Chapter Eleven: Guests in the Garden of Boxes

None of this, however, had anything to do with Adonsa, for it had yet to evolve such tangled emotions. The biting force of a wild dog was indeed far superior to that of a human; with only slight modifications, it could easily tear off softened muscle and gulp it down whole.

Soon, the wild dog's belly swelled, and then, under Adonsa's further transformation, its digestive abilities were enhanced once more. Its body temperature soared, and it began to metabolize at a rapid pace. A vast reserve of energy accumulated within as fat and protein synthesized, while unusable metabolic waste was expelled quickly, forming a ring of excrement around Adonsa. Its formidable digestive power and efficient energy transfer ensured that nutrients and water were retained to the utmost, resulting in exceptionally dry and hard waste.

The body, once emaciated from wandering, quickly swelled. Adonsa skillfully restructured the musculoskeletal system, working much faster than when it had fumbled clumsily within the human body. By the time Adonsa had devoured every scrap of skin and bone, the wild dog's body had ballooned, gaining more than twenty kilograms. The ordinary mongrel, once gaunt, became strikingly plump; its expanded body caused the skin to split slightly, then heal rapidly during the frenzied metabolism, leaving pinkish stretch marks reminiscent of those on a pregnant belly.

Its body continued to be fortified, but after the modifications came to a close, Adonsa found itself once again in possession of a robust fleshly form.

At that moment, a siren wailed nearby; a white vehicle, lights flashing red and blue, howled past. Adonsa retreated a step, evading the blinding glare, and then, without a backward glance, sprinted into the darkness.

Countless bizarre biological traits lay dormant within its genes, waiting for Adonsa to develop and unlock. Now was not the time to confront armed human groups head-on; it needed greater strength, tougher defenses, swifter speed, and deeper evolution.

Not only would it have to contend with the overt technology of human weaponry, but also the hidden extraordinary forces lurking in the shadows—such as the colossal, kraken-like shadow that had surfaced tonight, which Adonsa knew it would inevitably face one day.

Adonsa’s heart harbored neither anticipation nor fear. Silently, it gathered its strength, readying itself to upend this indolent world.

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Some unknown figure once said that struggle is the driving force behind development.

Though not entirely accurate, Adonsa would certainly agree with the sentiment.

During that encirclement and slaughter, Adonsa had squeezed its own potential to the very brink of self-destruction in pursuit of greater power. In doing so, it touched the edges of its own limits and glimpsed clues toward its next stage of evolution.

Only the dancer who treads the blade’s edge grows ever more agile.

Breakthroughs occur naturally, and this one was all-encompassing. The slime’s original form evolved swiftly amid the fierce battle; not only did its innate ability to rework flesh improve tremendously, but its body swelled, as if a new power was close to awakening.

In the very next instant, as it ran, Adonsa shuddered from head to tail, instantly aware that its new ability had awakened.

It was time to seek a new host to experiment with its latest theories of enhancement and this newfound power.

In a corner of the city, a hulking black dog sprang upon a young man just leaving an internet café, displaying an agility no canine should possess, and slammed the unsuspecting youth into unconsciousness.

Then, Adonsa opened its jaws wide, pressing its mouth to the young man’s lips in a grotesque parody of a kiss. Delicate tendrils latched onto the corners of his mouth, pried open his jaws, and drew an amorphous lump of flesh into his throat, then up into the cranial cavity, seizing complete control.

After a desperate fit of convulsions, the young man’s eyes opened, a flash of violet flickering deep within, and he stood up.

Yet the black dog did not collapse as before. Instead, it calmly stepped back and stood guard by the side.

This was Adonsa’s new ability: division.

At fixed intervals, it could now produce a new clone, then parasitize another creature in the same way.

Probing the connection, Adonsa found the dog and the young man’s consciousness were fully shared; there was no distinction between original and clone. It could just as easily perform biological modifications on the youth.

But were these clones truly two separate minds?

How, precisely, did the clones maintain contact—pheromones, sound waves, brainwaves, or perhaps even quantum communication?

What would happen if one perished?

If some force completely severed their connection, what then?

This new power, while convenient, was riddled with uncertainties, and the current circumstances left little room for experimentation. All Adonsa could do was set these questions aside for now.

It did not rush to transform its new host, for such modifications demanded vast amounts of matter and energy, and now, with the risk of hunting humans so greatly increased, it could no longer feed with the reckless abandon it once enjoyed.

This was but a minor inconvenience.

Spurred by the heat of battle, Adonsa’s cognitive abilities had made a qualitative leap, and it realized at last that there were more convenient options than mere brutal, bloody feasting.

A dog’s sense of smell is over a million times keener than a human’s, and Adonsa now exploited this biological edge to the fullest.

Sweat, earth, smoke, grease, sweetness, salt, rot, the freshness of plants...

With a single breath, nearly a hundred distinct scents flooded its nose, then were transmitted to the core for analysis via the olfactory nerves. It was now easy to find exactly what it sought.

An hour later, Adonsa stood in a cramped kitchen, gorging itself on piles of pork, beef, lamb, and fish.

Following the scent to a small eatery, it had effortlessly subdued the couple who ran the place and looted the tiny shop.

The freezer was emptied, and after deftly boiling water to thaw the frozen meat, Adonsa devoured it voraciously.

With ample supplies of protein and fat, Adonsa lifted all restrictions, letting its core’s tendrils snake through every tissue and organ.

Previously, it could only remodel flesh by regulating nerves and fluids, but now the core could simulate the phospholipid and glycoprotein components of cell membranes, forming a close, specific bond with animal cells and directly manipulating the biochemical reactions within.

This new level of control was far more efficient and direct, bypassing the body’s innate limitations.

For instance, the negative feedback system governing growth hormones: when such hormones become excessive, organs like the hypothalamus and pancreas automatically halt their secretion, or even promote antagonistic hormones.

This is an essential mechanism for maintaining homeostasis in normal life forms. But for a superlife like Adonsa, it is an invisible shackle, forcing it to spend precious time and energy on adjustments, indirectly hindering its pace of evolution and diminishing its combat prowess.