Chapter 669: A Living Land |
Among all the New Alliance’s organizations, the Scientific Expedition Team ranked among the top in funding allocation.
It wasn’t just because it handled over 30% of all player-issued missions, but because every valuable relic salvaged from pre-war civilization directly, and visibly, strengthened the New Alliance’s technological and industrial power.
…
Back in the library on level B4 of Shelter 404.
Yin Fang was speaking with excitement as he described to Chu Guang the treasure he had unearthed from the pile of junk hauled back from the Southern Seas.
“It was a palm-sized fragment! Our researchers found it wedged between strands of a space elevator’s carbon nanotube structure and they almost missed it entirely.”
“If my guess is right, it’s a structural component from a small or medium-sized spacecraft. Even during the Prosperity Era, it must have been cutting-edge material. Unfortunately, only this tiny piece remains…”
“Since there was no data to reference, I gave it a name myself. How does Ceramsteel sound? Our lab has already analyzed its molecular composition and structural framework. We can now reproduce it in small-scale lab conditions, though industrial manufacturing might still be difficult.”
As he spoke, Yin Fang used his holo-projector to display the sample and its collected data.
The comparison made its qualities immediately clear.
Its weight sat between armor steel and aerospace aluminum, yet it exceeded both in hardness, and, incredibly, possessed heat resistance and oxidation stability neither metal could match. Most surprising of all, its toughness and resistance to mechanical impact surpassed that of typical alloys!
In the 21st century, something like this would have been mistaken for a piece of alien technology.
Ceramics, by nature of their chemical bonds and crystalline structure, lacked independent slip systems, making them brittle and unable to resist deformation like metals could. Yet the so-called Ceramsteel retained ceramic hardness while displaying the flexibility of metals. For 21st-century materials science, it would have been a singularity-level technology, a field with no existing theory, let alone manufacturing method.
Even in the Prosperity Era, when people could manipulate gravity itself, spacecraft that were made of such material were rare. That was why Yin Fang was practically ecstatic.
Chu Guang, of course, didn’t bother trying to understand the underlying principles.
That was the scientists’ job. All he needed to know was its use, performance, and production cost.
After a brief rundown, he asked, “What about the machines on Level B7? Could it produce this stuff?”
Yin Fang cleared his throat. “When I said lab production, I was referring to it. Without it, we could only have analyzed the material’s properties, nothing more.”
Chu Guang chuckled in embarrassment, “I see… Then if we used that equipment for manufacturing, what kind of output could we expect? Could it be applied to our exoframes or tanks?”
Predicting the question, Yin Fang smiled wryly. “For small-scale deployment? No problem. It was designed for spacecraft, yes, but there’s nothing stopping us from using it elsewhere. As long as you can tolerate the cost, it can go on anything, exoframes, tanks, even exoskeletons if you like.”
Chu Guang grinned. “If it works well, cost isn’t an issue.”
The New Alliance was no longer short on electricity or minerals. Whatever the expense, it couldn’t be that bad. Besides, he could always pass the cost onto the players.
For example, make Ceramsteel Armor Upgrade a premium feature!
Take the New Alliance’s locally produced Ethereal, priced at a million silver coins! For an extra 500,000, players could upgrade the chestplate to Ceramsteel, increasing defense and durability by 50%!
Of course, the exact figures would depend on field testing, but the concept was sound.
Watching him already planning how to turn their archaeological discovery into a military-grade expansion, Yin Fang coughed softly. “Ceramsteel is only one of the technologies we recovered from the Southern Sea. We’re still studying ways to make its production process more economical. You don’t need to rush things, this isn’t the only find. Based on my experience, we’ll likely extract at least 10 new D-grade technologies from this batch of junk. And I’m being conservative with the number!”
“And beyond materials science, our study of the coastal ruins in Baiyue Province will help us reconstruct the Prosperity Era’s lifestyle, engineering, and social systems. There’s much to learn from them, but it’ll take time for the value to surface.”
He paused, then looked earnestly at Chu Guang. “I just want to say, establishing an outpost in the Baiyue Strait was a stroke of genius. But we can’t stop there. We should expand our exploration of the Southern Sea. There’s bound to be more treasure waiting. To support excavation, I propose we establish a research outpost at French Fry Harbor, a base for immediate analysis of salvaged relics. That way, we don’t waste cargo space hauling back piles of worthless junk just to sift for gold later.”
“That’s an excellent idea,” Chu Guang nodded approvingly. “My residents actually suggested the same thing, they hope they can set up a branch there to guide exploration and salvage teams. For instance, you could have experts screen target sites, prioritize promising ones, and remove those with no research value. Up to now, local players have been exploring blind, choosing random landmarks based on gut instinct and hauling everything back, useful or not. With trained researchers on-site, efficiency will skyrocket. At least they won’t be mistaking toilet seats for welding rings anymore.”
Yin Fang nodded at once. “Understood. I’ll select a few personnel. I’ll trouble you to transport them when ready.”
Chu Guang smiled. “Don’t worry! We might not have the Academy’s research crafts, but outfitting you with a scientific airship is no problem. You can depart whenever you’re ready, ”
“Take us along too!” The sudden voice interrupted him mid-sentence.
A gust of wind swept in from the corridor as the silver-haired Hyrja burst through the open door.
Yin Fang blinked, startled by her energy, but one look at her eager expression told him she had made an important discovery.
Chu Guang raised an intrigued eyebrow, ready to ask, but Hyrja spoke first, eyes bright and voice trembling with excitement. “We have a major discovery! Comparing the samples your residents brought back from the Baiyue Strait with those collected in the Brocade River Province, we found 173 identical gene loci and 677 similarities! But that’s not the main point. The key is, after comparing several trait-expression genes, we can now confirm, Baiyue Province is the birthplace of Na Fruit!”
Yin Fang’s eyes widened. “The origin of Na Fruit? Are you sure?”
He wasn’t a biologist, but anyone familiar with the devastation of the Brocade River Province knew what that implied.
Wild Na Fruit growth assimilated all organic life into its control, spreading like a living plague. Its behavior closely mirrored the mutant mycelium of Clearspring City, sporulation, indiscriminate infection, ecological corruption.
If Na Fruit had originated in the Baiyue Province, that entire region should have long been a Slime Mold controlled wasteland, hardly a place fit for settlements.
And besides, he hadn’t seen a trace of Na Fruit contamination on any of the recovered relics!
Seeing his disbelief, Hyrja drew a deep breath and nodded firmly. “I’m almost completely certain. And yes, it confuses us too. Why would Na Fruit run rampant in the Brocade River Province, yet remain dormant in the Baiyue Province, which climate is even more suitable? But facts are facts. And there’s more, our genetic analysis revealed that the original Na Fruit strain was a natural hybrid between Gaia Mutant Slime Mold and fungi born in our world!”
“Natural hybridization?” Yin Fang frowned, rubbing his chin.
Hyrja nodded. “Previously, we thought Na Fruit was a Torch Church-engineered hybrid, using genetic material from the Hive in Clearspring City. But now it seems the earliest strain already combined alien and terrestrial DNA, they only modified parts of it later.”
It sounded complex, but Chu Guang quickly summarized it in his own terms:
Originally, Na Fruit was a child of Gaia and their world, a blend of Gene A (from Gaia) and Gene B (from their world).
When the Torch Church discovered it, they saw its potential for their Kingdom of Heaven project, so they inserted an enhanced variant, Gene A1, sourced from the Hive in Clearspring City, creating the aggressive A–A1–B or A1–B strains that plagued the Ocean Edge Province and the Brocade River Province.
But… what about the original Gene A? Where had it come from?
That thought struck him like lightning.
“There’s a Hive in Baiyue Province!” he blurted out, “Or at least, there used to be one!”
Both researchers froze, then turned to him in unison.
“Baiyue Province… Had a Hive?” Yin Fang echoed softly, then frowned as the realization sank in. “Of course…”
Hyrja’s eyes lit up. “Exactly! That’s our first hypothesis! There was a Mutant Slime Mold Hive in Baiyue Province, and it might explain why the local survivors vanished!”
Then she looked at Chu Guang in awe. “Incredible, you figured it out instantly!”
Chu Guang rolled his eyes and leaned back. “Do I look stupid? Just get to the point, where do you think the Hive is?”
“Right here!” Hyrja pulled a small test tube from her pocket and waved it before them, its liquid glimmered deep green.
Yin Fang nearly jumped out of his seat in fright.
Chu Guang didn’t flinch, but stared at the vial, confused. “Here… as in that tube?”
“Yes! This!” she said proudly. “An extract of the original Na Fruit strain! This is the Baiyue Hive!”
Her bright eyes gleamed with manic excitement. “They’re geniuses!”
Trying to make sense of her breathless words, Chu Guang rubbed his temples. “Wait, ‘they’? Who are you talking about?”
“The Mutant Slime Mold itself, of course!” Hyrja exclaimed. “Remember what we saw in Clearspring City and samples from Little Feather? All Mutant Slime Mold share a core pattern, a central Hive commanding a colony of sub-bodies, all linked by one consciousness!”
Yin Fang swallowed hard. “Right… and?”
Hyrja spoke rapidly. “The Baiyue Hive is different! It didn’t choose parasitism, or symbiosis, or assimilation, it became them!”
“… Became them?” Chu Guang’s pupils dilated slightly.
Mutant Slime Mold were masters of adaptation. They could reshape themselves to suit their environment, learning from the organisms around them.
Take the Hive in Clearspring City for example. It had absorbed human combat experience and learned to use exoframes with bio-energy. It even mimicked monsters and Deathclaws, spawning powerful new subtypes.
In essence, Mutant Slime Mold didn’t just imitate humanity, they imitated ecosystems. Human civilization was merely one component of that system.
Normally, since humans dominated with superior tools and strategy, Mutant Slime Mold modeled themselves after civilization. But the Baiyue Province was different. The humans there had vanished, replaced by rampant biodiversity and brutal natural selection.
It was obvious what the Mutant Slime Mold would model next.
“Yes!” Hyrja’s eyes shone. “Not just the Na Fruit, every living thing in the province! The grass, the trees, the beasts of the jungle, all of it is the continuation of that Hive! They all carry genes from Gaia!”
“I’m not yet sure whether the Baiyue Hive shares the unified consciousness seen in other regions, but its offspring are clearly no longer mere sub-bodies. They’re independent, self-aware species. It became them entirely, a living land!”