Gao Gong stared at the blade limb and metal claw in the nutrient tank but noticed nothing special.
Professor Han did not explain. Instead, he pressed the switch on the tank's drain valve.
Soon, accompanied by the sound of draining water, the water level in the nutrient tank rapidly fell. Before long, the bottom was visible.
Before it completely drained, Professor Han released the switch.
It had to be said that the Reaper Queen's body parts possessed astonishing vitality. Even after being cut apart for research, neither showed any sign of "dying."
The blade limb, a biological blade comparable to the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, hummed as though it had developed a spirit of its own.
The metal claw, meanwhile, kept opening and closing. It even moved around inside the glass tank like a crab.
"See that?"
Gao Gong leaned close to the glass and let out a soft sound of surprise.
As the two "biological components" moved, the nutrient fluid, which had not yet reached the bottom, rapidly drained away.
Gao Gong understood why.
On the blade of the biological limb, tiny pinhole-sized openings spread wide and frantically absorbed the nutrient fluid.
Likewise, soybean-sized holes appeared on the Reaper's claw tips, competing with the biological blade limb for nourishment.
"This is the externalization of digestive organs. In bionics, it's also called organ externalization. It's a very unusual biological phenomenon."
"When a Reaper's 'capture limb' pierces into an enemy's body, it secretes a powerful digestive fluid. The digestive fluid melts the enemy's internal organs, and these 'biological suction pores' absorb the liquefied nutrients."
"Its suction is extremely powerful, reaching 4,800 AW—three times that of an ordinary central vacuum cleaner."
Gao Gong was not entirely sure what "three times" meant, but in his memories, when the Reaper Queen assassinated the Reaper leader, it had taken only three or four seconds to suck a C-rank boss dry until he became a withered corpse.
This was the biochemical version of the Star Absorption Technique!
Gao Gong's eyes lit up. "In other words, if I undergo biological modification, I'll gain this ability too?"
"In theory, yes. But that's only in theory. I can't be certain whether human hands and feet can replace the 'capture limbs' and evolve into new predatory organs."
"That's fine. You handle the plan, and I'll handle the surgery."
Gao Gong was unexpectedly full of confidence.
To deal with biological rejection, he had made extensive preparations.
At least for his first biological modification, he was confident that nothing would go wrong.
As for whether this kind of "biological loot box" could produce that ability...
That would truly depend on doing everything possible and leaving the rest to fate.
Professor Han once again threw himself into his busy work.
Merely adjusting the "biological system" required an expert to oversee it. If Gao Gong wanted to modify himself, his secondary occupation as a cybernetic doctor would have to reach at least Level 10.
Gao Gong, on the other hand, suddenly found himself free.
He had no intention of actually loafing around. With a snap of his fingers, the two human-headed dogs jumped onto the operating table one after another.
Professor Han was a master of biological modification, especially bionic technology. Installing a cybernetic implant port in the two mechanical bodies was no problem at all.
Gao Gong brought out a box and opened it, revealing a large revolver wrapped in red fleshy growths.
He put on three layers of radiation-proof gloves, wore an expression like an old man who had just seen a phone on the subway, and took it out before placing it on the operating table.
Name: Radiation Energy Gun Category: Biochemical Weapon Quality: Fine+ (Custom Template) Weight: 2.3 kg Basic Attributes: DPS: 3.9, Attack Power: 1400, Attack Speed: 0.003 attacks/sec, Attack Range: 250 m Additional Attributes: Penetration (+31% armor-piercing damage), High Temperature (+23.2% critical hit rate) Plugin Slot: Radiation Storage Unit Radiation Storage Unit: A biochemical battery that automatically absorbs nuclear radiation Note: This weapon is immature. Using it carries an extremely high chance of being injected with a biochemical virus.
The strange thing about this gun was that it was both an energy weapon and a biochemical weapon—the former was meant for enemies, while the latter was meant for its user.
On this planet, anything capable of firing energy beams was at least a B-rank boss.
Moreover, its attack power could only be matched by Gao Gong's "Twelvefold Draw-Cut."
But its attack speed was an extreme in the opposite direction.
One shot every five minutes, and it had to charge beforehand.
Gao Gong thought about it.
The gun's greatest use was suicide.
But looking at it from another angle, couldn't he simply avoid letting people use it?
That was when Gao Gong thought of the dogs he raised.
He planned to perform a surgery and install the gun on a dog.
As it turned out, this kind of surgery was not difficult.
Soon, the system gave a soft ding.
[You completed one cybernetic modification surgery. Experience +50]
The human-headed dog probably had no idea what miserable experiences awaited it in the future. The moment it left the operating table, it began leaping around joyfully.
Gao Gong then lifted a heavy machine gun out of another box.
The gun was extremely heavy, weighing over thirty kilograms. It had no stock, and the four biological drills beneath it wriggled everywhere like loaches.
Gao Gong flung the gun body several times before finally shaking the thing off his wrist.
"Stay still."
The next moment, the four surgical arms on the operating table swung over. Their surgical pincers clamped directly onto the "loach's" head, finally pinning the things down.
Name: Quadrupedal Guardian Category: Intelligent Weapon Weight: 35 kg Operating System: Blade Type 3 Energy: No. 5 Miniature Energy Battery (Can connect to the human body for automatic recharging) Usage: Human implantation Basic Attributes: DPS: 59,800, Attack Power: 46, Attack Speed: 1,300 attacks/sec, Attack Range: 800 m Intelligent Modules: "Auto-Aim," "Ballistic Analysis," "Charging Mode," "Enraged Beast," "Storm of Fire" Note: A classic among human-implant firearms, nicknamed the "Psychopath's Toy" by many soldiers. Greatly increases the probability of developing cyberpsychosis.
Gao Gong glanced over it. The five intelligent modules respectively enhanced "intelligent shooting," "bleed chance," "critical hit rate," "area damage," and "attack speed."
This gun's DPS—damage per second—was the exact opposite of that biochemical gun's. One was the one-shot-kill type, while the other excelled at sustained fire.
All in all, aside from the hidden attribute "Killer of Its Master," both guns were excellent.
So Gao Gong changed his approach. Rather than give them to people, he might as well give them to dogs.
It was only a dog's life, after all.
As the soldering on the operating table crackled, an ominous air inexplicably appeared on the human-headed dog's somewhat idiotic face.
The Radiation Energy Gun was still manageable. Even for a dog, it was not particularly heavy.
The "Quadrupedal Guardian," however, was far too heavy. Gao Gong had no choice but to overhaul the dog's body. He removed its joints, lowered its center of gravity, replaced its limbs with mechanical tracks, widened its back, and shifted its head backward to serve as a gun mount.
After such a major overhaul, this thing was less a dog than a "miniature human-headed tank."
Perhaps "unmanned tank" would have been a more suitable name.
[You completed one cybernetic modification surgery. Experience +100]
"Tsk, tsk. What's the use of modifying a mechanical hunter to be stronger? It's nothing more than experimental material for a military contractor."
"The output of just these two guns is already comparable to my ultimate attack. The steel legion's overwhelming might is truly terrifying just to imagine."
Gao Gong clicked his tongue, saying one thing while thinking another. He was still very satisfied with the modifications.
He had gained two more trump cards.
The two surgeries lasted until evening. Seeing Professor Han still absorbed in "biochemical enhancement," Gao Gong stretched and walked outside.
At some point, a bonfire had been lit in the recycling station, and many tribespeople were singing and dancing around it.
Pang Xiang was among them, grinning foolishly without pause.
Ironhide was the best at creating an atmosphere. He poured a large cup of liquor into an iron bucket, and the flames suddenly flared with a bang.
"I'll be your live DJ! Back when I was in a gang, this was what I was best at!"
Huang Yuanli also burst into laughter and joined the dancers. The firelight made her face glow red.
The desert natives always knew how to entertain themselves in an environment where they could neither eat their fill nor keep warm.
Seeing Gao Gong standing on the second floor, Huang Yuanli deliberately waved to him, signaling for him to come over and join the fun.
Gao Gong smiled and shook his head.
No matter what, this was a pretty good ending, wasn't it?
The next day, Gao Gong was still hungover when Professor Han shook him awake.
He had only intended to watch, but everyone had been far too enthusiastic and had forcibly dragged him over.
There was nothing he could do. He could only use monomolecular wire in place of a steel pole and perform a section of pole dancing.
Amid the cheering, however, it gradually turned into a striptease.
Among the deafening voices, the young wives cheered the loudest.
My underwear is still on, right?
Gao Gong lowered his head and looked. He let out a sigh of relief. His underwear was still there.
But why was he wearing it backward?
"Ahem, Professor, how did it go?"
He returned to the tent as if he knew the place by heart. Huang Yuanli was still snoring away, so he did not disturb her and scooped water from a bucket to wash his face.
Professor Han, who had been waiting outside, looked at him with a complicated expression. He had not participated in last night's revelry. He knew that he had no right to participate.
"One piece of good news and one piece of bad news."
Perhaps because of the "Reaper Aura," or perhaps because some unique pheromones had entered Gao Gong's body when he killed the Reaper Queen, blood tests showed that his biological components had very low rejection toward him. In fact, it could even be called negligible. That was the good news.
The bad news was that these "biological components from the same ancestry" had developed rejection toward one another.
"What the hell is this?" Gao Gong asked in shock.
"To put it simply, Reaper cells possess a certain degree of invasiveness. This invasiveness is also the source of their 'cannibalism.'"
"If biological implants from the same human system are used, their predatory nature isn't obvious. But if two systems are implanted, their mutual rejection will greatly increase biological incompatibility."
"Then why did the Reaper Queen have no problem?"
"It was the chance occurrence of biological mutation. She was a radiation creation with one chance in a million." Professor Han shook his head. "Unless you want to become a complete Reaper, you'll have to make a choice."
"In other words, I can only choose one of the two modifiable systems."
"More precisely, you must choose between the circulatory system plus subcutaneous blood pump, and the digestive system plus sensory knees."
"Oh, right. The subcutaneous blood pump belongs to the circulatory system, but aren't the knees part of the locomotor system?"
Professor Han said casually, "I made some bionic adjustments. As long as it's only the knees, it remains within the compatibility range. After all, your knees have already undergone mechanical modification and are no longer within the biological category."
What an expert!
Gao Gong grabbed Professor Han's hand and said sincerely, "My knees have not only undergone mechanical modification—they can also kneel before you."
Before you continue