Starting as a Mechanical Hunter

Chapter 56: Chapter 50: Biological Transformation (Conclusion)

After Professor Han left, Gao Gong fell into deep thought.

Rather than saying it’s a choice between two system transformations, it’s more about selecting between two sets of skill combinations.

Is it the mobile blood bag, organ vitalization-free approach, micro-limb regeneration, and comrade hunt enhancement?

Or is it agility enhancement, metal digestion, comrade hunt enhancement, and the biochemical Star Absorption Skill?

The former is suitable for tanking bosses and for tank-type players like Fat Xiang, but all three traits are very practical, even Gao Gong is tempted by traits like ’no vital points’ and ’finger regeneration’.

It’s simply the fortune star for melee players.

The latter, well, perhaps suitable for healers?

Not really, suitable for rapid battlefield healing.

Just that ’metal digestion’ isn’t very practical.

But the ’Star Absorption Skill’ is indeed too enticing.

Gao Gong was quite conflicted, and this conflict lasted until Professor Han presented a specific ’biological transformation plan’ for him to make up his mind.

He could only choose the second one.

For no other reason, normal systematic transformation has a transformation core.

The transformation core for the circulatory system is the heart, and for the digestive system, it’s the stomach.

Simply put, the former requires a heart transplant, while the latter requires a stomach transplant.

Transplanting the stomach doesn’t matter, as his current stomach is the original version, not an imported one.

But a heart transplant—the heart has long been replaced by a mechanical heart.

It’s not that it can’t be replaced; it’s just an ordinary energy supplier with mediocre power consumption, Gao Gong has been displeased with it for a long time and intends to replace it eventually.

However, on the path to fusion and ascension, in other words, Carbon Stream + Mechanical Stream, there is a major taboo.

That is, during mechanical transformations, it’s best not to tamper with the biological system.

Conversely, during biological optimization, don’t touch the mechanical system.

It’s like walking a tightrope, turning right when leaning to the left, and turning left when leaning to the right. Carelessly balancing can lead to a fall.

Professor Han was a bit surprised at how quickly Gao Gong decided on the plan. He hesitated for a moment and said:

”I understand you want to gain more powerful strength through biological transformation, which is no problem. But implanting biological organs into the human body indeed falls outside my field of expertise.”

”I’m also not sure what kind of physiological response might occur.”

”Professor, you’re not trying to stop me, are you?”

Professor Han shook his head and said, ”What I mean is, if you just want to gain the power of a Radiation Beast, there’s another way.”

”Reproduction Technology?”

”You know?” Professor Han was taken aback.

”I’ve read your notes. I must say, Professor, you had a great figure when you were young.”

Professor Han rarely blushed and sighed, ”Ah, youthful recklessness, it’s good to be young.”

”However, even during the pre-Civilization Era, Reproduction Technology was one of your country’s top secrets, although you, Professor Han, are a master in bionics—”

”It’s not pure reproduction technology, but by applying bionic principles, grafting the limbs of a Radiation Beast onto the human body for a short period to gain immense strength.”

Gao Gong suddenly realized, ”I always wondered how the Classical Stream Mechanical Hunter could wield such heavy weapons without mechanical alteration. Now I understand.”

Professor Han’s face darkened, clearly showing that his old heartache hadn’t been resolved.

Gao Gong chuckled, ”According to my guess, this bionic grafting surely has significant flaws. More so, the frequent usage of such connections and disconnections means the life system cannot integrate them, and over time, Biological Rejection will reach a terrifying level.”

Professor Han nodded and said, ”That’s right, and another point is that Reproduction Technology is war technology; the prostheses can be used immediately, while our bionic limbs require several days of tuning.”

Gao Gong lost complete interest and shook his head.

”Let’s go with my approach then.”

The two began their cooperation. Professor Han took charge of the system bionic transformation of the ’Reaper Queen’, while Gao Gong began to integrate the surgical plan. Some ’biological transformations’ are suitable for surgical alteration, while others need adjustments.

In terms of the ’game’, what the two are doing now is creating blueprints and equipment from scratch.

During breaks, Gao Gong would walk to a nutrition tank and look at the ’stomach’ inside the tank.

Typically, as a human digestive organ, most people’s stomachs are flask-shaped.

In contrast, the Reaper Queen’s stomach appeared especially fierce. It’s not flask-shaped but more like an oversized red gemstone. The ’gemstone’s’ surface is covered with countless digestive tubes, resembling a coiled ball of red snakes. The snake-mouth-like digestive tube openings emitted bubbles.

In certain civilizations, human modification is a taboo option, known as ’species primitivism’.

They list various cases of transformation failures and some heretical theories like the ’Uncanny Valley Effect’, ’Bestiality of Non-Human Organs’, ’Physiological Variability’, to validate their perspectives.

Simply said, it’s about peeling off human skin, exposing and disgustingly revealing the human modification structure.

Look, this is not human, it’s not like us, so disgusting.

And look at its behavior patterns, the more you look, the stranger it gets!

Unethical, against common principles, morally corrupt!

But the thing is, if you peel the skin off an all-natural beauty and have her stare at you, you also lose your appetite.

If you take out your own heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, you’ll find it equally disgusting.

As you age, you eventually find yourself displeased with your reflection.

As a lover of many forms in a book style, Gao Gong has always maintained the principle of having an aesthetic view across intelligent species.

The ancients spoke well: with inclusive love, comes powerful attack.

A mechanical battle maiden isn’t appealing? A bionic beauty isn’t appealing? A shipgirl isn’t appealing? A tentacle girl isn’t appealing?

Without such a universe-embracing mindset, you’ll only end up as an ordinary game player, eventually being turned into a biological battery or brain-juice generator by NPCs.

This is retribution.

Cough, strayed too far again. In short, after Gao Gong and Professor Han collaborated for another day, they were finally ready.

”Is it really necessary to rush this much?”

”Every second counts.”

On the operating table, Gao Gong grinned, then took out a set of electrode pads and attached them to his forehead and temples.

This was the first blueprint given by the system when he changed professions to Prosthetic Doctor, the ’Pain Editor’.

Pain

For the sake of biological transformation, Gao Gong had made this equipment early on, just to perform surgery on himself.

As expected, once the Pain Editor was activated, the pain signals were immediately blocked.

”Let’s start.”

The two surgical arms started to operate, needles inserted into the legs for local anesthesia (to prevent the leg muscles from involuntary reflexes).

The scalpel on the other surgical arm began cutting the skin.

On Gao Gong’s two knees, there were obvious suture marks. As the skin was opened, the metallic sheen of knee joints appeared.

Inside the joints, there were faintly visible wires as thick as neural lines, where micro motors were implanted.

The knees were to be replaced, but the motors were to be retained, combining biological and mechanical power generation, which is double the pleasure.

The biggest challenge of the surgery was retaining these micro motors.

Fortunately, the ’Reaper’s’ knees were inherently more compatible with alloy materials.

As long as a layer of ’Biological Ironization Membrane’ (a thin membrane between the biological armor and skin) was coated on the motors, there would be no problem.

Gao Gong even had the leisure to replace some aging wires on the motors.

The scene was rather gory. Gao Gong’s expressionless cutting of the human body resembled a certain cannibalistic Dr. Hannibal.

[Implant surgery in progress]

[Surgery completed, you have implanted a Sensing Knee, agility +3, evasion +5%, critical strike rate in stealth increases by 10%]

[Your knee’s weight-bearing capacity increased by 300kg]

[Fall damage reduced by 20%]

[Your Sports System Transformation Rate +1%]

[Blood volume +20, Stamina +10]

Outside the sterile room, Professor Han was somewhat nervous.

During the surgery, he wasn’t idle; he had to constantly check the rejection values of Gao Gong’s various body parts, and if any system’s rejection was too high, he had to immediately change the surgical detail plan.

The knee surgery was completed smoothly, which was not surprising, but the main part was yet to come.

After the surgery, there wasn’t a single drop of sweat on Gao Gong’s head, thanks to the ’Blood Coagulator’, which effectively acted as a ’Sweat Gland Refrigerator’, freezing the sweat gland system for a short time.

This equipment was made from a Level 2 Technology Blueprint.

Gao Gong also took out a metal pill and held it in his mouth.

It was somewhat reminiscent of the scene where ancient people, during burial, held a ’Golden Core in their mouth, ascending to immortality’.

This was actually an ’Oral Special Efficacy Medicine’, which, in a short span, gathered trace metal elements in the human body to reduce mechanical rejection.

Swallowing it would actually be more effective.

But the problem was, Gao Gong’s focus was on transforming the digestive system, so where would it go if swallowed?

Watching the numbers on the screen stabilize again, Professor Han wiped his sweat and said in a deep voice, ”It’s about right.”

Gao Gong slowly lay on the operating table, above which an electronic screen automatically flipped out, showing his six-pack abs on the screen.

The next surgery would fully depend on the operation of the surgical table.

First, anesthesia was applied to the abdomen, then with a ’buzz’, lasers emerged from the two surgical knives.

This was a ’Polymer Scalpel’, several times sharper than a normal scalpel, especially suitable for mechanical transformation and some ’hardcore’ biological transformations.

A red line slowly appeared on the chest, the human skin was cut open, revealing the titanium alloy sternum and the mechanical heart beneath it.

And the stomach just below the heart.

Soon, this thing would bid farewell to its homeland and embark on a journey into the distance.

During the surgery, Gao Gong couldn’t afford to pay attention to the system panel.

Nonetheless, the system panel continued to provide a series of alerts.

[Transplant surgery in progress]

[Stomach transplant completed, Reaper’s Stomach implant in progress]

[Transplant completed, blood volume +100]

[Additional State: High-Digestion Mode]

[Maximum Endurance +10%]

[Digestive System Transformation in progress]

[Your Digestive System Transformation Rate +3%]

[Blood Volume +60, Stamina +30]

[Fusion with internal Mechanical System, digestive mode automatically mutates]

[Digestive System upgrading, blood volume recovery speed +10%]

[Biological mutation begins]

Professor Han’s complexion changed, because he saw that all ten of Gao Gong’s fingers, along with several toes, simultaneously cracked, gushing blood.

’Is this the beginning of biological transformation or a sign of surgical failure?’