Chapter 422

Chapter 422: Evolution

In fact, if it weren’t for the desire to reopen the path that had been frozen due to Lucas’s death, Lin Qingliu wouldn’t even want to use this thing anymore.

Lin Qingliu’s secrets are far more numerous than anyone else’s, and the greatest one cannot be shared with anyone.

He never forgot the fact that he was a traveler, even though he consciously reduced his use of the system after gaining enough power. However, this thing wouldn’t disappear just because he chose not to use it.

He materialized the USB drive with his mind and casually took it off, spinning it aimlessly on the long table.

The golden cross sometimes stood upright, radiating a holy aura, while at other times, it was inverted due to his handling.

Lin Qingliu was well aware of the significance of both the upright and the inverted positions.

The reason for his worry was that when he just bestowed a blessing upon Luke, he seemed to hear a call from deep within his heart.

It wasn’t any language but rather pure information that bypassed his ears and directly appeared in his consciousness.

This was clearly abnormal.

And this issue couldn’t be answered by his system. As long as he had not reached the Sixth Level, many things would still show insufficient permissions.

But if he gained the powers of the Sixth Level, Lin Qingliu felt that something bad might happen.

On January 3rd, in this room unknown to anyone, a soul from another world recalled a phrase he had seen in his past life:

[All gifts bestowed by fate have long been priced in the shadows.]

—

On January 4th, in the morning.

The new labor regulations of Hope City were officially announced. Aside from certain necessary production lines, all other factories and institutions switched to an eight-hour workday. As for those factories that couldn’t shut down once they started operations, they were compensated with higher wages.

If the three days of vacation merely made the ordinary citizens sing the praises of Mr. Speaker, now they were completely overjoyed.

In the past three days, they occasionally heard sounds of doors being broken into nearby, but after stepping out today, they found that some people they had reported to the Ashen Security Company had completely disappeared from the factories.

Although the vacant positions had not yet been filled, everyone was surprised to discover that with those people gone, the efficiency of the factories actually improved!

The crowd pondered carefully and felt that those vanished leaders had said something quite well:

“Who do you think you are? Hope City can continue spinning just fine without anyone.”

—

“Professor Feng.”

Professor Feng Jian, resting at his workstation, heard someone calling him and quickly grabbed his glasses from the table and put them on.

Recently, there had been so many revisions regarding the Dandelion Project that he had been busy, sometimes losing track of day and night.

Even so, he hadn’t given up his teaching position at the university. Just a short while after finishing his last class, studious students came to his office to ask questions.

For such diligent and eager-to-learn students, Feng Jian was always open to everyone.

He rubbed his eyes and looked toward the door, where two or three young students were standing there holding their textbooks.

After calling them over, Feng Jian asked:

“What problem have you encountered this time?”

“Hehe, teacher, do you think humans can have superpowers?”

Feng Jian’s expression immediately darkened:

“If you’re asking such a question, I’m afraid I can’t answer. I’m just a biology professor, not a science fiction writer.”

The leading student showed a sincere expression. Since one should not hit a smiling face, Feng Jian softened his words and gave the student an opportunity to continue speaking.

“Teacher, we’re not asking about unreasonable superpowers, but rather… abilities that are beyond the human range of ability but still somewhat reasonable.”

“Can you give an example?”

“For instance, do you think it’s possible for a person to perceive their surroundings and at least distinguish obstacles and moving objects even after losing their sight?”

The student seemed to have prepared this hypothesis and presented it fluently.

“…”

Feng Jian fell into thought, and after a few seconds, he replied:

“Well, if we had to force it, something similar can be done through ultrasound. You have studied the abilities of bats, haven’t you?”

“Can humans evolve such an ability?”

The student pressed on:

“Over… one or two generations.”

“One or two generations?”

A hint of anger appeared on Feng Jian’s face:

“One or two generations is called evolution? Don’t waste time here. Are you trying to write a novel and ask me for the reasonableness of your settings? I had a student like that two years ago…”

Before the order to dismiss was given, the office fell into silence.

It was as if the time and space of this place had been paused, and Feng Jian’s agitated state was frozen in place, even the saliva sprayed out in his slight anger was suspended in the air.

The expressions of the few students gathered in front of his desk became expressionless, almost like robots.

“The knowledge that this brain possesses has been nearly exhausted. Although we have changed our way of questioning, his answers have begun to show significant repetition. The remaining value is minimal, and there’s no need to waste nutrients anymore.”

“Then let’s send it to the integrated brain for processing.”

“Okay.”

The three people reached a consensus. Their bodies twisted and changed and then disappeared from the office.

As the three vanished, the entire world seemed to begin collapsing. The broken walls and ground revealed not steel and concrete, but endless darkness.

Feng Jian’s consciousness thus fell into eternal slumber.

—

In the real world, in a human brain matrix.

This was a matrix that Lin Qingliu had not discovered, storing over a thousand sealed human brains in sleep pods.

These human brains were originally meant to be used for a long time, but the will of the mycelium seemed to have developed some wariness after the last attack, starting to consciously clean these brains.

If there were no other knowledge to retrieve, then the human brain would be marked with a new label.

Feng Jian’s brain was wrapped in translucent gel-like substances. Guided by several thick mycelium strands, it was transported out through the viewing window of the sleep pod.

The considerate mycelium cleared away the glass shards from the frame, and under their multiple layers of protection, this brain was placed into a mycelium-made tube, sent to unknown depths underground.

Dozens of kilometers away, in a Barren Area covered with mycelium, a swarm of insects was flying in a specific direction under the guidance of pheromones.

These insects were different from the individuals originally carried on the spaceship, nor were they the towering second-level Blue Cocoon extraordinary beasts. Each was the size of a fist, buzzing while flying.

The abdomens of these extraordinary beasts pulsated, emitting red glimmers from within.

A sharp cry rang out, and these new-type extraordinary beasts received a command, simultaneously bursting in place, blossoming into brilliant fireworks.