Chapter 521.1: Level B6, OPEN!

The day before the celebration.

The assimilation had proceeded unexpectedly smoothly and it was completed within a single night.

Little Feather, who had stepped into the reactor room, had already merged with the sea of Slime Mold and become the new queen ruling over it.

That sea of Slime Mold surged as if it was boiling, every cell cheering for its new master.

With the control of the Hive switching hands, the bloodthirsty crimson hue had faded slightly. The grotesqueness of blood was replaced by a more pleasant pink.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The Slime Mold from the desert, which had been competing with the shelter for two generations, lacked large-scale spore-release abilities. Through long evolution, it had already abandoned that form of information exchange.

Instead, it communicated through sound, just like humans.

Falling Feather was momentarily stunned. "But if they leave the range of the Hive, wouldn't they..."

“They'll go dormant,” Hyrja explained while looking at him. “Isn’t that the same for the organism in Lost Valley? Most of its sub-entities remain dormant unless actively awakened by the Hive’s voice. They communicate through specific sound frequencies.”

“Outside the range of those soundwaves, the sub-entities would likely continue executing the Hive’s... Or the Mother Body’s final command. Once all commands are carried out, they either return to report or go dormant and standby in place.”

Falling Feather tried to recall what he had seen. It did seem to be the case.

Although he had no memory after the nuclear explosion, based on what Tail and the others described on the forums, the organism next to Dove, clearly a sub-entity of the Hive, had indeed screamed, summoning the Slime Mold-corrupted Titan.

Even the aircraft Little Feather sent to aid him crashed shortly after completing its mission...

But if that were true, wouldn’t that mean Little Feather would have to remain on level B6 for the rest of its life?

After all, sound couldn’t pass through the shelter walls...

“That’s simple,” said Chu Guang, who had been silent the whole time, watching his noisy little critters discussing among each other. “Just give them headsets and microphones!”

His understanding was that Little Feather evolved with human assistance, so the function wasn’t perfect and required help from its host humans.

For example, helping them transmit sound further. That was actually a good thing.

If Little Feather could carry out all life functions independently without relying on human tools, then the symbiotic relationship would weaken.

After hearing Chu Guang’s words, Falling Feather was dumbfounded.

No way?

That could actually work!

It was probably the first time he felt that an NPC had more imagination than he did...

Hyrja glanced at Chu Guang in surprise, a look of approval surfacing in her eyes. “

Hmm...

that’s actually a solid approach. If they can’t independently convert radio signals to sound waves, then they’ll never be able to break free from our control.”

Chu Guang nodded. “A Hive under controlled evolution must remain under our supervision. And we must also do our best to prevent it from producing a new Mother Body, especially a mutated one.”

Hyrja nodded thoughtfully. “Indeed. So we’ll control the number of sub-entities. How about 10?”

The mother body had emerged by chance from tens of thousands of sub-entities. By limiting the number, they could effectively prevent another Mother Body from forming.

Unrestrained freedom and complete confinement... Both extremes didn’t match the New Alliance’s way of doing things. What they needed was for Little Feather to produce Mutant Slime Mold while integrating with humans. That way, they would be able to find a way to coexist.

Chu Guang would also choose several players from time to time to coordinate with Little Feather to handle the Mutant Slime Mold sub-entities produced.

“Alright. 10 it shall be. If Little Feather produces more, it wouldn’t be able to take it.”

Also... The damn Yiwus will drive me crazy if I have to hear it everyday...

Chu Guang turned to Falling Feather and spoke again. “Alright, head back first. After we install some microphones and headphones, Little Feather and its sub-entities would be able to operate outside the shelter.”

Falling Feather looked deeply moved. “Thank you...”

A fatherly smile spread across Chu Guang’s face. “You’re welcome. I’ll be counting on you to continue looking after Little Feather.”

Slime Mold could never completely eliminate humans, and vice versa.

Even during the Prosperity Era, the Federation failed to wipe out mosquitoes, flies, and mantises on the planet, let alone a much more troublesome organism like Slime Mold.

The Post-War Reconstruction Committee had already tried for half a century. There was no need to step into the same pitfall again.

If eradication was unfeasible, then reducing risk and neutralizing the threat was the more practical route.

Little Feather, born out of coincidence, had the potential to be both tameable and near-harmless. Like a bioengineered nerve crab, it was scary at first glance, but potentially a useful buff if used well.

The Hive sat right beneath them on level B6. Even if anything went wrong, they could contain it immediately.

Chu Guang turned to Hyrja, who stood nearby. “I’ll leave the follow-up research to you.”

Hyrja’s eyes gleamed with intense interest. That was precisely her area of passion. “No problem! Leave it to me!”

Official website.

[Partial area of Biological Lab in level B6 is now open:

Slime Mold Symbiont Buff available

]

[Slime Mold Symbiont:

This is a special biological prosthesis, essentially a sub-entity of the Hive on level B6. It has no self-awareness. Players implanted with this symbiont gain 100% to 500% increased recovery ability and partial keratinization or mutation of bodily structures. Duration: Permanent. Upon death, the buff resets and the symbiont is deleted. A new application is required.

]

[Note 1:

Since wound healing replaces local somatic cells with Slime Mold cells, each injury deepens the level of infection and cannot be surgically removed. XP gain speed drops with increasing infection. At 50% or more, no XP is gained and save functions are disabled. To avoid discomfort for NPCs, those with more than 50% infection or unreasonable bodily mutations must wear full protective gear when entering public areas, see NPC Bucky for reference.

]

[Note 2:

This buff is typically only available to players. Contribution Rank must be at least Citizen while also being at LV10.

]

[Note 3:

Slime Mold has no concept of gender. Little Feather is still a child mentally, please do not express any strange desires during implantation. Also, even if sub-entities can’t directly communicate with the Mother Body, do not use them for weird purposes.

]

...

Tail: !!! Wait a sec, does that mean implanting the symbiont might turn us into tentacle monsters?!

Sisi: Tail, calm down. You’re scaring Roro!

Roshan: (sHivering)

Sesame Paste: Ahaha, but if Tail became a tentacle monster, it probably wouldn’t be scary at all.

Tail: Eh?! Why not?

Sesame Paste: Because you don’t seem like the type who would hurt people... wait, why do you sound disappointed?

Sisi: Heh. Based on what I know of Tail, I bet the first person she pranks will be you.

Sesame Paste: ?

Tail: Ehehe~ (@~v@)

Sisi: Kinda disappointed now. (¬_¬")

Tail: Ugh! But it’s so hard to scare Sisi!!

Sisi: ... Ah, so scary. I can’t move.

Roshan: That was so half-hearted!

Tail: Right?! Even Roro could tell! It always ends up like this!

Sesame Paste: Ahaha... hahaha...

Mosquito: Kekekeke. The era of low-EQ biotech is upon us! ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Night Ten: Heh, if you do it, you’ll probably be arrested on the spot. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Mosquito: Tch! Looking down on me?! Just wait, I’ll turn into a tentacle monster and tie you up first!

Night Ten: Dude! Don’t get weird on me!

Eye Owe Money: Bro, you’re into some freaky stuff huh. (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)

Construction Boy: HAHAHA! I’ll take pictures for you!

Spring Water Commander: By the way, why are y’all assuming we’ll definitely become tentacle monsters? I’m just wondering, will symbiotic players still get attacked by other Mutant Slime Mold?

Midnight Pubg: If not, we could solo the city center! (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)

Escaping Mole: They probably will. Mutant Slime Mold is a general term. Different strains feed on each other and absorb genetic material, wasn’t that already proven with Bucky?

Spring Water Commander: Makes sense. Looks like bug-abusing isn’t that easy. Haha.

Ample Time: Even without proof, logically speaking, I doubt Light would let such a blatant bug slide. (lol)