Chapter 606: Biomass Armor

Chapter 606: Biomass Armor

In the southern outskirts of Jinhe City.

A nondescript factory stood in the desolate urban area.

The spacious yard was piled with cargo containers that had been abandoned for who knows how many years, and a few tufts of withered grass swayed before the rusty iron gate.

Several green-skinned heads lurked in the shadows of the factory windows, vigilantly monitoring the nearby streets.

This was the transfer warehouse where the Torch Church supplied weapons and ammunition to the Qi tribe.

Although it was a dozen kilometers from the front lines, the logistics personnel could easily deliver weapons to the soldiers on the front through the intricate subway network.

The towering buildings muffled the sporadic gunfire, and only the occasional roar of an explosion reminded Gaen that the flames of war had already singed the hairs on his nose.

Now the sound of explosions had faded, yet Gaen’s mood had not improved in the slightest; instead, it grew more irritable.

Just moments ago, he learned that his men had retreated from the surface to the underground, which meant the Qi tribe’s lair on the surface had been completely lost.

Standing at the entrance of the factory warehouse, Gaen clenched his fists, his teeth nearly grinding to dust, and his furious eyes almost spat fire.

To have their lair taken by a bunch of two-legged livestock…

Such a disgrace had never occurred in a century!

Noticing Gaen, the mutant at the window quickly scurried away, crawling and stumbling to open the door for the chieftain.

With a creaking metallic groan, the rusty gate opened a crack, and a stooped old mutant emerged from the gap, bowing slightly to Gaen.

“Chieftain.”

Gaen was usually courteous to this old priest who sided with him, but now he showed no kindness.

Striding up to Gomo, Gaen grabbed him by the collar, his eyes, as large as copper bells, fixed on him.

“Where’s the support I asked for?”

Gomo replied calmly.

“It’s all here.”

Seeing him still so composed at this critical moment, Gaen’s rage flared, and he roared, spittle flying.

“You know I’m not talking about those damn sticks! I want something that can take down that iron lump! Tell the Torch people! If they keep dragging their feet, they can defend that research institute themselves!”

Of course, he was just talking.

Without the Torch’s support, the Qi tribe might be wiped out by the Alliance in no time.

Not to mention those modified prosthetics.

With the Qi tribe’s own processing technology, even making an automatic rifle was a struggle, and the ones they barely cobbled together would jam after three shots.

He knew full well that using the flesh in that biological research institute as leverage to threaten an ally was possible.

But if the “Champion” Pharmaceutical Biological Research Institute truly fell, the Qi tribe would likely lose the Torch Church’s support immediately.

Watching Gaen’s face twisted with rage, Gomo sighed softly.

He remembered just a few days ago, this young chieftain had confidently comforted his worried self, telling him to focus on the ritual and not worry about the battlefield.

Yet in just a few days, after encountering a minor setback, he had become like this—forgetting his own words and placing all his hopes on the Torch Church, an outsider…

But so be it.

This was also within expectations.

After a pause, Gomo slowly continued.

“I’m talking about that kind of thing, and it’s here.”

Gaen was momentarily stunned, then narrowed his eyes.

Through those slits, Gomo saw his craving for power, even though he didn’t truly understand what that power was.

His expression was exactly like a child eager for a new toy.

Looking at this burly infant before him, a pang of sorrow suddenly arose in Gomo’s heart.

Perhaps it was this very naivety that had led them to this unforeseen predicament…

Releasing his grip on the old priest’s collar, Gaen’s tone softened slightly with a hint of politeness.

“Take me there.”

“Follow me.”

Gomo nodded, turned, and walked toward the rusty gate behind him.

With a gleam of power-hungry desire in his eyes, Gaen followed without hesitation, stepping into the pitch-black factory.

The factory was shrouded in darkness.

To avoid detection by Alliance aircraft, no lights were on.

Gaen squinted, letting his eyes adjust to the dim light, and soon saw rows of cylindrical cultivation tanks filled with dark green liquid.

Two-meter-tall bodies were immersed in the tanks. Their skin was gray-black, with protruding fangs and pointed chins, and upon closer inspection, a layer of fine fuzz. Beneath their tall, lean forms, muscles with visible fiber textures were hidden—not abundant but explosive in power, and their torsos were wrapped in a ring of wrinkled fleshy membranes.

Gaen stepped closer, his eyes widening.

Upon closer look, the fleshy membranes encircling their bodies were actually two pairs of folded wings, extending from the armpits down to the hips!

He had never seen such ugly monsters.

“…What are these?”

Gomo walked up to one of the cultivation tanks and spoke softly, not answering the question.

“A century and a half ago, when scholars studied the perfect lifeform, they first designed a framework for that still-blueprint perfect life. Its DNA had to be stable enough to resist external interference, yet flexible enough to accommodate all the genes designed for it… And mutants are that framework. Even though it is far from the proposition of the most perfect life, it has already achieved the first step toward that perfection.”

He paused, then continued.

“It is the most perfect ‘vessel’ on this planet—an almost universal multifunctional platform!”

Gaen frowned, utterly confused by the old priest’s words.

The most perfect life?

He had no doubt that he himself was the most perfect life, and he didn’t see how far off he was from that proposition.

As for vessels, multifunctional platforms…

He had no idea what this old man was talking about.

Gaen’s confusion was entirely expected, and Gomo slowly continued.

“…We can implant all the excellent qualities we need into this perfect vessel, allowing us to inherently surpass all machines. For example, Goliath can devour almost any organic matter and convert it into biomass we can use. The piles of corpses outside can all be turned into useful biomass materials through it. Another example is the bat-winged men before you; they can soar freely in the sky without the need for aircraft.”

“Bat-winged men.” Gaen chewed on the name, and the confusion in his eyes gradually turned into understanding, then into fervor.

If every mutant could master the ability to fly…

His tribe would undoubtedly become the masters of this land!

Wasn’t the Steel Heart just bullying them because they couldn’t fly?

But this thought lasted less than a minute in Gaen’s mind. When he saw the pitifully small number of bat-winged men in the factory, the fervor in his eyes gradually cooled.

"Flying... that does sound good, but there are too few of these little creatures." Gaan rubbed his chin, analyzing with rare calmness. "At most, there are only about a hundred here, probably not even enough to fill the gaps between that iron lump's teeth."

If only there were more.

Seeing through the chieftain's thoughts, Gomo smiled faintly and spoke in a very soft voice.

"Of course, what you see isn't all there is. Right now, there are at least ten thousand bat-winged men deployed throughout the entire Jinhe City."

Gaan's pupils contracted slightly. The fervor that had subsided began to rekindle in those bloodthirsty eyes.

Ten thousand!

Even if each one spat, they could drown that airship!

Seeing Gaan's fighting spirit reignite, Gomo continued slowly.

"The Steel Heart has fierce firepower and a deflector shield that can neutralize almost all kinetic weapons, but it's helpless against close-range threats... The Alliance used this very weakness to seize the Steel Heart from the Legion, and we can use the same method to take the airship from them."

"Right now, most of the Alliance's forces are inside Jinhe City, so the defense on the Steel Heart must be weak. If we launch a surprise attack under the cover of the Gray Mist—"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Gaan grabbed Gomo's shoulder, his expression excited. "Do it now!"

If they could capture that airship and bombard the Alliance soldiers in the city, even if they couldn't wipe out those annoying bastards, they could at least relieve pressure on the front lines.

"Don't get excited, I haven't finished yet," Gomo coughed lightly and continued. "The bat-winged men's genes weren't fully designed. Like Goliath, they're still in the stage of groping and learning from practice. One of the most obvious unresolved flaws is that they need the influence of a psychic interference field to unleash their full combat power."

Gaan's caterpillar-like brows twisted into a knot as he stared hard at him.

"What do you mean?"

Gomo went on.

"Simply put, without a leader, they're just mindless wild dogs, only knowing how to madly bite nearby targets and then feed. We need a warrior strong enough to drive them into battle with his own will."

With that, Gomo turned and walked to the end of the warehouse, stopping in front of a massive cultivation tank.

This tank was distinctly different from the others—not only was it twice as large, but what it contained was also far more special.

Its entire body was covered in black scales, standing over four meters tall, with a humanoid outline, yet it didn't look like a person, but more like a skin—

Or rather, armor!

Following Gomo to this spot, Gaan's gaze locked onto the cultivation tank the moment he saw it, unable to look away.

Inside the open front of the garment, crimson flesh pulsed like a breathing mouth, seemingly calling out to him or issuing an invitation.

He didn't know what it was.

But the power he had always dreamed of lay right before his eyes.

Gomo said nothing, merely extending his index finger to lightly tap the control terminal.

As the button was pressed, the cultivation tank soon emitted a gurgling sound of water being drained, and before long, the dark green liquid was sucked away.

The hatch slowly opened, fully revealing the bio-armor to Gaan.

The pitch-black scales and thick biomass shell were exposed to the air. The fleshy membranes on either side of the ribs gently pulsed, and the back spread open with folded leathery wings.

But what truly captivated Gaan wasn't just the black wings—it was the swelling, heaving chest.

The muscles there seemed to possess the strength to tear steel apart!

Gaan asked.

"...What is this?"

Gomo replied softly.

"A type of bio-armor. Its name is 'Nightmare.' Not only does it possess terrifying strength, sturdy biomass armor, and flight capability, but most importantly, it can generate a psychic interference field powerful enough to command all bat-winged men."

Nightmare...

Gaan savored the name, liking it immensely.

He had no doubt that wearing this armor would make him the eternal nightmare of all old humans.

He looked at Gomo and asked eagerly.

"How do I use this thing?"

Gomo said in a very soft voice.

"Just put it on. Once it becomes part of your body, you'll naturally understand how to use it. It's as simple as breathing... But you need to think carefully—once you put it on, you can never take it off."

"Exactly what I want!"

Gaan laughed heartily, stripped off his clothes without a second thought, and strode forward with his burly frame, stepping into the cultivation tank.

In the Chi tribe, strength rules.

Whoever has the bigger fist is the boss.

As the tribe's strongest, he would never let this chance to grow stronger go to anyone else!

Even if he knew there were risks, he was willing to try!

The moment Gaan's back touched the bio-armor, countless tendrils immediately crawled all over his body.

Sharp interfaces pierced into his flesh, and countless tiny cilia entangled with his entire nervous system.

"Ahhh!!!"

The sudden, excruciating pain made Gaan let out a pained roar. His eyes were bloodshot, and every muscle in his body trembled as if electrified.

The agony was a hundred times greater than any prosthetic surgery. He felt something being stuffed into his body, while part of his own flesh surged into that thing.

First, the nerves fused together, then the blood, and finally everything—body and soul!

Gaan felt as if he had returned to a chaotic womb, an invisible umbilical cord binding him to the mass of flesh surrounding him.

When he opened his eyes again, he didn't know how much time had passed.

Gaan could no longer feel his original body; his consciousness seemed to have fully merged into a new shell—

A much stronger shell!

He clenched his fist, and a crackling sound came from his arm. Every cell in his body seemed to cheer and rejoice.

Delighted, Gaan then moved the wings behind him. The gust they stirred blew away the animal-skin clothes on the ground, and the high priest and a few underlings involuntarily stepped back.

Gomo stared intently at the reborn Gaan, a trace of fervor gradually rising in his murky pupils.

Though this path had been full of twists—

A more powerful being had been born before him, which brought him some comfort... At least those sacrifices weren't in vain.

Gaan clenched his power-filled fist and looked down at Gomo, who stood on the lower steps, with satisfaction.

"By the way, how exactly are those bat-winged men made? Can the Church make more?"

Gomo lowered his eyes and replied respectfully.

"Similar to Goliath, they are mainly cultivated from juvenile mutants. The output probably isn't as high as you imagine... But I believe that given enough time, they can certainly forge an invincible air force for you."

Gaan frowned.

"And this bio-armor?"

"Similar... just with some extra ingredients added." To be honest, Gomo wasn't entirely sure either, so he could only give a vague answer.

But this explanation was enough for Gaen. A flicker of realization rose in his amber pupils, and then that realization turned into delight.

So that was it.

No wonder he had sensed a familiar aura from this set of biomass armor—it, too, was the bloodline of his kin.

Though he felt something was off, he paid it no mind.

As long as he could gain greater power!

Such trivial matters were irrelevant!

"Roar—!"

He threw back his head and let out a joyful roar. The fleshy wings attached to his spine suddenly spread to both sides, and a piercing sonic wave surged outward with the air currents stirred by his wings.

The mutant underlings recoiled in terror, and the aged Gomo did the same, yet his eyes held not a trace of fear—only fervor.

One by one, the bat-winged men in the cultivation tanks, as if responding to his command, snapped open their tightly shut eyes. Madly, they battered the glass of the tanks with their hands, feet, and teeth, dragging their slimy bodies out from within.

It was hard to imagine that these things had been hatched from mutant infants.

But just as Gaen thought, such trivial details were utterly irrelevant.

Gazing at those hideous, fanged beasts, a cruel grin twisted across Gaen's face.

"...The time for revenge has come!"

……

At the same moment, atop an office building several kilometers from that factory, the old man in the exoskeleton slowly opened his tightly shut eyes.

He heard the sharp shrieks hidden in the wind, and he heard the undercurrents surging within the fog.

The biological weapons deployed by the Torch Church in this city had finally been activated.

One by one, fanged monsters, led by a beast, howled toward that colossal steel structure.

Soon, everything would be over.

Though he did not know where Luo Qian had gone, from now on, no more filth would interfere with the sacred heaven descending upon this land.

Slowly turning his gaze toward the direction of the airship, Alzu curled a cold, sharp smile.

"A bunch of parasites sucking on the legacy of the old era. Instead of rebuilding the old utopia and enlightening those ignorant subjects, they've reversed the wheels back to before the Age of Prosperity. Just because they picked up the wreckage of a frigate, they've grown so arrogant they don't know their place."

A vessel of that class.

During the Three-Year War, it wouldn't even count as cannon fodder.

He sneered, squeezing the words through his lips.

"You think you're so tough?"

"Let's see if you can even leave yourselves a whole corpse."

……

Northern Jinhe City.

The front line of the battle between the Alliance and the Qi Tribe.

After securing the entrance to the subway station and the streets leading to the "Champion" Biological Research Institute, the Alliance's ground forces did not push forward. Instead, they steadily built new defensive lines, waiting for supplies from the rear.

After a full day of combat, most players had nearly exhausted their ammunition. Even if the men could hold on, their weapons could not.

After demarcating their respective defense zones, the legion commanders quickly held a brief operational meeting to determine the next phase of the attack plan.

Command had given the front-line troops enough autonomy to decide the order of mission completion based on the situation.

That is, the players could choose for themselves whether to prioritize storming the "Champion" Biological Research Institute or to press the advantage and annihilate the mutants who had fled into the subway.

For ease of communication and to pool ideas, the discussion, as usual, took place on the official forum's player section.

But though it was called a discussion, there was hardly any disagreement.

Almost all legion commanders agreed that while those green-skinned beasts were hateful, capturing the Champion Biological Research Institute was the top priority.

Not only because it held a thousand cubic meters of nuclear fuel and the pseudo-mother nest that controlled the gray fog, but also from a strategic standpoint, taking it would effectively divide their opponents.

After all, the alliance between the Torch Church and the Qi Tribe was mainly maintained through that institute.

Once the Alliance breached the institute and destroyed the "Heaven" descending over the Jinhe area, the Qi Tribe would lose its greatest strategic value to the Torch Church.

Conversely, if they surrounded the institute and made eliminating the living forces in the subway the primary objective, while it would reduce the mutant numbers as much as possible and prevent those creatures from hiding in the subway's corners, it could also introduce new variables.

Having lost a district's bishop, the Torch Church could not still be in the dark. Even if they made no bigger moves, they would surely send a new one.

A swift resolution was the most advantageous option for the Alliance, even if it meant spending more time later wiping out the mutant remnants.

It took only ten minutes for the legion commanders to reach a consensus. But just then, the ever-silent Spring Commander suddenly popped up with a comment.

"I keep feeling your progress has been too smooth."

Previously, the Storm Legion had taken over the Jungle Legion's job, clearing bandits in the northern mountain forests of the Alliance, and had not participated in this server event.

Though his own legion had nothing to do with this event, watching his buddies discuss so enthusiastically made Spring's fingers itch, so he chimed in.

No one minded his interruption; Edge Drifter typed lazily.

"Is being smooth a bad thing? (Ridiculous)"

Spring Commander: "I didn't say it was bad... I just feel you've won too easily. Either your opponents are really dumb, or they're likely cooking up something big."

Midnight Chicken Killer: "What makes you say that?"

Spring Commander: "Generally speaking, if there was no chance of winning, if I were that mutant leader, I'd have turned tail and run. No matter how much the Torch Church offers, what's the use of money if you're dead? Even if the relationship is good, who would fight to the death for an ally? Besides, with this thick fog, even if they fled Jinhe, we couldn't stop them. The subway network is extensive—you might not even be able to block them."

Trash Picker Level 99: "That logic makes sense... but does it apply to mutants? Maybe they just look down on the old humans they've been slaughtering like sheep? Perhaps they never thought they could lose."

Midnight Chicken Killer: "+1, those beasts don't seem that cunning."

Spring Commander: "It's not about cunning. If they truly never thought they could lose, they wouldn't have retreated underground. Wouldn't a decisive battle on the surface be better?"

Fang Chang: "Hmm... I was thinking about that too, but I really can't figure out what cards they have left. And if they had a game-changer, why didn't they use it earlier? Why now?"

Spring Commander: "Bro, think carefully. How did we seize the Steel Heart back then?"

Irena: "Damn, this guy's about to show off. (Ridiculous)"

Elf King Fugui: "Alright, we know you commanded it. (Ridiculous)"

Spring Commander: "Cough, I really didn't mean that. I'm serious! Think about it—don't you see any similarities?"

Quit Smoking: "Pin down the ground forces, then launch a surprise attack... Whoa? You mean they might be copying us?"

Mole in Canyon Escape: "But the problem is, mutants don't have aircraft, right?"

Spring Commander: "Those big guys definitely can't build a plane... But what if, hypothetically, the biological weapons they control aren't just thick-skinned bruisers like 'Goliath' and 'Meat Mountain,' but also flying ones?"

Fang Chang: "So far, we haven't spotted any flying elite monsters like you mentioned... But you have a point. Since the Torch Church can breed biological weapons that defy common sense, we can't rule out that possibility."

Mole in Canyon Escape: "Yeah, aside from the phase cannons that need to be pre-deployed, boarding action is indeed the only effective tactic against airships with deflection shields."

Debt Big Eyes: "Wait... is that kind of thing even possible?!"

Spring Commander: "War isn't a card game. Anything can happen on the battlefield. I'm just suggesting, to be safe, maybe send a squad back to the airship? You've already pushed to their doorstep anyway."

Old Bai: "Got it. We'll head back! (Grin)"

Regardless of whether the mutants have this card up their sleeve, leaving someone on the high ground to prevent backdooring will also let the pushing teammates feel a bit more at ease.

Anyway, as Brother Fountain said, the front line doesn't lack their presence.

With the Skeleton Corps, Death Corps, and Jungle Corps brothers here, capturing a research institute is more than enough.

WC ReallyHasMosquitoes: "Damn... reading through your discussion made my butthole clench, I'm fucking heading back to the lane now! (terrified)"

NightTen: "Don't panic, bro's coming back to keep you company. (smirking)"