It was raining that day.
In a remote alley, a young man lay on the ground, his eyes dazed, his body covered in wounds. His clothes were soaked by the rain.
Tap.
Tap.
Footsteps echoed.
A figure walked through the puddles and stopped in front of the young man.
The young man forced his eyes open. Standing before him was a man in his early twenties. "Let me guess, you might be in trouble."
"...Uh." The young man choked, unable to form a complete sentence.
Chen Ye crouched down and pulled out a bottle of green liquid. "Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Kind-hearted people like me are rare these days."
"Kid, do you want to live?"
Boom!
Thunder roared, and lightning flashed.
The light from the lightning illuminated Chen Ye's back, and the rain splashed on the young man's face.
He bit his lip. "Yes..."
"Drink this."
Chen Ye tossed the bottle to the ground and then turned to leave.
The young man struggled to sit up and grabbed the bottle of green liquid.
This color...
Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore.
The young man took a deep breath, pulled off the cap, and downed the liquid in one go.
Gulp, gulp.
"Cough! Cough!"
It was fishy!
Bitter!
It felt like drinking the slime and bile from a fish!
"Ugh... vomit!"
The young man retched, but nothing came out. Then, his body suddenly began to convulse and twist!
"Ugh... what is this?!"
"Ahhh!!!"
...
Across the street, under the eaves.
Chen Ye was holding his phone, recording something. "Hmm, judging by its condition, it seems safe to say it won't kill anyone."
"Second attempt: deep-sea fish + black dog blood mixture. The liquid turned green. After consumption, the subject began growing scales and gills. The spine and ribs showed varying degrees of bending and growth."
"Other characteristics unknown. Initial test site: rainy day."
"Code name: 002 - Deep Diver."
"That's enough for now."
"001, take care of our new friend."
With that, Chen Ye pocketed his phone and left.
After he left, a crow on the eaves yawned, then flapped its wings and flew into the alley.
"What a hassle. I'm not a babysitter."
...
In an old apartment across from the police station in Beiling City.
Chen Ye pushed open the door and took off his raincoat. "The rainy season is great. I can go out to buy cigarettes and pick up a test subject along the way."
After changing into slippers, Chen Ye walked straight into the kitchen.
In the kitchen, there was a black, double-eared ceramic pot with a demonic face. On the cutting board nearby were some leftover fish scales.
Chen Ye took out his phone and began scrolling through his notes.
"About a month ago, I bought this double-eared pot from a street vendor. Half a month ago, my parrot fell into the pot and then mysteriously disappeared."
"When I poured out the contents of the pot, all that was left was a pool of blood-like liquid."
"This liquid couldn't be identified as blood by any DNA test. From any angle, it shouldn't be blood."
"Later, I fed this liquid to a hamster. The hamster miraculously grew gray wings and could mimic human speech like a parrot."
"After that, I threw the hamster into the pot. Like the parrot, it turned into a pool of blood-like liquid."
After that, Chen Ye had a bold idea.
He first threw a sheep's brain, a chameleon, and a silkworm cocoon into the pot, then mixed it with the liquid from the hamster and fed it to the last animal in his house.
His pet raven.
After drinking the liquid, the raven evolved and gained remarkable intelligence.
Its feathers became smooth, with a texture like armor.
But aside from that, the raven showed no other changes.
Chen Ye then began teaching it various knowledge intentionally.
The raven's learning ability was astonishing. In just seven days, it learned human language and could hold a normal conversation with Chen Ye.
Five days later, something incredible happened.
The raven transformed into Chen Ye's appearance!
Yes, it turned into a human!
But it only lasted for a very short time.
At first, Chen Ye found it quite amusing. Until one day, when he woke up in the morning, he saw the raven sitting at his computer, playing games in his form.
From an outsider's perspective, its appearance, tone, and demeanor were identical to Chen Ye's!
The raven's transformation and imitation abilities had reached a level where it could perfectly mimic Chen Ye, to the point of being indistinguishable!
This was the first time Chen Ye felt genuine fear.
"If the results of the experiment are uncontrollable, then this experiment is a suicidal gamble."
"Unless, I become part of the experiment."
This was Chen Ye's first masterpiece.
Code name: 001 - The Imitator.
The reason Chen Ye used a human for his second experiment was to consider the consequences of applying the potion to a human body.
He couldn't risk his own body directly.
"From the current situation, things seem relatively optimistic. At least, there hasn't been a single case of death from taking the potion."
"The raven is still loyal for now, after all, I've hand-fed it for three years. But if it were an ordinary wild animal, it might be a different story."
"Still, I need to prepare for the worst."
"If the monsters I create go out of control, I'll be the first to suffer the backlash."
Chen Ye pondered for a moment, then created a new document on his phone.
Code name: 000 - God.
"God is not a unit, but a concept. A being so powerful that it surpasses human understanding, beyond cognition, incomprehensible, indescribable, and absolutely powerful."
"With this as the goal, I hope I don't turn myself into some giant octopus in the deep sea."
Chen Ye returned to his bedroom and habitually sat in front of his computer, lighting a cigarette.
"But... why do those things, when combined, give the raven the ability to transform into a human? What's the principle behind it?"
"Did it touch upon some kind of concept?"
"Parrot + hamster, sheep brain + chameleon + silkworm cocoon."
"Parrots mimic speech, chameleons change color, and silkworm cocoons represent transformation and rebirth. Conceptually, could this achieve the effect of transformation?"
"If I use a bat to make the potion, could I create a vampire?"
"This needs further experimentation..."
"But if my hypothesis is correct, I could use the demonic pot to create various mythical creatures."
"This hypothesis is quite interesting. Since there are no limbs or materials from supernatural creatures in this world to make potions, I'll create them myself."
...
Outside, the rain continued to fall.
A man covered in scales moved through the alley. His eyes were swollen and bulging, almost popping out of their sockets.
He looked at his smooth, slimy skin and the scales on his arms, unable to stop screaming.
"I... I've turned into a monster?!"
"This is a dream... it must be a dream... it's fake!"
"Fake, it's all fake!"
The man's hands were webbed, with sharp, hook-like claws on each finger. His back had two pairs of fins.
His body was massive, unlike a human's, with a wide upper body and a narrow lower body, hunched over.
His ribs had expanded significantly, and his spine was curved.
"You're so noisy."
A hoarse voice came from behind. The fish-man quickly turned around.
"Who's there?!"
He turned, but there was no one behind him. Only a raven, drenched in the rain.
"Stop looking, it's me. I'm the same as you."
With that, the raven began to spread its feathers, its body growing larger. The sound of bones cracking could be heard!
In the blink of an eye, the raven transformed into a young girl wearing a black dress.
"I am the Imitator, code name: 001."
...
Code name: 001 - The Imitator (Raven Imitator)
A quick note: This book is a monster free-for-all. The protagonist will quickly become invincible and sit back to watch the show. This isn't a rapid power escalation, but a necessary process.
Additionally, the protagonist will create many entities in the future. Some will form their own factions and engage in mutual slaughter. For the protagonist, there is no concept of gain or loss. No matter what emotions or experiences those minor characters have, they are irrelevant to him.
(Life-and-death struggles are just a game, of course, only for 'Him.')