Chapter 447

Chapter 447: Creation and Erosion

While Clotho was busy nurturing special mycelium, Lachesis, another executor of the plan, was not idle.

This mycelium consciousness, which governed erosion, resided within its territory, probing all biological fields within its perceptible range.

Its next actions were crucial and would also place it in great danger.

Therefore, ensuring that there were no enemies nearby was of utmost importance; if a group of superpowered individuals arrived while it was performing consciousness division, it would be in serious trouble.

Soon, the lion-like Lachesis completed its patrol over its territory.

Its consciousness entered an internalized state, cutting off all external perceptions, even rendering the two semi-independent consciousnesses unable to influence it.

In terms of size, Lachesis was the largest of the three consciousnesses, and its special mycelium typically existed in the form of tall grass.

Compared to the thick fog-shrouded forests and the diverse woods, a singular tall grass field seemed rather monotonous.

However, it was precisely this sense of absurdity brought on by the endless horizon that made it easier for prey to become lost, allowing Lachesis to more effectively exert its erosion power.

Matched with its powerful erosion power was an almost boundless area.

Although the shape was irregular, according to human calculations, the area of tall grass fully controlled by Lachesis had already exceeded one million square kilometers, enough to cause all life within to become disoriented, ultimately having their minds stripped away by the ever-growing tall grass.

In a deep crater several hundred kilometers north of Hope City, Lachesis began its experiment.

This location was also the resting place of a human spaceship fragment.

After dormant mycelium was forcibly awakened by a human ship’s cannon, a large fragment had fallen into the planet’s atmosphere and crashed here.

However, both humans and the mycelium life that had not yet learned to think were completely unaware of this until decades ago when the mycelium consciousness realized the importance of growth and began spreading across the planet’s surface, eventually discovering this pit.

The human-made object inside the pit had long been engulfed by thick biomass; that gray-black viscous fluid constantly threatened all nearby life.

Fortunately, earthquakes were rare on this planet, and the biomass did not erupt from dozens of meters below the ground.

With this large crater as the center, Lachesis decided to commence its experiment.

Although the principles were quite similar, to achieve the same effect, Lachesis needed to endure far greater pain than Clotho.

While Clotho simply nurtured offspring, Lachesis had to divide itself.

Pain seemed to be a necessary sensation that every advanced being experiences on the path of evolution; Lachesis could choose to block it, but when dividing itself, it needed to remain vigilant about its condition, otherwise, it might affect its thinking ability.

As the will born from a collective organism, every filament of mycelium indeed had an effect on the intelligence and reflexes of consciousness, and Lachesis understood this, so its actions were exceptionally cautious.

Centering around the large crater, Lachesis marked a radius of fifty kilometers and began to cut out a massive circle from its own body.

If it were Atropos or Clotho, they would not need to divide such a large area, but the density of the tall grass biological field was lower than that of both types of woods, forcing Lachesis to increase its investment.

The invisible apoptosis was like an unseen long-handled scissors, gradually separating from Lachesis’s body.

Soon, most of the circle had been completed; only about one percent of the circumference remained connected to Lachesis’s main body.

As for the already severed section, while the mycelium underwent apoptosis, the mycelium there belonging to Lachesis also showed a degree of crystallization, as if artificially creating a buffer zone.

The small remaining connection was gradually severing under Lachesis’s control at a slow pace.

With the division of the physical body nearing completion, the division of mind and consciousness became equally urgent.

Within Lachesis’s consciousness field, its body began to tear itself apart.

This was not a situation like cell division where the division was nearly equal; rather, a massive entity was attempting to tear off a small piece from an intangible, immaterial consciousness.

And the portion unwilling to separate from the main body rightfully received no respect.

Under the invisible pull, the division of mind and consciousness was completed simultaneously. The circular area was wholly severed, and a new mycelium consciousness was born, which Lachesis roughly stuffed into a container made of those mycelium filaments.

This newborn consciousness resembled a recently born baby, continuously making noise similar to crying within a vast biological field.

This invisible wave could not be perceived by anyone, except for Lin Qingliu, who was far off a hundred kilometers away, and the superpowered individual known as Sleepless.

Making a noise that resembled crying might be an instinctive behavior for all intelligent lifeforms after they are born.

However, even among intelligent life, the level of wisdom varies.

And this entity, in front of Lachesis, was far too insignificant and, in the entire Mycelium Ecology, was merely a drop in the bucket, with the mycelium life that lacked a brain matrix for thinking clearly not being a highly intelligent individual.

Lachesis endured the mental pain, maximizing its biological field, and began to erode the newborn within.

Invisible waves started to erode that new consciousness, as unseen blows began to extinguish the little bit of thinking ability just formed.

Soon, the "crying" at the biological field level gradually weakened, ultimately vanishing entirely within the chaotic erosion and disturbances.

In less than five minutes, the newborn life form completely lost its consciousness, and this area of tall grass returned to the Mycelium Ecology in a unique manner.

It became a puppet under Lachesis’s control, always ready to die for its main body.

But Lachesis issued no commands; on the contrary, after confirming that the consciousness had been extinguished, Lachesis actively severed the connection with this puppet.

Meanwhile, in the material world, the crystallization at the edge of the tall grass became increasingly apparent, and those mycelium without a central brain began exhibiting signs of hunger.

With the connection severed, the nutrients cut off, and allowing the unconscious mycelium to develop freely, Lachesis began to observe the surroundings.

Then it saw a sight it had never encountered before.