Chapter 234

Chapter 234: Agrobacterium’s Schemes Are Far from Small

“Hmm…”

Trilobite lay motionless in the swamp.

The swamp water was actually quite deep—at least deep enough that he had to kick his short legs to surface.

An ordinary air sac crocodile would’ve found this uncomfortable.

Sleeping underwater would require resurfacing every hour or two for air.

But Trilobite still retained his gill filaments.

Though nearly useless for breathing and only providing minimal support, they could still oxygenate low-energy activities like sleeping or idling.

Despite thinking normally requiring oxygen, he somehow felt his brain barely required any "oxygen" to function.

Now, he contemplated the "gift" he’d bought for his spawn.

"[Agrobacterium’s Subtle Schemes]."

"That scheme is no small thing."

"It changed the world."

"And might reshape it even more profoundly in the future."

As a paleontologist, Trilobite knew little about microbiology achievements, but Agrobacterium’s fame reached even him.

This soil-dwelling microbe mainly exists in two forms: crown gall Agrobacterium and hairy root Agrobacterium.

Unlike tetanus, typhoid, or dysentery bacilli—equally widespread in nature—Agrobacterium doesn’t target humans.

Its usual hosts are dicotyledonous plants: magnolias, tea trees, radishes, and such.

It invades plant wounds, stimulating them to grow protruding tumors where it thrives.

This seemed unremarkable at first.

But Agrobacterium’s world-changing power lay in how it created these tumors.

Instead of chemical stimulation, it inserts its own DNA fragment into plant cell nuclei. These implanted genes rapidly express, causing infected plant cells to multiply and swell into tumors.

Simultaneously, the modified plant cells gained new abilities—continuously producing specific amino acids.

Agrobacterium then used these amino acids as nutrients to multiply explosively!

Simply put—this was genetic modification!

Nature’s own transgenic engineering!

Later human plant genetic techniques harnessed this very mechanism!

What Agrobacterium evolved as a survival "trick" became humanity’s key to reshaping the world!

Which meant…

"Perhaps my spawn can freely share the parts I gave them?"

"Or maybe buying one universal ‘organ component’ means providing it to all!?"

"Now that’s convenient!"

Earlier, Trilobite had bought some parts for "Sister Trilobite," but they could only be used on other Trilobites.

What’s more, certain parts seemed exclusively reserved for the young lady.

At least so far, Trilobite hadn’t spotted a second flying "Trilobite Mantis" emerging.

Perhaps someday, the remaining Trilobites might truly take to the skies!

"Not bad, not bad!"

"Hmm…"

"Hmm!?"

Just then, Trilobite suddenly sensed something amiss.

A strange "gibberish" noise abruptly echoed through his mind.

"What’s going on?"

The answer came swiftly.

[Beep——!]

[Special hotline consultation call incoming. Accept?]

[Note: Number flagged as spam.]

"Huh?"

Since becoming non-human, Trilobite hadn’t encountered anything like this in ages.

He was rather curious.

"Er, could this be ‘I’m a T-rex, I’m not extinct, revive the lizard-like creatures dynasty for just 2000 bucks’… or something?"

"If true, that’d be pretty hilarious."

"Hmm…"

"Patch it through."

Soon, the bizarre noise grew louder.

"Ah…"

Then the caller spoke, uttering the first syllable!

But Trilobite gave it no chance to continue.

The best—and only—way to handle scammers is to report them.

Though toying with them when answering can be amusing too.

"Hello!?"

"Tyrannosaurus?"

"Stop fretting about reviving lizard-like creatures. Better fund my Bird Clan and Croc Clan—we’ll dominate skies and land."

"When the time comes, we’ll assault the continent by air and sea!"

"The Dragon King has returned! How glorious would that be!"

“Quick, send me money!”

—-

“Hmm?”

Barbatos released the souls of the four living saints.

These four tiny “stars” trembled in agony, but their suffering ended there.

“Buzz——!”

A colossal will descended, scattering pressure like fierce wind dispersing dark clouds. In an instant, it lifted Barbatos’ oppression from them.

The colossal will confronted Barbatos directly!

Yet Barbatos remained unfazed.

“Didn’t realize you could be this imposing.”

“But you alone!?”

“Seems you’ve misread this situation. Allow me to explain.”

“This is the battlefield of souls! We compete not in strength, but in knowledge, insight, and wisdom!”

If divine clashes using godly forms and magic were “martial combat,” then battles within souls—collisions between spirits—were “intellectual combat”!

Such conflicts remained rare.

Most deities lacked a “Soul Link Network,” leaving few breaches in their spiritual defenses. Guarding their own souls sufficed.

Even the dimmest divine race—the Star-Eater Plutonium Dragons—managed this effortlessly.

But deities with Soul Links might as well install countless doors in their homes.

Invaders would always find entry.

Only Barbatos possessed a soul strong enough to maintain such a network. His “doors” were guarded by Outer Gods from the Void, not mortals, making invasion no easy feat for other deities.

Among Chaos Demon Gods, Barbatos alone dared forge Soul Links with multiple Void Outer Gods.

“If I’m confident,”

“You’re downright arrogant!”

“Great Devourer! Giant God!”

“Blind fool! You know only devouring!”

“What can you fight me with!?”

The Great Devourer’s name had spread among Void Outer Gods.

To Barbatos and most deities, it meant one thing: a terrifying deity relying solely on brute force—overpowering foes with an invincible form and magic resistance.

Terrifying. Ruthless. Cruel. But foolish!

A supercharged Star-Eater Plutonium Dragon.

All might, no wisdom.

Though Lady Xidi suspected something—deducing the Giant God’s advantages in “skill” and “wisdom” from raw intelligence and personal encounters—she lacked proof.

Moreover, the intelligence given to the deities, including Blais, only contained raw data and lacked Lady Xidi’s own analysis.

Gimmerly also understood the wisdom hidden beneath the seemingly foolish appearance of the Giant God.

But unfortunately, he had gone mad.

So…

“Place the Soul Link terminal on the mortals.”

“You’re asking for death!”

Now, it was time to chant the spell!

“Ah…”

Just as Barbatos began to chant the first syllable of “Sigh of the Void.”

“Hey—!?”

“Devour—Ba—Wang—Long—Ma—?”

“…”

The deep, eerie single-syllable language echoed within Barbatos’s Soul, as he struck with overwhelming power against the Chaos Demon God’s Soul core.

“Uh…”

“Damn…”

“Is this… Soul counter!?”

“Consciousness override!?”

“Damn it! How could the Great Devourer know such advanced techniques!?”

“No! I must concentrate!”

Although Barbatos faced an unexpected situation and was somewhat surprised by the mismatch with the intelligence, he quickly regained his focus.

“No! I need to pull myself together, I can’t let this fellow interfere.”

“I have to finish the chant…”

“Ugh…”

Barbatos was unaware that his nightmare had just begun!

“Buzz——!”

Strange images flooded in!