How are Zerg made?

Chapter 10: Good and Bad · Chapter 10: The Good and the Bad · "Why is it like this? While it’s not an absolute rule that every single-celled organism must possess an 'eyespots' photoreceptor, it is highly improbable that none of them would..." · Subsequently, Professor Hogu also noted that among these single-celled organisms, there were no chloroplasts or chlorophyll, things that require 'light' to participate in reactions. · "Could it be that I was wrong from the very beginning?" · "Is it possible that the external environment truly lacks 'light', and therefore these single-celled organisms have not evolved any organelles associated with it?" · From the state of these single-celled organisms, Professor Hogu derived this conclusion. · Life and the environment exist in a relationship of mutual influence. If there had been no life at the start, Earth would have gradually evolved into a barren planet. · The surrounding environment determines the forms that life can develop, influencing their evolution. · For a energy source like the sun, life should never pass it up. Even if they initially lacked organelles associated with 'light', they would find ways to evolve them. · However, Professor Hogu was in no rush to reach a verdict. After some thought, he decided to proceed with several more large-scale microbial capture operations. · "It would be too rash to draw a conclusion from this alone. This was only the first capture; I will try a few more times. If I still find nothing, then I can be certain that my current location is either the bottomless deep sea or a dark underground lake devoid of any light." · He used trace enzymes to dismantle the cell membranes and cell walls of the dead single-celled organisms, then pulled the internal organelles and gene fragments into the inner cells located behind the surface layer of the cavity, fixing them to the inner wall of the cell membrane using connector proteins. · For a moment, Professor Hogu actually had the illusion of striking it rich overnight. · But once he considered the possibility of multicellular organisms, his excitement quickly cooled. · Professor Hogu was well aware that while his current multicellular cluster was invincible against a multitude of microorganisms, once the opponent changed to a multicellular organism, it would be as fragile as a newborn infant. · The cell walls that could block bacteriophages were thinner than paper to a macroscopic organism. · The enzymes capable of breaking down cell walls had zero lethality against macroscopic organisms. · To the current single-celled cluster, the sharp fangs and claws of macroscopic organisms that could easily tear through skin tissue were equivalent to an African tribesman facing the nuclear weapons of a major power. · "It’s not enough… there is still a long way to go before I am no longer threatened." · While reminding himself of his current predicament, Professor Hogu directed his cells to engage in a gaping motion. · The massive maw, which appeared like a black hole to the microorganisms, opened slowly. Propelled by the current, Professor Hogu’s single-celled cluster pushed forward, and countless microorganisms, proteins, amino acids, and other substances were enveloped into the land of death without the slightest awareness. · He used enzymes to eradicate the worthless viruses, extended connector proteins, captured a vast number of microorganisms, and proceeded to dismantle them, carefully extracting their genes and organelles. · With the first two successes, the third attempt became even more proficient. The number of mouth-opening and closing cycles increased, and the coordination between Professor Hogu’s commands and the cluster’s cells became smoother, no longer as mechanical as before. · After hundreds of repetitions, the movement of the mouth, to Professor Hogu’s perception, seemed no different from that of a normal macroscopic organism. · This was good news, but there was bad news as well. · The origin of the issue was the single-celled organism with the suspected mitochondria that Professor Hogu had captured earlier; this organism was a sulfur bacterium that relied on sulfur for its life processes. · Professor Hogu was no stranger to sulfur bacteria; he had seen such single-celled organisms under an electron microscope in the volcanic rock samples he had previously collected. · These organisms are generally distributed in waters where sulfur exists; just as their name suggests, they cannot exist without the element sulfur. · Even in the era of humanity, sulfur bacteria did not go extinct; they were mainly concentrated around active volcanoes or hot springs, capable of surviving even in boiling water at one hundred degrees Celsius. · Since he had captured such an organism, he could deduce that there must be a large-scale, stable sulfur-rich environment nearby. · "I only pray that this place is not an active volcano." · Professor Hogu felt a chill in his heart, even if the volcano wasn't erupting and was merely emitting smoke. · Harmful substances mixed with rainwater in the atmosphere via dust and ash. The result would be either acid rain or alkaline rain; after a heavy downpour, the aquatic environment would change drastically in an instant. · Then there was the magma. Without eyes to observe his surroundings, magma posed an extreme danger to Professor Hogu and the cluster. Molten lava would cause the surrounding liquid to boil; in such high-temperature environments, the cells combined into a single entity would perish within seconds—or rather, be cooked. · There was no help for it; the multicellular organism formed by his current single-celled components was too primitive. It didn't even have a thermal sensing system, and Professor Hogu could only indirectly observe the water temperature through the protein changes within the cell cluster. · If the fangs and claws of macroscopic organisms were equivalent to the nuclear weapons of a major power, then an active volcano was equivalent to the sun. All Professor Hogu could do was be in awe. Once the volcano erupted, with the cluster’s current speed, death was certain. · "Only after losing them do I realize how precious those things were..." · Professor Hogu missed his eyes immensely, as well as the international civilian airliners of the human world that could reach twice the speed of sound. · Clearing his mind of distracting thoughts, he had no time to waste; the threats hidden in the darkness would not wait for him to be prepared. · Two points could be confirmed so far. · First, from the captured single-celled organisms, it could be determined that the surroundings were a completely dark environment, hence none of these single-celled organisms had evolved organelles related to 'light'. · Second, there was an unknown region nearby dense with the element sulfur. · "Assuming the worst-case scenario, let us hypothesize that there is such an active volcano nearby..." · Professor Hogu’s analysis stopped abruptly. It wasn't that he didn't want to continue the deduction, but his train of thought had stalled. · In the face of absolute power, these were merely futile struggles. · "……Sure enough, I still need eyes." · A thought appeared in Professor Hogu’s mind—since he could not find existing organelles related to 'light', why not simply manufacture a pair of 'eyes' independently? · The moment this thought surfaced, it grew like wild weeds, occupying Professor Hogu’s mind in an instant, refusing to be cast aside no matter what. · "That's right, I can completely design my own Visual System, one that is more sophisticated and higher-performing than the 'eyespots' of those single-celled organisms." · "As for the standard, I will use human vision as the benchmark." · [END]