262: Chapter 263 "Order Wars" [Clone City]: Giant Flesh-and-Blood Tentacles and the Hosts' Response

The Crimson Giant Eye atop the Clone Tower suddenly constricted its pupil, and a dense, almost physical blood-red light erupted from deep within, dyeing the sky above the entire Clone City red.

At almost the same instant, dozens of giant flesh tentacles, each as thick as three people hugging together, lashed out from the hundreds-of-meters-high flesh tower toward the twenty-plus Hosts on the plaza in front of it.

These giant flesh tentacles were entirely covered in a dark red, slippery membrane, their surfaces carpeted with fine, transparent fuzz. The transparent mucus dripping from the tips of the fuzz corroded pits into the alloy ground.

Like giant pythons preying on their quarry, the giant flesh tentacles whistled through the air, completely cutting off any room for the twenty-plus Hosts on the plaza to retreat.

As the thick flesh tentacles hit the ground, their tips rapidly split into dozens of slender ones, weaving into an airtight Flesh Web that descended upon the Hosts attempting to escape the tentacles' reach. Amidst the dodging, some Hosts were "unfortunate" enough to be covered by the rain of transparent mucus. Their clothing and equipment were corroded into wisps of green smoke and vanished in a heartbeat, yet their bodies remained unharmed—save for a sudden onset of fatigue that made their limbs feel heavy and their minds increasingly drowsy.

Carnival Clown remained within a bubblegum bubble floating in the air, admiring the disorder and chaos below. Watching the Hosts frantically dodging the giant flesh tentacles and the Flesh Webs, he clutched his stomach, laughing until tears welled in his eyes.

Some Hosts controlled natural elements like thunder, fire, hurricanes, and ice to attack the Flesh Webs attempting to capture and bind them. Blue-white lightning clung to massive blades, slicing through the flesh as easily as a hot knife through butter; orange-red flames transformed into a pair of wings, and with a gentle flap, countless fiery feathers flew out, charring any flesh they touched; one Host wove between the giant flesh tentacles on a motorcycle, firing hurricane shells to clear the Flesh Webs blocking the path; another walked as ice spread continuously, freezing the flesh instantly and severing all connections between the flesh-nerves in a flash.

Other Hosts protected themselves by defying the Laws of the world and scientific common sense. In the blink of an eye, one Host's body briefly phased, passing through the blocking Flesh Webs without collision; another lightly swung a giant hammer, fusing the flesh before them with the alloy ground, leaving the flesh tentacles to writhe helplessly within the metal; a figure moved at the speed of sound, unnoticed by anyone except for the terrifying dynamic vision of the Crimson Giant Eye; yet another reached out toward the flesh tentacles and Flesh Webs, turning the flesh they touched into various flavors of cream ice cream upon contact.

This fierce battle on the plaza was fully observed by the Beholder, who sat upon a Flesh Throne at the core of the Crimson Giant Eye. Facing the Hosts' resistance, the Beholder's face remained utterly impassive.

The 99 black eyeballs surrounding it turned slowly, glowing with a faint crimson light. After the entire Clone Tower had mutated into a tower of flesh, the Ultra-quantum Computer that served as the computing core for the entire experimental city had also mutated into part of the Flesh Throne it sat upon. Following this mutation, it transmitted signals through flesh-nerve connections and utilized all mutated flesh as sub-processing units, resulting in a terrifying upgrade—or rather, an evolution—of its functions and computing power. While a mere 20% of its idle computing power was currently being used to control the giant flesh tentacles on the tower walls to capture the Hosts, a staggering 80% was spreading mutation signals throughout the entire Clone City via the flesh-nerves spanning the tower and the connection lines between the Clone Tower and the Clone City.

"Command! With the Clone Tower as the core, the city-wide mutation of Clone City officially begins!"