The Birth Emperor

After calming himself slightly, he activated his thoughts and opened the interface:

[Name]: Wang Yanfei

[Race]: Human (Snake?)

[Attributes]:

Body: 3.1

Spirit: 2.6

[Abilities]: Gift of Fate

Refresh Time: 22:12:34

[Skills]: Eternal Affliction Body

[Symbiosis]: Liquid Metal (Spine)

Special Reminder: The Birth Emperor has granted you the naming skill "Eternal Affliction Body." The Birth Emperor finds your form lacking aesthetic appeal, removing the skills "Spirituality" and "Tentacles."

Wang Yanfei stared at the special reminder on the interface, momentarily speechless.

"Birth Emperor? What kind of entity is that, and why does it care about my aesthetics?" he muttered, feeling inexplicably baffled.

However, his attention quickly shifted from complaining to examining the new skill on the panel—"Eternal Affliction Body."

Trading two skills for this one, he couldn't help but feel some anticipation.

"Let's see how powerful this skill is. Hopefully, it's not a complete loss," he thought and activated "Eternal Affliction Body." The detailed description of the skill appeared:

"The body flows like an endless river, breaking yet reborn; the fate winds like an ancient vine, undying through the years; the serpent form flickers between reality and illusion, insatiable in its pursuit of longevity."

He frowned, staring at the words for a long time but still failing to grasp the exact meaning.

"What the hell is this? Can't it be written more straightforwardly?"

His gaze lingered on the words of the interface, and a thought crossed his mind:

"The wording and style resemble something from the Southern Dynasty... Could this 'Birth Emperor' be from that region?"

He rubbed his chin, trying to piece together the connection. But soon, he realized he had no time to dwell on it.

Scanning his surroundings, he noticed several weak heat signatures approaching from behind the rocks in the distance.

"They aren't very tall… probably monkeys," Wang Yanfei frowned, concluding that the remaining monkey group in the cave had been drawn by the commotion. He quickly curled up behind a rock, lowering his presence while adjusting his breathing to remain silent.

At that moment, a chill spread from his spine, as if a cold serpent was slithering through his body. He suddenly remembered—the liquid metal had fused with his spine and seemed to be activating on its own. His first instinct was to check the panel for details, but he dismissed the thought immediately—dealing with the enemy was the priority.

The cold sensation gradually extended through his body, and Wang Yanfei was astonished to find that his perception and movement had undergone significant changes. The environment around him seemed to slow down, and every tiny movement in the air became vividly clear. His mind operated with eerie calmness and efficiency, and even his previously uncontrollable serpent tail had become astonishingly flexible, as if it had always been part of him.

He subtly adjusted his posture, coiling his serpent tail around the rock beside him, blending seamlessly into his surroundings, patiently waiting for the heat signatures to draw closer.

------------------------

I am Monkey 193. I have made all preparations to follow the leader and complete his great plan. Today, during the day, we attacked a group of hairless two-legged beasts and gained a lot. The weapon the leader gave us seems to be called "gun"? It is very powerful and far more powerful than the "holy sword" I used before. Speaking of the holy sword, it was broken by a group of white two-legged beasts before...

It's different now. The leader killed those white two-legged beasts and saved us. The leader taught us how to use these guns, saying that they can make us stronger and can trample those hairless two-legged beasts underfoot. Today's battle proved this. Those two-legged beasts are not our opponents at all.

The leader said that the great plan is about to begin, and it is a supreme honor for me to be able to participate in it. He also deliberately left a strange two-legged beast, saying that he wanted to talk to him alone. I didn't understand at first, but then I thought about it, maybe the leader wanted to transform him into one of us. Before the leader went in, he specifically told me not to go in no matter what happened.

Suddenly, I felt a gust of wind behind me. I thought it was the leader coming out, so I stood up straight and waited for the leader's order. But when I looked around, I saw nothing except the door of the cave, which was open. Thinking of the leader's instructions, I gritted my teeth, controlled my curiosity, and didn't dare to go in rashly.

But soon after, a strange smell floated out of the cave. This smell made me feel familiar - it was the smell of blood. I smelled this smell when I removed the limbs of those hairless bipeds before. An idea immediately emerged in my mind: the leader has started the transformation! I tried to convince myself that there was nothing wrong, but I felt uneasy in my heart.

There was silence in the cave, without even a sound. The more I thought about it, the more I felt something was wrong. Finally, my curiosity overcame my fear, and I approached the cave carefully, secretly comforting myself in my heart: "Just take a look, just take a look, and I will never disturb the leader."

However, when I passed the entrance of the cave and saw the scene inside, I froze instantly.

The leader's body fell in a pool of blood, his head sunken, his eyes staring at the ceiling, surrounded by broken tools and scattered blood. My mind was blank, and all my awe and hope collapsed at this moment.

I turned around and ran out of the cave, shouting with all my strength: "Oh no! The leader was killed!"

I followed the angry tribesmen and began to look for the murderer who killed the leader. At this moment, there was a sudden noise outside. The tribesmen immediately stopped and exchanged glances with each other, realizing that the place was probably the hiding place of the murderer.

We held our weapons tightly and prepared to go for revenge. However, just as we were about to set off, Monkey 003 stood up to stop us and said: "We can't go out with weapons. If the company finds out, our whole tribe will be finished!" His tall figure made me tremble, but looking at the dozens of compatriots following me behind me, I still made up my mind.

"What company?" I was confused. I knew that Monkey 003 was the leader's favorite monkey, and even allowed Monkey 003 to call him father. But seeing how cowardly he was, I just felt that the leader had misjudged the monkey. Monkey 001 and Monkey 002 were obviously also dissatisfied with Monkey 003's obstruction, and their anger turned directly into a conflict.

"Get out of here!" Monkey 001 roared, waving his weapon and rushing towards Monkey 003.

However, Monkey 003 just slightly turned his body and attacked Monkey 003 as fast as lightning. He accurately hit Monkey 001's vital point, and the latter fell to the ground without even a scream. Seeing this, Monkey 002 punched angrily, but he couldn't survive a few moves in Monkey 003's hands.

"Who dares to disobey?" Monkey 003 glanced at us coldly, his hands were covered with blood, and his body stood straight.

The tribesmen were overwhelmed by his momentum, but our anger did not subside, but became stronger. A melee broke out. We, the angry tribesmen, fought with Monkey 003's side, and blood and body parts were scattered all over the ground. Although we have the advantage in numbers, Monkey 003's fighting power is extremely strong, and his subordinates are also extremely fierce.

The battle lasted for a long time. In the end, dozens of tribesmen fell, and the ground was full of the bodies of their compatriots. Monkey 003 was covered in blood, but he still stood steadily.

He looked at us and said coldly: "Go for revenge, but don't come back. This place is no longer your home." With hatred and anger, we picked up our weapons, left the cave that belonged to us, and embarked on the road of revenge.

We approached the stone and carefully guarded the surroundings. My ears suddenly caught a gust of wind. I subconsciously counted the compatriots behind me. There should have been 13, but now... there are only 12 left.

Before I could think about it, another gust of wind followed. I turned my head suddenly, only to see a long black shadow passing by, and a compatriot was swallowed up in an instant, without even a little struggle. My mind went blank. I held the gun and fired wildly. The bullets rained down on the shadow, but I couldn't really hit it.

What's worse is that my hands were shaking, and the random bullets accidentally injured many of my compatriots. Their screams made me realize my mistake, but fear had enveloped everyone, and the remaining tribesmen began to become overwhelmed and chaotic.

The shadow did not stop. It appeared again silently like a ghost and took away another compatriot. This time, I didn't even catch its movements. I could only hear the sound of the wind and see the people around me disappear one by one.

My gun was suddenly slapped away by a huge force, fell to the ground, and slid a few meters away. I pounced on the gun reflexively, and when my fingers had already touched the cold metal, my eyes were attracted to the front - it was a pair of golden light spots, bright and cold, like two small lanterns, emitting a suffocating breath in the dark.

This picture was extremely familiar, and a scene deep in my memory suddenly emerged. That was when I was still in the white iron house. One day, I was put into a new environment by the white two-legged beast. That day, I also saw this golden light spot, accompanied by the screams of my companions. It was an indescribable fear, a sign of death.

In the darkness, the two golden light spots flickered slightly, and my consciousness gradually blurred. The last thought flashed through my mind - it turned out to be a snake...