There was no way to get out, and no other method worked. Chen Xiao frowned and thought for a while, but in the end, he had no choice but to sit down and lean against the cave wall to rest.
And so they waited, and who knows how long it took.
He thought that since someone had brought him here, they should come to see him, but after waiting for a long time, no one came.
Although Chen Xiao couldn't judge the time in this dark and gloomy place, he knew that a lot of time had probably passed as his stomach grew hungrier.
Even if it doesn't happen every day, it's probably unavoidable to spend seven or eight hours a day like that.
He was already weak. People get extremely thirsty after injury or strenuous exercise. Chen Xiao was both thirsty and hungry. He knew that if he didn't get something to eat and drink soon, even if he didn't starve to death, he probably wouldn't have the strength to resist when someone came.
Besides, if someone really doesn't come for three to five days, I'll really starve and die of thirst.
Thinking of this, Chen Xiao suddenly saw the large snake on the ground, slapped his thigh, and stood up.
"Got it!"
After saying that, he walked to the side of the big snake, only to find that this big guy was not dead yet. It was probably the longest-living snake, and some parts of its body were still twitching slightly, but it was clear that it probably wouldn't last much longer.
Chen Xiao raised his hand and felt around under the giant snake's head. Fortunately, although the shell on its back was hard, there was a patch of soft flesh under its head; otherwise, without knives or tools, it wouldn't have been easy for Chen Xiao to pry open the hard shell.
"Hmph!! You wanted to eat me? Well, I'll eat you first!"
Chapter 168 [Evolution Again]
The snake meat was tough and chewy, with an extremely poor taste. Moreover, Chen Xiao had nothing to start a fire with, so he just chewed on it for a few bites. The fishy smell made him want to vomit.
After managing to take two bites from under the snake's head, I stopped eating.
However, while snake meat is unpalatable, snake blood tastes quite good.
The blood of this giant snake was not red, but black like oil. Chen Xiao, who was extremely thirsty, could drink a few mouthfuls of snake blood, which could slightly quell the dry fire in his throat.
Although the snake blood was fishy, the cool sensation upon tasting it gave Chen Xiao a jolt, and he gulped down half of it.
Fortunately, the snake was very large and had plenty of blood. After Chen Xiao drank a bellyful of snake blood, he felt his energy gradually return. However, he suddenly saw the snake's head, which was already drooping there, and his heart skipped a beat.
The meat was too tough to chew, but the snake brain seemed to be very nutritious.
Thinking of this, he lay on the ground and groped around for a while, finally finding a relatively heavy stone, which had been knocked off the cave wall when the big snake was struggling.
He went to the snake's head and sat down cross-legged. Then he raised a stone and smashed it hard against the snake's skull.
Although he was injured, his superhuman strength was diminished, but he was still much stronger than an ordinary person. He smashed the snake's head seven or eight times in one go, managing to crack it open. At that moment, he didn't care about cleanliness anymore. He put his mouth to the crack and began sucking hard.
Chen Xiao didn't care whether the snake was poisonous or not.
Firstly, larger snakes are usually less venomous. Secondly, snake venom is generally stored in venom glands. As long as you don't touch the venom glands, there's nothing to worry about. And thirdly… speaking of venom, Chen Xiao himself is now a venom addict. In a venom contest, this snake might not even be as powerful as him.
Generally, snake brains are semi-liquid, like a paste. But this strange snake was enormous. Perhaps it was an evolved, variant species? Its brain had already begun to take shape. Chen Xiao inhaled forcefully, and with a slurping sound, his mouth filled with a sticky, cold substance.
In terms of texture, it's quite similar to the currently popular CICI jelly. Although the taste is a bit fishy, it's smooth and creamy, and once you get used to the fishy smell, the taste is quite fresh and delicious.
Finally, Chen Xiao had eaten his fill and let out a long breath. He wiped his mouth vigorously, his hands covered in a slippery substance, unsure whether it was snake blood or snake brain.
He suddenly sighed inwardly, then gave a bitter laugh: Had he turned into a savage who ate raw meat and drank blood?
It looks like we'll be staying here for who knows how long.
He was utterly exhausted, and with his injuries, he was completely drained. Now that he had eaten and drunk his fill, and since he couldn't leave the cave anyway, he simply relaxed, leaned against the cave wall, closed his eyes, and fell fast asleep, thinking that if he was well-rested, he would have the energy to deal with any problems that might arise later.
After sleeping for about two or three hours, Chen Xiao suddenly showed signs of pain on his face and let out a soft groan. Then his expression became more and more unpleasant, and he cried out in pain, suddenly waking up from his dream.
Chen Xiao's forehead was covered in sweat, and he looked as if he had been pulled out of the water. The surrounding environment was pitch black; otherwise, one could see that his face was as red as if it were on fire.
Chen Xiao felt his whole body burning hot, as if he had been thrown into a furnace. The heat was unbearable, like having a fever, but many times more intense than a normal fever. The feeling of his whole body expanding with heat, as if he were being roasted on a stove, made Chen Xiao writhe in agony, as if his blood was about to boil.
He tried to breathe deeply, attempting to inhale cool air, but even the air coming out of his mouth and nose felt scalding hot!
This strange change, coupled with the feverishness all over his body, made Chen Xiao's mind go blank. At this moment, his mind was a mess, and he was just struggling desperately in his subconscious. Overwhelmed by the heat, he reached out and ripped off his clothes. With a few tearing sounds, in the chaos, he quickly ripped off all his clothes and pants.
Lying naked on the ground, he still felt the heat in his body not diminish at all, but rather seemed to be getting stronger. His heart and chest felt like they were filled with burning coals, and the flames spread to every blood vessel and muscle in his body, burning brighter and brighter. Chen Xiao's mouth was dry and he gradually couldn't even groan anymore.
Finally, Chen Xiao let out a low roar and sprang up from the ground as if he had gone mad, slamming his fist into the wall next to him!
With a loud bang, he punched a deep crater into the solid cave wall! Shattered stone fragments flew everywhere, but Chen Xiao didn't seem to notice. He then leaped up and slammed his head heavily against the arched cave ceiling. After a cracking sound, the cave ceiling immediately developed a crack. When Chen Xiao landed, countless pebbles were raining down on him.
He still seemed oblivious, struggling desperately and unconsciously growling in low voices.
At that moment, Chen Xiao was unaware that his body was beginning to undergo some strange changes.
The wounds on his chest, shoulders, and other parts of his body, some of which had scabbed over with blood, and others that had reopened and were now a bloody mess, all seemed to have stopped bleeding at this moment.
Beneath the wound, tiny granulation tissues were slowly wriggling, and then they grew wildly, like weeds that had been given a powerful growth-promoting agent!
His entire body's surface skin, seemingly under the astonishing heat within his body, gradually dried out, cracking and slowly peeling off piece by piece. The new skin that grew underneath was covered in hard, thick keratin!
The texture of that keratinous substance seemed somewhat similar to the hard shell of the large snake next to it!
As Chen Xiao screamed wildly, his keratin grew harder and thicker, layer by layer, growing wildly. In no time, his entire body was covered with a hard shell that was almost identical to the one on the snake's back, as hard as armor!
However, after the outer shell was formed, it quickly dried and withered under the body's heat, cracking and falling off again. Layer by layer, it grew wildly and then fell off, and Chen Xiao's body was immediately covered with countless fragments that had fallen off his body.
The new muscles and skin that regenerated inside seemed to have finally found a balance, and the skin became full of elasticity and strength. Eventually, the growth rate gradually stopped and slowed down.
Looking at Chen Xiao now, his once jet-black hair had completely fallen out, and even his eyebrows and the faint beard that had just grown on the chin of a young man his age had all fallen out, making him look as smooth as a peeled boiled egg.
His body was covered with a layer of faint black hard shell, as if he were wearing a layer of armor. Moreover, there were several sharp barbs on his shoulders and forearms. These barbs and his hard shell were integrated into one, as if they were growing inside his body!