Chapter 1059: Chapter 578, Capturing Protozoa_2
Itâs definitely something that needs to be seized.
However, before taking the ship, Gu Hang had one more task to handle.
In the Bowang star system, amidst the wreckage from the previous space battle against Alfonso, Alliance utility ships responsible for cleaning up the battlefield sent a message that caught Gu Hangâs attention:
They discovered the Neuron Progeny.
It wasnât dead.
Gu Hang was somewhat surprised.
Good lord, could this thing really have such tenacious vitality?
It was aboard Alfonso IIâthe War Ark decimated in the battle, obliterated without additional defenses by the concentrated firepower of the Alliance Fleet.
Generally, in naval battles, once a ship explodes, itâs almost impossible for lifeforms onboard to survive.
Even if they didnât die immediately, with the ship disintegrated into fragments, the life-support systems ruined, and trapped in the airless, foodless, freezing void of space, how could any lifeform sustain itself?
Unless they were exceptionally lucky, surviving in a relatively intact compartment.
But even then, it wouldnât last long.
Reflecting on this, Gu Hang thought to himselfâif it were him, though he had methods to survive, like escaping into subspace, the Neuron Progeny certainly wouldnât have had such options. Under normal circumstances, survival seemed exceedingly difficult.
The Neuron Progeny didnât survive due to luck.
Its formidable vitality, especially its immense Spiritual Energy, allowed it to endure the bombing, detonation, and disintegration of the ship, and continue to exist in the void.
In fact, according to the latest report, the Neuron Progeny had even detached itself from the shipâs wreckage, propelled by Spiritual Energy, moving aimlessly through the empty void.
The Alliance ships were in pursuit.
The Neuron Progeny appeared to be severely injuredâor perhaps it was simply relying on Spiritual Energy to drive its movementâflying at a slow pace that the ships could keep up with.
But they didnât dare get too close.
Two Black Fish Patrol Ships had already fallen victim after approaching too near, ensnared by the Neuron Progenyâs Spiritual Energy.
First, their Energy Shields were torn apart. Then, their engines malfunctioned inexplicably. Subsequently, the crew onboard began to lose their minds, attacking one another. One individual stormed into the energy chamber and caused an explosionâŠ
Just like that, two vessels and their combined crew of over a thousand were lost without clear reasoning.
With these lessons learned, the Alliance utility ships scavenging the wreckage were now far more cautious. The remaining two patrol ships tracking the Neuron Progeny could only observe it from a considerable distance.
Lacking major fleet ships and without explicit orders from higher-ups, the patrol ships refrained from initiating direct attacks.
To clarify, they had tried firing at it once, but it was evident that standard patrol shipsâunlike the one-off specialized Black Fish launched at max capacityâlacked sufficient firepower. Their conventional weapons posed minimal threat to the Neuron Progeny.
Ultimately, they reported the situation.
Their aim was to request stronger reinforcements, perhaps larger warships to take down this entity. Yet, unexpectedly, higher-ups ordered them to continue tracking it, avoid approaching, and ensure they didnât lose sight of the target.
When asked how to deal with it, the higher-ups didnât conceal the truth, informing them: the Governor would personally resolve the matter.
âŠ
Gu Hang, aboard the Wrath Owl, soon arrived at the Bowang star system and located the Neuron Progeny that the Alliance ships had been tailing.
In reality, they were separated by an enormous distance. Despite the Neuron Progenyâs massive size, it was still a biological entity, making it nearly impossible to observe with the naked eye.
The warships maintained constant radar lock on it, despite the Neuron Progenyâs attempts at interference. The signal was quickly reacquired.
For Gu Hang, the process was even simplerâhe could directly sense it using Spiritual Energy.
The Neuron Progeny was highly responsive to Gu Hangâs emanated Spiritual Energy, immediately channeling its own power to contend with him.
It was still remarkably strong, with Spiritual Energy reaching S-class intensity. However, though equivalent to top-tier Psychics among humans, could it really resist him?
During the previous âBowang Sea Battle,â members of the Sect of Mechanics manipulated and enslaved its power, enabling it to unleash Alpha-level strengthâperhaps even surpassing that threshold slightly. Even when Gu Hang fully opened subspace rifts, utilizing his most potent force within the physical universe, he could only achieve a stalemate in head-on confrontation.
Granted, part of this was because Gu Hang was simultaneously manifesting multiple heroic spirits, but the Neuron Progeny was also imprisoned at the time, its power reduced and not fully engaged in its own defense.
The two were evenly matched.
It shouldnât have been so weak as it appeared now.
Gu Hang ordered the warship to move closer.
With him present, a Neuron Progeny displaying power below Alpha-level posed no threat to the Wrath Owl.
As the distance closed substantially, drawing near the target, the Neuron Progeny remained obediently stationary.
âIt had no other choice, suppressed entirely by Gu Hangâs overwhelming Spiritual Energy.
When Gu Hang finally observed the creatureâs form via the visual screens from the bridge, he understood the source of its current weakened state:
It was damaged.
The shipâs disintegration likely didnât leave it in a safe zone; it may have even been directly struck or suffered secondary impacts during the breakup.
Despite its Spiritual Energy protection mechanism, its biological structure sustained extensive damage.
Gu Hang surmised that it had likely pushed its Spiritual Energy to the brink, enduring until the last moment, but the Spiritual Energy Shield ultimately failed. Explosions, wreckage collisions, and intense energy wavesâthese residual effects harmed its body.
However, its physical durability was resilient enough to survive and even regenerate new shields in time.
It didnât perish in the explosion, and it now landed in Gu Hangâs hands.
Determining what to do next, Gu Hang hesitated.
While exploiting the creature might yield benefits, he was reminded of Alfonso Fleetâs fate.
The War Ark was originally Alfonso Fleetâs most formidable ship, yet if it hadnât been for Gu Hang detonating the âNeuron Progeny bombâ from within, even Gu Hang at full strength would have had to expend considerable effort to defeat it.
Although Gu Hang was confident in his ability to suppress this entity, could he guarantee being at his absolute peak at all times?
Furthermore, even if restrained, would it not still be a liability when dealing with formidable foes and also worrying about this thing?
That would be quite maddening.
But⊠as one of the top-tier biological entities of the Void Insect Species, there were no records of it being captured by the Empireâthough perhaps kept classified.
The value of studying it as well as finding means to exploit it was immense.
Risk versus reward.
These two heavy weights caused the scales in Gu Hangâs mind to waver back and forth.
It was frustrating.
Luckily, he didnât need to decide immediately.
He could capture it first and store it in a secure location.
For most factions, creating a cage capable of absolutely safeguarding against the Neuron Progeny would be exceedingly difficult. The Alfonso Sect had achieved this through extensive research, but the Alliance? Hardly capable.
Yet what the Alliance couldnât do, Gu Hang could.
He happened to have a particularly safe repository.
His Storm God Kingdom.
Once he imprisoned the Neuron Progeny within it, future research and exploitation would still require releasing it. However, if only considering its containment and transportation, security wouldnât be an issue.
The Divine Realmâs power could perpetually punish the Neuron Progeny, while its millions of heroic spiritsânot merely figurativeâcould guard it effectively, being undying and eternal.
If it truly revolted, Gu Hang would be well-placed to personally subdue it.
In the Divine Realm, his power far exceeded that of the material universe.
Heâd killed the Great Demon within itâtaking care of the Neuron Progeny would be no exception.