Chapter 30
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Chapter 30: Star System… oh no, Ocean Players Don’t Need Eyes!
"Big brother! I’m calling you big brother!"
"Hurry and buy an eye!"
Hearing this tone, Trilobite rolled his eyes.
What was going on?
A little girl selling eyes?
Relenting to the System’s request, Trilobite finally gave in.
"Alright, I’ll do you a favor?"
"How about this, I’ll buy a little, just to show goodwill."
Saying this…
Trilobite spent 20 points of Chaos Energy to enhance his vision by one percent…
It was indeed just a "small gesture."
The System was left speechless by such a "gesture."
【……】
【No, I really care about your well-being!】
【Increasing your eyesight a bit isn’t a bad thing!】
The System was somewhat confused; why was this host so peculiar, preferring to be near-sighted?
However, this time, Trilobite did not speak harshly to the System Lady.
To him, she was not a scheming merchant trying to trick him into consumerism, but rather a very "unprofessional" advisor.
His principle was that as long as there was no malice, he could tolerate lack of capability and ignorance.
After all, everyone had areas of ignorance.
It was normal for the System Lady not to excel in biological matters.
Back when he was a guide at the natural history museum, Trilobite had seen countless parents bringing their children, pointing at the Komodo dragon specimen and saying, "Look, it’s a Komodo dragon! This is a modern dinosaur!"
At that moment, Trilobite would smile and correct them.
Then he would share the relationship and stories between dinosaurs, birds, and Komodo dragons.
Often, the children listened with great interest, shouting with curiosity in their innocent eyes, while their parents looked awkwardly, seemingly understanding yet puzzled.
What joyful times those were!
"Hmm, I might as well treat the System Lady like those ‘children.’"
He patiently began to explain.
"Let me tell you."
"Before arriving in this ‘wasteland apocalypse’ and becoming a Trilobite, I was a professional."
"Especially in paleontology, biological evolution, claiming ecological niches, and environmental adaptation, I had extensive knowledge and had witnessed a multitude of success and failure stories."
“Let me tell you a story about the ocean.”
“Do you know? During the Ediacaran and early Cambrian periods, everyone lived quite comfortably; but one kind of creature thought ahead and strengthened its capability first!”
“So, there was a breakthrough called the strange prawn…”
“Do you know? There was a creature that, despite being small and weak, never submitted to fate and disaster. When many rulers fell, they raised their middle finger to the world that toyed with all life!”
“So, there was a resilient one called Trilobite…”
“Do you know? There was a creature that silently endured for billions of years for the sake of peace; but peace did not love them. To take revenge on those fierce monsters, they transformed themselves from the ground up; in the end, they became famous across the seas!”
“So, there was a revenge called jawed fish…”
“Do you know? There was a creature that fought valiantly, no matter how powerful its opponents were, how great their advantages were, or how clever or dirty their tactics were. They always fought with dignity, never giving up!”
“So, there was a struggle called sharks…”
The stories went on for a long time…
The vast ocean, billions of years of enmity and ruler changes, such grand epics were more touching, exciting, and magnificent than any tale!
Even the System Lady was deeply captivated by these stories.
【So that’s it…】
【Is the story of life in that world really that wonderful?】
【I’m so moved! How enviable!】
If the System Lady had a physical form, she would surely look at Trilobite with shining eyes, just like those curious children, filled with admiration.
In fact, it was quite similar.
In her heart, the System Lady even experienced a change of attitude towards this “host” she originally disliked intensely!
【This man…】
【Who knew such interesting things were hidden in that seemingly stubborn soul?】
【What a fascinating soul, hee hee…】
Unknowingly, the System Lady’s gaze toward Trilobite had a hint of starry-eyed admiration.
【Wait a minute…】
Fortunately, the System Lady’s mind was still clear; she quickly recovered from her sudden emotions.
【I almost got played by you.】
【So much talk, but what does it have to do with not improving your eyes!】
Now, Trilobite pointed out the crux.
“Look, Duncker’s fish had average vision, sharks had average vision, while ichthyosaurs had some with excellent vision, but Canglong’s vision might not have been great, and later, whales had fairly average vision.”
“All these cases illustrate one point—if you want to be a top predator in the sea, vision is not a decisive factor.”
“It might even be unnecessary!”
The truth was revealed.
Choosing which sense to enhance could not be based on Trilobite’s experiences as a human.
Humans evolved from ancient apes. Because ancient apes walked upright, they stood tall and could see far, relying on their vision to search for prey and predators. As a result, vision became the sharpest sense of humans.
Human faces were relatively flat, allowing for a large overlap of both eyes and creating a wide three-dimensional perspective. Primates also needed to distinguish ripe fruits, which made their ability to recognize colors quite strong among mammals.
However, it was different for other animals.
For example, canines were originally nocturnal, so their ability to distinguish colors was poor; they had a lower field of view and their sight was often blocked by bushes, making great vision unnecessary. When measured by human standards, a dog’s vision was only about 0.2 to 0.3, enabling them to see clearly only a few meters ahead.
But their keen sense of smell compensated for their weak eyesight.
What seemed like a flaw was actually a compromise made for survival during evolution; this was a path preserved through brutal natural selection, which might not be the best solution but certainly adapted to the current environment.
The situation in the ocean was quite similar.
Light faded quickly in seawater. In the spectrum, red light could only penetrate a few meters; below thirty meters, orange light also disappeared; green light could reach about 100 meters.
At depths below 200 meters, the ocean became nearly pitch black.
So, the water was generally dark.
Plus, large amounts of plankton, schools of fish, and random floating debris often drifted in the sea, making visibility even lower.
In such conditions, focusing only on vision was foolish.
Top ocean predators like whales mainly used echolocation for hunting. Dolphins and sperm whales had developed sonar into "sonic cannons"; while sharks, those stubborn creatures over millions of years, had super-sensitive smell and the high-tech “Lorentz Jar” that detected bioelectric fields.
For them, vision was just a helper.
Some freshwater dolphins living in muddy waters had even lost their eyes; and sharks weren’t much better—didn’t the Greenland shark have worms growing in its eyes?
Yet, they still thrived!
“In short, living in the ocean couldn’t rely mainly on sight!”
“My eyesight was already good enough.”
“Eyes are one of the body’s main energy-consuming organs. In the ocean, improving them gave little benefit and might even hurt competitiveness!”
“Why should I bring myself loss and trouble?”
【…】
The System had nothing to say.
This time, she was truly left speechless by his reasoning.
【That made so much sense!】
【You… just do what you think from now on!】
【Anyway, poor vision didn’t affect your tasks for now…】
The System Lady’s words held a lot of information, but Trilobite ignored them.
He looked at the total of 8134 points of Chaos Energy contributed slowly and steadily by the Blond Scorpion and “some unknown source,” lost in thought.
The “back-row councilor” of the Chaos Council was indeed a real “big shot,” and the Chaos Energy he gave was quite a lot.
“How about buying this?”
A new round of big spending started!
【You purchased layered Olfactory Membranes and olfactory direction-tracking nerve set, spending 1000 points of Chaos Energy.】
【You streamlined your form and got hydrodynamic scale set, spending 1000 points of Chaos Energy.】
【You purchased advanced caudal fin and dorsal fin set, spending 500 points of Chaos Energy.】
【You upgraded your cartilaginous vertebrae with DLC, spending 1000 points of Chaos Energy.】
【You purchased the Lorentz Jar, spending 1000 points of Chaos Energy.】
【You purchased “grow larger 10%” DLC, spending 2000 points of Chaos Energy.】
【Your evolution changed a lot, classified as “Abnormal Development,” needing 24 hours of dormancy.】
【Enter dormancy now?】
“Of course.”
“But first…”
Trilobite shook his head, dropping the Exoskeleton that had already come off him onto the ground.
“This thing felt heavy on my head.”
“Let’s just toss it away.”
