The medical instructor decided that, to save the tribe, the sick child must be sacrificed. He told them to carry the child far away from the village. He also assigned one of Rahul's death warriors to keep watch over the tribe and report any movement immediately.
The death warrior watched closely. He could not fully understand what was happening inside the tribe, but he could see strange movement and guessed that Rahul's plan might have worked. He returned to Rahul and reported, "My lord, there is a lot of movement in the tribe. I don't know exactly why, but something is happening."
Rahul was immediately pleased and suspected the death warrior had infected them. He ordered the warrior to continue watching the tribe and to follow any movements to see where they went. If bodies were dumped, he must recover them and keep them. Rahul also told him to wrap the heads and bodies carefully so they would not become infected. Finally, Rahul supplied the warrior with materials for containment and decontamination to prevent the infection spreading .
Over the next few days, the death warrior continued his vigil over the tribe. He moved silently, observing from a distance, noting every unusual movement. Children and adults alike acted strangely—some isolated themselves, others wandered near the edges of the village. The warrior could not see the exact cause, but he could tell that Rahul's plan was spreading.
Whenever someone left the village with a body or object, he carefully followed at a safe distance, ensuring no one could trace him. Every time, he recovered what was necessary, wrapping heads and bodies as instructed to prevent contamination. He also used the materials Rahul had provided to contain any potential spread of the infection.
From his vantage point, Rahul watched everything unfold. He was satisfied—the experiment was progressing exactly as he had planned. The bugs were moving through the tribe, and he could see the chain of infection starting to take hold.
Rahul now began planning his next steps. Once the initial infection had run its course, he would need to observe how the bugs evolved, how quickly they reproduced, and how effectively they could survive outside a host. With the death warrior providing constant updates, he had the information he needed to refine his experiments and prepare for the next phase of his research.He noted every detail—the time it took for the eggs to hatch, how quickly the bugs consumed biomass, and how resilient they were outside the host.
Even as the tribe scrambled in terror, Rahul felt an intense thrill. This was more than science—it was creation. A living virus, a perfect predator, spreading invisibly through an entire community. And from his safe distance, he could watch, calculate, and plan the next steps for his ever-evolving experiment.
By dawn, the village was quiet, but the chaos had already begun to ripple outward. The bugs were no longer confined—they had learned to survive in the water, to move through the smallest cracks, to wait for their next host. Rahul smiled. The first stage of his grand experiment had succeeded.
The tribe was completely devastated. In the last seven days, almost 120 people had died from the virus. The worms, able to move more effectively in large numbers, had wreaked havoc on the community. Finally, the surviving members of the tribe decided to abandon the infected and flee, moving themselves far away from the village.
The death warrior observed everything carefully. He watched as the tribe carried the sick, abandoned some of the weakest or most obviously infected, and tried to escape as quickly as possible. By the end, only 500 people out of the original thousand remained. The survivors were exhausted, frightened, and grief-stricken.
Rahul observed their movement from his hidden vantage. He decided not to follow them—he already had enough samples for his research. These 500 people would provide him with even better subjects.
Using the facilities he had set up, he continued contaminating and experimenting, carefully monitoring the spread and behavior of his specimens. The experiment was progressing exactly as he had planned.
Day 1: Observation and Initial Spread
Rahul focused on the leftover infected—the ones too sick or weak to move with the fleeing survivors. He carefully observed their symptoms: coughing, stomach swelling, and unusual lethargy. The bugs had already adapted slightly to survive outside the host, but inside, they were active, reproducing, and exploring the host's body.
Rahul began subtle experiments: he slightly altered the temperature and oxygen levels in the area surrounding the hosts, noting how the worms reacted. Some moved faster, some clustered in certain areas. He marked these reactions for further refinement.
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Day 2: Reproduction Testing
The bugs were ready for the next phase. Rahul fed the infected small amounts of nutrient-rich liquids to test how this affected reproduction. Within hours, he observed eggs forming faster than before. Some hosts, previously producing 100 eggs per day, now generated 150.
The bugs also began experimenting with spreading between hosts—small insects leaving the original host to find others in the area. Rahul recorded the speed and efficiency, noting which specimens had the highest survival rates.
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Day 3: Mobility and Aggression Enhancement
Rahul introduced obstacles within the confined observation space—physical barriers and simulated host movements—to test mobility. The bugs adapted quickly, wriggling through narrow spaces and even coordinating movement inside the hosts.
He also observed that some bugs had begun releasing mild toxins into the host's blood to suppress the immune response. By the end of the day, he had identified the specimens that were not only mobile but also capable of weakening hosts subtly, ensuring longer survival.
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Day 4: Survival Outside the Host
Rahul exposed a few bugs to open air for several hours to test endurance. Most died within an hour, but a few survived. He isolated these hardy specimens for breeding. He also began manipulating humidity, temperature, and air composition, forcing the bugs to adapt faster.
By the night, the bugs had developed resistance to longer exposure outside hosts, lasting up to two hours without dying. This was a major breakthrough—now the bugs could spread in water or contaminated surfaces more efficiently.
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Day 5: Observation of Host Interaction
The infected survivors began showing advanced symptoms. Their stomachs bulged unnaturally, some vomited blood containing eggs, and a few convulsed violently. Rahul observed without interference, noting which bugs survived outside the host after vomiting, which spread to other parts of the body, and which eggs hatched faster.
He also tested selective "feeding" inside the host, giving them nutrients or restricting them, to see how it affected reproduction and survival. By controlling the host's internal environment, Rahul could guide the bugs toward faster growth and increased aggression.
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Day 6: Controlled Mutation
Rahul began controlled mutation trials. He exposed certain bugs to heat, cold, and low oxygen, forcing adaptation. Only the strongest survived. These were isolated and paired with other survivors to see if their progeny inherited these traits.
Some mutations increased egg production, some improved survival outside the host, and a few even showed signs of developing rudimentary appendages for mobility—a potential step toward independent movement.
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Day 7: Consolidation and Analysis
By the end of the week, the leftover infected tribe had become a perfect experimental field. The bugs had evolved rapidly:
Survival outside hosts: from 10 minutes to over 2 hours
Reproduction: up to 150 eggs per day per host
Mobility: ability to wriggle through narrow gaps and move within the host
Host suppression: toxins reduced immune reactions, prolonging host life for experimentation
Rahul carefully documented every observation. From afar, he could see the infected survivors struggling, their bodies transformed into living incubators. Each movement, each reaction, fed his research. The leftover tribe was no longer just survivors—they were a self-sustaining ecosystem for his creation, perfectly suited to accelerate the evolution of the bugs.
Rahul smiled. This was just the beginning. Over the coming weeks, he planned to introduce new variables—nutrients, environmental stressors, and selective breeding among the bugs—to push them toward even greater adaptability and lethality.