Inside the game space…
All of the players had released their starting creatures and quietly waited for the game to begin.
Among all of them…
Ruan Mei's little bee was unquestionably the weakest.
Still…
There was one small consolation.
When the more powerful creatures appeared, the lion and tiger had immediately lost their nerve and even wet themselves.
Her little bee, on the other hand, seemed completely oblivious to what was happening, happily buzzing around her as if nothing had changed.
Clap.
Valerius clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back to him.
Pointing toward the doorway that had long since been prepared, he said,
"Everything is ready."
"You may now pass through this gate into the World of Life."
"Remember."
"Only creatures defeated by either you or your companion creature can be captured inside your cultivation chamber."
"And…"
"Your personal abilities will all be sealed."
"The only powers you'll be able to use are those obtained during this game."
After giving a few final reminders, Valerius gestured toward the portal.
"You may go."
"Let's do this."
With Ruan Mei acting as the final boss and several players having drawn incredibly powerful creatures, Kujou Sara could only do her best and leave the rest to fate.
She picked up her cultivation chamber and headed toward the gateway.
With her taking the lead…
The remaining players followed one after another, each bringing along their own creature as they stepped through the portal.
Only after everyone had entered did Valerius turn toward the villa sitting on the island behind him.
This time…
He had already collected the entry fees beforehand.
There was no need to accompany the players into the other world.
This little island would be his home for the next month.
Walking inside…
He waved his hand.
The furniture instantly disappeared.
In its place…
Rows upon rows of computers appeared.
Valerius: "The internet café is open."
"Anyone coming?"
Bronya: "....."
Seriously?
You've developed an internet addiction now?
Silver Wolf: "I'm in."
Last game she had barely found any time to play.
Now that Valerius had reopened the café…
She instantly teleported inside.
Lái Hā Bó Ài'ěr…
I'm back!
Qingque: "Me too!"
"I won so many Happy Beans last time!"
Fu Xuan: "…Fine."
"We'll go together."
Yukong: "I'm shocked."
"Lady Fu has become addicted to online games?"
Fu Xuan: "Games themselves are hardly interesting."
Keqing: "Then why are you going?"
Fu Xuan: "To watch dramas."
"The Xuanwu Gate Incident."
Jing Yuan: "...…."
Good grief.
She's clearly targeting me.
He had no doubt that if he refused to retire much longer…
Fu Xuan might genuinely stage a coup.
Feixiao: "I'll come too."
Jiaoqiu: "General, you're into dramas as well?"
Feixiao: "I'm going to watch White Album."
Moze: "...…"
The Xianzhou Alliance looked like it was falling apart from top to bottom.
Since Valerius had opened the café…
Quite a few people came to support the business.
One after another, they teleported into the internet café.
Without needing to be told…
Shenhe quietly walked behind the counter and stood there like the proprietor's wife.
This was their family's income.
Naturally…
She intended to watch over it personally.
Deep within a rainforest…
Ruan Mei pushed aside hanging vines as she slowly made her way through the dense jungle.
She was exhausted.
The rainforest was incredibly difficult to traverse.
And…
She was wearing high heels.
Every step felt like torture.
Even so…
She couldn't afford to stop.
She only had one month.
Her little bee was simply too weak.
If she couldn't obtain some extraordinary abilities…
It would probably become someone else's snack during the finals.
Fortunately…
Her first experimental subject appeared before long.
A squirrel.
"This one will do."
"Let's test it."
Her bee was far too weak to defeat a squirrel.
She had no choice but to do it herself.
Grabbing a vine…
She quickly climbed into the tree.
Then, catching it off guard…
She snatched the squirrel with one swift motion.
"…Whew."
"So my physical abilities weren't completely sealed."
Initially…
She'd thought catching a squirrel would be difficult.
Fortunately…
Although her powers had been sealed, the game still granted her a reasonably agile body.
That was enough.
She opened the cultivation chamber and placed the squirrel inside.
[Genetic Fragment Acquired: Grasping Ability.]
[Genetic Fragment Acquired: Balance.]
[Genetic Fragment Acquired: Body Size.]
[Genetic Fragment Acquired: Climbing Ability.]
"Perfect."
Seeing the available fragments, Ruan Mei smiled.
She immediately selected Body Size and fused it into her bee.
Instantly…
The tiny bee expanded until it was roughly the size of a squirrel.
Its buzzing wings now produced a deep humming sound.
"…No rejection whatsoever."
"This game really is incredible."
She herself had performed countless fusion experiments.
Yet creatures from entirely different taxonomic groups usually couldn't be combined.
Violent rejection.
Reproductive isolation.
Failures everywhere.
But here…
None of those problems existed.
Immediately…
New possibilities filled her mind.
This time…
She intended to create something extraordinary.
Now that her bee had gained a respectable body size…
The next priority was offensive capability.
As for where to find that…
As one of the world's foremost biologists…
Ruan Mei could think of countless options.
However…
There was one experiment she wanted to conduct even more urgently.
Could a bee fuse with fish genes?
If it could…
Then it could enter the ocean.
Once inside the sea…
She would gain an overwhelming advantage.
Because she knew of one particular organism.
Once combined with sufficient body size…
It would possess absolutely terrifying combat ability.
She needed that genetic fragment as quickly as possible.
From observing the rainforest's ecosystem…
She had already formed a rough map.
An ocean wasn't far away.
Inside the livestream…
Everyone watched as Ruan Mei caught only a single squirrel before immediately continuing her journey.
They couldn't understand it.
Everyone else was frantically catching every creature they saw.
Why was she doing nothing but traveling?
Screwllum: "Ruan Mei's destination appears to be the ocean."
"Question."
"Is she intending to obtain that organism?"
Dr. Ratio: "Highly probable."
"If she acquires that organism's abilities…"
"Then later supplements them with insect traits and eventually increased body size…"
"Her chances of victory become extremely high."
March 7th: "What are you two talking about?"
She couldn't understand a thing.
Why did these people already seem to know what Ruan Mei was after?
Stelle: "Academic knowledge."
"Of course you wouldn't know."
March 7th: "Oh?"
"So you know?"
Stelle: "Obviously."
"She's definitely going to catch a whale."
"Those are huge."
Himeko: "Sigh…"
"I think we really need to pay more attention to her education."
A whale?
How exactly was Ruan Mei supposed to catch one right now?
Topaz: "Then…"
"What exactly is Ruan Mei trying to catch?"
Herta: "Fish."
Yanfei: "What kind of fish?"
Herta: "Any fish."
"As long as it lets the bee enter the ocean."
Keqing: "Maybe she's after an octopus?"
"They're intelligent."
Herta: "Octopus genes would certainly be useful."
"But that's not her primary objective."
Lisa: "Oh, stop keeping everyone in suspense."
"What is it?"
Dr. Ratio: "A mantis shrimp."
Herta: "A mantis shrimp."
Xiangling: "What?"
"A mantis shrimp?"
"What genes could that possibly have?"
"…Being delicious?"
Herta: "Just how badly are you underestimating mantis shrimp?"
Xiangling: "I'm not!"
"I genuinely think they're delicious."
Herta's face darkened.
So all you can think about is eating them?
Dr. Ratio: "A forty-gram mantis shrimp can deliver a strike equivalent to roughly one hundred and thirty kilograms of force."
"The shockwave generated by its raptorial appendages can reach temperatures of approximately eight thousand degrees Celsius."
Herta: "Not only that."
"During its attack…"
"The surrounding water can momentarily reach temperatures approaching seven thousand degrees."
Silence.
Everyone was utterly stunned.
Was this really the same harmless-looking mantis shrimp they all knew?
That had to be a joke.
It was absurdly overpowered.
Many players immediately began worrying.
If everything Herta and Dr. Ratio said was true…
Then once Ruan Mei obtained those genes…
She would become unstoppable.
Looking at everyone else randomly catching whatever creatures they found…
They could only sigh.
Expertise really did make all the difference.
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