Chapter 40

That was... a Dark Worm?

Lin discovered that chasing the small arthropod was another Dark Worm, slightly smaller than the one Lin had just killed.

The small arthropod quickly ran towards Lin's position, leading the Dark Worm chasing it right to Lin.

The carrier's giant hammer struck instantly, hitting the Dark Worm directly on the head, killing it with one blow.

The small arthropod escaped, but Lin gained more food.

This was really interesting.

Lin looked in the direction the arthropod had fled, suddenly thinking, maybe it could be used to catch more Dark Worms?

...Forget it, it seemed too difficult to actually do.

However... Lin hadn't expected so many surprises in the pitch-black night.

Lin let the Devourers start breaking down the Dark Worms. These creatures were true worms, without hard shells, and the Devourers could easily tear off large chunks of their cellular structure. The two Dark Worms were quickly devoured, replenishing the nutrients Lin had consumed in the water currents, jellyfish, and making the lantern, with even more left over.

After eating, Lin continued forward and eventually found the Guardian in a sand pit, successfully reuniting.

So now, where to go?

Continue hunting Dark Worms? Or...

Lin already had a considerable amount of fat reserves, and the significance of pursuing food didn't seem as great now. Perhaps it was better to explore the darkness and see if there were more interesting discoveries.

The easy victory over the Dark Worms made Lin complacent, and the sense of danger in Lin's thoughts was replaced by curiosity and excitement. Even though the lantern only illuminated the area around the two carriers, Lin still began this dark journey.

Lin chose a direction at random and started moving. The lantern's light flickered in the darkness, and small groups of microorganisms appeared and disappeared at the edge of the light. Some were single-celled, others were multicellular, but they were hard to see clearly.

Lin realized that it had reached an unfamiliar area. There were no leaf-shaped creatures, no familiar scenery, and even the sand beneath its feet had gradually become large enough to be called 'stones.'

Lin had never been to this place before.

Lin had left the beach, where large rocks had replaced the sand. In the cracks of the rocks, many single-celled organisms and a type of small jellyfish gathered.

The small jellyfish were about the same size as the Devourers. Lin could easily have the Guardian extend its appendages into the cracks to grab them.

But Lin just looked and then threw them away. Jellyfish were not a cost-effective food source. Although they looked plump and large, they were only a few layers of thin skin, and there was the risk of being stung by their tentacles. They were not worth eating.

Lin continued forward and found that the rocks were getting larger. In the distance, there was even a row of very tall boulders.

Lin swam over the boulders and suddenly, its lantern illuminated a strange object.

This object was about the size of a carrier, with a surface as transparent and bright as ice crystals, and many diamond-shaped protrusions.

This thing was not ice, as it was not cold to the touch. When Lin tapped it, it found that its hardness was much greater than ice. This was probably something that could be described as a 'crystal.'

Lin was certain it had seen something similar before.

A long time ago...

Yes... the Observer.

The only single-celled organism with vision. Although Lin no longer used it after being able to synthesize eyes, it still remained in Lin's carrier. Inside the Observer was a crystal identical to this one.

The crystal inside the Observer was quite small, but upon closer inspection, the similarities were clear.

This crystal gave the Observer its vision.

But what was so special about this thing? Why did it give the Observer vision?

Lin swung the hammer again, striking the crystal's surface repeatedly. Some small fragments fell off, and Lin had the Devourers catch these fragments and bring them back to the carrier.

Lin had the Devourers crush these fragments into smaller pieces, small enough for individual cells to ingest. Lin planned to have the basic cells eat these fragments and repeat the command: "Gain light, see everything around you," to see if they could gain vision.

...No effect, the basic cells that ate the crystal fragments showed no reaction.

Why?

Although a long time had passed, Lin still remembered the situation clearly.

It followed the exact same steps, but why was there no effect? The only explanation was that this crystal, although similar in appearance, was not the same as the one the Observer had ingested.

Lin was a bit disappointed, but it wasn't a big deal. It quickly ignored the matter and continued forward, bypassing the crystal.

Lin found many such crystals in the surrounding area. Most were embedded in the rocks, varying in size, but they seemed to be no different from the surrounding rocks and were not valued by nearby organisms.

At this point, the surrounding darkness was slowly fading, and the lantern's light was no longer as noticeable, indicating that daylight was about to arrive.

The duration of the night seemed slightly shorter than the day... Lin noted the duration of this night and day, so it would be prepared next time.

As the surroundings became brighter, Lin could clearly feel the water temperature gradually warming. It retracted the lantern into the carrier and released the 'nursery' for the green cells. At the same time, various organisms on the surrounding rocks began to retreat into the cracks, indicating that they were active and hunted only at night.

At this moment, some small organisms took the opposite action, emerging in large numbers from the rock crevices and swimming in the brightening water.

Lin found these organisms to be very small but had a unique appearance. Their shape was like that of leaf-shaped creatures, but they could undulate their flat bodies to swim in the water.

Lin called them 'Flatworms' and released the Devourers to catch a few to eat. The internal structure of these organisms was similar to that of Dark Worms, but above their esophagus, there was a hard, round structure connecting their head and tail, the purpose of which was unknown.

Additionally, they had a crack on each side of their body, filled with many soft tentacles. These tentacles could intercept and absorb passing oxygen bubbles, which seemed very useful. Lin considered whether it should also develop something similar.

When daylight fully arrived, the surrounding crystals seemed to absorb the light and began to shine brightly. The Flatworms that emerged from the rock crevices gathered around these crystals and pressed their flat bodies against them.

What were they doing?

Curious, Lin swam over and touched the surface of the crystal with its tentacles, finding that the crystals had become very warm. The Flatworms pressed against them, perhaps to raise their body temperature?

That was interesting.

Lin, having experienced multiple ice formations, was not afraid of the cold and could still move quickly even in extreme cold. These Flatworms, having been in the darkness for a long time, moved very slowly, but after warming up on the crystals, they became quite agile.

They would attack Lin's nursery, but not to eat it. Instead, they tried to attack the green cells inside, but the Flatworms had no teeth and could not bite through the transparent outer layer of the nursery.

Lin immediately released a large number of Devourers to start hunting the Flatworms that were still warming up on the crystals and had some Devourers guard the nursery from attacks.

The Flatworms were about the same size as the Devourers, but when fully warmed, they swam faster than the Devourers and had eyes. Lin had to catch them before they were fully warmed.

After a while of hunting, Lin had eaten hundreds of Flatworms, but there were still many around, and they were almost all warmed up. It seemed difficult to catch them now.

Lin planned to use the Injectors, but at this moment, the Flatworms suddenly made a strange move. They all swam quickly in one direction, as if fleeing from something, and soon disappeared.

The direction the Flatworms fled was the same as the direction Lin had come from. Just as Lin was puzzled, a strange pain suddenly appeared in its thoughts.

This pain could be felt in the skin of the carrier and the surrounding Devourers. Lin remembered this feeling; it was very similar to the pain of cells being damaged by high temperatures.

The Guardian felt nothing, probably due to its hard shell.

The pain came from above. Lin looked up and, through the water's surface, saw the endless brilliance of the gas domain.

So the surface of the water was so bright during the day... Unlike the starry night sky, it was a pure, intense light that made Lin feel fear.

...The water's surface?

When did the water's surface get so close to the seabed?

Lin only realized at this moment that the water's surface had somehow become very close to the carrier. Therefore, ultraviolet light seemed to have penetrated the water, damaging Lin's skin. It immediately retracted all the Devourers and swam quickly in the direction it had come from.

However, a huge boulder suddenly appeared in front of Lin, blocking its path.

Was this... the boulder Lin had encountered on the way? At that time, Lin hadn't paid much attention, but now these boulders were actually above the water!

Thank you, Queen sm, for your generous support.

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