Making her way forward, Ruan Mei paid almost no attention to the animals she encountered along the way.
Three hours later…
She finally arrived at the beach.
"Now then… where do I find fish?"
This was the first obstacle she needed to overcome.
After all, her little bee couldn't enter the ocean yet.
Nor did Ruan Mei have any intention of going into the water herself.
Eventually…
She set her sights on the crabs scattered along the shore.
Walking to the water's edge, she began flipping over rocks one after another.
Only to be disappointed each time.
Herta: "Hehe… watching Ruan Mei flip over rocks looking for crabs… it feels oddly out of character."
Himeko: "It's surprisingly wholesome."
Klee: "Wow! It's the ocean! There must be lots of fish!"
Jean: "Klee… no fish blasting."
Klee: "Ugh… okay…"
"Acting Grand Master Jean is arguing again."
Jean: "....."
Lisa: "Klee, Acting Grand Master Jean isn't arguing."
"She simply doesn't want you blowing up all the fish."
Lisa nearly burst out laughing.
Jean wasn't being contrary this time.
She genuinely just didn't want Klee bombing the ocean.
After searching for quite a while…
Ruan Mei finally discovered a small crab hiding beneath one of the rocks.
Without hesitation, she placed it inside the cultivation chamber.
Several genetic fragments floated out.
Looking at her bee…
She ultimately chose Exoskeleton.
The ocean was filled with dangerous creatures.
She didn't want her little bee to dive in only to be eaten by the first fish it encountered.
As the exoskeleton gene fused…
A crab shell actually grew over the bee's back.
Nahida: "No matter how many times I see it…"
"It still looks incredibly strange."
Furina: "What… exactly is that?"
Navia: "A bee wearing a crab shell!"
Everyone watched in amazement.
The creature looked unbelievably bizarre.
If they kept evolving like this…
Nobody could imagine what these creatures would eventually become.
Valerius: "Hmm… someone call Ultraman."
"We've got a monster over here."
Bronya: "What's Ultraman?"
Seele: "A tokusatsu series."
"About giants."
Bronya: "You actually know that?"
She was genuinely surprised.
She hadn't expected Seele to know Ultraman.
Seele: "I'm watching it right now."
Yaoyao: "Me too!"
"Ultraman is so awesome!"
Valerius: "Right?"
"Ultraman is amazing, isn't he?"
Bronya glanced at Valerius in surprise.
He was already an adult…
Yet he still watched things like Ultraman?
Since Valerius watched it though…
She became curious herself.
Randomly selecting an Ultraman series…
She pressed play.
A monster appeared.
Humanity couldn't defeat it.
Someone transformed into Ultraman.
Ultraman beat the monster senseless.
Then finished it off with a special attack.
"…Isn't this a little too formulaic?"
Bronya blinked.
Why was every single episode the exact same?
Did that world really suffer so many disasters?
There were monsters everywhere!
"Valerius."
"Can Ultraman genes be fused?"
"…Holy…"
"Now that's a creative idea."
Valerius froze.
If Ultraman genes really could be fused…
What would happen?
Imagining all those bizarre-looking Ultramen…
He vigorously shook his head.
That would be absolutely terrifying.
Inside the game world…
After spending half a day gathering genetic material…
Ruan Mei's bee had completely transformed.
Its wings had disappeared.
In their place…
A pair of massive claws.
Its body was covered in an armored shell.
Its tail had become fish-like.
And…
There were even gills growing on both sides of its head.
"That should do."
She nodded in satisfaction.
"Remember."
"Stay in shallow water."
"Anything with raptorial claws…"
"Bring it back."
Although most creatures weren't particularly intelligent…
They could still understand simple commands.
After giving her instructions…
Ruan Mei placed what could no longer really be called a bee into the ocean.
Now…
All she could do was wait.
If her creature got itself killed…
Then it was simply bad luck.
But…
If it returned successfully…
Her chances of winning would increase dramatically.
At first…
She had been absolutely confident in victory.
That was why she hadn't spent a single point on her starting creature.
After all…
She possessed an overwhelming advantage in biology.
But once everyone's starting creatures appeared…
She realized she had underestimated the situation.
Her little bee simply wasn't in the same league as Qiqi's dragon.
It was entirely possible that…
Even after all her evolution…
She still wouldn't reach the dragon's initial level.
Fortunately…
She wasn't worried.
The others clearly lacked biological expertise.
If they evolved their creatures recklessly…
They might very well end up weaker than their original forms.
At that moment…
Not far away…
Tighnari arrived at the beach with a bizarre-looking creature.
"Oh?"
"Miss Ruan Mei."
"You're at the beach too?"
Seeing a familiar face…
Tighnari walked over to greet her.
If possible…
He also wanted to gather some intelligence about Ruan Mei's creature.
Unfortunately…
After looking around…
He couldn't find it anywhere.
He assumed it had already gone into the sea to hunt.
"Good to see you."
Ruan Mei nodded politely.
Then her gaze shifted toward Tighnari's creature.
Her pupils shrank.
"…What is that?"
If she remembered correctly…
His starting creature should have been a tiger.
So how had it become this?
Its body size hadn't changed.
But…
Its legs had become insect limbs.
A pair of dragonfly wings grew from its back.
"…Can that thing even fly?"
"You…"
"You turned your tiger into an arthropod?"
"Uh…"
"Hehe…"
"Accident… total accident."
Tighnari scratched his head awkwardly.
His creature honestly wasn't pleasant to look at anymore.
There was barely any trace of the majestic tiger it had once been.
Ruan Mei smiled and shook her head.
Accident?
As if.
You absolutely did that on purpose.
She had already noticed the exhaust vents near its hindquarters.
Those clearly came from the bombardier beetle.
Good grief.
While everyone else was still worrying about size and species…
He had already moved on to chemical weapons.
"That thing can spray benzoquinone, can't it?"
"…Yes."
Tighnari's expression became even more bitter.
Nothing could be hidden from her.
She had only glanced at it once…
Yet she'd already figured everything out.
"So…"
"You're planning to catch an octopus?"
"Hehe…"
"That's right."
Tighnari wanted to cry.
It felt as though Ruan Mei had completely seen through him.
Standing before her…
He felt as transparent as glass.
"Well."
"Good luck."
Truthfully…
Ruan Mei had also planned to catch an octopus.
Their intelligence…
Learning ability…
Those traits would be incredibly valuable during the final battle.
Just then…
Another figure approached from the distance.
"Miss Sucrose…"
"You…"
"…Whoa!"
"What on earth is THAT?!"
Seeing Sucrose arrive…
Tighnari had intended to greet her.
Instead…
The creature behind her nearly made his jaw hit the floor.
Her hippopotamus had long since lost its original appearance.
It now walked upright on two legs.
Its hooves had transformed into furry hands.
It had become a primate!
"H-Hello…"
Sucrose blushed as she shyly greeted them.
Yet…
The creature standing behind her made the entire scene feel incredibly surreal.
"What…"
"What are you here to catch?"
"Oh…"
"I…"
"I want to give it gills…"
"…and a swim bladder."
Sucrose answered honestly.
If someone asked…
She simply told the truth.
"Hehe."
"Your creatures are certainly… unique."
Ruan Mei chuckled.
These two clearly knew exactly what evolutionary path they wanted.
Their plans had obviously been mapped out from the very beginning.
It seemed…
She truly had worthy opponents this time.
Splash!
The sea suddenly stirred.
The little bee returned.
Its massive claws gripped a small mantis shrimp as it crawled ashore.
The moment they saw the grotesque creature…
Both Tighnari and Sucrose's eyes widened.
And you're seriously calling our creatures unusual?!
To Read 60+ ahead advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146