You ask what Bai Qi was doing while his eyeballs were collecting resources.
Bai Qi's goal from the very beginning was crystal clear.
Resources can be found everywhere. Even on the most barren planet, you can extract resources if you set your mind to it; it's just a matter of quantity. What attracted Bai Qi to Apokolips the most was its highly advanced genetic technology.
Darkseid's power, his reputation as the strongest New God, wasn't solely due to his immense physical strength and Omega Beams. After all, individual might is only one facet of power; if someone were determined enough, they could find a way to counter and resolve it.
Darkseid's true strength lay in the unwavering support of the entire planet of Apokolips and his Parademon army.
Through the technological advancements constantly plundered from warfare, the method of "fighting to sustain the fight" continuously propelled Apokolips' military industry and technology to a new, unprecedented level.
However, compared to cold machines, Darkseid clearly favored living biological weapons, such as the Parademons.
As Apokolips invaded a planet, draining all its resources, they would capture and research the planet's native lifeforms, extracting superior genes and integrating them into Parademons through powerful genetic engineering.
With the addition of more and more superior genes, the individual strength of Parademons continuously grew through successive waves of updates and iterations.
For instance, during the invasion of Earth, initially, Parademons merely fused with Doomsday's DNA. But after Superman led the Justice League to attack Apokolips, were defeated and captured, scientists on Apokolips extracted Superman's DNA. After undergoing certain modifications and selective discarding, it was incorporated into the Parademon's gene sequence, making them even more powerful.
As for the other members of the Justice League, such as Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Mera, and others, while powerful, their strength was merely individual. Even if their genes were extracted and added to the Parademon's gene sequence, it wouldn't significantly enhance them. Instead, it would waste a large amount of resources in the process. Therefore, after careful consideration, they could only be transformed into mindless biological war machines, serving as Apokolips' guard dogs.
It was precisely these enhancements that made Darkseid increasingly formidable, making him unstoppable on his path of conquest.
What Bai Qi needed to do now was to locate Apokolips' central hub and copy all its research achievements and data, then take it all with him.
Soon, Bai Qi arrived at his first destination for this journey: the biological genetics laboratory of Apokolips.
Although he found it strange, not understanding Apokolips' peculiar aesthetic sense, as the buildings even seemed jarring to Bai Qi, a demon, the reality was that this odd place was indeed where they conducted their research.
Perhaps aware of the Parademons' brutality and to prevent the frail, thin researchers in the lab from being torn apart on a whim by the Parademons, they had replaced all the lab's guards with robots controlled by artificial intelligence.
While compared to the Parademons' incredible combat power, a few AI-controlled robots, even fully armed, wouldn't be much of a match, this was Apokolips. Under heavy defenses, how many could actually reach the laboratory? If they were to breach the lab, it wouldn't make much difference whether the gatekeepers were Parademons or robots.
Just as for Bai Qi, Parademons were a matter of a single slap, so too were the robots.
However, Bai Qi didn't waste time fighting these Parademons. With a single teleportation, he entered the laboratory directly.
Even though Superman had already led an attack on Apokolips, the laboratory continued to operate as usual. A group of beings with different skin tones, races, and appearances were engrossed in their projects, paying no attention to the situation of Superman and the others.
It is worth mentioning here that despite Darkseid's reputation for brutality and his frequent invasions of other planets, bringing immense disaster to many civilizations, he did not practice racial discrimination. As long as you possessed genuine talent and were willing to pledge allegiance to Apokolips and serve the Dark Lord, Darkseid would accept you without reservation.
Moreover, if your project was favored by Darkseid, your future could be considered more than prosperous; resources would be prioritized for you, and wealth and status would be within easy reach.
Of course, high rewards came with high risks. If you failed to produce valuable research within a certain period, or if you were simply occupying a position without contributing, enjoying the researchers' benefits, Apokolips was not a place that harbored idlers. You would be strapped to an operating table, contributing your final warmth to Apokolips' scientific research.
Originally, these researchers of various forms were deeply engaged in their experiments. Bai Qi's sudden appearance initially didn't even draw their attention.
It wasn't until one of them, carrying experimental equipment and walking with his head down, bumped into Bai Qi and tumbled to the ground that he noticed the outsider.
"You... Who are you? I've never seen you before!"
This shout was not quiet and instantly attracted the attention of many in the laboratory. However, Bai Qi clearly had no intention of answering at this moment. After surveying the laboratory environment, he walked towards the main computer.
Seeing the stranger, Bai Qi, getting closer and closer to the main computer, someone finally couldn't stand it. He quickly stepped forward and blocked Bai Qi.
It was a joke; the main computer was the lifeline of these individuals. All completed projects and experimental progress had to be recorded in real-time on the main computer. How could they let a stranger approach it casually?
Bai Qi looked down at the researcher blocking his way. The other party was a mass of purple slime, barely maintaining a humanoid form with the assistance of armor. Within its translucent slime, various objects could be seen, from small pebbles and test tube fragments to nuts and bolts – everything imaginable. More importantly, this creature exuded a distinct smell of dead rats, the result of whatever it had eaten.
Bai Qi had no patience for the utterly disgusting slime monster before him. With a casual wave, immense psychic power, like a sudden storm, enveloped the slime monster and slammed it forcefully against the wall.
*Splatter!*
Upon impact, disgusting fluids and various debris within it scattered like falling blossoms, instantly turning the previously orderly laboratory into chaos. As for the slime monster, it lacked the incredible ability to reform after being smashed; it was utterly destroyed.