Free Web NovelChapter 64: Chapter 60: The Impact of Biopunk
Velin gently tapped the iron box housing the insect king with his knuckles.
"Master, just imagine."
"We continue breeding it until its carapace is as strong as steel. Then we can use it to make armor."
Velin turned to face the deathly pale old man, his eyes burning with intensity.
"Or what if we bred ants that secrete strong acid to mine ore for us? The number of blacksmiths and miners we need would plummet. And breeders are far easier to train than skilled laborers."
A roar filled Valerius’s mind.
’This isn’t Alchemy...’
’This is an industry! A living, biological industrial complex, one that can reproduce itself indefinitely!’
He staggered back half a step, his eyes wide with terror.
"No!" The old man’s voice cracked, rising to a near scream.
"This is blasphemy! Creatures are creatures, and tools are tools!"
"You... you want insects to replace craftsmen? What will the craftsmen do? What about the miners?"
"You’ll throw the entire world order into chaos!"
Velin ignored his ranting.
He simply watched the Head Alchemist calmly, as if observing a child terrified by the tides of a new era.
"Order?" Velin scoffed.
"The order that has miners coughing up blood in dark mines, looking like corpses by the time they’re thirty, all for a few Silver Moons?"
"Or the order that has blacksmiths hammering away day and night, unable to afford a single suit of the armor they forge in their entire lives?"
He took a step forward.
"Master, do you really think an order like that is worth protecting?"
Valerius was struck speechless.
His mouth hung open, but he couldn’t utter a single syllable.
Velin’s calm words, more powerful than any roar, had torn the "order" Valerius took such pride in to shreds.
Paying him no further mind, Velin once again focused his Spiritual Power on the two insect kings, one stacked atop the other.
A new information panel unfurled across his vision.
[Rot-Shell Dung Beetle (Mutant)]
[Level: One Magical Beast]
[Bloodline: Bader Insect (Black Iron Tier) 28%, Mixed Bloodline 72%]
[Abilities: Gigantification, Hardened Carapace]
[Overall Assessment: An unstable, mutated specimen possessing a chitinous carapace superior to its kind. Its life form is extremely unstable, with a high risk of premature death or degenerative mutation. Bloodline purity meets the criteria for evolution.]
Beneath the panel, golden script appeared once more.
[Available Evolution: Bader Dung Beetle]
[Evolution Method: 1. Place eggs in specialized nutrient soil. 2. Incubate in a low-concentration aether environment for three days, until hatching.]
[Nutrient Soil (1 serving/egg): 10g Original Blood Crystal powder, 50g Earth Vein Rock powder, 20g Ironback Crocodile Scale Powder, 20g Fungal Catalyst, 300g humus.]
Velin silently committed the recipe to memory, then wrote it down on a nearby sheet of parchment.
"Master, I’ll need a little help stabilizing its traits."
As if in a trance, Valerius mechanically leaned over to look.
"Original Blood Crystal powder... Yes, yes, that’s the best choice for stabilizing a bloodline and replenishing its life essence."
"Earth Vein Rock powder... to impart a sturdy characteristic. It’s a core material for constructs... Brilliant..."
"Ironback Crocodile Scale Powder... Ah, for physical resistance... for the carapace..."
His finger traced across the parchment as he mumbled to himself, the initial vacancy in his eyes gradually giving way to the distinct fervor of an Alchemist.
But when he saw the final ingredient, his brow furrowed deeply.
"Fungal Catalyst? Strange... A Fungal Catalyst accelerates decomposition. It’s normally used to dispose of failed experiments... Why use it here? Is it to neutralize the overly rich energy in the soil and prevent the larvae from malforming? Using ’decay’ to balance ’growth’? A brilliant line of thought..."
The Master was trying to interpret it within his own framework of knowledge.
Velin tilted his head, interrupting his analysis.
"No, Master, you’re overthinking it."
"Its purpose is exactly what its name implies. It’s a catalyst."
"It breaks down the humus in the soil, turning it into the larva’s favorite nutrients."
ZZZT—
For a moment, Valerius’s brain simply shut down.
The alchemical logic he took so much pride in was utterly shattered by this brutally simple pragmatism.
He looked at the elegant yet weighty recipe on the parchment, realizing there was a vast chasm between his own mastery of Alchemy and that of the recipe’s creator.
"This... Which master’s work is this?"
"Like the Antitoxic Potion from before, I came up with it myself."
Velin calmly cleaned up the remains in the iron box, stating it as if it were a trivial matter.
’Don’t ask. If you have to ask, the answer is genius.’
"..."
Valerius opened his mouth, but all his words dissolved into a long sigh.
He gave up on getting to the bottom of it.
’Perhaps, in the face of true genius, common sense simply doesn’t apply.’
Velin ignored the old man’s inner turmoil, his attention fixed on the two insect kings, which had already gotten busy.
A batch of white, rice-grain-sized insect eggs had already been laid in the box.
This was the first generation. Its traits were still crude, but as a basic template, it was more than enough.
Its value wasn’t just in combat, but in becoming the first cornerstone of Newly Town’s production system—a cheap, renewable means of production.
Velin turned around, "Master, we need to start preparing the nutrient soil immediately."
Valerius took a deep breath, as if trying to draw a sliver of sanity from this suffocating madness. fгeewebnovёl.com
He steadied himself against the workbench, his voice hoarse as he spoke. It was less a question and more a confirmation of whether there was still a way to turn back.
"So... what is it you plan to do? Breed a few to start... no, a whole clutch? For observation and research, to document their potential for mutation?"
Velin thought for a moment before giving a number.
"Let’s start with five hundred."
"Alright, five hundred... Huh?!"
Valerius’s voice suddenly spiked, cracking completely.
’He must have misheard.’
As if not noticing the old man’s expression, Velin added nonchalantly.
"This is just the first batch, to test for stability."
"If it’s successful, the next batch will be at least ten times larger."
’Five thousand...’
Valerius felt his heart being squeezed by an invisible hand. freēwebnovel.com
He looked at Velin’s calm face, his mind no longer picturing the grand blueprint of a "biological industry."
Instead, he saw a dark, swarming, all-devouring Demon Beast Legion!
"Five... five thousand..."
"You’re mad... Are you insane!" he roared.
"Have you ever thought about what it means to have five thousand of these monsters in the territory? If we lose control, it will be a disaster! A disaster of our own making!"
At his words, Velin calmly turned his head. In the lamplight, his wine-red eyes revealed a hint of pity.
"Master, you’re still worried about ’losing control’."
"What you should be worried about is the day I can ’control’ them perfectly."
