Chapter 132: Wild imagination, major progress

Eating soft rice and acting tough?

Everyone was stunned for a moment, then they reacted.

It turned out that the big sister head provided funding, and only then did the big boss have research funds.

That saying is quite amusing.

Everyone wanted to laugh at once, but they held it back, not daring to laugh out loud.

After all, he's the big boss; mocking him like that isn't appropriate, is it?

Ba Ke's head shrank back.

Oh no, oh no, he stirred up trouble again.

The big boss's impassioned motivational speech, after a final twist, turned out to be neither passionate nor motivational.

The effect it had was seriously contrary to the big boss's original intention.

"Just laugh if you want to."

Lin Ke saw how hard everyone was trying to hold back their laughter, and he voluntarily said, being very magnanimous.

The reason he suddenly said something so out of character was to make everyone laugh.

After all, the tunnel is underground; although there are discarded magic stones as a light source, it is not dark.

But people are unconsciously affected by the cramped, low environment, easily feeling down and prone to magnifying negative emotions.

Lin Ke saw that the pep talk had no effect, so he switched to trying to be funny.

He hoped this way would ease the team members' moods.

Sure enough, this time they got a good response.

Seeing that Lin Ke truly didn't care, they finally stopped forcing themselves not to laugh, and burst into light laughter.

The previous gloomy atmosphere was swept away.

Everyone's mood became much more relaxed.

Mo Li couldn't help but give Lin Ke a sideways glance; she didn't really like that saying.

After a while, once everyone's emotions had settled, Mo Li explained:

"What's this about eating soft rice and acting tough? I invested five magic stones, he only used 2.5, and I finally got back thirty magic stones—what a high return on investment! And that's not all."

Saying this, Mo Li met everyone's curious gaze and continued: "His later research all brought me along; whether it's paper authorship or patent rights, I have a share."

Mo Li slightly lifted her snow‑tender chin, her tone proud: "You tell me, was this investment worthwhile or not?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, for a moment not knowing how to express their feelings.

Is there even a need to ask?

It's definitely worthwhile.

It's super worthwhile.

The five brothers' feelings are even more complicated than those of the three socially anxious people.

Think back, they put in how much effort just to get on Lin Ke's thick thigh.

As for the big sister head, she doesn't have to put in anything, yet she gets a share of every good thing.

The disparity between people is truly huge.

Wuu wuu wuu~

At least three of the five brothers seemed to hear their own crying.

Those are all tears.

The three socially anxious people then understood why Lin Ke is willing to bring Mo Li along for anything.

As it turns out, there is such a history behind it.

Um……

We can't say their thoughts are wrong; we can only say they are overly one‑sided.

After all this commotion, everyone's attention has completely shifted; they no longer dwell on research setbacks or experimental difficulties.

Even when drinking, eating, or resting, they began to talk and laugh.

Dalton, who had gone into hiding for a day, took the opportunity to find Lin Ke.

He is responsible for real‑time monitoring of the surroundings; the work is very important but also tedious.

"Any situation?"

As soon as Dalton approached, Lin Ke immediately had him sit beside him, handed him a cup of water, and asked concernedly:

"Hmm."

Dalton nodded, took the cup, first sipped the sweet pure water personally made and handed over by the big boss, then began to say:

"Lan Ni. Tai Le has appeared several times again.

First she wanted to replicate our river‑crossing method, but the rope wasn't long enough and there was no tool to send the rope over.

Later she tried to glide over, but was driven back by the fierce beasts in the water."

The speaker meant nothing by it, but the listener took it to heart.

When Dalton mentioned the fierce beasts in the water, Lin Ke immediately recalled a strange incident.

Or, put more aptly, it is a characteristic of this world.

Herbivorous animals are of relatively normal size, whether compared to Lin Ke's previous life or to the wizard world.

Carnivorous animals keep getting bigger and bigger.

Upon first entering this world, when meeting Ai Rui Si. Ke La Ke, that pack of jackal‑like beasts, much larger than usual, was like that; (see chapter four of this volume)

The wild beasts we avoided along the way were like that;

When rescuing Dalton, Andrea Norman, Lutz Berry, and Bamil Barlwes, the huge beast resembling a Tyrannosaurus that we lured away was like that;

Even the water‑dwelling fierce beasts in the river that resemble crocodiles but have swollen to more than double their size are no exception.

This phenomenon is absolutely abnormal!

For now, let's not worry about Lan Ni. Tai Le; there are more pressing matters at hand.

Let me ask everyone a question.

Lin Ke immediately stood up, clapped his hands to draw attention, then loudly said, "In your impression, what are the characteristics of the body sizes of herbivorous and carnivorous animals in this world?"

The sudden question left everyone dazed.

Especially Mo Li, who had never left the river's sandbank.

After a moment, Lin En, whose thoughts were the clearest, was the first to react.

He jumped up in shock and asked doubtfully, "Boss, do you think the size of carnivorous animals is too huge, seeming abnormal?"

This is a point that most people easily overlook.

After all, each world has its own differences.

Animals being larger could be due to abundant food, sufficient nutrition, or simply innate.

If we don't categorize animals and separately study herbivores and carnivores, this disparity is hard to notice.

It's like poking through a layer of window paper.

The rest of the people also gradually understood what Lin Ke wanted to convey.

They began to discuss among themselves.

"Why is it like this?"

"There must be a problem here, worth investigating."

"Figuring out the cause might be extremely helpful to our plan."

"How should we start? Go hunt one or two giant beasts, bring them back, dissect and slice them?"

"That's not impossible, just a bit troublesome."

"Aren't there big, fierce fish in the river? Let's catch a few fish to study first."

Mide. Valente did not join the discussion, instead frowning in thought until the chatter faded.

He slowly rose, his voice muffled, and said, "Boss, I have a guess; I don't know if I should speak it."

"Speak up, of course you should."

Lin Ke gestured for Mide. Valente to speak boldly, while further expressing his stance,

"I emphasize once more: we are a team; during internal discussions and brainstorming, anyone, any idea, any viewpoint can be voiced. Don't be afraid of being wrong—don't, don't, don't be afraid of being wrong."

"Thank you, boss."

Mide raised his thick hand to scratch the back of his head, gave an embarrassed smile, then voiced his guess,

"I've actually been thinking: if the secret passage's mural is true, where did the corpses of the dead gods go? Upon hearing the boss's question just now, a guess popped into my head—could it be that they were scattered across the world and eaten by carnivorous animals?"

A hiss…

A chorus of intakes of breath rose.

This guess is bold, the imagination is unusually creative.

But we must admit, it also has a possibility of being true, and a great one at that.

It is well known that the academy's full name is the Ruowosuosi Biological and Medical Academy.

How to better, more comprehensively, and more efficiently cultivate and utilize organisms is one of the academy's specialties.

Even if first-year students haven't yet studied the relevant subjects, they have at least heard of it.

For example, the corpses of the Storm Sea Newblood that died in the West City Black Zone are reclaimed by the academy, their hearts and lungs removed, bodies dissected and split, to make up for losses and recoup investment.

Thus, everyone present quickly accepted and endorsed Mide's guess.

After all, as higher organisms, the corpses of gods being eaten by carnivorous animals to promote growth is hardly a complicated matter.

Mo Li sighed, "No wonder I can't do anything against those water beasts; they're all thick‑skinned and muscular—apart from self‑destruct fire thunder, all offensive magic can't pierce their defenses. Turns out they've been eating something good!"

This remark instantly stirred Dalton's painful memories.

He, Andrea, Lutz. Beri, and Bamir. Barwes were forced to flee in disarray after failing to breach the defenses of six giant beasts, and were eventually cornered in a valley.

There was no way out by heaven or by earth.

If Lin Ke hadn't come to the rescue, they would have already been eliminated.

Lin Ke couldn't help but recall the scene when he and Iris teamed up to lure away the six giant beasts.

Iris threw numerous varieties of enhanced self‑destruct fire thunder, yet not even the beasts' skin was blown apart.

That level of firepower was hardly different from that used by Tsetsey. Lucia to bombard the mountain hollow.

Even wearing the 'Defender 3202' suit and continuously casting 'double spell', 'continuous spell', 'parallel spell' water shields, Lin Ke could not withstand it.

It wouldn't kill him on the spot, but he would surely suffer severe injuries.

Taking all signs into account, Lin Ke also leaned toward accepting Mide. Valente's guess.

So, another question arises.

Lin Ke pressed his hands down slightly, signaling everyone to stop their low‑voiced discussion.

After it quieted down, Lin Ke asked, "Assuming Mide's guess is correct, the reason carnivorous animals are generally huge is that they have eaten the corpses of the dead gods of this world."

Then, does this phenomenon, this cause, have any connection to this world's brink of collapse?

Does it offer any help or inspiration for us to rebuild a sustainable ecological cycle?

These two questions were raised, sparking another round of low‑voiced discussion among the crowd.

Lin En, thoughtful and quick‑thinking, once again responded first: "Boss, I think we can temporarily set aside the link to the world's impending collapse and focus on how this helps and inspires us."

Hmm. That works.

Lin Ke had other thoughts in mind, yet he did not refute Lin En's statement.

Having received agreement, Lin En continued to say: "Carnivorous animals have huge body sizes, their daily consumption naturally increases, and the quantity and quality of food they need immediately rise."

This broke the original ecological cycle.

The number of herbivorous animals will surely have a sharp decline period.

The surviving herbivorous animals, in order to survive longer, were forced to evolve.

This also consumes energy and nutrition, so they need to eat more grass.

The vicious ecological cycle deepens further.

Moreover, since the reason carnivorous animals have huge bodies is that they ate the corpses of the gods of this world, what about plants?

Do plants not absorb flesh and blood?

I think they should.

At least partially, they do.

After hearing this, Ai Ji Ao immediately asked in a muffled voice: "Then, how should we explain that the body sizes of herbivorous animals generally have not undergone drastic changes?"

Lin En replied calmly:

"Plants that have absorbed the gods' flesh and blood have evolved—for example, those that originally had no spines now grow spines, those that were short become tall, those that were non‑aggressive become aggressive, and so on."

"These many changes make it impossible for herbivorous animals to bite them."

"This is also the nature of plants seeking survival."

"Herbivorous animals lack a high‑quality food source, so their evolution speed is much slower than that of carnivorous animals and of plants that directly absorbed the gods' flesh and blood."

"What you say makes sense."

"Ai Ji Ao has a rigid personality, was convinced, and immediately admitted."

"Others also felt that Lin En's argument had some logic."

"The quiet Ba Ke, who had not spoken up until now, then stood up to speak:"

"I think we can approach from two sides at once to try Reconstructed Ecosystem."

"First, cultivate herbivorous animals so they gain the ability to chew most plants, especially those that have absorbed the gods' flesh and blood and become special;"

"and also give them a certain ability to escape from predation by carnivorous animals."

"Second, cultivate basic, unchanged plants; I remember the boss has a paper mentioning a hybrid breeding method that might be useful."

"By changing the food quality of herbivorous animals at the base, we can let their evolution speed catch up with that of carnivorous animals."

"In this way we can return to a balanced ecological cycle."

"Whether it is feasible remains to be seen; it needs further verification, but at least it is substantive."

"Papapa……"

"Others, as well as Lin Ke, spontaneously clapped, giving Ba Ke a thumbs‑up for his rare shine on the matter."

"Ba Ke grinned, slightly pleased, and sat back down."

"Seeing that no one else had any other ideas or opinions to express, Lin Ke proceeded to make a summary and work arrangements."

"I have summarized everyone's ideas, viewpoints, and guesses."

"Then, based on the integrated conclusion, I have made the following arrangements."

"If there are any omissions or errors, please feel free to point them out at any time; we will correct them together."

"First, speed up the analysis and testing of existing water samples, soil, and biological specimens to find materials that have undergone special changes, analyze the causes of those changes, and verify Mi De's guess;"

"If it is indeed the corpses of the gods that caused the gigantism of carnivorous animals, then there cannot be no trace at all in the water samples, soil, plant specimens, and animal specimens."

"This point is very important."

"Then, using various methods, cultivate common plants to meet the feeding needs of most herbivorous animals and provide sufficient energy and nutrition;"

"Finally, from three different directions, Reconstructed Ecosystem."

"First, based on improving plant genes; second, based on improving herbivorous animal genes; third, based on delivering a devastating blow to carnivorous animals."

"Saying this, Lin Ke looked at Mo Li: 'Tomorrow you will have to continue working hard; build another large laboratory.'"

"'No problem.'"

"Mo Li readily agreed."

"'Ba Ke, Lin En, tomorrow you bring Mi De and Te Li back with you, catch two big fish, one dead and one alive.'"

"'Okay, boss.'"

"'Ai Ji Ao, Di Jie, you take Bei Di and continue today's experiment; be patient, take it slow, we have plenty of time.'"

"'Yes, boss. We will pay attention to adjusting our mindset in a timely manner.'"

"'Da Er Dun, continue to be responsible for reconnaissance, maintain attention and vigilance toward Lan Ni. Tai Le. If she appears again by the river, notify me immediately.'"

"'I guarantee to complete the mission.'"

"Mo Li noticed that Lin Ke had gone around in a circle and left himself out, so she spoke up: 'What about you? What are you going to do tomorrow?'"

"Lin Ke replied: 'I plan to go out for a trip, find someone, do something?'"

"'Go look for the crazy woman?'"

"Mo Li's face turned slightly unnatural, her teeth lightly biting her lower lip."

"Lin Ke frankly said: 'Indeed I am preparing to go find Ai Rui Si; some matters need cooperation with the northern district people to advance better.'"

"'Is it very important? Must we definitely go find her?'"

"Mo Li couldn't help but ask again."

"'Then go, be careful.'"

"Having said that, she soon regretted it and said again:"

"'Remember to come back early.'"

"(End of chapter)"