Chapter 21: The Contract

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Lin Shen had touched the creature earlier and already thought it didn't really resemble a snake. Now, looking at it closely, it seemed even less like one.

Snakes have distinct heads, but the head of this thing was barely noticeable. At a glance, it looked more like a worm, with only a near-invisible small hole at its tip—that should be its mouth.

Its body didn't look entirely like a worm either. Instead, it resembled a rope woven from dark red metallic threads.

Overall, if you didn't examine it closely, this thing could easily be mistaken for a piece of rope.

Lin Shen couldn't figure out what exactly this creature was, and he didn't have the time to ponder it either.

As if it sensed Lin Shen waking up, its body suddenly inflated. The body, previously only about three centimeters thick, swelled at the front end to the size of a barrel in an instant.

The mouth, which had looked like a pinhole earlier, expanded accordingly, growing large enough to easily swallow a human head whole.

Inside that gaping maw were circular, gear-like blood-colored crystals, grinding and spinning slowly within its body. They flickered with pulses of dim and bright red light, resembling a blood crystal crusher coming to life.

*If your head were to be swallowed by this thing, it would no doubt be reduced to a mess of flesh and blood in mere moments.*

As the creature's terrifying maw lunged toward Lin Shen, he struggled desperately. Because the front half of the creature's body was swollen while the back half had not yet expanded, Lin Shen found a slight gap in its constriction around him.

In the instant just before the monster's mouth was about to close on him, Lin Shen managed to yank one hand free.

Without hesitation, he punched fiercely at a red spot below the monster's head—a pressure point Lin Shen had noticed on its body.

Due to the creature's swelling, the red spot appeared much larger than before.

Bang!

Just before the terrifying maw was about to engulf Lin Shen's head, his fist landed squarely on the red spot.

Lin Shen felt a stabbing pain radiating from his knuckles—his fingers were either fractured or cracked.

The monster's body didn't remain immobile, but it did slow down significantly. Its mouth continued to approach Lin Shen's head, albeit sluggishly.

*The acupoint attack hadn't fully worked. With just his strength, Lin Shen couldn't even penetrate the monster's defenses.*

Lin Shen twisted his head frantically to one side, narrowly avoiding the creature's bite. He continued raining punches on the red spot furiously.

*The pain from his knuckles was so excruciating it felt like his bones were being shredded, but Lin Shen couldn't afford to care. Even if all his fingers ended up shattered, that was better than losing his life.*

Blood splattered across the monster's body—but not its blood. It was Lin Shen's, spraying out from the ruptured skin and flesh of his fists. The creature, unscathed, remained completely intact.

Though the monster's movements slowed further under the assault, they didn't stop completely. The force constraining Lin Shen's body also grew weaker and weaker.

Lin Shen finally managed to free his other hand. Pressing against the creature's swollen front end, he pulled himself out of its grasp.

At this point, his previous fist could no longer even form a fist. His fingers hung crookedly, skin torn and flesh mangled while blood dripped ceaselessly from the wounds.

The monster's body convulsed violently. With each shudder, its body squirmed and writhed further, as though it were close to breaking free from the acupoint-sealing restraint.

*Lin Shen knew the fault didn't lie with the acupoint-sealing technique itself but with his insufficient strength. He simply couldn't apply enough force to completely freeze the creature's pressure points.*

*It was like aiming for a pressure point protected under armor—if your strength couldn't pierce the armor, there was no way to affect the pressure point beneath.*

The impacts of his punches were enough to transmit shock waves into the creature, resulting in some effect. That alone was nothing short of a miracle.

Lin Shen reached out with his uninjured hand toward the clothes at the bedside, searching for the pet capsules of the Supersonic Gunman and the Steel Tail Scorpion.

But upon searching, he didn't find the Steel Tail Scorpion's capsule—he only found the Supersonic Gunman's.

Not having the luxury to dwell on this further, he took out the key he carried and activated the pet capsule immediately.

The pet capsule transformed swiftly, and the Supersonic Gunman appeared before Lin Shen. Following his orders, the Gunman drew its firearm and fired upon the creature.

The bullets struck the red spot, but instead of penetrating, they bounced off to the side, leaving only faint white marks. Meanwhile, the creature's writhing intensified significantly.

*Lin Shen's heart sank. He realized that the Fire Seed's ability only worked when he himself executed the action. External forces, even if they hit pressure points, wouldn't have the same effect as acupoint techniques.*

*This further proved the point—abilities derived from the Fire Seed defied all logical explanation.*

The Supersonic Gunman redirected its efforts to other areas of the monster's body. The results were even worse. While shots to the red spot left faint marks, every other part it targeted remained utterly unaffected.

Bullets aimed into the monster's mouth struck the blood-crystal-like gear teeth, only to be pulverized instantly upon impact.

*These blood crystals were even harder than the monster's own body, reminding Lin Shen of what Cang had once said—that this creature had experienced an accident while advancing to the Crystal Base Level, giving it some characteristics of a Crystal Base physique.*

Seeing the monster nearly breaking free from the acupoint seal, Lin Shen had no choice but to rush forward himself. He grabbed the bedsheet, wrapped it around his good hand, and began punching the red spot with his other fist.

After a few strikes, streaks of blood seeped through the bedsheet he'd wrapped around his hand. The monster's movements grew so sluggish it could barely move anymore.

*But Lin Shen knew this wasn't a viable solution. If he kept punching like this, his hands would soon be completely wrecked. Should the acupoint seal fail to restrain the creature, not only Lin Shen but the entire Lin Family compound could end up massacred.*

*This was a Base Mutation creature with powers at the Crystal Base level. If Third Brother and Fourth Brother were here, there might be some hope. But right now, there wasn't anyone in the Lin Family capable of taking on such a mutated being. Calling for help would be futile—sending reinforcements would only result in their deaths.*

*From the start, Lin Shen never had the chance to press the alarm to summon anyone. Now, it was completely unnecessary.*

All of the siblings' rooms had been specially designed with high defense capabilities and exceptional soundproofing. After all this commotion, no one outside had heard anything or come to investigate.

*Lin Shen's first thought was to escape—to preserve his own life and fight another day.*

*If he died here, what good was the family's fortune?*

Just as he was about to turn and flee, another thought flashed through Lin Shen's mind. He remembered the Fire Seed ability: the Boundless Strength Contract.

The Boundless Strength Contract required a blood covenant with a creature—it didn't specify that the creature had to be newly born.

The issue was that adult creatures would stop growing, making contracts pointless in most situations. Naturally, contracts were typically formed with immature creatures.

But the Boundless Strength Contract came with another benefit: once bonded, the creature essentially became a pet, rendering it almost incapable of defying the owner's commands.

*Of course, performing the ritual wasn't as simple as dripping some blood onto the creature. The covenant needed to be drawn with blood directly on the creature's body, and the process couldn't be interrupted. Any resistance from the creature would result in failure.*

If given the choice, Lin Shen would have preferred bonding with a Base Mutation creature that had the potential for growth.

*But now, with his life, the safety of the Lin Family members, and the fate of their property at stake, he had to try forming a Boundless Strength Contract with this creature.*

*It wasn't all bad—this creature's level was high enough that, even if he couldn't harness its strength, having such a powerful pet would be a tremendous advantage for the upcoming trip to Gourd Mountain.*

As for whether the creature would resist—or even agree—Lin Shen wasn't planning to ask. He intended to use acupoint-sealing to forcefully immobilize the creature's body and complete the contract.

With his plan clear, Lin Shen set aside any hesitation. Biting through the searing pain from his broken knuckles, he landed another heavy punch on the red spot.

Activating the Boundless Strength Contract, his other hand trembled as he began drawing the blood covenant on the creature. His hand was already covered in blood, obviating the need to bite his fingers to produce more.

Something strange happened. Upon activating the Boundless Strength Contract, Lin Shen's blood, smeared on the creature's skin—harder than steel—seeped into it as if branding iron scorched flesh.

Even under the restraint of the acupoint-sealing power, Lin Shen saw the monster's body shudder visibly, as though it had been burned.

Unfortunately for the creature, Lin Shen's unrelenting flurry of self-destructive punches made it impossible for it to disrupt the formation of the covenant.

After what felt like an eternity of hitting the red spot, until his fist was nearly devoid of feeling, Lin Shen finally completed the blood covenant.

The moment the binding contract was finalized, the blood-colored patterns on the creature's skin erupted with a luminous glow akin to molten lava.

In the very next instant, the fiery blood patterns sank below the skin, vanishing completely. The creature, which had been thrashing violently just moments before, suddenly became still, its entire body silent and unmoving.