Modification! Blood of Adun

The sprawling forests surrounding the mine now hosted a fledgling Protoss city, its golden, aerodynamic buildings rising in tight rows, radiating a profound technological aesthetic.

Six Protoss Nexuses had automatically begun mining operations, each Nexus carrying twenty-four Probes by default and capable of producing another twenty-four daily without expending extra resources on fabrication.

Crystal Mineral stockpiles began to climb steadily. With 144 Probes in total, they could mine 14,400 units of Crystal Mineral per day—reality couldn't be conflated with a game, where mining speeds were absurdly fast.

Ten thousand engineers swiftly got to work. Forges, Stargates, and Robotics Facilities operated around the clock, while Phase-smiths organized the data Rohana had uploaded inside the Robotics Bay and Fleet Beacon.

Shen Jun appointed Kerasul as the head of the Research Department. In the traditional Protoss hierarchy, there was no such thing as a research department—researchers held low status. Even after Artanis elevated engineers to the Templar caste, no government body dedicated to scientific research had ever existed.

But Shen Jun established the Research Department. He not only raised the status of the Khalai engineer caste to equal that of the Templar, but also decreed that any senior researcher who earned the title of Phase-smith would rank alongside—or even above—a High Templar.

With this single move, Shen Jun secured the unwavering loyalty of the Khalai engineering class.

Zeratul had killed that Trigonian, leaving the Trigonian base on Giant Elephant Star unaware of the situation at this mineral vein. Based on data extracted from the dead Trigonian, the Trigonians on Giant Elephant Star numbered no more than a hundred. Shen Jun, feeling a recent surge of confidence, no longer took them seriously.

His ambition had already spread to this ecologically perfect planet.

Eradicating the Trigonians was imperative, which made diving equipment an urgent priority. Shen Jun discussed the matter with Kerasul and ordered a rush production of one thousand sets of lightweight combat armor capable of withstanding water pressure at depths of ten thousand meters, all to be completed within three days. These would fully equip the Shadow Guard, with Zeratul and Vorazun leading the force to the Trigonians' City.

Tassadar served as the supreme commander of thirty thousand Templar, with Selandis as his adjutant. Their mission was to sweep outward from the mineral vein, destroy the cities of the Elephant Man civilization, and drive off the massive herds of Alien Beasts.

Zeratul commanded twenty thousand Nerazim, while Vorazun led the Shadow Guard—comprising all Dark Templar. The Shadow Guard would head to the Trigonians' City, while the remaining Dark Zealot Legions split into two groups, advancing on the other two mineral veins. Shen Jun intended to seize control of all resources on Giant Elephant Star in one fell swoop.

Gao JianGuo... ahem, Alarak remained the Highlord of the Tal'darim, without an adjutant. Alarak was a tsundere, cunning and untrusting of others. However, this version of him had been warped in just before his death during Amon's second descent. Rohana had chosen the timing well—if it had been the scheming, treacherous First Ascendant of old, Shen Jun would have eliminated him without hesitation.

Shen Jun approached Alarak and asked him to select a batch of Alien Beasts with superior genes. He found the Trigonians' beast-control device somewhat useful and had Kerasul find someone to study it, hoping to replicate a batch. The goal was to assemble a massive Alien Beast army to serve as cannon fodder for landing operations.

In the past, Protoss cannon fodder had been war machines—Immortals, Dragoons, and the like. But Shen Jun's resources couldn't sustain such extravagance. Simply put, the resources needed to build a single Dragoon were enough to warp in another Robotics Facility. A Robotics Facility running at full capacity could produce at most a hundred Dragoons per day, but the resource cost was astronomical. Alien Beasts, however, made an excellent substitute.

But with Alarak's pride, he wouldn't easily show Shen Jun any respect. He sneered that even the Hierarch had never made him submit, so why should a mere human command his obedience? Yet, his actions betrayed his words as he dutifully went to scout out Alien Beasts with superior genes...

Thus, the Protoss' first true base in the Super God Universe was established.

Late at night, Shen Jun stood in the deepest small council chamber of the Twilight Council. In the old Protoss society, only the highest echelons of the Protoss were qualified to set foot here. Now, it was merely an ordinary office.

Alarak's attitude had made Shen Jun ponder for a long time. It was true—he was the Protoss leader chosen by Rohana, and it was only because Rohana's Overmind was installed inside Shen Jun's body that the Protoss obeyed him. Moreover, the Protoss in their current state could not afford any internal strife. Unifying the three factions under Shen Jun was the best choice.

But he was undeniably not a Protoss. If the Protoss grew strong again one day, his position would become extremely delicate.

"Rohana..."

A flash of resolve crossed Shen Jun's eyes. Since the root of the problem was that he wasn't a Protoss, then... he would make himself a Protoss!

He was done being human!

As for whether he could retain a human form... Shen Jun no longer cared. He was in an unfamiliar universe, on an unfamiliar planet. Survival was everything. What did it matter if his appearance was human or not?

Take Ge Xiaolun, Liu Chuang, Zhao Xin, and the other members of the Super Soldier Squad—they were still nominally Chinese, but the genes inside their bodies had long since been transformed into the Super Genes of the Deno Civilization. Could they truly still be considered human?

"The Zerg have genetic modification technology. They turned Kerrigan from a human into a Zerg. Although the Protoss don't focus on biological research, similar genetic modification technology... shouldn't be lacking, right?"

"...Are you truly certain about this?"

Rohana hesitated for a moment before replying.

That reaction delighted Shen Jun. Rohana had indeed recorded such technology.

"Of course. You should know Zagara—the Broodmother under Kerrigan's command. Back when Kerrigan was turned back into a human by the Terran Empire using a Xel'naga artifact, the Zerg didn't rebel against her despite her change in form. They still revered her as the Queen of Blades. Zagara once said that the Queen of Blades is a will, and form doesn't matter."

At this point, Shen Jun shifted his tone. "But later, she still chose to return to the form of the Queen of Blades."

Rohana understood the implication behind Shen Jun's words. She replied, "Understood, Commander. As you command. Now, please move to an open area."

Shen Jun walked out of the Twilight Council to a small, empty plaza, waiting for Rohana's next move.

A warp beam descended, and a gene modification device resembling a cultivation pod appeared before Shen Jun.

Without needing a prompt, Shen Jun stepped into the device. Its interior was comfortable, and its size fit him perfectly.

"Commander, the Protoss rarely undergo genetic modification, so the gene samples I possess are very scarce. The only one that suits your identity is a single sample."

"Oh? Is it Artanis's, or Adaris's? It's not Raszagal's, is it?"

"None of them... It belongs to an old friend of mine. His name is Adun."