Chapter 296

Chapter 296: The World Expands After Opening His Eyes

"This truly is a strange world made up of ancient creatures!"

After gaining new eyes, Trilobite marveled at how simple this world’s truth turned out to be.

Ancient giant dragonflies and other paleozoic insects flew through the sky, but their constantly changing flight paths showed they sensed a predator’s threat.

"Hmm…"

"They fly like this over open shores and even the sea, meaning their hunters aren’t forest gliders but true fliers."

"Pterosaurs have taken to the skies."

"Seems that consultant from earlier really did turn into a Kunpeng Pterosaur."

At this thought, Trilobite cast an apologetic glance skyward.

"Sorry, fellow bugs."

"Accidentally gave you natural enemies."

"And…"

He studied distant dorsal fins and spines rising from the sea, then observed nearby low seed ferns and towering aquatic horsetails before nodding.

"The distant ones must be ancient sharks and early ichthyosaurs."

"The closer ones…"

"I’ve no expertise in ancient plants, so I can only make rough guesses."

"Anyway, good enough."

"At least…"

"It matches how I pictured things."

Trilobite said "matches how I pictured things" because his vision upgrade project didn’t directly involve calcite eyes.

Full nervous system reinvention would’ve cost too much, and he never wanted calcite compound eyes transformed into fly-like bulbous orbs!

Replacing them was unthinkable anyway – those durable, dustproof, waterproof eyes were simply too practical!

Trilobite eyes reached peak durability from their debut; even now most vertebrates haven’t solved this challenge.

So which upgrade did he choose?

"Excellent! The visualization function works perfectly!"

"After digital processing and sampling, everything looks much sharper."

Though "visualization" sounds unreliable, human vision actually relies heavily on it. That’s why some blind people insist they see normally, confidently describing furniture in empty rooms.

Their brains compensate by generating nonexistent visuals.

Trilobite’s sight operated similarly.

Despite his calcite compound eyes’ low resolution, his brain processed signals to construct a richly detailed world.

"Good!"

"The sense of realism feels great!"

"Then…"

Since Trilobite had been so hungry earlier that he’d even eaten his own secreted membrane, his first priority wasn’t returning to Themis or wandering deeper into the swamp.

"I should walk along the shore to see if anything’s hiding in the sand."

"Or if there’s seafood washed ashore."

After crossing over, Trilobite counted himself lucky—his digestive system handled anything without upset, giving him the guts to scavenge rotten fish and shrimp from the beach.

—-

"Ah! My brave children!"

A fish-headed, frog-bodied creature raised his staff, bellowing hymns.

He looked much like the "fishmen" from countless games.

"Our warriors have gathered! Tonight, the great deities strike deep into the bountiful swamp!"

"Cheer on!"

"The apocalypse had arrived!"

His absurd figure bounced through the dim sea cave as he praised the towering deity—a crab-like being wide as a hill, spanning over ten meters!

It lay sprawled across the massive underwater cavern, its massive Divine Body nearly filling the entire space!

"Our tribe’s mighty god! Our merciful deity!"

"The powerful Lord Dismask permits us to climb His noble armor! He’ll carry us to crush those pitiful mortals and claim our world and kingdom!"

"Buzz—!"

Magic swirled, forming a colossal tapestry:

A giant tree stood central, surrounded by irregular rings of branches bearing massive bulbs—all embracing a boundless, fertile ocean.

"Our god dreamt this vision yesterday!"

"A revelation from higher, greater beings!"

"He believes this is our radiant, joyous future!"

"Follow the great Lord Dismask!"

"Onward to our blessed new homeland!"

Beneath the "fishman" shaman swarmed masses of "little fishmen."

Some stood brawny and mighty; others, small but pulsing with power—all raising their arms, roaring for the cause!

"Long live great Lord Dismask!"

"Eight-Legged Strider, undefeated!"

"Slaughter the shellless and scaleless! They’re unworthy of such fertile lands!"

As the atmosphere was getting more exciting…

"Boom—Boom—Boom—!"

The ground, the cave, and even the entire Sea of Ether trembled!

A huge, thunder-like sound suddenly echoed outside the cave!

"Roar—!"

The Ruler, Dismask, raised his massive claws in warning, ready for battle.

But…

"Boom—!"

A huge, broad beak thrust straight into the cave. The nameless colossal deity tore open the massive cave completely and flipped everything inside upside down!

"Ah—!"

"A monster!"

"A fearsome monster deity!"

"Lord Dismask, save us!"

The once high-spirited group of fishmen was instantly shattered by this giant beak. Many were flung into the Ether Sea, despairingly adrift; others were buried under the collapsed cave, never to see daylight again.

As for Lord Dismask, he did not save his spawn. Instead, he scuttled away on his segmented legs.

This so-called expedition naturally ended without resolution.

—-

"Sniff… sniff…"

"Sniff… sniff…"

Trilobite walked along, sniffing. He even dug his nose into the sand, using his Lorentz Jar to check for movements in the sand.

He found only a few small creatures like small crabs and small shrimp, nothing else.

These little things weren’t enough to fill Trilobite’s hunger, so he ignored them and let them scurry about.

But he soon sensed something more delicious hiding nearby…

"Looks like a Big Squid!"

"Let’s pull it out and suck it!"