Blood knot

The Red Plague spreads through several routes: water (the virus is resistant to marine environments and is carried by currents), contact with infected tissue, and predators that consume infected individuals. Spores or microdroplets of the pathogen can settle on player equipment, creating the risk of unintentional infection transfer between biomes. Within the planet's ecosystem, the plague acts as a "cascading" threat: first, small organisms and plants are affected, then mid-level predators, and finally, large species. This leads to the collapse of food chains and the emergence of "dead zones" where all life has either perished or mutated beyond recognition. In fan mods, such zones are often highlighted with a red glow or bloody fog, emphasizing the high level of infection.

During the first stage of infection, the virus is almost inactive; small red swellings, both common hallucinations (sometimes they can predict the past) and vocal hallucinations occur. Towards the end of the stage, redness and swelling of the tissues appear, along with the appearance of abnormal growths and bleeding cracks in the skin or chitin. The body becomes covered with large red spots. These growths indicate the transition to stage 2.

In the second stage, infected creatures exhibit pronounced external signs: growths fuse with the creature, causing severe mutations. At the cellular level, the virus causes accelerated cell proliferation, which quickly progresses to necrosis—the skin tissue literally "burns" due to uncontrolled metabolism. In flora, this manifests as red veins, rapid wilting, and the secretion of toxic sap. Fauna become aggressive due to damage to the nervous system and pain shock; some species experience spontaneous mutations—the growth of additional limbs, color changes, and muscle hypertrophy. Mutations are usually based on evolution; the plague does not induce mutations mindlessly; it is based on the creation of the ideal predator. In severe cases, organisms lose coordination, become catatonic, and soon die, leaving behind infected biomaterial capable of spreading the virus further. The plague does not infect everyone mindlessly. It infects several individuals of a single species and puts them through several evolutionary stages. It chooses the most successful attempt, and only then infects the entire species, evolving precisely during that attempt. This once again confirms the theory of the hive mind of plague pathogens, no matter how delusional it may be.
Stage 3 is completely classified.

Card 1: The Nature and Origin of the Red Plague
The Red Plague is an aggressive pathogen that affects both flora and fauna across the planet. The plague is of extraterrestrial origin and is linked to the biotechnology of ancient civilizations. It is believed that the virus could have been either a byproduct of experiments or a biological weapon gone rogue. Its "red" coloration is more than just a visual marker: it reflects mutagenic changes in tissues, when normal pigments are replaced by the pathogen's waste products. Although the Red Plague is called a virus, it is a special bacterium/cell that causes severe mutations when it enters the body.

Low temperatures: at -5 °C and below, pulsation slows down, the tentacles contract, and the mass “freezes”.
Electrical impulses: an electric shock breaks neural connections.
Typical locations:

abandoned industrial sites;
dense forests with high biomass;
coastal zones and reservoirs;
underground communications (tunnels, bunkers, sewers).

Origin: Occurs in areas with high concentrations of organic matter (abandoned buildings, forests, bodies of water) as a result of the restructuring of the infected organism's cellular structure. The virus combines the biomass into a single, collective organism.
Mechanisms of distribution:

Direct contact: The tentacles inject plasma, infecting living organisms.
Spores: Releases microscopic spores that enter through the respiratory tract or broken skin. May control secretions.
Root network: forms underground biological channels that connect almost all individual nodes into a single system.

Distributions:
Blood nodes grow up to 20 meters, after which they divide into 3-19 individuals. During this process, they fold all their tentacles into a single mass and divide into equal masses, after which the tentacles immediately return.

Name: Hemo-Node
Origin: a biological anomalous organism, the final stage of mutation under the influence of the Red Plague virus.
Appearance: A pulsating sphere 0.4 meters in diameter (this is a split node, it will not grow back). The surface is translucent, permeated with a network of glowing scarlet vessels. 10-30 tentacle-like appendages grow from the sphere. They can change size up to 4 meters long, although he can grow them larger, but at the cost of sacrificing the sphere's main mass. At the ends are either eyes or holes capable of emitting red smoke, which is actually a huge plantation of the Red Plague virus. They are most often used as "suction cups" for grasping objects. Bone spikes can extend from the holes, capable of instantly infecting with the plague.
Features: Chaotically moving clots, structurally similar to neural networks, are visible inside; distorted silhouettes resembling body parts of animals and other victims periodically appear. The glow is dull red, rhythmically pulsating in sync with the inner core. It eats using its main body. It simply absorbs food and slowly digests it into plague pathogens. Strangely, it has a sense of taste. It can eat anything that is even slightly edible. It cannot accumulate plague for long. It can levitate, though not very high. It can generate plague, although it is not the primary plague generator. Although it is a hunter, it does not specifically harm intelligent beings (either humans or intelligent manifestations of the plague). It tries to be nice.