Chapter 53

Two more chapters~ The next one will be out in ten minutes.

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Leviathan's journey has never stopped. Under the constant alternation of day and night, Lin witnessed various environments and creatures, and its knowledge grew with each new thing it encountered. Several bases had also matured and could operate normally.

But how far had Leviathan traveled?

Lin didn't know. It had no precise words to describe 'distance' or 'length,' and it hadn't deliberately kept track. It just kept swimming to places it hadn't been before.

Lin had been continuously researching the control of pigments. Although the cells could produce green, they couldn't absorb light for nourishment. Green cells must have some other secret, not just the color green.

Lin observed these green cells for a long time, even consuming billions of them, before slowly understanding their internal structure. Green was actually a byproduct, a light that wasn't absorbed and was reflected.

Green cells could combine various substances. These substances absorbed other colors of light, like red and blue, and then mixed the absorbed light with other non-food substances to create small, edible crystals.

This process also produced oxygen as a byproduct, but they didn't absorb the oxygen, so they released it. However, in environments without light, green cells absorbed oxygen, just like other organisms.

They didn't absorb green light, so they reflected it, which is why they appeared green.

Although it seemed simple, the process was very complex. Lin had no idea how to mix the various substances, which was much harder than creating a shell.

Currently, Lin only made the cells capable of reflecting green light. This had nothing to do with feeding on light, and Lin hadn't even completed the basics.

How did those green cells manage it? When Lin preyed on them, they didn't even try to escape. Some species produced toxins, but they were weak, and Lin easily evolved resistance.

How could organisms of such low intelligence accomplish such complex tasks?

Lin didn't know. The higher its intelligence, the less it understood about 'intelligence.'

Since that was the case, Lin decided to leave it to the cells. Lin could make a cell eat a green cell and give it the thought of 'combining substances to absorb light.'

After the first step was completed, Lin would give the next step: 'Combine the absorbed light with other non-food substances to form food.'

From Lin's observations, the green cells seemed to use small non-oxygen bubbles and water.

When gas, water, and light combined, the edible, crystal-like substance was created. But Lin didn't know the exact process, so it left it to the cells to handle.

Cellular automatic actions could sometimes be very effective, but regardless, it would take a long time. Lin would continue its journey.

Now, Leviathan was approaching the surface. The water's surface was agitated, sometimes rolling and sometimes swirling. Lin knew this was caused by air currents, which made the surface restless and caused countless small water columns to fall from the air, creating ripples on the water.

Since it was daytime, Lin could see very clearly.

Above the water, the sky, which should have been extremely bright during the day, was now obscured by a layer of gray, and the intensity of ultraviolet light had weakened. Therefore, Leviathan could approach the surface to observe.

Lin saw the same phenomenon again: extremely bright flashes of light in the sky. Although brief, they were bright enough to illuminate the entire area and make the air and water tremble.

This must be 'lightning,' and 'sky' is a new word.

Interesting words, Lin couldn't understand them yet, but it found the phenomenon intriguing, though it wasn't the only reason for its interest.

Not far ahead, a large group of flatworms was swimming close to the surface. With the weakened ultraviolet light, they could approach this area.

Actually, they shouldn't be called 'worms.' Lin discovered a new word specifically for these vertebrates.

'Fish.'

Yes, flat fish. Although Lin didn't think there was much difference between 'flatworms' and 'flat fish,' it liked using the new word.

So far, Lin had seen two types of flat fish: one with a serrated round mouth that attacked it, and the other, which was harmless and fed on single-celled organisms.

The flat fish gathered near the agitated surface, and Lin kept Leviathan at a distance to avoid scaring them away.

Lin enjoyed observing other creatures' activities, as it could sometimes learn interesting or useful things. Even the tiniest creatures were not ignored.

The flat fish swam for a while, then paired up and released large amounts of white liquid from small openings below their tails.

Were those cells?

Lin sent out a small eyeball to get closer and saw that the liquid indeed contained small cells. One type was oval with a few tentacles, and the other was spherical. The tentacled cells tried to penetrate the spherical cells, which then hardened to prevent other tentacled cells from entering.

Leaf-shaped creatures had also exhibited this behavior, but Lin still didn't understand what it was for.

The behavior of the flat fish was even more peculiar. After releasing these cells, they slowly became motionless, floating in the water as if they were dead.

Leviathan swam closer to the group of flat fish, extended a tentacle to grab one, tore it open, and had the eyeball enter its body to examine it.

... Really dead?

No, they weren't actually dead. Most of their cells, including those in the brain, had reduced activity, entering a 'sleeping' state. Their nutrient reserves were almost depleted, making them seem almost dead.

They hadn't been attacked by viruses or suffered cell damage, so the only reason was... they were committing suicide.

It was madness.

But there was nothing wrong with their brains, which was what puzzled Lin the most.

Many creatures exhibited behaviors Lin couldn't understand, but this was the first time it had seen such madness.

So Lin sent out collectors to gather some of the cells the flat fish had released and brought them back to Leviathan.

Lin then created a hardened, transparent sphere to contain them, planning to observe their changes over a long period. What special ability did these cells have that made the flat fish risk their lives to produce them?

Although Lin found it extremely unreasonable, it knew they must have their reasons. 'Intelligence' is a very complex thing...

As for the 'sleeping' flat fish, none were wasted and became Lin's reserves.

Leviathan's size had increased by 50% on this journey, but the actual amount of food obtained could have tripled its growth. However, Lin didn't continue to grow larger, instead storing more food.

Lin had a method of compressing storage, which involved pressing large amounts of fat cells together and depriving them of oxygen, reducing space usage since they didn't move.

So, the journey should continue.

Lin left the lightning-filled and agitated surface and slowly descended deeper...

In the deep-sea area, a vast sandy beach appeared below Leviathan. This environment was quite common, but this one felt peculiar to Lin.

The beach was dotted with many large, circular openings. There were ten in Lin's current field of view, and many creatures, like trilobites and flat fish, were active around them.

The openings were just slightly larger than Leviathan, allowing it to enter and explore.

Of course, Lin wouldn't let Leviathan go in directly but would create a new type of soldier to explore the dangerous area.

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Thank you, Queen **, for your generous support!

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