Lin Shen had already completely adapted to Wei Wufu's manner of speaking; he knew what Wei Wufu meant—that the egg had strong potential and would facilitate quick Base Mutation.
Their current situation was difficult, and Lin Shen must undergo Base Mutation for them to survive. If he failed, given their current circumstances, it was certain to be a dead end.
"Are you really sure this thing is a Base Mutation Egg? Are you sure it hasn't been mixed up, and this isn't just one of your small chicken eggs boiled for snacks?" Lin Shen sought confirmation once more.
Because no matter how he looked at it, it appeared to be an ordinary bird's egg, with no connection to a Base Mutation Egg whatsoever.
"If you're afraid... just give it back to me..." Wei Wufu said.
"Then I'll give it a try," Lin Shen thought. "If this is just an ordinary bird's egg, then I won't lose anything. But if it's as powerful as Wei Wufu says, I'll have hit the jackpot. Such a formidable guy as Wei Wufu wouldn't praise a Base Mutation Egg unless it was extraordinary. It's just, why haven't I heard of any gene egg that allows for Base Mutation to be completed in such a short time?"
Having made his decision, Lin Shen did not hesitate any longer; he was not one to drag his feet.
Glancing at the mutated creature that was completely immobilized, Lin Shen picked up the egg that looked like a bird's egg—actually a Base Mutation Egg—and swallowed it whole.
Yes, he swallowed it whole.
Humans who had not undergone Base Mutation could not directly consume Base Mutation Fluid or the essence contained in Base Mutation Eggs; normally, they had to first refine and create Essence Injections, which were then administered into the body in controlled doses.
Humans post-Base Mutation could directly consume some Base Mutation Fluid, but this was not without risks.
The nature of Base Mutation Fluid was more akin to a virus. Humans infected by it would gradually coexist with the virus, attempting to control and incorporate it as part of themselves.
Of course, this was just an analogy; in reality, the properties of Base Mutation Fluid and a virus were somewhat different.
Humans without Base Mutation needed to consume a whole Base Mutation Egg, including the shell, to undergo "infection" and change their body structure.
Because he had previously used a large amount of Essence Injections, it was as if he'd been vaccinated many times, so the risk of this type of "infection" wasn't really high.
After all, he was using the lowest-level Steel Level Base Mutation Egg; failure in Base Mutation would mostly result in headache, fever, and such, not much different from catching a cold.
Wei Wufu, seeing Lin Shen swallow the "bird egg," revealed a hint of recognition in his eyes, thinking to himself, "Six people who used the number fourteen Primeval Eggs have died; so far, no one has succeeded. Now, Lin Shen is so composed and calm knowing full well that failure means certain death—he is truly an exceptional individual. Maybe he really can succeed."
Wei Wufu himself had not realized that it was his cryptic way of communicating that had misled Lin Shen.
The reason Lin Shen was misled was that he had never heard of anyone dying from Base Mutation failure— the concept simply didn't exist in his mind, and he had no awareness of this issue, so he misunderstood.
Of course, if Lin Shen had known, perhaps he would have been even more interested.
His third and fourth brothers had always advised him not to rush into Base Mutation, implying that they wanted to find him a Base Mutation Egg with sufficient potential. Had Lin Shen known the origin of this "bird egg," it's likely he would still have made the same choice.
Of course, another significant reason prompted his decision; he no longer had any usable pets and was having difficulties even walking. Without immediately enhancing his own survival ability, the outcome would still be death.
Normally, one would process a Base Mutation Egg before consuming it, but obviously, that wasn't an option now. Fortunately, the egg wasn't big, and Lin Shen managed to force it down whole.
As soon as the egg entered his stomach, Lin Shen knew it wasn't an ordinary bird's egg, but a genuine Base Mutation Egg.
Almost immediately upon the egg's ingestion, a coldness almost enough to freeze someone solid emerged from his abdomen and spread rapidly throughout his body.
Lin Shen immediately lost control of his body, falling straight to the ground, but his nerves became incredibly sensitive—a single strand of hair landing on his skin was enough to cause him stinging pain.
Even when dust settled on his skin, it would immediately cause swelling and redness.
"It hurts... Damn, it really hurts..." Lin Shen had never realized the air could contain so much dust.
The dust, normally imperceptible, fell on Lin Shen, giving him the sensation that his entire body was being pricked by needles.
Wei Wufu watched Lin Shen, who lay motionless on the ground, and many thoughts raced through his mind.
The reason why the number fourteen Primeval Egg was called a Primeval Egg, and not a Base Mutation Egg, was because its origins differed from those of ordinary Base Mutation Eggs.
More than two hundred years ago, various Base Variant Creatures began appearing all over the world, all of them originally emerging from the Base Mutation Zone.
Ordinary people had little concept of the Base Mutation Zone, knowing only that it was an area where Base Variant Creatures gathered.
What they didn't know was why Base Variant Creatures gathered in the Base Mutation Zone and why the appearance of such creatures always began in the Base Mutation Zone.
People like Wei Wufu were very clear: the reason an area turned into a Base Mutation Zone was due to the presence of Primeval Eggs.
It was because these mysterious Primeval Eggs, from unknown origins, fell to various places on Earth, infecting nearby life forms and causing them to undergo Base Mutation, that Base Variant Creatures came into existence.
After more than two hundred years of effort, a small portion of the Primeval Eggs in some Base Mutation Zones ended up in human hands.
According to the records of the Base Alliance, there are a total of sixteen known Primeval Eggs, eleven of which have already been used for Base Mutation. As for those not accounted for, the number is unknown.
Every human who used a Primeval Egg for Base Mutation was much more powerful than those who used Base Mutation Eggs, akin to monsters among Mutators.
Except for the two who had already died, all the other humans who used Primeval Eggs for Base Mutation without exception became the elite of human Mutators, truly standing at the top of the pyramid.
However, using Primeval Eggs for Base Mutation was highly dangerous; almost every known Primeval Egg had taken human lives.
The Primeval Egg in Wei Wufu's possession, labeled number fourteen in the Base Alliance's records, was the fourteenth Primeval Egg to be discovered and documented.
The number fourteen Primeval Egg had been discovered over seventy years ago, and six humans had attempted to use it for Base Mutation since, all without exception had died.
Each of the previous six individuals had made thorough preparations and reached the peak physical condition for an ordinary human, yet they still failed.
Wei Wufu could see that Lin Shen's physical condition had also reached the limit of an ordinary human, which was the most basic requirement for using a Primeval Egg for Base Mutation.
Without such a condition, failure was almost certain; even with it, the likelihood of failure was still high.
Lin Shen possessed such physical condition, and having not undergone Base Mutation at his age, Wei Wufu believed, was it not as if he were waiting for a Primeval Egg?
For some reason, Wei Wufu felt that Lin Shen might succeed because some of the things Lin Shen had done seemed unbelievable to him, almost unscientific.
"Silk is emerging..." Wei Wufu saw white strands, many times finer than hair, resembling down, emerging from Lin Shen's skin, and his eyes lit up at once.