So, what does the gene Origin Rewriter do?
The network pulsed slowly as if it were choosing. Then it responded.
[ Sovereign Slot: U ]
[ Gene: Origin Rewriter ]
[ Classification: Primordial ]
[ Ability:]
- Rearrange acquired genes
- Integrate compatible genetic structures
- Replace existing genes
[ ??? ]
[ Limitation: ]
- Output is restricted by current body structure
- Excess modification may cause instability
- Incompatible genes may result in structural collapse
[ ??? ]
That's it? It sounds powerful but with those limitations, it's basically useless right now. I can't even move properly, and it's already talking about "genetic restructuring"
Sigh…
Fine. What about the perception gene?
Light flickered across the network and words formed.
[ Gene Slot: P ]
[ Gene: Perception ]
[ Classification: Normal ]
[ Ability: ]
- Sense environment
- Detect movement
- Read vibration
- Awareness beyond direct sight
[ Limitation: ]
- Range depends on organism development
- Information is incomplete and distorted
- Excess input may overwhelm cognition
- Environmental disturbance affects accuracy
Compared to the first one this perception gene felt real. Usable at the moment, not overwhelming just enough to keep me alive.
Sigh…this is really not going well for me. One skill can't be used, the other usable but not enough to save me from the cyclops. But let's not lose hope. I could still plan and there is still time before I hatch. My thoughts steadied. If I want to survive,I need to plan.
First, I need more than just perception. Then I need to understand this system better. Which gene slots are the easiest to unlock and how do I unlock them?
Symbols appeared and formed.
[Nearby Slots Detected]
[ A — Adaptation (Dormant) ]
Condition: Survive environmental stress
[ F — Feeding (Dormant) ]
Condition: Consume organic matter
[ D — Defense (Dormant) ]
Condition: Develop outer structure
Okay…three unlockable slot. I will have them all.
Gene A will be acquired if I survive my current predicament. I mean, this is environmental stress, right?
Gene D should come when I develop my shell, and Gene F when I finally start feeding.
I have a direction now, but that doesn't solve the main problem. Now, how do I escape the cyclops? Anyway, where is it?
I closed my eyes and focused. The world shifted, not through sight but through feeling. Okay I was attached to something rough at the edge of a slope, coral?
In front I can see the one eyed fish hiding inside a rock cave. On my right it seems deep. A drop into darker waters. To my left, a stretch of rocky seabed.
Something moved. A shape—gentle, slow—a seahorse? It's huge, almost two feet long. Suddenly, a shadow cut across it. Fast. Too fast. The seahorse didn't even have time to react. One moment it was there, the next only its tail remained.
My body froze. I felt something staring at me, then my head throbbed. I snapped my eyes open, gasping. Did it actually sense me? Why is everything here so dangerous!? I'm just a snail. I haven't even hatched yet! I can't even look around without something trying to kill me..
No, I can't fight it. I can't outrun it either, so I won't. I'll let it eat, just not me. My dear brother and sister, this is survival of the fittest. Don't worry, I won't let your sacrifice be in vain. I'll survive and spread our species somewhere far from here. So you may all rest in peace when the time comes.
My thoughts sharpened. I can feel it—we are about to hatch. The membrane around me had thinned enough to tear and escape. The cluster of eggs tightly packed and layered around me started to squirm.
When they hatch, they'll break forward, toward the open water, toward death. Then I'll go the opposite way. I won't break to the front; I'll break to the back, slip through the unhatched eggs, and move deeper into the cluster.
Stay where nothing moves, where nothing draws attention.
My body tensed, waiting. The moment they hatch…I move. Let the swarm become bait and let the predator choose the obvious target. While I…disappear.
I must get the timing right. I closed my eyes again and observed the cyclops. It's awake now, its feelers moving slowly and deliberately on the ground, as if sensing. So that's how it was. It wasn't seeing. It was feeling the moment when the hatchlings gathered, waiting for the perfect time. Then it strikes.
The ground... how is it sensing through the ground? Anyway, not the time to think about that. I need to escape here first.
It started with a tremor. The eggs bumped and squirmed, trying to tear the membrane. It was small at first, then it spread. The cluster tightened, bodies pressing, shifting, slowly moving to the front.
A thin crack ran across the membrane in front of me. Then another, followed by another, until everything broke. The eggs burst open. One—Two—Ten—Dozens. Soft bodies spilled forward, writhing, pushing, instinct driving them toward open water. Toward the front, toward death.
NOW! I moved, but not forward, I went backward. I pushed my body against the back membrane; it was thinner and weaker, so it ripped. A small opening appeared, just enough to force myself through as cold water and pressure crashed over me.
Now I felt the reality of my situation. My new life. This is real. I really became a snail, and a hatchling at that.
The cluster behind me gathered and moved as I slipped deeper into unhatched eggs. I tried to move as quietly and swiftly as possible. Then it came, a violent disturbance surged forward as its massive tail propelled it out of the cave
The ground trembled as it went out of the cave, propelling its tail. The swarm ahead was gone in an instant. No struggle. No escape. Just… gone. My perception screamed. The presence was massive, and it was right there, staring at the eggs as it finished devouring the newly hatched.
I froze. Not a single movement. Not a single twitch. Even my thoughts felt loud. This is so nerve-racking. This is not what I signed up for, good Lord!
The feelers dragged across the seabed, slow…searching. Closer…and closer. They passed just above me. I didn't move. I couldn't. Seconds…minutes stretched into something unbearable. Then—it stopped and just stared at the cluster of eggs attached to the coral.
I panicked, my heart started racing and seemed to be louder than anything else. Damn it! Why isn't it moving away? Did it know that I escaped? That is so f***ing overpowered! How am I supposed to survive here? Why doesn't life ever go my way!?