Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Not Picky and Too Picky

Feng Ling didn’t stop at one.

She inhaled and took the rest of the centipede cards in a single sweep.

Notifications stacked one after another:

[“Crimson Ogre Centipede” has been digested.]

[Your deck grew.]

[Corruption: 9%.]

[“Crimson Ogre Centipede” has been digested.]

[Your deck grew.]

[Corruption: 10%.]

[“Crimson Ogre Centipede” has been digested.]

[Your deck grew.]

…

By the time the last centipede card finished digesting, her Corruption had climbed to 14%.

Mother’s Embrace multiplied.

Four.

She now had four extra arms—each ending in fang claws—and the overall hardness and speed improved again, the motion sharper, the strike cleaner.

At the same time, the hunger in her belly—burning, gnawing, ugly—nearly vanished.

Warmth spread in its place. Not comfort, exactly. More like a heavy, satisfied heat.

Feng Ling patted her stomach and looked at the remaining Ability Cards with open anticipation.

She couldn’t explain it, but she had a strong sense that if she digested one more—maybe two—she would be full.

Ten cards remained: spider, unknown bird, mouse, bat, a long-necked creature, the twin-lizard high-tier card, and five ant cards.

Feng Ling’s gaze drifted back to the lizard.

A Polluted Entity that could continuously produce more of its kind… that had to come from its core ability. Its main card.

And that kind of power was addicting on sight. Feng Ling could feel it—a pull in her gut, a greedy pressure behind her eyes.

Ability Card… high-tier card…

[I really want a high-tier card.]

The thought felt familiar enough to make her pause. She frowned, searching her memory.

Then she remembered: the Polluted Entity that attacked her earlier had been muttering about wanting Ability Cards too.

So that was what 14% did. Not enough to break you… but enough to nudge.

Feng Ling lifted a fist and tapped her forehead lightly, like knocking sense back into place.

[Calm down. Don’t let the Aberrant game mechanics mess with your head.]

Still—one thing bothered her.

How did Huang Fu Miao Miao have such strong restraint?

Feng Ling glanced sideways.

Huang Fu Miao Miao was watching her like she was staring at a bomb with a blinking timer. She wasn’t looking at the floating cards at all.

“Well?” Huang Fu Miao Miao asked, voice tight. “After digesting that many… is your Corruption okay?”

Feng Ling didn’t answer directly. “Do you want one?” she asked instead. “Your Devil should level up too.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao blinked slowly, then let her eyes slide toward the silver spread. The cards hovered there, quiet and glittering, like flowers waiting to be picked.

In her eyes, they looked less like flowers and more like poison.

She dragged her gaze away with visible effort and shook her head. “No… I don’t think so. I-I don’t think any of them fit.”

“Not even one?” Feng Ling smiled. “You’re too picky.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao said nothing. She didn’t trust herself to speak.

Feng Ling tilted her head. “Then help me pick.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao’s face tightened. “You’ve already digested seven Ability Cards…” Her voice came out strained. “Most players don’t even go past three. Compatible cards are rare. And once your Corruption crosses the safe line—”

Feng Ling’s smile stayed friendly, almost sweet. “Pick one. I want to see if your understanding of card traits matches mine.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao frowned, unwilling, but her eyes flicked across the cards anyway as if her brain couldn’t stop working.

“I think Mother Nest’s trait… probably leans warm,” she said carefully, trying to build something solid out of instinct. “Stable. Protective. Safe.”

Feng Ling’s eyes narrowed with interest. “Yes. Mother Nest really is like that.”

So it was Mother Nest.

Huang Fu Miao Miao swallowed. “Then… spider?” she offered, tilting her head. “Spiders feel like they fit. Nest. Web. That kind of thing.”

Feng Ling considered the spider card.

Mother spiders sometimes stayed put after hatching and let their young devour them alive—an ugly, brutal kind of maternal sacrifice. And webs did evoke a nest, a home built to hold life in place.

Compatibility made sense.

But Feng Ling’s deck was already heavy with low-tier insect cards, except for one ghost jellyfish card. Low-tier wasn’t bad.

It was just… predictable.

And when things got predictable, she got bored.

Her eyes slid to the bat.

Mid-tier, at least. And Mother Nest made her think of hidden, dark places—caves, hollows, secret tunnels.

Bat fit that atmosphere.

Maybe it came with something truly useful.

Feng Ling reached out and took the bat card.

Huang Fu Miao Miao stared at her, tight-lipped and furious in a way she didn’t dare express.

Of course. Of course Feng Ling wouldn’t take the spider.

A notification appeared:

[“Bat” has been digested.]

[Your deck grew.]

[Corruption: 15%.]

[Night is as clear as day to you. No movement, no matter how small, can escape your eyes and ears. Your spatial memory has greatly improved; every path you walk becomes a map in your mind.]

[This is a passive skill. No naming required.]

Feng Ling almost laughed.

Another 1%.

Just 1% Corruption for a skill like that.

Her luck was obscene.

For a dangerous moment, the thought surfaced: [Is every Ability Card here only 1%? Even the high-tier?]

The itch came back.

The craving for a thrill.

Huang Fu Miao Miao watched her face like she was reading tremors. “Well? Safe?” she asked again, voice too thin.

Feng Ling’s mouth curved with smug confidence. “One percent.”

Huang Fu Miao Miao’s shoulders sagged with relief. “Thank god—”

Feng Ling reached out again.

Huang Fu Miao Miao’s eyes widened so hard it looked painful. “You—!”

This was the ninth card.

Nine.

Feng Ling’s fingers closed around the twin-lizard card.

A notification flashed:

[You obtained the Ability Card: “Mirror Salamander.”]

[Mirror Salamander: Can create duplicates through a special method of cell division. Requires fresh flesh and blood as material. The more abundant the supply, the higher the quality of the duplicates. Duplicates share all abilities from Ability Cards held by the original.]

[If the number of duplicates becomes too large, the original’s overall abilities may become dulled.]

Feng Ling’s pulse jumped.

She loved it instantly.

This was power with teeth. Power that could spiral out of control—if you handled it wrong.

Then the follow-up hit:

[“Mirror Salamander” has been digested.]

[Your deck grew slightly.]

[Corruption: 29%.]