The first large colony that Lin had to face was named 'crystal fungi'. These cells were very strange. They shone like ice, and there were a few icicle-like spikes around their bodies. When Lin first saw them, she thought that these things were not cells. After all, they looked like ice balls.
However, they were not ice, but real cells. They could move like cells, but Lin was very curious about how they could grow into such a shape.
There were also tens of thousands of these crystal fungi. They occupied most of the food crevices in the middle area of the rock. They were very powerful to be able to do this, but Lin had to fight them to expand her territory.
Lin first gathered a large number of cells around the territory of the crystal fungi. Most of them were cone cells and diggers. She did not plan to send out the acid injectors so soon.
This was because Lin had discovered that other cells might also develop resistance to the acid injectors' lytic fluid during the process of occupying the food crevices.
Lin had also developed resistance to the lytic fluid in the beginning during the process of fighting against the strange cells. However, this evolutionary ability was not unique to her.
If she fought against the crystal fungi, it might last for a long time. Then, they would definitely have the time and the possibility of evolving to become immune to the lytic fluid.
Therefore, using the acid injectors as the final secret weapon to destroy the opponent was the best choice.
Lin's Observer looked down at the nearest group of crystal fungi from above. The crystal fungi were completely unaware that they were about to be attacked. They were still eating the food that occasionally popped up.
Attack!
The cone cells acted as the vanguard and rushed directly to the group of crystal fungi. They quickly approached and pierced the crystal fungi's body with their cone horns. Although the crystal fungi were crystal, they were not as hard as real ice crystals. They were pierced in an instant. Then, the cone cells quickly turned their bodies. The sawtooth on the cone horns easily tore the crystal fungi into countless pieces. A large number of wreckage floated in the water...
After being attacked, the crystal fungi immediately launched a counterattack. Their method was also very ordinary. They just used the spikes on their bodies to stab the cone cells. The part in front of the cone cells with the cone horns was very hard and could not be pierced. Therefore, a large number of crystal fungi were torn apart by the cone cells again. It did not take long for Lin's cone cells to kill all the crystal fungi around the food crevices.
When Lin killed the crystal fungi in the other crevices, she found that the behavior of the crystal fungi had changed. They began to move rhythmically and surrounded the cone cells with a group attack. They would no longer stupidly stab the hard part of the cone cells. Instead, they tried to go behind it and stab the soft part behind the cone cells that had not hardened.
They had no eyes and no vision... How did they know where to attack? Lin was very curious about the situation in front of her.
However, the spikes of the crystal fungi were not serrated. Just stabbing them would not cause much damage. The cone cells only needed to turn around and use the cone horns to counterattack. At this time, the crystal fungi changed their strategy again. They used a group attack method. As long as a large number of spikes pierced in, it would be the same whether the spikes were serrated or not. They could easily crush the insides of the cone cells!
Lin had more than 500 cone cells as the vanguard. At this time, they were besieged by thousands of crystal fungi. Most of the crystal fungi came from other food crevices.
So that's how it was. The crystal fungi here were a whole group, so they could call for reinforcements from afar.
Lin observed the battle while thinking. However, she was not the only one. These crystal fungi were also constantly looking for their own advantages in the battle. On the other hand, Lin's cone cells slowly lost because Lin was no longer commanding them.
Suddenly, countless crystal fungi appeared in Lin's field of vision. The crystal membranes on their bodies reflected a brilliant light as they rushed towards the battle site.
This... All of them were mobilized? Lin noticed that all the crystal fungi had stopped eating at the same time. Instead, they began to swim in place. Thousands of them rushed into the battle. Under the pressure of a large number of crystal fungi, the cone cells were almost unable to move. They could only be pierced by countless spikes.
Attack! Lin finally began her second step. Countless diggers rushed forward and joined the battle. The diggers did not have cone horns, so their lethality against the target was naturally inferior. However, the diggers won in terms of their huge numbers, a total of 7,793. Moreover, in a one-on-one battle, the diggers were still superior to the crystal fungi.
The diggers who joined the battle used their serrated teeth to break the crystal fungi's spikes and cut their bodies. The crystal fungi also constantly tried to besiege and pierce the diggers' weak parts.
The observers had been watching from afar, observing the situation of the entire battlefield for Lin.
Lin initially calculated the number of crystal fungi, which was more than 20,000. They no longer had any reinforcements here. All the crystal fungi had participated in the battle, but the situation was not in their favor. Instead, the crystal fungi were constantly retreating.
One digger could be exchanged for about five crystal fungi.
If this continued... Hmm?
Lin suddenly had a strange feeling. The information she received from a certain digger was that the digger used its serrated teeth to attack the crystal fungi as usual. This should have been able to tear the other party apart, but the digger failed to do so. Its target, the crystal fungi, was only pushed a little further away.
Then, the digger was surrounded and killed by a large number of crystal fungi.
This phenomenon gradually spread through Lin's cell community. Whether it was the diggers or the cone cells, their sharp weapons could no longer harm the crystal fungi. All they could do was push them away.
Was this evolution? Had it evolved so quickly to form a solid shell that could defend against serrated teeth and cone horn attacks?
Lin was very surprised because this crystal fungus's evolution speed was much faster than its cells' evolution speed.
... Wait, that's not right!
Lin noticed that one of the crystal fungi was pierced by the cone-shaped cell's horn. It wasn't injured, but it was pushed to the side of another cone-shaped cell, which then easily pierced through the crystal fungi with its attack.
In that case, the crystal fungi didn't harden on their own, but...
Lin began to observe carefully. She found that the diggers and cone cells that couldn't harm the crystal fungi were covered with a layer of something on their serrated teeth and cone horns.
It looked like some kind of black viscous substance. If stuck, the cone cells and the diggers' attack power would be greatly reduced.
At the same time, Lin noticed that on the battlefield, in addition to the remains of the cell corpses, this black viscous substance was floating everywhere. Of course, it wasn't there at the beginning, otherwise Lin would have discovered it long ago.
The viscous substance wouldn't stick to the crystal fungi, only to Lin's cells.
In other words, this kind of substance was released by the crystal fungi. Just as the acid injector wouldn't be hurt by his own acid, the crystal fungi wouldn't be affected by this viscous substance.
With the help of the viscous substance, the crystal fungi regained their advantage again. They could easily surround and kill the diggers and cone cells that had no attack power. Lin's community suffered a large loss in an instant.
... Oh no...
Lin tried to direct them to avoid the viscous substance as much as possible while observing.
Lin noticed that the crystal fungi weren't secreting the viscous substance. Where did this viscous substance come from?
... Got it!
Lin's vision stopped at the rear of the crystal fungi army. There were a few large crystal fungi that were about ten times larger than the average crystal fungi. They didn't have spikes on their bodies, but the viscous substance was secreted from the surface of their membranes.
So that's how it is. It seems that the crystal fungi are the same as her, a community composed of different species.
Lin immediately acted. She sent special troops to the large crystal fungi, intending to kill them all in an instant.
These troops were also diggers, but they had become very similar to the rock worms she had seen before. They had a large number of symbiotic thorn cells on their bodies, and Lin also knew how to make these thorn cells attack.
Even if it sent out a crisis signal, Lin didn't know the details. However, she only needed to let the cells prepare for battle, and the thorn cells would begin to become nervous on their own and shoot at targets close to their range.
There weren't many diggers with thorn cells, only about 300 of them. Each one carried five, and there were about three thousand small crystal fungi surrounding the large crystal fungi.
Each thorn cell could only attack once, and it would take a long time to grow thorns again.
It's not easy...