Plant Planet

Noya grew excited the moment Zhang Fan told her to demonstrate her abilities, and immediately ordered the {Venom Bees} to attack.

Under the {Venom Bees}' fierce assault, Yuan Jun's spaceship was nearly torn apart in moments.

"Lord Overlord, stop attacking! We surrender..."

Just as Zhang Fan was about to accept their surrender, the {Venom Bees} under Noya's command fired deadly poison stingers at Yuan Jun's spaceship.

Watching Yuan Jun's spaceship turn into a brilliant ball of flame, Zhang Fan shook his head. "You little thing, don't you know when to stop? Why were they trying to destroy this planet? Who was chasing them? I hadn't gotten any answers out of them, and you just..."

Noya looked aggrieved. "They threatened the Overlord just now. I was only..."

"Fine, forget I said anything. Send a few {Matriarchs} down to establish a base on this planet. I have something important to do."

Seeing that Zhang Fan hadn't blamed her for her recklessness, Noya immediately carried out his orders.

Zhang Fan entered the building Yuan Jun had left behind. It looked like a biological laboratory, but all the instruments inside had been deliberately destroyed.

"That monkey didn't leave anything behind."

But Zhang Fan didn't need instruments to conduct biological experiments. Every one of his {Matriarchs} was the best instrument he could ask for.

What puzzled Zhang Fan was that Yuan Jun and his people hadn't conducted any animal experiments here. All the experimental specimens were plants.

Zhang Fan already had quite a few plant genes, but he had never paid them much attention. What he needed, after all, was an army. Plant genes offered plenty of useful traits, but compared with animal genes, they were far too inefficient.

Noya and several other {Matriarchs} began gene-fusion experiments on the planet's animals, while also conducting parasitism experiments.

After a long period of fusion experiments, the Insect Race creatures they bred had very little desire to attack. They also looked so adorably dopey that they were practically pets. Noya was so furious that she destroyed several batches of eggs that were still incubating.

However, Noya discovered that the genes of the Insect Race creatures hatched through parasitism came predominantly from their hosts. These insects were highly aggressive, and several {Matriarchs} had been bitten by the larvae.

After hearing Noya's report, Zhang Fan shook his head. "My imprint on these little creatures' minds has been weakened. A disobedient army will cause needless trouble in the future. Destroy them."

Noya glanced at a larva that had just hatched from an electrically charged rat. Reluctant to give it up, she said, "These larvae have a very strong urge to attack. Please let them live, Overlord. I'll control them myself. There won't be any problems."

Zhang Fan did indeed need stronger, more aggressive Insect Race creatures now. "All right, but my imprint on their minds is very weak. If you lose control of them, you must destroy them."

Zhang Fan left the incubation chamber and found a secluded spot to begin his plan to bring humanity back to life. The oxygen concentration and environment here were a 99% match for Earth's. If he could successfully revive humans on this planet, he could move them straight to Earth when he returned.

But he had no idea until he tried-and the results shocked him.

Although Zhang Fan possessed human embryo sets and gene sequences, he had assumed creating humans would be as simple as creating Insect Race creatures. Only when he actually attempted it did he discover...

Humans... were incredibly complex, precise, and fragile life-forms.

Even in an environment that was a 99% match, newborn babies died the moment they left the cultivation pool.

Although Zhang Fan could divide and produce countless human embryos, every embryo was a human life to him. In the end, he decided to wait until he returned to Earth before creating humans.

"Humans belong only on Earth!"

The creatures of Asha, Lila, and Lilvara could all survive on other planets without any protection. Humans alone had extraordinarily strict environmental requirements.

Zhang Fan shook his head helplessly. It felt as though humans had been confined to living on Earth.

Zhang Fan was about to find somewhere to rest when he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Even facing the Western Realm Great Emperor had never left him so breathless. And this sensation didn't come from an outside force. It felt more as though it came from... the Insect Race.

Just then, an insect's screech rang out from outside. Zhang Fan immediately probed with his consciousness and discovered two {Fierce Tigers} tearing into each other right outside the entrance.

Zhang Fan immediately ordered them to stop. One {Fierce Tiger} obeyed, but the other was completely beyond his control.

The frenzied one continued attacking the {Fierce Tiger} that had stopped. Without orders from Zhang Fan, the other {Fierce Tigers} merely prowled around them.

Zhang Fan was baffled. His consciousness was embedded in the Insect Race's genes, yet he discovered that something invisible and intangible seemed to be blocking it, preventing him from connecting with the {Fierce Tiger}'s mind.

In the end, the frenzied {Fierce Tiger} won and devoured the obedient one. Just as Zhang Fan was about to order its execution, another {Fierce Tiger} in the group went berserk and slipped beyond his control.

"Kill them, but don't eat them."

Hundreds of {Fierce Tigers} swarmed them. No matter how frenzied those two were, death was their only possible outcome.

Zhang Fan carefully examined the two berserk {Fierce Tigers} and discovered that they shared one feature: both had a tiny patch of green fungus on their foreheads.

"Fungus? You're impressive. You can actually block my consciousness."

Zhang Fan summoned two {Matriarchs}. One was tasked with studying the strange fungus, while the other was inoculated with it directly. Zhang Fan wanted to see whether the fungus could also control {Matriarchs}, who possessed independent minds and intelligence.

The inoculated {Matriarch} showed no abnormalities on the first day. On the second, she began to grow listless.

Zhang Fan also sensed that the {Matriarch}'s consciousness was becoming hazy, though he would never have noticed had he not been standing right in front of her, observing her.

By the third day, the {Matriarch}'s mind had slipped completely beyond Zhang Fan's control. She became frenzied and extremely aggressive, even counting Zhang Fan among her targets.

On the fourth day, the {Matriarch} died without any warning. Her corpse gradually turned green, and countless clusters of fungus burst out of it.

Zhang Fan could only have the {Venom Bees} dispose of the corpse with strong acid. "This stuff really is formidable."

At that moment, the Matriarch studying the fungus reported, "This is an extremely infectious fungus, and it only targets our Insect Race. It seems as though someone deliberately created it."

"Targets us? We've only been on this planet for a few days. Could it be the Western Realm Great Emperor? No, no. Biology isn't his specialty."

Zhang Fan couldn't make sense of it, no matter how hard he thought. Just then, Noya hurried over and said to him,

"I know who's working against us."

"Who?" Zhang Fan asked in surprise.

"This Plant Planet is itself a living organism!"