They say I'm a world-destroying anomaly.

Chapter 49 Scarlet Insect Mist

Emerging from the temple ruins, Cheng Xu held two standard-issue firearms, each fully loaded with DZ concussion and paralysis rounds.

This is Cheng Xu's backup plan.

Outside the ruins teem with ferocious native creatures. If one's own abilities are insufficient to overwhelm them, then the assistance of firearms is essential.

However, when Cheng Xu actually used his abilities on the native creatures in the ruins, he realized that he had been worrying for nothing.

Just as you step out of the cover of the ruins, you are greeted by a group of acidic jellyfish floating in the air.

This creature appeared on Fenglin Star many years ago. According to research, they originally lived in lakes, but gradually evolved the ability to absorb water vapor from the atmosphere to replenish their own moisture.

They use buoyancy to support their slender bodies. In the previous battle, the acid jellyfish had caused the team considerable trouble.

This is mainly because they are small in size and move silently, often hiding in the shadow of larger creatures to launch surprise attacks.

The acid jellyfish contains a large amount of highly flammable acidic substances. When faced with a life-threatening situation, it will spontaneously explode, splashing out a pool of acid rain that can corrode combat suits.

Without auxiliary shooting equipment, it is not easy to keep them all at a certain distance.

But now, Cheng Xu simply waved his hand at them, and the group of drifting acid jellyfish froze in mid-air.

The next moment, the vast majority of jellyfish turned into brilliant fireworks, and the continuous explosions made the ground of the ruins tremble slightly.

All Cheng Xu did was manipulate an invisible hand to materialize the space around them and "pinch" each of their bodies.

Acid jellyfish do not possess a high level of intelligence. When stimulated, they react by wanting to perish together with their "enemy".

However, due to the great distance, the acid that splattered from their bodies could not reach Cheng Xu's clothes at all.

Cheng Xu deliberately left an acid jellyfish, carefully manipulating the invisible hand to drag it in front of him.

The controlled acid jellyfish floated above Cheng Xu's palm. As he got closer, he found that his ability to manipulate things was significantly enhanced, and the influence he could exert became more diverse.

Even if the acid jellyfish in his palm wanted to explode, it couldn't—its state had been "locked down" by Cheng Xu.

The acid jellyfish was still struggling helplessly, its soft body emitting a faint fluorescent glow.

"Um?"

Suddenly, Cheng Xu frowned, held the acid jellyfish up to his face, and examined it carefully.

Acid jellyfish are simple organisms, and their internal structure can be seen clearly at a glance.

What made Cheng Xu's attitude serious was a certain red substance in the body fluid of the acidic jellyfish.

This red substance is scattered and flocculent, very pale in color, and extremely small in size, almost invisible to the naked eye.

A water sphere appeared in Cheng Xu's hand, splitting in two to form a simple convex lens shape.

Under his calibration, two water-ball convex lenses formed a very rudimentary microscope.

Through the microscope, aided by the visual enhancement function of the combat suit, Cheng Xu finally saw the true form of this red substance.

Those were thousands upon thousands of tiny insects, shaped like grains of rice, only the size of a cell, with a lot of hair growing on the edges of each individual, faintly showing a light red color under the lens.

When countless insects gather together, they become a flocculent red substance that is barely visible to the naked eye.

Cheng Xu believes this discovery is likely to be of great significance.

After all, even in an extremely acidic environment like that of an acid jellyfish, so many insects still live inside it, and their systems are incompatible with its internal circulatory system.

Under Cheng Xu's mental control, the acidic jellyfish in his hand shrank out of thin air, and its soft outer skin and internal fluids began to evaporate.

He opened his eyes wide and carefully observed where the red insects went.

Sure enough, he saw the red, fluffy substance dissolve into the air the instant it left the body, and then be carried away by the wind into the distance.

"Could these red insects be the culprits behind the native creatures of Fenglin Star and the madness that drove Lance and the others?"

To verify this hypothesis, a single acid jellyfish is far from enough.

Cheng Xu stepped out of the ruins, his eyes scanning the surroundings before quickly locking onto his target.

That was his old friend, the giant moss toad.

This giant moss toad sits amidst the ruins of the site, like a guardian deity standing at the entrance of a dilapidated temple.

It is obvious that this is an entity that has come to block the way out, and if the team wants to leave the temple, they will have to confront it.

"It's a good opportunity to test the extent of my influence."

As Cheng Xu thought this, his hands holding the gun moved up and down, just like a puppeteer manipulating his marionette.

Under his control, the colossal beast, measuring fifteen meters in length, was lifted off the ground.

The sight of the Moss Giant Toad causing it to dangle in mid-air revealed a look of panic in its eyes.

Thinking about what he was about to do, Cheng Xu felt a pang of reluctance, but he did not stop controlling his abilities.

"Consider it a sacrifice for science; Fenglin Star will remember your contribution."

The air forms an invisible scalpel, slicing open its dark green hue, the incision silently curling up.

The crystallized spines on its back extinguish as it is peeled away, and invisible fingertips part the texture to reveal a translucent gastric sac containing undigested luminescent algae.

Under Cheng Xu's control, the giant moss toad was being slowly dissected.

"Not in the abdomen."

"It's not in any of the muscles all over the body."

Cheng Xu used the process of elimination, ruling out suspicious areas one by one. The entire giant moss toad, without even making a sound, gradually turned into countless smooth slices.

"Found it!"

Cheng Xu's gaze sharpened as he looked at the head of the giant moss toad.

Inside its severed brain, a large amount of red, flocculent material coalesced into a wisp of smoke, detaching from the brain of the giant moss toad, and flew away into the distance like a startled insect.

If the acid jellyfish was just a guess, then the dissection results of the giant toad further confirmed Cheng Xu's conjecture.

Without a moment's hesitation, the air surged beneath his feet, and an invisible whirlwind lifted his body, chasing after the red, fluffy substance.

After flying for about three minutes, Cheng Xu stopped.

He looked down and saw the core area of ​​the ruins.

There, a crimson mist swirled around the very center of the central hall. Swarms of wispy insects descended from the sky and merged into the mist.

Beneath this red mist was a huge hole, resembling a claw mark.

"Found it."