Chapter 49

A massive plume of smoke continuously surged out from the depths of the ocean trench. It rushed out of the trench and kept rising, until it finally became increasingly sparse and dissipated.

Lin thought these were harmful substances and stayed away, but the reactions of the surrounding creatures were the opposite. Many small trilobites emerged from the sand and gathered around the crack in the trench. They waved their segmented limbs and fed on the scattered smoke and dust.

Can these be eaten?

As Lin was wondering, she noticed many single-celled organisms and some jellyfish approaching the smoke. However, they did not enter the center; they only swam around the plume. Lin believed they were also collecting the dust.

Perhaps there are some edible substances in the smoke?

Lin was not surprised, after all, there were even organisms that could eat everything. But if they could utilize such a vast energy source, that would be amazing...

Leviathan created a new type of soldier called the 'Analyzer.' It had a round body, similar to the Devourer, with a large mouth, but no teeth. Instead, it was filled with tiny tentacles that could analyze whether the substances it touched were harmful or beneficial to Lin's cells.

The Analyzer, like the surrounding jellyfish, consumed a lot of the dust in the smoke and used the tentacles in its mouth to sense the components.

Lin could feel from the Analyzer's tentacles that some of the dust was harmless, some was harmful, but even the harmless ones were not digestible by all cells.

Lin's cells had different digestive capabilities. For example, the Acid Injectors and Burst Balls could break down a wide range of substances, including many non-living materials, while the basic cells could only digest cell debris or white paste.

Come to think of it, Lin hadn't seen white paste for a long time...

Lin was not entirely clear about the specific meaning of digestion. Her current research only revealed that it was a process of breaking down and reorganizing. Using some substance within the body to dissolve the ingested material and then reorganize it into components similar to the body.

This process was very complex, but the dissolving fluid in the Acid Injectors and Burst Balls clearly helped improve their decomposition efficiency. After being able to utilize oxygen, Lin also discovered that the cells sometimes used oxygen to break down food.

Just like the dust in this smoke, it also needed to be mixed with oxygen to decompose.

Lin couldn't fully understand the secrets of decomposition, but she knew that these plumes surging out of the trench were actually a continuous source of food!

Given their massive output, there was no reason not to utilize them.

Leviathan would not stop its journey, and there was no need to move the base here. Lin could build a new base directly here.

Lin had Leviathan create a special item inside her body, called the 'Base Seed.'

It was a spherical object composed of 80% fat cells, 10% basic cells, and 10% gland cells. The basic cells could use the fat cells to rapidly divide and grow into a small base.

The small base would then produce soldiers and capture food, eventually growing into a large base.

This type of base was different from the initial one. It would eventually grow into a triangular structure, with all organs contained inside, and the outer skin would be protected by a hard shell.

Hmm, this is a good plan... Lin decided that whenever she found a nutrient-rich area, she would place a Base Seed there.

If the base's resources were depleted, Lin would have the base self-decompose, and the nutrients would be transported to the nearest base.

Leviathan placed the Base Seed in the sand at the edge of the trench and ate a few nearby small trilobites to prevent them from interfering with the base.

The gland cells of the Base Seed would secrete a layer of chitin to encase it. Then, the basic cells inside would begin to change. Once the changes were complete, they could open a hole in the shell to release troops or extend tentacles.

When the base needed to grow, Lin would dissolve this layer of chitin and replace it with a larger one.

Although it was a bit troublesome, it provided excellent protection.

After the chitin secretion was complete, it would be almost invulnerable, and Leviathan could leave.

So, where to go next?

Leviathan slowly swam over the dark abyss of the trench. In front of Lin was still a white sandy beach, and a cluster of giant rocks in the distance caught her attention.

Let's go there.

Leviathan's swimming speed was not fast. Lin wanted to observe and find a suitable place to place the Base Seed while swimming.

Most of the creatures on this beach were starfish and sea anemones, nothing particularly unusual.

As they approached the cluster of rocks, Lin began to speed up. Suddenly, she noticed some small, flat, leaf-shaped creatures swimming around.

Are these flatworms? They seem different.

Lin found that these small creatures were similar in size to flatworms but had longer bodies and round mouths with several rows of sharp teeth.

Let's call them Round-mouthed Flatworms.

Lin initially ignored them and continued swimming. After a while, she realized that these Round-mouthed Flatworms were following her, and their numbers were increasing.

It doesn't look good...

Lin tried to speed up, but the Round-mouthed Flatworms were much faster. The massive Leviathan couldn't shake them off, and more Round-mouthed Flatworms swam from a distance, gathering to the thousands.

Looking at their teeth, Lin knew what these creatures intended to do.

So, Lin took the initiative. She swung all of Leviathan's biting tentacles, instantly biting several Round-mouthed Flatworms and tearing them into pieces.

In an instant, all the Round-mouthed Flatworms surged forward!

Their round mouths acted like suction cups. Once they latched on, they would twist their bodies and use their teeth to scrape off the flesh of their target.

Lin immediately counterattacked. Leviathan swung its tentacles, tearing apart the approaching Round-mouthed Flatworms.

Unlike jellyfish, which ignored the death of one of their own, the Round-mouthed Flatworms seemed to have a strong sense of camaraderie. Once a companion was killed, they would fiercely attack the killer. Countless Round-mouthed Flatworms latched onto Leviathan's tentacles, and the unarmored tentacles were instantly scratched with numerous wounds.

Although Lin could instantly solidify the blood vessels at the wound sites to prevent cells from spilling out, and the Round-mouthed Flatworms couldn't harm Leviathan's armored body, they focused on attacking the tentacles. If this continued, the tentacles would be torn apart.

The Round-mouthed Flatworms were very fast, and regular soldiers had difficulty catching up to them. So, this was the only option.

Lin quickly combined a new type of soldier, a disc-shaped creature covered in a hard shell, with a ring of curved blades around the edge. It could swim by rapidly spinning its body using water jets. It was called... the Flying Saw!

Leviathan's soldier release ports opened, and she released several Flying Saws. These new, rapidly spinning soldiers were even faster than the Round-mouthed Flatworms and were highly efficient in combat. The Flying Saws only needed to spin into the group of flatworms to easily slice them into countless pieces with the blades around their bodies.

Countless remains and flatworm cells floated in the water. The Flying Saws' attack crushed the Round-mouthed Flatworms, who could not harm the hard shells of the Flying Saws and thus had no way to counterattack. They began to retreat and flee.

Although the Round-mouthed Flatworms attacked in a highly coordinated manner, they dispersed in all directions when retreating. Lin thought this was a more effective escape strategy, making it impossible to chase them all at once.

Lin did not pursue them but instead recalled the Flying Saws and released Collectors to eat the remains of the Round-mouthed Flatworms and repair the wounds on the tentacles.

These creatures seem quite intelligent.

Previously, Lin encountered flatworms that built stone circles, and now these were capable of coordinated attacks.

Do they have some special secret?

Lin studied a relatively intact Round-mouthed Flatworm and found that the ganglia in their heads were particularly large. This structure seemed to be more than just a 'ganglion' and required a new term to describe it.

"Brain."

In addition, this Round-mouthed Flatworm, like the previous flatworms, had a chitin cylinder running from head to tail inside its body.

Lin had always wondered why they had a shell inside their bodies. Was it just taking up space?

There was another new term to describe this structure.

"Spine."

...

Thank you to ~Purple & Otherworldly Flower~ Uncle Bamboo~ Lone Star Exile~ Great Self-Completion~ for your support~

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