirsty.”
Among the busy squid machines nearby, one immediately broke away. It was Brain-Hole. It deftly poured a glass of water, rolled over to Li Zirong, and offered it to her while wrapping seven tentacles around her thigh.
Li Zirong took the glass and, as a bonus, kicked the leg-hugging squid machine flying. After taking a sip, dozens of single-purpose mechanical arms sprang from her armor. They quickly adjusted the mana levels in the room, set a human template for Fang Chang, and injected other kinds of energy as well.
“The Shadow-Devouring Lord named him Mother of Veris. Looks like he saw Fang Chang’s Mother Nest mutation too, and gave him a feminine name because of it. The name will affect how Fang Chang’s body forms. Add my interference, and that should be enough to turn him into a woman. That might increase the perfect virus’s chance of developing, but when Fang Chang comes out, is he going to beat me to death?”
After thinking it over, Li Zirong decided that was very likely.
She didn’t care much about the differences between genders, but she’d still be very reluctant to turn into a guy. The stuff men had down there was just plain disgusting—and a huge hassle.
If she felt that way, Fang Chang certainly would too.
The moment he found out he had a woman’s body, he might come out swinging at her.
Li Zirong wouldn’t hurt Fang Chang, not when it was for the sake of the perfect virus. And it was precisely for the sake of a healthier perfect virus that she’d made Fang Chang so powerful. With a deity’s name on top of that, a female Fang Chang would be even stronger.
“At this rate, I’ll have a hard time capturing him without hurting him unless I go all out. I’ll have to think of another way to placate him. Maybe make him a weapon or something as compensation. He’s ridiculously easy to appease, anyway…”
She told the squid machine to keep an eye on Fang Chang, then went to the other side of the room. She gathered the exotic-beast parts she’d used to assemble Fang Chang’s body and began fusing them, forging a weapon tailored to him.
“I’m sending you straight to the top! You’ll have the power of someone above LV10 while you’re still LV0, and I’m even making you gear to match. A cheat-code-granting old man as good as me only comes along once in a century. You won’t hold it against me now, right?”
Thinking of it the other way around—if she turned into a guy and got incredible power as compensation…
“I think I’d accept!”
The worktable flashed as she began hammering the exotic-beast parts into shape. Mana flames flickered beneath the table. Beside it stood an Eastern-fantasy-style alchemy furnace, its fires burning as it brewed pills to match the beast parts.
She used three methods—technology, Western mana, and Eastern immortal arts—to increase the weapon’s power while speeding up its formation.
“A weapon should fit into everyday life. Clothes would be best. They’re easy to carry around and can have effects nobody would expect. It should be able to change shape too, so enemies can’t figure it out. And it should suit who he is after transforming—Ha! I’ve got it!”
Inside the room, Fang Chang’s body slowly appeared from the void.
This was the completion of the Shadow-Devouring Lord’s naming. From now on, Fang Chang was Mother of Veris.
His head appeared first, crowned with long hair and features that were naturally alluring. Then came his body and limbs, pale as mutton fat and soft as a lotus petal. His legs were long and slender, without an ounce of excess fat; it had all gathered in his chest, forming a pair of enormous breasts.
Mysterious markings appeared on his forehead, at the center of his collarbones, on his shoulders and back, around his waist, and on his lower legs. Each one represented the power of an exotic beast.
From a four-meter-high viewpoint to one at one meter seventy, Fang Chang finally adjusted. His body still felt strange, though—empty below, heavy above.
He looked down. Whoa! So big! So white!
He raised a hand. It was unbelievably fair and soft, his index finger as slender as a scallion shoot. He pressed it against one of his big white breasts and gave it a poke.
“So soft! What is this feeling? It feels so good—wait! Am I a woman now?”
Rumble—!
The door suddenly swung open. Fang Chang, now transformed into a girl, instinctively covered herself and looked up. It was Li Zirong, who was dragging a clothes rack behind her.
A full outfit hung on the rack: a top, bra, little skirt, panties, safety shorts, shoes… and a hat perched on top.
Li Zirong’s face shone with saintly compassion. She took the little skirt off the rack and held it out to Fang Chang. “Here. A little skirt!”
