Chapter 1323: The Survival Wisdom of Animals

At Territory Seven, Zhang San handed Xia Qing a glass of fresh-squeezed green-fleshed dragon fruit juice, his expression so kindly it was practically crumbling to bits.

"The pollen from those withered yellow flowers you brought back contains a large amount of pyrethrin. If we can cultivate it successfully, we can plant it in the courtyard to repel insects."

"As for why the pollen in the hot spring water attracts juvenile Yi snakes, it may be that it chemically reacts with the spring water and breaks down into substances that draw the Yi snakes. Did you record video this time?"

"I recorded it. But the mist in the basin was too thick, visibility was very low." Xia Qing handed the memory card from inside her protective mask to her idol, took a sip of juice, and squinted comfortably.

Zhang San inserted the memory card into the computer, began reviewing the footage, and patiently explained the basics to Xia Qing. "When the air temperature drops, the amount of water vapor the air can hold also decreases. The excess water vapor condenses into tiny water droplets or ice crystals, suspended in the air to form fog…"

"This is a high-grade evolved cat's claw vine, which can be used to control and treat HIV." While watching the video at slow speed, Zhang San spotted a precious herb and got excited.

"I'll head over to take samples as soon as possible. Third Brother, what do you need—the root system, the vines, or the leaves?"

"It's not convenient for you to go there. Just have Xiao Duan find time to make a trip." The moment Zhang San finished speaking, he saw Broken-Waist Wolf raise a paw to point at the withered-leaf flower, asking Xia Qing to film the flower-sampling shot. He nodded in satisfaction. "Xiao Duan is getting smarter and smarter."

Xia Qing, holding her juice…

How about you arrange a research position called "Zhang Duan" for Xiao Duan at Territory Seven and officially take it in?

"Which wolf pack did the wolves here come from?" Seeing blurry figures of another wolf pack appear on the rocky shore beside the hot spring lake, Zhang San pressed pause and zoomed in for a closer look.

Xia Qing explained, "What you're seeing is the Southern Wolf Pack. This green-eyed she-wolf is the wolf king of the Southern Wolf Pack—she appeared in the video during the last disaster. The blurry patch farther away is five evolved tigers from the Western Tiger Group; the blind tiger from Mountain Thirty-Seven and the diarrhea-stricken little tiger from Mountain Thirty-Four came along too. Here to the right of the Northern Wolf Pack—look, these are twenty-plus baboons…"

Zhang San asked, "I remember there being two tiger cubs on Mountain Thirty-Four."

"The tiger group only brought one over today." Xia Qing speculated, "The Northern and Southern Wolf Packs didn't bring all their cubs either. I guess they'll go over a few times during these few days of the withered-leaf flower bloom. The Western Wolf Pack didn't go, probably because they have no cubs."

All the cubs born to the Western Wolf Pack this year were slaughtered by humans.

"Possible." Zhang San continued playing the video. When he saw the lead wolf catching snakes for the wolf pups, his expression was very calm. But when he saw Xia Qing pull out wire, iron rods, and insect netting to make a snake-catching net, he couldn't help complaining, "Is your backpack a treasure chest? Why do you bring this stuff to the Evolution Forest? Aren't they heavy?"

Xia Qing explained, "I used to be in charge of carrying all kinds of tools on missions. When packed and organized properly, they don't take up much space, and the weight is less than a hundred jin. Now whenever I go to the Evolution Forest I bring them. Although most of the time I don't use them, when I need them and don't have them, it delays things."

Only a strength-evolver could say something like "less than a hundred jin" so matter-of-factly.

Zhang San continued watching the video. When he saw both the Southern Wolf Pack and the Western Tiger Group gravitating toward Xia Qing, who had the highest snake-catching efficiency, he pressed pause again and fell silent.

Xia Qing wanted to explain a couple of things, but opened her mouth and didn't know what to say. She simply stood up, walked around behind her idol, opened the fridge, and refilled her idol's juice. She herself just grabbed a whole dragon fruit.

She preferred biting into it directly rather than drinking juice. From last night until now she had only had one X-nutrient solution. Although her body wasn't short on energy, her stomach was empty and needed some food stuffed in to keep working properly.

Zhang San leaned back in the soft chair, his expression grave. "If we say that the fierce beasts using pollen to prey on Yi snakes is a survival program formed through trial-and-error learning and environmental shaping during evolution—a non-subjective consciousness—then the evolved wolves and evolved tigers leading their young to gravitate toward you is the embodiment of subjective intelligent choice."

Xia Qing, who was gnawing on a dragon fruit, paused, and racked her brain to dig out the corresponding technical term to match her idol's professional topic. "You're right. Many behaviors of evolved animals, especially brain-domain evolved animals, can no longer be defined as 'evolutionary intelligence,' but should be classified as 'survival intelligence.'"

Seeing her idol nod in approval, Xia Qing knew she had answered correctly, and felt secretly delighted.

Bird migration, salmon runs, and the mimicry of dead-leaf butterflies all belong to animals' evolutionary intelligence—this is the passive screening result of the population's gene pool, a manifestation of natural survival of the fittest. This morning, the evolved wolves and evolved tigers choosing to give up catching snakes and seeking Xia Qing's help is an individual active cognitive behavior, belonging to survival intelligence.

By the same logic, the lead wolf bringing an injured companion to Territory Three to seek treatment, and the old wolf inviting Xia Qing to the Southern Evolution Forest for a house call, both belong to survival intelligence.

"After Blue Star's evolution, more and more animals possess survival intelligence, and the gap between them and humans is getting smaller and smaller." Zhang San continued playing the video. When he saw the new human opposite him, who was gnawing on a dragon fruit, stuffing a snake directly into a tiger's mouth, he pressed his faintly aching forehead and kept playing.

Hearing the baboons' warning calls and catching a glimpse of a giant python, Zhang San held his breath. Only when Xia Qing climbed onto the giant wolf's back and escaped the Evolution Forest did he exhale and continue his analysis.

"Eagles mainly rely on vision to find prey, so they hunt during the day. Pythons are limited by temperature, and their activity drops at night. There's only one reason these fierce beasts don't choose to hunt Yi snakes at the hot spring at night: that withered-leaf-colored flower only blooms during the day. Will the wolf pack go over again tomorrow?"

Xia Qing nodded. "Broken-Waist Wolf says that kind of flower only blooms for three days. Today is the second day, so they'll go again tomorrow. The lead wolf wants me to come along too. Third Brother, I'll catch more Yi snakes for you tomorrow. These little snakes are easier to digest than the big ones—eat more to nourish your body."

That valley was full of poisonous insects and poisonous plants, with giant pythons in the lake and raptors overhead—the danger coefficient was too high. Zhang San wanted to dissuade Xia Qing from going, but he knew he couldn't talk her out of it. After a few seconds of silence he only asked: "How many snakes did you keep this time?"

Xia Qing, who was wiping her mouth, answered, "I didn't keep a single one. I sent them all to you."

Her digestion was good; she didn't need to eat these little snakes.

Zhang San's expression grew even kinder. "Stay for lunch here today. I'll take two snakes and have the kitchen make a soup. What other dishes would you like?"

Xia Qing's eyes immediately lit up. "Thank you, Third Brother. I'm not picky—whatever you eat, I'll eat. Can I take a few dragon fruits with me when I leave?"

Looking at the new human opposite him, who was grinning in a wolfish sort of way, Zhang San laughed too. "If you like them, take two whole boxes back. Come get more when you've finished them."

"Thank you, Third Brother, you really are…"

"Shut up!"