Expansion

As the last gap inside the cavity was filled by sensory cells, the life-field expansion organ was declared complete.

Through the fins on both sides sensing the current, Huo Gu could clearly feel the cell cluster sinking bit by bit. The cause was precisely the newly made life-field expansion organ. Put another way, it was like an extra big rock had appeared inside the cell cluster.

"I didn't expect its weight to increase this much. I'd better carry out the final step as soon as possible. Hopefully it works."

He adjusted the angle of the fins, and the downward momentum immediately slowed.

Huo Gu instructed a single cell to split off inside the water-storage chamber. Then, together with the compressed jet of water, it was expelled from the cell cluster.

At the same time, Huo Gu adjusted the vitreous body of the eye and locked onto the cell that had been discharged from the cell cluster.

"Now, begin transcribing genes and copy yourself."

Huo Gu issued the command to the experimental cell that had been expelled from the cell cluster. Whether the experiment would succeed depended on what happened next.

Under Huo Gu's fully focused gaze, a change that delighted him occurred. That experimental cell really did react by dividing. After gathering enough amino acid materials, it began copying a new individual.

This signaled that his idea was indeed effective. The range of that life field of unknown true nature had really been expanded.

Having obtained the result, Huo Gu once again could not wait to issue another command. This time, the target of the command was an entire cell cluster.

The cells divided. Every cell in the entire cell cluster was dividing.

The whole process was like a cell copying itself. A central axis appeared in the middle, and using that central axis as a mirror, the cell cluster stretched to both sides while filling in the missing parts.

In just a little while, a brand-new copy of the cell cluster was born.

"Excellent!"

Huo Gu watched this cell cluster's "mirror image" with satisfaction. He discovered that his field of vision had increased again, and along with it came a feeling beyond words.

This feeling was precisely the "pleasure" he had only been able to sense back when his complete thinking had not yet recovered, by repeatedly completing the adhesion between cells.

Another shackle binding him had been unlocked!

"Looks like the path I chose wasn't wrong..."

"From now on, you are Cluster Two."

Huo Gu defined the newly appeared cell cluster this way, to make it easier to distinguish from the original cell cluster. At the same time, he defined the original cell cluster as One.

"Next is testing."

"Two, move in a straight line away from One and test the life field's maximum distance. During this time, I will continuously transmit command signals. If you can no longer receive command signals, immediately turn around and return."

Cluster Two, having received the command, immediately pulsed its water-storage chamber and rapidly widened the distance between itself and Cluster One.

Throughout this process, One's visual system kept watching with complete focus.

When Two returned, Huo Gu immediately knew what the current radius of this life field was. This was very easy; with optical ranging, it could be completed with ease.

"50 m, plus or minus 4 m."

Huo Gu could not help being glad that he had made preparations before. Otherwise, he would have had to spend more effort doing other things, such as figuring out the exact concept of how long "one meter" was.

Whenever he thought of this, Huo Gu had no choice but to admire those protagonists in web novels who transmigrated to the Stone Age. Without any tools at all, they could actually find the specific defined length of "one meter," because he could not make such an accurate wild guess.

Compared with them, Huo Gu's method of finding "one meter" was far more troublesome. The diameter of a water molecule was 4×10^-10 m. He arranged one million water molecules into a straight line, thereby obtaining the unit of length known as "one centimeter," then multiplied that distance by one hundred, thus obtaining the concept of "one meter."

"Although this is much better than the few meters I first expected, 50 m is still too short."

After a while, Cluster Two returned to the starting point. Huo Gu issued another command, the same as before, but this time there was a slight difference: there was one new individual cluster, namely Three.

Three set out before Two returned to the starting point, heading to the edge of the life field that Two had reached just now. Huo Gu's command to it was to remain at the edge of the life field.

This time, Two passed straight beyond Three's position and advanced to an even farther place.

"Excellent. The relay station experiment succeeded."

Huo Gu knew that he had taken another great step forward. This was a transformation in form. The success of relaying commands meant that as long as there were enough cell clusters, he could extend his commands infinitely far.

Of course, as the distance increased, the time it took for commands to arrive might be delayed and so on.

"Two, stop at the edge position where you receive the command."

Following the command, the fins on both sides of Two changed angle, and after gliding for a distance, it stopped.

Next was the final experiment. With the first two experiments succeeding in one try, Huo Gu was full of confidence this time.

"Transfer!"

"..."

He just froze there for quite a while, and nothing happened.

"My posture must be wrong. Mm, again."

"I jump!"

"..."

This time was still the same as last time. Nothing happened.

"Strange. Why can't I transfer to the cell clusters of Two or Three?"

"Haven't I already built a life-field network? Logically speaking, I should be able to get to Two or Three."

After pondering for a while, Huo Gu could only give up helplessly. He had not even figured out what kind of mechanism the field source used, so naturally he had no way to start.

"Doesn't that mean I'm going to be trapped to death inside this cell cluster, One?"

Huo Gu complained in distress, but he could not find the crux of the problem, where exactly it lay.

This final experiment was to carry out a change of host body. Like changing clothes, he would take off the old clothes and put on new ones. But the current problem was that the old clothes could not be taken off, so naturally the new clothes could not be changed into either.

The final experiment was, without a doubt, declared a failure.

"In that case, I can't let Cluster One take risks anymore..."

"Fortunately, this time wasn't without gains."

The gazes of all the cell clusters turned toward the pillar of smoke that had risen from the seafloor nearby.

"Two, set out and head to the nearby alkaline waters to explore the situation."

"Three, advance and serve as a relay station."

"One, stand by in place and manufacture more cell clusters to relay commands."

Huo Gu thought of that alkaline water zone that had made him itch with unbearable curiosity. With his current abilities, there was already nothing to be afraid of.

Two and Three swayed through the current, swimming toward that plume of smoke from the alkaline volcano, while One also stepped up its production of new cell clusters.