"Whew!" A ball of Strange Fire appeared in Zhang Menglong's palm, but to his surprise, in this darkness, the ever-reliable Strange Fire was merely akin to an ordinary kerosene lamp, with visibility limited to only about five meters around him.

This was the first time ever that Zhang Menglong used Strange Fire and it backfired on him!

"What kind of spooky place is this?" Zhang Menglong increased the output of the Strange Fire, shrouding his body in flames, but he could still only see about ten meters around him.

After the strange thing that attacked him missed, it clearly retreated back into the darkness, but Zhang Menglong could still feel something moving at high speed, ready to strike at any moment.

"Even the Strange Fire can be suppressed, it's too bizarre!"

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Zhang Menglong was furious, and he suddenly hurled out ball after ball of flame in all directions. Without his restraint, the twenty-odd Strange Fires quickly spread, enveloping the surrounding area of several thousand meters in a sea of fire, and Zhang Menglong finally saw the humanoid creature.

"This..."

When Zhang Menglong saw the thing, he couldn't help but shiver instinctively.

Indeed, the thing did not look much different from a normal adult at first glance, but upon closer inspection, its body was emaciated and hunched over like a withered old man, and its skin was a dry, charred black, as if it had been carbonized by fire.

Its face had long lost its former appearance, and only its two crimson eyes stood out as especially eerie, even with traces of blood at the corners of its mouth, likely left by the Warcraft it attacked earlier.

"This little thing is quite unique," Zhang Menglong observed no intelligence from the creature's eyes, as if it were a beast driven solely by murderous instinct, even making him think of zombies.

Of course, zombies were nothing compared to this creature.

"Hmm? That thing..." Zhang Menglong suddenly noticed that this creature was dressed in tattered clothes, which were still not completely decayed after all these years, displaying a pattern of the superpower known as Dustless Absolute Palace among the eighteen superpowers.

Zhang Menglong had a deep impression of that power, as Dustless Absolute Palace was filled with mighty men who practiced Body Refining Techniques, exuding an aura of philosophy whenever they appeared, making this creature seem like it used to be one of them.

The creature stared at Zhang Menglong, drool continuously flowing from its mouth, and emitting low snarls, displaying almost no difference from a beast besides its shape.

In the distance, the slaughter continued, making it clear that there was more than one such creature around.

Zhang Menglong commanded the flames to spread, instantly submerging the entire forest in a sea of fire.

Within the Strange Fire, the trees were swiftly burned to nothing, revealing those nauseating creatures and the remains of Warcraft.

The creature count was not large; counting the one in front of him, there were only four in total, but there were at least seventy or eighty Warcraft carcasses on the ground, with most of them reduced to pieces.

"What the hell?" Zhang Menglong's gaze was suddenly drawn to one particular corpse.

Amongst the many corpses, it was the only intact one, with something appearing to move inside its body.

Suddenly, sharp claws ripped the corpse open from within, and a black monster the size of an adult emerged.

"This… it can actually reproduce like this?" Zhang Menglong felt a bit nauseous; this was reminiscent of a zombie virus spreading, yet Zhang Menglong was still clueless whether it was infection-based reproduction, or more akin to an alien laying eggs within creatures to propagate.

The newborn creature's Life Level was approximately at First-grade, and its first action post-birth was to devour the Warcraft corpse entirely. After completing the consumption, its Life Level rose two levels immediately!

"This truly is a hellhole!" Zhang Menglong couldn't help but worry for the other Heavenly Prides.

Even he felt somewhat stifled in such an environment, and if others ended up in this darkness, they might only end up as prey.

Zhang Menglong now grasped the difficulty of this trial; without finding some appropriate measures to mitigate these creatures, this could likely become the deadliest trial in history.

However, Zhang Menglong didn't have much time to dwell on this as those creatures were already closing in on him.

Zhang Menglong noticed that these creatures seemed instinctively fearful of the flames; they remained hidden in the darkness, but Zhang Menglong felt no fear as his surroundings were illuminated by flames for several thousand meters around, affording him ample reaction time if the creatures got close.

The hunt commenced, with the pack seemingly treating Zhang Menglong as prey. Their figures flickered around him, their sharp claws as deadly as a Divine Weapon, each aimed directly at Zhang Menglong's vital points.

"Shing!"

A blood mark appeared on Zhang Menglong's arm, not because he couldn't dodge, but because he sought more information!

"These creatures carry a highly infectious quality!" Zhang Menglong immediately sensed that a virus-like substance was present on the creature, with red micro-particles swiftly corroding his body. The speed of infection was rapid, and without any suppressive measures, full infection could occur in mere minutes.

[Dean, this is a very advanced virus capable of rapidly multiplying within living organisms, turning them into mindless monsters, much like the zombie virus on your Earth. The crucial difference is that it seemingly targets your human genes for attacks, whereas in Warcraft bodies, it mutates into another kind of reproduction mode. These two proliferative modes combined allow for an exceedingly fast propagation rate!]

"So, the main challenge to face this time is indeed these creatures," Zhang Menglong activated his immune system; his perfect genes had long since rendered him impervious to poisons, and despite the virus's potency, it couldn't truly infect Zhang Menglong.

He collected some of his blood samples, suddenly struck by a profitable idea.

"Gou Dan, time for business again!" Zhang Menglong displayed a mischievous grin.

[Business?]

"Hehe, you see, this place is so hazardous, people who lack self-preservation abilities will need a haven, don't you think? Wouldn't it be reasonable if I set up a refuge and charged a tiny bit of money?"

"Also, if someone gets scratched by these creatures and doesn't want to turn into one, they'll have to find a solution, right? If I can cure them, charging a medical fee wouldn't be too much, would it?"

[People come here for a trial, Dean, but you seem to be here for profit.]

"Hahaha," Zhang Menglong laughed, "it's just a side hustle, though before that, we need to research this thing!"

Zhang Menglong raised his hand, a flame lotus slowly taking shape...