[Suspected "Tide" outbreak in Baiyue Province forests?! Extraterrestrial visitor from South Gate Two says—perhaps you are overly urbanized.

——Goblin Observation Report]

[It is reported that the special envoy from Gaia planet, currently visiting Potato Harbor, has demonstrated psychic abilities and successfully established a mental connection with the Mutant mucor mother nest in Baiyue Province, accelerating plant growth in the region!

The specific effects and scope of this ability, and whether it can be used in other areas, remain unclear. We urge the Alliance to disclose more valuable information to satisfy the curiosity of the Waste Land Wanderers and address the concerns of His Majesty Sarun.

According to unofficial sources, since learning that the Alliance possesses more powerful mind interference technology, the esteemed His Majesty has moved from his original bedroom into an iron house.

——Survivor's Daily · New West Port Edition

]

...

City of Dawn, Manager's Office in the Alliance Building.

Chu Guang, sitting at the desk, listened intently to Heya's report on the latest research progress of the Baiyue Province Hive.

"The analysis results are out. The suspected 'Tide' phenomenon occurring in Baiyue Province is due to a certain special pheromone released by the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain, catalyzing accelerated growth of vegetation in the forest."

At this point, Heya paused for a moment and continued.

"Our research has found that this pheromone not only accelerates the growth of vegetation but also extends the mating season of animals, thereby accelerating the reproduction rate of local wildlife... These clues are enough to prove that the ecological environment of Baiyue Province is entirely manipulated by the Mother Nest consciousness entity active in the area."

Goodness.

Extending the mating season for animals...

Chu Guang's expression was a bit peculiar, suddenly curious if this would accelerate population growth in the Baiyue Strait Area.

However, such things can't be observed in the short term.

Moreover, humans are different from animals; the desire to reproduce is not entirely driven by the lower body. There are houses, cars, and a bunch of messy stuff to consider.

He lightly coughed and said.

"So... the 'Tide' happening in Baiyue Province, it's not the Mother Nest expanding, but rather the forest influenced by the 'Mother Nest'?"

"You could see it that way, but the Mother Nest has also been expanding. After all, the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain and the region's flora and fauna have a symbiotic relationship," Heya nodded and continued in a concise manner, "A reasonable hypothesis is that the ecological maintenance system of South Gate Two is also based on a similar principle... a collective consciousness formed by multiple life forms, which completes the regulation of the ecosystem according to the autonomous consciousness of the collective."

This sounded a bit convoluted.

Simply put, Gaia is not just the slime fungus that people observe; the slime fungus is merely its projection in the three-dimensional world.

Chu Guang tried to understand, pressing his index finger against his brow, and said.

"So, South Gate Two's system is the fully functional version, while Baiyue Province's is the stripped-down version... Is that what you mean?"

"From the perspective of existence form, indeed it is!"

Heya looked at him with bright eyes and continued earnestly.

"South Gate Two's 'Tree of Yenshof' has no observable manifestation in three-dimensional space. Even if destroyed countless times by neutron torpedoes, it can still completely reset the destroyed ecosystem. Meanwhile, the Mother Nest in Baiyue Province has a tangible entity, which is the Nago Primitive Fungus Strain growing near the plant roots. Destroying that fungus strain can remove it from Baiyue Province soil!"

"However! From a practical standpoint, its functionalities are not really stripped down and might even be better suited to our needs than South Gate Two's ecological system maintenance apparatus. Having an entity means we can control it more easily, facilitating communication and even trade with it!"

"Sounds indeed interesting..." Chu Guang had a contemplative expression on his face, lightly tapping rhythmically on the desk with his index finger.

After a moment, he looked at Heya and said in a half-joking tone.

"I even think it might help us terraform more habitable planets."

Heya's face lit up with a pleasant smile.

"I think so too."

Although Xiaoyu also possesses similar abilities, the ecosystem formed by Xiaoyu's slime fungus is overly simplistic in every sense.

No matter how diverse its sub-entities become, they are essentially just slime fungi and cannot evolve into forests or prairies.

But Baiyue Province's Mother Nest is different.

It can break the DNA isolation between species, forming a biosphere composed of multiple species.

And as a member of this biosphere, it plays only a small role in it!

Even after completing the planetary transformation, it can be removed from the already stabilized ecosystem or contracted to a specific province's range!

From a technical perspective, it is entirely hopeful to achieve!

Chu Guang even thought that maybe he wouldn't need to solve this problem from a technical angle, and negotiating with that guy might just do the trick.

For instance, every time that guy transforms a habitable planet, perhaps a section similar to the Baiyue Province's nature reserves could be designated for it to stay.

Seeing Chu Guang deep in thought, Heya couldn't help but slightly curl her lips.

She could easily guess that he was definitely thinking about how to maximize the Alliance's interests with the Lair again.

However, these matters weren't part of her job.

After completing her report, she put away the tablet in her hand and said with a gentle tone.

"...That's the latest research progress from the Biological Institute. If there are new findings, I will report to you promptly!"

Chu Guang, ending his contemplation, looked up at her and nodded with a smile.

"Mm, I'll be waiting for your good news."

To be honest, with so many brilliant minds in the Alliance, his presence as a Manager doesn't really feel significant, considering that everyone else already has their tasks covered.

Sometimes he actually envied those players.

Especially that kid Night Ten.

In the entire server, you couldn't find many people whose experiences are as legendary as his, to the point where Chu Guang wanted to create a small account to tag the Dog plan on the forum to nerf him.

Watching Heya leave, Chu Guang picked up the tablet on the table, intending to glance at the research report from the expedition team on the "Perforator," when suddenly there was a knock outside the recently closed door, and the office secretary walked in from outside holding a bill.

The secretary had transferred from the players' Merchant Guild to a clerical job at the Alliance Building, and she was named Frost Snow.

Speaking of which, she was one of the first residents of the Alliance, apparently from the "Frost Spear Tribe."

Of course, after living in the Alliance for so long, those who have settled long ago don't use such an outdated name.

Chu Guang recalled that after a few rounds of relocation and absorbing new tribesmen, the Frost Spear Tribe immigrants had renamed their village to Frost Spear Town.

Among several township-level administrative units under the City of Dawn, this town with a name sounding full of valour was among the first to reap the benefits of the era's development.

"...Sir, the Ministry of Finance sent a bill regarding the national compensation applied for by the Fries Port City Hall." Seeing Chu Guang continuously smiling at her, Frost Snow felt her cheeks getting warmer, as if steam would soon rise from them.

Chu Guang didn't pay too much attention to her psychological activity, he simply reminisced about past events, smiling as he nodded and said.

"Just leave it on my desk."

"Okay." Frost Snow stiffly replied, nodding as she neatly placed the document at the corner of the desk, then quickly slipped out of the office with a flushed face before she showed any flaws.

Chu Guang reached out and glanced at the bill that the Ministry of Finance had passed on.

According to the Fries Port City Hall financial personnel's assessment, the experimental actions by the Alliance Biological Research Institute exceeded expectations, resulting in nearly 7 million silver coins in direct economic losses.

Therefore, the Fries Port side wished to obtain national compensation from the Ministry of Finance.

The people from the Ministry of Finance reviewed the bill's amounts and numbers, confirmed there were no issues, and, following the statutory procedure of special budget approval, transferred the related application to be signed at the Manager's Office.

This was probably the only thing Chu Guang needed to handle personally today.

Chu Guang read through the bill and application document from start to finish, confirming there was no problem, and then reached for the pen in the drawer to sign.

However, the moment he opened the drawer, he froze.

"Xiao Qi, have you seen my pen? The one for signing."

He had used that pen to sign quite a few documents and planned to keep it as a collectible item after retiring, so why has it disappeared?

"Eh?! It's not in the drawer?"

Sitting on the pen holder, Xiao Qi was also stunned, hopping off the pen holder to the drawer's side, surprised to find the pen indeed missing.

"That's strange..."

It clearly remembered it was here...

Although Chu Guang found it a bit puzzling, since it wasn't an important document that was missing, just a pen.

"Maybe I stuffed it in my pocket after signing once..."

Composing himself, Chu Guang looked at Xiao Qi, who was lying on the drawer's side, and said.

"Please ask the office secretariat to send another pen over."

"Received!" Xiao Qi nodded, called the secretariat staff, and then looked at Chu Guang again and asked, "Master, should we inform the Guards Corps? It's just a pen, but this is your office, after all. Xiao Qi thinks it should be taken seriously."

Although it seemed like making a fuss over nothing, Chu Guang thought about it for a moment and felt there was some sense to it, so he nodded and said.

"Inform Lu Bei about it."

...

Potato Harbor.

Not far from the beach, at a resort hotel, a group of people was resting after eating and drinking their fill.

Little Koala became interested in the marble statues in the hotel's garden.

Especially upon learning that the designer was an artist from Vellante, it sparked a desire to visit Triumph City.

It was said that there were many similar artworks there.

As for Professor Sun Zewen, he was still as before, following behind the robot said to have a "robot soul," with eyes burning with enthusiasm and babbling non-stop.

The image of the sage-like old professor he first appeared as was nowhere to be seen.

His persona had completely crumbled.

Besides.

Due to the Forest Tide incident in Baiyue Province, the number of people accompanying the South Gate Two Messenger to visit the "Ancestor" planet suddenly increased to over 50, transforming into a sightseeing group.

Among them, in addition to social science researchers, was a large number of researchers from the Alliance Biological Research Institute.

For instance, Ms. Chen.

Due to her influence, Old White, who was at the military base near the space elevator preparing to counterattack the Lagrange point space station, was also brought over as an escort responsible for the safety of the researchers at the Biological Institute, to prevent the Enlightenment Society's spies from causing major news events.

After all, the Baiyue Strait is not within the core control area of the Alliance, and safety issues need to be noted.

However, Old White felt that having or not having him didn't make much of a difference.

After all, with the "strongest perception-type player" of the Burning Corps in the team, he couldn't imagine what kind of spy could pose a threat to these guys.

Not to mention that recently, this perception-type player had unlocked the one and only "Spiritual Energy" talent.

An Enlightenment Society assassin might get caught before even showing up, no different from walking into a trap.

While Old White was dozing off, Dora, who was star-gazing, suddenly remembered something from earlier in the day and curiously asked Night Ten with her big, curious eyes.

"By the way, what exactly is this 'fertilizer'?"

Throughout the day, she had seen too many things she had never seen before, causing her to forget the most astonishing and curious thing she had encountered.

This question was a bit beyond the scope, night scratching his head for a long time, trying to explain in a way she could understand.

"In simple terms... it's a kind of stimulant used on plants, but I can't explain it clearly."

Dora nodded as if she understood, then eagerly asked.

"Will our tribe, the Doma people... have this ability in the future?"

Night Ten pondered for a moment and said.

"Honestly, it's a bit difficult."

Those big eyes that couldn't hide anything quickly showed disappointment, and Dora said in a low voice.

"Why?"

Night Ten made a helpless expression.

"To be honest... because you all eat too much, there probably isn't a need to invent this kind of thing."

Just by coaxing the Sacred Tree, you can harvest a big basket of fruit, and by negotiating with the pterosaurs in the sky, you can learn the migration paths of the beast swarm and the directions of the prey.

This ability already reached the level of magic, you might even say it is, in some sense, magic.

On top of that, the biological resources of the Gaia planet are inexhaustible, having allowed them to enjoy a worry-free life for countless centuries in advance.

He could imagine the Keurisians starving on the move, but couldn't picture how the Forest People would ever go hungry.

Farming?

Fertilizer?

What even are those things?

Isn't food something that falls from the sky?

From the standpoint of the Forest People, Dora couldn't entirely grasp what he was saying, but instinctively felt that the "Ancestors" must be right, which somewhat saddened her.

However, another Ancestor next to her at this moment placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Not necessarily, you know."

Dora looked up to see the sister named Han Mingyue smiling at her, continuing to speak in a pleasant voice.

"Hunger, war, poverty, disease... these elements do play a catalyzing role in the development of civilization. Their presence forces civilizations out of their comfort zones, to actively change the status quo. However, I still have to say, it's not only these negative elements that can act as catalysts, some positive elements can be catalysts as well."

Night Ten curiously raised his eyebrow.

"Like what?"

Han Mingyue, smiling, replied.

"For example, eating too much."

"Psh, being too full..." Night Ten was about to give an example to refute it, but on second thought, it seemed to make sense.

Isn't that the case with the players?

Because they were too full, they spent their days doing all sorts of odd jobs, which in turn stimulated the growth of the Alliance's economy.

In fact, it's not just the players; as the Waste Land Wanderers gradually freed themselves from a life of constant peril and started living a "well-fed" life across various Alliance settlements, they have surprisingly made contributions across various sectors and fields.

The most typical example of this happens to exist right under their feet at Potato Harbor.

The "Ah Bu Aerospace," founded by the former Leader of Poluo Country.

Since its establishment, it's gathered quite a number of technical workers fleeing from Poluo Province and engineers from the South Sea Union.

With the recovery and integration of technology from the Prosperity Epoch's space industry chain, this company is already showing promise in fields like plasma engines and the aerospace semiconductor and control components, and is increasingly participating in the Alliance's space industry chain.

It's hard to imagine this is a startup company.

And the person who founded it was once just a dock laborer moving boxes.

"Now that you mention it, it really is that way."

Unable to outargue the expert, Night Ten immediately made a 180-degree turn and looked at Dora, cleared his throat, and said.

"You see, I'm not completely correct either; I have my limitations... Of course, she's the same, too, what she says might not be absolutely correct, take it as reference only."

The latter half of this was purely to save face.

Though he no longer feels the need to win every argument unlike before, some habits formed over time are not so easy to change.

In contrast, Dr. Han is truly much more mature.

Watching Night Ten trying to save some face, she nodded smilingly, accepting this so-called "stepping stone" and then looked at the bewildered Dora and said.

"Indeed, what I say doesn't represent absolute truth, it's just some theoretical stuff, for reference only."

Dora looked at the two Ancestors in confusion and asked.

"Then what is? The truth."

Night Ten shook his head.

"There is no such thing, whether it's what I say or what she says, it's just one perspective. Just like you explain the existence of the Tree of Yenshof using religion, and we explain its phenomena using dimensional theories... We wouldn't say your method is entirely wrong, just lacks objectivity. And for yourselves, such a lack of objective explanation might not necessarily be inferior to ours."

Knowledge that cannot be passed down has no meaning, and the mere existence of the Doma people has already proven this point.

The sixteen crew members imparted dimensional theories that they themselves might not completely understand to the tribes in the forest, and the ultimate result is those foresters still living in trees more than a hundred years later.

In contrast, Dr. Qiu Shiye did not impart too much difficult knowledge to his "spiritual descendants," only taught them simple and practical technologies like starting a fire by friction, metallurgy and forging, making lime, as well as slash-and-burn agriculture.

With the help of these practical technologies, those Keurisians, instead, leveraged their creativity, moving into stone houses first and even figuring out on their own the "Lizard Stirrup" that the Ancestors didn't teach them, training the primitive tribe version of assault cavalry.

If not for their area being restricted by conservative ideas in the Forbidden Forest all along, the spiritualists in the forest might have been obliterated by these materialists, who armed themselves first.

Seeing Dora who seemed to get it a bit, Han Mingyue nodded with a smile and continued where Night Ten left off.

"That's right, you don't need to be in too much of a hurry. From the perspective of civilization, you have plenty of time to gradually understand all the things you currently don't know and what needs to be understood will eventually be understood."

"As for the present, you just need to live your life well and do what you can to prepare for the foreseeable future."

"As for matters beyond that, those aren't for you to worry about right now."

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