Survival Guide in the Age of Cataclysm

Chapter 91 The Role of Biochemical Plugins

[Biohazard Plugin - Starbreaker]

[Energy-consuming plugins generate a special airflow within the body during use. This airflow acts as a medium for force transmission, concentrating the force between muscles into a single point for a focused destructive effect.]

[Note: Using a specific example to illustrate a broader point!]

……

Xu Yang fiddled with the black plug-in in his hand and stroked his chin.

Special airflow? The only thing he could think of that was similar to the internal energy in martial arts novels.

However, there are differences. In martial arts novels, internal energy usually comes with a certain degree of recovery and different special attributes, while the [Breaking Star] plugin can only gather and then transmit power.

However, Xu Yang was already quite satisfied with this.

The [Starbreaker] plugin significantly increases attack damage.

It's important to understand that normal combat is essentially just a clash of muscles, one piece of flesh striking another, with the force distributed across the contact surface.

However, with this plugin, Xu Yang can actively concentrate the power that was originally dispersed in his muscles into a single point. Against enemies with thick skin, this ability can pierce their defenses like a needle puncturing a balloon.

Furthermore, if combined with the "Instant Kick" he developed using the "Sacrifice" technique.

All the power of the body is concentrated in the legs, striking a single point and transmitting it to the enemy at the moment of kicking. The explosive force is no different from an explosion.

As Xu Yang thought about it, he felt a surge of excitement.

If he didn't have to stay in the area, he would want to go back to the settlement right now to install the plugin and test its effects.

I calmed myself down a bit.

He then looked at the remaining three functional plugins, and only the previous one, [Bewitching Heart], was decent.

Emotional influence is also a form of control. It can disrupt the enemy's mind, interfere with their combat decisions, and create openings. When used in conjunction with the "Divine Interference" technique, it may have surprising effects.

As for the other two plugins...

One of them is called "Revival of All Things," which consumes biochemical energy to secrete a special hormone that stimulates organisms within a 20-meter radius to grow faster.

In a sense, it can be seen as a kind of aging ability.

It should be effective enough to accelerate plant growth, but it's probably not realistic to make organisms die of old age instantly.

Perhaps pairing it with parasites that require time to grow can produce amazing effects; it seems to be a skill that depends heavily on pairing.

Xu Yang thought for a moment and decided to keep the plugin for now. If it found a buyer who was a perfect fit in the future, it might sell for a price far exceeding its intrinsic value.

As for the last plugin, Xu Yang found it difficult to categorize it into any of the three types.

It's more like a...modification module.

[Biohazard Plugin - Steel Bones]

[Without consuming biochemical energy, after installing the plugin, the body's skeleton will gradually transform into steel. This process is irreversible and permanently increases defense to a certain extent, but weakens physical speed and nerve reaction speed.]

[Note: You should discard your weak, fleshy body.]

……

This should be considered a failed plugin, as it lacks the flexibility of free installation and uninstallation, and even has side effects.

So far, all the plugins Xu Yang has seen, although some of their abilities are quite useless, none of them actively weaken the body.

Of course, the benefits of this weakening are also very obvious—steel skeleton, sacrificing speed but increasing the body's strength.

The first thing that came to Xu Yang's mind was cyborgs, which should be related to this kind of plugin, but that was obviously outdated.

He had never seen such a plugin even on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' procurement interface, which clearly conveyed the message.

The federal government does not seem to recommend modifications.

Xu Yang retrieved the plugin, having already made up his mind. He wouldn't install the [Steelbow] plugin; selling it was the right thing to do.

Modifying modules is essentially a compromise, sacrificing some capabilities in exchange for others, while true evolution of life is pure progress.

Compromise or backing down is not allowed.

Moreover, the so-called steel skeleton sounds pretty good, but he believes that as long as he continues to advance on the path of mutation and enhancement, not to mention steel, even special alloys cannot compare to his own flesh and blood.

To put it simply, Qi Mingxuan, whom he had kicked to death before, showed no obvious damage to his skull despite the immense force he exerted, proving that it was no less durable than metal.

"Then how about Starbreaker and Bewitching Heart? But that would leave only one slot."

Xu Yang hesitated again.

He initially thought five slots were a good number, but now he's starting to think they're a bit too few.

……

In the blink of an eye, a week has passed.

The isolation zone, the area where troops are stationed.

Xu Yang was sitting on a rock beside a pond.

He held a hand-rolled fishing rod in his hand, the float made of plant stems, floating on the water, looking extremely haphazard.

There was a bag next to it, with seven palm-sized crucian carp floating in it.

goooo...

A string of bubbles rose to the surface of the water, and the float bobbed a few times, but showed no sign of sinking. It seemed as if the fish were teasing him, but just wouldn't bite.

Xu Yang's expression remained unchanged.

The float bobbed occasionally, and after what seemed like an eternity, the clear water reflected the shadows of a cluster of swimming fish.

Bang!

Xu Yang instantly drew his gun and fired.

Armor-piercing bullets were fired from the barrel, splashing water as white fish bellies emerged from the water, surrounded by a pale red ring.

Xu Yang put away the Fermund pistol and let out a deep breath.

Originally designed to deal with fungal beasts, armor-piercing rounds can now only be used to blast fish.

He was also helpless about this.

For a whole week, I didn't encounter any fungal beasts. I was practically idle every day, and I heard that this kind of life was going to continue until either Redfall ended or Ita's main consciousness died completely.

However, so much time has passed, Xu Yang felt that Ita probably didn't die so easily, and might not be able to return to the settlement until the Red Fall ended.

There is still about a week left before the Red Fall ends.

Pulling up the fishing line, Xu Yang skillfully used the hook to bring the fish to the shore and toss it into a bag nearby.

He glanced at the sky and cast another line into the pond.

beep…

The bracelet suddenly started vibrating.

Xu Yang glanced at it.

It was Ma Yue who sent the message. These days, apart from occasionally chatting with Ron and Lily, he would reply to Ma Yue's message from time to time or ask him some questions.

He turned off Do Not Disturb in advance because he had asked the other party a question about the plugin.

"I was sleeping and didn't see the message. Do you want to know how to increase the number of biohazard slots?"

"Yes, can you increase it?"

"able."

Xu Yang's face lit up with joy.

Since he discovered a week ago that he didn't have enough slots, he started asking Ma Yue about the existence and how to obtain certain ability plugins.

Then, examine them one by one and consider their auxiliary role in shaping one's own mutation characteristics.

The end result is that five slots seem to be insufficient, and it appears that the only way to improve other mutation traits is through mutation traits.

But this is clearly putting the cart before the horse.

The reason for installing plugins is that the way they acquire specific abilities is simple enough to compensate for deficiencies in mutation characteristics.

Targeted mutation is a difficult and talent-dependent process, and there are many factors to consider.

It's not just about acquiring special abilities; more importantly, it's about considering whether acquiring these special abilities will increase the physical attributes required for advancement.

There's no need to go to great lengths to acquire a support ability through mutation that doesn't increase the chance of advancement.

This is clearly an inefficient approach.

Therefore, after much thought, Xu Yang decided that instead of focusing on how to efficiently occupy a limited number of slots, he should consider how to increase the number of slots.

There should be a way to do this, and there might even be a separate system for it.

After all, as a mainstream auxiliary method, biohazard plugins should have been designed with the possibility of insufficient usage in mind when creating them.

The result was obvious: Xu Yang guessed correctly.

He pressed further, "What's needed to add a slot?"

Ma Yue quickly replied:

"You just need to advance to the next level."

Xu Yang was taken aback when he saw the message interface refresh again.

"The biochemical slot is essentially your body's ability to withstand foreign genes, while the essence of advancement is a stage of comprehensive evolution of life. After evolution, all kinds of abilities will be improved, including the ability to withstand foreign genes."

Furthermore, after evolution, your bio-slot count will not only increase, but it will also be refreshed first.

"Refresh? What does that mean?"

Xu Yang noticed that the holographic screen was silent for a while, as if the other party was carefully considering their words.

Sure enough, two minutes later a new message appeared: "Refreshing refers to the biohazard plugins you installed before. The abilities they bring will all become new mutated traits after successful advancement."

While its effects are enhanced, it also truly becomes a part of itself, allowing one to freely manipulate its power, rather than merely using it as a tool; its essence transforms into a mutated characteristic.

Because I'm not at Tier 1 yet, I only heard about it from Lao He. One of the original intentions behind the design of the biochemical plug-in was to incorporate all the foreign genes in the body into one's own through life stage evolution.

Xu Yang read the message several times, took a deep breath, and understood.

According to Ma Yue, his previous conjecture was wrong; the biochemical plugin system did not exist independently, but was entirely dependent on mutation.

The process is divided into stages. In each stage, mutations are performed first, and then plugins are installed to form the system for that stage. After that, the system advances, and mutations are performed again, with new plugins installed to match the mutation characteristics of that stage.

And so it goes, in a never-ending cycle.

but……

Xu Yang discovered a spot where he could exploit a bug and immediately sent a message.

"Old Ma, can I temporarily change my plugins before advancing to select some powerful abilities that are very difficult to obtain?"

"Of course you can. If you gave me an energy-related plugin before advancing, I would do the same. If you're lucky enough to find such a plugin, don't hesitate, just install it."

This gives you a significant head start once you reach Tier 1. However, these plugins are hard to find and rarely available on the market. As for other types of plugins, there's not much need to switch or install them.

Xu Yang nodded to himself; he understood the information about the energy plug-in.

As Ron had mentioned before, the main task after entering the first tier is to perform energy mutations.

If it's unlocked directly through a plugin, wouldn't that be equivalent to the final boss dying right at the start of the main storyline?

However, Ma Yue's next words made him a little confused. Isn't it good to exchange a support trait for a powerful trait? It seems like a win no matter how you look at it.

Xu Yang immediately edited the good news.

Why are other types of powerful plugins not recommended for installation?

"This is easy to understand. Your original combination was already very good and had stood the test of time. Now, if you rashly change to other types of mutation traits, what path will you take afterward?"

Sometimes having more options doesn't mean having more paths, but rather more distractions.

After all, even after advancing, you won't have many more slots, not to mention the subsequent energy mutation. You must carefully plan your combinations; trying to do too much at once will only lead to failure.

Xu Yang frowned; he understood what Ma Yue meant.

Suddenly, it felt like after talking for so long, we were back to the original problem – not enough slots.

It seems that this mutation-plugin system does not support his ultimate goal of wanting everything.

"If only there were a mutation that could both increase physical strength and the number of slots."

Xu Yang sighed inwardly, then could only accept reality: "I understand, Lao Ma, how many slots will there be after that level?"

A reply came quickly from Ma Yue:

"This varies from person to person. Generally, before advancing, humans have one to four bio-slots, and each advancement will add one to two more."

After looking at the message several times, Xu Yang was stunned.

"Wait, what do you mean by 'humans have one to four slots'?"

Instantly, the personal panel for the guide test unfolded before my eyes—

……

[Biohazard Slot (5): Iron Stomach (500), Divine Stealth]

……

"I mean, is it possible that someone's number of slots is outside this range?"

"Of course it's possible."

Xu Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this.

Then, the message screen refreshed.

"Some people have unstable genes from birth, with no genetic slots at all, and their bodies cannot handle foreign genes."

"..." "I mean, is there anything higher than four?"

"Impossible. Four slots represent the ideal state of a perfect human being, which only exists in imagination. This is not my opinion, but the consensus of the entire Federation. In reality, most people only have two or three slots."

……

"Okay, I understand."

Xu Yang exited the chat interface and casually turned on Do Not Disturb mode.

After that, he stopped fishing altogether.

He squatted on the rock, recalling his life experiences over the past twenty years.

It's normal to have no memory of anything before the age of three, as the brain isn't fully developed at that age.

I have a basic impression of each period in the days that followed, and the more recent ones are clearer. Apart from the sudden time travel, there was nothing strange about it.

But the guide wouldn't lie to him, and what Ma Yue said was probably true.

"So, am I even human?"

After thinking for a while, Xu Yang had some guesses—

Perhaps there are some differences between Earthlings and Earthlings.

It was getting late.

He breathed a sigh of relief, put away his fishing rod, and carried the fish he had "caught" back to the camp.

……

Above the campfire.

The water in the iron pot was boiling vigorously, with several pieces of chopped processed meat bubbling around.

Xu Yang prepared the fish simply, then skewered it on a wooden stick and grilled it.

Flames blazed in front of him as he pulled a syringe from his bag.

It is the mutagen that is used to obtain the mutated characteristic [Black Guard].

Two weeks have passed since the first use of the [Black Guardian] potion lure, and tonight is the time to enter the first genetic memory.

Based on the previous conversation with the pig-headed man, this time there is a kind of being called an "instructor" in the genetic memory. It doesn't seem to be the type of implanted lure that you can enter and fight immediately.

Xu Yang looked at the mutagen with great anticipation.