Electric Worm

Chapter 96 Electric Worm

The Worm Research Institute cares deeply for every formal wizard.

Considering Finn's opinion, Mary would suffer greatly if the magic were extracted directly.

They did not take direct action.

Given this level of importance, every certified wizard reciprocates the research institute with their own hard work.

Finn was, and Wertheimer was too.

Not long after their discussion ended, they began a new round of research with several other formal wizards with interdisciplinary backgrounds.

Good news regarding the effects on decaying vegetation. Pike are very effective at catalyzing fungal growth, with both the stability and abundance of fungi being greatly enhanced during the catalytic process.

Mass production has already begun.

Now that it is known that pike can catalyze the development of worms towards several magical forms, several official wizards at the research institute speculate.

If the remaining bodies can be used to catalyze other rare worms, their value is extremely high. For example, the "Ediakaran Worm" named after the Age of Abundance and the "Sinian Worm" from the period of intense magical fluctuations can spread plant seeds and construct terrain at extremely low cost, and what wizards need to do is to maximize the development of these creatures.

Based on the remaining active time of the magic within the pike's body, they had ample time for their research.

Everyone wants to know:

How many more of these kinds of lives are still hidden?

Eight days later.

The black market, bustling with people in the streets and alleys.

The afternoon light slanted down from the translucent structure of the dome.

The stalls on both sides were packed tightly together, and the colorful cloth tents billowed gently in the wind.

The sounds of hawking and bargaining filled the air.

It's lively, really lively.

Lynn, wearing a plain white short-sleeved shirt with the pike on his chest quietly curled up under the skin, walked through the crowd and sighed.

As he passed through the empty courtyard in the middle of the black market, he noticed several young men in second-level apprentice uniforms surrounding a piece of equipment about half a person's height.

The device had a bright display screen embedded in it, playing an animation of big fish eating small fish.

The apprentice leading the group saw Lynn and waved to him. "Senior! You're just killing time anyway, why don't you come and play our game? It's newly developed and it's already very popular. One magic stone for two rounds, and if you can beat the game, we'll give you two magic stones."

Lynn looked at the device; the pulsating colored graphics on the screen formed a tiny, translucent hydra, slowly swimming in a virtual body of water.

The hydra's tentacles are long and soft, swaying gently with the rhythm of the water flow.

"Come.

He walked to the front of the equipment, and the apprentice eagerly made way for him, giving him the control panel.

Green represents fungi, brown represents plant remains, and blue represents a special material.

The rules are simple: catch fungi and eat them, and attach plants to your body. You start with one insect, and evolution depends entirely on swallowing. Each time you swallow enough things, the evolution bar advances one level, unlocking new trait options.

The progress is marked on the right side of the screen, with a red vertical bar representing the current limit of special functions that the hydra can accommodate.

The further you progress, the more things you absorb, the more complex the characteristics become, and the heavier the burden of maintaining high energy consumption becomes.

Lynn's thumb moved across the control panel. Although it was just a game, it made him feel the unevenness of the world.

These students generally have low magical abilities, mostly within the range of first-level apprentices, but they have quite rich imaginations.

According to the apprentice next to him, the designer of this game had only recently been promoted to the first level of apprentice when he enrolled in the school. He needed magic stones to maintain his daily living expenses, so he used his understanding of biological evolution to create this game.

From the free living conditions provided by the academy to the system where knowledge is free but life is the responsibility of the individual, many students' inventions were unleashed under the dual effects of this pressure and accumulation.

Lynn chose the simplest filter-feeding strategy because the seabed where the hydra lived was very fertile at first.

But just like how there's always someone directing a game of chess in the park, Lynn heard instructions and whispers coming from behind him not long after the game started.

The students who had no money huddled behind the control panel, whispering their strategies.

"I said, your problem-solving speed is too slow this way. We can first use the chitinous shell to get through the most dangerous early stage, and then load the central nervous system."

"No, no, no, the lifespan of a hydra containing magic is almost infinite. We can choose a more stable approach, focusing on 'rapid growth'—Pain Shield—and learn from the evolutionary strategy of the sunfish."

"But hydra tentacles are so long, I think it would be better to go the predator route? Upgrade the tentacles' strength and toxin secretion, so you don't have to run, you can just wait for the prey to come to you."

Several attitudes alternated in his mind. Lynn shook his head, controlling the hydra on the screen to dodge a virtual predator while recalling the events of the past few days.

For several days, the research of the formal wizards continued uninterrupted. His research, of course, did not stop either.

The first step was the choice of combat style. He made a systematic plan.

Regardless of the purpose, all the fluid worms must be awakened once combat begins.

They are the foundation of the logistics system within his body: nutrient transport, waste metabolism, and magic reserves. Without any one of them, the system would not function smoothly.

Secondly, the most compatible are the Black Sheep and the Lamb. After the "Bathroom Nutrition Supply Event," the synergy and mobility of these two groups of fungi have significantly improved. The Black Sheep is responsible for outputting erosion, while the Lamb is responsible for buffering and assisting in recovery; one offensive and one supportive, they work quite well together.

As for the flying staff, Lynn felt that this powerful and agile creature was no longer suitable for high-intensity combat.

It's not that they're not strong, but rather, who would use their own real estate to fight?

The value of the flying rod as a production tool far exceeds that of a combat companion.

"They should eat more to repay my kindness, not..." He swiped his thumb across the screen, letting...

The hydra circled around a giant virtual sunfish from the side, "instead of going to the front lines as a common soldier."

66

At that moment, the pike on Lynn's chest moved.

It has just recovered from a long period of digestion and seems more energetic than it did a few days ago.

The best news these past few days is...

Under Lynn's careful care, Flying Stick has laid eggs, and it has a whole litter of twenty-six eggs in its lifetime.

Although most of them degenerate into ordinary electric worms.

However, four of the eggs transformed into a higher form with a blue glow and a faint fluorescent sheen on their shells.