Chapter 258: Chapter 226: Mission Prompt: Shapeshifting
"I can hold on for eight minutes, tops!" Gao Neng had already started drawing on the power of his second magnetic core. He estimated it would be completely drained in eight minutes.
But he was still taking Energy Pills.
’Eight minutes... That’s enough time to replenish a tiny bit of energy in my first magnetic core.’
"Eight minutes?" Gui Zian glanced behind them. They had technically broken through the encirclement, but they hadn’t truly escaped.
The cube was too large a target.
Several thousand soldiers from the Alien Race Alliance Army were in hot pursuit.
"This isn’t going to work! With the four of us together, we’re too big a target!" Gui Zian was no stranger to the battlefield and quickly came to a decision.
"Yeah. We need to split up." Gao Neng also glanced back at the Alien Race Alliance Army. He knew this wasn’t sustainable.
"Everyone, recover what energy you can, quickly." Gui Zian gritted his teeth, then turned to Fang Tangtang. "Tangtang, give me a Life-saving Pill. I know you have one!"
Gui Zian wasn’t bothering with pleasantries.
Fang Tangtang looked annoyed but quickly fished out a Life-saving Pill and handed it to him.
"Teacher Gui, that’s not right! Extorting a student? Are you even a teacher anymore?"
"If I make it out alive, I’ll pay you back." Gui Zian swallowed the Life-saving Pill in one go. "My speed is fast enough to escape, but I can only take one person with me."
"Then please, Teacher, take Fang Tangtang." Gao Neng understood what Gui Zian was getting at.
"Alright, I’ll take Tangtang and make a break for it. Major Shen—oh, wait, it’s Lieutenant Colonel Shen now. Can you guarantee Gao Neng’s safety?" Gui Zian nodded and looked at Shen Ning’Er.
"I can’t." Shen Ning’Er shook her head decisively, then added, "But if we both have to die, I’ll be the one to die first."
"Alright, let’s split up!" Without waiting for Gao Neng’s reply, Gui Zian grabbed Fang Tangtang and shot off, his backside wiggling back and forth. He looked like a large fish carrying a smaller one.
It was a very strange sight.
But he was genuinely fast.
At least twice as fast as Gao Neng’s flying cube.
Gao Neng was speechless. "..."
’The Bald Shark really is fast, huh? In a situation like this, shouldn’t the younger generation escape first?’
Of course, he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Since he had to make a run for it eventually, he might as well save some energy for the actual escape.
With that thought, Gao Neng walked over to Shen Ning’Er. He gently reached out his hands and slowly wrapped them around her waist.
"Is this how you carried Tangtang while burrowing underground into the Elf Royal City?" Shen Ning’Er clearly knew a few things and didn’t stop him.
"Well..." Gao Neng’s face flushed slightly.
"So you need to hold me properly, not just put your hands on my waist, right?" Shen Ning’Er glanced down at his hands.
"The Flying Earth Dragon’s grip is limited..."
"Then what are you waiting for? Hold me!"
"Oh... okay, here I go." Gao Neng grabbed Shen Ning’Er and pulled her into his arms. At the same time, he summoned the Flying Earth Dragon again.
Shen Ning’Er was powerful, but when it came to escaping by burrowing, he was the stronger one. So, it was only natural for him to carry her.
The only problem was...
...his fusion with Gao Xiaomeng would have to end prematurely.
But the priority now was to escape. Even if he stayed fused with Gao Xiaomeng, he couldn’t last ten minutes. Once his energy ran out, death was certain anyway.
Since that was the case, there was nothing to hesitate about.
"This is bad, Ninth Princess! They’ve split into two groups and are running!" one of the aliens at the front of the pursuit noticed their plan and shouted immediately.
"Ninth Princess, Gao Neng and Shen Ning’Er went inside that thing!"
"They’re trying to escape separately!"
"Which group should we chase?"
"Go after Gao Neng! As for the other two... intercept them if you can!" Mu Feifei gritted her teeth. If she had to choose, she absolutely wanted Gao Neng dead. The fact that he was with Shen Ning’Er only solidified her decision.
It was an easy choice.
However, chasing Gao Neng, who could burrow underground, still required the help of the Lizard Race.
So, after giving the order, Mu Feifei turned her gaze to the Lizard Race’s prince. "Fourth Prince!"
"Understood!" The Lizard Race Prince knew exactly what Mu Feifei meant. He immediately ordered his Lizard Race Warriors to dive underground and begin tracking them.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
One by one, the Lizard Race members began to dig into the ground.
But finding the tunnel Gao Neng had dug was proving difficult this time. A massive, hundred-meter-tall cube was still in their way.
The instant the Lizard Race members dove into the ground.
The hundred-meter cube stopped moving, trapping a dozen of them inside.
"Quick, get away from this thing!" one of the Lizard Race shouted.
BOOM!
Just then, the cube exploded.
Countless fragments of mixed materials flew everywhere, along with the suffocated corpses that had been thrown inside.
"ARGH! DAMN YOU, GAO NENG!" The Lizard Race Prince was enraged. He had just lost over a dozen of his elite Warriors. The most infuriating part was that the cube had now exploded.
What did that mean?
It meant he didn’t even know how his people had died.
...
Gao Neng burrowed through the earth.
With Shen Ning’Er in his arms, he actually felt much more at ease.
It wasn’t because her body was soft—he wasn’t that shallow. He was more concerned with what was on the inside. For example, Shen Ning’Er’s incredible strength.
The two of them together, even after his fusion with Gao Xiaomeng ended, would face almost no threat as long as they didn’t encounter any high-rank opponents.
And right now, those high-rank opponents were all sticking close to the princes, not daring to leave their sides. So, for the moment, there was no threat.
"How did you get the Earth Dragon to evolve?" Shen Ning’Er finally spoke, her question blunt and to the point.
"If I said I just imagined it, would you believe me?" Gao Neng had expected her first question to be about his hidden talent. He never thought she’d ask about the Earth Dragon.
For a moment, he wasn’t sure how to answer.
"Dr. Lan hasn’t seen you in a while. She misses you. If we survive this, I think you should go see her." Shen Ning’Er’s breath came out in a warm, fragrant puff.
The golden feathered robe she wore had been retracted, revealing a black military uniform underneath.
She didn’t say anything about the impropriety of a man and woman being so close. Instead, she simply let Gao Neng hold her, a bewitching smile playing on her lips.
"Dr. Lan?" An image of a woman in glasses immediately surfaced in Gao Neng’s mind, sending an inexplicable chill down his spine.
’That Dr. Lan is something else! I’d rather not see her if I can help it.’
"Ahem, it was actually an epiphany, really... I saw a lot of different alien races in the Elf Royal City. Then, I had a realization. I thought, ’If it’s possible, why not add a pair of wings?’ And just like that, the Earth Dragon evolved into the Flying Earth Dragon." Gao Neng quickly changed his tune.
"An epiphany?" Shen Ning’Er glanced at him, then let out another faint, fragrant breath. "Why am I suddenly feeling a little sleepy..."
"Sleepy?" Gao Neng froze.
"Yeah, my head feels a little groggy. What was that you gave me to drink earlier?" Shen Ning’Er shook her head, as if trying to clear it.
"I gave you the Spring of Life... Wait, don’t tell me you’re about to undergo a metamorphosis? You’re transforming *now*? I..." For a moment, Gao Neng was at a loss for words.
He was the one who gave Shen Ning’Er the Spring of Life. The goal was to boost her power so she could fight Mu Feifei.
But the battle was over, and now a new problem had emerged. Shen Ning’Er had fully absorbed the Spring of Life and was actually starting her metamorphosis?!
’What am I going to do? We’re still on the run! There are thousands of soldiers from the Alien Race Alliance Army chasing us!’
"A metamorphosis? From the Spring of Life..." As Shen Ning’Er spoke, her eyes gradually fluttered shut, and her breathing became slow and even.
’Did I pick the wrong person?’ Gao Neng truly hadn’t expected Shen Ning’Er to start her metamorphosis now. His plan had been that carrying her would be the safe option.
’But look at the result! If I had known she was going to transform, I should have taken Fang Tangtang!’
’Having Teacher Gui fly Shen Ning’Er to the Eastern District Fortress would have been much safer than me burrowing underground with her, wouldn’t it? This is a classic case of the best-laid plans going awry.’
And that wasn’t all...
He discovered another problem.
Gao Xiaomeng, who had been clinging to his shoulder, seemed to have fallen into a coma as well. And her body was also starting to change.
Silk-like strands of green energy began to appear on Shen Ning’Er’s body. The energy constantly overflowed, wrapping itself around her. ’She’s forming a cocoon.’
Gao Neng had experience with this. But compared to Shen Ning’Er’s transformation, the changes happening to Gao Xiaomeng were leaving him dumbfounded.
Because Gao Xiaomeng, on his shoulder, was gradually growing larger. Or rather, it couldn’t be called normal growth.
To be more precise...
It was a shapeshift! A transformation from a cat into a human.
Strands of silvery-white hair sprouted from the top of Gao Xiaomeng’s head. In addition, her body began to gradually stretch out.
Soon, she had become a naked young girl.
A head of silver hair.
Her body was a lustrous, snow-white, and incredibly slender.
The only thing he couldn’t see were her eyes, because they were shut tight.
"Holy crap... What the hell is going on? Gao Xiaomeng turned into a person!" Gao Neng considered himself quite knowledgeable, but a cat turning into a human was definitely not covered in any normal curriculum.
(Author’s Note: Third update today, sorry to disappoint all you devils who wanted to see a bird get chopped! Also, recommending another book, "I Possessed the Demon Emperor," by August Flying Eagle. He’s a good friend of mine, highly recommended. I’ve read it, and the book is fantastic!)
