Chapter 223
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Chapter 223: Title
The Ark ascended once more, piercing through the celestial veil into the boundless cosmos.
The azure-hued globule drifted with oceanic currents, yet paradoxically resisted their pull through instinctive aversion to leaving its birthplace. In desperate defiance, its form abruptly contracted before erupting a dozen sinuous tentacles to anchor itself.
Alas, its feeble strength proved insufficient against the inexorable tide. Barring unforeseen circumstances, current patterns would inevitably carry this cerulean entity toward the planet’s northern pole within days. Whether its liquid essence would solidify under glacial conditions remained uncertain.
Meanwhile, Ye Linlang embarked toward her next destination – a scorching world where surface temperatures hovered at sixty-five degrees Celsius, lethal to ordinary humans and terrestrial fauna. Yet life’s tenacity manifested strangely; such inhospitable environments often spawned unique biomes. Blessed with physiology at the pinnacle of tier two evolution and thermoregulatory technology, she traversed safely where her former self would have perished.
Crimson hues dominated this planetary sphere, perhaps reflecting its thermal extremes. Compared to the Slime-designated planet’s expansive seas, this world’s diminished oceans existed within more hostile parameters. The sixty-five degree baseline frequently surged twenty degrees higher, periodically threatening complete oceanic evaporation.
Paradoxically, atmospheric conditions surpassed Slime planet standards, nearly matching Blue Star’s life-sustaining levels. Human survival remained theoretically possible here – provided they endured the thermal crucible.
Volcanic activity presented greater challenges, with fourteen-month eruption cycles annually. As one fiery mountain subsided, another typically awakened, though mercifully limited to moderate VEI-2 intensities.
Ye Linlang traversed barren landscapes devoid of flora, contrasting sharply with her previous aquatic discovery of evolvable life-seeds. After ten terrestrial days, her quest culminated at a submarine caldera’s edge, where four-hundred-degree waters harbored her target – not quite a cellular organism, but rather a primordial Life Seed.
Cradling the near-invisible spark in her palm, she infused divine energy to accelerate evolution while implanting memory banks for future guidance. Within moments, the speck burgeoned to thumbnail dimensions.
"Your Excellency, the Major Deity," the system intoned, "subaquatic eruption imminent in three minutes. Projected magnitude: VEI-2."
"Noted." Her gaze lingered on the lifeform’s desperate swim toward the volcanic maw before withdrawing. Three minutes equated to evolutionary eons – failure meant extinction for this incipient civilization.
Though capable of scripting destinies, Ye Linlang seldom intervened beyond initial parameters. Having charted their course, she observed impassively from the Ark’s Control Room, countdown glowing crimson.
When cataclysm struck, magma plumes tore through aqueous depths. Twenty-four hours later, monitoring revealed success – a nascent islet breached the once-desolate seascape.
"An island forms…" she murmured, indifference veiling her curiosity. "But survival remains paramount – has Star Three’s civilization seed endured?"
Her taxonomic system designated extraterrestrial civilizations numerically: Atlantis as Star One, Slime as Star Two, this fledgling entity now bearing Star Three’s mantle. The cosmic experiment continued.
【Survival Successful.】
"Can you simulate the subsequent developments?" Ye Linlang leaned back in her chair, her gaze fixed on the screen.
The Life Seed she had enhanced clung to a volcanic rock like a parched fish gasping for life, its vitality waning by the second.
【Survival probability below fifty percent. Simulation unavailable.】
Ye Linlang arched an eyebrow in silence, accessing the system’s archives to review data about this civilization.
Her creations were survivors from the previous cosmic cycle, each bearing unique languages and scripts. Though capable of learning them, she preferred the efficiency of direct Chinese translation.
Given Blue Star’s current trajectory, its ascension as the universal civilization hub seemed inevitable. The notion of entire galaxies conversing in Chinese and English amused her briefly—though in reality, translator devices capable of full linguistic integration rendered communication effortless.
Her fingertips drummed rhythmically against the desk. With survival odds this low, remaining here risked witnessing another extinction. Yet departure meant forfeiting observation until Blue Star reached tier four and extended the World Tree’s branches—or until she embarked on another tedious interstellar journey.
"…One more day," she murmured, resolving to disregard tomorrow’s outcome regardless.
The newborn island continued expanding as submarine eruptions persisted. Zooming in revealed the rock-dwelling creature’s bizarre transformation—no longer a seed-like sphere, but a crimson-hued being with delicate limbs, whip-like tail, and facial dominance by a mouth brimming with fleshy dental protrusions.
A grotesquely beautiful entity.
Its ornamental-seeming mouth methodically licked limestone particles from the rock surface. Through mysterious metabolic processes, the ingested minerals migrated to reinforce its budding teeth. Unperturbed by erupting volcanoes or scorching heat, the creature gnawed steadily at its stony foundation.
Eat. Survive. Disregard.
These primal impulses flickered through its rudimentary consciousness, their origin as inexplicable as the volcanic forces shaping its world.
…
Dawn revealed a hairless, scale-free creature crunching island stones—now nearly adult-sized after nocturnal evolution. Ye Linlang’s fingers twirled, divine energy coaxing subterranean metal deposits to the surface. Understanding its habitat preferences, she completed adjustments with a weary yawn.
"System, set course for Bug Planet."
【Acknowledged, Your Excellency.】
【Adjusting Ark trajectory. Igniting primary and secondary engines. Disengaging from Lava Planet in five… four…】
Peering through the Control Room’s viewport, Ye Linlang watched the volcanic cradle vanish beneath accelerating starship trails. Three civilizations nurtured, countless more awaiting cultivation across the multiverse of countless worlds. However arduous, her vow to kindle cosmic diversity would be honored.
Universal scarcity amplified both potential and challenges. Proximity bred conflict among fledgling civilizations, yet distant isolation hampered synergy. Though civilizations determined their own fates, she secretly favored vibrant, interactive worlds.
Four thousand light-years later, an emerald orb dominated the viewport—quadruple Blue Star’s size, adorned with majestic ecosystems that justified weeks of travel.
Yet her satisfaction faltered.
The planet teemed with insects.
Despite invulnerability, Ye Linlang’s childhood phobia resurfaced as chitinous forms swarmed below. She swallowed hard.
"System, planetary briefing."
【Designation: Bug Planet.】
【Closest analogue to previous cycle’s insect race homeworld. Contains 453,000 insect species: 256,000 under 40cm, 134,000 at 40cm-1m, 53,000 at 1-2m, 10,000+ exceeding 2m.】
【Civilization Level: None.】
【Intelligent Races: None.】
【Planetary age: 4.3 billion years. Landmass 75%, hydrosphere 25%…】
