Su Ze realized the gravity of the situation.
If his heart stopped beating and his blood stopped flowing, all he could do was pray for another transmigration.
Su Ze pinched his thigh hard, trying to jolt his sluggish brain into action and think of a countermeasure.
'My body hasn't exploded, which means my constitution is strong enough to absorb this extract. This is happening because the evolutionary power within the Rock Scorpion extract is affecting me. The Rock Scorpion's abilities include a paralyzing toxin and Rock Shield. My current condition feels a bit like being poisoned and gradually petrifying.'
Su Ze gradually sorted through his thoughts. He wasn't truly being poisoned or petrified; rather, the evolutionary power was affecting his body. What he needed to do now was fight against it and try to keep his body active. As long as he could endure this wave, the crisis would naturally be resolved once his body fully absorbed the evolutionary power.
'My heart rate is dropping, and my blood flow is slowing down. I need to think of things that will get my heart racing and my blood pumping...' Su Ze desperately tried to recall all the titillating moments from his two lifetimes, attempting to use his body's instincts to fight the effects of the evolutionary power.
He had to admit, he could really use the help of Technician No. 403 right now.
What was chastity compared to his life?
Fortunately, Su Ze possessed an exceptional memory, and when combined with his immersive imagination, he gradually began to feel a building heat. His blood flow recovered somewhat, and his heart stopped slowing down.
His brain was no longer sluggish. On the contrary, it felt like it would burst, and the scenes in his imagination grew more and more vivid.
After an unknown amount of time, Su Ze's heartbeat and blood flow returned to normal. His stiff skin grew soft again. It felt like fireworks had exploded in his mind, chasing away all distracting thoughts as he entered what seemed to be a blank, white world.
A moment later, three clouds of orange mist appeared in this white world. Su Ze focused on the largest cloud and felt a sharp, needle-like piercing sensation. The other two clouds, roughly the same size, respectively emanated auras of sluggishness and weightiness.
'I've successfully absorbed the Rock Scorpion extract. This must be my sea of consciousness, and these three clouds of mist must represent the Rock Scorpion's three skills: Needle Strike, Paralyzing Toxin, and Rock Shield...' Su Ze guessed.
'Wait, does this mean I can choose my skill?!'
Su Ze was utterly shocked. The three clouds of mist representing the three skills had just appeared in his consciousness, seemingly waiting for him to choose.
Normally, when others absorbed extracts, they would randomly obtain one skill; they couldn't choose for themselves.
Although talented evolvers with solid foundations had a higher chance of obtaining powerful skills when absorbing extracts, there was still a great deal of uncertainty. It was absolutely impossible to pick and choose at will.
'Is this a perk of being a Transmigrator? A privilege for absorbing an extract above my rank? Or a hidden effect of the Evolution Divine Grace Skill?'
Those were the only three possibilities.
Su Ze was certain that Zhao Lingxiao never had the chance to choose skills when absorbing his first three extracts. Clearly, this was not an ability Zhao Lingxiao originally possessed.
Su Ze didn't dwell on the origin of this ability. He directly chose the "Needle Strike" skill, plunging his consciousness into the largest cloud of mist.
SPLASH!
Like diving headfirst into water, Su Ze instantly regained control of his body. He opened his eyes to find himself lying on the large bed in the bathhouse suite, the sheets beneath him soaked with sweat.
He focused his senses and confirmed that he had indeed mastered his fourth skill, "Needle Strike."
In addition, his physical attributes had improved across the board. When it came to strengthening one's constitution, even a D-rank, second-tier extract far surpassed a first-tier S-rank one. Su Ze's strength, speed, and stamina had all seen a decent boost.
'Right now, I've only absorbed the evolutionary power from the Rock Scorpion extract. It'll take some time to digest it completely, and my physical attributes will continue to improve during that process.' Su Ze's eyes shone with utter confidence. He felt that his foundation was now as solid as a mountain. Once he fully digested the Rock Scorpion extract, he could immediately complete his first evolution, with no possibility of failure.
People without a solid foundation could fail their evolution. That was why many, after digesting their third extract, didn't dare to evolve. Instead, they would spend a great deal of time taking elixirs and training to strengthen their constitution before attempting their first evolution.
But Su Ze had no such concerns. He had absorbed one more extract than others. Among the extracts he'd absorbed, two were S-rank, one was super S-rank, and he had even absorbed a second-tier extract while still at the mortal rank. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with a more solid foundation than him.
Su Ze's setup could no longer be described as top-tier; it had surpassed top-tier and broken the limits!
Even geniuses from major factions, who at most absorbed three first-tier S-rank extracts at the mortal rank, were nothing but small fry in front of him.
'My goal now is to completely digest the Rock Scorpion extract as quickly as possible, then complete my evolution, and then find a way to leave the country.'
'The Rock Scorpion extract's rank and tier are too high. Natural digestion would take at least half a month, and I can't wait that long. Using medicinal aids can greatly shorten the time.'
Su Ze rummaged through his handbag. Inside were a few bottles of medicine left by Zhao Lingxiao, but they were mostly Strengthening Elixirs. There was only one bottle of "Body Health Digestive Pills" meant to aid in the digestion and absorption of extracts, but there were only two pills left in it—not nearly enough.
Su Ze swallowed the two pills. He immediately felt a current of air moving through his body, constantly drawing out the latent orange evolutionary power and helping his body digest and absorb it.
'As expected of medicine left by Zhao Lingxiao, the effects are undeniable. If I could take these daily, I could completely digest the Rock Scorpion extract in two or three days.'
Su Ze thought for a moment, then took out his phone, inserted a new SIM card, and dialed Xu Sheng from Evolutionary Technology.
"Hello, who is this?" Xu Sheng's polite yet distant voice came from the other end of the line.
"Mr. Xu, it's me, Su Ze."
"Oh, it's Mr. Su! Why the new number, Mr. Su?" Xu Sheng's tone instantly became enthusiastic. "What can I do for you, Mr. Su?"
"Do you sell 'Body Health Digestive Pills' at your shop?"
"The patent for that medicine's formula is held by the Life Pharmaceutical Company. If you need it, you'll have to buy it from one of their stores," Xu Sheng explained.
Su Ze wasn't surprised. Although Evolutionary Technology also sold medicine, when it came to variety and comprehensiveness, Life Pharmaceutical was still king.
He changed the subject, asking, "After I left, did anyone come to your shop asking about me?"
"I was just about to tell you about that." Xu Sheng paused. "Not long after you left today, an old gentleman came by, trying to get information about you. I told him we couldn't disclose client privacy and sent him away."
"Speaking of which, the smell on that old gentleman was really... BLECH... indescribable!"