Chapter 80: Genetic Modification Division (First Update)

Chapter 80 Genetic Modification Division (First Update)

Back at the Primordial Altar, Qi Sheng sat cross-legged, his journey’s brief interlude ending as he resumed his usual routine. He sifted through player-submitted reports, searching for avenues to refine and optimize his strategies.

The mechanical sovereign he’d encountered during his travels had already been marked as hostile. Their objective—to obliterate the Monster World—clashed directly with his ultimate goal. Yet, for now, this adversary could be ignored. At least until the player legion advanced to the Quaking Earth Continent, they posed no immediate threat.

To Qi Sheng, the Monster World—vast and boundless—had become astonishingly vibrant in the absence of the Four Deities. The terrifying Black Tide, the Abyssal Tide Legion, the mechanical sovereign… Countless new factions had risen in this ancient realm, weaving an unprecedented epic of power struggles. The prospect of this future, where titans clashed, filled him with anticipation.

Currently, the Black Tide and mechanical sovereign were confirmed hostiles. The Abyssal Tide Legion’s allegiance remained uncertain—friend or foe, their interests might align or collide. Turning his gaze to the hovering Guidewater Orb, Qi Sheng inquired:

“Guide, if I, as the Imperial Omen heir, attempt to recruit the eight-armed god whose identity remains unknown, what’s the probability of success?”

[“Boss, without specifics, I can’t analyze. The Reversal Tide’s alignment is unclear… Until we know more, it’s safest to avoid contact. The Imperial Omen heir’s identity is too sensitive. Premature exposure would draw unwanted attention—from those coveting the Imperial Omen’s power to external threats.”]

Qi Sheng nodded, understanding. His four loyal retainers had echoed similar warnings. The Imperial Omen had forged the Monster World itself; its power was irresistible even to the Black Tide’s puppeteers. Without sufficient strength, revealing his identity would be tantamount to suicide.

Once exposed, factions would swarm like vultures, suffocating the player legion’s growth and stripping him of agency. He would become the axis around which all forces revolved, powerless to resist the tide.

This was precisely why he’d chosen to burn his Sacrificial Power to hunt enemies secretly.

Shifting focus, his gaze landed on the Forum. A newly posted thread—refreshed three seconds ago—caught his eye:

[“Finally my time to strike it rich! Posting this to draw fire before I secure the kill. The more you roast me, the happier I’ll be—I know you’re all green with envy. Want to curse me out? Come to my Live Streaming Room, and maybe toss a few donations my way.”]

Poster: Goodmanfirstkillmyteammate

Content: [Live Streaming Room link]

…

Qi Sheng switched to the Live Streaming Room.

Through Guide’s multi-cam view, three players battled an emerald-green plant in the volcanic fissures west of the Geological Fissure Forge Region. The plant’s roots pierced the earth, its whip-like branches lashing the trio into yelps. Each strike left crimson welts. The frontline Black-Scaled Serpent tank, armored in obsidian scales, bore the brunt—its hide torn, scales flaking off.

Yet they pressed on, undeterred.

A lower-left screen displayed the creature’s stats:

[Extraction (First-Generation Primordial)]

Hunting Rank: 18

Guide Compendium: A primordial monster wielding Primordial Power, capable of extracting plant essence.

…

Seeing a Primordial, the Live Streaming Room exploded with chat spam: “You’re gonna die, you know that?!”

The audience seethed. The trio was on the verge of capturing the beast. The plant’s thrashing branches—many already severed—slowed by the second. Victory was inevitable.

“Constrict!” the lead player roared.

The ten-meter Black-Scaled Serpent lunged, coils tightening around the plant’s trunk despite relentless lashes.

“Ow, ow, OW! Hurry up and finish it—they’re ripping my soul apart!”

Though 90% pain suppression dulled the agony, the remaining 10% contorted the serpent-wielder’s face. He clamped his jaws onto the plant’s stem, teeth piercing its flesh.

His teammates responded, hurling inkfire fireballs. The flames licked the creature, only to die under its emerald glow—no lasting damage.

For five grueling minutes, the battle raged. Finally, the Primordial’s energy ebbed. Its branches sagged.

Two final fireballs struck. The inkfire roared, unextinguished, searing the plant’s limbs. It withered.

The Black-Scaled Serpent, still entwined, ignited. Uncoiling, it rolled on the ground, cursing:

“Moron! Get me a potion—my dad’s about to die!”

“Damn it, I’m never playing melee again. This pain’s worse than all my beatings combined. They almost drew my soul!”

As the trio bantered, a global announcement rang out:

[Challenger Prompt (Global): Congratulations to players Goodmanfirstkillmyteammate, Iammyteammate, and Iamgoodman for defeating the first-generation Primordial Extraction. Reward: 10,000 Sacrificial Power (shared among participants).]

Amidst a storm of celebratory chat spam, the leader—now in human form—stroked his visibly swollen head, smirking:

“Capturing Primordials? Easy as breathing. Outro time!”

The stream cut.

Half an hour later, the Forum buzzed with reviews of the new Primordial Life Soul Extraction. The most popular came from Nightfallapproach:

[“Chill, I’ve got the first analysis up.”]

Poster: Nightfallapproach

Content:

Stack a patience buff—this analysis is for reference only. Disagree? Discuss civilly. No vulgarities in the comments.

Onto it.

Let me be clear: Extraction is the weakest Life Soul in the game. Period.

This verdict applies to the current version. Future updates might introduce synergies to elevate it—like how Brain Overclock, Good Fortune, and Grand Luck seemed useless early on, only to shine when paired with complementary Life Souls.

Extraction’s ability—plant essence extraction—has been tested thoroughly. It only affects plant-type entities, and even then, its potency is pathetic.

Tested on level-10 Ghostwood, its damage output lagged behind a level-10 Malevolent Fury Axe swing. Utterly useless.

Players can simply sacrifice the spirit plant to Imperial Omen—the same energy is gained, no extra steps needed.

Unless Monster World introduces a Herbalist class, I see no use for Extraction.

Full test video linked below. Curious? Check it yourself.

Final verdict: Extraction is bottom-tier. It deserves the top spot in the ‘Ten Weakest Life Souls’ ranking.

…

Endlesslearning: Hyped for a new Life Soul until I realized it’s total filler. Back to farming Malevolent Spirits.

Beaverbeats: Thought Extraction would drain life force for healing. Turns out it’s just a resource-gatherer. After reading Night’s analysis, I can’t even be bothered to watch the video. Garbage confirmed.

Murderous Intent Stirred: Still craving the Test Tower Life Soul Database—Stealth, Haste, and Critical Strike. Pair those with my Black-Scaled Serpent’s venom, and I could finally build my dream assassin. Hope I live to see it.

Nightfallapproach (OP) to Murderous Intent Stirred: Stick with current Life Souls. This world’s vast. Guide confirmed the Dizhong Mountain Range is but a speck in the Monster World. Lunar Eclipse Clan plans long-term development. Many Life Souls will remain uncaught in our lifetimes—leave the rest to our descendants.

Game Bricklayer to Nightfallapproach: Damn your pessimism. Once I’m rich, I’m getting longevity gene therapy from the Lunar Base.

Supergod Old Hen: More Life Souls, same result—mage class dominance remains. The new Mirror Fireball Mage build is broken. When will melee get a break? (caishenye_clenching_fist_in_rage.jpg)

Luck Dominant Emperor: “I’m not really into melee or ranged builds. I just want to focus on the Shadow Legion school. The idea of growing stronger while lying down sounds amazing.”

……

As players debated the merits of Extracting Life Souls.

Outside Dizhong Village.

Yang Tianxuan from Endtimes Tech Guild was testing the firepower of their fourth-generation Spirit Energy Firearms.

Building upon three previous generations of modifications, they’d implemented far more detailed structural upgrades to the weapon system.

A nearby guild member conducting tests switched into Bonefire Form and retrieved the Spirit Energy Firearm from his spatial satchel.

As he pulled the trigger, flames coursing across his body surged into the gun’s barrel. The muzzle spat forth bullets wreathed in dark crimson flames, igniting a nearby Bloodfiend. Explosive rounds detonated in succession, dealing relentless damage that kept the monster from closing the distance.

Two minutes later, the Bloodfiend lay motionless, reduced to a charred corpse. The Challenger System’s All Essence Extraction System automatically activated, drawing out the creature’s essence after its "life-stability structure" was destroyed. A gray mist lifted from the corpse and flowed toward the player who’d landed the killing blow.

“Director Yang, initial tests went well, but the Bonefire Form’s flames continuously damage the weapon itself. The gun’s durability will burn out quickly at this rate.”

“No problem. The Bonefire ability works in human form too. Once other players raise their Body Forge Rank, they won’t need to maintain Bonefire Form constantly. This issue will resolve naturally.”

Yang Tianxuan turned his gaze toward another tester. The fourth-gen Spirit Energy Firearms represented a major leap over its predecessors by directly integrating Life Soul abilities.

For example, the flames from Bonefire Form could be channeled into the gun’s chamber, merging with energy from Spirit Stones to form concentrated inkfire bullets. Early tests showed excellent performance.

Future elemental Life Souls could similarly synergize with these firearms, unleashing sustained elemental damage barrages against targets.

Suddenly, a notification chimed in Yang Tianxuan’s mind – an incoming video call.

As he connected, a holographic screen materialized before him. The man onscreen wore his hair slicked back, strands silvered at the temples, his face framed by thick, wild sideburns.

“What’s up, Xiao Ye?” Yang asked curiously.

The man was Cheng Ye, a team leader in their Weapons R&D Division. After entering the game and establishing Endtimes Tech Guild, Cheng had taken a completely different path, focusing on implanting Vein-type melee Life Souls.

His motivation aligned with their weapon development goals. Recently, they’d begun constructing a basic furnace for refining spirit ore. Unfortunately, their team of researchers lacked combat prowess, requiring someone with physical strength to complete the manual forging tasks.

Cheng Ye had chosen a role akin to a mechanical engineer – handling manufacturing and maintenance labor.

“Boss, have you seen the latest Life Soul evaluation thread on the forums?” Cheng Ye asked with a grin.

“You mean that Essence Extraction Life Soul?” Yang asked, intrigued.

“The very one. You should check it out on the forums…”

After disconnecting, Yang remained puzzled about Cheng Ye’s intentions. Still, he immediately opened the Function Panel and navigated to the forums.

Scanning the trending topics, he quickly located Nightfallapproach’s review. As he read, Yang’s expression shifted dramatically.

“Extracting plant essences?”

Suddenly, he understood why Cheng Ye had reached out. The Essence Extraction Life Soul’s Primordial Trait reminded him of the Genetic Modification Division at Azure Firmament Technology Research Center – a department established after the Lunar Eclipse Clan gifted gene-editing technology to the Human Federation.

Initially conceived to create super-soldiers with enhanced genetics, the department also aimed to unravel life’s mysteries and advance biotechnology. Over time, they’d successfully engineered 100,000 genetic super-soldiers while making significant contributions to agriculture and medical health.

Today, genetic modifications fell into two categories. The first involved gene-editing to optimize Dna sequences for enhanced physical capabilities. The second utilized implanted spiritual seeds, often derived from spirit plants.

Unlike the wild spirit plants of Monster World, the real world’s versions were cultivated indoors, their growth accelerated through continuous energy infusions. However, both medicinal potency and growth rates lagged far behind Monster World specimens.

The current enhancement process involved extracting elixirs from spirit plants to stimulate genetic evolution, though the procedure carried significant risks. Less than 30% of test subjects survived, with most succumbing to physiological dysfunction, immune collapse, or neurological disorders during rapid genetic degradation.

He’d previously discussed these challenges with his contact in the Genetic Modification Division. Two solutions were critical – improving spirit plant quality and enhancing test subjects’ physical conditioning.

Monster World’s Essence Extraction Life Soul offered solutions to both problems.

First, the extraction process. In reality, producing pure elixirs required sophisticated equipment to isolate active ingredients while eliminating impurities. In Monster World, however, Essence Extraction could achieve this instantly using the world’s abundant high-quality spirit plants.

Second, subject safety. While real-world experiments carried irreversible risks, Monster World’s resurrection mechanics allowed unlimited testing without permanent consequences.

His heart pounded. What gamers dismissed as a weak ability could revolutionize genetic research. With sufficient Sacrificial Power, they could purchase endless spirit plants. Once they controlled Yuntian Domain Nodes, the game could even mass-produce them.

The transformation effects likely connected to Body Forge experience points. If so, the Genetic Modification Division could monetize enhancement serums, using the profits to build real-world facilities and acquire more spirit plants.

Yang Tianxuan immediately decided to share this revelation with his old friend. Opening the Function Panel, he prepared to log out.

As a 30-second logout countdown appeared before him, invisible spiritual runes materialized inside his body, linking together.

When the timer reached zero, his internal consciousness transmission array activated.

……

At the Dome Technology Research Center.

“You’ve already started weapon development inside the game?” His friend Yu Ze asked, astonishment evident on his face through the video call.

Yang Tianxuan nodded firmly. “The game’s physics engine perfectly simulates reality, making it ideal for weapon testing. Your genetic modification research could advance there too…”

After hearing Yang’s explanation, Yu Ze wore a wry expression. “Your ideas are great, but we can’t secure game licenses for Darklands. Even our comrade Qin Ye, who handled the Trading Center’s procurement mission, only received cracked version links that always say ‘registration full’ when we try downloading.”

Yang fell silent. He’d encountered this problem before but hadn’t realized Yu Ze still couldn’t obtain access.

“Alright, I’ll follow your suggestion. I’ll submit another application requesting official licenses through diplomatic channels.”

……

After ending the call, Yu Ze sighed in frustration as he sat at his desk.

He understood Yang’s recommendation better than anyone. But official licenses from Lunar Eclipse Clan were incredibly scarce. Even cracked versions proved nearly impossible to acquire.

Sighing again, he looked up at the virtual desktop and clicked the shortcut saved in the bottom corner.

The link redirected to the Darklands Cracked Version download page. Without real hope, Yu Ze clicked the download button once more.

[Beep~Download started. Progress: 0.01%]

“What?!”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end