Ch.1717. Body Modification

Having chosen body modification as a way to silence them, I now had to decide exactly what kind of modification to implement.

The modifications couldn’t visibly reveal themselves externally, and they would need to affect the brain to distort memories as well.

After considering various methods that would satisfy these conditions, I decided to create a tiny monster with brainwashing capabilities and implant it directly into the brain.

Normally, this would be absolutely impossible for various reasons, given the unnaturally hostile nature of monsters toward humans. But that’s only if I were an ordinary Hive Mind without specimens to work with.

This was based on my analysis of the corpse found inside the 7-meter Giant Armor, the human body composition methods I learned while creating the Nina series, and techniques for replicating these with monster genes.

Added to this were various implants created using monster tissue transplanted into the enhanced male soldier’s body, particularly adapting the operational principles of the thought-acceleration implants located near the spine and brain. The result was what I now held up with my psychic abilities.

While it depends on its human host for all life functions—too much to be considered a fully independent monster entity—it simultaneously possesses its own consciousness and behavioral patterns.

The precise name for this creature, closer to an internal organ or parasite of a monster, is Mind Stealer.

It was a parasitic monster of unclassified grade, something I could confidently say had never been created before.

This monster parasitizes by completely replacing the spinal cord, medulla oblongata, and parts of the brain near the medulla. Under normal circumstances, it appears as human brain tissue and functions as part of the brain.

At the same time, the Mind Stealer influences the brain and gradually takes control of the mind.

Though its limitations are clear—it could at most guide actions or manipulate memories against mid-level psychic users—memory manipulation was precisely my goal, so this wasn’t a problem.

And even if the monster were discovered, it wouldn’t matter. It has a self-destruct function built in, and since the implantation process completely replaces parts of the brain, removing it would kill the human host.

…Even to me, it seemed like a truly malicious monster that only a villain would use.

※ ※ ※

Shortly after, I scanned the bodies and memory data of the two hunters, implanting the Mind Stealer during the process.

While I was at it, I completely analyzed and reverse-engineered their equipment. Only after manipulating their memories appropriately did I send them back outside, considering my revenge for the energy loss complete.

Finally, all external factors that could interfere with me had been eliminated.

With hunters and external intrusions no longer a concern for the foreseeable future, I could now fully utilize my abilities as a Grade 4 Hive Mind without restraint.

I made the tentacles that absorbed energy from the ground thicker and deeper. Concerned about enemies entering through the cliff passage like before, I completely sealed the hole with flesh walls disguised as rocks.

As this internal reorganization continued, I dispatched Hive Raptors and other monsters to the outside. I began rebuilding my legion by continuously absorbing the genes and nutrients they brought back.

While a typical Grade 7 Hive Mind can control about 10,000 monsters, at Grade 4, my command had expanded to the point where I could easily control several million monsters.

Well, creating that many monsters would be impossible if I continued moving in small increments like now, so I proceeded with expansion more aggressively.

I mass-produced mole-type monsters to expand tunnels with the intention of creating passages connected throughout the entire forest. I placed miniature versions of my main body and production facilities in various locations to produce at least low-grade monsters, if not mid-grade ones.

These miniature versions—my avatars—were Hive Minds shaped like my former Grade 7 self, closer to biological facilities like gene pools or digestive glands than actual monsters.

And these avatars also needed energy to produce monsters.

At first, I considered directly supplying nutrients to provide energy, but concerned about the risks and energy loss during transfer, I devised a new method.

I created fake plants using monster genes.

I positioned these monsters disguised as plants to replace existing vegetation on the surface. They would supply energy produced through photosynthesis to nearby avatars.

In exchange, I arranged for my main body to monopolize the energy coming from the roots.

Since my main body consumed an unimaginable amount of energy, I needed to prepare in advance to survive even if additional nutrient supply from the outside were cut off.

After establishing all the infrastructure necessary for expansion, my monsters multiplied frantically, and my base expanded rapidly.

The expansion speed of the base was particularly remarkable.

Unlike before, when I barely connected the eastern part of the forest, now more than half of the forest’s underground had been infiltrated as my territory.

Mid-grade monsters modified for excavation, essentially biological heavy equipment, played a crucial role in this expansion, making the digging speed dimensionally faster than before.

Soil was nothing, and even rocks shattered like in M■necraft with just a touch. Now I could even penetrate hard bedrock that I previously had to bypass.

And being able to break through bedrock meant I could dig deeper underground to mine minerals.

Some might wonder what use minerals are to monsters mostly composed of living materials like bone, protein, and fat, but in reality, there are countless applications.

Remote bio-weapons like Shooters that structurally require metal, metal-scale or metal-exoskeleton armor plating commonly described as metallic armor, and various bio-cores that become more efficient with rare metals.

I could extract pure substances from ore, synthesize them with monster tissue, create various alloys, and use them in all sorts of applications.

Of course, it’s not that I couldn’t do anything without metals. Although Hive Minds consume enormous amounts of energy, they can synthesize almost any substance at the atomic level.

Nevertheless, mining minerals is far more efficient. The energy required for material synthesis is incredibly burdensome, so if there’s an alternative, it must be used.

Add to this the unique characteristics of the Hive Factory: Excess Absorption (B) and Inorganic Digestion (B).

Thanks to Excess Absorption (B), I could extract dimensionally different amounts of energy from the ground, and now I could digest anything with mass and convert it to energy.

As the available energy increased, it was used again for base expansion, creating a virtuous cycle.

It could only be described as successful snowballing, and indeed it was.

Nearly one million low-grade monsters, over 6,000 mid-grade monsters that recently crossed that threshold, and the continuously expanding size of the base.

Considering that the typical ratio for a Hive Mind is one mid-grade monster per 1,000 low-grade ones, I had essentially developed to a level where I could reasonably fight human armies offensively.

But paradoxically, because of this, my Hive Mind had now reached a point where sheer numbers alone were no longer sufficient.

So I decided to harvest the seeds I had planted a few weeks ago.

[“…My head’s been hurting lately. Is it because of that bat monster from before?”]

[“Should I prepare an examination?”]

[“For something this minor? No need, it’s not that painful.”]

These seeds were the two-person hunter team that had been bringing me all sorts of useful information.

※ ※ ※

The two hunters whose memories I manipulated returned to human territory a few weeks ago, and following my subtle guidance, they actively used their positions to send all kinds of information.

Various weapon blueprints, conceptual books on weapon theory, and data humans had gathered over hundreds of years of coexistence and conflict with monsters.

I was satisfied to find technologies perfectly suited for my use. I analyzed them with my transcendent brain and collective intelligence, then applied them directly to my monsters, achieving a high level of development.

The female hunter being the beloved youngest daughter of a company chairman specializing in monster material weapons development played a crucial role in this advancement.

She could simply walk into the research lab, read all the blueprints for weapons under development or current flagship products, and resolve any issues with a bit of charm directed at her father.

Thanks to this, I had essentially devoured the essence of South Korean monster engineering. In other words, I had absorbed all the technologies that South Korea’s top defense company had spent trillions to develop.

Beyond technical information, I was also able to obtain historical information that was most desperately needed.

The first thing I investigated was how much of the comics, animations, spin-off series, and main series released in various formats was reflected in this world’s reality.

Part 5 was essentially Part 1 remastered to fit current trends with added elements and settings from the well-received Part 4 to increase volume, while Parts 2 and 3 were prequels to Part 1.

This was just the main series—when you get into spin-offs and media mix content, the settings become so vast that even I couldn’t memorize it all.

Fortunately, my investigation using the two hunters revealed that there weren’t major deviations from what I knew.

It had the newly established series timeline of Parts 2-3-5, with various spin-offs and animation series appropriately included between them.

While some settings from Parts 2 and 3 were changed based on Part 5, overall it followed exactly the timeline I knew.

After discovering the past, what I found out was the events from after Part 5 until now.

My investigation revealed how many years had passed since Part 5, what major incidents had occurred in between, and most importantly—how the power dynamics had changed.