Chapter 60

Chunan nodded and followed Old Jiang, along with the other seven people, carefully climbing and moving stealthily. Everyone was very alert, constantly looking around.

"Assuming the Earth really has a Gaia consciousness, how would this consciousness be released so that other organisms, like us humans, can sense it? It would need a kind of tower to emit this consciousness and information, right? Or perhaps it could be called an antenna. Maybe this so-called Gaia Monument is the antenna, the transmission tower of the Earth's consciousness, making it easier for other organisms on Earth to receive it."

"The so-called Life Stele, I think, should be some special things that the Earth's consciousness wants us to find... I even feel that if the Earth really has consciousness, a life form beyond our understanding, like a mother to us humans, do you feel... our Mother Earth is very eager for us to find the Life Stele?"

Chunan frowned and looked at Old Jiang.

This was the first time he had heard such a viewpoint.

"Your meaning is... the Earth is a super life form? And the Life Stele is something this super life form wants to give to us humans?"

Old Jiang said, "It's hard to say. My guess is that perhaps the Earth has encountered something terrible... something beyond our human understanding and imagination. In short, the Life Stele is very important. It's something the Earth... or rather, this super life form, urgently wants to impart to us humans, perhaps about life, or even possibly related to the terrible thing the Earth, this super life form, has encountered."

Old Jiang frowned, his expression heavy. "A terrible earthquake triggered the evolution of all species, like the Cambrian explosion of life. Do you know that before the Cambrian period, about 600 million years ago, life on Earth was basically in the form of single-celled organisms, and the evolution of life was unimaginably slow. But in the Cambrian period, in a short time, life suddenly evolved from single-celled to multi-celled forms, and a huge number of different species appeared. During that time, complex species and life forms almost instantly emerged on Earth, which we call the Cambrian explosion. According to Darwin's theory of evolution, species evolve through gradual changes, requiring a slow evolutionary process."

"But the Cambrian explosion was sudden, as if tens of thousands of species appeared overnight. This remains a mystery in the scientific community, even used to support the theory of divine creation, because existing scientific and biological theories cannot explain this special phenomenon from hundreds of millions of years ago."

Chunan said, "I've heard of the Cambrian explosion, indeed very strange, and it still cannot be reasonably explained. Now, after the earthquake, Awakened, Immortals, and Mutants have emerged. Perhaps this can explain the Cambrian explosion, where countless species appeared overnight, similar to the current situation."

Old Jiang sighed, "Yes, perhaps hundreds of millions of years ago, a similar major earthquake occurred on Earth, followed by the Cambrian explosion. The core of this great evolution might be the Life Stele. Perhaps this is the treasure that the Earth, this super life form, wants to leave for us humans."

Chunan said, "Old Jiang, you believe that the Earth... if it is indeed a super life form, has encountered some kind of crisis?"

Old Jiang said, "I can't say for sure, but let's get back to the topic. The reason I think we can't leave this city is based on this point. If the Earth has consciousness, it urgently needs us to obtain the Life Stele because in its subjective consciousness, it has set a program: without the Life Stele, one cannot escape the city. In this situation, all living species, including humans, will do their utmost to find and obtain the Life Stele, right?"

Nangong Xiong interjected, "That makes some sense. If we really need the Life Stele to leave, everyone will be forced to find it."

Tang Sanli, with a headache, said, "I haven't read much, but I honestly can't understand these big theories. I think our most important task now is to travel, find our loved ones, and leave this damned place together."

Shen Mo smiled, "Yes, what Tang said is what we need to focus on now."

Old Jiang smiled and said no more.

Chunan knew that what Old Jiang said was just his guess. In fact, they had no way to confirm the truth, and no one could clearly explain the reality.

The eight people carefully bypassed a collapsed overpass. Although there were corpses everywhere, Chunan did not search these corpses for the pineal gland.

Because these corpses had already decomposed and smelled, having been dead for some time, the pineal glands had broken down and lost their effectiveness.

"Going through the zoo, we can reach Fuchun Garden directly."

Su Yao pointed ahead.

Not far ahead was the entrance to the Jiangtian City Zoo.

This zoo had been built only two years ago, covering a large area with many animal species. Every year, many people bought tickets to visit and see various animals.

Su Yao's home, Fuchun Garden, was not far from the zoo's back gate. If they could directly cross the zoo, they could quickly reach Su Yao's home. If they had to detour, it would be a much longer route.

"The zoo, if the animals have all mutated, that would be troublesome." Nangong Xiong, smoking, looked at the zoo, which was not severely damaged, and frowned.

Because the zoo's buildings were relatively low, the damage caused by the earthquake was much less.

"You're wrong. Think about it, how many animals are there in the entire zoo? Even if they all mutated, there wouldn't be that many. Could they withstand so many Undead and Zombies for several days? Not to mention the skeletons that appeared with the fog. Even if there were any, they would probably be dead by now." Shen Mo analyzed, "So I still agree with going through the zoo, which can save a lot of time and get us to Su Yao's home sooner."

Su Yao, frowning slightly, pressed down on her casual hat and said, "My name is Su Yao, not some beauty. Just call me Su Yao."

"Sure, Miss Su Yao." Shen Mo grinned, making Su Yao feel a bit helpless.

Old Jiang said, "This zoo is quite large, with about a hundred species and nearly two thousand animals. If they all mutated, it would be a significant threat."

The others listened, all with speechless expressions. Shen Mo exaggeratedly waved his hand at Old Jiang, "Old Jiang, I really admire you. You seem to know everything, from ancient to modern, from China to the world. Even the number of animals in this zoo, you know."

Old Jiang smiled, "I have a niece who works at this zoo, and we chatted about it, so I know some details."

Tang Sanli said, "What do we do now? With so many animals in the zoo, it doesn't seem safe to just go in."

Nangong Xiong extinguished his cigarette on a broken bridge pier, "What are you afraid of? We saw so many monsters last night. Are you afraid of a few thousand mutated animals?"

Shen Mo rolled his eyes, "Big talk." Then he looked at Chunan, Old Jiang, and Su Yao, "What do you think? Should we go through the zoo or take a detour?"

"If we take a detour, it will be troublesome. The zoo covers a large area, and we will have to go a long way. Along the way, we might encounter Zombies or Undead. If we don't detour, we might face two thousand mutated animals in the zoo, but... it's also possible that there's nothing left. These animals, even if they didn't die, wouldn't stay in the zoo for days."

Listening to Shen Mo, Chunan was still pondering. Old Jiang said, "I still agree with going through the zoo. Although there are nearly two thousand animals of about a hundred species, it's hard to say how many are left. We can check it out."

Chunan nodded, "Let's go and see. If the situation is wrong, we can still take a detour."

With Chunan and Old Jiang agreeing, the others had no objections. They decided and carefully crossed a major road, quickly reaching the zoo's entrance on the other side.

The entrance sign had collapsed, and the sign for the Jiangtian City Zoo had broken off. The eight people approached cautiously and saw a security guard's corpse in a nearby security room.

"It's very quiet..." Shen Mo sniffed the air, "The smell of corpses isn't severe. Everyone, be careful."

Passing through the zoo's entrance, they faced a five-meter-wide brick path, with two-story buildings on both sides, which used to sell various foods and animal-related souvenirs. Because the buildings were not very tall, the damage was not particularly severe.

In the center, there was a panda statue, but it had cracked.

The Jiangtian Zoo, through artificial landscaping, created a hilly terrain, surrounded by forests and green grass, giving the impression of being in a wild forest.

Nangong Xiong found a lot of food in a partially collapsed small shop, tore open the packaging, and started eating and drinking.

Chunan, Tang Sanli, Su Yao, and the others also helped themselves, replenishing water and food.

"Did all these animals run away after the earthquake? This area feels very quiet. If there were any mutated animals left, it wouldn't be like this." Shen Mo was puzzled.