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Chapter 4 - Chapter 4 The First Evolution

Shen Jilan had once contemplated a daring plan—to unlock the core chamber's door and lure the octopus beast into the corridor. There, it would engage in a deadly struggle with the serpent demon, allowing her to seize the moment and shut the gate.

Should the serpent demon prevail, she would seal the ventilation shafts, suffocating it to death; if the octopus beast emerged victorious, its ability to breathe underwater meant only starvation awaited.

Yet, after much deliberation, Shen Jilan abandoned this strategy altogether.

As director, she was intimately familiar with every successful specimen's capabilities. She knew the octopus beast wielded a staggering power exceeding 2,000 tons!

The corridor, merely 1.8 meters wide, was a perilous trap for the serpent demon, thus the octopus beast's triumph was all but certain. Moreover, the living quarters' outer steel plating measured a scant 30 millimeters—wholly insufficient to withstand relentless blows from a two-ton force.

She sighed deeply. Was fate compelling her to embrace a mere experimental subject?

Having rushed before, she managed to transport only the lightest equipment; thus, open surgery was impossible. She resolved instead to induce Li Zhui's evolution through a puncture operation.

At 6:37 a.m. on June 12, Year 102 of the Northern Ming era, a minor surgery commenced. Little could Shen Jilan have foreseen that from her hands would erupt a magnificent tide of mutation and transformation.

Using a laser scalpel, she made a small incision in Li Zhui's abdomen, inserted a dilator to widen the opening, and then guided an endoscope within.

The screen displayed an unfathomable sight: within Li Zhui's belly lay a malformed fetus!

A rounded, cushion-like body bore a small, turtle-shaped head, devoid of eyes, ears, or even nostrils; only a round, pore-like mouth remained—a mere excretory gland in truth.

The limbs were undeveloped, mere tiny fins.

How could a man harbor a fetus?

There was no doubt—this was Shen Jilan's creation! And not just any fetus—this was the sole second-generation super body!

What is a super body? According to East Tai Corporation, it is a being with severe congenital genetic mutations, whose outward appearance defies classification as human.

Typically, super bodies cannot conceive; in rare cases where they do, fetal development is impossible.

Researchers embedded portions of salamander DNA into the CT3839 genome, producing transgenic embryos implanted into a host.

Six months into pregnancy, CT3839 suffered cellular autolysis. Despite exhaustive efforts to prolong her life by six months, she ultimately succumbed.

This malformed fetus came closest to infant viability, yet due to profound genetic defects, it too was doomed to never develop fully.

Yet this unformed monstrosity possessed a remarkably resilient heart that, upon the mother's demise, reversed blood circulation to sustain itself!

This was the legendary spirit fetus, known in folklore as the ghost fetus.

In a sudden flash of inspiration, Shen Jilan transplanted the spirit fetus into Li Zhui. Since he was destined never to become a finished product, he might as well serve as a universal experimental host.

Thus, the medical team fashioned an artificial cavity between Li Zhui's wrappings and his epidermal membrane, providing a sanctuary for the spirit fetus.

They then connected artificial blood vessels, linking the spirit fetus to the salamander-like host's arteries and veins.

Henceforth, Li Zhui was compelled to become the maternal vessel, nourishing the spirit fetus with his own blood for three long years.

In Shen Jilan's words, this was a wealth held in deposit—and now, she was ready to claim it.

Li Zhui began to feel as though a multitude of insects were gnawing at him—yet, strangely, the sensation was not unpleasant. In fact, it was oddly soothing.

Gradually, as the host's epidermal membrane softened and began to dissolve, an overwhelming yearning surged within him—a primal urge to burst forth, to shed the cocoon.

Through the endoscopic lens, Shen Jilan observed every moment with meticulous attention. Determined to aid the spirit fetus further, she once again inserted the puncture needle, this time targeting the membrane between the two entities. With a deft motion, she pierced through and injected another dose of digestive enzymes.

She left the needle in place for a time—nearly five minutes—before withdrawing it, at which point the host's bodily fluids erupted in a violent surge.

In that instant, Li Zhui felt as though an explosion had detonated inside him. His internal organs were assaulted by an invisible force, battered from within.

A torrent of agony followed—soreness, searing heat, a burning sensation so intense it felt as though every single cell had ignited, fevered and ablaze.

Then, all at once, a torrid current surged through his veins. He roared uncontrollably, muscles expanding with sudden ferocity, while his heart rate skyrocketed past 360 beats per minute.

Grasping the shoulder clasps on either side of his chest, he began to shake them violently. The system's red warning lights blazed into life, accompanied by a repulsive synthetic voice.

"Warning! Warning! Cease all excessive activity immediately! Under Preauthorization Code One, Auxiliary Robot 101 is authorized to administer electroshock!"

"To hell with that! Yaa—haaa!" Li Zhui let out a thunderous roar, yanking outward with all his strength. At that very moment, a high-voltage current struck his spine.

Instinctively, he shrieked. His body arched sharply like a convulsing prawn, then snapped open even faster—ripping both shoulder clasps clean off.

With the surge of power, the dividing membrane burst like an overinflated balloon, unraveling into a thousand fibrous strands. Simultaneously, Li Zhui collapsed like a punctured tire, deflating in an instant.

His heart stopped beating.

Then—slowly—a faint light appeared.

Bit by bit, he envisioned himself transformed into a towering tree, growing at a staggering pace, its roots spreading, branching out into every corner of unknown space.

The neural connections between him and the wrappings were now fully synchronized; signals could flow without obstruction.

As the host's core finally came into direct contact with the Spirit Infant Shell, Li Zhui's immune cells launched a relentless assault.

But the spirit fetus's cells, guided by instinct, rapidly fused with the host's antigens—ultimately evading detection and neutralizing the attack.

However, the fetus's attempt to infiltrate the host's central nervous system failed completely. The host's neural cells possessed a resilience and complexity that far exceeded anything the shell could contend with.

Li Zhui's physical form also began to change dramatically. His once-prominent belly vanished without a trace, though his skin remained swollen and elastic—like aerated silicone.

Yet in Shen Jilan's eyes, there was not a trace of handsomeness in him—on the contrary, he was even more repulsive than before. That thick, greasy layer of skin, now puffed and blistering, had begun to rot, weeping moisture in slow, ceaseless trickles.

Just as she was about to fetch a fresh set of clothes for him, Li Zhui made an utterly absurd request.

"Miss Shen, please help me peel off this dead skin. Thank you."

She hesitated for a moment before taking up the laser scalpel and slicing a small incision into the thickened layer. Peeling it back with her fingers and shining a flashlight upon it, she could clearly see a fresh layer of skin forming beneath the grease.

Once assured of the procedure's safety, she began the removal—executing it almost like an artist. First, she made precise incisions at strategic points, then gradually lifted and stripped away the entire sheath.

Li Zhui lay back on the stone platform, eyes half-closed, utterly at ease. He hadn't anticipated that shedding one's skin could be such a pleasurable, even euphoric experience.

Though the process was slow and meticulous, it took no more than twenty minutes for the entire layer to come off.

Of course, by ordinary standards, his physique was still unnaturally bloated—his torso in particular resembled that of a bear.

This was because the salamander shell's thoracic bones had been preserved intact, while the bones of the limbs had been removed entirely.

Despite the bulk, he no longer resembled a man so much as a voluptuous woman, and his pink, glistening skin had the tender freshness of a newborn.

The only sign betraying his masculinity was a funnel-shaped organ at his groin.

Shen Jilan suddenly thought it resembled the head of an elephant and couldn't help but chuckle softly.

In that moment, a wave of tenderness welled up within her—like a mother welcoming her newborn. Gently, lovingly, she dipped a towel in warm water and softly cleansed his body, then helped him into a fresh set of undergarments.

Now that the ordeal had passed, what was she to do with him? And how would the company deal with her?

But Li Zhui thought of none of this—his consciousness slipped away, and he fell into a deep sleep. The cellular war within him had consumed far more life force than any battle of flesh.

Thus began a slumber that lasted seven full days and nights.

Though she had long lived underground, Shen Jilan's circadian rhythm remained intact. After staying up through the night, exhaustion overtook her, and she too drifted off, her head resting against the bed's edge.

She dreamed of sunlight—of herself lying upon a grassy meadow, a gentle breeze caressing her skin like a lover's hand. It was warm, peaceful, and sweet. She longed to remain in that place forever, to lie there until the end of time.

While the two of them dreamed in quiet serenity, far away, Shi Weikang was in a state of panic—water from the third level had begun seeping through in torrents.

Suddenly struck by inspiration, he dashed to the control panel, opened the lizard containment hatch, and scattered food to lure them into the feeding zone—then quickly slammed the gate shut behind them.

Through the maintenance passage above the breeding chamber, he hauled in as many oxygen canisters, food supplies, and water containers as he could manage, then sealed the hatch from within. Once the transgenic lizards were trapped in the feeding zone, the rising seepage gradually flooded the area. Yet these creatures—spliced with genes from aquatic lizards and giant crocodiles—were far from easy to drown. On the contrary, they soon went into a frenzy, and through sheer collective might, they tore apart the alloy mesh that confined them. Thus, the third subterranean level became their dominion—though they remained imprisoned within its bounds. That is, until the day the octopus monstrosity smashed through the main wall of the third level, seeking a lavish feast. But outnumbered and emboldened, the lizards launched an immediate counterattack. After a brutal clash, the beast, overwhelmed by sheer numbers, fled in disarray. From that moment on, the entire underground ruin belonged to the transgenic lizards. And within days, they devoured every edible morsel the domain could offer.

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