Chapter 364

Chapter 364: The Place Where Dreams Began 6/6

"Well, the Baryonyx!"

"It also had another name—the Megalodon!"

"Nothing special."

Trilobite looked at the dinosaur he "crafted" and nodded in satisfaction.

But calling the Baryonyx "nothing special" was somewhat unfair.

While it seemed unimpressive next to later giant theropod dinosaurs that easily exceeded ten meters—with the Baryonyx measuring just over seven meters long and weighing about one ton—things were different in their era.

During the Jurassic period, this size truly made it a ruler!

Besides, the largest Baryonyx might have reached nine meters in length and weighed over two tons!

Here, dinosaurs finally outgrew their Triassic crocodile relatives and stepped onto the path toward larger sizes.

The Baryonyx’s build—a massive skull, long hind legs, upright posture, much shorter forelimbs, and a stiff, lengthy tail—though "ordinary," became the blueprint for all later mainstream theropod dinosaurs.

"A milestone dinosaur."

"And for us humans, too."

"The Baryonyx was one of the first two dinosaurs ever discovered!"

"It’s where the dream began."

Baryonyx fossils were officially unearthed as early as 1678, though people then mistook them for bones of ancient "dragons" or "giants."

Not until 1824 did British geologist Buckland publish the world’s first scientific dinosaur report, describing a lower jawbone found in a quarry.

He later studied more "giant" bones, concluding they belonged to prehistoric reptiles resembling lizards, and named them "Baryonyx."

Its Latin name means "heavy claw," reflecting its distinctive feature.

Though Ornithomimus fossils were found slightly earlier in 1822, the scientific paper wasn’t published until 1825.

Thus, Baryonyx became the first widely accepted dinosaur—a gateway to understanding these creatures and the Mesozoic Era.

Truly a "star species" and "milestone species."

"Good!"

"Now for the next step…"

Trilobite checked his spawn panel.

"Hmm…"

"That tree’s spawn is gone… what a shame…"

"Ah!?"

"It’s still here!?"

To his surprise, though the casually planted sapling had been gnawed and swallowed by the fast crocodile, the system still showed it.

Its status read [Dormant].

"Some roots must have survived."

"Could be revived!"

"That sounds good, let’s pump some Chaos Energy into it."

"Pour in ten thousand points!"

"Once you sprout and grow properly, I’ll get you some accessories."

"But right now, the urgent matter is…"

Trilobite flipped the spawn page and saw the newly appeared microorganisms spawn.

"Hmm…"

He didn’t waste effort trying to see them with his eyes – obviously impossible.

Who could spot microorganisms with bare eyes anyway?

This had nothing to do with his original eyesight resolution.

Even perfect vision couldn’t see microbes, right?

"Seems whenever I encounter microorganisms, the System gives text descriptions."

"Maybe I can identify them through those descriptions."

—-

"Sizzle…"

"Thud…"

"Crash—!"

Lights dimmed one after another.

The glow in the Iron Men’s eye sockets vanished, their powerful metallic bodies reverting to lifeless steel coffins.

Perhaps this battle marked a magnificent triumph for the Giant God.

The Saraph people witnessed how the Giant God effortlessly crushed Samikina, Fourth Seat of the Chaos Council. They saw Amon immediately fall into the Giant God’s trap – shattered at the outset and rendered useless throughout.

They watched as later-arriving Chaos Demon Gods recoiled before the Giant God’s domineering roar, too intimidated to even face him!

Such absolute supremacy compelled their worship.

Yet the Giant God’s victory didn’t guarantee the Saraph people’s triumph.

Their guiding deity from three millennia past – Saraph, Will of the World – had been devoured and taken by chaos.

Though this caused little spiritual disturbance, it shattered their confidence.

"Without Saraph’s protection and Domination…"

"Do we still matter to the Giant God?"

"Can such insignificant beings even register in his sight?"

…

Even the resilient Saraph souls wavered.

Should the Giant God ignore them and offer no guidance, Saraph would face the cruel Chaos Swamp alone.

But that path proved incredibly arduous.

To demons, they were "stubborn vermin" needing extermination; to ordinary mortals, they represented terrifying steel coffins.

Just as they wavered in uncertainty…

"Buzz—!"

A radiant light ignited within every Saraph person’s soul!

Tremendous energy flooded in!

Divine grace had descended!

—-

"Let me see, just see here…"

Trilobite redirected his focus to his newly acquired spawn.

【Microorganisms Spawn 3: Aggressive Type, Decomposition Microorganisms. Possesses formidable decomposition capability, capable of slowly degrading substances resistant to breakdown by other microorganisms.】

"Hmm…"

"The description is brief, yet sufficiently informative."

"Aggressive type suggests predatory microorganisms?"

"And it slowly decomposes substances other lifeforms struggle to degrade…"

"Snap!"

Inspiration struck Trilobite—he instantly recognized it!

"Understood!"

"Capable of both predation and decomposition."

"This indicates a relatively primitive basal group, versatile in function."

"Perhaps it’s…"

"Protozoa!"

Protozoa represent the most basal and primitive animal group.

Their defining trait is being "single-celled"—one cell constituting one animal.

Unlike bacteria, they possess complete cellular structures and larger size, qualifying them as true "animals."

"Hmm…"

"Decomposing substances resistant to other organisms…"

"In this era, could those substances be… plastic?"

"Surely it’s wood!"

"And what decomposes woody fibers…"

"Could only be…"

"Hairy worms!"

Hairy worms were a type of protozoa. They belonged to the phylum Protozoa, class Flagellata, and subclass Dinoflagellata of the superclass Flagellates. With so many "flagella" in their classification, it was clear that hairiness was a key feature of hairy worms.

These single-celled organisms were oval in shape, with long flagella trailing behind, making them look like they were draped in hair; the name "hairy worms" was quite fitting in that way.

They didn’t often show up alone but lived inside the guts of many cockroach insects.

Don’t just think of cockroaches when you hear "cockroach."

Actually, termites were part of the cockroach order too.

They had a life-and-death bond with these cockroach insects.

Insects like termites gave them a steady gut home as shelter and swallowed wood bits for the hairy worms to eat; in return, hairy worms broke down the woody fibers, helping termites digest and soak up nutrients.

You could say that without hairy worms, termites would have starved to death because they couldn’t digest their food.

By the way, newborn termites didn’t have hairy worms in their guts; the young ones had to go lick the rear ends of the older ones to get the hairy worm sacs stuck there.

"However…"

"Right now, these hairy worms aren’t specialized enough."

"They might not have enough capability to decompose lignin."

"So, they need a big upgrade!"

"Then…"

【Ding—!】

Trilobite opened the "Evolution STEAM" store again, looking through the wide range of evolution accessories.

"Let me see…"

"Yes! This is the one!"

【Multi-species Fiber Decomposing Enzyme Set】

Trilobite remembered that hairy worms could break down woody fibers because they had special enzymes in their bodies that handled cellulose well.

"Great, it’s you…"

"It shouldn’t cost too much…"

"Wait?"

"This price…"

Trilobite gasped in shock.