Devour and Choice

"...Yu?" In the warehouse on Floor B3 of the shelter, looking at Yu, whose body had swollen by more than a full size, Luo Yu froze where he stood. What... What was going on?! "Chao!" Seeing Luo Yu appear in the doorway, Yu let out an excited call. Though its voice was still feeble, Chu Guang could distinctly sense that the little guy had regained a bit of energy. "I told you not to mimic those weird noises... What on earth happened to you?" Luo Yu walked forward, ignoring the tentacles drifting nearby, and reached out to stroke Yu's smooth, delicate head. *Hiss—* So hot! The creature's surface temperature had to be at least sixty or seventy degrees. "Yiwu..." Yu whimpered feebly, its pitiful appearance tugging at the heartstrings. Chu Guang looked over at Heya. "Explain the situation to him." Heya nodded. Turning to the anxious Luo Yu, she repeated what she had just told Chu Guang. Especially regarding the two options. "...Right now, there are only two choices: let it evolve autonomously, or have it devour the broodmother on Floor B6. The former has a higher success rate, but is far more unpredictable, and upon success, it will most likely lose its current memories. The latter carries the risk of it being devoured in turn, but if the evolution succeeds, the outcome will be relatively controllable, and it will very likely retain its current sense of self." After listening to Heya's explanation, Luo Yu fell silent. A moment later, he spoke. "...Does it have to evolve?" He suddenly felt that it wasn't really necessary for it to become so strong. To him, Yu had already become his companion, and had even saved him on the battlefield before. If the price of growing stronger was sacrificing those irreplaceable memories, he would rather it stay foolish and clumsy just like before. Watching Luo Yu, Heya gave an earnest nod. "Yes. Just like birth, aging, illness, and death in humans, this is an inevitable event in its life cycle... Even if you leave it alone, it will eventually reach that stage." Luo Yu bowed his head in slight self-reproach. "Is it because I took it out hunting mutants and fruiting bodies?" "Yes, and no." Luo Yu lifted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?" Heya explained, "Mutant slime mold... is a very peculiar organism, and your Yu is the most extraordinary among them. It doesn't rely on spores to transmit information; instead, it uses vocal cords to make sounds and communicate with its voice just like a human. Genetic material accounts for only a very small portion of its evolutionary path. More of it... I believe, may be memory." "Memory?" "Yes," Heya nodded. "An organism's habits, experiences, knowledge, and everything else together constitute its understanding of evolution and the next stage of its self. Once these memories accumulate to a certain threshold, the instinct deep within its biology tells it that the time has come... and it will naturally proceed to the next stage of life." "This is its mission." Luo Yu fell silent for a while, then looked up at Chu Guang. "I want to talk to it." Heya also looked toward Chu Guang. "My recommendation is also that it would be best for its keeper to communicate with it... However, we had better make a choice within an hour. I can't be sure how long its self-awareness will last." Chu Guang nodded and looked at Luo Yu. "You heard her. You have one hour." Luo Yu nodded. "It won't take that long... Ten minutes—no, five minutes is enough." Chu Guang waved a hand toward the Guards Corps, then led Heya and the others out of the warehouse, stepping into the corridor outside Floor B3. He felt it was better to leave Yu and Luo Yu alone for a bit. In any case, Xiao Qi could monitor every corner of the shelter; even if something unexpected happened, he would be able to bring the situation under control immediately. While they waited, Heya looked at Chu Guang. "Is it really fine to leave the choice to him?" "It's fine. I trust his judgment," Chu Guang answered simply. There was no choice in this world where one could have it both ways, let alone when Yu's situation had no precedent anywhere on this planet. Since both options were gambles, it was better to leave the decision to those directly involved. The Alliance had never reached where it was today purely by him making every multiple-choice decision alone. The man and the broodmother communicated for a while. The time was even shorter than Chu Guang had anticipated; after just three minutes, Luo Yu walked out of the room. "I've decided." Staring unblinkingly at Chu Guang, Luo Yu spoke in a solemn tone, "The second one... Let it devour the broodmother on Floor B6." Chu Guang looked at him and reminded him in an even voice, "Have you thought this through? Having an infant that just learned to walk defeat an old monster that has lived for over a century won't be easy, even if that fellow is already very weak." "Yes..." Luo Yu nodded, glancing back at Yu behind him. "This isn't just my idea... It's also its decision." Rather than losing all its memories and becoming an entirely new life-form, it would rather take the gamble to carry its memories forward in a brand-new body. Just as he had said, this was not his decision alone. After hearing his frank explanation, Yu had chosen Option B of its own accord... It, too, did not want to abandon those precious memories. Chu Guang nodded. "I respect your choice." With Luo Yu making the final decision, the operation to transfer Yu to Floor B6 began promptly, carried out once again by the same squad as before. A squad of fully armed players, led by Lao Bai, took the elevator down to Floor B6 and swiftly formed up outside the buffer bay. "Team A, with me! Team B, covering fire!" "Target: server room! Move out!" "Awoooo!" Amidst a synchronized clatter, LD-47 rifles and LD-47j light machine guns were cocked in unison. The twenty-man squad rapidly pushed into the corridor. The organic matter of the dozen-plus gnawers killed previously had already been recycled by the broodmother to synthesize new fruiting bodies. However, ordinary fruiting bodies were simply no match for the players. Amidst the chattering gunfire and dancing muzzle flashes, they were wiped out in no time at all. Led by Lao Bai, the elite players of the Burning Corps quickly pushed their way to the entrance of the server room and secured it. Floor B6 had no reactor. The broodmother was nestled in the biology laboratory's servers, its tendrils replacing the cables and cooling pipes connected to the server racks. "Pass me the inhibitor." "Okey-dokey." Jieyan pulled a soda-can-sized metal canister from his backpack and tossed it to Lao Bai, who was blazing a trail up front in power armor. Catching the canister, Lao Bai deftly pulled the pin, opened the server room's hatch, and threw it inside. The moment the metal cylinder hit the squirming creep, it was indiscriminately engulfed. Soon, however, the broodmother seemed to realize it had swallowed something noxious; it convulsed violently as if struck by an electric shock and reflexively spat it back out. Yet it was already too late. White mist sprayed from the metal canister. The instant the mist contacted the broodmother, the creature slowed down at a speed visible to the naked eye. These concentrated biological pheromones acted just like an anesthetic on mutant slime mold. Still, a broodmother was fundamentally different from ordinary fruiting bodies; the sedation likely would not last long. Tapping his helmet with his index finger, Lao Bai said in a calm voice, "Broodmother contained... Luo Yu, how's your end?" "...I just got off the elevator. Be there in a second." "Alright, make it quick." The sound of an elevator door opening came through the comm channel. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but the instant Yu arrived on Floor B6, Lao Bai could distinctly feel that the broodmother before them seemed to grow much more agitated. Soon, Yu, taking up half the width of the corridor, came into everyone's sight. The tentacles whipping behind its head resembled pythons. Looking at the creature, Ye Shi couldn't help muttering under his breath, "Holy crap... This guy looks more and more like a tentacle monster." Ignoring Ye Shi's quip, Luo Yu's attention was entirely fixed on the broodmother inside the server room. By sheer volume, Yu was clearly far smaller and weaker than it. Worry inevitably surfaced in Luo Yu's eyes, but right then, a tentacle came to rest on his shoulder. "Yiwu." Startled, Luo Yu looked at Yu, who was gazing at him. "Are you saying... I shouldn't worry?" "Yiwu!" Yu nodded. Its abstract features made it impossible to discern an expression, but Luo Yu could feel the unwavering confidence in its heart. Not wanting to let that courage go to waste, he took a deep breath, an equally earnest expression appearing on his face. "Give it your all!" Yu gave a cheerful nod. "Chao!" With that shout, the creep trailing along the floor squirmed forward, dragging its swollen body along. Before entering dormancy, devouring a broodmother that had already completed its metamorphosis was the only way it could preserve its self-awareness while transitioning to the next stage of life. Tentacles shot through the open doorway like lightning, burrowing into that sea of slime mold surging like rolling waves. The intrusion went smoothly. Just as Yu felt itself slowly devouring that colossal collective consciousness, a vast torrent of information suddenly surged over it like tidal waves. "Yiwu—!" Pain flashed across its abstract features. The tentacles reaching deep into the room began to convulse violently, as if electrocuted. Watching from the side, Luo Yu felt his heart clench in an instant, leaping into his throat. Their blood connection allowed him to feel its pain at this moment, yet other than watching it suffer, he could offer no help at all. The players standing nearby also held their breath for it. For such a small body to devour such a massive broodmother, just looking at it made one realize how difficult it was. Ye Shi exchanged a glance with Kuang Feng. "Can this guy pull it off?" "...How would I know?" Kuang Feng stared expressionlessly at the struggling Yu. No one could help with something like this. It could only rely on itself. Before long, the trembling tentacles seemed to steady, and Yu's features were no longer contorted, gradually easing into a tranquil state. The fierce struggle had temporarily subsided. Neither side could overpower the other. Biological instinct led them to a temporary truce, and from there, negotiations began. Yu could sense that a deeper connection had formed between itself and the broodmother before it. An invisible tether linked the two of them. In the mysterious depths of its consciousness, it heard a calling from deep within the sea of awareness. An intermittent voice resonated from the depths: "Kill all... devour... give the body to me... I will continue our unfinished mission..." "Mission? What is that?" "Devour, evolve, stand above all life, dominate the entire planet and even the cosmos... That is our mission." "No." "Why???" "Because... they are important too." The boundless darkness fell still for a long time. After who knew how long, a hint of weariness crept into that hoarse voice. More than two centuries... It was indeed tired. "It seems you have found another path... Then try it." "You are going to give it to me?" "Yes." Another prolonged silence followed. After what felt like ages, that decaying voice drifted farther and farther away into the boundless darkness. "It makes no difference... anyway." The broodmother gave no explanation for what those words meant. It released its grip on control, yielding everything it had. At first, Yu suspected a trap. Only when it took complete command of the body did it realize that the collective consciousness that had spoken to it had vanished entirely from this world. As if it had never existed at all... "Yiwu..." It suddenly felt a pang of loneliness. Just now, it might have killed one of its own kind. That entity might have been a senior far older than its father or mother—an ancestor, perhaps. Yet it did not regret its choice. There were too many things in this world it could not bear to part with, whether it was those amusing people, delicious candies, or pleasant voices. Those were things it could never have possessed on its own. So why kill them all? Why couldn't they be together? Rather than becoming a sovereign reigning supreme over all life, it preferred to stay by the side of that person... and those people. With those amusing folks around, it would never be lonely... ... Luo Yu stared blankly at the server room before him. Just minutes ago, Yu had walked inside and completely melded into the boiling, wave-like mass of slime mold. And then— there was nothing more. He didn't even know who had won. Yet an intuition from the unknown told him that Yu was still alive; the bond forged in blood had not been severed. It was hard to describe this sensation. It was far too ethereal. "Is it over?" Staring at the broodmother behind the door, Ye Shi blinked in bewilderment, looking completely lost. "Looks like it's over." Kuang Feng glanced at Luo Yu, who stood motionless, and asked, "Do you have any clues?" Luo Yu shook his head. "I'm not too sure either... I can feel that it's still alive, but it doesn't seem to hear what I'm saying." "Maybe it entered dormancy." Lao Bai clapped the brother on the shoulder and offered some comfort. "Maybe it's still adjusting to its new body. Give it some time." "Yeah..." Luo Yu nodded silently. Lao Bai glanced at the task completion notification on his VM, then turned back to his teammates and waved a hand. "Mission complete. Fall out!" Hearing their team leader declare the mission finished, the group breathed a collective sigh of relief, lowered their weapons, and began clamoring to lighten the mood. "Awooo!" "Off the clock, off the clock!" "Damn, look at the time!" "Crap! Time to get up for real-life work." "You're still working a day job?! Didn't you make enough from the last auction?" "You don't get it. It's so I don't become totally detached from society... No more rambling, I'm heading out first. See you on the forum!" At the same time. In the viewing room on Floor B4. Chu Guang, Heya, and Yin Fang—who had been dragged along just to join the crowd—watched the entire operation unfold via the surveillance monitors. "So did it succeed or fail?" Holding a cup of coffee, Yin Fang blew gently on it and asked casually. Biology was not his field of expertise. Compared to mutant slime mold, he was far more interested in the ruins left behind by the pre-war civilization; those were the truly priceless treasures. Heya said in a cheerful voice, "It can't be confirmed yet, but my intuition tells me it probably succeeded." According to the various indicators, the broodmother's vital signs had weakened. If Yu had been devoured by the broodmother, its vital activity should have surged instead. Of course, the most crucial indicator was Luo Yu's reaction. Yu was a broodmother formed using his clone as a template. Though there was no reliable theory to explain this phenomenon, various experimental evidence demonstrated that a special bond existed between them. Seeing Heya's smug expression, a trace of envy rose in Yin Fang's eyes. "Speaking of which, Floor B6 is a biology laboratory, right?" "That's right. Once Yu completely assimilates the broodmother, the lab on Floor B6 can be put back into service." With a delighted expression on her face, Heya added, "Chu Guang already promised to hand it over to me. I won't have to do research crammed into that tiny room on Floor B3 anymore." "Must be nice... Counting the biology lab branch in Vault 79, you'll have two research facilities." "Mm-hmm." Heya was in high spirits, the corners of her lips curling up proudly. Noticing Yin Fang staring intently at him, Chu Guang cleared his throat softly. "Staring at me won't help... This isn't up to me." Naturally, he also wanted to unlock every floor of this shelter. Intuition told him that the "answers" he sought were hidden on one of its levels. Yet rushing would achieve nothing. All he could do was properly handle the tasks at hand. "Fair enough, I know nagging you won't do any good... By the way, there's something I wanted to ask you." Looking at Chu Guang, Yin Fang inquired curiously, "Did you run into people from the Academy this time?" "Yeah," Chu Guang nodded. "I met two B-ranks." Yin Fang immediately asked, "Who?" Chu Guang pondered a moment before answering, "The one who negotiated the ceasefire with us was named Li Ke. The other, who later explored Vault 0, was named Yang Kai... though he stayed inside that spindle-shaped craft the whole time and never stepped out." "Those two, huh." A faraway, reminiscing look entered Yin Fang's eyes. Chu Guang raised an eyebrow and asked out of curiosity, "You know them?" "How could I? I'm just a D-rank; how could I know big shots like that?" Yin Fang chuckled and shook his head. Pausing briefly, he continued, "Still, back when I was at the Academy, I often heard their names... especially that Yang Kai." "Oh?" "His research focus is mutant slime mold; he's not an expert on ancient ruins at all... *Hiss*, that's weird." Yin Fang suddenly scratched the back of his head. "Weird?" "Yeah..." Yin Fang nodded, looking at the frowning Chu Guang as he went on, "If I remember what you told me correctly, before you guys went down there, you had no idea there was slime mold in there, right?"