Chapter 32 Zhaocai: I Am Tarnished!

Meng Fan looked at the Manggu Zhuha motionless on his shoulder, and a certain idea immediately took root in his mind, though this inspiration still required experimentation. Even if he could develop it, it was destined to be a matter for some time in the future. Before that, what Meng Fan needed to do was to practice his skills, preparing for the fusion of the lightning mink, Silver Dollar, and the tardigrade. After all, he only had this one lightning mink; before merging the physiological characteristics of the two into one, he certainly needed something to practice on.

As Meng Fan thought this, his gaze involuntarily drifted toward Zhaocai, the tabby cat. The lightning mink’s body type was quite similar to a cat’s, wasn't it?

"Meow～"

Zhaocai, feeling Meng Fan’s malicious gaze, instantly bristled: "Meow! (The poop-scooper must be planning to harm me!)"

Seeing Zhaocai slowly backing away, Meng Fan had to pacify him: "Alright, alright, I won’t use you for experiments."

In truth, Meng Fan had kept Zhaocai, Jinbao, and Qifu for quite a long time and had grown attached to them; naturally, he wouldn’t treat them like laboratory mice. If there were some accident and he ended up creating some kind of freak, Meng Fan would truly feel a pang of regret.

Wait, mice!

Minks are generally referred to as mustelids, also known as "mink-rats"—the two were, to some extent, related! Meng Fan simply ordered Zhaocai to catch a few rats.

Looking at the dozens of gray rats struggling in the cage, Meng Fan felt no psychological burden as he set to work. He grabbed one and began his radical modifications. And the results... well, they were all sorts of bizarre shapes. Some grew eight claws; some shrank to a microscopic size, similar to tardigrades; others even lost their facial features entirely, appearing like wriggling masses of flesh. Faced with these strange "monsters," Meng Fan decisively and physically eliminated them, even scattering their ashes.

Zhaocai, Silver Dollar, and the other animals watched as Meng Fan continuously "kneaded" these various monsters into existence, their legs trembling. It felt as though their entire understanding of cat-life, dog-life, and mink-life was being severely challenged.

Zhaocai, in particular, tilted its head, staring intently at the rats: Was this really the thing I just caught?

Meanwhile, Meng Fan scribbled in his notebook: "Experiment thirty-five failed. Commencing data verification for experiment thirty-six..." During this time, Meng Fan had Zhaocai catch rats several more times, until the cat was exhausted and the rats in the area had become scarce. Zhaocai even issued a "bounty" to the local stray cats under its command, which barely satisfied Meng Fan’s needs.

Finally, after consuming nearly three hundred rats, Meng Fan obtained one that appeared normal but possessed a near-immortal form. A modern-day "Jerry"! No matter how Meng Fan stretched, squeezed, froze, or burned it, the rat remained spirited, showing no signs of damage. It was currently in the cage, munching on cookie crumbs.

Using the methods of a Beast Master, Meng Fan held the yellow-furred rat in his hand, inspected it, and said with a mischievous glint in his eye: "Being able to stand out among so many test subjects is a testament to your luck. From now on, you shall be called Huang Feng. Stay by my side as my sixth exotic beast!" Of course, because it possessed the immortal genes of the tardigrade, it would also serve as Meng Fan’s designated experimental mouse.

Meng Fan’s planned order for future modifications was: mouse, cat, hound, crow, lightning mink, and finally the Manggu Zhuha.

Subsequently, Meng Fan looked at Zhaocai, a cluster of innate Qi shimmering in his palm, containing the immortal gene fragments of the tardigrade, and walked toward the cat with a smile. "Zhaocai, it’s your turn!"

In Zhaocai’s eyes, Meng Fan looked like this: the master was shrouded in black aura, stepping toward him with malice, those evil hands about to descend upon him.

"Meow～～～"

Zhaocai’s cry was shrill; anyone who didn't know better would think Meng Fan was abusing the cat. Zhaocai struggled in Meng Fan's grip, and Meng Fan feigned madness: "Cry all you want, hahahaha! Even if you scream until your throat breaks, no one will come to save you." As the saying goes, life is like being raped; if you cannot resist, you might as well enjoy it.

Meng Fan’s Qi cluster continuously merged into Zhaocai’s body. Under his careful control, it penetrated the genetic sequence of the stem cells, utilizing the art of beast-gathering to splice and modify. He eliminated rejection responses and accelerated the cellular metabolic cycle until the entire body’s cells were replaced.

With Zhaocai looking as if he felt violated, Meng Fan wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "The surgery was a success; you’re a qualified girl now!" According to a certain "Demon Queen," leaving a certain fluid in the body makes it shine!

"Meow meow?! (I was already female to begin with!)"

Zhaocai looked at Meng Fan as if he were an idiot. Meng Fan quickly read his thoughts and gave him a flick on the forehead. In fact, over these years, Meng Fan had tried every method to enhance his pets' intelligence, communicating and training with them constantly. Although they couldn't share thoughts directly, Meng Fan knew exactly what each pet was thinking.

Zhaocai gave Meng Fan a resentful look before being tapped on the rear: "Since the modification is done, don't hog the spot. Next!"

Zhaocai leaped off the "operating table," feeling the incredible vitality in his body, as if he had just indulged in tons of catnip. He lifted his chin in front of the other beasts, strutting with elegant steps, and meowed: "Meow, meow meow~ (The poop-scooper is indeed best to me, look, I was the first one!)"

Meng Fan couldn't help but think: "Actually, you were the least important one after the mice!"

Following the sequence he had long since arranged, Meng Fan modified them one by one. By the time the Manggu Zhuha was completely modified, the innate Qi in Meng Fan’s body was nearly bottomed out. Looking at his pets, each reborn, Meng Fan felt immense joy: "After a thousand trials and hardships, I have finally taken the first step!"

In the records of Mo Lishou, the tardigrade gene, besides providing a form of immortality, was most importantly capable of facilitating the transformation of the Flower-Fox Mink as it grew larger or smaller. Tardigrades molt multiple times throughout their lives to adapt to growth, yet their body shape remains constant. This small animal maintains its form throughout its life, despite entering cryptobiosis in extreme environments—shedding its skin, shutting down its metabolism, losing most of its moisture, and protecting its DNA to survive adverse conditions. Without this special gene from the tardigrade, what animal could grow or shrink without causing any harm to its own body?