Chapter 24

Ling's observer swam towards the green cells, wanting to see what was going on.

These cells were oval-shaped, quite ordinary in appearance, and about the same size as Ling's cells. Ling remembered seeing similar green cells before, and they didn't seem to be anything special.

They didn't appear to be fierce predators either, lacking any terrifying weapons. They showed no reaction to Ling's approach.

It seemed that the large-scale death of cells had nothing to do with them? But why were they unharmed?

Most of these green cells were slowly drifting, occasionally moving their bodies, but they didn't seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere. Even with such a large area of dead cells below, they showed no interest in consuming them.

What did this green community feed on to grow so large?

Curiosity drove Ling to get closer. She noticed that when these green cells moved their bodies, their cell membranes occasionally released some transparent spherical objects.

What were they?

Gas? Bubbles?

This was a very new term. Gas seemed to refer to something shapeless and formless, capable of deformation.

When Ling acquired a new term, there was a chance she would also receive an explanation for it, but this explanation only made her more confused.

These transparent spheres called gas clearly had a shape, and they didn't deform.

Just as Ling was thinking this, she saw two gas bubbles collide and merge into a larger one, even faster than Ling's cells could combine. The connection was perfect, and it was impossible to tell that they were originally two separate bubbles.

This was truly peculiar!

Ling was immediately captivated by this phenomenon. The green cells moved their bodies again, and more bubbles emerged from them, some of which floated right in front of Ling.

Ling was curious, but she wouldn't risk the observer. She had the observer retreat and let a nearby fat cell touch the bubble.

The bubble instantly merged into the fat cell's membrane.

It hurt!

The fat cell immediately transmitted a sensation of intense pain. The bubble seemed to be stirring inside the fat cell, destroying the cell nucleus and everything else.

The fat cell quickly died.

This scene frightened Ling. Could the bubbles actually be a virus?

However, through the transparent cell membrane, Ling could see that the bubble inside the dead fat cell did not proliferate or take any action, which was completely different from the behavior of a virus.

So, what were these bubbles?

Why could they destroy an entire cell?

Ling now knew what had caused the large-scale death of cells.

But Ling didn't have time to think further. The large group of green cells was releasing more and more bubbles. Ling didn't want to lose the observer, so she immediately had the observer and the remaining fat cells swim deeper, as the bubbles seemed to move upwards.

After reaching a certain depth, Ling's cells began to swim back. At this time, Ling started to reinforce the base's outer layer and retract all the tentacles on the surface.

All of Ling's tentacles, except for the large ones, could be retracted into the outer layer. Ling had made some modifications, so these tentacles were now attached to the middle layer of cells, extending through openings in the outer layer. They could retract when danger approached.

Ling hadn't encountered danger in a long time, but this crisis made her feel afraid.

Each green cell could release hundreds of bubbles. When billions of cells released them simultaneously, the coverage would be terrifying.

Ling could only hope that the group of green cells wouldn't pass by her base. She wasn't sure if the outer layer could withstand the bubbles.

Base?

Ling suddenly realized that this was a new term, but she didn't have time to think about it.

Suddenly, the water began to churn. The observer, which was returning, was immediately swept away.

It was the current! Why now?

Ling looked back and saw that the large group of green cells was also being swept towards her, along with countless bubbles...

In still water, bubbles would only move upwards, but in this strong current, they were scattered everywhere, instantly covering the entire area!

Ling's observer and a few fat cells couldn't avoid the bubbles. They were quickly surrounded by a large number of bubbles, and the slower fat cells were immediately penetrated by the bubbles.

Only the observer successfully avoided the bubbles, but Ling had no time to worry about it.

The current was heading straight for Ling's base!

Ling had already retracted all the tentacles. Now she could only wait and hope that the bubbles couldn't penetrate the outer layer.

The current had never done Ling any good. It continued to rush, pushing the large group of green cells towards Ling's base. When a large area of green appeared in Ling's base's field of view, Ling knew that this crisis was unavoidable.

Ling retracted the eye tentacles into the outer layer. At this moment, the group of green cells, carried by the current, had already blocked out the light, making the entire area dark and eerie.

Ling's outer layer was transparent, so the eye tentacles could still see outside. She saw the green cells being scattered by the current, and the bubbles they released were spreading everywhere.

Ling suddenly realized that the observer's field of view was still intact and had seen this scene, having been carried back by the current. She was surprised that it was still alive.

Ling opened a hole in the outer layer and let the observer swim back.

At this moment, a few bubbles approached Ling's outer layer...

Ling immediately closed the hole and used the eye tentacles to closely watch the bubbles. She saw them stick to the surface.

Stick to the surface?

The bubbles seemed to be stuck to the outer layer, but they didn't penetrate the cells that made up the layer.

Did it work? Ling didn't understand what was happening, but in the next moment, the bubbles suddenly penetrated the outer layer, and Ling felt intense pain...

It couldn't be stopped? The outer layer could withstand viruses, other cells' dissolving liquids, and strong currents, but it couldn't stop the bubbles?

Why?

Ling didn't have time to think.

More bubbles stuck to the outer layer and then penetrated it, killing the cells that made up the layer.

Once the cells were killed, they became fragile. Although their dead bodies could still connect and block the bubbles, the next current could potentially break these weak points, allowing more bubbles to enter.

Just as she thought this, another current rushed in, and the fragile parts of the outer layer where the cells had died were instantly broken open, and a large number of bubbles flooded in.

It couldn't be stopped...

Since defense was impossible, it was time to counterattack! Yes, just kill all the green cells, and there would be no more bubbles!

Ling's thought formed instantly. She opened all the holes in the outer layer, and countless tentacles extended out, using their needle cells to attack the green cells that were spread throughout the area by the current.

However, the tentacles were also made of cells, and they could still be penetrated by the bubbles. In this moment, Ling killed a large number of green cells, but the tentacles were also destroyed to a great extent.

The green cell community was much larger than Ling's entire base, and they surged forward due to Ling's attack. The massive amount of bubbles they produced instantly overwhelmed Ling's base.

Die, die, die, die, die, die, calm down, die, kill, retreat, retreat, retreat, retreat...

Ling's thoughts flashed through her mind countless times. She immediately had all the explosive cells and acid sprayers rush out, spraying a large amount of dissolving liquid into the water. The amount of dissolving liquid was so great that it dyed the entire area, but while it could kill the green cells, it had no effect on the bubbles.

Ling knew that the counterattack was useless. She then had the remaining cells enter the large tentacles and swim deeper into the cave, using a large number of digging cells and conical cells to form several layers of strong protective walls at the cave entrance.

When the large tentacles also died due to the bubbles, Ling could no longer receive any information from outside.

Ling's massive base and everything outside had been destroyed by these tiny bubbles, but fortunately, the bubbles didn't penetrate deeper into the cave...

What Ling didn't know was that the destruction was not limited to her.

Due to the activity of lava and underwater volcanoes, the water temperature had warmed. The warm water temperature allowed these green cells to proliferate on a large scale in the sea. The gas they released was a deadly poison to all life on the planet. As the green cells increased, the poison spread globally, leading to the extinction of nearly 90% of the life in the ocean...

In Ling's thoughts, there was actually a term to represent this gas.

"Oxygen."

...

Well... Since this is the end of the first volume, I'll ramble a bit here.

It's not that I don't want to update more, but I just can't write faster. Some parts are very difficult to write, and I always have to look at microscopes, documentaries, and various materials. Writing a chapter takes a long time, and cells are truly very complex...

However, the next era will be the multicellular era, which will be easier to write, and I enjoy studying multicellular organisms more. The updates will definitely speed up eventually.

Also, due to power outages and other issues, the updates have been a bit unstable, but they will be more consistent around 9 PM in the future.

Finally, thank you to ~Saint Yang Fish~wm19860826~One Small Banana~ for your support.

Well, that's it.

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