Chapter 1528: Give Evolution a Little Time

After Zhang San received the eighteen lab reports Xia Qing sent over, he took the initiative to video-call and discuss with the person and wolf on screen the impact this soil anaerobic bacteria evolution had on the ecosystem of the northern Evolution Forest of Hui Three.

"Little Duan, where was sample number eight found?"

Broken-Waist Wolf looked at Xia Qing. Xia Qing immediately pulled out the topographic map of the northern Evolution Forest of Hui Three and spread it on the ground. Broken-Waist Wolf placed its left front paw on the map and stared solemnly at the thick-haired Zhang San on the screen.

"On Peak One of Mountain Fifty-Six." After translating Broken-Waist Wolf's gesture, Xia Qing enthusiastically added the encouragement her idol had left out. "Following the knowledge you taught it, Duan patrols every inch of the wolf pack's territory very diligently on a regular basis, closely monitoring the condition of every living thing within the territory. Any abnormality, it samples immediately and brings it over for testing. Duan is an ecological researcher of the Evolution Forest standing at the very top of the pyramid of Blue Star, the pride of Her Majesty, the pride of our northern wolf pack, the hope of Blue Star's evolution, the future of Blue Star!"

Zhang San……

Broken-Waist Wolf couldn't hold it in and revealed four adorable little fang tips.

Seeing Broken-Waist Wolf smile so happily, Zhang San's brain felt comfortable and his expression softened as he took a screenshot, then continued, "Xia Qing is right. Little Duan, among all the wolves I know, you are the one with the most potential and the most drive. Keep going down this path, and you will definitely surpass most humans…"

Before Zhang San finished praising, Broken-Waist Wolf stopped smiling, pressed its mouth shut, and stared solemnly at the phone screen.

Xia Qing reminded him seriously, "Third Brother, Little Duan was already more formidable than the vast majority of humans to begin with. It's a high-level evolved being, the animal leader of the Evolution Forest, which is why it could become Her Majesty's mate."

Broken-Waist Wolf couldn't help revealing its little fang tips again.

Zhang San twirled his scalpel, wishing he could crack open Xia Qing's skull right now and cut out that piece of brain tissue that was leading this excellent research wolf astray!

"Little Duan is indeed outstanding enough, but if you want to stand firmly at the top of the pyramid, you must study hard, practice, and become even more outstanding." Zhang San returned to the main topic and gave guidance. "Next time you sample, Little Duan needs to take a photo at the sampling site that includes the coordinates and the time. When the lab results come out, list this information in the header of the report, so we can do lateral and longitudinal comparative analyses of the samples later on."

Broken-Waist Wolf nodded solemnly and nudged Xia Qing.

"Understood, I'll adjust your phone settings in a bit so these data show up on the photos." Farmer Xia Qing asked the question she cared about most. "Third Brother, this sample number eight—the luminescent substance attached to the surface of the pine tree's fine roots—is this the pine tree's positive evolution in response to the anaerobic bacteria evolution, right?"

"That's called 'fluorescence,' not 'luminescence.' Luminescence is simply the release of light, whereas these fluorescent microorganisms can change their wavelength based on the concentration of the qiang element, which is why they display different colors."

Zhang San first corrected Xia Qing's terminology, then answered her question in language she could understand. "This substance is a new symbiotic organism induced by the pine tree's root system. It can break down the metabolites produced by the anaerobic bacteria into raw materials absorbable by the plant roots…"

After explaining the mechanism of sample number eight in detail, Zhang San sighed. "After this anaerobic bacteria evolution, the microbial community attached to the surface of the pine tree roots can absorb the qiang element and convert it into nutrients for the pine needles, while the pine resin in turn suppresses the microbial community from over-reproducing. This exquisite balance is far more brilliant than however much neutralizing agent humans spray. Excessive human intervention will strip living organisms of their ability to sense Blue Star's breathing. So humans need a bit more patience, need to give evolution a little more time—the solutions they create will far exceed the sum total of all our artificial interventions."

A solemn-faced Broken-Waist Wolf looked at Xia Qing.

Xia Qing explained in simple terms, "What Third Brother means is, we shouldn't excessively interfere with biological evolution. When animals and plants get sick, we should observe first, see if they can tough it out on their own resistance, and only use medicine if they can't hold on."

Broken-Waist Wolf raised its left front paw and struggled to flip it upward. "Aowu wu aowu…"

"Right, Xiong Wang's skin condition isn't that serious. As long as it can resist the itch and not soak in water for long, it can tough out this infection."

"Aow~ wu~ wu~"

Zhang San carefully observed the person and wolf on screen, earnestly studying cross-species communication skills.

"Little bear cubs won't do. Little bears have weak resistance—without medicine, most of them would die. Only the ones that can tough it out survive… Right, keeping the mountain cave environment clean and sanitary is very important… Little wolf cubs? Little wolf cubs are the same, right, Third Brother?"

Zhang San was silent for two seconds. "Express the questions you two want to ask completely in human language."

……

After Broken-Waist Wolf left, Xia Qing plugged her nearly dead phone in to charge and asked the question she cared about most. "Third Brother, do you think I should take off the Use Yishi?"

Relatively speaking, among the soil anaerobic bacteria that suddenly evolved two months ago, the types with more variety and greater destructive power were found in cultivated land within human territory. In the unopened, unfertilized, uncultivated areas of the Evolution Forest where the soil condition had not been altered, the degree of evolution was relatively lower.

But humans are the most adept beings on Blue Star at using tools and technological means to cope with natural disasters, so after weathering the initial panic and chaos, humans donned protective equipment, sprayed killing agents and powders, and developed and produced targeted fertilizers to deal with this disaster. The animals and plants in the Evolution Forest, after being infected by the evolved soil anaerobic bacteria, could for the most part only tough it out on their own resistance.

Those who survived were the victors, continuing to live; those who couldn't survive were the losers, eliminated.

Among the eighteen samples Broken-Waist Wolf brought over, three plant samples and two animal samples relied on their own immune capabilities to evolve methods of coping with the soil anaerobic bacteria evolution. This kind of evolutionary miracle could never, ever be born inside the standardized greenhouses built by humans that isolate the qiang element.

Xia Qing wearing the Use Yishi was equivalent to building a movable protective shield around her own body that isolates the qiang element. Through in-depth research on the ecological changes triggered by this anaerobic bacteria evolution, Xia Qing realized that wearing the Use Yishi long-term would also hinder her own evolution.

Zhang San quietly watched the new human on screen. Finally, she had asked this question. Zhang San had been waiting for this moment for over a year.

Xia Qing was made uneasy by her idol's stare and couldn't help but grin. "Third Brother, I understand now!"

Zhang San, who had prepared a bellyful of words, felt a sudden sharp pain in his head and asked coldly, "What do you understand?"

"……"

"This question can't be explained clearly in a sentence or two. Come over to my place for lunch at noon."

Xia Qing agreed immediately. "Okay, I'm shelling peanuts right now. I'll fry them later, grind them into peanut butter, and bring it over. We'll mix it with noodles for lunch today."

This method was introduced in the lord channel by Mother Jiang, who had come to visit her daughter. Xia Qing listened and immediately had an appetite, so she planned to make some sauce. Originally she had planned to eat lunch with Yang Jin, but with an idol's invitation, the die-hard fan immediately abandoned the pleasing-to-the-eye Yang Jin and, carrying her green-light delicacy, rushed toward her idol standing at the top of the pyramid.

"Are you frying it, or is Yang Jin frying it?"

Xia Qing……

De-fanning, I'm going to de-fan!