BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM-Chapter 1314: The Vermillion Lake (4)

Erik and the clones searched for a while. The fact they had found the area where the creature likely was didn't mean it was easy to find it.

Erik was using Instability to track the creature, but maybe the creature had left already, as they hadn't found it yet.

"Oh god… I hate this…"

Hours passed, with the group searching every hollow log, every patch of reeds, and every crevice between rocks.

The sun climbed higher. The group even paused to eat at some point. The heat and the humidity were making the group sweat, but what was worse was that Erik couldn't even refresh himself in the waters since thaids lived there.

<This is taking longer than expected, and we are exposed here.>

[Yeah, you have been lucky there are no flying thaids around.]

However, at that point, one of the clones gestured to Erik. There was a trail of disturbed vegetation ahead. Erik joined him, crouching to look at the tracks.

They were fresh, or so it seemed.

"They are big," he said. It made sense. The creature's clone's size suggested that the Mirror Centipede here was twice as long as the one Erik killed on Mannard. "We're getting closer."

The group adjusted their search pattern, following the new trail deeper into a particularly dense section of the marsh where trees had fallen, creating a labyrinth of rotting logs and stagnant pools.

The air was particularly bad there, not that it was better in the other areas.

<Master,> a clone telepathically said. <I saw something. It's roughly twenty meters from my position.>

Erik issued the orders, and in moments, he and the clones had the place surrounded.

He monitored each clone's position until they had formed a complete circle around the suspected hiding place.

<It's the perfect place for the creature to hide.>

The fallen trunk was enormous, a dead giant straggling across the forest floor. Its girth was such that a small car could have been hidden within the crook of its bark, and its length stretched beyond the immediate line of sight.

The impact of its fall had gouged the earth, creating hollows and a chaotic mess of upturned soil and shattered branches—natural blinds and pockets of shadow where something large could lie unnoticed.

The bark, a mosaic of grays, browns, and greens from years of weathering and clinging moss, offered camouflage so effective the beast could be just centimeters away and remain indistinguishable from the ancient wood.

Erik used instability to see if the creature inside was the Mirror Centipede. He got some thoughts from the creature, primal, but nothing that hinted at the creature's race.

<On my signal,> Erik said. <Three... two... one... now.>

The clones blocked all escape routes. One of them launched a starlight fireball at the log, setting it on fire. The Mirror Centipede really was inside and burst from one of the openings to escape the flames.

The clones reacted as soon as they perceived movement. Having surrounded the log, it was easy for them to stop the creature from escaping. One of them severed the beast's head from its body.

The creature's legs continued to twitch for several seconds before going still, green ichor seeping into the marsh water.

"Excellent," Erik said. "That was the original—it didn't have weird thoughts."

"Good, Master."

"Collect the blood and brain crystal," Erik said. "I have to eat them already. At least don't make me get dirtier than I already am," he said with a sigh.

"Yes, Master."

One of the clones kneeled beside the creature's corpse and extracted the brain crystal. Next, he collected a vial of the creature's blood.

"I'm done, Master," he said, giving the items to Erik.

"Thank you," Erik said.

They headed to the shelter.

[It won't be simple to find something suitable to merge with this based on what you want to do,] the system said. [And you need to use a lot of DNA points just to get rid of the maturity and hatching time.]

<Yeah, I expected that,> Erik said. <But it's not like we can do something about it.>

[But are you sure you want to give them a mind-controlling power?]

<Yes, why?>

[Because there are much better options, I mean, the Chimaeric Demons can control dead thaids already.]

<Yes, but for the undead to use their brain crystal powers, the Chimaeric Demons need to spend a lot of mana. If we give the new clones the ability to mind control Thaids or to parasitize them, the Thaids would still be alive, meaning the clones will spend less mana.>

[That's just in theory, though.] The system mentally sighed.

<Look, I don't need these clones to fight. They need to be easy to produce for scouting and monitoring purposes. The mind-controlling ability is just a precaution that would allow them to fight if they get attacked.>

[Yeah, I know. Your idea isn't bad. A single power will make our modifications cheaper to make, so it's not a poor suggestion.]

They reached the tree shelter by mid-afternoon. Erik nodded to the clone standing guard, who opened a part of the barrier to allow them to enter.

The others had woken up at that point. Gwen and Amber were talking, with Gwen recounting her war tales. Ben practiced controlling his exoskeleton in a corner. Mickey and Aaron were absent—likely still checking the surroundings to find the Silverline Corporation's lab.

"You're back earlier than expected," Mira said. "Did things go well?"

Erik held up the container with the brain crystal. "Better than expected."

"That's great," Mira said, setting aside her bow. "Any trouble with other thaids?"

"Nothing we couldn't deal with," Erik said. "The area is crawling with thaids, though, so we need to be careful when we find the lab."

The others gathered around as Erik placed the container on the table. Martha wrinkled her nose at the sight of the blood vials.

"What exactly are you going to do with those?" she asked.

"Watch," Erik said. The others knew how Erik got a new power, but Allan was new to it.

Without ceremony, he opened the containers and swallowed both the brain crystal and the blood.

"What the fuck?" Allan couldn't help but gag.

"Get used to it, Allan," Floyd said.

"That keeps being revolting even if I already know about it," Ben said.

Erik wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

[Mirror Centipede's DNA gained. Starting the analysis.]

[Analysis complete.]

[100 DNA points required for extraction. 250 DNA points needed for painless absorption, 500 DNA points needed for instant and painless absorption.]

Erik already told the system what to do.

[500 DNA points used for painless instant absorption. Procedure complete.]

[Mirror Centipede's brain crystal gained. Starting the analysis…]

[Analysis complete.]

[100 DNA points required for extraction. 250 DNA points needed for painless absorption, 500 DNA points needed for instant and painless absorption.]

[500 DNA points used for painless instant absorption. Procedure complete.]

Erik opened his status interface.

<Worm slaves, uh?> He then turned to the others.

"I need to concentrate now," Erik said. "There is much to do on this power, after all…" freeweɓnovel.cѳm

"How long will it take?" Amber asked.

"I can only do part of what I want with the power, but a few hours at least," Erik said. "I'll let you know when I'm done."

He turned and headed for the stairs leading to the upper level of their shelter.

"Don't disturb me unless it's an emergency," he said before going upstairs.