Chapter 25

 After an unknown amount of time.

Ever since that disaster, Lin had used a large number of cells to seal off the entrance of the cave and never opened it again.

This was because through the transparent cells, she could see that the number of bubbles floating in the water outside had never decreased, even though there were no more green cells here.

Lin had tried to make the cells evolve to resist these bubbles, but every cell that inhaled the bubbles would immediately die. Not a single one of them could survive and split into cells that could resist the bubbles.

Lin could only stare at the entrance of the cave, observing the countless cycles of day and night, hoping that one day, she would be able to return to the water outside.

But the seemingly never-ending bubbles had always been blocking Lin's way … but the food called white paste inside the cave wasn't endless.

The white paste that constantly appeared on the walls of the cave began to decrease. This process was slow and long, it didn't affect Lin too much at first, but as time passed, the white paste gradually became unable to supply Lin's community, and in the end, there wasn't even a single bit left.

When Lin had finished eating the last bit of white paste, the cave had become a normal cave.

Lin had tried to dig deeper, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't dig out any more white paste. All she could see was stone, and it seemed that there was no more white paste left in the cave.

Furthermore, during her final dig, Lin even managed to dig out a few bubbles, forcing Lin to stop digging.

At first, Lin had to consume all of the living light bacteria, then began to consume the fat cells in her community, which allowed Lin to survive for a long time.

But it was useless. The number of bubbles outside didn't decrease at all, instead, it increased.

With no other choice, the fat cells also ran out, so Lin began to consume the non-fat cells. In other words, she killed them and used their corpses to nourish the remaining cells.

Eating her own cells to survive wasn't a good idea at all. Lin's once flourishing colony began to shrink, her population rapidly plummeting. After a while, Lin's colony had gone from tens of millions to only a few thousand.

The cell walls that blocked the entrance of the cave had already died, but their corpses were still stuck there, preventing the bubbles from drifting in.

Lin understood that this was a slow process of death.

Lin had never stopped trying to let some of the cells outside to evolve a resistance against the bubbles, but she had never succeeded.

Could she only wait for death?

… That wasn't the case.

At the last moment, Lin gathered the remaining cells together, forming a sphere with the observer at the center.

Lin allowed the cells to connect and harden the outer layer.

This sphere was located at the center of the cave, and Lin called it a 'cocoon'. After the cocoon was created, the next step would be called 'sleep'.

In the state of 'hibernation', the cells would be completely still. In this state, almost no food would be consumed. This was a state used for long-term waiting. Lin believed that in this state, it would not die no matter how long it waited.

However, after falling asleep, Lin's consciousness would fall into darkness, completely severing her connection with the outside world. She wouldn't be able to sense anything, not knowing how much time had passed, not knowing the changes in her surroundings, and not knowing when she would regain her consciousness.

Lin did not think too much about it. It could only hope that the future would be better.

With that in mind, Lin slowly fell into a deep slumber. The image the observer saw became blurry in her consciousness, and finally, she fell into complete darkness …

…

Time continued to pass. Under the countless alternating days and nights, the world around her changed a lot, but Lin didn't notice it at all. She was still in a state of hibernation. Lin didn't set a time for herself to wake up, because she didn't know when it would be safe.

However, other than Lin's consciousness, her cells already had the ability to judge their surroundings.

This was also Lin's idea, to let the cells decide whether they should wake up or not.

"…"

After an unknown amount of time, Lin finally sensed that she had woken up.

Did I succeed? Is there no longer any danger around?

The Observer slowly shook its body, and when Lin regained her consciousness, the light once again filled her mind.

At the same time, the outer layer of the 'cocoon' also slowly peeled off as Lin woke up. The cells hiding inside once again swam out to contact the outside world.

At first glance, Lin could only see the cave around her. This place was still the same as when she fell asleep, almost nothing had changed.

However, Lin saw something that once terrified her — — those bubbles were everywhere in the cave!

But Lin didn't think about running away. If she could wake up, there must be a reason.

Lin watched as one of the cells came into contact with the bubble. Just like before, the bubble fused into the cell, and then …

Nothing happened.

The bubbles didn't kill the cell like before. Lin was certain that these bubbles were something called 'oxygen'. These bubbles should have destroyed the cell's nucleus and caused Lin intense pain, but now, she couldn't feel anything.

Did I evolve?

That's right, I evolved. Lin had developed a resistance against these bubbles, although she didn't know how much time it took, or how many of her cells had died.

But as long as she could survive, it was all worth it.

And now, it was time for her to resurrect!

Lin also noticed that there were various small cells on the walls of this cave. During her hibernation, it wasn't strange for other cells to enter the cave, and this was the same as free food for Lin.

What's' free '? What a strange word.

Forget it, who cares about that?

Lin was now in a good mood. The cells she kept were mostly basic cells, with some stinging cells and other cells. Although there weren't many of them, Lin was glad that they could survive.

Lin immediately ordered the basic cells to quickly transform. Some of them were excavators, while some were acid-injectors. After transforming, they began to hunt down the wild cells around them.

These small cells didn't have any ability to fight back, so they quickly became food to celebrate Lin's resurrection.

While hunting down the cells, Lin noticed something interesting. The cells that inhaled the bubbles weren't completely unaffected.

On the contrary, the cells that inhaled the oxygen bubbles became much faster than before. Be it speed, strength, or any other aspect, they were all greatly improved.

Why? Could it be that not only did these cells have a resistance against oxygen, but they could also be used to improve themselves?

This is … very strange.

But why? Does oxygen contain some sort of mysterious power?

I still can't understand it.

Lin's newly empowered cells quickly killed off the surrounding cells and quickly divided. Lin had decided to return to her previous state.

However, Lin didn't want to wait for the rabbits to appear again. She decided to combine into a form that could quickly swim and actively pursue and hunt underwater.

Wait a minute … what are 'stalk' and 'rabbit'?

Why are there always such strange words? Although Lin understood the meaning of 'guard' and 'wait', what are 'stalk' and 'rabbit'?

I don't want these strange words to appear again!

Although Lin thought so, she believed that these words would still appear again.

… … …

After a small interlude, Lin began to combine her cells.

Thanks to the help of oxygen, Lin found that these cells grew and divided much faster than before, and they also combined even faster.

Lin quickly came up with a special item.

A … body that could help her travel.

… … …