Chapter 668
Chapter 668 - 648: A Small Gift
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8 min read
The world presents itself in a myriad of colors, and naturally, life takes on a myriad of forms.
Upon first arriving in this new world, the first day was a lesson for all explorers.
Prior exploration information? Earthly common sense? Conventional theories of physical science? Look at this massive yet fragile Tree of the Forest, learning to abandon all past knowledge might be the only constant in an explorer’s journey.
Survival of the fittest may not always be the truth in some situations, but adaptation to the environment is one of the principles for most worlds. The peculiar local environment created giants and massive trees ... And when giant trees win the competition of life and expand unchecked and monopolistic, no natural enemies evolve to hold them back.
"This tree, if brought back to Earth..."
"Don’t even think about it. It won’t survive, and it’s not even a Magic Plant."
"But maybe we could collect some seeds and materials and try grafting."
"Hey, we could actively pollute it and conduct demonization experiments here..."
"This is absurd. We can’t achieve complete Magic, if it completely demonized the intensity would be very high, but the chances of stable variation are very low. If we succeed, it’s 99% likely it will go out of control, and we’d die miserably."
Researchers eventually gave up further research on this great forest wood, as it is confined to the local environment, including but not limited to the fertile soil, genetic makeup of living organisms, ecosystem, and atmospheric composition.
If it cannot undergo Demonization (Pollution), the day it leaves this world’s protection will be the day it dies.
Its excessive size and vitality also make actively demonizing it an unlikely task. If successful, it could produce a Rule-level Magic Plant, which would be far too much for any lifeform to handle as a mere snack.
"What a pity..." Some people felt regret and helplessness, for they had entered the treasure mountain but lacked the ability to take anything back with them.
They might be able to bring back some seeds and branches, but they are basically unable to survive, and it’s likely they would be completely finished the moment they leave this world. Other worlds would instinctively fend off such threatening species.
Even if they managed to cultivate and graft them in the local area, not mentioning whether they have the material conditions or not, it’s basically impossible to bring them back to Earth while keeping them alive.
Of course, it’s not entirely impossible to utilize them, but it would take specialized personnel decades of research, continuous iterations, and grafting.
"Fascinating, truly fascinating..." But not all Gardeners faced this situation with a helpless expression.
Lu Ping’an held the fine branches in his hand, his eyes vacantly staring into space as if in a daze, but actually observing the invisible items in the system panel.
[+10 Growth Module (0-tier) of Great Forest Wood, +117 Essence Fragments of Great Forest Wood]
These were the products of Lu Ping’an’s "investment". This lifeform, which isn’t even considered a demon, would quickly collapse its genes and become fragments of Life Essence even if Lu Ping’an did nothing to the young shoots created by slight pollution.
With the help of his abilities, he combined 10 Life Essence Fragments to form a complete "Life Essence Module".
𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Lu Ping’an tried to merge it with his Magic Plants to create new species.
This is the foundation of his growth – the way of "Grafting"... although his mentor had already scolded him, saying "This isn’t grafting! Don’t tell anyone you learned your grafting techniques from me."
Skipping the standard development process, cultivation, trial and error, Lu Ping’an, with the help of the research team, rapidly produced various results.
What is it useful for? It’s enormous in size.
Just this alone is quite valuable.
If he could use it as a basic template and enlarge all his Magic Plants... just the thought is a terrifying prospect.
While other people were stunned by the local environment, Lu Ping’an, with his "abilities", had already harvested the first batch of spoils of war.
"Only the Ailanthus wood succeeded, huh..."
Ailanthus wood, a type of Magic Plant that grows exceptionally fast and has a strong ability to absorb pollution, but no other advantages. The degraded offspring in Lu Ping’an’s hand was reduced in tier to facilitate mass production.
In most cases, it was used by Gardeners to lay out "Tree Walls" for their positions. After obtaining that card group, it became the raw material for Lu Ping’an’s "Tree-men".
"Maybe we can create a batch of giant Tree-men..."
Lu Ping’an was somewhat excited, but the specifics of how well the genes could be stably inherited would require time and polish. Compared to other Gardeners, he doesn’t have to worry about plants dying when he brings them back to the garden because of the environment.
As long as the Magic Plants can survive in the courtyard, everything else is not a problem, and he can gradually transplant them to Earth later on.
It’s worth mentioning that the original giant forest wood, when planted in the courtyard, did not survive. Since they’re not Magic Plants, they were directly eroded by the Land of Life and turned into black ashes, just like the landscape before him...
"Cough, this stuff is terrible. How many days will it take to clear all of this up?"
"Who knows? Don’t you get air like this when you guys burn crop stalks during winter? Now there’s no wind or number, it may go away quickly."
After Lu Ping’an cured the teachers, the curse flame grew stronger, and finally, the giant foresting tree died, turning its entire body into black ashes... which are now scattered all around.
Lu Ping’an had never seen such a landscape before. The whole world was as black as ash, with not even a single finger visible in front of him. Leaving the door, he took a mouthful of black ash. Such an "environmental weapon" was more unbearable than anything else.
About the party was awe-stricken by this world, having been "barbecued" for nearly two days and now plagued by black ash at their base.
However, while some people were at their wit’s end, others were already tallying their gains.
Lu Ping’an was in a good mood these past days. He had picked up a treasure right from the start... this was the difference in capabilities. The same opportunity placed before different people would inevitably have different outcomes.
With the Land of Life, Lu Ping’an was destined to evolve and become stronger at a high speed as he traversed through various exotic realms... but the others are more restrained, having to squat in their temporary base and consume their food supplies.
The expected beautiful scenery was ruined, and no one wanted to go out until visibility returned to normal. Having nothing better to do, the newcomers began familiarizing themselves with the local intelligence.
Then, quite naturally, they found that their information was entirely outdated, and their plans had to be revised...
"All of the original experimental bases are gone, huh?"
This was undoubtedly bad news, but the ancient stone structures originally in the jungle were probably destroyed along with the big fire.
Originally, the people of the Ancient City had built biological bases, beast taming areas, giant botanical gardens, and experimental fields in this place to develop local resources.
At the same time, a newly built industrial base was also researching local physical rules, conducting some "technology" localization work, and providing logistical support to explorers.
This time, ordinary scientific researchers were specifically brought in to work overtime, but unfortunately, they first had to struggle with heatstroke and dehydration.
Now, in front of the all-consuming flames, all those past bases have been completely destroyed, and how much can be recovered can only be determined after the "sandstorm" has completely dispersed.
"Of course, we need to rebuild... but now we need resources. Waiting for Earth’s support will be too late, I’m afraid we’ll all have to work hard."
The development of this planet has only been four or five years. The Ancient City’s hands-on involvement is only two months, and the construction time for several bases is not long, and the personnel loss is not large. The overall loss may not be huge. It’s just that everything needs to start over again.
"Starting over might be a good thing. This time we can avoid a lot of pitfalls. At least we’ve already discovered that this world is nothing like the friendly one described in the information."
— End of Chapter 668 —