Chapter 45: Ghostfreak
Time passed quickly, and Zhang Xin returned carrying a fish tank, inside which a small goldfish swam happily.
"Eh, Auntie, why did you bring a fish back?" Su Ke asked in confusion.
"Come, try absorbing its vitality and see what happens," Zhang Xin said.
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Su Ke looked hesitantly at the goldfish in the tank, feeling somewhat reluctant to make a move.
"Then should we go find a Mutated Beast for you to drain dry?" Zhang Xin suggested.
"No need, no need!" Su Ke hurriedly shook his head. The thought of actually finding a Mutated Beast sounded far too troublesome, so he decided to experiment with the goldfish instead.
Goldfish: Where are your manners?
Su Ke circulated the Spiritual Qi he had just recovered and transformed it into the form of Wildvine. He then extended a vine and gently wrapped it around the goldfish in the tank.
The goldfish seemed to sense danger and struggled desperately, twisting its body in an attempt to break free, but it was all in vain.
Su Ke began to exert force. He could clearly feel the goldfish's vitality continuously flowing into his body, but the absorption process was exceptionally difficult.
He quickly released it, allowing the goldfish to regain its freedom.
Zhang Xin asked impatiently, "How was it? Did it work?"
Su Ke frowned and replied, "I can absorb it, but there's a strong sense of resistance. The absorption speed is very slow. For such a small goldfish, it would take about 2 full minutes to completely drain its vitality."
2 minutes was far too long.
One had to know that when dealing with plants, even a massive tree, Su Ke could completely drain its vitality in under 1 minute.
But now, draining a simple goldfish required 2 minutes. This clearly showed that when the target was not a plant, Su Ke's vitality absorption efficiency dropped sharply.
Zhang Xin said, "Even with these limitations, this ability is already heaven-defying. It means that when you fight in a forest, you'll have an endless supply of Spiritual Qi."
Su Ke said excitedly, "And once my realm is high enough and I have sufficient Spiritual Qi, I can instantly summon a massive group of helpers and turn a one-on-one duel into a group fight. Just thinking about it is thrilling!"
Smack!
Su Ke was suddenly hit on the head.
"What was that for? Ow!"
It really hurt.
Zhang Xin said, "You might be able to do that in the future, but right now you're still just a little nobody. Focus on cultivating properly."
"I know, I know."
"Alright, it's getting late. Hurry home and cultivate. You should be close to the Ninth Stage by now, right?"
"I should be able to break through tonight."
"Very good. Then hurry up. I'm quite curious to see what your new form will be."
"Not just you. I'm looking forward to it too."
At this point, Su Ke was completely out of Spiritual Qi.
Zhang Xin felt that walking back slowly with him was too inefficient, so she simply grabbed him by the collar and carried him home in a flash.
After arriving home, Su Ke staggered for a moment before finally regaining his balance.
Zhang Xin looked at him with a smile and said, "Not bad. You didn't throw up this time."
Su Ke replied with a bitter expression, "No matter how many times it happens, it's still hard to get used to."
After resting for a while, the dizziness finally subsided.
He then drank the last bottle of potion, randomly selected an alien transformation, and began cultivating.
This time, he clearly felt a barrier. He knew that breaking through to the First Rank Ninth Stage would not be easy.
However, this was not a serious problem for Su Ke.
As he absorbed large amounts of Spiritual Qi into his body, combined with the effects of the potion, the surging Spiritual Qi crashed against the barrier like a raging torrent.
After 2 full hours of unrelenting effort, the barrier was finally overwhelmed and shattered with a loud bang.
At this moment, Su Ke officially stepped into the Ninth Stage realm.
"Hoo—"
Su Ke let out a long breath of turbid air and immediately checked his newly unlocked alien.
After turning the dial a few times, the silhouette of the new alien appeared. Su Ke recognized it instantly, and his expression turned unpleasant.
"It's actually Ghostfreak!"
In the original animation, Ghostfreak possessed its own consciousness and had even counter-controlled the protagonist's body.
Ghostfreak was an Ectonurite from the planet Anur Phaetos in the Anur System.
Moreover, it was derived from the DNA of the strongest Ectonurite High Lord, Zs'Skayr, making it the most complete version.
This DNA sample had accidentally entered the Omnitrix and was the only ghost-type alien among them.
Ghostfreak's entire body was grayish-white with faint gray stripes, and its single purple eye could freely move within those stripes.
Its appearance resembled a mass of smoke, very similar to the ghosts of myths and legends, or even the ghostly companion of a certain Wangsheng Funeral Parlor director.
It could make its body intangible, allowing it to pass through any object, including living beings. After grabbing an enemy, it could also render them intangible. It could even turn invisible, requiring devices such as thermal imaging to detect it.
It was capable of possessing any living creature at will and controlling their body.
The grayish-white outer layer was actually a second layer of skin, used to protect Ghostfreak from being destroyed by sunlight, but it also restricted most of its abilities.
At night, its powers would be greatly enhanced, while during the day they would be heavily suppressed. Without the protection of this second skin, it could even be killed by direct sunlight.
Ghostfreak possessed extremely sharp claws capable of slicing through steel with ease. After peeling back its skin, it could extend numerous tentacles used to intimidate enemies and grasp objects with tremendous force. It could also fire powerful energy beams.
Its true appearance was extremely twisted and terrifying, with its head even inverted.
To be honest, Su Ke felt a bit frightened.
In the animation, Ghostfreak had accidentally entered the Omnitrix while retaining its own consciousness. After regaining awareness, it even escaped from the Omnitrix and nearly took control of the protagonist's body.
This had left a deep impression on Su Ke as a child and genuinely terrified him back then.
However, thinking it through, in the original plot, this happened because the species' consciousness and DNA were intrinsically linked. When the DNA was recorded, Zs'Skayr's consciousness was also sealed within it.
This situation was different now. This was Su Ke's own supernatural ability, so such a scenario should not occur.
With a nervous heart, Su Ke pressed down on the dial.
A flash of green light burst forth, and where he stood, only a grayish-white ghost remained.
Su Ke carefully checked his condition and confirmed that there were no signs of his consciousness being controlled. Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
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