Age of Cosmic Exploration
chapter-200

Chapter 200: Taming and Breeding

Yao Yuan was shell-shocked.

The conclusive fact that human beings had souls alone had overthrown his more conservative thinking. How is it that life had so-called souls?

While it was true that the Anima could see the presence of light orbs, this phenomenon could be scientifically explained as some sort of visual manifestation of intuition, mental concepts, brain waves, or even life energy.

But could science explain the human soul? That would be impossible!

However, now was not the time for all that. Yao Yuan straightened himself and told the young trooper beside him, "Temporarily keep this thing to yourself. By the way, what’s your name?"

The trooper’s answer tumbled out in a hurry. "Cap, Captain, my name is Jerry…"

The young man was starstruck, so even his speech was affected.

Yao Yuan patted his shoulder encouragingly. "You did well. You didn’t abandon your comrade even against something as powerful as the super species. You deserve a good rest. Take this transport shuttle back to the Hope. We can now perform good organ reconstruction surgery, so don’t worry about that arm of yours."

Jerry was once again stunned. He asked hurriedly, "Then what about Captain? Do you plan to…"

"Yes, I plan to pursue the two super species."

Yao Yuan didn’t plan to be secretive, so he explained clearly, "The two creatures are too dangerous. They have a deep-seated hatred towards mankind because we’ve injured them. For some reason, they won’t leave this slice of jungle and keep ambushing our men left and right. This place is too close to our capital; it’s still manageable now, but after the migration, their presence will be scarier than an actual alien monster army.

"Therefore, we have to dispatch them, or at least chase them away. Furthermore, the mass release of the Ultimate Vaccine might need the blood and DNA of these creatures, so I’ll try to catch a live one."

Yao Yuan smiled at Jerry. "Don’t underestimate me, I’m the Black Star Trooper’s general after all. I’ve managed to hurt these two beasts before, so I’m sure I will eventually get the job done. Plus, I won’t be attempting this alone; there are at least 4 other trooper units around. I’ve left a trail for them to follow. Alright, that’s all the time I have, or the trail will get cold."

Yao Yuan took back his sawblade from Jerry and bolted into the jungle. Like a flame, Yao Yuan zipped through the trees, leaving behind Jerry, Peter’s body, and the shuttle that was still circling for a suitable place to land.

Jerry silently watched Yao Yuan disappear into the forest. After some time, he squatted down beside Peter and drew a cross on his forehead, adding, "Lucky you, your soul has found a home. So that’s the truth behind the calling, it’s a calling from home…"

On the other side, Yao Yuan activated his diviner power and ran down the direction that sent off the most danger. He could sense the danger source dashing through the forest with incredible speed. Yao Yuan was sure that the danger was coming from the two super species.

The super species had power and speed that were not proportional to their size. Their bodies were extremely hardy as well; they could rival the tensile strength of reinforced super alloy. Even though they couldn’t completely block the penetration of Gaussian weaponry, they could greatly decrease their damage and effectiveness. It was tough, even by the sawblade’s standard. That was why Yao Yuan had only managed to hurt one of them but not kill it.

The reflex speed of these super species was incredibly fast. If put into numbers, it would be akin to a reaction time of 305 meters per second. This was much higher than almost all of the Black Star Troopers, almost double the reaction time of the trooper in fact! It was a scary difference. A small variation in reaction time could give a decided advantage in combat, much less a difference that was so wide.

Among all the Black Star Troopers, only Yao Yuan could stand head-to-head with them. It was why Yao Yuan had to pursue this threat himself.

Furthermore, he had a speculation he needed to prove…

The previous three super species that they stumbled into, no matter their gender, were independent survivors. They would abandon their territory when they realized that their opponent was too strong. This pair of male and female super species was the exception. There was also another anomaly when it came to this unique pair of super species. They killed quite a number of alien monsters to dry and store their meat even though the amount was obviously more than enough to feed two super species…

Could it be…

Because of his suspicions, Yao Yuan didn’t catch up to the two beasts and kill them immediately, he tailed them from a safe distance. He kept up a constant communication with the other units. He ordered them to keep a perimeter around the two super species’ territory and not join him in the chase.

Yao Yuan tailed the two super species for more than 10 hours. Since the space armor had an internal air circulatory system, he was not afraid the two beasts could pick up his scent. He was, however, feeling the beginning of fatigue from using his Homo Evolutis skill for so long.

After he confirmed that he had become a Level 2 All-Rounder, during his daily training, Yao Yuan realized that his mastery over Homo Evolutis skills had almost doubled, and so did their effectiveness. They were still not as strong as their respectively pure forms, but Yao Yuan was content.

After more than 10 hours of continuous tracking, the speed of the two super species finally slowed down. They shifted in direction and headed towards a spot by the edge of their territory. Yao Yuan ignored his growling stomach and followed patiently. The goal was near, so he couldn’t give up now. The two super species finally stopped several hours later and stayed at that spot for more than one hour. Yao Yuan immediately ordered the surveillance shuttle to mark down the location. He stopped pursuing the super species, retreated to a safe location, and called for a shuttle back to the Hope.

After food and rest, the fully recovered Yao Yuan took Ying and Liu Bai to the marked location on the next day’s afternoon.

Soon, they arrived at the location. After about 10 minutes of trekking, the three entered a seemingly normal swamp. Without Yao Yuan’s orders, Ying used his Seeker power to memorize every inch of the scene.

"Look, there are slight footprints here. Something must be hidden underneath this clump of dried branches and roots since the two super species spent a lot of time pacing around this area!" Ying confirmed, pointing at an inconspicuous bump on the ground.

Yao Yuan signed a signal, telling them to be careful before inching forward to the suspicious bump. He used his Diviner power to scan the area, but there was no sign of danger. He carefully swept the branches and leaves away. He was surprised to find a structure that was like an upturned bowl. The space in the middle was only enterable from below. It was an interesting find, not unlike a beaver’s dam but more intricate in design.

Yao Yuan cracked open the nest and found within a mouse-like creature squeaking. It was the size of half an adult’s palm. It was white as snow, and the black scale that would eventually envelop its body was still undeveloped. Like its adult variation, it had 6 appendages, two of them had already grown claws. The little creature still hadn’t opened its eyes, but the sudden exposure to the rush of air made it squeak in curiosity.

"The nature of a parent sure is impressive; even the alien species is not excluded from it. They are raising their offspring here, no wonder they are reluctant to leave their territory." Yao Yuan scooped the little creature carefully up in his palms. Liu Bai, who stood beside him, rushed over with a glass case that was equipped with multiple machineries within. It was a germ-free case. It didn’t carry any viruses or microbes from Earth. The most it would have were the germs from this planet that escaped into it when it was opened, so it should be fine to contain this junior super species.

Liu Bai brushed the little creature carefully with a germ-free napkin before sliding it carefully into the case. Then he nodded at Yao Yuan.

Yao Yuan spoke into the communicator, "Transport shuttle, send down a rope ladder immediately. I can feel the two super species coming our way."

Yao Yuan’s warning was unneeded because the people on the shuttle could see a patch of forest further away suddenly coming crashing down. Obviously, the two super species were ramming their way towards them. Therefore, they released the rope ladder quickly. The three hopped on and the shuttle lifted off.

When the shuttle reached a 200 meter elevation, a black object shot up like a cannon into the sky using some of the taller trees as purchase. However, it only reached about 140 meters in height before crashing back down to earth. What followed was a blood curdling scream, one that was as impressive as the beating of war drums!