Chapter 1 The Wind Rises in Xichuan Town

The wind was picking up in Xichuan Town.

It was a strong wind, swirling with thick fog, adding to the sense of bleakness and cold, as if it were the dead of winter. Liu Youshan sneezed and glanced at the tightly closed door, patiently and respectfully waiting with his arms crossed.

A large, fat man waddled through the fog, Zhu Dagang, the Pig Hall Leader, his face beaming with an expression of imminent joyful news.

But Liu Youshan stopped him.

"Lord Snake is resting. Don't disturb him!"

Liu Youshan said in a low voice, pointing to the closed room. Zhu Dagang paused, listening for a moment, a knowing smile appearing on his face before he retreated a few steps, waiting at a distance.

This was one of the few remaining houses in the collapsed villa district, usable after some minor repairs, but the soundproofing was poor.

Through the door, Zhu Dagang could vaguely hear the heavy breathing of a man, the creaking of the bed frame, and the high and low cries of women, and more than one at that.

Zhu Dagang listened with envy, muttering, "Lord Snake is a lucky man!"

Liu Youshan nodded in agreement, then glanced down at his own crotch, his expression clouding over.

The fact that Liu Youshan had castrated himself to show his loyalty had spread throughout the Heavenly Snake Gang, becoming a topic of casual conversation. Zhang Ji had even jokingly called him "Eunuch Liu."

Liu Youshan was not ashamed but proud, so excited that he couldn't sleep for days, seeing it as a sign of Zhang Ji's appreciation.

Sure enough, he had once again become a favorite of Zhang Ji.

A smile flickered in Liu Youshan's eyes as he lit a cigarette and took a puff. "Regret? Maybe! But now I've regained Lord Snake's appreciation and trust. It's all worth it."

Zhu Dagang said with some envy, "Yes, your path has widened."

"Throughout history, emperors have always trusted eunuchs the most, like Zhao Gao, Wei Zhongxian. They held high positions and were deeply favored. Weren't they all eunuchs?!"

Liu Youshan exhaled a smoke ring and said quietly, "But they all met unfortunate ends!"

Zhu Dagang: "..."

He didn't know how to respond to that.

He changed the subject. "The Cold Moon Black Silk Triplets have been favored by Lord Snake this time, a real meteoric rise. It's a pity Lord Snake doesn't like men, or I might have had a chance."

He patted his large belly at Liu Youshan, as big as a full-term pregnant woman's.

Liu Youshan glanced at it, then turned away in disgust.

Now that people were mutated into beasts and the effects were feeding back into the human body, most people had become well-proportioned and strong, but this guy, Zhu Dagang, was getting fatter and fatter, and none of the other Pig types were like that.

Truly strange.

Time passed, and the fog swirled.

The cries in the room continued. Zhu Dagang was getting impatient. "Has Lord Snake been in there for an hour?"

"Three hours, eight minutes, and twenty seconds!"

Liu Youshan checked the stopwatch in his hand and replied seriously.

Zhu Dagang was stunned. "Lord Snake is strong!" he exclaimed, giving a thumbs up.

"The feeding back into the human body from the mist beastification is beneficial, curing many diseases, such as cancer, rheumatism, Alzheimer's, but it has no effect on kidney deficiency in men.

"It reminds me of a buddy of mine who was a gym coach, all muscles, but his wife was divorcing him. I felt guilty, thinking it was my fault, but later I found out it was because of *that*."

"I didn't believe it then, but I believe it now!"

Zhu Dagang sighed, offering Liu Youshan another cigarette with a smile.

"Big muscles don't necessarily mean strength in that area. It's all about talent, unrelated to physique. Oh, no, it's related, but not much. If you're deficient, you're deficient."

Liu Youshan took another drag on his cigarette.

He listened more than he spoke, afraid of saying something that could be used against him later. He was very cautious in dealing with people. Glancing at Zhu Dagang, who was chattering away, he reminded him,

"Keep some words unspoken and leave yourself a way out. Too much talk invites disaster. You have to watch your mouth in the future! The dogs in the Spy Hall are always watching us!"

He glanced into the distance.

In the ruined corners, several Dog Hall members were wandering around, their eyes constantly scanning in their direction.

Zhu Dagang saw them too and said with some disgust, "You shouldn't have recommended Hu San as the Dog Hall Leader. Now that guy is very popular with Lord Snake, arrogant and overbearing, strutting around like a little man who's made it."

"I heard that he killed his own brother to save his life and stole his sister-in-law. He's rotten to the core."

Zhu Dagang clearly looked down on Hu San, muttering under his breath.

Liu Youshan stamped out his cigarette. "Everyone sweeps the snow from their own doorstep, don't worry about the frost on other people's roofs. Lord Snake only looks at value, not character or morality."

His eyes flashed with a wise look, as if he understood everything.

Zhu Dagang nodded and smiled. "Don't worry, my value has already been shown. I came to tell Lord Snake that the mating of the bitches and the giant wolves was successful. Three hundred bitches are pregnant."

"At six pups per litter, that's over a thousand pups."

Liu Youshan's eyes lit up. "That's great news! Lord Snake has been very interested in this and has been watching it closely. Now that you've achieved results, you'll definitely be rewarded by Lord Snake."

Zhu Dagang nodded repeatedly.

After a while,

The women's cries in the room stopped. Liu Youshan checked his watch. It had been exactly three and a half hours.

"Lord Snake is coming out. Prepare to greet him!"

He reminded them in a low voice.

As he spoke, the door creaked open, and through the bed curtains, three pairs of black-stockinged legs could be seen lying side by side on the messy bed. The stockings were torn, and the fair skin was covered in scratches, very enticing.

A man walked out, a tall, imposing figure casting a large shadow, his presence very oppressive.

"Greetings, Lord Snake!"

"We pay our respects to Lord Snake!"

Liu Youshan and Zhu Dagang hurriedly bowed, looking down to see Zhang Ji wearing slippers, his toes stained with red lipstick.

"The bitches are pregnant? Well done!"

Zhang Ji said with a smile, having overheard their conversation while tilling the fields in the room.

Zhu Dagang's face paled. He hadn't expected Zhang Ji to have such keen ears, hearing what he had just said. He was thankful that he hadn't spoken ill of Lord Snake.

He quickly said, "Yes, Lord Snake. This subordinate used the medicinal liquid left by Professor Zhu Tiandao, along with the feed, to make the bitches grow as big as giant wolves, solving the problem of mating."

"Now, all three hundred bitches are pregnant and awaiting delivery. The gestation period is about two months, then they can give birth to pups."

Zhang Ji frowned.

"So, I have to wait two months to eat meat? No! The pups have to be fed hormone drugs to grow up, which will take several more months. That's half a year..."

He said with dissatisfaction.

At this rate, when would he be able to harvest enough Evolution Points to complete his ninth evolution?

The remaining human-mutated monsters in Xichuan Town were too low-level, with too few Evolution Points. He was waiting for them to fatten up a bit before eating them, which also took time.

Hearing the displeasure in Zhang Ji's voice, Zhu Dagang panicked and said, "Lord Snake, please calm your anger. This subordinate is speeding up the process, searching the entire town for bitches."

"But there aren't many dogs left alive after the earthquake, and now food is scarce, and some people are still hunting and eating dog meat. The hormone drugs are also running out, and Professor Zhu Tiandao, who is a Tiger type, was caught in the Heavenly Stele, so now we..."

He was explaining, but Liu Youshan, seeing Zhang Ji's impatient expression, quickly reminded him, "Leader Zhu!"

"Lord Snake only looks at results, not the process. Just go do it. Stop being so long-winded."

Zhu Dagang realized his mistake. He looked up and saw that Zhang Ji's expression was indeed displeased. He shivered, quickly bowed, and hurried away, not forgetting to give Liu Youshan a grateful look.

Zhang Ji paced back and forth, lost in thought, feeling irritated.

The lack of Evolution Points to harvest was hindering his strength from growing. Xichuan Town was too small to raise a big snake like him.

He was looking for a way out, but where was it?