Crisis Half a Year Later

The genetic modification lasted through the night.

The first thing Shen Jun did after stepping out of the apparatus was hurriedly look at himself in the glass. To his delight, his skin was not blue. Although it was no longer yellow either, a faint blue showed through the yellow, creating an odd yellow-blue shade. Still, it actually looked rather good.

His pupils inevitably glowed with a deep blue halo. His facial features had not changed much, but they seemed more refined now. He was undeniably handsome, and Shen Jun was especially relieved that his nose and mouth were still there.

His build was also that of a normal God River Body; he had not grown hooves or anything like that.

The greatest change was his height. Shen Jun had shot up from 1.8 meters to 1.9 meters, and his body was exceptionally well-proportioned. Every muscle line was aesthetically pleasing, instantly eclipsing all those so-called bodybuilding masters Shen Jun had seen on television.

As for the genetic modification itself, Shen Jun could not quite describe how it felt. There had been no intense pain; it was not much different from an ordinary night's sleep, though not entirely the same. In particular, when Adun's genetic sample was injected into his body, his psionic power began to surge and strengthen wildly.

In the Terran Empire of the StarCraft Universe, human psionic levels were divided into ten tiers.

Levels 1–2: Most humans, with no real abilities.

Levels 2–5: Able to sense the existence of psionic power.

Levels 5–8: Able to read minds. Most Ghost Agents fell between Levels 5 and 6.

Levels 8–10: Some could use telekinesis.

Level 12: Kerrigan. A level created specifically for her, as her power had exceeded the limits of human understanding at the time.

The Protoss did not have a so-called psionic level system. Their old social hierarchy already served as a good measure of strength, though it was far too broad compared with the human ranking system.

As everyone knew, psionic strength was innate and could not be altered. Protoss psionic power generally surpassed that of humans by several levels. Even most Zealots could reach around Level 7, while Khalai engineers had weaker psionic levels and generally did not exceed Level 5. In fact, every newborn Protoss took pride in becoming a Templar; only those whose psionic levels fell short became craftsmen.

But that did not mean the Zealot Legion was stronger than Ghost Agent squads, because human psionic levels were based on both strength and control. A Level 7 Zealot might not even have a control level of 5. That was the true essence of what separated the strong from the weak.

Take Shen Jun, for example. Rohana believed that his psionic strength was no weaker than Kerrigan's. Perhaps his total psionic reserves were inferior, but his quality and talent for control might even surpass hers. Yes, Shen Jun's psionic strength was also Level 12, and after receiving Adun's genes, it might rise to an even higher level.

However, at Shen Jun's current level, being able to display the strength of around Level 5 before the modification had already been impressive. Any random Zealot could have crushed him. But now, he could clearly feel his own power. He even felt that the things around him could change according to his will.

Excited, Shen Jun stretched out his hand and pointed at a rock beneath a nearby tree. With a thought, the rock truly began to wobble into the air. Under his control, it slowly flew over and finally landed in Shen Jun's hand.

Sure enough, Shen Jun had awakened telekinesis. This meant he had reached at least Level 8.

As time passed, he would only grow stronger...

The benefits brought by the genetic modification were obvious. Aside from his increased strength and the Protoss' natural photosynthesis, the Protoss' attitude toward Shen Jun had become far more intimate. Although the difference in their appearances was still obvious, Shen Jun now genuinely possessed many Protoss traits. Rohana's examination showed that his Protoss genes had reached an astonishing seventy percent, leaving him with only thirty percent human genes.

The result shocked Rohana. With such a ratio, Shen Jun's appearance should have long since become indistinguishable from that of a Protoss, yet he had remained human in form. It was truly strange.

Even the most difficult-to-please Alarak had stopped clamoring that humans were unworthy of leading the Protoss. That alone said enough.

A month later, Protoss society had gotten on track. The three major Mineral Veins were fully under Protoss control, and Zeratul had already destroyed Trigonians' City beneath the deep sea. The Protoss began establishing outposts across the planet. Crystal Minerals were not the only necessity; deposits of basic metals such as gold, silver, copper, and iron were also indispensable. Hundreds, even thousands, of Protoss Nexuses were built by the engineers.

Fifteen days earlier, Rohana had stopped being able to sense the StarCraft Universe. This meant the StarCraft Universe had been annihilated, and Shen Jun could no longer use Rohana to warp in Protoss buildings.

After a month of selection, the proud Gao JianGuo finally found what he considered the most perfect Alien Beast species. As for its name, he called it Dehaka.

"..."

When Shen Jun first heard that name, he had nearly thought Sister Kerrigan had been transported here too. But when Alarak dragged one over for him to see, it really was Dehaka.

It looked like an upright tyrannosaur overall, with two enormous claws, long bony spikes on its back, and hard bone plates covering its entire body...

Fortunately, Shen Jun did not discover any special abilities in the creature. Other than looking like Dehaka, it was far weaker. So what was it about this overpowered version of "Dehaka" that had caught the eye of the high-minded Gao JianGuo?

The reason was simple. Dehaka was the most powerful Alien Beast on Giant Elephant Star. Its strength exceeded ten tons, making it stronger than any other Alien Beast. Its leg muscles were also exceptionally developed; it could run no slower than a cheetah and even leap more than thirty meters into the air.

What pleased Alarak most was that they could evolve by devouring other species. Although this evolution was extremely slow and inefficient, it was still an advanced biological instinct.

In the simple world of animals, they could truly be called apex predators. The only regret was their scarcity. Alarak had searched everywhere and gathered only a little over seven thousand, scattered throughout various locations and unable to form a large-scale force. This was also why the Elephant Men had managed to rise above the rest.

Oh, right. As for the Elephant Man civilization, the masters of Giant Elephant Star—what became of them in the end? Let us just ignore that question...

"Commander, I think we have a problem."

One day, Zeratul found Shen Jun and spoke in a grave tone.

Shen Jun found this strange. The Trigonians had been destroyed, and Giant Elephant Star was already Protoss territory. What trouble could there possibly be?

"Beneath Trigonians' City, we discovered a Trigonians several times larger than ordinary ones. Its communication band differed from the others', and it had many layers of encryption. It was highly likely to be a Trigonians dedicated to transmitting messages, so we brought it back to Kerasul for decryption."

After thinking for a moment, Shen Jun indeed remembered that Zeratul had brought back an enormous Trigonians.

"And?"

"Not long ago, Kerasul successfully decrypted it. Unfortunately, Commander, it seems we have become involved in a massive interstellar war, and the Trigonians are one of its participants. This planet should be something like a colonial planet seized by the Trigonians, and the intelligence that Trigonians transmitted was this location's coordinates."

"The Trigonians have dispatched a sizable army toward this place. It should arrive in about half a year."