[Suspected Outbreak of a "Tide" in Baiyue Province's Forests?! Visitors from Alpha Centauri Suggest—You Guys Might Be a Bit Too Urbanized.
— Goblin Observer]
[It has been reported that the envoy from Gaia currently visiting Port French Fries demonstrated psionic traits and successfully established a telepathic link with the mutant slime mold broodmother in Baiyue Province, accelerating plant growth across the region!
The full effects, range, and potential applications to other fields remain unclear at present. We urge the Alliance to disclose more valuable information to satisfy the curiosity of wastelanders and address the concerns of His Majesty Salen.
Rumor has it that ever since learning the Alliance possesses even more formidable psychic interference technology, His respected Majesty has moved out of his original bedroom and into a house made entirely of iron.
— Survivor Daily, New West Sail Port Edition]
...
Dawn City, the Manager's office in the Alliance building.
Seated at his desk, Chu Guang listened intently to Heya's report on the latest research findings regarding the Baiyue Province broodmother.
"The analysis is in. The phenomenon resembling a 'Tide' in Baiyue Province was caused by a specific pheromone released by the original strain of Na fruit, which catalyzed accelerated plant growth throughout the forest."
Here Heya paused briefly before continuing:
"Our findings show that this pheromone does more than just spur vegetation growth. It also extends the estrus period of animals, accelerating the reproductive rate of local wildlife... This evidence is more than enough to prove that Baiyue Province's ecological environment is entirely governed by the broodmother consciousness active in the region."
Good grief.
Extending animal mating seasons, huh...
Chu Guang's expression turned slightly odd. He suddenly wondered if this would accelerate human population growth around the Baiyue Strait.
Still, that wasn't something that could be judged in the short term.
Besides, humans weren't animals. The desire to reproduce wasn't entirely governed by primal urges; there were houses, cars, and a whole mess of other complications to consider.
Clearing his throat softly, he said, "So... the 'Tide' occurring in Baiyue Province isn't actually an expansion of the broodmother itself, but of the forest under its influence?"
"You could put it that way, though the broodmother expanded as well. After all, the original Na fruit strain shares a symbiotic relationship with the local flora and fauna," Heya nodded, continuing in her concise manner. "A reasonable hypothesis is that the ecological maintenance system on Alpha Centauri is based on a similar principle... Multiple life forms collectively comprise a hive mind, regulating the ecosystem according to the collective consciousness's own will."
That sounded a bit convoluted.
To put it simply, Gaia was not merely slime mold; the slime mold people observed was only Its projection in three-dimensional space.
Chu Guang tried to digest it, pressing his index finger between his eyebrows. "The one on Alpha Centauri is the fully functional version, and the one in Baiyue Province is a stripped-down version... is that what you mean?"
"Purely from the standpoint of form of existence, precisely!"
Heya looked at him with glowing eyes, her tone earnest. "The 'Tree of Ein Sof' on Alpha Centauri possesses no physical entity visible in three-dimensional space. Even if obliterated by neutron torpedoes countless times, it can still completely reset a destroyed ecosystem. The broodmother in Baiyue Province, on the other hand, has a physical form—specifically, that original strain of Na fruit growing near plant roots. Eradicating that original strain is all it takes to purge it from the soil of Baiyue Province!"
"However! From a practical perspective, its functionality hasn't really been stripped down that much. In fact, it might suit our needs even better than the ecosystem maintenance device on Alpha Centauri! Having a physical manifestation means we can control it more easily, making it much easier to communicate with—and even strike deals with!"
"Now that does sound interesting..." A contemplative look crossed Chu Guang's face as his index finger tapped a rhythmic cadence on the desk.
After a moment, he looked up at Heya and said in a half-joking tone, "I'm almost thinking it might even help us terraform a few more habitable planets."
Heya beamed.
"My thoughts exactly."
While Yu possessed similar capabilities, the ecosystem formed by Yu's slime mold was far too homogeneous in every sense.
No matter how many variations its fruiting bodies assumed, in essence they remained nothing more than slime mold; they could never evolve into forests or grasslands.
The Baiyue Province broodmother was different.
It could bridge the genetic barriers between species, creating a biosphere composed of multiple distinct organisms.
And as a member of this entire biosphere, it played only a very small part!
Furthermore, once terraforming was complete, it could be removed from the newly stabilized ecosystem, or confined to a designated provincial territory!
From a technical standpoint, this was entirely feasible!
Chu Guang even suspected they might not even need a technical solution; simply talking things over with the creature might do the trick.
For example, for every habitable planet terraformed through its efforts, they could set aside a nature reserve akin to Baiyue Province for it to live in.
Watching Chu Guang lost in thought, Heya couldn't help a faint smile.
She knew without asking that he was already scheming how to exploit this broodmother to maximize the Alliance's interests.
Still, that wasn't her job.
Having finished her briefing, she put away her tablet and said in a gentle tone:
"...That covers the latest findings from the Institute of Biological Research. If there are any new developments, I will report back promptly!"
Chu Guang snapped out of his contemplation, looked up at her, and nodded with a smile.
"Alright. I'll await your good news."
Honestly, with so many brilliant minds in the Alliance, his presence as the Manager really didn't stand out much anymore; after all, there was someone to handle everything.
At times, he even envied those players.
Especially that kid Ye Shi.
You couldn't find more than a handful of people on the entire server whose experiences were more legendary than his, so much so that Chu Guang felt like creating an alt account on the forums just to @ the trash dev and demand a nerf.
Watching Heya leave, Chu Guang picked up the tablet on his desk, intending to glance over the Scientific Expedition's research report on the "perforator." Just then, another knock sounded from beyond the newly closed door, and an office secretary walked in carrying a bill.
The secretary was named Shuangxue, having transferred from the players' Merchant Guild to a clerical position in the Alliance building.
Come to think of it, she had been among the Alliance's very first residents, originally from that "Frost Spear Tribe."
Of course, after living in the Alliance for so long, the settled refugees had long since abandoned that hopelessly rustic name.
Chu Guang recalled that after several rounds of relocations and absorbing new clan members, the refugees of the Frost Spear Tribe had renamed their village Frost Spear Town.
Among the several township-level administrative divisions under Dawn City, this town with its martial-sounding name had ridden the wave of progress, becoming one of the earliest to prosper.
"...Sir, the Ministry of Finance sent over a bill regarding state compensation requested by the Port French Fries City Hall." Noticing Chu Guang looking at her with a gentle smile the entire time, Shuangxue felt her cheeks burning hotter and hotter, as if steam were about to puff out.
Chu Guang hadn't paid close attention to her inner flurry; he was merely feeling nostalgic about the past. Smiling, he nodded.
"Leave it on my desk."
"Yes, sir," Shuangxue replied somewhat stiffly. She bowed her head, neatly placed the document on a corner of the desk, and then hurried out of the office with a blushing face before her composure could crack completely.
Chu Guang reached out, picked up the bill forwarded by the Ministry of Finance, and scanned it.
According to the evaluation by Port French Fries City Hall's financial staff, the Alliance Biological Research Institute's unanticipated experimental actions had caused nearly 7 million silver coins in direct economic losses.
Consequently, Port French Fries was requesting state compensation from the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry of Finance had audited the amounts and figures, verified everything was in order, and forwarded the application to the Manager's office for signature in accordance with statutory procedures for special budget approvals.
And this was likely the only task Chu Guang needed to handle personally today.
Chu Guang reviewed the bill and application documents from beginning to end. Seeing nothing amiss, he reached into his drawer for his signing fountain pen.
Yet the moment he pulled the drawer open, he froze.
"Xiao Qi, have you seen my fountain pen? The one I use for signing."
He had signed plenty of documents with that pen and even planned to keep it as a collectible keepsake after retiring. Why was it gone?
"Eh?! It's not in the drawer?"
Perched on the pen holder, Xiao Qi blinked in surprise. Hopping down, she leaned over the drawer and stared in astonishment at the empty spot where the pen was supposed to be.
"Strange..."
She clearly remembered it being right there...
Though Chu Guang found it somewhat baffling, what went missing wasn't an important document, merely a fountain pen.
"Maybe I slipped it into my pocket after signing something..."
Composing himself, Chu Guang looked at Xiao Qi crouching beside the drawer. "Ask someone from the secretariat to bring another fountain pen over."
"Roger that!" Xiao Qi nodded. After calling the secretariat staff, she looked back at Chu Guang and asked, "Master, shouldn't we mention this to the Guards Corps? Even if it's just a fountain pen, this is your office after all. Xiao Qi thinks we shouldn't take it too lightly."
Though it felt a bit like making a mountain out of a molehill, Chu Guang thought it over and decided there was some sense to it. He nodded.
"Let Lyu Bei know."
...
Port French Fries.
At a resort hotel not far from the beach, the group was resting after a hearty meal.
Little Koala had taken an interest in the marble statues in the hotel garden.
Upon learning that the sculptor was a Wilante artist, it had become especially eager to visit Triumph City and take a look.
Supposedly, there were many similar works of art there.
As for Professor Sun Zewen, he followed behind this robot that purportedly possessed a "machine spirit" just as before, eyes burning with fervor, muttering endlessly under his breath.
The dignified, otherworldly air of an elderly scholar he had displayed upon their first meeting had vanished without a trace.
His scholarly persona had completely collapsed.
Furthermore:
Due to the forest Tide incident in Baiyue Province, the entourage accompanying the envoy from Alpha Centauri on their tour of the "Progenitor" planet suddenly swelled significantly, turning into a tour group of over fifty people.
Besides social science researchers, it now included a large contingent of scientists from the Alliance Biological Research Institute.
Ms. Chen, for example.
Influenced by her, Lao Bai—who had been at the military base near the space elevator preparing for the counteroffensive against the Lagrange Point space station—was dragged along as an escort bodyguard to protect the safety of the biological institute's researchers and prevent Enlightenment Society spies from staging a stunt.
After all, the Baiyue Strait was not within the Alliance's core territory; security remained a valid concern.
Still, Lao Bai felt having him around or not made little difference.
After all, the Burning Corps' "strongest Perception player" was accompanying the party. He could hardly imagine what kind of spy could possibly pull off an ambush against this crowd.
Not to mention that this Perception specialist had recently unlocked the server's one and only "Psionics" talent.
An Enlightenment Society assassin would probably get nabbed before even showing their face—no different than feeding kills.
As Lao Bai dozed, Dora, who was gazing up at the stars in the night sky, suddenly recalled the events of the day. Turning her wide, curious eyes toward Ye Shi, she asked, "Speaking of which, that 'fertilizer'... what exactly is it?"
Throughout the day, she had encountered so many things she had never seen before that she had momentarily forgotten the thing that intrigued and astonished her most.
The question was a bit out of his depth. Ye Shi scratched the back of his head for quite a while before trying to explain in terms she could grasp.
"Simply put... it's a kind of stimulant for plants. As for the specifics, I can't really explain."
Dora nodded, half-understanding, then asked excitedly, "Then our tribe, the Doma... will we have that kind of ability in the future too?"
Ye Shi thought about it for a moment. "Honestly, that's pretty unlikely."
Her expressive eyes quickly clouded with disappointment. Downcast, Dora murmured softly, "Why?"
Ye Shi wore a helpless look. "If I'm being honest... it's because you're too well-fed. You probably never had the need to invent something like that."
Just acting spoiled with the Sacred Tree yielded a large basket of fruit; having a polite chat with pterosaurs in the sky told them the migration paths of herds and the movement of prey.
Such abilities already bordered on magic; in fact, in some sense, they were magic.
Moreover, with the inexhaustible biological resources of Gaia, they had enjoyed a life free from want countless centuries ahead of time.
He could picture the migrating Qiu people enduring starvation along their trek, but he couldn't imagine these forest folk going hungry.
Farming?
Fertilizer?
What were those?
Didn't food just fall from the sky?
From the perspective of a forest dweller, Dora couldn't fully comprehend what he meant, but she instinctively felt that what the "Progenitor" said had to be right, leaving her somewhat disheartened.
At that moment, however, another Progenitor beside them placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Not necessarily."
Dora looked up to see Sister Han Mingyue smiling at her, continuing in a pleasant voice:
"Hunger, war, poverty, disease... these factors truly have acted as catalysts throughout the development of civilization. Their existence forces a civilization to step outside its comfort zone and actively change the status quo. Still, I have to say, it isn't only negative elements that serve as catalysts. Positive elements can do so just as well."
Ye Shi raised an eyebrow with interest.
"Such as?"
Han Mingyue smiled.
"Such as being too well-fed."
"Pfft, 'too well-fed,' huh..." Ye Shi was about to offer a counterexample, but on second thought, realized she had a point.
Weren't the players the prime example?
Precisely because they had full bellies and nothing to worry about, they fooled around with all sorts of bizarre antics all day long, which ironically spurred the Alliance's economic growth.
In fact, it wasn't just the players. As wastelanders gradually broke free from precarious, life-and-death struggles and enjoyed "well-fed" lives across the Alliance's settlements, they too began making unexpected contributions across various trades and fields.
The most prominent example happened to be right here in Port French Fries beneath their feet:
Abu Aerospace, founded by the former president of the State of Brahma.
Since its founding, it had recruited numerous skilled workers fleeing Brahma Province as well as engineers from the South Sea Alliance.
By recovering and integrating aerospace industry technologies from the Era of Prosperity, the enterprise had begun showing promise in plasma engines, aerospace semiconductors, and control devices, playing an increasingly prominent role in the Alliance's space industry supply chain.
It was hard to believe this was a startup.
And the man who founded it had once been nothing more than a dockworker hauling crates.
"Put that way, it actually makes sense."
Seeing he couldn't out-argue the expert, Ye Shi pulled an instant 180-degree turn, cleared his throat, and turned to Dora.
"You see? I'm not entirely right either; I have my own blind spots... Of course, same goes for her. What she says isn't necessarily gospel either, so take it with a grain of salt."
The latter remark was purely to save face.
Though he was no longer the type to argue over every little thing to win, old habits died hard.
By contrast, Dr. Han was indeed far more mature.
Seeing Ye Shi desperately scrambling to save face, she smiled and gracefully accepted the out, then looked at the bewildered Dora.
"That's very true. What I said isn't absolute truth either, just theoretical concepts—strictly for reference."
Dora looked blankly between the two Progenitors, thoroughly confused. "Then what is... correct?"
Ye Shi shook his head.
"There is no such thing. Whether it's what I said or what she said, they're merely perspectives. Just as you use religion to explain the existence of the Tree of Ein Sof, while we use dimensional theory to explain its phenomena... We don't say your way is entirely wrong, only that it lacks objectivity. Yet for you yourselves, an explanation lacking objectivity isn't necessarily worse than ours."
Knowledge that cannot be passed down holds no meaning. The very existence of the Doma proved this point.
Sixteen crew members had taught dimensional theories—which they themselves barely understood—to the forest tribes, and the end result was that more than a century later, those forest dwellers still lived in the trees.
In contrast, Dr. Qiu Shiye had not taught his "spiritual descendants" overly arcane knowledge; he had merely taught them simple, practical skills like drilling wood for fire, metallurgy and forging, lime burning, and slash-and-burn farming.
Aided by these practical skills, the Qiu people instead channeled their own ingenuity, moving into stone houses first and even drawing inferences to invent "lizard stirrups" that their Progenitor had never taught them, training a primitive tribal version of shock cavalry.
Had conservative dogma not confined their living space to the Forbidden Forest, the spiritualists of the woods might well have been wiped out long ago by these materialists who were the first to take up arms.
Watching the half-comprehending Dora, Han Mingyue nodded with a smile, picking up where Ye Shi had left off:
"Indeed. There's no need to rush. From the vantage point of civilization, you have plenty of time to gradually understand everything you currently don't. What is meant to be understood will be understood in due course."
"As for someone living in the present, you need only live your current life well and plan for the foreseeable future to the best of your abilities."
"As for things further down the road, those are not for you to worry about just yet."
Chapter 1027