Biological Modification (Part 2)

By all rights, Gao Gong should have been the most aware of his schemes. After all, without him, his "Brain in a Vat" plan would have already succeeded.

With over a hundred lives as sacrifices, he wouldn't have any objections if the other party had executed him on the spot.

"You don't hate me?"

"Hate you? Why? The ones who died were from your Cable Tribe, and the ones used as brain-vats were young women. It has nothing to do with me."

Professor Han's eyes were complex. "Is that so? I thought a righteous person like you would avenge the dead."

Righteous? Me?

Gao Gong was utterly bewildered. Weren't those two antonyms?

Oh.

Gao Gong finally understood.

Seeing injustice, he acted righteously.

He had freely given food to the tribe multiple times.

Finally, after hearing about the mad scientist's "Brain Vat Experiment," he had rushed over to save people without hesitation, risking his own life.

When he thought about it like this, Gao Gong was almost moved by himself.

What a good person!

If it weren't for the mission rewards and his subjugation plan, he would have almost believed it himself.

Cough cough, since the other party thought so highly of him, he shouldn't shatter their beautiful illusion.

Gao Gong said with a solemn expression, "Do you believe that you can sacrifice others for the sake of a vision that only appears to be good?"

"I..." Professor Han opened his mouth, and after a long pause, he said, "Great causes are forged through sacrifice. That's what someone told me."

"So, without their consent, you treated them like lab rats. It seems you didn't consider them as intelligent beings equal to yourself."

"You consider yourself superior and naturally expect others to pave the way according to your vision."

"But you overlooked whether the tides of the era needed a navigator like you, and whether your research results could support your fantasy."

"Your accumulation in science has allowed the Seven Deadly Sins of arrogance, greed, and vanity to fester within you in the irradiated wilderness."

"In this backward tribe, you treated yourself as a god. Gods are never wrong, right?"

Professor Han clutched his head in agony.

"How did I fall this far? Science should not become a new theology."

"I am a sinner!"

Gao Gong subtly curled his lips.

Never mind you; as civilizations climb their technological trees, all unascended civilizations will breed a large number of such thoughts.

The rapid development and expansion of civilization, the emergence and popularization of new technologies, the acceleration of planetary migration, the weakening of species identity, the emergence of new life theories.

At a certain point, the gap between people would no longer be a matter of species.

Would you consider a dog your own kind?

Truly, in the development process of low-level civilizations, a significant number of people will think this way. These people could be political leaders, technological heroes, Gene Slave Masters, or heads of mega-corporations.

Gene Modification, Biological Modification, Hive Technology, Super Lifeform, Dimensional Conversion, and the like – the connections of genes will be ruthlessly broken.

What remains in the end is the liberation of oneself from the constraints of morality and ethics.

And by then, it wouldn't just be a societal schism, but a civilizational one.

To break this "curse," only ascension is possible, and it must be an ascension at the civilizational level.

Using super-technology that encompasses the entire civilization to reshape the life forms of the original species.

Cough cough, that's going too far.

The reason Gao Gong didn't develop any ill feelings towards Professor Han, let alone condemn him morally, was simple.

To be frank, he had done quite a bit of this in his previous life.

For instance, in his attempt to move the Reproductive System into the Virtual World, he had accidentally removed the primary sexual characteristics of an intelligent species.

Although he later sent them billions of virtual haptic machines to compensate for this minor mishap, which were even better and more long-lasting, those people actually sued him in the civilization court, declaring him a perpetrator of civilization-ending crimes.

They were completely unreasonable.

What about racial heritage?

Wasn't a Paper Waifu more appealing?

Or perhaps, he had modified a species that reproduced asexually to reproduce sexually, and a species that reproduced sexually to reproduce asexually.

Cough cough, technical adjustments, purely technical adjustments, definitely not product malfunctions.

Compared to him, Professor Han's little maneuver was… well, he simply looked down on it.

On the surface, Gao Gong said with a stern expression, "If death can atone for sins, then what are the living worth!"

"To seek light in darkness, to seek hope in despair. Isn't that what life is all about?"

"The knowledge you possess can be put to much greater use. Are you really going to give up now?"

Professor Han took several deep breaths, his eyes resolute. "I understand. At least for as long as I'm alive, I will do my best to help the tribe, and you."

"This is how people who have come from the age of civilization should be!"

Gao Gong nodded in satisfaction.

"Then, please introduce these things to me."

As Professor Han explained, Gao Gong gradually understood the functions of these organs and where they could be transplanted.

The Blade Limb, nearly two meters long, was half wing and half blade. It had bio-neural wires at the root of the wing that could be connected to a prosthetic interface.

However, humans without enhanced neural augmentation could not support this "High Amplitude Flight Mode."

So, there were only two possibilities. First, remove its wings and turn it into a pure Blade Limb.

After all, the sharpness of the biological blade was no less than that of the "Red Unicorn."

The second option was the opposite: remove the Blade Limb and implant membranous wings. These wings could allow for "short-distance high-altitude gliding" and "enhanced speed," essentially acting as a biological glider for the human body.

However, wings without the Blade Limb were relatively fragile, and their large size would make the user look like a "bird-man."

The Bio-Armor was the exoskeleton of the Reaper Queen. Gao Gong tested it; the armor provided at least +100 defense, no wonder it was so hard to cut.

If the Bio-Armor were implanted, it would come with an "Armor Recovery" ability.

At least there would be no need to worry about it being scrapped.

If the biological modification were successful, it would likely come with an "Enhanced Repair" skill, which would exchange a large amount of stamina for faster armor repair during combat.

The Electronic Tentacle came with radar functionality and could connect to other Mech-Bio Beasts.

The Subdermal Blood Pump was a good item, essentially a mobile blood bag.

The Sensory Knee went without saying. The weight of an ordinary Reaper was at least over 500 jin. Coupled with the gravitational acceleration from falling from the sky, ordinary knees would have exploded upon landing.

Among these five biological organs, Gao Gong first discarded the "Blade Limb modification" and "Bio-Armor."

The reason was simple: both had mechanical components. If the "Mechanical Augmentation" rate of his movement system exceeded 10%, it would be disastrous.

He still planned to follow the Carbon-Based Flow path.

Of the remaining three, Gao Gong first rejected the Electronic Tentacle, for no other reason than it was simply too ugly.

He didn't want to be a Cockroach Person, with a slimy tentacle attached to his forehead.

Moreover, the function of the Electronic Tentacle overlapped with the Cybernetic Eye to some extent, making it unnecessary.

The Subdermal Blood Pump and Sensory Knee were truly excellent. Not only were their effects good, but more importantly, they were completely unnoticeable after biological modification.

There wasn't even a need for bionic surgery.

Professor Han then introduced three more modifiable systems.

Modification systems were more troublesome than organ transplantation because they weren't as simple as cutting out a part and replacing it.

The biological system had to be modified into a system mode that the human body could adapt to before installation. The complexity was a hundred times that of organ transplantation.

Furthermore, system modifications were not as intuitive as organ modifications.

They offered more possibilities but also carried greater risks.

Gao Gong didn't even look at the Reproductive System modification, immediately ruling it out. The reason? Did it even need a reason?

"The greatest characteristic of the Reaper's circulatory system is its immortality, unless it is killed on the spot, leaving no trace of life," Professor Han said, giving Gao Gong a strange look.

Gao Gong remained calm.

"Theoretically, even if its head were severed, it would still have a certain chance of regrowing it."

"In other words, vital point removal."

"That's right. Its circulatory system can sever damaged organ conduits at any time and form new circulation."

Gao Gong touched his neck. "So, if my modification is successful, my head can regrow if it's cut off?"

"Uh, that's unlikely, as you're only undergoing biological modification, not becoming a true Reaper."

"However, if your head were severed, and a battlefield surgeon performed repair surgery on you within a short period, it should be possible to save it."

"Oh, and there's more."

"There's also the Limb Regeneration Mode. Of course, this limb regeneration is at most for severed fingers. If hands or legs are cut off, the effect is the same as with the head."

"In other words, Micro-Organ Regeneration."

"That's correct."

"Is there anything else?"

"Reapers also exhibit a self-harm phenomenon, which is more common in the 'Arthropoda' phylum. Simply put, it's infighting among their own kind, which puts the perpetrator into an 'Excited State'."

"Does that mean I'll get a status buff when hunting Mech-Bio Beasts in the future?"

"Theoretically, yes, but I can't confirm whether this 'excitement' is specific to Reapers or applies to all Mech-Bio Beasts of the Insecta class, order Mantodea."

"To summarize, Vital Point Removal, Limb Regeneration Mode, and Kin Hunt Buff."

"That's right."

Gao Gong nodded. "Introduce me to the next one."

As if returning to his research days, Professor Han became unusually excited, his tone raising several octaves.

"The Reaper's digestive system, like other Reapers, can recover some stamina by consuming metal."

"Mm, Metal Digestion."

"Similar to the previous Kin Hunt, it digests the corpses of its own kind, which also produces an 'Excited State'."

"Kin Hunt Buff," Gao Gong smacked his lips. "My appetite has never been very good."

"And its greatest characteristic is the Digestive Organ Ectomorphism."

"Ectomorphism, what does that mean?"

Professor Han led Gao Gong to a nutrient tank, where a section of a Blade Limb and a claw were placed.