Chapter 86: Transition
According to memories from his past life's games, this area was supposed to be a mining zone. Those incessantly flickering specks of light were actually metallic minerals; with enough patience, one could even pan for gold in the river.
But Logan looked down on such inefficient methods. Given his body's massive demand for resources, trying to pan for gold this way would take until the end of time.
Still, a place so rich in minerals was undoubtedly a prime spot for rare creatures like Goldenfry and Platinumfish to appear. After all, the metallic components in their scales couldn't materialize out of thin air—they had to be ingested from specific environments.
There wasn't much else to say. It was time for action.
As the saying goes, "Two lure rods can catch a mountain of fish." Logan and Zhu Peiniang were both bio-electric creatures—effectively a "live" wire and a "neutral" wire. With the "Thunder God's help," they were ready to begin.
But first, they needed to chum the waters.
Logan found a flat, open area by the river and led Zhu Peiniang in excavating the loose ground nearby. With their massive size, every swipe of a claw easily dug up dozens or even hundreds of pounds of silt. They looked like two living biological excavators working at peak efficiency.
A few days later, their efforts produced a massive pit over thirty meters in diameter and two to three meters deep. One end of the pit connected directly to the river via a waterway. At the inlet, Logan cleverly arranged stones into a V-shaped barrier, designed to let fish swim in easily but make it hard for them to leave.
Next, he sprinkled some transparent "frosting"—active nutrients—into this custom-made pond.
As the water circulated, the alluring active factors would drift downstream. If his luck was good, his target fish would be drawn into the pit. If not, he'd at least harvest other fish for food.
All that was left was to wait patiently. The surrounding coral seemed scattered at random, yet it possessed a layered, unique beauty. The entire scene looked like a magnificent undersea Dragon Palace. Watching such scenery made the time pass easily.
Since they planned to stay for a while, Logan led Zhu Peiniang to find a naturally formed cave to serve as their shelter. After clearing away coral fragments and pebbles, he went outside and cut down several large, cylindrical sponges. These sponges had excellent elasticity; sliced neatly down the middle, they made for natural mattresses.
The nutrient-rich frosting was irresistibly attractive to most creatures. When Logan returned to the pit the next day, he found it already filled with fish. Startled, the fish darted frantically, kicking up clouds of murky silt.
Logan and Zhu Peiniang stood at opposite ends of the pit and dipped their tails into the water simultaneously. In an instant, massive currents surged out like a flooding river, blanketing every inch of the pond.
The fish hiding in the silt began to tremble uncontrollably, eventually turning belly-up and floating to the surface.
Perhaps due to the high mineral content in the water, Logan noticed many of the fish had hard, armored scales, resembling the "armored catfish" or "plecos" from his previous life. They didn't look particularly appetizing.
But adhering to a "waste not" principle, he stuffed them into his mouth anyway. His thick, sharp fangs crunched down on the mineralized scales. Accompanied by a tooth-aching tearing sound, bursts of bright sparks actually flew from his mouth.
This was good news. It meant these fish were rich in metallic elements, some of which might be exactly what his body needed for evolution.
Time flowed silently during this daily routine of fishing.
Logan's days consisted of catching fish. If he grew tired of fish meat, he'd hunt other creatures like Barnos to change the flavor. Throughout this process, he occasionally fed Zhu Peiniang red frosting to further stimulate her evolution.
The results were significant. The most direct sign was that Zhu Peiniang's appetite was growing. Normally, a Zinogre is a pure carnivore that won't eat "random" things, but she had developed a keen interest in those mineralized fish scales.
The continuous intake of metal caused her azure scales—originally pure keratin—to take on a silvery, metallic luster. Her yellow power-exchange shells began to shine like gold, and the triangular protrusions on them became as sharp as blades. Even the horns on her head grew longer, significantly improving her electrical conductivity.
It seemed that if this continued, she might truly evolve into something as powerful as a Thunderlord. However, since she was female, "Thunderqueen" might be more appropriate. By then, she would likely hold her own even against an Elder Dragon.
In the blink of an eye, over half a month passed, and the temperature continued to rise.
Gold and platinum are famously rare heavy metals. They are typically produced only in extreme cosmic events like supernovae or neutron star collisions, meaning their content on a planet's surface is extremely low, with most concentrated in the core.
Consequently, while Logan caught many strange fish, he hadn't seen a single scale from a Goldenfry or Platinumfish.
Fortunately, this was a resource-rich mining area. The scales of the local fish contained various metallic elements that satisfied his body's needs to an extent.
Thus, over these two weeks, his size grew noticeably. He now exceeded seventeen meters in length, making him a truly massive monster.
The blend of metallic elements caused his scales to change. While they remained white overall, they now shimmered with different brilliant colors depending on the angle of the light. It was like the difference between a crow's feathers—one is "multicolored black," while the other is "variegated white."
This change made his scales look more like gemstones. If these scales were turned into jewelry, they would be worth a fortune.
The massive metal intake didn't just change his muscles, bones, and scales; it also seeped into his blood. This wasn't entirely surprising—blood is red because it's rich in iron, while mollusks like octopuses have blue blood because of copper.
Logan's blood now had such a high metallic content that it appeared thick and viscous, glowing with a metallic sheen. If placed on a white porcelain plate, it would roll slowly like liquid mercury.
While this allowed his blood to carry more oxygen and nutrients, providing ample energy to his organs, it also made the blood harder to pump, placing a heavy burden on his heart and blood vessels.
To solve this, most of the evolution points he gained during this period—aside from a small portion used for basic attributes—were dumped entirely into strengthening his heart and cardiovascular system.