Wings

Felix and Verna approached the entrance to the Nest, as close as they could, hiding behind the truck.

There were no other monsters around, so they only needed to keep a close eye on the Golden Searchers. In non-critical situations, the Harvesters had to take care of their own safety, the Phantoms had other tasks.

The lack of other monsters besides Golden Searchers was one of the advantages of the Closed Nest. Other monsters were simply afraid to approach because they knew that Golden Searchers would destroy them, like insects, they were willing to do anything to protect their nest.

"Do you think they can handle it?" Felix asked worriedly.

Verna nodded.

"Sure. Golden Searchers aren't the strongest monsters, even if it's a V2 mission. Adam is strong, but he might lack experience, however, in that case, Oren can help him."

At the same moment, two shadows approached the first Golden Searcher who was standing farthest away from the entrance to the Nest. Apparently, that one was a guard or something.

Adam was the first to step forward, drawing attention to himself.

"RRRRRRKKKKK!!!"

Golden Searcher made a cracking sound before lunging forward, about to destroy the intruder.

Adam, with a calm expression bounced back, allowing Oren to act, who appeared out of nowhere, right in front of the monster. He swung his paired swords, slicing off the Golden Searcher's head with ease. A fountain of blue blood gushed from the monster's neck, flooding everything around it.

"Not bad, that's your Nexus, right?" Adam asked, pointing at Oren's swords.

The swords were identical, like twins, with long crimson blades, no guard, and a black hilt. Even the sheen running across them from the sun was identical.

Oren nodded.

"Even a plasma blade would have trouble cutting through their protective scales, but that's no problem for my swords!"

"What are they called? I understand each Nexus has its unique name, right?" Adam asked.

"Sure, they're the Bloody Twins. Don't ask about the ability, you'll see it soon." Oren smirked confidently.

"Fine, we don't have time anyway."

Adam grew more serious as he stepped forward, holding his palms quite close together.

"Hey, I suggest you cover your ears, as tightly as you can."

Oren didn't argue and did as Adam said. Zola had warned him about what Adam's gloves were capable of, so he didn't want to be in Silvana's or Orin's shoes. 

Then, Adam whipped the threads against each other, creating a terrifying scream for everyone but him that easily disarmed a dozen monsters.

The Golden Searchers grabbed their heads as if they were ready to explode. Every monster was completely disoriented. 

A long needle appeared in Adam's hand, and his legs were covered in electric shocks.

In a heartbeat, Adam found himself in front of Golden Searcher, stabbing the needle directly into the monster's head, then he repeated this many times.

Before the effect of the First Melody had passed, each monster's eyes were forever empty.

[Golden Searcher Gene has been placed in your Vault!]

[Golden Searcher Gene has been placed in your Vault!]

[Golden Searcher Gene has been placed in your...]

Adam got 10 Genes in total, it was only White Threat Level, but considering how fast he did it, the result was impressive.

Oren also used Revolve, taking the gene of the Golden Searcher he had killed.

"You collected as many as ten genes? That means you can unlock a second knowledge about them!" Oren exclaimed with an excited expression.

"Right..." Adam's eyes went wide when he opened his Vault where all his genes were located.

He had been wanting to check what it meant ever since he absorbed the Anomalous Electric Eel gene, but every time the genes were needed for something else.

[Golden Searcher (X10) - First Circle, White Threat Level.

First stage in cognition - Access primary information about the monster and a photo.

Second step in cognition - ??? (10 Neutral Genes required.)]

There were no enemies around, so Adam could spend this time converting 10 Golden Searchers Genes into neutral ones using Transmutator

Felix and Verna were gathering materials from the Golden Searchers. Their horns and blades growing from their elbows were especially valuable.

Not all of the monster materials were valuable, much of it was trash, but what the Harvesters collected was enough to keep the Citadel's factories running at full capacity around the clock.

The monster materials were mainly used for three purposes: to create various equipment, both weapons and armor with tools, to use as rare building materials to fortify important facilities, and as a source of energy.

Each Harvester knew what was useful in which monster depending on the type of monster and its Threat Level. As well as what tools were needed for extraction. After all, every Harvester had to pass a serious exam that they had been preparing for for years.

[You got 10 Neutral Genes!]

The Transmutator stopped, disappearing into the darkness only to humbly wait for the next time it would come in handy.

Then, at Adam's will, the ten gray spheres headed to the Vault, to the line allocated to Golden Searchers.

[Golden Searcher (-) - First Circle, White Threat Level.

First step in cognition - Access to primary monster information and photos.

Second step in cognition - Artificial Experience: Thanks to the synergy of genes, now when you fight this type of monster, you will act as if you have been fighting against them for years. Your movements and attacks will become more precise, and you will be able to anticipate their movements more easily].

The third stage in cognition is ??? (100 neutral genes are required.)]

"Artificial experience... I wonder how that works." Adam muttered with a deep gaze.

He was a bit surprised because he was expecting to get some sort of additional information as a bonus, not something that would affect his combat skills.

Then, Adam remembered that he still had the genes of the Living Strings, x15.

While he still had time, Adam turned all the genes into neutral ones and also got the second step in the knowledge of the Living Strings. The bonus was the same - Artificial Experience.

Then, he moved on to the strongest monster that he had defeated up to that point.

[Prime Stone Goliath (-) - First Circle, Green Threat Level.

First stage in cognition - Access to the primary monster information and photos.

Second step in cognition - ??? (Need 10 neutral genes)]]

'Hmm... Even though Prime Stone Goliath is hundreds of times stronger than Golden Searchers, I need the same amount of genes, but... maybe I won't get the same effect, right?' Adam pondered while rubbing his chin.

"All done!" Felix exclaimed, waving his hand.

"Almost all the materials we collected were in perfect condition. That's already a good result, but this is just the beginning, right?" Verna asked with a slight smile on her face.

Adam nodded.

"Sure, it was just a warm-up. After all, Golden Egg is in the heart of the Nest."

"Exactly! However, before we go any further I have something to do. Didn't want to stop the Harvesters from doing their job, so... look!" Oren said confidently before standing among the corpses of the Golden Searchers.

Adam raised an eyebrow in puzzlement.

Then, Oren swung his swords, and their crimson blades trembled slightly.

Gradually, streams of blue blood began to flow out of the Golden Searchers and soak into the swords, making them slightly larger, sharp spikes appearing on the blunt sides of the blades.

"Oh, not bad. Now your weapon is even stronger, and how long will this effect last?" Adam asked with a curious expression. 

"Yeah, not as long as I'd like, but ten monsters is enough for me for half an hour! However, we won't stop there, right?" Oren grinned widely.

Adam nodded slightly, stepping forward.

"Felix, Verna be careful. You may have to enter the Nest, or you may have to run away quickly."

Felix and Verna looked at each other, their faces growing serious.

Then, Adam and Oren approached the entrance to the place where there were hundreds of Golden Searchers, and about 10% should be Green Threat Level.

Step. Step. Another Step.

Adam and Oren stepped forward, lighting their way with the flashlights built into their NEPs. 

They also had another pair of flashlights on their chests, near their shoulders. The light was bright enough to make the dark cave look like the sun was, right there. 

Every now and then, cracking sounds and eerie sobs came from the depths. The nature of these sounds was unknown, but Adam and Oren realized that they had to be ready to take the fight at any moment.

"Here!"

Oren suddenly exclaimed before rushing forward.

Then, three golden blades with something similar in structure to an insect wing headed towards Adam.

Adam's pupils narrowed as he struck off two of the blades with a swipe of his needle and caught the third. His gloves were unscathed, something like that wasn't enough to cut Nexus. 

Whoooooooooosh.

Oren swung his swords, intending to kill the tall monster, but the silhouette dodged at the last moment.

"Looks like it's because of it this mission has a V2-Level, doesn't it?" Adam muttered, narrowing his eyes.

There was a Golden Searcher in front of them, but it was different from the ones they had killed earlier. That one was a little taller than Adam and Oren, had a better physique, and most importantly, two golden wings behind its back.

The underside of the wings was covered in sharp blades, ready to lash out at their target at any moment.

'Adam, be careful. It's a Two-Winged Golden Searcher, Green Threat Level.' Silvana said in a serious voice.