"Can they ever get back to normal?" Nick asked.
That's right, after finding that he couldn't restore the agents to normal in a short period of time, Nick had to seek help from Luke. After all, the reversal crystals were really useful, and Luke always gave him a satisfactory answer.
Who can resist a partner who can help you solve any trouble?
"I've already read all the information you transmitted to me, both methods." Luke answered Nick while tinkering with experiments on the Brud Zerg in his laboratory.
"Two methods?" Even though Nick had full confidence in Luke's talent and skills, he was still surprised when he saw two solutions given without hesitation or even thinking.
"Yes, one treats the symptoms, but it works quickly. The other treats the root cause, and it may cause some trauma," Luke explained slowly.
"Listen." Nick urged after a pause.
"To treat the symptoms, we only need to create a targeted drug to put the parasites into a dormant state. Developing such a drug is not difficult and only takes a short time. However, this method requires regular injections and carries a certain risk of accidental omissions. The advantage is that the effect is extremely fast; injection and recovery occur on the spot. While the drug is in effect, he is a completely normal person with an independent personality, unaffected by any parasites. It's like a vaccine."
To cure the disease, the most direct solution is surgery to remove the parasites. For safety reasons, it's best to first inject a drug that puts the parasites to sleep, preventing them from struggling or resisting. However, this surgery is very demanding and depends on the location of the parasite.
Luke explained the plan in detail without any exaggeration or bias.
"In other words, no matter which method is chosen, medicine is necessary?" Nick grasped the key point of Luke's words.
"You can understand it that way." Luke replied.
"How long will it take to develop the medicine?" Nick asked Luke, obviously having made up his mind.
"Give me two days." Luke didn't shockingly ask Nick to come and get the potion directly, but gave a time limit.
…
"Do you also want to cultivate the Bruder Zerg?"
Inside the lab, An Jing, seeing Luke hang up the phone, looked at the giant projection showing a high-ranking vampire bound and dead in the lab's enclosed area and asked Luke. Gwen had gone to work, leaving her alone in the lab with Luke, watching him conduct his experiments with some boredom.
Jing Jing is not a research-type symbiote, but the knowledge and vision she possesses are enough to allow her to see what Luke is doing at the moment.
"I'm afraid it's still a ways off from being a true Brud Zerg. It's just a new subspecies." Luke shook his head. To breed a true Brud Zerg, given the available materials and data, would require abandoning previously planned research and tasks, devoting considerable energy and time. The cost wouldn't be worth the effort. Luke was reluctant to disrupt his original research plans.
But based on the existing data and materials, Luke had no difficulty in researching and developing a subspecies with some of the characteristics of the Brud Zerg. With the help of data, Luke's research and manufacturing efficiency was incredible.
"Can I eat it?" An Jing asked a soul-searching question.
"I'm afraid you won't have much of an appetite." Luke stared intently at the vampire on the screen, and the real-time data on his body changes being updated by the instrument. From time to time, robots in the lab would inject the vampire's body with a needle of medicine according to Luke's request.
The vampire was a slightly aged man, his skin somewhat shrunken, but the energy readings on the instruments were frighteningly high. He was an elite, high-ranking vampire! Once the powerful energy within him erupted, no one doubted its destructive power. But at that moment, he was strapped to a laboratory table, a look of terror on his face, unable to move. He could only helplessly watch as syringes were inserted and withdrawn from his body.
Even more terrifying was that he could clearly sense a terrifying life form rapidly forming and growing within his body, feeding on his life and body!
He felt the monster greedily sucking away everything he had in his body. He could feel himself becoming weak and old in this greedy and crazy absorption. However, every time this happened, a well-placed injection of longevity potion would turn into new energy and replenish his body, filling the gap left after he was plundered.
And every time at this moment, he could feel a feeling of joy and happiness surging in his heart. The monster that was growing in his body would accept the replenished energy and even showed more greed and desire.
He even had a sudden realization: the moment this monster burst out of his body, that would be the moment his life would end! From the moment he was brought out and laid on this lab table, his life had already entered a countdown!
Time ticked by, and the vampire's belly on the lab table swelled like a pregnant woman, its expression twisted with helpless fear. He could feel his skin stretched so tight it felt like it was about to burst. His shrunken skin was stretched to the point of being translucent, and through it, he could see the dark green shadow beneath, expanding and contracting like breathing.
puff!
The vampire's skin was finally torn open, and one dark green tentacle after another stretched out from the chest. The tentacles swelled in the wind and continued to expand in the air. In just a few seconds, the diameter of a tentacle that stretched out had exceeded the vampire's torso, and the tentacles were still extending outward.
During this process, the vampire's vital signs and skin were rapidly declining. His gray hair, hunched body, shriveled and wrinkled skin, and body size that had shrunk by nearly half all showed how greedy and terrifying the monster in his body was.
Finally, an octopus-like monster was completely revealed.
It was a monster with a streamlined spindle-shaped head two meters in diameter. Its torso had six tentacles about six or seven meters long. Its huge body occupied most of the closed area of the laboratory. The closed area, which was very spacious before, now seemed very crowded. It looked like a weird octopus was stuffed into a small box.
In the projected image, the other person's skin was originally dark green, but after being exposed to the air for a period of time, the tender skin was turning into a gray-black color.
The creature that emerged from its body paid no attention to the dead vampire mother on the lab table, having been drained of all its life force. It also didn't attempt to damage the surrounding instruments or walls. Its large, dark green eyes on either side of its spindle-shaped head scanned the surroundings before locking eyes with a camera on top. From the image, it looked as if it had spotted Luke and was staring back at him.
"Looks like he's not some beastly idiot." An Jing exclaimed in surprise at the sight, remaining quite calm in the face of the terrifying monster. After all, as a cosmic gourmet, she'd seen all sorts of creatures, beautiful and ugly, weak and powerful. She'd already mastered this skill.
Luke understood An Jing's words. After emerging, the other person didn't immediately start destroying the surroundings. Instead, they carefully observed their surroundings and stared closely at the camera. This showed that they were intelligent! And their intelligence was quite high from birth! Judging from the way they stared at the camera, they clearly knew what it was, or at least remembered it.
Did it absorb the vampires' memories as well?
Luke stared at the octopus-like monster in the projection, thinking. The Bruder Zerg did indeed possess this parasitic trait, and Luke had indeed taken this into consideration when crafting the new subspecies embryo.
"The subspecies isn't a parasite, but rather feeds on its host, absorbing the host's vital genes and body energy to sustain its growth. Once the embryo has absorbed enough energy, the subspecies will drain the host of its last bit of energy and break out.
Unlike symbionts that coexist with their hosts, and unlike bruds that parasitize and then fuse with their hosts, subspecies reproduce and evolve by plundering everything from their hosts."
Luke made a judgment based on the data. This way of survival was somewhat similar to that of the aliens. However, their life form was inevitably influenced by the genes of the Root Body Hive.
Ten seconds later, in the projected image, the subspecies stretched out a tentacle towards the camera. A black energy magic arrow appeared on the tentacle, directly destroying the camera.
One, one, and another.
Eventually, the projection turned into darkness.
Great! Even the vampire's energy and magic were completely inherited. It's even more similar to the alien's characteristics.
"Want me to take care of it? Just give me a taste of one tentacle." An Jing looked at the disappearing projection and eagerly made an offer to Luke. Given the other party's intelligence, destroying the camera was clearly an attempt to escape.
"Okay." A brilliant blue light flashed behind Luke, and the light overflowed, enveloping Luke. As it disappeared, An Jing also jumped into the afterglow and disappeared together.
The same azure glow appeared in the enclosed area of the laboratory where the subspecies was held. Luke and An Jing suddenly appeared, their life force instantly alarming the subspecies that were destroying the [cage].
A huge gray-black tentacle, carrying enormous force, swung towards Luke nimbly and swiftly. An Jing suddenly turned into a hemispherical shield, blocking Luke in front.
The tentacles collided with the hemispherical shield transformed by silence, just like a huge wave hitting a reef. After the wave receded, the reef remained motionless.
For a bite to eat, An Jing had endured numerous studies and transformations by Luke. It had been fine before, mostly focused on research, with the transformations mostly done on clones, like those unfortunate children like Habu. But after a short while, after receiving a supply of soul crystals and emotional fluid from Luke, An Jing completely sold herself out. You can transform me however you want, as long as you keep me fed.
To this day, Quiet is a little unsure whether she is still the original symbiote. At least under Luke's transformation, her resistance to fire has greatly increased, and she has the means to deal with and defend against strong sound waves. These two natural weaknesses of the symbiote are no longer weaknesses for Quiet.
She also possessed the ability to transform. She felt as if she had been transformed into a nearly omnipotent being, a blend of magic, biology, and technology. She could even unleash the power of the symbiote without possessing a host. All she needed was a sufficient energy supply.
For example, now, after connecting with Luke's spirit, she can, like the possessed host, cooperate and transform in various ways according to Luke's wishes closely and tacitly.
"Data Sandbox Space!"
Luke threw a black card forward. As it flew, it began to expand, from a flat shape to a cube, and then began to expand again. Almost instantly, the black box enveloped the entire laboratory.
The data dimension has arrived.
"Now we can begin the test." Luke, opening the sandbox, was like a supreme mage opening the mirror space. Within the sandbox, as long as Luke didn't want it to end, everything would be an endless cycle.
This is a skill used to acquire more data.
"I feel like I've completely become some kind of equipment or material." Under Luke's control, An Jing split into rotating gears, which were accompanied by the destructive energy exerted by An Jing. As she spoke, she rushed forward excitedly and collided directly with more tentacles thrown by the subspecies.
laugh!
laugh!
laugh!
An Jing completely immersed himself in the muscles of the subspecies, and the next moment he hurriedly came out with a spray of blood. While vibrating at high speed to shake off the blood on his body, he returned to Luke's side cursing.
The blood fell all around, and the contact area made a hissing corrosion sound.
"What have you created?" An Jing complained to Luke.
"Hurry up, I'll give you a snack after you finish today!" Luke crossed his arms and encouraged An Jing with a smile.
"Then I'm going to take a bath in the original liquid!" An Jing's eyes lit up instantly. While separating her limbs and colliding with those tentacles, she turned her head and bargained with Luke.
"Sure. You can bathe in the original liquid and eat there, even if it's okay." Luke wrote out a lavish check. After hearing his words, Jing Jing's large, silvery-white eyes had already begun to turn slightly green.