The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System)

(Unknown Location- Secret Laboratory)

"Oh… oh… yes… you are magnificent!" Doctor Valenna shouted loudly as she stared in rapture at the abomination currently banging its scythes against the barrier.

"I was correct in my theory! Hybrids are truly the best biological weapons!"

"After all these years of hard work… I can't believe that I have lived to see the day where my dreams have become a reality."

A fierce reddish blush spread across the face of the lead scientist and for once her cold eyes were filled with powerful emotions.

Test Subject Beta-007 had proven to be a success beyond her wildest dreams.

Doctor Valenna spared a glance at the scattered corpses on the ground before resuming her observation of the specimen.

A bloody scent hung in the air and the frightened expressions on the faces of the dead bodies served as a grim reminder of the terrifying nature of the hybrid monster.

The security team did not stand a chance.

Despite having a superiority in numbers as well as the technological advantage, Subject Beta-007 still managed to eliminate them all.

Doctor Valenna saw firsthand how it was able to use its newly acquired wings to duck and weave through multiple rounds of heavy plasma fire.

Despite only having a cultivation level of the qi tide stage, it seemed as though this creature had somehow entered a berserker mode.

It fought recklessly and paid no attention to the heavy injuries that appeared on its body as long as it managed to kill.

The remains of those men and women who had recently died were torn into tiny pieces and some were even in a half-eaten state.

Subject Beta-007 had been severely wounded in the fight but Doctor Valenna could see his flesh slowly regenerating with every passing second.

But for how much longer would he survive?

Even if he died now Doctor Valenna could already envision a new path forward for the project.

She had been going about this all wrong. The perfect use for these hybrid weapons were not as a long-term force but rather as temporary shock troops.

Beings capable of exerting extreme combat capabilities in order to disrupt enemy lines. Due to their short-lived nature, they would be able to fight harder than a regular soldier.

Perhaps she needed to use the DNA of multiple Insectoid species to see which ones were compatible to produce a combination of different traits.

Doctor Valenna hurriedly wrote down some notes and ideas for the upcoming experiments that she was already planning to perform.

The meeting with the investors was tomorrow but instead of dread, Doctor Valenna felt nothing but optimism and hope for the future.

"Ur…gr…re…reeeee…" the hybrid abomination groaned.

It continued to mindlessly stab its blade-like scythes at the glowing barrier that separated it from the raised platform.

Despite the barrier showing no signs of cracking, Doctor Valenna made sure to adjust the settings and increased the power.

One did not reach her position without taking precautions as necessary.

The hybrid creature tried fruitlessly for several more minutes before it knelt down on the ground and spat out a mouthful of black blood.

Its humanoid body shivered and trembled uncontrollably. The monstrous abomination let out a horrifying screech that made the hairs on the scientist's arms stand up.

Those translucent wings on the hybrid's back fluttered slightly as the creature rolled on the ground all the while clutching at its throat with those scythes.

It made several deep lacerations on its neck, but it seemed as though those injuries were nothing compared to the pain that it was currently experiencing.

"Record the process of its cellular decay and organ failure," Doctor Valenna calmly spoke into her wrist communicator.

A drone flew up from a hidden building on the other side of the field and its camera lens zoomed in on the creature's position.

The entire field was surrounded by high-definition cameras and video recording devices but sometimes it helped to get another angle.

The humanoid creature only managed to last for a few more minutes before it took a deep shuddering breath and then finally collapsed.

Before its death…. those monstrous eyes seemed to stare at Doctor Valenna with a deep hatred that was human-like.

Had it recovered its memories?

Or was that emotion merely the last trace of its humanity trying desperately to return?

Either way… Doctor Valenna didn't care. She had seen hundreds if not thousands of those kinds of eyes from the specimen chosen for her experiments.

But she had to admit that there was a sickening beauty to see the last flame of life slowly fade away and withier into nothingness.

Doctor Valenna's lips curled up as she sent a message to the central command of the security forces to dispatch another team to the termination field.

It didn't take long for another group of heavily armed officers to arrive at the edge of the field.

The younger ones in the group tried their best not to gag as they walked past the bodies of their former comrades.

As for the older ones, there was a quiet look of resignation on their faces as they walked straight ahead without stopping to glance at the corpses on the ground.

Doctor Valenna waited until the guards confirmed the death of the hybrid before deactivating the barrier and walking down from the raised platform.

The lead scientist knelt down and pulled out an empty syringe from her storage ring.

She gently pressed the needle against an open wound on the hybrid's back and extracted around five hundred milliliters of blood and tissue samples.

"Bring the body to the third building in the northern laboratory zone," Doctor Valenna coldly ordered.

The team leader for the security unit stepped forward and gestured towards his subordinates to help him handle the body.

"Be careful not to damage the wings!" Doctor Valenna snapped angrily as she saw one of the men grab the translucent appendage quite roughly.

The lead scientist made sure that the body of the hybrid was secure before turning around to leave for her private quarters.

There was nothing that Doctor Valenna wanted more than to run down and begin dissecting the fresh corpse of the hybrid but there were important matters to handle.

She needed to organize a meeting with the other science teams in the complex and grab all the available manpower.

The footage alone may not be enough to convince the investors to give the project a few more months of grace.

The footage of Subject Beta-007 was impressive but there were several concerns that needed to be addressed and improvements that could be made.

The first being that the hybrid abomination was frozen in place while it evolved during combat which was a significant weakness.

It was capable of fighting through extreme injuries in a berserker state, but its regenerative abilities were not quick enough… at least not yet.

And she still had not managed to raise the cultivation level of a hybrid to beyond the qi tide stage.

Then there was the matter of testing these hybrids against different power types. For example, how would they fare against mages?

What about mental force? Poison? Foresight?

There were many questions that needed answered but that was exactly what made Doctor Valenna so excited.

Her endless quest and pursuit for knowledge had led her down this dark path. It was what had gotten her kicked out of multiple universities for unethical practices.

Those old academics just could not seem to understand that a price had to be paid for scientific progress.

It was better to sacrifice a few to enhance the quality of life for the many.