Current

This was bad...

The cells' proteins had formed in an acidic environment. If they moved into neutral or alkaline waters, the proteins might denature and lose their original activity...

And that was not all. There was also the water temperature. Since there was a volcano, the surrounding water should all be hot. Huo Gu could hardly guarantee that proteins adapted to hot water would function at normal temperatures.

Was I going to be trapped here?

Huo Gu came back to his senses and examined the volcano again through its visual system.

When water came into contact with that scorching lava, it instantly turned into steam and rose toward the surface, while water from the surrounding area filled the space left behind.

This formed a current flowing toward the volcano—an underwater "black hole" of sorts.

If not for the towering rocks nearby diverting the current...

If not for the volcano's occasional small eruptions...

Huo Gu estimated that it would have been cooked by now.

Now that it had a visual system, it could avoid the volcano's dangers well enough as long as it remained cautious.

So, should I not leave?

Huo Gu hesitated as it asked itself this.

If it ignored the dangers posed by the volcano, there were still quite a few benefits to staying.

The volcano's intermittent eruptions drove the currents while also making these waters extremely nutrient-rich. Amino acids, proteins, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium—almost anything it wanted was practically within reach. This was simply a microbial Eden.

To be honest, Huo Gu was somewhat tempted by the thought.

After all, in these acidic waters, the volcano was the only thing that could threaten it. The microorganisms capable of adapting to such an environment could no longer pose a threat to it; they could only become food on its plate.

Maybe...

Staying for a while, preparing properly, and then making a move would be a decent choi—

A tremor struck without warning, as if some enormous creature were stirring these waters.

"Wh-what is going on?!"

The cell nuclei throughout the cell cluster resonated with the vibration. This had never happened before.

Instinct told Huo Gu that something was about to emerge.

Without time to think, Huo Gu immediately hid within a crack formed by two nearby boulders.

The tremors grew increasingly violent. From within the crack, Huo Gu could see fragments of rock occasionally falling from the tops of the boulders.

In the distance, illuminated by the volcano's faint glow, the seafloor seemed to be covered in a thin veil, swaying softly and gracefully with the current.

It was volcanic ash that had settled on the seabed for a long time, now stirred up again by the shaking.

The tremors continued for quite a while, growing more and more intense.

Finally, they seemed to reach some critical point.

A monstrous current far stronger than any before swept outward with terrifying potential energy, like the shockwave of a nuclear explosion.

Small stones were swept away in its path, large rocks overturned, and even the boulders trembled faintly.

Huo Gu finally understood why there were no medium-sized or small rocks on the nearby seafloor.

Before, it had thought they had been eroded away by the currents over the years. Now it seemed they had simply been flung far away by this current.

Huo Gu tried to shrink its entire body into the deepest part of the crevice.

Yet even nestled within the gap between the two boulders, Huo Gu could still feel an indescribably terrifying force trying to drag it out.

If I get swept out, it's over!

Huo Gu stressed this point to itself while directing the cell cluster to change shape. It abandoned its original cylindrical form and pressed itself completely against the rock crevice, leaving not the slightest gap.

Like the earlier tremors, this surging current continued for quite some time before finally subsiding.

After waiting a while longer, Huo Gu emerged from between the boulders only after confirming that the current showed no signs of erupting again, still shaken by the experience.

The eruption came from the volcano's direction. Judging from the surrounding terrain, it likely happens frequently. I was just lucky before, arriving not long after an intermittent eruption had ended...

This eruption is completely different from the previous intermittent currents. It probably was not a pressure release caused by a blocked volcanic vent, but an upwelling of deeper lava...

Gathering all available information and analyzing the problem was Huo Gu's habitual approach. It was precisely because of this that it had survived until now.

All that remained was to make a choice.

Leave or stay.

So, should it stay?

Huo Gu rejected that option the moment it arose.

No. I have to leave this place. That volcano could suddenly erupt any day. If something goes wrong, I won't even have anywhere to run.

After what had just happened, there was no way Huo Gu would continue staying here.

It spliced the flagellar DNA it had acquired into the outermost wall cells, and countless microscopic cilia grew along the exterior of the cylindrical organism.

Just as a ship's propeller needed an engine to drive it, these flagella also required an "engine" before they could propel water.

Fortunately, Huo Gu happened to possess such an engine: mitochondria.

It collected proteins for a period of time and stored them within a new cavity Huo Gu had created.

To make traveling through the water easier, Huo Gu reshaped both ends of the cylindrical organism into cones, while stream-lined grooves appeared along its sides.

This greatly reduced the resistance the cell cluster encountered while moving through water.

Considering that it might encounter narrow passages while swimming, the eyes that had originally extended from the sides of the cylindrical organism retracted and became embedded in its body.

To ensure a sufficient field of vision, Huo Gu installed three more eyes. One was placed opposite the original eye, creating complete 360-degree vision.

The other two were positioned at the front and rear. Huo Gu divided the large cavity originally used to digest microorganisms into six smaller cavities. At the junctions between these smaller cavities, an eye grew—right at the tips of the conical front and rear ends.

Whenever it consumed microorganisms to replenish protein, it looked like a flower spreading its petals.

Since it had only been designed to deal with microorganisms, it had been reshaped into this plant-like form. If it truly encountered a macroscopic organism, Huo Gu would use acid to make it give up.

After redesigning its appearance, Huo Gu let out a breath and eased its intensely focused mind.

Good thing I hadn't given all the physics and chemistry I learned in high school back to my teachers.

Under its command, the cell cluster began to operate.

However, ideas that seemed good did not always fit reality. Along with the new design came new problems.