After we managed to clean the last of worms, I took a peep out of the cave. The views of the lake were quite impressive. I could see the surface full of light and green with the river moving the waters where it met the lake.

I was 12 or 15 meters below the surface, so the pressure should be slightly over two times that of the surface. Darwin had been monitoring it and told me our body could adapt to support extreme situations, and this amount of pressure is no issue at all, luckily.

After a few minutes, my eyes adapted to the lower light, and I decided to send a small force of few collectors to the walls and rocks nearby to gather algae and some other plants that we finally found outside the cave. Samples!

I also had two fighters monitoring the situation and guarding the gathering operation while I remained in the cave, hidden.

After a couple of hours, we cleared a radius of 5 to 6 meters in all directions, but there were a few rocks filled with life and many fascinating little animals near the top of the lake that intrigued me.

The transport unit had gone a few times to the surface to supply us with air to breathe, and I was dying to go there to collect biomass.

Despite the promise of new DNA strands, I could feel danger with all the open areas where I had not much control or visibility.

“I think it’s time to upgrade the sensors. This aquatic medium has messed with my perception too much.”

"Are you sure?"

“Yeah, hit it!"

I suddenly felt a painful sensation erupting. "Argh! Damn, my eyes!!”

After ten painful minutes of upgrading my eyes and sensors, I finally recovered and started to pick new readings. I could see heat and cold areas and had weak sonar-like echolocation too.

I swam towards the lake again, and now I can sense the rocky areas, like a small oasis in the vast lake, filled with life.

There were some readings at the bottom area that I can't fully translate into a clear image. But they were big. "Darwin, keep an eye at any movement from the bottom of the lake."

These new senses showed me that there was indeed movement beyond my sight. And that meant risk. I could try to create more units, but that might void my actual psychic link with the transporters back at the base. Nevertheless, I don’t feel such connections being as stable as before.

I was too far from the base for a long time, so they might have turned feral, as Darwin said it would happen.

When Tyranids are too far from a psychic link, they regress to a more feral state, even fighting one another in extreme cases.

I have not found a solution yet, but I was certainly worried about having a constant necessity to control and micromanage every unit steps.

“Well… that leaves me with potentially eight units.”

Then I will go with four fighters, and the rest will be collectors. Hmmm, for the fighters composition, two quick ones for damage, one scout and a heavy unit with chitin and pincers to lock down enemies.

“Ok, let’s start. Darwin, I’ll let you the scout to investigate, and I’ll move with the tank and fighters.”

"Understood."

We then swam quickly to the first rocky area, which was full of corals, algae, and some fishes, most of which I had never seen or heard.

The collectors started to devour a bit of everything while the two agile fighters hunt the fish, the scout was warding with Darwin paying attention to it for any surprises.

As the operation was going on quite smoothly, I swam to the surface for a quick view of the forest. And I didn’t like what I saw. Not at all.

I saw a weird scenery, much different from the verdant forest from a few days ago.

A white fog covered half of the forest.

Yet as I paid more attention, I saw dozens of trees covered in spider webs, while the other half of the forest, as well as the meadows, were decorated with colorful and innocent-looking flowers.

That innocence was lost when I saw that most of them were growing on the dead and dried corpses of the rabbits and several other animals, including spiders.

“Oh, fuck! I removed the bomb units throwing acid at the door. The spiders might have gotten into the biome in the last hours.”

I am astonished by the amount of ground they managed to cover in such a short time.

"Host, we have now a huge disadvantage if we go back to the surface. We will need to fight against both enemies."

"But at least it seems those two are not working together. At least not that I can see."

I hold my breath, trying not to attract any attention towards my position near the lake.

“There has been a shift in the equilibrium of those creatures.”

“Yeah, and I probably caused much of this damage all by myself, provoking both sides with my actions.”

Some birds and lizards were living on rocky walls that the flowers or spiders had not yet colonized. But except for them, the biome is ruined.

While inspecting the area and waiting for any movements or fights, I failed to notice a few leaves floating inconspicuously at the lake's surface. There was a water lily flower on top of one of the leaves.

At first, it didn't pick my attention, but when I saw it moving towards my direction without an ounce of wind, it made me weary.

My enhanced eyes started to pick minute movement in the leaf’s base, and I soon began to feel a minute heat source. “Huh, so they are a hybrid between animal and plant?”

What mattered now was how to avoid it, or even capture it without causing a ruckus.

I submerged and then looked for its roots, only finding some tail-like tentacles. "Can't you bunch of monsters decide what you are? Why does it resemble a jellyfish now?"

I called for the fighters and heavy unit but kept the scout near the cave rocks to notify us of any movement. I then went down and proceeded to gather all the collectors' biomass and DNA accumulated by them.

After being ready, I sent a mental order for the units to engage the lily pad as silently as possible.

They attacked at the same time from 3 areas, tearing the fragile leaf apart and pulling it down to the rocky area where we start devouring it in little time.

It tried to fight back and then used its tentacles to protect itself.

It managed to cause some injuries and pressed into the weakest part of the chitin shell from one mite, but all in all, it’s three vs. one, so the match ended quickly with the flower being killed by us.

After we kept biting at it tried to latch itself to one of my units, and even managed to introduce some of its tentacles through the eyes to touch some nerve tissue.

I then felt a mental attack trying to rob the unit from my control.

"Hey! No touching!"

It seems that Norn felt that too because she jumped like crazy.

"KAAI, do something! Kill that thing!!"

“You attacked my brood, molest my Queen, and try to hurt me, Huh?! Do you think I will allow it!?”

My eyes started burning purple for a fraction of a second, and I launched a psychic attack that burned its nerve system entirely in a mere second.

“Trying to turn my brood against me!! Disrespectful bastard!! That’s not gonna happen!“

The creature started to tremble and shake violently while my attack kept consuming its very soul. Then, just like that, it dropped dead. There was nothing more to burn.

“Fuck!!" I overdid it again. I can’t explode like that. What did happen?

"Norn?! Did you just triggered me to attack the flower?!”

"Yes? I was desperate, ok?!"

“That was very weird. And you called by my name again. You called me Kai. Is that my real name?”

"It’s the name that keeps appearing on your memories…"

I calmed myself and check my units; they are fine. I eat the rest of the creature while pondering about that name.

“We have to talk, Norn. My mind is not your playfield to do as you please. I want you to-”

Just then, I noticed some vibrations and noises on the surface of the lake. The scout sends an alert shortly after too.

"We have company."

The surface of the lake began to get full of different plants and creatures floating, converging near the point where we attacked the lily pad. “So it did not go unnoticed, uh?”

Small krill-like creatures were being released from the different plants, converging and morphing into new aquatic plants with animal features.

“Damned corruption, they can get the best from both worlds.”

“We have to retreat. We need to get out of this area. There are more creatures than we can take care of.”

As we swam to the cave, I picked some more readings from the bottom of the lake; a couple of huge fish-like animals appear. One was similar to a shark with more fins, and the other is a weird octopus with a shell skull; it looked quite similar to the one the worms were eating, just bigger.

When we reached the cave’s entrance, I noticed that unlike the other creature, the octopus focused on us and started chasing my units.

We got into the cave, but the creature entered behind us and managed to devour the scout and a fighter. It then moved its tentacles further ahead and caught both me and the other fighter.

I slash at it with my maw and pincers, but its skin is rubber-like, protecting it from most of the damage.

The tentacles caught my claw and started pulling and crushing it with utmost strength. As it devoured the fighter, it then focused on me. It began to move me closer to its mouth, little by little. "FUCK!"

With limited options, I activated the spores, creating a cloud of poisonous and toxic aura around me while consuming energy. But this fucker skin is making the poison damage null.

“AGHH!! Let me go!” My Hp keeps descending. 18, 16, 13, 8…

I was desperate, and the beast did not release me. I summoned more fighters that got entangled in close combat, briefly distracting it.

Just as the creature had me near his face, it opened its mouth, and I quickly launched a couple of bombs, dropping them inside its mouth.

It ate the bombs and then.

* Boom! BOOM!

It started screaming in pain and confusion, blood pouring out of its damaged mouth, dirtying the waters with acid, poison, and blood.

I used that distraction to get free and swam quickly into the cave’s tunnels. It roared as I escaped.

I sent a first and then a second wave of fighter to stall the creature while I desperately dug with my split maw and half-broken claws, destroying the tunnel and causing a cave-in that blocked the corridor.

* Vrrooaoaaaammm!!!!

Rocks keep falling for more than 20 seconds, and finally, I dropped myself on the ground.

Once I was more or less ok, I was about to leave, but the tunnel started vibrating. I opened and closed my claws, preparing myself for the worst.

When another vibration happened, I saw a tentacle moving towards me and almost capturing me again.

The fucking octopus was trying to open a path.

“Norn, Darwin!! What can we do to stop it?! It almost killed me back there.”

"Call back the transport with the worms!! I’ll help you here."

I summoned more fighters, depleting my reserves, and let Darwin control them to slow the beast.

“Understood!!”

I called the transporter with the worms, and after swimming back a few tunnels, the link reactivated.

As I got near it, I injected some biomass, activating the deadly load inside it. “C’mon! Now we go back, and you do your thing!”

The worms started to multiply, and when we reach the caved-in corridor, I pushed the transported to let the tentacle grab it. The beast did not doubt and moved it towards the other side of the fallen rocks.

I concentrated and gave a psychic order to the transporter to start releasing as much of the newly born worms as it could, effectively creating a barrier of red goo that managed to stop the creature’s advances, at least for now.

I went close to the mass of red blood worms and managed to catch a small and half-devoured piece of a tentacle, still moving and trying to grab some food.

I look at it and then eat it without further hesitation. “I hope this is worth something good, Norn!”

With that biomass, I created another new transport and ordered it to catch a few more worms and seal them into a semi-sleep by depriving them of food.

As my units were devoured, the transporter managed to stop the creature's advance with the red worms acid goo. At least, it stopped advancing for now.

I felt shame, anger, and yet, some satisfaction from the gains of DNA.

Those might not seem huge gains, but in the long run, they were the game changers, the keys to new strands of units, new and better biomorphs, and endless possibilities.

I swam with the only two units left, a transporter filled with air and one with the worm specimens, back to the cave.

It was a lonely and silent trip through the labyrinth of darkness until we arrived at the cave 10 minutes after.

There, I found the transporters in a lethargic state, so I hurried to link my mind with them again and create what Norn called a Synapse. It was a telepathic link that allows me to control the units and sent them orders while receiving inputs from them.

It could be tiring, but it allowed me to coordinate with them to unbelievable levels of precision.

Once that was done, it felt like some limbs got reattached to my body. It was quite a weird sensation, like missing something you didn’t know you were lacking.

But, as Norn said, these units were more similar to cells or organs than to individuals with their own minds.

As I gave it a thought, philosophical and inhuman concepts of what was life, freedom, free will, or desires opened here; but I was not going to start diving in such obtuse concepts.

I entered the cave and fell on a piece of ground, thinking out loud my worries.

“I need them, and there is little more to think. The Tyranids' sole purpose is to follow the Queen’s command. And as I am currently living in her body, my will.

Yet this body cannot even be considered female, nor male, those are human concepts. It’s more like a DNA splicing lab or a nightmare fuel factory?”

"My Queen, he’s lost with this weird rambling again… Yes, I did try to shut him off and on again. I also asked him to get food. It’s not working."

“Because, if I do leave this body, would part of my mind be kept here? Could Norn, start pumping clones of myself? Do Tyranids even have souls?”

"Aghhhh, he doesn’t shut up! Darwin, do something! I want food."

“Could I read somebody's memories and learn about their life's experiences? Would that mean I could replicate their soul too?”

"Host?"

“Uh? What is it, Darwin?”

"Queen Norn told me that the next evolution would be available in a few hours. You shall prepare the cave defenses."

“What?! Ah, yes, the level up! Ok, let’s do it!”