"It seems the Biological Research Institute’s actions are even more radical than I thought..."
Lin Feng sighed, but offered no further evaluation.
Ling Shuyan pushed up her glasses, her expression noncommittal.
’In the struggle for survival, laws are hardly worth mentioning, let alone useless morals.’
’Only by surviving first can one judge right from wrong.’
Lin Feng recalled her mention of the Prophesied Son and asked:
"So, according to what you said, Superpowers can only be transplanted starting from embryonic cells?"
"Are you trying to artificially breed the next generation?"
Ling Shuyan pressed her lips together and nodded.
The faint green light from the low-temperature glass case reflected off her lenses, obscuring the look in her eyes.
"Yes. But starting from scratch is obviously too late."
"So the Institute settled for the next best thing: finding young adults and pre-pubescent youths to conduct Superpower stem cell transplantation experiments."
"The former can accommodate about two to three Superpowers, while the latter have higher compatibility and can master at least five Superpowers, including the rare Spiritual Ability."
Lin Feng’s expression darkened as he recalled Jiang Chengcheng, whom he had just seen with Han Yuxin that morning:
"The cost of doing this must be high, right?"
"Even adult Awakeners who undergo Zerg Race gene transplantation have to endure both mental and physical torment, not to mention the side effect of their lifespans being rapidly consumed..."
Ling Shuyan let out a soft sigh, not refuting his point:
"The success rate is still very low at the moment. We can’t move to mass production; these are just small-batch experiments in the Early Stage."
"And you’re right, the cost is too high. Even for the qualified subjects who walk out of the lab intact, their Life Force will be so overdrawn that they’ll only have a dozen or so years left to live."
"Stem cells are the source of life. The burden of a single Superpower is manageable for the body, but for a vessel of multiple Superpowers, while their strength is immense, the drain on their stem cells increases exponentially!"
"I know this sounds cruel and utterly amoral... but if we don’t do this, humanity’s lack of high-end power will make it difficult to resist the Zerg Race invasion."
"Especially the High-tier Mother Empresses."
As she spoke, Ling Shuyan pointed to the sealed jars inside the glass case, at the newly proliferated and synthesized Genetic Glands:
"Genetic Warriors are just an opportunistic shortcut, a last resort to deal with the battles on the front lines."
"Perhaps you’ve already had a faint sense of it. Genetic Warriors are created through Zerg Race gene modification. They are essentially a genetic combination of humans and Tiger Spine Zergs, making them half-Spine Zerg. When facing a Zerg Race Mother Empress, they are susceptible to the influence of their powerful Spiritual Power. At best, they merely lose their ability to fight; at worst, they can be controlled by them."
"Just like the Swarm."
"There’s no such thing as a free lunch. While Genetic Warriors can rapidly gain power far exceeding that of the Zerg Race of the same tier, they are naturally constrained by the very source of that power."
"Furthermore, the higher the Zerg Race gene Fusion Level, the stronger the Genetic Warrior, and the more easily they are manipulated by a Mother Empress."
"Genetic Warriors can only be used in defensive battles on the surface. They can’t go deep Underground to kill a Zerg Race Mother Empress."
"After Qin Hu’s first exploration Underground, from which he returned safely thanks to your help, he mentioned to me that he felt a sense of dread inside the Underground Hive. A calling voice echoed constantly in his mind, and that feeling of being out of control grew even stronger, especially when he entered his Genetic Assimilation state."
"So I wanted to let you know in advance: if you’ve trained and modified this batch of Tier Two Genetic Warriors to invade the Underground Hive and kill the Zerg Race Mother Empress, then you must be prepared for them to lose control and turn against you."
Lin Feng shrugged, unconcerned.
"You don’t need to worry about that. I’m well aware of it. Their duty is to guard the surface Wormhole entrance and clear out any other Tier Two Zerg Race reinforcements in the passages. Killing the High-tier Mother Empress is a job only I can do!"
He then steered the conversation back on topic and asked again:
"So, the Federation’s Biological Research Institute plans to artificially create a batch of perfect Awakeners. But how will their power reach Tier Three?!"
"Without the Life Energy taken from killing members of the Zerg Race, can they just achieve their Awakening and advance out of thin air?"
Ling Shuyan turned, her gaze deep as she stared intently at him, and then she shook her head.
"I don’t know either. That’s probably the problem the Institute is trying to solve right now..."
"But rest assured on one point: most of the youths participating in the experiments are doing so voluntarily. If they were to resist internally, the experiment would have a 100% failure rate. It’s just like our genetic modification surgeries—a person’s mental and spiritual state is far more important than their physical strength."
"Someone without a firm will could never endure these complicated and painful surgical procedures."
"However, the one thing this apocalypse isn’t short on is avengers. From the moment the Alien Zerg Race invaded Blue Star, causing hundreds of millions of Federation citizens to die and hundreds of millions more to be displaced, the seeds of hatred have been deeply sown..."
"Sooner or later, this younger generation, filled with hatred and raised amidst the flames of war, will eradicate every last one of these invaders!"
As she spoke, Ling Shuyan clenched her fists, her eyes filled with determination.
Lin Feng nodded slightly, his thoughts turning to Shen Jie, who was always charging on the front lines, fighting tirelessly. He knew that after becoming a Tier One Awakener, Shen Jie didn’t have to push himself so hard.
As long as he didn’t overuse his Genetic Assimilation Form, he wouldn’t have become indistinguishable from a Zerg.
But he had never backed down, choosing instead to slaughter his way through everything. Becoming strong to kill Zergs and killing Zergs to become strong were two completely different concepts.