Chapter 610

Chapter 610: The Flying Little Menace

"I was quite familiar with this small mammal."

"Although it was rather obscure in popular media, it was well-known among scientists."

"However…"

"There wasn’t a single ordinary creature in the Yanshan Biota."

The Yanshan Biota was a very unique biological community; it existed from the middle to late Jurassic, during which many Mesozoic fossils were unearthed.

This included fossils of large dinosaurs like Brachiosaurus.

However, what made this biota famous and important was not the large dinosaurs but the small fossils.

For example, the remarkable climbing dinosaur, which had both feathers and wing membranes, showed that dinosaurs tried more than one way to fly; they also experimented with a path like bats.

For pterosaurs, a transitional species between Beak Dragons and Pterosauria, the Wukong Pterosaur was found.

Though many fossils were small, their status in academia was very high.

Of course, besides lizard-like creatures, Mesozoic archosaurs, especially mammalia, stood out in the Yanshan Biota.

The small mammal soaring in the trees before Trilobite was one of them.

"Um…"

"Ahok’s Tree Thief."

The Thief family appeared early, during the late Triassic, and lasted until the late Jurassic; their time was fairly long.

The name "Thief" made it clear they weren’t a "grand" type.

While many dinosaurs called "Thief Dragons" were big, the Thief family lived up to its name; they were generally only rat-sized.

Some were even smaller than rats.

Since they were rat-sized, it was natural they looked like rats.

But those "Ahok’s Tree Thieves" hopping around before Trilobite, jumping between branches, were much cuter than ordinary large rats.

With round ears, subtle snouts, furry bodies, and big tails…

They were absolutely charming!

Plus, their large, round eyes covered much of their faces, giving them a cartoonish look.

By appearance, they weren’t very different from modern squirrels.

If these little fellows traveled through time to today and mixed with squirrels, they probably wouldn’t seem out of place; casual observers might not notice them.

Keeping them as pets would be a great choice.

Yet, compared to their earlier Thief relatives, these creatures had a special skill—they could fly!

Or rather, they could glide between branches.

A broad membrane stretched between the forelimbs and hind legs of Ahok’s Tree Thief.

When they needed to jump from one tree to another farther away, they didn’t need to come down; they just leaped and spread their membrane to get there fast.

Their fluffy, bushy tails gave some air resistance when they jumped and glided, acting as a rudder to help steer.

If their appearance in the trees resembled squirrels, then their form while gliding…

Unless you were a professional, it was hard to tell them apart from flying squirrels like sugar gliders.

Paleontologists speculated that these small mammals likely soared through forests like Mesozoic-era squirrels, hunting insects and small lizards.

"Hmm, not bad."

"This rapid way of moving—gliding from tree to tree—clearly wasn’t unique to any particular animal or era."

"This route was pioneered by Ahok’s Tree Thief a hundred million years ago."

"Worked rather well."

Watching them busily forage to fill their bellies and repay debts in the forest, Trilobite felt deeply satisfied.

"But I prepared two special gifts for these little ones!"

"Enjoy them!"

—-

"Zoom——!"

"Whoosh——!"

Several blurred figures darted swiftly through the grove of Fantasy Trees of Subspace.

Though their Divine Bodies weren’t large, they moved with extreme agility, weaving through the trees at relentless speed.

These small creatures also boasted lightning-fast reflexes!

"Buzz——!"

"Boom——!"

Fantasy Tree branches occasionally swayed with turbulent waves; thus, while traversing the Fantasy Tree of Subspace, Outer Predators often had to slow down to avoid being swept off by the branches.

That was a "strike from the realms"!

While insignificant to deities with massive Divine Bodies, for a small Outer Predator, one hit could spell disaster.

Hence, Outer Predators’ movements on the Fantasy Tree inevitably turned stiff.

This also contributed to their inefficient intel gathering.

But these newcomers—Outer Predators calling themselves the "Fang Tribe"—were entirely different!

Their movements flowed like water as they raced along Fantasy Tree branches. No matter how violently turbulent waves shook the trees or how realm-charged branches trembled, the Fang Tribe never faltered.

"Ah——!"

"This sensation!"

"Whoosh——Hiss——!"

High-speed movement wasn’t achievable by just any Divine Body!

Back when they were Rodent Gods digging through Primal Mud, the Fang Tribe had felt their Divine Body’s limits—organs and magic circuits would tangle chaotically during intense motion.

Though Void Energy flooded in as "Divine Lungs" expanded and contracted, it also hindered movement efficiency.

Many of their kin had been crushed by Vast Dragon God · Horned Species largely for this reason.

Now…

"We felt a thin membrane covered with divine muscles separating the Divine Lungs from the lower organs of the Divine Body!"

"As the muscles on this membrane stretched and pulled, we could powerfully draw in Void Energy!"

"Amazing!"

"That Giant God truly lives up to being the great creator deity!"

"And…"

"When moving across the Fantasy Tree of Subspace, we’re far steadier than before!"

"We never even dared to climb here in the past!"

"But now…"

"We walk as if on flat ground!"

"We can’t even understand… why this is happening!"

—-

"Well…"

"The diaphragm and middle ear."

"These are my two gifts to you!"

The diaphragm needs no explanation. Its attached muscles let it flex powerfully, driving lung movement and breathing—dramatically boosting mammals’ breathing efficiency.

This slightly narrows the gap compared to the air sac breathing system of bird-neck true dragons.

As for the middle ear—that’s an even finer instrument.

Built from three tiny bones—stirrup, anvil, and hammer—unlike lizard-like creatures with just one ear pillar bone equivalent to the stirrup.

This evolved to help mammals adapt to arboreal life.

Thanks to it, modern tree-dwelling mammals keep perfect balance, darting across branches!

Yet the Ahok’s Tree Thief has an extra supraangular bone in its middle ear. Though fully detached from the jaw like typical mammals, its structure differs entirely from known species.

So paleontologists suspect mammalian middle ears didn’t evolve just once—they likely emerged independently multiple times.

"Naturally, this justifies giving you prominent ears."

"Big beast ears!"

"To make you even more adorable!"

Not like Trilobite’s cute beast ears…

Many Permian and Triassic archosaurs looked half-lizard, half-beast. Why were they so unappealing? Simply for lacking proper ears!

True beasts must have ears!

"Excellent!"

"With these two gifts, I’ve done all I can."

"What comes next…"

Trilobite looked at the remaining "bunch of shrews."

"The arboreal ones already got a full set."

"As for you all…"

"Hm!?"

His serious academic thoughts broke off.

"Aw…"

"Hmm…"

Across the wilderness, a distant yet furious roar echoed.

This time, it wasn’t just one creature roaring.

Beasts all over the wilderness were calling to each other.

"Ah?"

"A thousand beasts roaring together!?"

"What’s happening?"

Just then…

"Whoosh—!"

"Swish!"

Those small animals that had just received Trilobite’s evolution consultation, upgraded from "Shrew Dragon" to "Ahok’s Tree Thief," leapt over Trilobite’s head. Their membranes cut elegant curves through the air as they glided into the distance.

After heavy rain, the "Primal Wilderness" was no longer barren.

"Scalebark trees" spreading from the swamp grew rapidly. Though the "Plateosaurus" had slowed their spread, they remained few. Where the "scalebark trees" hadn’t reached, the bracken ferns Trilobite planted were spreading.

These two "ancient plants" formed a new, still young woodland growing unevenly.

Though young, it gave the "Ahok’s Tree Thieves" enough to climb and glide on.

"Thud—!"

"Swish—!"

The "Ahok’s Tree Thieves" soon vanished into the woods.

"Uh…"

"Shouldn’t you hunt in the swamp?"

"More bugs there."

"But… maybe not."

Trilobite recalled poor starlings perched on African buffalo and large antelope backs. Bushes had many insects, but large animals carried even more.

"Ahok’s Tree Thieves could fill their bellies there too."

"Good! Good!"

"Shall we continue?"

Trilobite turned to the next batch awaiting "consultation."

"Well, some took to the air."

"So others must go underground."

"That simple!"