[Infinite Overload · Potential Unleashed]
[Strength: 40.5 million tons ⬆]
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[Infinite Overload · Potential Unleashed]
[Strength: 45.03 million tons ⬆]
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[Infinite Overload · Potential Unleashed]
[Strength: 50.1 million tons ⬆]
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[Infinite Overload · Potential Unleashed]
[Strength: 86 million tons ⬆]
In just one short year, Hyuk's strength broke through the eighty-six-million-ton threshold. Tens of millions of primordial parasites had been pulverized by her hands, their organic matter recycled back into nutrient fluid to sustain the cultivation of new spawns.
With such immense physical force at her disposal, Hyuk's bodily density naturally underwent a massive upgrade, though it could still only be compared to the density of a white dwarf star.
She was still far from reaching the density of a neutron star.
Even so, this power was already far beyond the realm of mortal imagination.
Over the course of this year, Type Zero had brought two massive cultivation facilities online, with three more scheduled to be commissioned sequentially over the next twelve months.
Once they were active, Hyuk's progression speed would accelerate even further.
Currently, Hyuk's instantaneous burst speed sat at Mach 30. Under normal circumstances, she avoided entering such high hypersonic states; the kinetic shockwaves and thermal displacement generated by moving at those speeds would cause catastrophic destruction to everything in her vicinity.
Forget Mach 30—even exceeding Mach 10 was more than enough to unleash horrific, localized devastation, which was exactly why she could easily vaporize vast numbers of primordial parasites in an instant.
If she were in the vacuum of outer space, Hyuk could theoretically accelerate indefinitely until she reached sub-light speed. If she were to plummet back down and crash-land on Gulan at that velocity, the impact would trigger a planetary-scale catastrophe.
Upon atmospheric entry, she would instantly ignite Gulan's atmosphere, piercing straight through the planet's crust to its mantle within a millisecond, gouging out an impact crater the size of an entire continent.
While all surface life on Gulan would instantly go extinct, Hyuk—possessing the dense matter of a white dwarf star—would emerge completely unscathed. At this point, she could easily be classified as a planetary-cleanser level of existence.
Nuclear warheads were nothing more than a gentle breeze to her; she could literally swim through the core of a star. Unless subjected to the most extreme of physical phenomena, nothing in the universe could harm her.
Even more terrifyingly, she was continuing to scale her immense power at an ever-accelerating pace.
...
Meanwhile,
DR Bio-Pharma's initiative was rapidly progressing. They had bred a massive pool of symbionts, forcing them into constant, mutual slaughter to weed out a select group of elites.
While these elites couldn't hope to match Gluttony, their combat capabilities far surpassed the earlier generation of symbionts. Their biological quality had made a massive leap, averaging a solid eight tons of physical output.
...
One day,
Type Zero spoke to Hyuk: "Wening is begging for your permission to join the fray and hunt DR Bio-Pharma's symbionts. His primordial parasite is screaming for evolution."
Since Deep Blue Biopharma didn't conduct symbiont evolution research, Wening had nothing to do other than serve as a genetic donor for sample extractions.
He was starving for battle.
"Then grant his wish."
Hyuk gave her approval.
Wening held very little value to her now; whether he lived or died was entirely irrelevant. If he wanted to throw himself into the slaughter, then she would let him. Besides, Hyuk was somewhat curious to see if he was capable of evolving.
"Understood."
Wening's raw power wasn't exceptionally high; pitted against Gluttony, he would have been instantly obliterated. But if his opponents were merely DR Bio-Pharma's current crop of elite symbionts,
He stood a decent chance of survival.
Wening's maximum output capped at 13 tons.
Deep Blue Biopharma's scientific team had only been assembled for a year. Such a short timeframe was clearly insufficient to yield any breakthroughs that could trigger Wening's evolution.
Consequently, his strength had stagnated over the past twelve months. This lack of progress was precisely why he was so desperate to force his growth through active combat—and DR Bio-Pharma's symbionts were the perfect targets.
...
Elsewhere,
Shin Habe had been on the run ever since escaping DR Bio-Pharma's facility. Although he had successfully cut the internal transponder out of his body, the corporation's pursuit remained relentless.
Their symbiont agents tracked his scent like bloodhounds, nipping at his heels at every turn and forcing him to stay deep in the shadows, constantly moving.
The secrets of the symbionts had to remain buried. DR Bio-Pharma could not risk having their horrific, anti-human experiments exposed to the public, which fueled their obsession with reclaiming Shin Habe.
By a stroke of sheer coincidence,
Shin Habe eventually learned that Dr. Pinu was researching the mystery of the super-ancient civilization. After a brief encounter, he managed to secure a temporary spot on Dr. Pinu's research team.
He posed as an extreme sports enthusiast and wilderness explorer.
To locate these super-ancient ruins, Dr. Pinu and Ch'en often had to trek through treacherous mountain ranges and uncharted wilderness. They desperately needed an experienced survivalist like him.
Among the numerous research groups sponsored by Deep Blue Biopharma, Dr. Pinu's was undeniably the most competent. Perhaps aided by a stroke of good luck, his team was the first to successfully discover another super-ancient ruin.
Having traveled over a thousand kilometers, climbing jagged peaks and crossing deep valleys, they finally discovered a crumbling site at the base of a remote mountain, nearly completely reclaimed by time.
"Incredible!"
"This is absolutely it!!"
Deep within the ruins, Dr. Pinu uncovered a pristine stone tablet. Inscribed upon its surface was the distinct, runic script of the super-ancient civilization.
"Is it real?!"
Ch'en was beside herself with joy, leaning in close to study the ancient characters. If this was indeed authentic, it was a monumental breakthrough.
They were about to rewrite the entire history of human civilization.
Dr. Pinu quickly snapped photos of the characters on the tablet, his gray beard trembling with sheer excitement. "There is absolutely no doubt about it—this is the script of the super-ancient civilization!"
Shin Habe asked, "Doctor, what does the inscription say?"
The question proved to be a difficult one for the academic.
"I currently understand far too few of these ancient symbols to perform a proper translation. I'll have to study them thoroughly, and that's going to take some time."
Ch'en's spirit was high as she carefully surveyed the ruins. Soon, she spotted something. "Mr. Shin, can you give me a hand over here?"
"Sure."
A moment later,
The group cleared away a heavy pile of collapsed masonry, revealing a dark, cavernous hollow beneath the ruins. Ch'en began reaching for her climbing gear.
"No need."
Shin Habe spoke calmly, then leaped straight down into the abyss.
"Huh?"
Ch'en was dumbfounded.
Before she could utter a word of warning, Shin Habe had already landed steadily on the cavern floor. He didn't even bother switching on his flashlight; his enhanced symbiont vision allowed him to see clearly in the dim light filtering down from the entrance.
Crumbled pillars.
Carved rock walls.
And...
Three insect-like eggs.
Inside the semi-transparent shells, he could faintly make out the larvae of three primordial parasites. Shin Habe's brow furrowed. The nightmare that had plagued both him and Shintaka had started with this very creature.
If DR Bio-Pharma hadn't salvaged that first egg twenty years ago, neither of them would have ever become symbionts, and they wouldn't have been forced into such a tragic, bloody fate.
Dr. Pinu peered over the edge of the opening, shining his flashlight down. "Habe, what's the situation down there?"
Shin Habe replied honestly: "There are some ruined structures—looks like an altar or something similar. There are also murals and rock carvings, and... three insect eggs."
"Insect eggs?"
Dr. Pinu blinked in surprise.
Shin Habe added, "Three live eggs."
"..."
The discovery inside the cavern threw Dr. Pinu into an even greater state of excitement. The sheer density of the murals and carvings held unfathomable academic value. He quickly descended into the hollow, lit up the chamber, and began his study.
"These murals seem to record a portion of the super-ancient civilization's history, including the evolution of their written language! With these, we will achieve a massive breakthrough in translating their script!"
"Ch'en, lower my tools! I need to copy down every shred of information on these murals!"
"Alright, Doctor, give me a second."
Ch'en supported from above, lowering a gear bag as soon as she heard Dr. Pinu's call. Below, Dr. Pinu immediately threw himself into his work.
To the side,
Shin Habe carefully placed the three insect eggs into a water bottle padded with soft cloth. He felt deeply conflicted, unsure whether he should destroy them then and there.
His own life had been completely ruined by the primordial parasite, and in his eyes, these creatures brought nothing but calamity. Yet, even if he crushed these three eggs, what difference would it make?
His tragic destiny was already set in stone, and DR Bio-Pharma would still go on to clone countless more parasites, breeding more symbionts to fuel their grand evolutionary initiative.
Dr. Pinu called out a warning: "Be careful, Habe! Those three eggs in your hands are likely biological specimens left behind by the super-ancient civilization. Their scientific value is immeasurable—make sure they don't break!"
"Got it."
Shin Habe gave a distracted reply. Suddenly, his eyes snapped toward the cavern's entrance. Setting the bottle down, he moved like lightning, executing a single powerful leap that carried him straight out of the seven-meter-deep hollow.
Standing at the opening, Ch'en gasped as Shin Habe shot out of the ground, landing right in front of her. "What's wrong? Do you need another tool..."
"Miss Ch'en, you need to hide immediately! We won't have the luxury of keeping you safe in a moment!"
"What?"
Ch'en blinked in confusion.
Suddenly, heavy, synchronized footsteps thudded through the brush.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three cold-eyed men emerged from three different directions, effectively boxing Shin Habe in. Ch'en took a couple of cautious steps back, her heart racing.
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
Sure enough,
One of the men locked his icy gaze on Shin Habe, his voice flat and chilling: "Falcon, come back with us quietly. You can't run anymore. Don't make a useless struggle."
The DR Bio-Pharma recovery unit.
Shin Habe instinctively shielded Ch'en behind his back. Surrendering quietly was out of the question. He watched their every micro-movement with razor-sharp focus.
Gritting his teeth, he spat: "You guys are a bunch of relentless, rabid dogs."
Ch'en was entirely in the dark.
"Habe, what on earth is going on?"
Shin Habe didn't have the luxury of explaining. As his gaze locked with the cold eyes of his pursuers, an intense bloodlust began to swirl, suffocating the air between them.
Then,
Heavy, jagged bony exoskeletons rapidly encased the bodies of both Shin Habe and the three pursuers. In a fraction of a second, they transformed into four bloodthirsty, humanoid monsters.
The recovery unit didn't care about the significance of the ruins. Their orders were absolute: bring Falcon back, dead or alive.
Ch'en, being a witness, was as good as dead if they got to her. Realizing there was no room for hesitation, Shin Habe shoved her into the open cavern just as the three lunged.
The drop was deep. Falling down there would undoubtedly result in injury, and with bad luck, she might even break her neck or crack her skull. But he had no other option.
Shin Habe simply could not afford to split his focus to protect her. He could only pray for her luck.
"Ahhh!"
Ch'en's terrified scream echoed from deep within the hollow.
BANG!
Simultaneously, a deafening crash shattered the air as the monsters collided. Hard bony armor slammed against armor, producing dull, heavy thuds. They traded bone-shattering blows at blinding speeds, their fists tearing through the air to deliver raw, crushing impacts directly onto their targets.
Shin Habe's raw power was second only to Gluttony's. Though these symbionts were all elites, he was highly confident he could overpower any of them in a one-on-one duel. Unfortunately, there were no "what-ifs" in a real fight.
A three-on-one advantage was simply too overwhelming. Shin Habe lacked Gluttony's ridiculous stamina, and under the crushing weight of their coordinated assault, he was quickly battered into a corner, his life hanging by a thread.
At the absolute critical threshold,
A towering silhouette entered the fray like a thunderbolt. A massive symbiont materialized out of the wilderness, ramming into one of the DR Bio-Pharma agents and sending him flying.
Capitalizing on the element of surprise, the massive symbiont grabbed the head of the airborne agent and slammed it down onto the ground with a furious, blood-curdling roar.
CRASH!
The skull imploded.
One of DR Bio-Pharma's recovery agents was dead. Only two remained.
The tide of battle had turned in an instant.
The remaining two soldiers fell back in sheer panic, attempting to put some distance between them. Shin Habe wasn't about to waste such a golden opportunity. Without wasting a second to ask who his savior was, he lunged straight at one of the retreating agents.
It was now a two-on-two.
Ten minutes later.
Three lifeless bodies littered the ground. DR Bio-Pharma's recovery squad had been completely wiped out. Shin Habe, clutching his wounds, stood in silent tension as he locked eyes with the giant symbiont.
The massive symbiont was the first to deactivate his bony exoskeleton, revealing his true face. "I am Wening," he introduced himself.
"Shin Habe."
"I know."
Wening nodded; he was already well aware of Shin Habe's identity. Seeing no hostility from the stranger, Shin Habe also deactivated his combat state.
After patching themselves up, Shin Habe quickly evacuated Dr. Pinu and Ch'en from the area. The ruins could wait; his primary concern was that a second wave of DR Bio-Pharma recovery agents might arrive at any moment.
...
A few days later.
Her arm wrapped in a thick bandage, Ch'en stared at the three insect eggs sitting on the table. "So... what you're saying is, you and Habe are both hosts to these primordial parasites, which is why you can transform into those monstrous forms?"
Shin Habe nodded.
"Yes."
Dr. Pinu followed up, summarizing the facts: "The parasites inside these eggs originate from a super-ancient civilization. DR Bio-Pharma once uncovered an ancient ruin and salvaged a primordial parasite. Using advanced biotechnology, they bred symbionts like you. But you despised the senseless slaughter, so you broke free from their grasp?"
"Exactly."
The reality was absolutely staggering. Dr. Pinu and Ch'en found it hard to believe that such biological anomalies existed, that a super-ancient civilization could have possessed primordial parasites and symbionts of this caliber.
Ch'en turned her gaze toward Wening. "Habe is an escaped symbiont from DR Bio-Pharma. But what about you, sir? Are you also a rogue symbiont who broke out of their facilities?"
"No," Wening said, offering no attempts at concealment. "I work for Deep Blue Biopharma. Unlike Shin Habe and the others, the parasite nesting inside me is a wild primordial specimen, not a clone."
"A wild primordial specimen?"
"Deep Blue Biopharma!"
Shin Habe and Ch'en locked onto completely different parts of his statement. Shin Habe was stunned, having never encountered a host of a wild primordial parasite before, while Ch'en had a sudden realization.
"Doctor, isn't Deep Blue Biopharma the very company funding our research?!"
Shin Habe's guard immediately went up. He questioned Wening: "Is Deep Blue Biopharma also researching symbionts, chasing after this so-called ultimate evolution?"
Unexpectedly,
Wening's response caught Shin Habe completely off guard.
"Unfortunately, my boss seems to have zero interest in the ultimate evolution of symbionts. Honestly, our deadly clashes are nothing more than child's play, minor squabbles, to her."
Hyuk only occasionally glanced at DR Bio-Pharma's progress when she was bored. Ever since her brief encounter with Gluttony, she had completely lost interest in fighting DR Bio-Pharma's symbionts.
They were simply too weak.
"Child's play?" Shin Habe echoed, dazed. He pressed further: "Then what is your objective? Why did you save me?"
"We are under no obligation to disclose our goals to you. As for why I helped you, it was purely my personal choice. As the host of a primordial parasite, I crave combat and slaughter. I want to evolve into a higher form of life."
With that,
Wening picked up the container holding the three insect eggs. "Dr. Pinu, as the financial benefactor of this project, Deep Blue Biopharma will be taking these three eggs."
"Uh... sure, take them."
Dr. Pinu had no reason to refuse. He was a historian and archaeologist; paleobiology was far outside his expertise. He had absolutely no use for those eggs.
Shin Habe initially wanted to intervene, but he quickly realized he had absolutely no grounds to do so. This entire project was funded by Deep Blue Biopharma, and Wening was practically an ally anyway.
Let them do what they wanted; what could he alone possibly stop anyway? With that thought, Shin Habe simply let Wening take the eggs.
At the very least, Deep Blue Biopharma wasn't an enemy for now.
Perhaps due to the nature of his wild primordial parasite, Wening's raw power was climbing rapidly. He had eliminated two of DR Bio-Pharma's elite symbionts and devoured their cloned parasites.
His physical strength had leaped from 13 tons to 16 tons.
This provided him with immense satisfaction, fueling an even deeper craving for battle and slaughter.
...
Inside Cultivation Facility No. 2.
Hyuk's high-speed movement generated a devastating kinetic impact, crushing a massive swarm of primordial parasites within the incubation chamber in the blink of an eye. With her kill count constantly rising, Hyuk's raw power continued to scale at an explosive rate.
[Infinite Overload · Potential Unleashed]
[Strength: 87.42 million tons ⬆]
——
[Infinite Overload · Potential Unleashed]
[Strength: 87.5 million tons ⬆]
One hundred thousand primordial parasites.
It took Hyuk less than ten seconds to completely obliterate them all.
Type Zero's voice echoed through the chamber: "Wening brought back three wild primordial specimens. This might lead to a breakthrough in our parasite-related research."
Hyuk asked, "Do you want to breed symbionts?"
"That's not our research direction. My team is currently trying to use high-energy radiation to unlock the latent power dormant within the parasite's genome. Compared to cloned specimens, these wild ones seem to possess significantly greater potential."
Type Zero didn't have any pressing need to conduct these experiments; it was merely a pastime to help her kill time. Since she had these resources at her disposal, letting them go to waste would be a shame.
"On another note, several of DR Bio-Pharma's symbionts are on the verge of evolving. Do you want to go and indulge your wicked streak?"
"Forget it."
Hyuk dismissed the idea. "Even after a single evolution, they'll only reach Gluttony's level at best. I'll wait until they've evolved a few more times. I have absolutely zero interest in facing such weak opponents."
"How is the virus research coming along?"
"It's highly challenging. The research team is currently tackling the core obstacles. Based on my projections, if we're lucky, we should have a prototype ready for efficacy testing in a year."
"And if we're unlucky?"
"Then we're looking at a minimum of two years."
Type Zero was aggressively ramping up funding for the anti-parasite virus program, while simultaneously recruiting more biologists to join Deep Blue Biopharma's research team.
This would significantly accelerate their timeline.
Inside the incubation chamber, automated smart droids began sweeping up the crushed remains and fluids of the primordial parasites. Once collected, the organic waste was channeled to the decomposition chamber to be processed back into nutrient fluid.
Inside the hive chamber, this nutrient fluid was continuously funneled to feed the newly hatched parasite larvae. In just twenty hours, they would mature to the size of a fist.
A surveillance video feed popped up on her phone.
Type Zero said, "Let me show you something interesting. I've discovered a new wild primordial parasite host across the ocean, along with an even stranger novelty."
Hyuk watched the combat footage. One of the humanoid monsters was clearly a parasite host, but the other creature's morphology was vastly different.
It was far more savage.
And significantly larger.
"That one isn't a parasite host?"
"No. It seems to be a different type of symbiont entirely. Based on my observations, it actively hunts primordial parasites and possesses a base combat output that far outclasses them."
It was likely another sub-species hailing from the super-ancient civilization.
Hyuk left the matter for Type Zero to handle as she saw fit. With more breeding facilities sequentially coming online, her own power growth was completely guaranteed. She had no need to waste effort investigating other ancient races.
...
Inside DR Bio-Pharma.
Satoru couldn't care less about the deaths of the three recovery agents. Compared to Shin Habe's escape, his attention was almost entirely consumed by the upcoming evolution of his symbiont test subjects.
The assistant reported: "The massive volume of combat has triggered signs of evolution in several subjects. Based on our observations, five symbionts are on the verge of completing their first evolution."
Five of them.
This was a phenomenal achievement.
Last time, there had been only Gluttony.
Satoru's face lit up with satisfaction. "Over the past year, we have raised a massive number of symbionts, pouring in more than ten times the resources of previous years. Five is just the starting line."
The assistant nodded.
"According to the researchers' projections, the total number of subjects successfully completing this initial evolution will settle between ten and fifteen. This volume is more than sufficient to transition into phase two of the initiative."
Phase two would involve forcing these once-evolved symbionts to slaughter each other and devour one another's primordial parasites, thereby unlocking a second tier of evolution.
Step by step, until they reached the ultimate form.
Having concluded the progress report, the assistant moved to another matter, handing Satoru a separate file. "Boss, this company has spent the past year aggressively sponsoring multiple research projects centered on the super-ancient civilization. It might be worth keeping an eye on them."
Satoru flipped the file open to scan the contents.
"Deep Blue Biopharma?"
He had heard of the firm, but compared to DR Bio-Pharma, they were insignificantly small. Their operations had no overlap, and they weren't competitors in the market.
The assistant explained, "The company was acquired last year, resulting in a massive restructuring of equity. According to reliable intelligence, Deep Blue Biopharma is no longer controlled by its board of directors, but by a single, highly mysterious individual. Because this person's identity is heavily guarded, I haven't been able to trace them yet."
Satoru tapped his fingers gently against the desk.
He asked, "Do they have any active research projects or documented breakthroughs regarding primordial parasites or symbionts?"
"We don't know yet."
"Then dig deeper."
"Understood."
Satoru refused to tolerate any potential rivals to their initiative. The right to breed the ultimate lifeform belonged exclusively to DR Bio-Pharma; any other entity attempting to step into their territory had to be systematically eliminated.
A biopharmaceutical corporation suddenly taking a deep, costly interest in archaeology was highly suspicious indeed.