Biological Augmentation (End)

After Professor Han left, Gao Gong fell into deep thought.

It wasn't so much a choice between two system augmentations, but rather a selection between two sets of skill combinations.

Was it Mobile Blood Bag, Organ De-Vitalization, Micro Limb Regeneration, and Kin Hunt Buff?

Or was it Flexibility Enhancement, Metal Digestion, Kin Predation Buff, and Biochemical Star Absorption?

The former was suitable for fighting bosses and served as a tank, the kind of player Fat Xiang was. However, all three of its traits were very practical. Even Gao Gong was tempted by traits like "No Vital Points" and "Finger Regeneration."

It was practically a godsend for melee builds.

As for the latter, it seemed more suited for healers?

That wasn't quite right, it was more suited for rapid battlefield healing.

It was just that "Metal Digestion" wasn't very practical.

But "Star Absorption" was just too tempting.

Gao Gong was very conflicted. This indecision only ended when Professor Han presented the specific "Biological Augmentation Plan."

He had to choose the second option.

Nothing else mattered. Normal systemic augmentations had a core component.

For the circulatory system, the core was the heart; for the digestive system, it was the stomach.

Simply put, the former required a heart transplant, and the latter, a stomach transplant.

A stomach transplant was no big deal; his stomach was the original, not an imported one anyway.

As for a heart transplant, his heart had long been replaced by a Mechanical Heart.

It wasn't impossible to replace it. It was just a standard power supply device with mediocre energy consumption. Gao Gong had disliked it for a long time and planned to replace it sooner or later.

However, following the Fusion Ascension path, meaning the Carbon-Based Flow + Mechanical Flow, had a major taboo.

That was, when performing mechanical augmentations, it was best not to mess around with the biological systems.

The reverse was also true: when optimizing biological systems, one should not touch the mechanical systems.

It was like walking a tightrope; if you lean too far left, you correct to the right, and if you lean too far right, you correct to the left. If you sway back and forth randomly, you're very likely to fall.

Professor Han was surprised that Gao Gong had decided on a plan so quickly. He hesitated for a moment and said:

"I know you want to gain greater power through biological augmentation, and that's perfectly fine. However, implanting biological organs into the human body is indeed outside my area of expertise."

"I'm not sure what kind of physiological reactions it would produce."

"Professor, you're not trying to stop me, are you?"

Professor Han shook his head. "What I mean is, if you just want to gain the power of a Radiation Beast, there's another way."

"Symbiotic Technology?"

"You know about it?" Professor Han was astonished.

"I read your notes. I must say, Professor, you had a great physique when you were young."

Professor Han's rare old face flushed red. He sighed wistfully, "Youthful impetuosity, it's good to be young."

"But Symbiotic Technology was a top-secret technology of your country even in the pre-civilization era. Although Professor Han, you are a master of Bionics—"

"It's not pure Symbiotic Technology, but rather using the principles of Bionics to temporarily graft the limbs of a Radiation Beast onto the human body, thereby gaining immense power."

Gao Gong suddenly realized, "So that's how those classic Mechanical Hunters could wield such heavy weapons without undergoing mechanical augmentation."

Professor Han's expression darkened. It was clear his past regrets had not yet been resolved.

Gao Gong smiled. "Based on my guess, this kind of biological body bionics must have significant flaws, right? If nothing else, this method of connecting and then disconnecting, if used frequently, would prevent the life system from integrating. In the long run, biological rejection would reach terrifying levels."

Professor Han nodded. "That's right. And another point is that Symbiotic Technology is war technology. Symbiotes are used immediately upon attachment, while our bionic limbs require several days of debugging."

Gao Gong completely lost interest and shook his head.

"Then I'll stick with my method."

The two began their collaboration. Professor Han was responsible for the systemic bionics of the "Reaper Queen," while Gao Gong started integrating the surgical plan. Some "biological augmentations" were suitable for surgical modification, while others were not and needed adjustments.

According to the "game," what the two were doing now was creating their own blueprints and equipment.

During breaks, Gao Gong would walk to a Nutrient Tank and look at the "stomach" inside.

Generally, as a human digestive organ, most people's stomachs are shaped like water bags.

Compared to them, the Reaper Queen's stomach looked particularly ferocious. It wasn't water-bag shaped but resembled an oversized red gemstone. The "gemstone's" surface was covered with dense digestive tubes, like a tangled ball of red snakes. The mouths of the digestive tubes, like snake mouths, were bubbling and spitting.

Human augmentation is a forbidden option in some civilizations, known as "Species Primitivism."

They would list various cases of failed augmentations and some heretical theories, such as the "Uncanny Valley Effect," the "Non-Human Organ Bestialization Principle," and "Physiological Mutability," to validate their viewpoints.

Simply put, they would peel back human skin, expose the structures of human augmentation, and disgust you thoroughly.

Look, this isn't human, not like us, how disgusting.

And look at its behavioral patterns, the more you look, the stranger it gets!

Anti-ethics, anti-morality, corrupt morals!

But the problem was, if you peeled off the face of a naturally beautiful woman and made her stare at you, you wouldn't be able to eat.

If you dug out your own heart, liver, spleen, and kidneys, you'd find them disgusting.

When you're old and frail, you won't even like looking at yourself.

As a player who embraced universal love, Gao Gong's principle had always been to have an aesthetic appreciation that crossed intelligent species.

As the ancients said, universal love leads to great offense.

Aren't Mecha Valkyries appealing? Aren't Bionic Beauties appealing? Aren't Ship Girls appealing? Aren't Tentacle Girls appealing?

Without this kind of broad-mindedness that encompasses the universe, you'll just be an ordinary game player, eventually being turned into a Bio-Battery or a Brain Fluid Generator by NPCs.

That's retribution.

Ahem, I've strayed off-topic again. In short, after Gao Gong and Professor Han worked together for another day, they were finally almost ready.

"Do you really have to be in such a hurry?"

"Every second counts."

On the operating table, Gao Gong grinned, then pulled out a set of Electrode Pads and stuck them onto his forehead and temples.

This was the first blueprint the system had gifted him when he transferred to the Prosthetic Doctor class: the 'Pain Editor'.

Pain Editor: A Neural Synergistic Processor that inhibits pain receptors from sending signals to the parietal lobe of the brain, allowing the user to feel no pain.

For biological augmentation, Gao Gong had crafted this equipment long ago, specifically to perform surgery on himself.

As expected, once the Pain Editor was activated, the pain signals were directly blocked.

"Let's begin."

Two surgical arms began to operate, needles inserted into his legs for Local Anesthesia (to prevent involuntary muscle reflexes in the legs).

A scalpel on another surgical arm then began to cut the skin.

There were obvious suture marks on Gao Gong's knees. As the skin was peeled back, metallic knee joints were revealed.

On the inner side of the joints, there were several wires as thick as nerves; Micro Motors were implanted there.

The knees would be replaced, but the motors had to be kept. The combination of Bio-Power Generation and Mechanical Power Generation was double the pleasure.

The biggest hurdle in the surgery was retaining the Micro Motors.

Fortunately, the 'Reaper's' knees were naturally quite compatible with alloy materials.

As long as the surface of the motors was plated with a 'Bio-Iron Membrane' (which was a thin film between the Bio-Armor and the flesh), it would be fine.

Gao Gong even had the leisure to replace aging wires on the motors.

The scene was quite bloody, with Gao Gong cutting into the human body expressionlessly, resembling a cannibalistic Dr. Hannibal.

[Implantation surgery in progress]

[Surgery complete, you have implanted the Sensory Knee. Agility +3, Evasion +5%, Critical Hit Rate +10% when Stealthing]

[Your knee load-bearing capacity has increased by 300kg]

[Fall damage reduced by 20%]

[Your Motor System Augmentation Rate +1%]

[Health +20, Stamina +10]

Outside the sterile room, Professor Han was a little nervous.

He wasn't idle during the surgery; he had to constantly check the rejection values of various parts of Gao Gong's body. If any system's rejection value became too high, he would immediately change the surgical details.

The knee surgery was completed smoothly, as expected. The real challenge was yet to come.

After the surgery, Gao Gong didn't have a drop of sweat on his head. This was the effect of the 'Blood Coagulator', which acted like a 'Sweat Gland Refrigerator', freezing the sweat gland system for a short period.

This was an equipment crafted from a Level 2 technology blueprint.

Gao Gong then took out a metallic pill and held it in his mouth.

It was somewhat like the scene of ancient people being buried with a "golden elixir in their mouths to ascend to immortality."

This was actually an 'Oral Special Medicine' that condensed the trace metal elements in the human body for a short period, reducing mechanical rejection.

It would have been more effective if swallowed.

But the problem was, Gao Gong's Digestive System was the one being augmented. If he swallowed it, where would it go?

Seeing the numbers on the screen stabilize again, Professor Han wiped his sweat and said in a deep voice, "We're almost there."

Gao Gong slowly lay down on the operating table. An electronic screen automatically unfolded above the operating table, displaying his six-pack abs.

The next surgery would be entirely controlled by the operating table.

First, anesthetic was applied to his abdomen, then with a 'hiss', lasers extended from the two surgical scalpels.

These were 'Polymer Scalpels', several times sharper than ordinary scalpels, especially suitable for Mechanical Augmentation and some 'hardcore' biological augmentations.

A red line slowly appeared on his chest, the human skin was cut open, revealing a titanium sternum and the Mechanical Heart beneath it.

And the stomach directly below the heart.

Soon, this thing would leave its home and head for distant lands.

During the surgery, Gao Gong had no time to pay attention to the system panel.

However, the system panel still flashed a series of prompts.

[Transplant surgery in progress]

[Stomach transplant complete, Reaper stomach being implanted]

[Transplant complete, HP +100]

[Additional Status: High Digestion Mode]

[Stamina Max +10%]

[Digestive System modification in progress]

[Your Digestive System modification rate +3%]

[HP +60, Stamina +30]

[Fused with the mechanical system within the body, digestion mode automatically mutated]

[Digestive System upgrading, HP recovery speed +10%]

[Biological Mutation beginning]

Professor Han's expression changed, as he saw Gao Gong's ten fingers and several toes crack open simultaneously, blood splashing out.

Is this the start of biological modification, or a sign of surgical failure?