I Am Also An Extraordinary Creature
Chapter 566 - 436 As Long as It’s Yours_1

Chapter 566: Chapter 436 As Long as It’s Yours_1

"Good afternoon, it’s been a while since you last came here." The bartender placed a glass of fruit wine in front of Zheng Yichen with a smile, "This one’s on the house."

"Keep this up and you’ll go bankrupt." Zheng Yichen picked up the fruit wine and took a sip.

The bartender just laughed it off, "Just think of it as a retired worker looking for something to do. So, are you here for fun, or are you looking for something more... engaging?"

"Just looking for something to do. All of a sudden, I cleared up a bunch of things and now I can’t sit still."

"Competing with the regular Hunters for business, now that’s a bit like bullying." The bartender pulled out an electronic menu and placed it in front of Zheng Yichen, "Also, since Miss Ahn Seven found you, she hardly ever comes here anymore."

"Once you catch a whale, you lose interest in the small fish, right?" Zheng Yichen glanced over the menu, "Isn’t there anything more challenging?"

The assignments on it would have pressured the old him, but now? They all seemed quite mundane. He was seeking targets that presented a real challenge, and the usual ones hardly satisfied his needs anymore. Now, both his physical prowess and special powers were top-notch in this world.

He belonged to the category in this world where it was impossible to advance any further. Shatter the void? That didn’t exist, at least not in the context of this world.

But the thing was, his Performance Coefficient was incredibly high, so within the same limit, he could exploit the strength of individuals to a much greater extent.

"Then we’re talking about the kind of assignments that are more for show."

The bartender chuckled and produced another menu, "The assignments listed here are those that people look at but can pretty much never accomplish."

After a glance at the information on the menu, Zheng Yichen knew what was going on. This was the kind of top-tier exchange you’d find in an endless stream of novels, like the Ancient Ten Great Artifacts, Universe Creator’s bloodline, and so on. It’s fine to just look at them and not think too much.

For example, there was one listing, someone had sighted a unique creature somewhere but couldn’t find it again, so they had posted a large bounty. Given the size of the bounty and the publisher, it was probably true.

Another was about a place causing strange phenomena that made the area quite eerie. Both normal and not-so-normal people who entered ended up having problems. Now, there was a bounty for someone powerful or special to solve the mystery of that place.

After reading through it, Zheng Yichen knew it wasn’t his cup of tea.

Zheng Yichen pushed the menu back with a helpless expression, "Isn’t there some concrete information? I’m looking for the heavy stuff. Do you know about the situation at North Lake?"

The bartender nodded, "I know. Are you looking for something like the Skeleton behemoth? Well, I really can’t help you there, though I’d like to make that kind of money."

"With such dangerous things, they get eliminated immediately. Only those bizarre, unsolvable by conventional armed forces problems are kept for later, considering we live in a technologically advanced society."

"Then forget it, dealing with other stuff feels like I’m stealing someone else’s business." Zheng Yichen expressed his regret.

The bartender said with a smile, "Since it’s the Proxy Agent’s vacation, you should enjoy it. How about a strong drink? Although you might never get drunk again."

"Let’s not. I still like something sweet and sour, especially now that I can’t get drunk. Why not indulge my taste buds all the more?"

"Makes sense." The bartender poured Zheng Yichen another drink and glanced around the bar, "If you’re bored, you can take a stroll over there. With your current appearance and aura, you’ll attract plenty of beautiful women easily."

"What kind of aura could I possibly have?" Zheng Yichen clicked his tongue. Other than increased combat ability, did he have any other kind of aura? He was still the same person.

"Even if you’re not aware of it yourself, you do have it, and..." The bartender looked at Zheng Yichen and pointed at his own eyes, "Your Dusk traits are becoming more and more apparent. Although it doesn’t affect you much, it will affect the people you meet."

"What’s up with that? There’s such a thing?" Zheng Yichen frowned slightly. Working for Dusk wasn’t too bad; he was tricked at first, but Dusk had given him a chance, and the treatment was pretty good.

But if Dusk traits were causing him additional problems, that would irritate him.

"Hahaha, it’s not a bad thing. Simply put, you’ll become more attractive to those who have adapted to Dusk, assuming they meet you first."

Zheng Yichen stared at his glass, using the reflection to observe his eyes. The subtle Dusk hue intermingled with the normal color of his pupils, creating an effect that was distinct yet not jarring: "So you’re saying, one day I could wear priest robes and stand in the Dusk Cathedral acting as a priest with no problem?"

"If you want to do that, you can start right now. I believe the Dusk nuns wouldn’t mind an extra priest in the church, but you’ll still have to follow the Dusk nun’s schedules, regardless of the stand-in status."

"Tsk, you sure know a lot."

The barkeeper laughed and said, "I’m retired, you know."

"...A Proxy Agent’s retirement?"

He immediately shook his head, "You’re overthinking it. Dusk isn’t that tolerant. Proxy Agents don’t have such a thing as retirement, only death in battle."

"Sounds like you’re a man with a story too."

The barkeeper smiled without replying. Just then, Zheng Yichen’s phone began to ring—it was a text from Ahn Ke. He finished the rest of his drink in one gulp, "No more looking for tasks. The real deal is here, let’s settle the bill."

At Ahn Ke’s research lab, she sized up Zheng Yichen and said, "Although alcohol won’t affect your physical condition, for the sake of some research, it’s better to minimize contact."

"Don’t talk as if I’m the one being researched," Zheng Yichen cut straight to the point, "Have the findings on the Essence of Life research come out?"

He should have had results after coming back from Liu Hongzhao, but Ahn Ke’s research underwent some changes due to newly acquired equipment, thus delaying their progress by a few days, leaving Zheng Yichen with nothing to do but head to the Night Banquet Bar.

As for embarking on a grand expedition into peculiar phenomena in the southern forest... forget it. The chances of encountering high environment worlds are not that great; maybe not even one out of ten phenomena, with most fluctuating around Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4, with Levels 2 and 3 being the most common.

"I do have results. This will require adjusting your body, but I’m concerned that your body might not be able to adapt," Ahn Ke looked at Zheng Yichen, showing a contemplative expression, "Your lifeform level is too high. Ordinary body modifications would just be corrected by your body unless it’s some form of forced modification."

A high lifeform level being tends to have its way in certain research fields. Genetic modification can make ordinary creatures much stronger, but for a high-level life form, the genes used for modification would just be outright destroyed by their body...

To put it in the body’s terms, it’d be like saying ’who do you think you are to attempt modifying me with these crappy genes?’ Unless there is a higher-grade gene sample or some sort of forced implantation or modifications, or alternatively, forcibly destroying the test subject’s gene structure to insert some modified genes.

The state of Zheng Yichen’s body is such that only his genes can forcefully affect others, not the other way around.

If it were not for the fact that Zheng Yichen’s blood carried a ’Withering Disease’ problem, Ahn Ke would’ve really liked to extract some gene segments from him to carry out special modifications on some test subjects.

She had analyzed Zheng Yichen’s latest blood sample a few days ago, and the conclusion she reached was that even the lifeform level inherently present in the Essence of Life couldn’t outdo Zheng Yichen’s.

That forced her to adjust some plans. Her initial plan was to mutate either Zheng Yichen’s left or right hand to a certain degree and constrain the mutation’s range, allowing his body to memorize the production process of the Essence of Life.

By gradually acquiring the ability to produce the Essence of Life, others find it difficult, but with Zheng Yichen’s lifeform level, it’s not hard. It would be a beneficial, mild mutation based on his own body’s functionalities.

It’s just that during the process, he probably has to cut off quite a few hands or fingers, which in Ahn Ke’s opinion, wasn’t a problem. Zheng Yichen’s physique could completely negate such injuries. Nutritional supplements? She had plenty of those at her disposal.

"Let me have a look at the plan first," Zheng Yichen said, sensing that what Ahn Ke was suggesting didn’t sound too good to him.

Ahn Ke took out the relevant plan, and after Zheng Yichen quickly went through the parts he could understand, it seemed pretty dire. What Ahn Ke wasn’t concerned about, he was, "How many hands do I need to chop off for this?"

According to the experiment, the mutated hand can’t be left as is unless Zheng Yichen wanted some side effects.

"Perhaps there’s no need for amputation. I feel very regretful about this," Ahn Ke didn’t hide her thoughts, "Following normal experimental procedures, I could collect a lot of material about your body. As long as it’s from you, even if it’s contaminated, I really like it."

What a twisted confession.

"So, you’re telling me this plan is now outdated?"

"Not outdated, just that some steps need to be changed. I need to study a new equilibrium. Since normal modifications might not be effective, let’s increase the dosage. Let’s start with one finger. If even one of your fingers can produce the Essence of Life, even just a tiny bit, the experiment will be a success."

The focus of the experiment isn’t modification, but enabling Zheng Yichen to generate the Essence of Life himself. As long as there’s even a trace of it, the ’modification’ step can end there, with the rest of the time spent continuously monitoring his body’s state.

His finger is a part of him, if even a small part of it can produce the Essence of Life and is beneficial for him, then that small part can become the seed, taking root and blossoming to provide his whole body with similar traits.

Zheng Yichen had yet to experience this kind of technology, but Ahn Ke’s younger sister, Ahn Qi, did experience it first. The new arm that replaced Ahn Qi’s missing one was outfitted with this technology.

The arm is special, and while Ahn Qi’s physique was rather ordinary, she was able to get an enhanced arm attached to her body which provided extra bolstering and strength, preventing her from ending up with just a singular powerful arm.