Chapter 103: Advancing Toward a Kryptonian Society
In truth, under normal circumstances, the upper limit of the Xenomorphs was not as high as the world imagined.
Yes, a Xenomorph could seize the best genes of its host, grow with even greater potential after the chestburst, and ultimately surpass the original host. This was a racial characteristic of the Xenomorphs.
The problem was, there were far too many terrifying individuals in this world, possessing all sorts of abilities.
To say nothing of others, individuals like Ikaris and Hyperion could, after being parasitized, manipulate their own muscles and internal organs to crush the invading Xenomorph larva in one fell swoop.
Someone like Magneto could even manipulate life's magnetic fields, using magnetism to obliterate the Xenomorph larva before it even fully formed.
A master of mind control like Professor X was even more of a threat; he could, in turn, destroy the Xenomorph's consciousness, making the Xenomorph larva exist as a mere human organ with no self-awareness.
As for those highly intelligent people, they could use various surgical procedures for removal. Even if they lost an organ, it wouldn't matter; they could easily use various mechanical organs or artificially cultivated biological organs for replacement and substitution. In the Marvel World, this was commonplace.
It was Du Wa who had brought the Xenomorphs to a height they could never have reached on their own. It was Du Wa who, single-handedly, had raised the entire Xenomorph race's ceiling, pushing it directly from the level of a mortal to the standard of a Skyfather, just one step away from the Single Universe Level—though this step seemed far more distant than the journey from mortal to Skyfather.
As the leader of the Xenomorphs, Du Wa, at the most basic level, could control all Xenomorph consciousnesses to fortify his own, personally constructing a group consciousness cluster. As long as there were enough Xenomorphs, Du Wa could even easily become immune to Professor X's mental invasion.
Without Du Wa, the Xenomorphs would ultimately have become nothing more than tools in the hands of some supervillain, hunted and slaughtered by a host of superheroes, annihilated time and again until their entire race was exterminated.
Developing to this point, under Du Wa's series of operations, the Xenomorph race had expanded at a speed that left everyone dumbfounded—and it wasn't just a matter of numbers. The most terrifying aspect was the quality.
Du Wa already had several Skyfather-level Xenomorphs or Xenomorph heroes under his command.
If this were any other race in the universe, even a top-tier divine race, how many Skyfathers could they muster in total? For a race, it is easy to climb the technology tree, but to achieve repeated breakthroughs in the level of life, reaching the rank of Skyfather, is nigh impossible.
Moreover, a single Skyfather was enough to shatter a technological race that had been developing for who knows how many billions of years, rendering all their efforts to climb the technology tree utterly useless.
Taking the Nine Worlds of Yggdrasil as an example, it was already incredibly remarkable for a single world to have two Skyfathers presiding over it at the same time.
To produce a strong Skyfather-level being like Odin was a sign of a race's luck hitting the absolute jackpot.
Yet Du Wa had three Skyfather-level combatants he could deploy at any time, with more on the way.
This was a crazy performance, enough to strike fear and unease into any planet, world, or civilization.
And everyone knew this was far from Du Wa's end.
But as the leader of this burgeoning and infinitely potential-filled race, Du Wa had the clearest positioning for the Xenomorph race from start to finish.
Under his leadership, the Xenomorphs' upper limit was high, but their lower limit, when compared to the likes of humans on Earth, the Kree, or the Skrulls, was quite a bit higher in terms of physical fitness and combat talent alone.
But if one took a long-term view, judging the Xenomorphs by the standards of a cosmic species, then the lower limit of the Xenomorph race was a bit low.
In response, Du Wa's plan was to establish a grand, unified gene bank. The finest genes of every race annihilated by the Xenomorphs would be incorporated into this gene bank for use as reserve genes.
Any race that could endure had its own peculiarities at the genetic level; it was impossible for them to be completely worthless. These genes were the most precious of treasures.
If any other race dared to indiscriminately use the genes of other species, they would only tear their own race and civilization apart. It would be a source of chaos.
But for Du Wa, there was no such concern. Xenomorphs were inherently meant to use the genes of various creatures to develop themselves.
Among the people in the great hall, some had expressions of sudden realization and delight, while others looked completely bewildered, having no idea what this Mr. Blue was talking about.
Since defecting to Du Wa, Mr. Blue had rarely shown his face, spending most of his time on scientific research. This led people to subconsciously overlook his existence, and even when they did notice him, they mostly thought of him as some eccentric scientist whose daily work probably consisted of breeding monster hosts for Du Wa.
"Targeted breeding of special Queens? Does that mean we'll have many face-huggers that are born with superpowers in the future?"
The Martial Arts Master spoke hesitantly. He had originally joined Du Wa's team to protect his sister, Elektra. He admitted that Du Wa and the Xenomorphs were extraordinary, but he was still shocked by this news.
Was this possible? Was it necessary? Xenomorphs already needed hosts from different genetic systems to supply high-quality genes. If the Xenomorphs themselves possessed superpowers and then parasitized different hosts, what would the Xenomorph that burst from the chest look like? Are you sure it wouldn't die from a genetic conflict collapse?
Druig sensed something and immediately reprimanded him, "What are you hesitating for? I perceive that your thoughts are in great chaos. Don't forget, a Xenomorph that chestbursts from any host is, in essence, a Xenomorph in form and appearance. This is the unified expression after gene integration. Even if they possess special genes from the face-hugger stage in the future, it is merely another form of expression and does not conflict with the integration of a host's superior genes."
The Martial Arts Master said nothing. He gave Druig a cold look, not bothering to engage with this hopeless fanatic.
Everyone else present understood what this meant, and expressions of joy appeared on their faces.
"This means that the newborns of our entire race will receive a leap-like boost from the very start, taking a crucial step toward becoming a cosmic race."
A smile appeared on Du Wa's face as well. He looked at Mr. Blue with approval. This big-headed genius, whose intelligence had skyrocketed by over 500 times, had not disappointed him, nor had he wasted so much time and resources.
"However, considering that Queens of different genetic systems require different amounts of energy and time for reproduction, don't expect a scene with countless Hyperions or Laufeys suddenly appearing." Mr. Blue displayed an extremely complex virtual image before the crowd. The sheer amount of data it contained was enough to cause a splitting headache.
"But cultivating weaker versions of Hyperion or Laufey should be feasible, isn't that right? As long as the Hyperion Xenomorph and Laufey Xenomorph are converted into Queens."
"Yes, theoretically, that's correct. The face-huggers born from these two Queens would inherently carry a small portion of Hyperion's and Laufey's genes. This would be enough to provide the newborn face-huggers with an unbelievably high starting point, born with the ability of flight, born with the aptitude to train in magic," Mr. Blue stated. "But the difficulty of converting these two into Queens is immense, requiring genetic modification. Their fertility will also change depending on the amount of transcendent genes carried by their offspring."
If they pursued a more advanced, superior second generation, then the fertility of the first generation would plummet. They couldn't be expected to produce eggs continuously like ordinary Queens.
Even if they converted some of the second generation into Queens and further modified their genes to have them produce a third generation, if they aimed for quantity, the third-generation transcendent face-huggers would certainly be inferior to the second generation. If they aimed for quality, then the quantity of the third generation would be concerning, and so on.
Unless Du Wa could one day find a method to both reproduce quickly and maintain the gene level. But this was very difficult, as it violated the laws of nature. Du Wa had some faint ideas in mind, but now was not the time to implement them.
"So this is just the first-generation gene bank, a rough integration of all the genes the Alien Species has mastered, adjusted through artificial intervention. It's still a long way from my ideal."
Du Wa set the tone for Mr. Blue's achievements.
This result was certainly remarkable. Only a highly intelligent person like Mr. Blue could complete such a massive workload in a limited amount of time, especially since it included extraordinary genetic systems like those of divine beings and Superman.
But again, it wasn't enough. It could be better.
What did the gene bank that would truly satisfy Du Wa look like? The answer was simple: just like the Kryptonians next door.
As long as the social structure had a need, the Kryptonians could select the relevant genes from their gene bank to create a baby for a specific purpose. When that baby grew up, it would be placed in the position that society lacked.
This method also had its drawbacks, namely that it inherently divided all Kryptonians into different classes. Some were born as leaders, others as workers, a fate they could never change in their entire lives.
Low-level Gene, Mid-level Gene, High-level Gene, Super Gene—look at this strict system of genetic classification. Never mind the postnatal division of duties and classes; on the genetic level alone, the Kryptonians had played it to perfection, establishing a complete hierarchical structure.
A low-level gene would inevitably be completely crushed by a high-level gene in every aspect, be it intelligence, physical potential, or even the ability to get stronger by basking in the sun. The efficiency of using sunlight to strengthen the body was worlds apart.
This doomed Kryptonians with a low-level gene to be utterly incapable of resisting those with a high-level gene—just as the only one who could go head-to-head with a high-level gene-bearer like General Zod was someone like Superman, who possessed the Codex of Life and was above the high-level gene.
Judging such a Krypton from the perspective of humans on Earth, one would think it was hell. A person who should have their own ideals was forced to exist like a screw, only in its designated place, to maintain the healthy operation of the machine.
But for the Alien Species, this social structure was simply perfect, unassailable.
What's that you say? Freedom and individuality? Sorry, the Xenomorphs have no such things. Obedience and finding a host are the greatest instincts of a Xenomorph.
If at all possible, Du Wa would love for every one of his subjects to be born with a Super Gene, possessing the strongest potential of the race's ceiling, just like H'el from the DC World. As a Super Gene individual, he possessed ten times the potential of a high-level gene, and he beat Superman—a special Kryptonian empowered by the genes of his entire race—senseless.
Unfortunately, the time, resources, and success rate required to cultivate Super Gene individuals, among other costs, were too high. Blindly pursuing exceedingly rare high-level individuals would, to some extent, drag down the pace of the race's expansion, indirectly harming the race.
Otherwise, Kryptonians would have Super Genes running all over the place. Any ordinary citizen picked at random could thrash Superman, and a high-level gene bearer like General Zod would be less than worthless.
Taking an even crazier hypothetical, what if everyone became a perfect Doomsday, each possessing the true infinite potential of the ancient Doomsday created by the ancient Kryptonian scientist Portland during DC's early multiverse era? Everyone would be thrashing Darkseid. In the extreme pursuit of perfection, they would self-exile, lose themselves, and ultimately achieve self-induced madness, leading to the downfall of ancient Krypton.
Just thinking about it, it's clear that everyone becoming divine is absolutely impossible. If it were actually achieved, it would mean they had completely transcended the concept of a single multiverse. This would be a completely new, unknown domain.
"Proceed with the targeted screening of the gene bank now. Cultivate the first batch of native transcendent Xenomorphs and make gradual adjustments based on the actual consumption. I believe you will do this job well. As for the combat test... just send these Xenomorphs to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. until we obtain useful experimental data, or until S.H.I.E.L.D. is disbanded."
Du Wa instructed Mr. Blue. He knew that Mr. Blue was an intelligent person. Even if that big brain of his occasionally plotted some unsavory things, Mr. Blue should at least understand what to do and when to do it.
Again, Du Wa would not be surprised even if Mr. Blue one day thought he had accumulated enough power and suddenly rose up to launch a rebellion.
But Du Wa would absolutely not tolerate Mr. Blue slacking off during the actual execution of his tasks.
Betrayal and slacking off are two entirely different sins. The problem with the former is far less important than the latter.
Since he had become a Xenomorph, not striving to meet Du Wa's demands was a truly immense sin.
Other Xenomorph heroes could do as they pleased in their leisure time, but not Mr. Blue. He had to devote himself 24 hours a day to the great mission of perfecting the gene bank.
The meeting concluded. Everyone who walked out of the conference room could almost see an incredibly bright future, a perspective that was no longer confined to the narrowness of Earth, but one that overlooked the boundless universe.
Without Du Wa, they would have found it difficult to ever witness such a scene in their entire lives.
After leaving the conference room, Du Wa did not linger in Weyland Tower. Instead, he directly issued a command to the Xenomorphs at Kamar-Taj to negotiate with the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj.
In the next second, a portal opened precisely in front of Du Wa. His expression unchanging, he lifted his foot and stepped through, entering Kamar-Taj.
"This should be the first time we've met in our true form." The Ancient One had already prepared tea and was now brewing it with a teapot.
Wisps of green smoke rose, tracing a beautiful arc in the air before slowly dissipating.
"Rest assured, this definitely won't be the last time. Before you die, there will be plenty of time and opportunity."
Du Wa spoke as he casually sat down in front of the Ancient One.
Sorcerers constantly came and went in the surroundings. Upon seeing Du Wa, the faces of these more scholarly mages couldn't help but show expressions of surprise and respect.
"Anyone who didn't know better and heard you say that would think you came to declare war on me," the Ancient One said, shaking her head.
(end of chapter)