Infinite Chimera Creation

After a long pause, Hongye seemed to finally have an answer. She lowered her hand from her forehead, revealing her flushed forehead, and said slowly,

"I think the process of humans becoming gastrulators was that the gastrulator virus stimulated the human genes, causing a violent, systemic gene mutation. The cells throughout the body mutated at a rate hundreds of times faster than cancer, and the directional mutation turned them into gastrulators."

Yuan Yuan put down his teacup, raised an eyebrow, and a mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Hongye, you're a genius! You thought for six minutes and forty-three seconds and gave me this answer? Apart from adding a flawed sentence, 'All the cells in the body mutate at a rate hundreds of times faster than cancer,' you recited the whole thing from an elementary school primer! Are you trying to get me to praise your memory, which is like that of a first-grader?"

Hongye blushed instantly, completely bewildered as to how Yuan Yuan knew the contents of a primary school primer. She could only manage a weak, forced explanation.

"Yes, but I feel that my own summary can't possibly be better or more accurate than what's in the book."

Yuan Yuan tapped the table, looked at Hongye with a serious expression, and said in a deep voice,

"Listen, I'm asking you to answer a question, not to give the correct answer, but to give your own answer. Now, think about it again, don't worry about whether the answer is correct, just bravely express your own thoughts."

The little girl, encouraged by Yuan Yuan, immediately showed a touched expression, clenched her little fists, and began to think excitedly.

Another cup of tea's time passed, and the girl looked up, her excitement still lingering. She spoke with a rather impassioned air,

"I just can't believe that human genes could mutate into the genes of animals like spiders and scorpions. It's too incredible. I think it's possible that the genes of gastrulators themselves contain genes from various animals. When the gastrulators reach a certain concentration, these genes replace the original human genes, causing humans to become gastrulators."

"madness!"

Instantly, the little girl's expression froze. She then remembered that Yuan Yuan had only told her to bravely express her thoughts and not to be afraid of making mistakes, but he hadn't said that he wouldn't ridicule her when she made a mistake.

P.S., thanks to the friend whose name is a number and to [Happy Garden] for the monthly pass. Please consider giving me a reward and more monthly passes!

Looking back at revising the first twenty chapters, I realized how toxic they were, and how troublesome they were!

Chapter Fifty-Two: Not at all like it

"I ask you, what are the characteristics of a primary gastrulator?"

Yuan Yuan raised his eyebrows, looked at Hongye's face which was flushed red, and asked in a cold voice.

Although Hongye was unfamiliar with things like genes and mutations, she had already memorized knowledge of the common characteristics and unique weaknesses of Gastrea during her training, so she answered without hesitation.

"Level 1 Gastrea are Gastrea that have recently evolved from humans. Their overall appearance is mostly similar to some kind of insect. They only develop the characteristics of a second animal when they evolve into Level 2. Under normal circumstances, Level 1 Gastrea will not exceed twelve meters in length and will not be less than four meters in length. They do not possess any special abilities. They are easy to defeat."

Nodding, Yuan Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he continued to ask,

"Use your empty head to think carefully, and then tell me, how can humans, who are generally under two meters tall, transform into Gastrea, which are at least four meters tall and at most twelve meters tall, in a few seconds using the method you described? Where does the energy consumed in the process come from?"

Hongye was stunned. Before Yuan Yuan brought it up, she had never considered this issue. It seemed that both the training of trainers and the introductory reading materials deliberately downplayed this problem, making people think that it was normal for humans to become Gastrea, and that even if 120 pounds of flesh turned into three tons during the transformation, it was nothing to worry about.

But if you really think about it seriously, this transformation is simply unbelievable, full of doubts. Why can cell division be so fast? Where does the energy consumed during the transformation come from? And…

"Why is it that, even though they are both physical beings, humans become vulnerable to holmium metal after transforming into Gastrea?"

"Finally you've learned to apply what you've learned to other situations? You're so easily controlled by those in power. Even a gorilla is smarter than you. At least a gorilla knows that a 15-centimeter banana can't grow to 5 meters in 3 seconds."

Hongye opened her mouth, but couldn't think of anything to refute Yuan Yuan. Indeed, even a gorilla would notice something was wrong after seeing a banana grow bigger. However, humans, because of their fear of Gastrea and the reasoning that "humans can become monsters, so what's wrong with growing a little bigger?", tacitly ignored this illogical phenomenon.

Asking questions when you don't understand is a good habit. If you don't ask questions when you don't understand, you'll get cornered and beaten by a teacher with a bad temper. Knowing this well, Hongye decisively asked her questions.

"You must know the answer to this question, sir. Please tell me and enlighten me."

Yuan Yuan raised an eyebrow, refrained from further mockery, and began to explain.

"Because what you call Gastrea virus is not a virus at all, but a fragment of life information from an ancient, high-magic creature. This life information is domineering and contains a high concentration of magic. As long as an ordinary organism has the bloodline of this ancient creature in its body, even if it is so faint that it cannot be purified even after a thousand years, it will be forcibly transformed into an animal with the characteristics of this life part."

Yuan Yuan spoke calmly about ancient times and magic, things that people would consider delusional. Hongye listened calmly, showing no sign of excessive surprise.

Although magic doesn't exist in the common sense of people in this world, after witnessing a girl who can walk out of flames and a scorpion-tailed maid who can make everything automatically return to its place with a wave of her hand, she has obviously already accepted the existence of magic.

Seeing that Hongye didn't react with any surprise or exaggerated reaction, Yuan Yuan nodded in satisfaction and continued,

"The vast amount of magic carried in these fragments of life information is released when humans transform into Gastrea, making up for the lack of energy and enabling the body to expand instantly. At the same time, the human soul and body change in sync, losing the rationality and humanity they had when they were human. Holmium metal can effectively harm Gastrea because of its naturally contained [magic-breaking] properties."

The girl first looked enlightened, then looked puzzled, and hesitantly raised her hand, asking in a timid voice.

"Well, I understand the process of humans evolving into Gastrea, but sir, what does that have to do with the question I asked?"

"It's just to correct your misconception. The transformation of humans into Gastrea that you previously understood was caused by a virus, which is only a physical change. But as I explained earlier, this transformation actually involves the transformation of the soul as well."

Contrary to the girl's expectations, Yuan Yuan calmly took a sip of tea and then decisively explained, leaving Hongye puzzled.

"And the key to solving the problem you raised lies in the transformation of the soul."

These words instantly snapped Hongye back to her senses. She perked up, her eyes sparkling as she stared at Yuan Yuan, waiting for him to provide a solution.

However, under Hongye's eager gaze, Yuan Yuan had no intention of continuing the conversation and calmly began to drink his tea.

"Um? Lord Yuan Yuan? Could you tell me about the solution you mentioned?"

Yuan Yuan glanced calmly at Hongye, then said nothing. Under Hongye's gaze, he continued to calmly sip his tea until he finished the cup, at which point he spoke softly.

"I'll tell you everything. What's the point of having a brain? Figure out the solution yourself."

"Eh~!"

Hongye let out a surprised cry, but dared not ask Yuan Yuan any further questions, and could only lower her head and ponder.

Lord Yuan Yuan specifically mentioned magic and the soul, and emphasized that the soul is the key to solving the problem. Does that mean we should start by considering the soul? But I've never seen a soul before, and I don't know what it is. How am I supposed to think about it?

"By holding this stone, you can see and touch the soul."

As Hongye realized she had never seen a soul, Yuan Yuan's calm voice rang out, and at the same time, a blue stone gently struck her forehead.

Hongye rubbed her forehead, squatted down, picked up the stone that had fallen to the ground, and was about to look up at the soul when she subconsciously punched the area in front of her.

Because in front of her, a pink-haired man was squatting down, looking at her with a dangerous smile. The strong sense of crisis made Hongye attack with all her might without any hesitation, and she threw out a fist crackling with electricity.

However, Hongye's all-out attack had no effect; the pink-haired man casually raised one hand and caught her attack.

Holding Momiji's fist, Szayelaporro slowly stood up, and Momiji, due to the height difference between them, was also suspended in mid-air as Szayelaporro stood up.

"Lord Yuan Yuan, is this your disciple? He doesn't seem to have any of your calm demeanor at all; he's more like a muscle mass whose body moves faster than its brain."

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Chapter Fifty-Three Arrangements

"Saar, you'd better not say that in front of the chimeras created by Lord Yuan Yuan, otherwise those muscle blocks you're talking about will definitely not let you off easily."

At first glance, it gave off an innocent impression, but upon closer listening, a rather alluring female voice rang out. Hongye, suspended in mid-air, turned her head to look in the direction from which the voice came. As for the pink-haired man with the dangerous smile? Seeing his respectful attitude towards Yuan Yuan, Hongye knew that this person posed no danger to her.

Hongye didn't believe that someone as powerful as Yuan Yuan would have anyone under his command who would dare to disregard his will and attack his disciple in front of him.

When Hongye saw the woman who had spoken earlier, her pupils contracted involuntarily. There stood a woman wearing a pure white lab coat, without any ornaments, with long purple hair reaching her waist, and an elegant smile on her lips.

Although the woman's smile was elegant, fear filled Hongye's eyes as she looked at her.

Looking at this woman, Hongye felt as if she were seeing a giant purple python coiled up, head raised, mouth agape, ready to attack at any moment. The intense sense of danger made her tremble slightly.

Seeing Kureha's reaction, Szayelaporro, whose face had just shown anger, laughed again and mocked mercilessly.

"Pfft, hahaha, you think you can warn me with this level of skill? As a researcher who demands the highest level of precision, you can't even control your own aura, and an ordinary person can see the danger at a glance. Have you gone crazy from doing research?"

"Damn it, I haven't seen a normal human in hundreds of years. How could I possibly remember that humans, these long-obsolete experimental subjects, would be so fragile that they couldn't even withstand such a little bit of force?"

Annoyance appeared on the woman's elegant smile, and she did something, but the oppressive feeling that had been gripping Hongye and filling her with fear quickly disappeared from the purple-haired woman.

Taking a deep breath, Hongye suppressed the lingering fear in her heart, looked at Szayelaporro, and said with forced composure,

"Sir, may I be put down? Although my body can take it, it is extremely disrespectful to appear before Lord Yuan Yuan in such an unseemly manner."

Through the conversation between Szayelaporro and the woman, Kureha extracted a piece of information that left her feeling utterly powerless: the sense of danger that made her feel like she would die at any moment was nothing more than a "feeling of aura" to the other party.

Unable to muster even the slightest thought of resistance, Hongye could only resort to verbal negotiation to persuade the other party to let her go.

"Wow? You calmed down so quickly? That's quite a good aptitude."

Szayelaporro raised an eyebrow, seemingly surprised by Hongye's reaction, but still put her down. Just as Hongye said, treating Yuan Yuan's disciple like this was indeed disrespectful.

This is also why, when Kamishiro was reminding Szayelaporro, he deliberately added the phrase "[Created by Lord Yuan Yuan]" before the chimera.

She didn't understand why her colleague, who usually wore a mask of madness but was actually incredibly calm, had suddenly become so irrational, behaving so disrespectfully in front of Yuan Yuan. However, considering that their cooperation over the past few centuries had been relatively pleasant, and not wanting Szayelaporro to be punished by Yuan Yuan for his irrationality, she subtly reminded him of something.

The God of Ages didn't understand why Szayelaporro was acting irrationally, but Yuan Yuan knew. Having watched their interactions the whole time, he finally put down his teacup and calmly spoke.

“Sarvapolo, I once gave you the opportunity to become my disciple, but you couldn’t keep up with my pace and didn’t seize the opportunity. You have no one to blame but yourself. I will forgive you this time, but I hope the same thing will not happen again. I don’t need a researcher who cannot maintain his rationality under my command.”

Kamishiro looked at Szayelaporro with surprise, finally understanding the reason for his irrationality. If she had once had the opportunity to become Yuan Yuan's disciple but failed to seize it, and now saw someone else become Yuan Yuan's disciple—especially an ordinary person with no special abilities—she would probably be even more excited than Szayelaporro.

Thinking this, Kamishiro's gaze toward Szayelaporro couldn't help but carry a hint of sympathy.

The inexplicable look in Hongye's eyes was even more unbearable for Szayelaporro, but fortunately, Yuan Yuan's next words made Hongye forget about Szayelaporro.

"The same goes for Hongye this time. You are only my disciple temporarily. If you cannot meet my requirements during your studies, I will not formally accept you as my disciple."

Immediately, the expressions of the group changed again. Momiji became extremely nervous, Szayelaporro was somewhat gloating, and Kamishiro was somewhat envious.

"Alright, Hongye, you don't need to guess anymore. The solution I'm talking about is to let you learn to master spiritual power and strengthen your soul. As long as your soul is strong enough, you can keep your soul unchanged when your body undergoes gastrobiosis. With the help of special spiritual power manipulation methods, you can maintain your sanity and return to human form."

Seemingly growing impatient, Yuan Yuan waved his hand, directly giving Hongye the answer, and then instructed Szayelaporro.

"I'm entrusting the task of teaching Kureha and helping her master spiritual power to you. I only ask that she master spiritual power as soon as possible. You don't need to worry about anything else, just make sure she doesn't die. If she shows any signs of becoming beast-like during training, just suppress her soul with spiritual power. As for you, Kamishiro, I need you to take some time to create a daily diet plan for her based on her physical condition each day."

Now, the expressions of the three became even more interesting. Anyone could see that Szayelaporro clearly harbored ill will towards Hongye and wished that she could not officially become Yuan Yuan's disciple. If he were to teach Hongye, even if he didn't dare to do anything underhanded, he certainly wouldn't wholeheartedly help Hongye.

Hongye's expression turned anxious, and she wanted Yuan Yuan to change her teacher. She would rather have that dangerous purple-haired woman teach her than have Szayelaporro teach her, who looked like he was going to trick her.

"By the way, Sal, I've seen your progress over the years. If you do well enough in this task of teaching Red Leaf, I'll give you another chance to be tested. If you pass, I'll take you as my disciple."

Instantly, Szayelaporro's gaze turned fervent as he looked at Momiji, causing Momiji to shift her body uncomfortably.

"If, based on your mastery of spiritual power, Kureha's spiritual power reaches the level of a lower-level Hollow within half a month, I will lower the assessment level by one tier; if you reach the level of an intermediate-level Hollow, I will allow you to extract any one achievement from the Seventh Research Lab with a confidentiality level not exceeding your own researcher level; if you reach the level of an upper-level Hollow, you can extract two achievements, and Kamishiro can extract one achievement. That's it. I will check the results in half a month. During these two weeks, you can do whatever you want."

After saying that, Yuan Yuan got up and left the room, leaving behind two research fanatics with red eyes that seemed to want to devour Hongye, and Hongye who was trembling with fear and looked like she was about to cry.

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Main character image

I felt it resembled the main character, so I posted it. Although it didn't have the cold feeling I imagined, it was a bit too gentle, but it was quite similar in terms of indifference.

Image: "Impression of the main character", Location: "Images/211304-83160.jpg"

One hundred characters ...