Chapter 365

Chapter 365: I Pay, You Eliminate Bandits, And Get My Legs Back! 7/6

Trilobite stared at the evolution project and swallowed hard.

"I didn’t just see an extra zero, did I?!"

Although the "Multi-species Decomposing Enzyme Set" sounded like probiotics from a pharmacy, its price wasn’t like common probiotics.

【Price (body + promotion cost): 500,000 Chaos Energy.】

"Poof—!"

Trilobite spat out a mouthful of old blood.

"System, why don’t you just rob me?!"

He asked angrily.

"This is ‘probiotics’?"

"Anyone who doesn’t know might think it’s a youth-rejuvenating potion!"

"I can’t believe this…"

After finishing the Theriodont, he only got 300,000 Chaos Energy. That meant he fought for nothing, ate the beast for nothing, and still had to spend nearly 200,000 more!

"This costs more than any part of my body!"

"What gives…?"

"Wait…"

"This price might not be wrong."

While cursing, he noticed small text—【This upgrade project could change the environment and even cause a version change. Buy and use carefully.】

With that hint, he understood.

"Ah, so hairy worms aren’t a normal upgrade project; they’re a big one that can shift versions!"

"It has huge effects; this matters!"

Trilobite once said, "The tree bandits must be wiped out," because trees mess up the carbon cycle—they make xylem, which is "anti-world" and "anti-life."

It’s just awful!

Specifically, plants with xylem lock carbon from the air into wood fibers, stopping it from joining the carbon cycle until they die.

Ah, but death doesn’t fix it…

Most dead trees don’t get broken down by microbes or fungi in time; they get buried and turn into coal.

Unless coal burns, its carbon can’t get back to the air for the carbon cycle.

This cuts down CO2 levels, weakens greenhouse gases, cools the climate, and wrecks rainforests…

Later, volcanoes, earth movements, and creatures’ breathing add some carbon back, warming the climate; but then plants return!

They grow wildly, trapping carbon in wood and using up air carbon; then they die and become coal…

See? Another cycle of trouble starts all over again.

Greenhouse gases collapsed again, and the climate turned cold once more…

Cycle after cycle of ice and fire began.

Though the coal from trees provided the initial energy for humanity’s industrial revolution millions of years later, if no one ever controlled the trees and let this collapse repeat endlessly, the entire ecosystem would remain "crippled."

Forget the industrial revolution—humans might never have emerged at all.

Even the survival and progress of Earth’s complex life forms would hang in doubt.

"So, these hairy worms that break down wood fibers are like ‘guns against tree bandits’?"

"Turns out, spending five hundred thousand units of Chaos Energy bought me a surprise."

"I pay, you wipe out the bandits, and fix the ecosystem’s leg!"

Honestly, dinosaurs appearing or not wasn’t crucial to Earth’s life history; they were just one possibility among many.

Without dinosaurs, other life would’ve filled the Ecological Niche gap in the late Carnian period.

Life finds a way.

But without these tiny decomposers of lignocellulose, a "Snowball Earth" causing "human extinction" or "total freeze" would’ve recurred endlessly.

The Huronian Glaciation and Snowball Earth nearly erased all life—what if that happened over and over?

Could runaway plants trigger self-destruction, turning Earth into a second Mars!?

…

At this thought, Trilobite hesitated no longer.

"I’m saving the world, bro!"

"Fired up!"

"Splash—!"

The sound of "gold coins" gushing like water echoed through his soul.

The 【Multi-species Fiber Decomposing Enzyme Set】 was handed to those "Protozoa."

And they officially gained their new name—【Hairy Worm-like Protozoa】.

"Good."

"But…"

"Hiss—!"

Seeing half his Chaos Energy vanish, Trilobite gasped sharply!

"Unacceptable."

"Need income. Fast."

"Spending like water at this rate."

"If this continues, upgrading my body will take ages…"

"Gotta hunt now!"

Trilobite slowly pushed aside the "dirt" covering his head, poked out, and scanned the surroundings with his calcite eyes.

Soon, he stood where little trees once grew, now reduced to a small "stump" surrounded by saplings of various sizes. Some saplings had snapped during the earlier battle, littering the ground with microorganisms marked red by the system vision. Others remained intact, with hairy worms moving near the unbroken saplings. They seemed restless, eager to test their newfound power immediately.

"Go for it!"

"You’re meant to save the world!"

After blessing his spawn, Trilobite decided…

"Hmm, I’ll head to the beach again this time."

He’d visited the shore multiple times before, always returning with worthwhile discoveries.

But his steps gradually slowed as he walked.

Something felt off—like he’d forgotten something crucial.

Yet he couldn’t recall what…

"What did I forget?!"

Trilobite muttered while walking, racking his brain.

"Maybe…"

"Something about my spawn?"

"About the microorganisms spawn?"

"About the microorganisms spawn that just evolved?"

Just as a vague thought began forming—

【Ding——!】

The system finally delivered good news.

Overjoyed, Trilobite instantly abandoned his half-formed idea and stood still, reveling in excitement.

By then, the "seawater" beneath his feet had grown faintly "salty."

Unbeknownst to him, Barbatos’s surveillance network ahead had captured his every move!

—-

"Report——!"

"Swoosh——!"

Ribs extended outward, forming wing membranes.

Though incapable of true flight in the void, they could glide using its magical currents!

Their draconic stature and scales revealed their identity—Predatory Deities.

Since Gimmerly seized the authority of the void, Barbatos distrusted the Outer Gods. He’d paid heavily to enlist these Predatory Deities as his new intelligence agents.

Efficiency might’ve dipped, but at least they were reliable.

"Whoosh——!"

Upon entering Barbatos’s domain, he immediately transformed into a human-shaped "servant" and knelt on one knee before Barbatos, who appeared as a middle-aged gentleman.

"Everything is unfolding exactly as you planned."

"The Giant God has headed toward the ‘Endless Ether Realm’!"

"All three powerful core councilors stand ready!"

"Outnumbered three-to-one in the foreign ether realm, the Giant God cannot win."

Barbatos nodded, toying with a chess piece.

"Excellent!"

"The Giant God remains no match for the full might of chaos!"

"Now Xidi, Barbatos, Morax, and Gimmerly all serve my will!"

"Let’s see how you oppose me now!"

At that moment, the "servant" spoke hesitantly.

"Well…"

"Great Barbatos."

"Among those three core councilors, Baimeng has grown restless."

As the demon god guarding the border between the Endless Ether and the Chaos Swamp, Baimeng had long clashed with beings like the Border Dragon to bar their entry.

Shared enemies and interests had forged strong ties between the Ether Dragon and demon god Baimeng.

Yet now Barbatos provoked the Ether Dragon while colluding with the Border Dragon, even permitting their "lawful" entry into the Chaos Swamp’s borders…

This made Baimeng question her past efforts.

Had all those battles she fought been for nothing!?

Her resentment toward Barbatos peaked, leading her to openly defy the First Demon God in council.

An absolute hothead of a loli!

"She even threatened to teach you a lesson if this wait proves futile…"

"Bang!"

Barbatos slammed his chess piece onto the board, scattering the carefully arranged pieces.

"Go tell her this!"

"Stay patient!"

"If she lacks patience, I’ll instill it in her!"