How are Zerg made?

Chapter 7: The trapped beast will eat it · Chapter 7: A Cornered Beast Bites Back · Professor Hogu was distressed. He was currently facing a difficult problem. · The cell wall was generated from the DNA blueprint within the single cell. To narrow the tunnel through which substances flowed, the DNA blueprint required modification. · However, Professor Hogu lacked the conditions to perform such a task—or rather, he lacked the time. He did not know when the next wave of bacteriophages would strike, so the cell wall had to be completed before that happened. · "Is there really no feasible way?" · Professor Hogu asked himself, his attention fixed on the cell wall sample as he fell into deep thought. · If the tunnel was the issue, then the key to the problem must lie with the tunnel itself... · In his mind, Professor Hogu continuously recalled his past as a human; all memories related to 'pipelines' flickered past like a rotating lantern. · Suddenly, he realized something. · "Got it!" · "To narrow the passage, it doesn't necessarily need to be redesigned. As long as the tunnel walls are made to bend to a certain degree, a small section of the passage will naturally shrink." · The cell wall presented before Professor Hogu seemed to be gradually dismantling and reassembling, and the blueprints in his mind became increasingly clear. · "To make the tunnel bend, I can induce a misalignment between two layers of the cell wall. In this way, a portion of the tunnel can be constricted." · Without further delay, Professor Hogu immediately began to work on the construction of this new type of cell wall. · The single cell serving as the sample, already possessing a cell wall, received Professor Hogu's instructions and began to unwind and initiate Genetic Transcription of its DNA. Meanwhile, Professor Hogu remained focused intently on the residual gene chain of the bacteriophage. · Soon, a brand-new single cell with a cell wall appeared before Professor Hogu; simultaneously, he had mastered the segment of DNA responsible for generating the cell wall. · Directing the newly formed single cell, he partially unwound the DNA and fabricated a new cell wall. · The material flow tunnel of this cell wall had a slight misalignment compared to the original, just as Professor Hogu had planned. · With his previous experience in manipulating enzymes via the cytoplasm, the construction of the cell wall was completed in one go. · Professor Hogu looked at the single cell with the double-layered cell wall and felt very satisfied. · The two layers of the cell wall were absolutely sufficient to defend against the injection of those bacteriophages. · As for the tunnel, it had been narrowed to the point where only a single molecular cluster could pass through. Professor Hogu was confident that no bacteriophage could penetrate this single cell via this route. · Everything seemed perfect... · "With this, I can finally breathe a sigh of relief... hm?" · Just as Professor Hogu was about to shift his focus elsewhere, he noticed an anomaly. · The double-walled cell acting as the experimental sample was gradually losing its original vitality. · "This..." · In no time at all, Professor Hogu completely lost control of the double-walled cell, which meant it was dead. The DNA chain at its core had disintegrated, and the cell membrane was no longer permeable. · "Why is this happening?" · Toxins? Decomposition enzymes? Antibiotics? · Countless possibilities flashed through Professor Hogu's mind. Each seemed to correspond to the current situation, but upon closer inspection, none quite fit. · "Stay calm. There must be an error in the operation. As long as I carefully eliminate them one by one..." · Just as Professor Hogu was preparing to investigate the cause of the double-walled cell's death, alarm bells suddenly rang in his mind. · The entire single-cell cluster was coming into contact with multiple uninvited guests, one after another—and these were the toxic bacteriophages he feared most. · "Hiss—over thirty bacteriophages!?" · "No, the number is still increasing!" · With this many bacteriophages, the previous method was definitely not going to work. And now, since the cause of the double-walled cell's death remained unknown, forcing the issue would be tantamount to suicide. · Was he at a dead end? · Professor Hogu felt as if he could see the gates of hell slowly opening for him, with endless darkness lying beyond... · "No!" · "When this damn gate opens, I decide!" · The proximity of death ignited Professor Hogu's fury. A cornered beast bites back; the entire single-cell cluster seemed to be infected by Professor Hogu's emotions, maintaining a state of high-intensity agitation. · The agitation of the single-cell cluster, in turn, acted upon Professor Hogu’s collective consciousness. He could see with absolute clarity: the flow of cytoplasm, the Cell Division of the bacteriophages—everything was slowing down and becoming razor-sharp. In this state, he could even perceive individual molecules. · Moreover, his memories of his past as a human were rewinding and fast-forwarding; he could recall every detail of those memories if he wished, as if aided by a god. · "Opportunity. There is definitely an opportunity. They are only a group of mere bacteriophages after all..." · Like a seasoned hunter crouching in the tall grass, all his memories and knowledge were like animals passing by, completely unaware of the threat hidden in the grass. · Suddenly, the 'prey' appeared. · "...I am such a fool, I actually overlooked such a trump card." · Murmuring this, the single-cell cluster began to spontaneously release a massive amount of enzymes. These included Endonuclease, Exonuclease, Polymerase, Ligase, and others; if it was an enzyme, he produced it. · Through the flow of the cytoplasm, all these miscellaneous enzymes were guided toward the vicinity of the cell membranes. · Once the enzymes reached the cell membranes, the membranes began to thin, but to Professor Hogu, that was irrelevant; eliminating these damn bacteriophages was the top priority. · Those parasitic cells still under his control, following Professor Hogu's directions, rapidly began to manufacture vast quantities of enzymes, killing both themselves and the invading bacteriophage genes. · In the blink of an eye, the number of bacteriophages in the midst of parasitizing dropped by more than half. · Professor Hogu did not relax. He understood very well that battles in the microscopic world were different from the macroscopic world; numbers often did not play a decisive role. · As long as a single bacteriophage remained alive, it could directly threaten the survival of the entire single-cell cluster. · Just as Professor Hogu watched the victory of this battle approaching, another massive wave of bacteriophages landed on his single-cell cluster one after another. · "Damn it!" · Professor Hogu cursed, directing the single cells to use their own bodies to construct a defensive layer, isolating the vast majority of the bacteriophages on the outside. · To maintain his cell count, Professor Hogu simultaneously commanded some single cells to undergo Cell Division. With this maintenance, both sides entered a war of attrition. · Either the number of toxic bacteriophages was too overwhelming, drowning the cluster led by Professor Hogu, or the single-cell cluster here would consume the entire horde of bacteriophages. · As the battle dragged on, Professor Hogu’s eyes grew bloodshot. Now, his thinking was gradually leaning toward something more brutal. · [END]