Its body was threaded with a dense web of pipes, each ending in a one-liter, specially-made crystal flask—ten in total.
About a fifth of the flasks in front of him were filled with liquids of every color; the moment they left the Crimson Demon's body they crystallized instantly.
Jiang Yan spoke up: "Can the demon gene be stacked onto a Monster, or used on other Monsters?"
If it worked, the combat power on Jiang Yan's side would jump another notch.
Dong Guangjie shook his head. "Apart from soul-type treasures like the soul crystal that act on the level of soul evolution, any physical enhancement or mutation clashes with the phage-atoms inside a Monster's body."
Ever since that flesh-and-blood experiment he'd suspected as much, and a quick test had proved him right.
"That's a pity, then." Jiang Yan gave a small sigh.
Even if they injected the demon gene into someone right now, it wouldn't create Level Five-level strength at once—Level Four would probably be the ceiling.
Growth required energy absorption or training; the only question was how long it would take.
As the researcher who had followed Jiang Yan the longest, Dong Guangjie knew exactly what he was thinking.
He stepped to Jiang Yan's side and smiled mysteriously. "President, why do we have to keep our eyes on humans?"
"Oh? You want to switch to other creatures? But the strongest land animals are only tigers, lions, elephants—better baseline stats, yet they can't match a human brain." Jiang Yan looked at him curiously.
Sea creatures were already spoken for by the King of the Deep Sea's serum—far better suited for oceanic life.
Dong Guangjie's eyes glittered. "But what about dinosaurs—or those colossal beasts from prehistory?"
His words sparked a flash of insight in Jiang Yan. "With our current ability, as long as we have dinosaur fossils we can revive them fast."
The Flesh Bodhisattva's power was already superior to cloning; after one upgrade it was even more formidable.
Flesh Bodhisattva
Bone Assimilation: devours a creature's flesh and bones, then reconstructs every detail of its anatomy from the information within.
Jiang Yan had never used the ability himself—he'd simply left it in Dong Guangjie's hands.
Dong Guangjie went on: "We only need a several-metre embryo from the Flesh Bodhisattva, move it to the lab for a while, and with today's methods we can grow it to ten-plus metres. For consciousness we can try the buddha crystal—that's the only technical bottleneck left."
The biggest problem plaguing the Monster Association right now was consciousness—an issue no one on Earth had solved.
"If the Flesh Bodhisattva can't grow a mind in that flesh, let's change tack—how about we transplant a human mind into a dinosaur's skull?" Beaton, who had been quiet, spoke up.
The remark drew surprised looks from everyone.
"Why are you all staring? Doesn't it work?" Beaton asked, puzzled.
Xie Gongming stepped forward and clapped his shoulder. "Beaton, you're a genius. We were fixated on science and forgot the Awakened Ones—those walking hacks."
Dong Guangjie whipped out his phone and fired off a voice message to his subordinates: "Collect every scrap of intel on Awakened Ones who've ever used consciousness-related abilities—don't miss a single trace!"
Jiang Yan watched them swing into action without needing a single order from him, a faint smile on his lips: 'Now these are the people who lighten my worries.'
"Besides dinosaurs, cultivate every other ferocious, gigantic extinct species as well." Jiang Yan gave the instruction and walked out of the lab.
If it all worked—ten-metre-plus base bodies, human minds, plus demon-gene enhancement…
Worst case they'd have Level Four combat power; maybe they'd even pop out a Level Five demon.
Just outside the lab door, Jiang Yan stepped out as the Cloud Ray's enormous frame landed at the entrance.
He stepped onto its back and the Cloud Ray carried him toward the cavern.
'It's this late already?' Dressed in black, hands behind his back, Jiang Yan gazed calmly at the sky.
At ten kilometres up there were almost no clouds; one glance upward revealed a sky full of stars.
'Apart from Blue Planet, who knows how far the nearest off-world life is?' His eyes glinted.
Summoning hordes of Monsters had shown him that intelligent life swarmed in the starry sky—and in large numbers.
Moments later, inside the cavern.
Jiang Yan watched Ba Yao approach; a multicolored circular pattern had appeared on her forehead. "How do you feel?"
Ba Yao placed her right hand gracefully to her chest and bowed. "Master, after absorbing the soul crystal my strength has risen a level and even my ability has been enhanced."
Jiang Yan nodded and opened her status to check.
Star·Moon-in-Water: summons a star whose true body hides in a special dimension. Under its light, Ba Yao can use her abilities without cost! (Diameter 10 km; if destroyed, one-month cooldown before it can be summoned again.)
'The summoned star hides in a special dimension and is ten times larger, but now has a cooldown.' Jiang Yan's eyes glinted—power came with a price.
Blue Planet had only one continent; as long as the star was positioned above it and rotated with the landmass, it could keep shining down.
Thinking of this, Jiang Yan turned to Ba Yao. "If the star enters that special dimension, will it still be tugged by Blue Planet's and the sun's gravity? Can it keep moving with the continent?"
A planet rotated and orbited; if it didn't follow the motion there'd be times it couldn't shine on the land.
Ba Yao replied respectfully, "Master, entering the special dimension doesn't stop gravitational pull; it only shields it from physical attacks."
Jiang Yan nodded, a smile tugging at his lips. "Let's go—time for the Monster Association to shake the world again."
"As you command!" An elegant smile curved Ba Yao's lips.
The two walked onto the Cloud Ray's back, and Jiang Yan directed it outward.
Wuuu! The Cloud Ray cried out and flew forward with him.
"Master, wait for me!" Before it had flown even a few metres, Black-Gold came sprinting on stubby legs; from several metres away it leapt and landed on the Cloud Ray three metres above the ground.
"Let's move." Jiang Yan tapped the Cloud Ray, carrying Black-Gold and Ba Yao away.
Just outside the cavern mouth, Jiang Yan spoke without looking back: "Ba Yao, how high do we need to be for you to summon the star conveniently?"
Ba Yao lifted her gaze to the starry sky. "Any altitude is the same; I have a special view of the star. Higher would simply give you a better look, Master."
"Fine—stop at about ten kilometres." Jiang Yan ordered the Cloud Ray.
Moments later they hovered at ten kilometres above ground.