Mutation

"Mmm!" In the moment when the golden liquid entered the nutrient solution, Xingtao felt a hot breath slowly penetrating from the surface of his skin, gradually invading his muscles, blood, and bones. It felt like ants were crawling inside him, causing a tingling sensation accompanied by pain.

"Damn it, could it really be the cheetah genes at work here?" Xingtao's face suddenly changed dramatically, "Could this so-called improved cheetah gene be meant for application?"

Soon, a hint of heat and a tinge of pain appeared in Xingtao's lungs as well. Immersed in the nutrient solution, Xingtao's respiratory system was filled with the liquid, and the improved cheetah gene seeped into his lungs along with his breath.

As time passed, the tingling sensation grew stronger, gradually spreading from the skin and lungs to the whole body. Xingtao felt his acupoints itching and tingling, causing unbearable pain.

Initially, he could barely endure it, but as time went on, it became more and more unbearable. The itching sensation seemed to penetrate into his bones, making him desperately want to tear his body apart to scratch the itch.

"Why so fast?!" Xingtao endured the itching all over his body, "Why did the genetic changes occur so quickly!? Kinos, I will definitely kill you!!"

Suddenly, he began convulsing violently, feeling a paralyzing sensation emanating from his internal organs. It felt as if countless insects were crawling inside him, and this pain gradually penetrated his bone marrow, flowing with his blood as if reaching the surface of his skin. Eventually, his entire body was consumed by this excruciating pain, and he felt like he was on the brink of death.

At the same time, a bloodthirsty intent surged into Xingtao's mind like a flood, instantly occupying his entire consciousness. An extreme, savage, and murderous aura emerged from the depths of his heart, giving him an overwhelming urge to kill everyone!

"Good! Good!" Dr. Kinos, who had been observing Xingtao closely, saw his reaction and his eyes lit up with excitement. Meanwhile, his countless clones mobilized and began recording every change in Xingtao on nearby instruments.

"Hahaha!" Watching his research succeed, Dr. Kinos laughed loudly.

"Roar!"

Xingtao's eyes suddenly turned blood red, emitting a low growl that didn't seem human. At the same time, a tremendous force erupted from his muscles, bones, internal organs, and even his blood, spreading throughout his body.

Despite being immersed in the nutrient solution, which prevented him from making sounds, Xingtao somehow managed to let out a roar. This roar resembled that of a human, yet also a cheetah, and even more so, a tiger.

"Haha, this is the cheetah gene I've modified!!" Dr. Kinos seemed intoxicated by his achievements, "Based on the cheetah, mixed with a bit of saber-toothed tiger genes from ancient fossils, it combines the speed of a cheetah with the strength of a saber-toothed tiger. This genetic data is invaluable!!"

"Drip! Drip! Drip!"

Suddenly, an alarm sounded in the laboratory: "Nutrient solution is about to be depleted, please replenish!"

"What, how can it be depleted so quickly?!" Dr. Kinos was startled awake from his pride by the alarm, "The rate of nutrient absorption is much faster than I calculated. How is this possible! The energy contained in this nutrient solution is enough to sustain a tiger for a month, yet it's not enough for you, this little cheetah!?"

Dr. Kinos had anticipated that if evolution were to occur, the metabolism of the new form would need to be accelerated, requiring a large amount of energy. However, he didn't expect it to deplete so quickly. Nevertheless, his reaction was swift, and he quickly ordered his clones to refill the nutrient solution.

"Roar!"

Xingtao roared again. This time, his roar resembled that of a cheetah rather than a tiger.

As he roared, his body underwent some changes.

His height gradually increased from 1.7 meters to 1.9 meters; his body fat rapidly decreased, replaced by bulging muscles. Despite being muscular, he didn't have a bulky feeling; instead, he resembled a slender bamboo pole.

Now, although he appeared thin, his entire body exuded a vigorous, bloodthirsty aura.

Dr. Kinos, observing Xingtao's transformation, nodded to himself. "After all, the cheetah is one of the weakest members of the cat family, so his body is also evolving in that direction."

"But why doesn't he exhibit any characteristics of the saber-toothed tiger?" Dr. Kinos couldn't help but wonder, "Did my addition of the saber-toothed tiger gene go to waste?"

Perplexed, Dr. Kinos continued to observe. With the passage of time, another round of changes occurred in Xingtao.

Black spots began to appear on his skin, resembling leopard spots; his tailbone protruded outward, forming a leopard tail; his ears became leopard-like; his canine teeth and claws enlarged.

His current appearance, if compared to something, would be similar to Rob Lucci after consuming a Devil Fruit in "One Piece."

As these changes occurred, on the other side, Dr. Kinos' clones continued to add new nutrient solution inside.

"This guy is consuming nutrient solution too quickly!" one of the clones complained while adding more nutrient solution, "It seems our calculations were way off. He's consuming the solution at least ten times faster than we expected!"

"Nutrient solution is cheap, but the experimental data is invaluable!" another clone remarked.

"Indeed, this data is something we've never obtained before!"

While they were speaking, the glass container containing Xingtao quickly emptied again.

"Damn it, we need to refill it again!" a reluctant clone added more nutrient solution inside.

At the moment when the nutrient solution was being added, Xingtao's body underwent another drastic change. All the cheetah features that had previously appeared suddenly disappeared, and he turned back into a human form!!

At that moment—

"Boom!!!"

Suddenly, a violent explosion occurred. The glass, which was claimed to be impenetrable even by anti-material sniper rifles, turned into powder, and Xingtao, along with the glass container, disappeared without a trace.