The Spider Queen

(Hydra Star System- Outer Regions)

(Hidden Location- Secret Laboratory)

"Good morning… how are you doing today?" a cold feminine voice echoed through a mostly empty room.

Dr. Valenna stood in front of a large container that was reinforced with thick metalloid walls until it was virtually impossible to destroy.

The head scientist playfully stroked the outer surface of the container and stared at the specimen inside with a look of almost fanatical worship.

The alien inside the container was a humanoid creature with elastic and stretchy skin that bore a striking resemblance to rubber.

Yellowish scales covered certain parts of its skin and tiny green spikes jutted out of its shoulder blades.

Some of the creature's yellowish scales were cracked and bled slightly whenever the Insectoid moved his limbs.

Three bright pink eyes were located along its torso and there was a mysterious orifice near its posterior region.

Scars could be seen along the alien's back and they resembled puncture wounds.

Dr. Valenna waited patiently for a reply but did not receive one from the Insectoid who merely curled up in a fetal position.

Although his appearance may seem defeated there was nothing inside his heart except hatred towards the humans who had captured and experimented on him.

He was a member of the Serpentinea race!

One of the four higher order Insectoid species in the empire and yet now he was nothing more than livestock to these two-legged abominations.

A hoarse growl unconsciously leaked out from his throat, but Dr. Valenna merely smiled when she saw his reaction.

She pressed a button near the left side of the container and soon a hissing sound could be heard coming from the vent beneath.

Thick purplish gas flowed out of the vent and entered the container.

The alien fought desperately to stay conscious but gradually felt his vision fade away to darkness.

Dr. Valenna put on a mask before opening the container and pulling out several syringes from her lab coat pockets.

She mercilessly drove their sharpened ends into the creature's skin and extracted the DNA samples that she needed for the upcoming experiment.

When it was done, she closed the door to the container and locked it securely. The lead scientist powered on her wrist communicator and began to record her notes.

"The subject still appears to be hostile, but it can be contained quite easily as long as it continues to be fed a heavily medicated diet," Dr. Valenna spoke quietly.

"Progress has been slow on the project but using the blood of a higher order Insectoid has produced some spectacular results."

"While a viable hybrid has not been created yet… it is only a matter of time before the perfect soldier will be born from the splicing of human DNA with insectoids."

"The second round of human testing will begin tomorrow once another batch of products is brought from the outer regions."

The lead scientist stopped recording and pulled up the experiment results from the rest of her team members.

She carefully reviewed the data and numerous future experiments and hypotheses flashed across her mind within seconds.

Dr. Valenna was a genius.

There was a reason why she was chosen as the lead scientist on Project Rhat'ets.

But being a genius alone was not enough to satisfy the hungry nobles who were sponsoring her great work.

They wanted results and especially now that the competition for the throne had already begun in the dark.

The doctor had no interest in paying any attention to politics but even she knew that the crowning of a new emperor or empress was a monumental affair.

Cultivators lived for hundreds if not thousands of years so the ruler of the human part of the Earth Federation would have significant influence over the government for a very long time.

Still… those were merely distracting thoughts.

Dr. Valenna tossed her musings to the back of her mind and walked out of the room without sparing a glance at the Insectoid who had just woken up.

The Serpentinea growled hoarsely at the doctor's departing figure and swore darkly that he would rip that bitch from limb to limb.

A hidden camera in the room carefully captured his threatening movements and connected to a video-feed that was on Dr. Valenna's personal computer.

She would be foolish not to predict that her specimen would eventually come to hate her.

Dr. Valenna walked through an endless labyrinth of metalloid corridors and side passageways while accompanied by two heavily armed guards in white uniforms.

The workers who crossed her path nodded respectfully or stood frozen in place with expressions of terror flashing across their faces.

The lead scientist eventually arrived at a large, enclosed arena with an enormous pit that was placed in the center.

Dozens of scientists were running around the edges of the pit looking down at what was below and taking notes.

Dr. Valenna walked over lazily and peered downward at her latest creation.

The monster inside the pit was one of the first generation of Human- Serpentinea hybrids.

He looked relatively like a normal human male, but multiple pink eyes had appeared across different parts of his body.

His mouth had changed to become a massive maw with rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth that gleamed under the artificial lighting.

He was currently biting down on the flesh belonging to some unknown animal and the heavy metallic scent of blood filled the air.

Occasionally the hybrid monster would tilt his head upwards and howl at the sky like some kind of mad dog.

Dr. Valenna scowled as she stared at that failure. While he may look terrifying, that abomination was no stronger than someone in the qi spirit stage.

In fact, one could argue that he may be even weaker since injuring the numerous eyes that covered his body would cause him great pain.

The lead scientist stepped away from the pit and walked towards the gene-splicing facility while touching the samples of DNA in her pocket.

Perhaps in the next round of testing instead of only using adults…

She should start using children.