Chapter 25

I don't know how much time has passed.

Since that disaster, Lin sealed the entrance of the cave with a large number of cells and never opened it again.

Because through the transparent cells, it could see that the bubbles floating in the water outside never decreased, even though there were no more green cells here.

Lin had tried to make the cells evolve to resist these bubbles, but every cell that absorbed a bubble would die immediately, and none could survive and split into cells with resistance.

Lin could only keep watching the entrance of the cave, observing the countless alternations of day and night, hoping that one day it could return to the waters outside.

But those bubbles that seemed to never disappear always blocked Lin... However, the food called white paste in the cave was not endless.

The white paste that kept appearing on the cave walls began to decrease slowly and gradually. This process was slow and long, and at first, it did not affect Lin much. But as time went on, the white paste gradually failed to supply Lin's colony. In the end, it stopped producing altogether.

When Lin finished the last bit of white paste, the entire cave became an ordinary rock cave.

Lin had thought about digging down, but no matter how it dug, it could not dig out any more white paste. All it could see was rock, indicating that there was no more white paste in the rock.

And during the last digging attempt, Lin even dug out a few bubbles, forcing it to stop digging.

At first, Lin ate all the living light bacteria, then began to consume the fat cells in its colony. These cells allowed Lin to survive for a long time.

But it was useless; the bubbles outside did not decrease and even showed a tendency to increase.

In desperation, Lin consumed the non-fat cells, killing them and using their bodies to sustain the remaining cells.

Eating its own cells to survive was not a good idea. Lin's once thriving colony began to shrink, and the number of cells plummeted. After some time, Lin's colony had decreased from millions to just a few thousand.

The layers of cell walls blocking the cave entrance had long since died, but their bodies still blocked the entrance, preventing the bubbles from floating in.

Lin understood that this was a slow death process.

Lin had never stopped trying to send some cells out to evolve resistance to the bubbles, but it had never succeeded.

Was it just waiting to die?

... Not quite.

In the final moments, Lin gathered the remaining cells, forming them into a spherical shape, with the observer at the center.

Lin connected these cells and hardened the outer layer.

This sphere was at the center of the cave, and Lin called it a 'cocoon.' After making the 'cocoon,' it performed the next action, which it called 'hibernation.'

In the 'hibernation' state, the cells would be completely motionless, consuming almost no food. This was a state for long-term waiting, and Lin believed that in this state, it could wait indefinitely without dying.

However, after hibernation, Lin's consciousness would fall into darkness, completely cutting off contact with the outside world. It would feel nothing, not knowing how much time had passed, how the environment had changed, or when it should regain consciousness.

Lin did not think too much; it could only hope for a better future.

Thinking this, Lin slowly fell into hibernation, and the images seen by the observer became blurry in its consciousness, eventually falling into complete darkness...

...

Time kept flowing, and the world around it changed through countless alternations of day and night, but Lin did not notice, as it remained in hibernation. Lin had not set a specific time to wake up because it did not know when it would be safe.

However, besides Lin's consciousness, its cells had the ability to judge the surrounding environment.

This was Lin's intention, to let the cells decide when to wake up.

"......"

I don't know how much time has passed, but Lin finally felt the signal to wake up.

Was it successful? Was the environment no longer dangerous?

The observer slowly moved its body, and when Lin's consciousness returned, light filled its thoughts again.

The hardened outer layer of the 'cocoon' also began to slowly peel off as Lin woke up, and the cells inside began to swim out, re-engaging with the outside world.

The first thing Lin saw was the cave around it, which looked almost unchanged from when it went into hibernation.

But Lin saw the things that once terrified it—the bubbles—now scattered everywhere in the cave!

But Lin did not think of running away, because if it could wake up, there must be a reason.

Lin watched as one of the cells came into contact with a bubble. As before, the bubble fused into the cell, but...

Nothing happened.

The bubbles did not kill the cells as they used to. Lin was certain that these bubbles were the 'oxygen' that used to destroy cell nuclei and cause intense pain, but now there was no pain at all.

Did it evolve?

Yes, it evolved. Lin had developed resistance to these bubbles, though it did not know how much time had passed or how many cells had died.

But as long as it could survive, everything was worth it.

Now, it was time to revive!

Lin also noticed that there were various small cells on the cave walls around it. It was not strange for other cells to enter the cave during hibernation, and for Lin, this meant free food.

What is 'free'? Such a strange word.

Never mind.

Lin felt very happy. The cells it had preserved were mostly basic cells, some stinging cells, and other types. Although there were not many, Lin was glad they had survived.

Lin immediately made the basic cells rapidly transform, some into diggers and some into acid injectors. After the transformation, they quickly began to hunt the wild cells around them.

These small cells had no ability to fight back and soon became food to celebrate Lin's revival.

During the hunt, Lin discovered something interesting. The cells that absorbed the bubbles were not unaffected.

On the contrary, the cells that absorbed the oxygen bubbles became much faster and stronger in every aspect.

Why? Could these cells not only resist oxygen but also use it to enhance themselves?

This is truly... unique.

But why? Does oxygen contain some kind of magical energy?

It is not yet understood.

The cells with new powers quickly killed all the cells around them and rapidly divided. Lin decided to restore the former glory of its colony.

But this time, Lin did not want to wait passively. It decided to form a shape that could move quickly in the water, actively chasing and hunting.

Wait... What are 'zhu' and 'tu'?

Why are there always some strange words? Although Lin understood the meanings of 'wait' and 'guard,' what are 'zhu' and 'tu'?

I don't want to see such strange words anymore!

Although Lin thought this, it believed these words would still appear.

...

After a small interlude, Lin began to combine its cells.

With the help of oxygen, Lin found that the cells grew and divided much faster than before, making the combination process quicker.

Lin quickly formed a special structure.

A body to help it travel...

...

Thank you, Yin-Yang Jade, for the cover~ and Kvasir for the tip.

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