Chapter 58: The Discovered Scheme

“An upper-class Phantom Demon mutant?”

At this moment, the faces beneath Su Ming and Xu Qianqian’s masks finally changed color.

Mutants – Phantom Demons that failed to evolve – were invincible existences within their Rank. Even though they couldn’t compare to successfully evolved ones, their power had already mutated, becoming much stronger than Phantom Demons of the same Rank.

When Su Ming and Xu Qianqian discussed earlier, they had mentioned the possibility that the mysterious Phantom Demon being pursued by the Suspicious Group might be a mutant. But at that time, they were guessing it was a lower-class Phantom Demon mutant, not an upper-class one.

As for lower-class Phantom Demon mutants, although they were invincible among lower-class Phantom Demons, they still couldn’t compare to upper-class ones. In the eyes of the Base City Executives, Phantom Demons of this Rank weren’t worth their exhaustive efforts to capture.

Therefore, Su Ming and Xu Qianqian had believed it was more likely that the mysterious Phantom Demon being pursued by the Suspicious Group was an upper-class Phantom Demon’s offspring, rather than a lower-class Phantom Demon mutant.

Who would have thought that both guesses would turn out to be correct?

The mysterious Phantom Demon being pursued by the Suspicious Group was both an upper-class Phantom Demon’s offspring, and the upper-class Phantom Demon that gave birth to it was itself a mutant?

These were completely two different concepts!

“This is getting serious.” Xu Qianqian finally couldn’t help but speak with a grave expression: “That mysterious Phantom Demon is actually the offspring of an upper-class Phantom Demon mutant. This is big trouble.”

“Is it that serious?” Although Su Ming also felt the situation was more severe than he imagined, he didn’t have as clear a concept as Xu Qianqian, making him instinctively ask her.

“Very serious.” Xu Qianqian said directly as always: “Because that offspring has a high probability of successfully evolving in the future, becoming an existence stronger than the mother that gave birth to it.”

Once a Phantom Demon fails to evolve, it becomes a mutant, possessing power far surpassing its Rank, but it permanently loses the possibility of evolving again.

However, if this upper-class Phantom Demon mutant chose to give birth to an offspring that completely inherited its Bloodline, the unevolved offspring wouldn’t be limited by the mutant’s constraints.

In other words, unlike its mother, this offspring hadn’t lost the possibility of evolving again.

Not only wouldn’t it lose it, but because it inherited the mutant’s Bloodline, the probability of this offspring successfully evolving in the future and reaching a level its mother never achieved would be greatly enhanced.

After all, although mutants are the result of failed evolution, they ultimately underwent evolution once.

If such evolved Bloodline continues, it can significantly reduce the difficulty of evolution.

“We were both wrong.” Xu Qianqian said gravely: “That’s not a Hazardous Species at all, but a Phantom Demon that could evolve into a Nightmare Species at any time.”

Nightmare Species.

As soon as this term emerged, Su Ming immediately thought of the bottle of Phantom Demon blood he had been treasuring in his backpack.

Because he possessed such a treasure, Su Ming had thorough understanding of Nightmare Species.

Therefore, Su Ming clearly understood that compared to Hazardous Species, Nightmare Species were completely different concepts.

Although Hazardous Species were also fearsome upper-class Phantom Demons, they couldn’t hide the fact that they were the lowest among upper-class Phantom Demons.In contrast, Nightmare Species are already powerful beings among Upper-Rank Phantom Demons—essentially the elite among elites.

If a Hazardous Species requires at least a Four-Star Upper-Rank Professional to handle, then a Nightmare Species demands at least a Six-Star Upper-Rank Professional just to cope with it.

Yes, merely coping—whether one can match it evenly remains uncertain.

Such are Nightmare Species, beings that rank among the upper echelons even within the Spirit Demon Abyss.

As for Terror Species, they are not merely powerful entities but rulers, overlords with the ability to dominate the entire Spirit Demon Abyss. Their power is sufficient to devastate heaven and earth, far beyond any human’s capacity to rival.

However, Terror Species are exceedingly rare—whether there are even five in the entire Spirit Demon Abyss is unknown.

To date, only one Terror Species has ever appeared in the human world, and it nearly drove humanity to extinction. If not for the human heroes of that time sacrificing themselves at great cost to seal it away, humanity might have ceased to exist.

But that Terror Species has only appeared once.

Compared to the Terror Species, which has only emerged once so far, Nightmare Species are regarded as humanity’s greatest enemy and threat.

Under such circumstances, the appearance of a Phantom Demon in the human world that could evolve into a Nightmare Species at any moment—what that implies is chilling to contemplate.

And when this Phantom Demon is an infant, its implications take on an entirely different dimension.

To put it simply:

“The Bloodline of an Upper-Rank Phantom Demon is something every major faction in a Base City would covet. But when that Bloodline belongs not to a Hazardous Species but to a Nightmare Species, it becomes an object of frenzied pursuit not just within one Base City, but across countless Base Cities.”

Xu Qianqian’s intensely grave voice clearly reached Su Ming’s ears.

“If someone possesses the Bloodline of a Nightmare Species, they can almost be considered to have obtained a pass to the Seven-Star rank. Their likelihood of becoming a Seven-Star Hunter in the future would be much higher than others’, not to mention that this Bloodline can be passed down. In the eyes of those great Families, such a Bloodline is simply priceless.”

Hearing Xu Qianqian’s explanation, Su Ming couldn’t help but recall the vial of Phantom Demon blood from a Nightmare Species in his backpack.

He was certain that if this thing were exposed, he would become a coveted target in countless people’s eyes, inviting more life-threatening dangers than he could count.

“Are there humans who possess the Bloodline of a Nightmare Species?”

Su Ming asked this question.

“Yes,” Xu Qianqian replied. “In Yinze City, the most prosperous of the Four Coastal Base Cities, there is a Super Hunter Family that has inherited the Bloodline of a Nightmare Species. Their strongest member is the only Seven-Star Hunter among the Four Base Cities.”

As for whether any families in Base Cities outside the Four Coastal Base Cities possess the Bloodline of a Nightmare Species, the answer is certainly yes.

But the number of Seven-Star Hunters is so small, indicating that those with Bloodlines of this level are equally rare.

After all, Bloodlines become diluted; generation after generation, they inevitably degrade.

Even if those Hunter Families strive desperately to maintain their family Bloodline, how much of their ancestors’ Bloodline their descendants can inherit is never certain.Some individuals, despite being born into prestigious families, inherit very little of the Bloodline. Thus, even if their Family descends from a Nightmare Species Bloodline, the Bloodline within them will inevitably fail to reach the Nightmare Species Rank.

This is precisely why, despite the existence of a Super Hunter Family in Yinze City that carries the Bloodline of a Nightmare Species, only one Seven-Star Hunter has emerged.

The Bloodline is such a troublesome matter and has already deeply permeated human society.

A Bloodline of the Nightmare Species represents the potential to reach the Peak and the emergence of a Super Hunter Family—something anyone would covet.

“If news of such a Bloodline appearing in Longyao City were to spread, then…” Xu Qianqian’s expression turned grim.

Su Ming could understand her concern.

If the news truly spread, the battlefield might not be limited to Huaming District but could engulf the entire Longyao City.

Moreover, this time, the confrontation wouldn’t be between humans and Phantom Demons but among the major factions from various Base Cities.

The conflicts this would incite are unimaginable.

Fortunately…

“What appeared here isn’t a juvenile of the Nightmare Species,” Su Ming stated. “It’s merely a juvenile Hazardous Species with the potential to evolve into a Nightmare Species. The situation hasn’t escalated to the most troublesome level yet.”

Extracting the Bloodline from a Phantom Demon is an extremely complicated process. Not only must the Bloodline of the target remain completely intact, without the slightest loss, but it also requires refinement through alchemical rituals. The refinement process has very strict requirements and conditions—missing even one could lead to failure.

Given this, when humans target the Bloodline of a particular Phantom Demon, they often need to make extensive preparations to capture it alive without causing harm, ensuring the Bloodline’s integrity.

This is why many, even if they covet a Phantom Demon’s Bloodline, dare not act recklessly.

Moreover, the mysterious Phantom Demon here is only a Hazardous Species. Even if it has the potential to evolve into a Nightmare Species, that’s still just a possibility.

To successfully obtain the Bloodline of a Nightmare Species, one must not only ensure the Bloodline remains intact but also find ways to nurture the creature to the point where it can evolve. The complexity of this process is evident.

“Additionally, the news clearly hasn’t spread yet, so the situation hasn’t reached a critical stage.”

As Su Ming spoke, he suddenly paused, turned sharply, and looked at the terrified thug.

“Wait,” Su Ming said. “Given that this involves a Bloodline with the potential to evolve into a Nightmare Species, why would the Base City’s higher-ups dare to post the capture mission on the dark web and enlist the help of mercenaries from 『Sin』?”

Didn’t the Base City’s higher-ups fear that the information would leak to 『Sin』?

If 『Sin』 learned of such a mission and that Longyao City might possess a Nightmare Species Bloodline, how could they remain indifferent and simply complete the mission for the higher-ups?

No matter how generous the reward, could it possibly compare to the value of a Nightmare Species Bloodline?

Even if it could, why would such an important mission be assigned to a team with, at most, Three-Star Professionals?

“Unless…”

A bold idea formed in Su Ming’s mind.

Of course, this was under the assumption that the thug before him wasn’t lying.

“It seems we need to have another thorough chat.”

Su Ming raised the scorpion in his hand, his gaze cold and piercing as he stared at the thug.

“No…”The thug seemed to sense danger, shaking his head with a face full of terror.

Xu Qianqian also appeared to notice something fishy, remaining silent with a fluctuating expression.

In that very instant, an unexpected situation occurred.

“Boom—”

From the depths of Warehouse Street, a startling explosion erupted.

Flames burst forth from one corner of Warehouse Street, dispelling the surrounding darkness.

“Wh-what happened?”

The thug and his two teammates showed expressions of shock.

Su Ming and Xu Qianqian exchanged glances, both involuntarily rising to their feet.

(End of Chapter)