Chapter 44: Corpse Brother is the secret to my domination of half the Main God Space (not really)

Chu Hao slept both soundly and miserably.

It sounds contradictory, but in reality, he had remodeled his personal room to resemble the small, messy, and dim basement storage room where he and his sister had lived during his childhood. It was filthy, damp, and cold, with only some tattered cotton and rags piled in the corner to form a makeshift nest, barely large enough for a child-sized body.

Lying there, Chu Hao felt a long-lost sense of happiness as he experienced his childhood dwelling. However, the excessively crude environment still left him with aching joints and cramping legs—it was truly unbearable. Moreover, staying in this place for too long might soften his resolve for vengeance. For this very reason, upon waking, Chu Hao completely transformed the room back into his living quarters from the Rebel Base.

After finishing these adjustments and washing up, Chu Hao left his room. As soon as he stepped out, he saw the others already gathered in the God’s Dimension plaza: Chen Mo, Ares, J, Jenny, Osas, and that woman. They were sitting directly on the ground, surrounded by a mountain of food and beverages, eating and drinking heartily.

Ares waved at Chu Hao as he emerged. Chen Mo, with a large chicken leg hanging from his mouth, glanced at Chu Hao before burying his face back into his meal. For some reason, Chu Hao felt that something had changed about Chen Mo, though he could not quite put his finger on what it was.

Shaking his head to cast off his suspicions, Chu Hao walked over to the group and sat down. Without ceremony, he grabbed a large hairy crab and began to devour it, grease staining his mouth, completely unconcerned with his image. He was simply famished; he had only eaten a light breakfast on the final day in the *Skyline* world, and had not touched a drop of water or a grain of rice since. Even after returning to the God’s Dimension, he had collapsed into bed without even washing up, and by now, he was starving.

After polishing off over three pounds of crab, shells and all, Chu Hao was about to remark on the rich, savory flavor of the seafood when he caught sight of Chen Mo. The others had woken up earlier and were mostly finished, but Chen Mo had been eating the entire time. He was still eating now, his appetite like a bottomless pit, constantly grabbing food from the table, chewing, and swallowing.

Chen Mo’s eating habits were not crude; in fact, they possessed a strange elegance. Yet, his speed was terrifying. While the others had only taken a few bites, he had already demonstrated a unique talent for "finishing a small roasted suckling pig in three bites." He licked his lips and reached for the next delicacy. His teeth were unexpectedly strong—when eating lobsters or crabs, he would sometimes consume the meat along with the shells, chewing them with a loud *crunch-crunch* sound. He could even bite through the T-bone of a charcoal-grilled T-bone steak.

Noticing this clearly abnormal behavior, Chu Hao could not help but ask, "Chen Mo, what is this..."

"Oh, I was just about to tell you all." Chen Mo pulled off a king crab leg, bit off a piece—shell and all—and spoke while chewing. "After returning to the God’s Dimension, I discovered that the inheritance left by my ancestor had unlocked a significant amount of 'gold coins,' making more things available to me. This included a list of enhancements, as well as various items, elixirs, and martial arts manuals."

"It was actually the first layer of trials set by my ancestor, and I passed. Simply put, returning to the God’s Dimension alive was the first trial. Since I succeeded, part of the inheritance was unsealed. Based on the resources provided, and wanting to verify if my memory of the God’s exchange system was accurate, I performed a preemptive enhancement. Sorry for using some of our side quests and reward points without asking; I will provide you all with my findings and suggestions shortly."

"It’s fine. After all, those were your own side quests and reward points; you can use them however you like," Chu Hao replied with a smile, shaking his head. "But next time, please let us know in advance. We are a team, partners who will advance and retreat together, placing our lives in each other's hands. Now, we’ve rested enough and eaten enough. It’s time to think about the future."

Chu Hao lit a cigar and took a deep drag. "Since you’ve already completed your enhancement, why don't you start there? While I am confident in my analysis and planning, I am not as familiar with the God’s Dimension’s enhancements as you are. How about you analyze and plan the enhancements we should choose?"

"No problem." Chen Mo nodded and grabbed a piece of paper to wipe the grease from his mouth. "First, let me explain my enhancement. I chose an energy circulation system and a physiological enhancement: the Basic Internal Energy Circulation and the Elite Corpse Brother Physiological Mutation."

"Corpse Brother?" Chu Hao was taken aback.

"Yes, it’s one of the options my ancestor recommended, and I felt it suited me well." Chen Mo took a gulp of soda to clear his throat. "To put it simply, you can think of it as a low-end version of the Blacklight Virus. Its final stage, the Corpse King Progenitor enhancement, achieves effects comparable to the actual Blacklight Virus."

"This enhancement is highly compatible with my internal energy circulation, allowing me to practice multiple advanced martial arts styles simultaneously. My ancestor also left me many martial arts manuals with incredible potential. These two enhancements are perfect for me."

Chu Hao did a quick search and found that the Corpse Brother enhancement was divided into three tiers: Common, Elite, and the Corpse King Progenitor, priced at B, BB, and AA respectively, with no prerequisite requirements. With the Basic Internal Energy at a D-rank side quest and the Elite Corpse Brother mutation, Chen Mo had utilized the vast majority of his side quests.

Chu Hao carefully reviewed the descriptions and looked up. "An enhancement similar to the Blacklight Virus... even a low-end version should have many applications. It seems like a solid choice. Are there any side effects?"

"The side effect is that I cannot consume flesh and genes to evolve recklessly like Alex Mercer," Chen Mo explained. "For the Common and Elite levels, consuming genes causes random, uncontrolled mutations. Some might be useful, others useless. If I’m unlucky, there’s a high probability I’ll turn into a monster."

"Only by reaching the AA-rank Corpse King Progenitor can I manually control my own genes. Alternatively, one could unlock the Fourth Gene Lock or possess specialized genetic knowledge. Fortunately, my ancestor’s inheritance included a genetic stabilizer that helps me mitigate these negative mutations. I can also learn a great deal about biological genetics here in the God’s Dimension. That is why I chose this path."