Chapter 18

In fact, Lin had already started to consider how to resist the water flow as she entered the fissure.

This was similar to resisting the hot springs at the entrance of the fissure. As long as the cells were combined to form a huge shield, it could prevent the water from impacting them.

However, to block the strong currents outside, a more solid and larger shield was needed. Lin believed that no matter how many cells gathered together, they would be blown apart.

The cells needed some way to connect with each other to form a solid structure that wouldn't be easily scattered.

For example, could the cells use the digger's sawteeth to hook onto each other? But that might cause injuries.

However, Lin believed there should be another way for the cells to connect. After all, the cell membranes were soft and could change shape. Since the two cells were originally one and had only split, they should be able to recombine...

Moreover, how did cells split in the first place? Why did they split instead of growing to a large size from the beginning?

It seemed quite complicated. Lin didn't like thinking about complex things, so she decided to start experimenting directly. She first made two cells squeeze together, wrapping each other with their cell membranes and continuously inputting the thought of 'combination.'

However, this didn't seem to work. After all, Lin's cells were different from amoebas. They could only extend small protrusions on the surface of their cell membranes, unable to firmly grasp each other.

Should she make them evolve into amoebas? Lin thought that the amoeba shape was likely formed because they often liked to squeeze into narrow cracks.

With this in mind, Lin started to let a few basic cells find narrow cracks in the cave and try to squeeze into them, to see if they could evolve into amoebas over time.

However, Lin didn't want to wait around, so she immediately started another experiment.

She tried to see if she could prevent cell division.

When cells divide, they first split their nucleus into two, and then slowly split the cell membrane, becoming two cells.

What Lin wanted to do was to stop the division just before the cell membrane was about to split completely. This would result in two cells connected together.

Lin's colony was constantly eating, so it wasn't long before a cell was about to divide, which happened to be a basic cell.

Lin immediately followed her plan, waiting for the nucleus to split into two. At this point, the cell membrane started to split from the center, and the two nuclei moved to opposite sides.

When the membrane in the middle was almost completely split, Lin suddenly gave the thought of 'stop.'

It stopped!

The cell that was dividing actually stopped. It was almost split into two cells, with only a small part of the cell membrane still connected.

Although it was successful, it seemed that a slight pull would break it.

Lin then started to reinforce this connection and maintain its shape.

After a while, Lin felt that the connection had been strengthened, as the connected cell membrane had clearly become thicker.

Next, Lin tried to make one of the cells drag the other, or have them move in different directions. Even with the maximum force, it didn't break.

It seemed to be successful. Lin now had a new type of cell, but what should she call it?

'Connector'?

It sounded too ordinary... but never mind. Lin could now use the connectors to build a huge wall to resist the water flow!

Lin started to let the connectors eat more food and continue dividing, but not completely, so that the connected cell clusters would grow larger.

Lin found that the size of the cell clusters formed by the connectors easily surpassed that of the storage cells or the explosive balls. Moreover, they had a unique feature: they didn't need to eat individually. As long as one cell ate, the energy could be transmitted to all the connected cells, which was quite convenient.

However, there was a downside. As the cell cluster grew larger, movement became more difficult, as they were all stuck together.

Therefore, Lin directly moved them to the bottom of the fissure and let them grow upwards in a spiral pattern, forming a large cylindrical structure composed of many cells. The inside of this cylinder was hollow, allowing Lin's other cells to enter, and there was an opening at the top for the cells to exit.

The cylinder continued to grow upwards through the continuous division of the cells at the top, eventually extending beyond the exit of the fissure and reaching the outside.

Lin also found an interesting point: since the cylinder was composed of basic cells, she could still make them evolve.

Lin could make these cells evolve into diggers, with their sawtoothed, tough shells facing outward and their vulnerable parts facing inward, so they wouldn't be afraid of external attacks, even from viruses.

Watching the cell cylinder grow continuously, Lin gave it a new name: 'Giant Tentacle.'

However, Lin still hoped to directly combine scattered cells without using this cumbersome method.

Thinking about this, Lin found two more basic cells, made them stick together, and gave the thought of 'combination.'

The cell membranes of the two cells directly fused together without any cracks, looking like two connected spheres.

Hmm? This time it worked?

Lin was curious why she could now give the thought of 'combination.'

Could it be because the cells understood what 'combination' meant after she stopped their division?

It felt good. This way, Lin could create 'cell walls' anywhere without deliberately interrupting cell division and then letting them grow slowly, which was quite troublesome...

However, one giant tentacle was enough for now. She would decide where to build other walls after reaching the outside.

What Lin needed to do now was to slowly eat and grow, as it wouldn't be quick to make a tentacle grow from the deep cave inside the rock to the outside.

During this time, darkness had already descended outside, but Lin's numerous glowing explosive balls kept the cave bright...

Lin also saw that the group of light bacteria were still huddled in the corner, but a few of the bolder ones had come out to try to find food.

Bold? What is 'bold'?

Lin was again puzzled by the new term, but as usual, she didn't think much about it.

There was much more white paste in the cave than outside, and it kept increasing. Even if Lin's colony doubled in size, they wouldn't finish eating it, so Lin didn't care much if the light bacteria were eating.

However, she wouldn't let them grow too much.

In the following time, Lin watched the giant tentacle continue to grow, and the basic cells that had squeezed into the narrow cracks slowly evolved. Their bodies became very flexible, capable of significant compression and deformation.

However, this wasn't enough. Lin wanted them to be exactly like amoebas, able to change shape at will.

Time passed slowly, and Lin's giant tentacle had grown close to the exit of the fissure, but the hot water there prevented it from growing further.

At this point, Lin made some heat-resistant storage cells form a circle at the top of the tentacle, continuing to grow upwards. Eventually, the giant tentacle almost filled the entire fissure passage, and the small cracks on the fissure walls that spewed hot water were also blocked.

When the tentacle grew out of the fissure, Lin switched back to using basic cells.

This giant tentacle was composed of over a hundred thousand of Lin's cells, thanks to the abundant food in the cave below.

At this time, the situation outside was different from before. The water flow seemed to have stopped, and since Lin's departure, many other types of cells had gathered here.

It was a pity. Lin had wanted to test whether the tentacle could resist the water flow.

However, whether it was the tentacle or the method of combining cells, both would play a significant role in Lin's future growth.

Lin's cells swam out of the cave through the hollow interior of the tentacle, and Lin planned to reclaim her territory...