Mimic!

It was raining that day.

In a secluded alley, a young man lay on the ground, his eyes unfocused and his body covered in wounds. His clothes were already soaked by the rain.

Thump.

Thump.

Footsteps echoed.

A figure strode through the water, stopping in front of the young man.

The young man forced his eyes open. A man in his early twenties stood before him. "Let me guess, you've gotten yourself into some trouble."

"...Uh." The young man choked, unable to form a complete sentence.

Chen Ye squatted down and took out a bottle of green potion. "Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. It's rare to find someone as kind as me."

"Kid, want to live?"

BOOM!

Thunder roared, and lightning flashed.

The electric light flickered behind Chen Ye as the rain struck the young man's face.

He bit his lip tightly. "Yes..."

"Drink it."

Chen Ye dropped the potion and turned to leave.

Seeing this, the young man struggled to his feet and picked up the green potion.

This color...

Never mind, it didn't matter what it was.

The young man let out a long breath, yanked open the cap, and tilted his head back, drinking it down.

Gulp, gulp.

"Cough cough!"

Fishy!

Bitter!

It felt like drinking mucus and bile from a fish!

"Ugh... cough!"

The young man vomited, but nothing came out. Immediately after, his body began to convulse and twist!

"Ugh... What is this!!"

"Ughhh!!!"

Across the street, under the eaves.

Chen Ye was recording something on his phone. "Hmm, looking at its condition, I can confirm it shouldn't be lethal."

"Second attempt: Mimic + Black Dog Blood mixture. The resulting potion is green. After consumption, the subject began to grow scales and gills, with varying degrees of bending and growth in its spine and ribs."

"Other characteristics are unknown. Initial experiment location: rainy day."

"Subject ID 002: Deep One."

"Alright, that's enough for now."

"001, keep an eye on our new friend."

With that, Chen Ye put his phone in his pocket.

After he left, a crow yawned under the eaves, then flapped its wings and flew into the alley.

"What a hassle. I'm not a babysitter."

In an old apartment across from the North Ridge City Police Station.

Chen Ye pushed the door open and took off his raincoat. "The rainy season is great. I can pick up a test subject just by going out to buy cigarettes."

Slipping into slippers, Chen Ye walked directly into the kitchen.

A Black Double-Eared Pot with Demon Face sat in the kitchen. On the cutting board beside it, there were still some fish scales.

Chen Ye took out his phone and started scrolling.

"About a month ago, I bought this double-eared pot as a handicraft from a street vendor. Half a month ago, my pet parrot fell into the pot and strangely disappeared."

"When I poured out the contents of the pot, there was only a pool of bloody water."

"This bloody water couldn't be tested for any DNA sequences. From any angle, this substance couldn't be blood."

"After that, I gave the blood water to my pet hamster. The hamster miraculously grew gray wings and could imitate human speech like the parrot."

"After that, I threw the hamster into the jar. Just like the parrot before it, the hamster also turned into a pool of blood."

After that, Chen Ye had a bold idea.

He first threw a sheep's brain, a chameleon, and a silkworm pupa into the jar, then mixed them with the liquid the hamster had become and fed it to the last animal in his home.

The raven he kept.

After drinking the liquid, the raven evolved considerable intelligence.

Its feathers also became smooth, with a texture like chitin.

But apart from that, the raven showed no other changes.

Afterward, Chen Ye began intentionally teaching it all sorts of knowledge.

The raven's learning ability was also incredibly fast. It took only seven days to learn human language and could converse normally with Chen Ye.

Five more days passed, and something incredible happened.

The raven transformed into Chen Ye's appearance!

Yes, it had become human!

But it only lasted for a very short period.

Chen Ye initially found it quite interesting until one morning, Chen Ye woke up to find the raven, looking exactly like him, sitting in front of the computer playing games.

From an outsider's perspective, its appearance, tone, and demeanor were identical to Chen Ye's!

The raven's transformation and mimicry abilities had reached a level where it could perfectly imitate Chen Ye, to the point of being indistinguishable from the real thing!

This was the first time Chen Ye felt genuine fear.

"If the results of an experiment are uncontrollable, then that experiment is a suicidal adventure."

"Unless, I also become a part of the experiment."

This was Chen Ye's first masterpiece.

Subject 001: Mimic.

The reason Chen Ye used a human for his second attempt was to consider the consequences of applying the potion to a human body.

He couldn't risk his own body directly.

"As of now, the situation is relatively optimistic. At least there haven't been any cases of death from taking the potion."

"The raven is still quite loyal for now. After all, I raised it with my own hands for three years. But it's hard to say how it would be with an ordinary wild beast."

"However, even so, I still need to prepare for the worst."

"If the monsters I create get out of control, I will be the first one to suffer the backlash."

Chen Ye pondered for a moment, then created a new document on his phone.

Subject 000: God.

"God is never a single entity, but a concept. An existence beyond human comprehension, transcending cognition, incomprehensible, indescribable, absolutely powerful."

"With this as the goal, I hope I don't turn myself into some giant octopus at the bottom of the deep sea."

Chen Ye returned to his bedroom and habitually sat in front of his computer, lighting a cigarette.

"But... why did those things combined give the crow the ability to turn into a human? What's the principle behind it?"

"Did it touch upon some kind of concept?"

"Parrot + hamster, sheep brain + chameleon + silkworm pupa."

"A parrot mimics speech, a chameleon changes color, a silkworm pupa undergoes metamorphosis and rebirth. Conceptually, this could achieve transformation?"

"So, if I made a potion with a bat, could I create a vampire?"

"It remains to be tested..."

"However, if my hypothesis is correct, I could use the magic pot to create all sorts of mythical creatures."

"This hypothesis is very interesting. Since there are no limbs or materials from supernatural creatures in this world to refine potions, I'll create them myself."

Outside, it was still raining.

A man covered in scales was moving through an alley. His two eyes were large and swollen, almost bulging out.

He looked at his smooth, slimy skin and the scales on his arms, roaring non-stop.

"I... I've turned into a monster?!"

"A dream, this must be a dream... It's a dream, it's fake!"

"Fake, it's all fake!"

The man's hands were webbed, his fingers tipped with sharp, hooked claws, and he had two pairs of fins on his back.

His body was massive and not human-like, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, and he was hunched over.

It was evident that his ribs were a whole size larger, and his spine was curved.

"So noisy."

A hoarse voice came from behind, and the merman spun around abruptly.

"Who?!"

He turned, but there was no one behind him, only a raven bathed in the rain.

"Stop looking, it's me. I'm the same kind of existence as you."

With that, the raven suddenly began to spread its feathers, its body continuously growing larger, accompanied by the cracking sound of dislocated bones!

In the blink of an eye, the raven transformed into a young girl wearing a long black dress.

"I am the Mimic, designation 001."

Designation 001: Mimic (Raven Mimic)

A heads-up for readers: this book is a monster free-for-all. The protagonist will quickly enter an invincible state and watch the show. This isn't about the protagonist's power level increasing too rapidly; it's a necessary process.

Furthermore, the protagonist will create many things in the future, some of which will form their own factions and kill each other. For the protagonist, there will be no sense of gain or loss. Regardless of the emotions and experiences of those minor figures, they are irrelevant to him.

(Fighting to the death is just a game, of course, only from 'His' perspective.)

Also, please stop requesting crossovers. The book that was supposed to be crossed over with this one is already dead.