Merfolk

Because the biopods Lu Zhiyu had made before were so useful, he returned to Earth and ordered another batch. They finally arrived four days later, and he brought them back and assembled them all.

Lu Zhiyu's laboratory had undergone another major transformation. Rows of biopods, all kinds of medical equipment, diagrams of biological templates, and numbered genetic samples in cryogenic tanks made it look every bit like an alien's laboratory.

Lu Zhiyu kept Sakun's mythological creature body in a small biopod and forbade the Ant-Men from going near it. Though it had lost consciousness and was left with only its body's instincts, unable even to move, it was still extremely dangerous. But in another, larger biopod, there was a different, beautiful creature.

This was the result of Lu Zhiyu's experiments over the past few days. Inside the large biopod was a beautiful woman, with sky-blue hair reaching her waist. Below the waist, she had a long, slender fish tail two meters in length.

She had the face of a goddess, with delicate features that gave her a pure, captivating air. Her long eyelashes twitched faintly, as if she could awaken at any moment. She was a mermaid. Beneath her cheeks were two blue lines that looked like tattoos—gills that let her live underwater!

"Just as I thought. As long as they don't resist the source consciousness, the assimilation effect will take hold!"

Sakun had cast a wide net. Along the way, his Deified Cells had exploded inside the bodies of who knew how many marine creatures before producing the Children of the Sea God. Only after trying again himself did Lu Zhiyu confirm his theory.

Using a human template combined with fish genes and infused with Blood of Sakun, Lu Zhiyu had created the first familiar of a mythological creature. In a sense, she could be considered God-born. Lu Zhiyu thought being Sakun's offspring sounded a little lame—not exactly elegant or impressive—but to ordinary people, Sakun was an undeniably mythological creature, a godlike being!

At any rate, she was a genuine supernatural life-form—the first one. Well, probably the first supernatural intelligent life-form to be born.

Lu Zhiyu circled the mermaid, surveying her from head to tail, then nodded at the perfect form he had designed with his life template. "I really do have a bit of an artistic streak. With them around, this world will finally feel a little more like a magical world. All that clanging around with swords and fighting hand to hand is so unimaginative!"

Just then, the mermaid floating in the nutrient fluid opened her eyes and looked at Lu Zhiyu, startling him. "What's going on? I injected her with anesthetic. No, she just fused with Blood of Sakun. The anesthetic definitely won't work on her!"

Newly awakened, the mermaid had tubes all over her body. She opened her lively eyes and looked curiously outside, observing the world—and Lu Zhiyu—like a baby.

"Ee-ee!" She made baby-like sounds inside the biopod, pressing both hands against the glass and staring at Lu Zhiyu with her big eyes. It made Lu Zhiyu feel distinctly uncomfortable!

Lu Zhiyu stared back at her, not knowing what to do. This was the first time he had stood outside a biopod and locked eyes with an intelligent being. It felt incredibly awkward!

Lu Zhiyu immediately activated his dream-control ability. He gently waved a hand, and the mermaid slowly closed her eyes and drifted back to sleep. After that, he made another dozen or so mermaids. He only stopped once he had used up about half of Sakun's Deified Cells.

The mermaids developed from embryos to fully formed bodies entirely inside the biopods. As long as Lu Zhiyu supplied enough nutrient fluid, they would have everything they needed to grow from infancy to maturity.

Especially after he infused them with Blood of Sakun, Lu Zhiyu used his dream-control ability to guide their instinctive consciousness and keep them from resisting. The Deified Cells could then rapidly mature them from infants to adults in just a few days!

The laboratory now held more than a dozen mermaids, all with their eyes closed, tubes inserted into their bodies as they floated in the cold biopods. The entire place felt sinister, and Lu Zhiyu, in his white coat, looked just like one of those doctors conducting wicked experiments in the stories!

Lu Zhiyu laughed at the thought. "I like to think I'm a good guy, though!"

Lu Zhiyu went from one mermaid to the next, checking their physical condition, their health, how well the Deified Cells had fused, and whether there was any chance of rejection or backlash.

"No. 2 is healthy. Deified Cell fusion rate: 42 percent. Her ability is... well, it should be fire control!"

"..."

"No. 5 is healthy. Deified Cell fusion rate: 37 percent. Her ability should be a bewitching sonic wave!"

Although the mermaids Lu Zhiyu had created inherited Sakun's abilities, they did not inherit them completely. Their powers depended on which of Sakun's abilities they received or awakened when they fused with Blood of Sakun.

Some could control fire, others ice, or the sea and water. They might also inherit Sakun's mental abilities, combining them with the merfolk's peerless beauty and singing to create a bewitching power!

No. 1 had the highest Deified Cell fusion rate, reaching 70 percent. She had also inherited the strongest powers from Blood of Sakun, almost all of Sakun's abilities. She could manipulate temperature in every way, though her range was nowhere near his.

Sakun could evaporate the water across a stretch of sea hundreds of meters wide with a wave of his hand, or freeze it solid. After training and development, she could affect a range of twenty or thirty meters at most.

After checking the mermaids' physical data and how well their Deified Cells had fused, Lu Zhiyu released them into the inland saltwater lake connected to the sea on the Water Vortex Continent.

He had assigned this territory to the intelligent race. From then on, the Water Vortex Continent belonged to the merfolk, the first supernatural intelligent beings to be born in the Maria World!

Once Lu Zhiyu lifted the seal on their consciousness, the mermaids immediately opened their eyes and swam up from the depths, surfacing one after another to look around. This was their first time seeing the Maria World.

White clouds drifted across the clear sky. The vast lake stretched out before them, with dense forests near the distant sea and seabirds darting across the sky. Like newborns, they surveyed the world around them, curious about everything.

Only No. 1 looked around in confusion. This world wasn't like the one she had seen before. Where had the strange fellow gone—the one who had watched her from outside that weird box?

But she quickly forgot about it. The world outside was far more fascinating: the colorful, dazzling Maria World, the fresh air, and the vast expanse of water.

Like a group of elves, they frolicked in the water, rolled beneath the surface, and leaped up again. Then they swam along the lake toward the distance, the whole race setting off together!