The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System)

(Unknown Location- Secret Laboratory)

"Another failure," Doctor Valenna groaned as she wrote down her recordings for today's experiment.

The scientist wore a simple white lab coat with multiple pockets that were filled with various strange devices and surgical knives.

Her curly brown hair, average looking features, easy going smile and thin black glasses would not make her stand out in a crowd.

But her eyes…

There was something inhuman and cold behind her seemingly friendly gaze.

Doctor Valenna was currently standing on a raised platform overlooking an enormous pit that was hundreds of feet deep.

Inside the pit was a sight that could only be described as monstrous.

Dozens of half-naked human bodies lay helplessly on the ground while creatures hungrily fed on their corpses.

These monsters were disturbingly grotesque with weird and twisted appendages growing out of their body orifices while their skin was an ashy grey colour.

The only trace of their former humanity that was left could be seen on their faces which were constantly stuck in expressions of pain.

Several of these monsters were sewn together into unholy abominations that oozed purple slime as they crawled along the ground like worms.

Loud grunts and moans could be heard echoing through the deep pit, but those terrifying noises had no effect on the woman standing on the platform.

"Clean up this mess immediately," Doctor Valenna ordered coldly as she walked away. The faceless androids nodded and then proceeded to turn off the safety valve on their plasma rifles.

Bang! Bang!

They opened fire on the monsters squirming below and soon the sounds of painful cries and bloodcurdling shrieks filled the air.

Doctor Valenna paid no attention to the noise as she hurriedly moved towards her private quarters to plan for the next test.

Where had she gone wrong?

Why had the project not seen any significant results in months?!

Project Rhat'ets was supposed to secure the future of humanity and lead them to a brighter intergalactic era.

Crossing human DNA with Insectoids to produce the ultimate living weapons.

If the raw talent for cultivation that humanity possessed could be enhanced with Insectoid regenerative abilities and their impressive physiques…

It would instantly tip the delicate balance of power in the Federation. Humanity would finally no longer have to rely on an alliance with the Quafes, Servies or Mendolesa races.

But that goal was now looking more like an unrealistic dream.

Doctor Valenna soon arrived at her private quarters and pressed her finger against the scanner to gain access.

The metalloid door swung open to reveal a plain room that was only furnished with a single mattress, a wooden chair and a desk.

It was cold and minimalistic much like the woman who was the head of the entire operation.

Doctor Valenna sat down on the chair and began to plan out her next move.

The investors were already getting quite unhappy, and it was putting a strain on a project that was already risky from the beginning.

Scientific research could take decades if not centuries, but those impatient nobles wanted results immediately.

The death of Emperor Sisrelis had only increased their desire to see the project succeed as soon as possible in order to gain power before the next leader was selected.

Doctor Valenna sighed heavily and reached into her storage ring. She pulled out a thin brown leaf and placed it on her tongue.

The brown leaf instantly dissolved, and she could now feel a rush of adrenaline surge through her body.

It was an unhealthy coping mechanism but what else could she do?

To think that merely a few months ago there was hope. Doctor Valenna opened up her tablet and rewatched the old security footage from the previous facility.

Subject 001, Subject 002 and Subject 003. Those three specimens had managed to escape their prison cells and kill an entire squad made of qi body and qi spirit cultivators.

Only Subject 002 was captured alive after that night but he died merely a few weeks later.

Before his death, the artificial hybrid's cultivation level had rapidly increased until it reached the qi tide stage.

Unfortunately, he suffered from multiple organ failures and despite her best efforts, Subject 002 could not be rescued.

Doctor Valenna had initially been hopeful of producing endless hybrids like Subject 002 using the vial of blood taken from an Insectoid commander of unknown species.

However, the contents of the vial could not be replicated in the lab.

There was a limited quantity of blood left and all the new hybrids produced from the gene-splicing process would go through a similar cycle.

They would rapidly increase in strength until their bodies collapsed. The process usually took weeks and the longest was around one month.

"If only I could get my hands on more Insectoid species," Doctor Valenna groaned in frustration as she ran her fingers through her messy hair.

The results of her experiments were not entirely useless since she was able to make two reasonable deductions regarding Human-Insectoid hybrids.

The first was that humans genetically spliced with low level Insectoid species would produce stable hybrids, but their combat power would not be higher than the qi body stage.

The second was that the DNA of more powerful Insectoid species would produce stronger but short-lived hybrids.

Doctor Valenna let out another heavy sigh and began to type out a request to be sent to the nobles in charge of the project.

There was nothing she could do but ask for more Insectoid species to be sent to the laboratory as soon as possible.

The nobles in charge of the project had invested billions of Enas already so Doctor Valenna was hoping that they had spent too much cash to let this project fail.

Smuggling Insectoid corpses from the battlefield was a difficult operation but the scientist knew that those nobles had connections in the Imperial Army.

Still…there was work to be done.

Doctor Valenna was not a woman who gave up so easily and now was certainly not the time to panic even as she knew that her life was on the line.

With newfound determination Doctor Valenna got up from her chair and sent a message to the team leader working in the breeding zone.

[Prepare the special vial for my arrival. I trust that everyone under your command is aware of the lack of results in the recent months]

[The investors are not pleased so it is imperative that we have a breakthrough within the next few weeks]

[There can be no mistakes]