Chapter 137: Insectoid Sequence, Corrosive Blades

Ella handed Yan Xia a glass test tube, only about 10 centimeters long.

Inside was a very thin worm.

It looked like the Iron-Masked Scyther from Pokémon, ready to evolve into a Beautifly with enough experience.

"This is a seed worm, not an Iron-Masked Scyther, but a Brain Worm," Ella explained, having spent many years with Yan Xia and knowing his every move.

Yan Xia almost dropped the test tube in shock.

The terror of Brain Worms was still fresh in his fragmented memories, akin to the facehuggers from the Alien franchise.

"It's not just a Brain Worm; it also incorporates the Zerg Swarm."

"After the Brain Worm awakens, it will rapidly consume surrounding energy to create a mycelial blanket, using photosynthesis to produce sugars. These sugars will become the breeding ground for the Zerg Swarm and food for the worms."

Ella had already mentioned that this was a mature technology, implying that the seed worm in Yan Xia's hand had the potential to evolve into the Zerg.

However, according to the settings in the game 'StarCraft', all three races are only Level 1 civilizations, despite the presence of advanced technology in the background. Their warfare mode remains in a very early stage, far from reaching Level 2.

The current Civilization Federation would undoubtedly dominate the Zerg in the game.

This wasn't surprising, as the game was a product of the 20th century, and human technology was just beginning to take off.

So, Ella made some improvements to the Zerg.

For instance, the mature Zerg units were over 100 meters in size, and their exoskeletons were as strong as 007179 steel.

But even these enhancements didn't fully meet Ella's requirements for the Suicide Squad.

Therefore, she added the Devouring Gene to the Zerg's DNA. After consuming other life forms or their own kind, the Zerg would steal their genetic segments to evolve.

For example, after devouring human genes, a human face might grow on the worm's body, or its head might transform into a human-like shape, possessing human intelligence.

This devouring process had a limit of 11 times, as more complex genetic combinations would lead to instability. Eleven times was the absolute limit.

Ella named this creation the "Insectoid Sequence".

The newly born Zerg was a zero or initial sequence. After devouring the first organism, it would unlock the first sequence and evolve.

This sequence had no specific name, but one could be assigned. The sequences varied in strength, and there were no failures or successes.

For instance, in the previous example, after devouring a human and unlocking the first sequence, if only a human face grew without any increase in combat power, it would be considered a failure.

"The Zerg have already been deployed in the army, and we've cultivated over 290,000 Zerg Swarms. The number of individual Zerg units is 1.23 billion."

"To instill order in the Zerg, the Brain Worm is born with Level 6 telekinetic abilities, capable of commanding over a million Zerg units. They also possess intelligence equivalent to that of sapient life. I plan to categorize Brain Worms as special citizens, granting them the rights and privileges of Federation citizens."

The energy possessed by the Brain Worm indicated that it was not a species of low intelligence. If they were merely used as cannon fodder, the Zerg, as living beings, would certainly not agree.

So, Ella decided to grant them citizenship, making management easier.

The Civilization Federation was not afraid of a Zerg rebellion, as their role was to consume energy, not serve as an offensive weapon.

"Through our experiments, we've documented 1.62 million sequences, including 970,000 inferior sequences, 560,000 low-level sequences, 80,000 mid-level sequences, 7,832 high-level sequences, and 231 top-level sequences."

"These sequences bring about different changes in individuals, and the energy of some sequences can be superimposed, achieving a 1+1>2 effect. We've currently mastered 16 perfect sequence paths."

Ella sent Yan Xia a picture.

He opened it to see a giant worm with wings spread, its body covered in a carapace with a blue, tempered-steel-like sheen. Its body resembled a praying mantis, with 12 pairs of scythe-like limbs, each as sharp as a blade. It had a beetle-like mouth with pincers like hydraulic shears, and a corrosive, pitch-black liquid dripped from its mouth.

"Sequence 'Corrosive Blades' is currently our number one cultivated sequence. In its original state, the scythes can easily slice through steel, and the corrosive liquid it spits can erode many types of metals."

"After our modifications, the scythes' molecular structure has been rearranged. Their edges are now composed of a single row of molecules, allowing them to effortlessly cut through any object, including the car from earlier."

"We've also added quark robots to the corrosive liquid, which will break down molecular structures and directly decompose matter."

Ella showed Yan Xia a video. In it, 'Corrosive Blades' faced off against an Explorer spaceship 300 meters in length. The main difference between the Explorer and a regular spaceship was the former's extensive weaponry.

The two were positioned 200,000 kilometers apart and activated almost simultaneously. The Explorer released laser weapons first, but 'Corrosive Blades' dodged the shots by predicting the firing trajectory.

The Explorer accelerated to 7,268 km/s, while 'Corrosive Blades' reached 267 km/s. It was astonishing to see such speed from a living organism.

A denser barrage of fire was directed at 'Corrosive Blades', but its eyes seemed to have radar capabilities, perfectly coordinating with its body to react. The massive body displayed incredible agility, weaving through the hail of bullets.

As the camera zoomed in, Yan Xia saw how 'Corrosive Blades' was maneuvering in the air. It had air vents on its abdomen and back, which expelled high-pressure gas to propel and steer its body in space.

The sudden acceleration was not the organism's doing, as that would defy the laws of physics. The true energy came from the liquid metal mecha inside its body, which it relied on for acceleration.

As it dodged through space, both sides drew closer. 'Corrosive Blades' performed another close-range acceleration, instantly penetrating the enemy's fire net. However, a dense energy beam was still headed its way, and to Yan Xia's surprise, the scythes directly intercepted the beam, splitting it and then slicing through the spaceship, which shattered into four pieces.

Only then did Yan Xia realize that 'Corrosive Blades' was over 300 meters in size, even slightly larger than the spaceship.

"That was exhilarating!"

"But this was just a demonstration, showcasing the strengths of 'Corrosive Blades'. In reality, the spaceship, being faster than 'Corrosive Blades', could easily dodge it. The spaceship's internal systems were also designed with attack angles in mind, ensuring that 'Corrosive Blades' wouldn't last more than a second."

Yan Xia understood the problem. In his opinion, even 100 'Corrosive Blades' might not be able to defeat that spaceship.

Ella smiled. "Indeed. That's why the Zerg are only used as cannon fodder. The greatest strength of 'Corrosive Blades' is its offensive power, and the same is true for the other sequences. In close-range combat, they can't even penetrate the defenses of enemy spaceships."

What impressed Yan Xia the most was how 'Corrosive Blades' had split the energy beam.

The beam was composed of photons, which couldn't be cut. However, there were gaps between photons, and 'Corrosive Blades' exploited these gaps, causing the light to refract.

The scythes of 'Corrosive Blades' had a very dense structure, allowing them to reflect a certain degree of light and withstand a portion of it, thus achieving the "cutting" effect.

"Unfortunately, we haven't figured out how to make organisms inherently more powerful."

"If we could, the Zerg's combat power would skyrocket."

Yan Xia thought that was still a long way off.

His idea was to utilize the strong nuclear force inherent in biological organisms to release nuclear energy, and then use that energy for attacks. This was similar to the lifeforms of the Olive Branch Civilization, but they were still in the early stages of single-soldier combat, unable to control the direction and magnitude of their nuclear fission energy.

However, combining this with the energy Ella had demonstrated on the Ice and Snow Star would be beneficial.

But this still required development.

Time was needed for everything, and Yan Xia hoped that during the time he had secured, all of this would become a reality.