Starting from Prototype to Immortality

Chapter 13: The Harvest Begins

The black hunter, in terms of defense, strength, and speed, far surpassed ordinary hunters.

Chang Wei had tested it against regular hunters and Blackwatch soldiers, and the result was clear: the black hunter could easily tear through hunters. The ease with which it did so was reminiscent of when Chang Wei first used his Four-Armed Overlord form to battle hunters.

In fact, Chang Wei had indeed passed the genes of his Four-Armed Overlord form into that drop of blood, so this black hunter had four arms. Calling it the Four-Armed Hunter was entirely fitting.

Additionally, the blacklight virus within it was incredibly stable, ensuring it wouldn't uncontrollably spread unless the Four-Armed Hunter intended to. Even when the virus was spread, the infected wouldn't turn into ordinary infected beings but rather "Deteriorated Hunters."

Deteriorated Hunters were significantly smaller than regular hunters but far faster, with reduced strength and defense. They were essentially a downgraded version of hunters.

At first glance, this might seem like a disadvantage. However, given that these blacklight creatures evolved specifically for weaponization, how could this possibly be a drawback?

First, Deteriorated Hunters ensured quality. No matter how the blacklight virus spread, it wouldn't degrade further. Deteriorated Hunters could only infect others to create more Deteriorated Hunters. And while Deteriorated Hunters were weaker compared to hunters, they still far outclassed infected entities like common fat mutants.

Second, they significantly reduced energy consumption. Without needing as much strength and defense, the energy and blacklight virus required to create one hunter could instead produce ten Deteriorated Hunters.

Deteriorated Hunters only needed enhanced speed. As long as they could evade enemy detection and attacks, they were sufficient. After all, their primary mission was to spread the blacklight virus "quickly," "widely," and "stably," infecting an entire city at the fastest pace possible! Much like xenomorphs, as long as there was enough flesh and blood, Deteriorated Hunters could be mass-produced in large quantities!

This ability was an evolution Chang Wei developed specifically, anticipating potential enemies like swarms or hive-mind creatures. In a sense, he had become the swarm himself.

Lastly, Deteriorated Hunters acted as storage tanks for genetic points. Once they had harvested and plundered enough lifeforms, Chang Wei could recover those points at lightning speed.

After the Four-Armed Hunter, Chang Wei developed another species that incorporated several of his own form enhancements—most notably, the ability to secrete strong acid: the "Death Hunter."

As for the electricity-based abilities, Chang Wei chose not to share them. If Alex Mercer managed to absorb and acquire those abilities, it would be quite troublesome for him. By comparison, while strong acid was also potent, Chang Wei had specifically evolved his shell to counteract it, rendering him immune.

The Death Hunter had a physique similar to the Four-Armed Hunter but with vastly different coloration—a striking crimson. To facilitate the release of acidic mist from its body, it required a less durable outer shell. Its role was purely destructive. Chang Wei would dispatch Death Hunters when genetic points couldn't be reclaimed from targets, aiming for total annihilation.

As for the so-called Super Hunter or Supreme Hunter, Chang Wei had accessed Elizabeth's genetic library to obtain a complete version. It was only then he realized that the Super Hunter in the original storyline was merely an incomplete, undeveloped form.

Even though the Super Hunter could theoretically continue evolving and becoming stronger, the incomplete version lacked many of the abilities of the full version.

The complete Super Hunter was a weapon designed and created by Elizabeth specifically to deal with her "disobedient son," Alex Mercer.

Yet it ended up being unleashed prematurely when Alex injected it. Why Elizabeth didn't continue developing another Super Hunter afterward remained unclear—perhaps she didn't have time, or maybe that one injection caused her to lose critical data, preventing further production.

"The fully-evolved Super Hunter is impressive, but it's of no use to me," Chang Wei thought.

To him, even without using his lethal electric current attacks, he could easily crush it.

From start to finish, all he wanted from Elizabeth was the ability to produce blacklight-based units. He had little interest in most of the units Elizabeth designed, firmly believing that his creations were the most suitable and the best.

Of course, referencing others' ideas was necessary. One couldn't become the strongest through imagination alone—practicality was key.

"Go, create Deteriorated Hunters, and find Alex Mercer for me."

Chang Wei planned to absorb Alex Mercer, then conquer the world, thoroughly plundering it and amassing enough genetic points to travel to the next world. That way, any valuable discoveries in the next world could be quickly integrated into his evolution.

What's more, transitioning to another world required one hundred million genetic points as payment. He wasn't sure whether this was a fixed amount per world or if it varied.

The Four-Armed Hunter, having received its orders, dashed away.

…

"Captain, why has the casualty rate among Marines and Blackwatch soldiers been so high recently?"

At Blackwatch Headquarters, the one-armed General Peter Randall questioned the captain standing before him.