“Those big companies can probably clone such little monsters, and they’ll be different types. It’s just that none of the cloned little monsters have the immortality of Terasque’s original body.”
This is just like Terasqueta himself, who actually only has a "safety net" of immortality, and can't extend it to the outside.
Terasque's Immortality
The Old Gods and the Secret of Life
And this incredible phenomenon of "evolution" in response to environmental changes...
"The remaining more detailed experiments can only be conducted at home or in Karen's lab."
Looking at the little monster he had locked up in the biological preservation box, and at the heart of the demi-human tribe in the distance, Hayden couldn't help but realize that this immortal ancient dragon must be hiding a great secret.
"Owner,"
Angela turned to look at him.
"Wouldn't it be better if I didn't have to treat Terasque? Let's put it in a safe place, wait another day, let it regenerate naturally, and then send it back to Smoke Mirror Company, how about that?"
As Angela said, this is definitely the more reasonable approach. If Angela were to directly treat Terasque with her breath, that thing might turn into an even larger tentacle monster. Then, how would they explain sending it back? The Smoke Mirror Company might even discover Angela's secret because of it.
However, Hayden opened his mouth, then closed it again, appearing quite hesitant.
Now that things have come to this—should Terrasque be returned to Smoke Mirror Company?
Hayden obtained a small clone of Terasque, which was good. But this clone clearly did not possess Terasque's immortal nature, nor did it replicate the secrets of life that might be related to the Old Gods.
The origin of the Old Gods, the secret of life and immortality, and the power that even the New Gods of Capital have not yet deciphered, may very well be hidden within Terasque's true form!
Otherwise, why would a large corporation like Smoke Mirror, which owns Terasque, deliberately hide Terasque's secrets and completely prevent the normal academic community from knowing about them?
Since the evil capitalists want to keep this secret hidden, Hayden should find a way to reveal it! Otherwise, if the evil capitalist gods really break through Terasque's immortality and then use that immortality technology on themselves, wouldn't the world be even more doomed?
Not to mention that Terasque's secret might also be related to Angela's secret!
So the more Hayden thought about it, the more he felt that he should not only take the clone monster home, but also hide the original Terasquey and never return it to the Smoke Mirror Company.
Anyway, Hayden's mission wasn't directly commissioned by the executives of Smoke Mirror Company; the employer was just a Protoss assistant who had lost his boss's pet. Hayden could find an abandoned mine in the mountains, stuff Terasque's heart inside, seal it away, and set up three layers of shielding barriers, and the assistant wouldn't find out.
When months or even years later, when the executives at the smoke mirror company finally discover Terasque's disappearance, whose grudge will she take first? Of course, it will be her own assistant!
...However, after she finishes causing trouble for her assistant, she will definitely start looking for the missing Terasque.
If a senior executive of a large company, a capitalist god, were to mobilize to search for the missing Terasque... would Hayden really have a way to hide it?
Thinking of this, Hayden finally couldn't help but shudder.
Then, the wrath of the gods will fall upon his own head.
Moreover, how many more of his secrets, or even secrets beyond just his own, will the Smoke Mirror Company discover by then? For example, Karen, who wants to secretly build a production base here; and Angela, who might just be the world's greatest treasure trove of life...
These fears instantly calmed Hayden down, as if he had been doused with ice water.
No.
One must not be tempted by huge profits and forget what is truly important. One must not forget those things that are absolutely not to be lost, those things that one must protect.
Don't forget what you wanted in the first place.
“…Angela, how long do you estimate it will take for Terasque to complete its regeneration?”
Hayden turned and asked.
Angela immediately tilted her head and replied, "It will take about twenty hours if we don't give it any extra help."
Twenty hours.
“Okay, then let’s use these twenty hours to try to extract as much information as possible from Terasque’s heart, and then send it back to that assistant at Smoke Mirror Company.”
Hayden scratched his head, making up his mind.
"Cracking the secret of Terasque's immortality—that's obviously unlikely. If we could crack it in twenty hours, the researchers at those big companies would all be hanging themselves. But we do have our advantages. Perhaps we can discover some connection between your life energy and Terasque's immortal power in that time."
Those big companies obviously don't have Angela's unique perpetual motion machine, right? That's Hayden's one-of-a-kind advantage. Why not take advantage of it!
"Besides that, we also have our initial goal of finding the ancient dragon, which we cannot forget."
Although many people may have forgotten about it now, Hayden initially got involved in Terasque's affairs in order to find the original dragon blood that could be used as a new circulating fluid for Angela and also to make medicine for the dark witch Abigail.
"That's it, I understand."
But Angela, of course, would never forget anything.
"As for whether Terasque's blood can be used to make an aging potion for Miss Abigail, I certainly cannot say for sure. However, as for whether this blood can be used to carry my aura, I think it should be very suitable."
As she said this, a thoughtful expression suddenly appeared on her face.
“Ah, I see. Perhaps it’s not that my aura will turn Terasque into a wheel, but that this child was ‘originally’ meant to be a wheel? As for this piece of flesh not turning into a wheel, it’s because it has been affected by the environment and is no longer the real Terasque. So it is not immortal.”
What on earth is this crazy robot saying?
Angela didn't directly answer Hayden's question. She thought for a while and then suddenly blurted out, "Master, although your idea is good, you also know that you can't study too much in twenty hours."
Hayden frowned upon hearing this: "That's true, but we don't have a better solution. Right now, the fate of all of us hangs by a thread. Adding any more smoke screens would be irrational, given the chances of the company discovering this place."
“I completely agree with that view.”
Angela nodded, showing her approval, and seemed pleased with Hayden's sense of responsibility.
"Nevertheless, although I cannot treat Terasque myself, you can."
……What?
"You want me to use healing magic?" Hayden scratched his head. "My own healing magic is mostly the type that accelerates the body's self-healing ability, not the kind that heals instantly like yours, so it takes a lot of time... but it's definitely better than waiting for twenty hours. Okay."
However, Angela immediately shook her head: "No, Master, I was referring to the issue of time—you can cast an acceleration spell on Terasque's heart!"
噫
“It originally took twenty hours, but by doubling the speed, it can be shortened to ten hours. Moreover, you should be able to cast a spell to speed it up to about three times. If you cast a spell on it to accelerate its self-healing ability, it will definitely be even faster.”
Angela tilted her head as she spoke.
"This way you can not only reduce the time required, but also have time to take enough biological samples from Terasque to preserve for future use."
Hayden was dumbfounded.
Although he had always aimed to develop healing magic, he never imagined that one day he would be able to cast such healing magic, let alone use it for this kind of thing.
And so, in the end, they only spent a few hours harvesting a limited but sufficient biological experimental sample from Terasque's rapidly regenerating body—enough for now, whether for Angela's circulatory fluid or Abigail's medicine—before quickly sending the poor ancient dragon back.
How Hayden dealt with his senior assistant at Smoke Mirrors was no longer his concern.
This dealing with Smoke Mirror Company has come to a temporary end...
But Hayden still has a lot to do.
120: Evening Bell
"Telasque?"
The demon, cloaked in Alicia's body, couldn't help but show a strange expression upon hearing this name.
"What's wrong with it now?"
This is Adam Smith Apsara's study, one of the few places where they can safely discuss the taboos of the new gods.
Although the new gods are far more powerful than the old ones, for three or four hundred years the demons have been researching ways to evade their gaze. Otherwise, they would probably have been wiped out by the new gods long ago, leaving only those who would rather be dogs.
"Nothing much. But haven't I been managing a collaborative project with Smoke Mirror Company recently?"
Adam shook his head. While he wasn't exactly utterly respectful towards the great demon possessing his wife's body, he was certainly very cautious.
"The director sent by the Smoke Mirror Company to negotiate the deal is their Goddess of Death, Mictecacihuatl. She had been raising Terasque for at least a hundred years, but she went missing a month ago. I told Hayden about it two weeks ago, and that's how he helped find her."
Hayden?
The great demon pondered for a few seconds before recalling the name, which wasn't particularly important to her.
"Isn't this a good thing?"
This matter appears to have brought no merit whatsoever; in fact, it doesn't even exist on the surface. Officially, the goddess Miktikashiva's Terasque pet has never gone missing; the Smoke Mirror Company simply subcontracted some security work to the recently successful "Retribution" military employment agency.
Even in the information age where everything is archived and recorded, this event still "never happened".
"That's a good thing, but it's a pity that the senior assistant was fired yesterday. Her body is now working as a programmer at Smoke Mirror Company."
Adam frowned as he answered.
"This makes me realize that perhaps Miktikashiva cares about that pet even more than I originally thought—so, what exactly is the undead dragon Terasqui? Is it really one of the Old Gods, and one of your own kind?"
This was what Adam truly wanted to ask. Like Hayden, he belatedly began to notice whether there was something strange about Terasque's immortality.
The great devil raised an eyebrow and calmly said, "Yes, so what?"
Uh
"Telasquie's current name is not the same as its original name. However, it is indeed a fellow being who descended to this world from beyond the heavens, just like me—a pitiful behemoth. It was originally one of the more foolish among its kind. As the undying fire within it grew weaker and weaker, it was reduced to a level of animalistic intelligence."
That being said, the devil's expression didn't seem to show any real sympathy.
If Hayden were in Adam's position at this moment, he would definitely have complained. However, Adam is not Hayden, and his focus has always been different from Hayden's.
"Then what exactly is this 'undying flame'?"
Adam asked tentatively,
"Is it related to the power of intelligence? Can we supplement it and then apply it to the chip technology we are developing..."
The devil immediately glanced at Adam and let out a cold hiss: "You think the help and strength we've given you isn't enough?"
“Of course not, my mistress.” Adam didn’t even flinch. “My heart and actions are without a trace of malice; they are all for the purpose of overthrowing the rule of the new gods.”
The great devil responded with a cold snort: "I hope so."
The silence continued in the study for a while.
"The Unquenchable Flame, the Secret Flame, the Sacred Flame—these terms all refer to the same thing: the energy that can give things true life and allow the body to acquire the soul and will."
After a long pause, the great demon spoke again, saying,
"We gods from beyond the heavens were born from the inextinguishable fire from the very beginning, and are immortal. Our physical bodies are merely manifestations of our souls. However, we are now separated from the source of the inextinguishable fire, our connection severed, and we have no way to obtain infinite replenishment. We can only find ways to replenish ourselves."
“Once we are injured or overexerted, our soul and will become weak. When we are weakened to the extreme, our flame can only be kept from going out at best, and it is of no use at all.”
This is what is known as the "minimum guarantee".
"Many of our compatriots who were defeated in the last great war were captured and sealed away by those false gods—you know that too. To those false gods, Terasque was at best a strange and laughable spoil of war, nothing special compared to his other compatriots. Perhaps the only unique thing about him was that his pitiful intelligence was even less than that of a monkey."
That being said, the Great Demon clearly didn't really feel sorry for Terasque. In fact, she even seemed to mock the dragon.
So Adam didn't speak, he just listened silently.
The things the great devil said were interesting, but they didn't touch on the secret he most wanted to know—so, how exactly can one replenish or obtain the energy of the Secret Fire?
What exactly is the source of this incredible power, the Secret Fire?
However, the great devil deliberately omitted this detail.
“I’m telling you all this not so that you’ll be tempted by the power of the Unquenchable Flame.”
She said coldly,
"The power of the Secret Fire does not belong to this world. We have already broken away from the source of the Secret Fire, and re-contacting it may bring unexpected dangers."
"Only supreme beings like our King Asmodius possess the technology to synthesize and replenish the Secret Fire and bestow it upon their fellow beings—therefore, you mortal should not even think of touching the power of the Secret Fire. Just continue with the current plan, overthrow the rule of those false gods, and we can return to the good old days."
Would it be better to return to the era of the Old Gods' rule?
Adam might not think so. But he wasn't foolish enough to say it to the great devil who was his master.
"The prototype [Knocking Bug] has been successfully tested so far."
So he wisely changed the subject.
"We should start increasing operational efficiency this month. If we can output energy stably, the plan can move to the next stage."
The great devil immediately nodded in satisfaction: "Very good."
After she finished speaking, she turned to look out the window of the study in the mansion and suddenly gave a cold laugh.
"Terasque, poor beast, poor...Behemoth."
She uttered Terasque's name from a long, long time ago.
"This land will become even more desolate and suffer even more curses. Behemoth, if you still have enough wisdom at this moment to secretly rejoice that you can live a life of ease as the pet of a false god, then I will not be surprised at all."