Wang Qinian nodded seriously: "In the first month of injecting black particles, that is, the first stage of the real yàn stage, my reaction is similar to what you are now. The first time they saw these monsters, anyone reacted similarly, and it wasn't surprising. ”

Old Song's fierce heartbeat calmed down a little. He took a deep breath, took out a handkerchief from his pocket and slowly wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, and his tone became stern: "Sue me, what is the purpose of your doing this?" Is it as simple as figuring out whether they can speak? ”

Dean Fat did not answer this question. He patted Lao Song on the back and said lightly: "First go through all the real rooms, and then, I will tell you a qiē." ”

The Academy of Sciences is located in Area C, 12th basement.

This is an area with a very different layout and equipment than any previous real yàn room. As soon as the elevator door opened, Lao Song immediately felt a strong cold wind blowing towards his face. He subconsciously wrapped his clothes tightly, and everywhere he looked was a huge hollow cylindrical cage with a special structure, made of a tubular structure.

"This tube is made of special materials. The strength is about the same as that of alloy, and it is difficult for even high-level strengtheners to destroy it. ”

Wang Qinian walked closer, flicked the transparent pipe wall with his fingers, and said with a light smile: "See, this thing is hollow, and there are special pipelines that can emit light in it." Isn't it very much like the fluorescent lights that the government has set up on the roads in peacetime to serve as decorations? At that time, the so-called "lighting project" was just a decoration that just spent money to deceive the eyes, but this one of mine was a big killer with an actual control effect. Hehe! The two are completely different. ”

Lao Song almost didn't listen to a word of the fat man's introduction. His full attention was focused on the plant in the center of the cage.

It was a tree.

To be precise, it is an aspen tree that is common in northern China.

This tall tree has grown to more than 20 meters, and the surface of its branches is a rough pale green. The oval leaves grew luxuriantly, and the roots were soaked in a cement pool more than two meters deep. Looking down from the angle from which Lao Song was standing, he could see dense and messy fine roots, as well as more than a dozen taproots that were intertwined and intertwined with each other and as thick as one or two meters in diameter.

The entire cage emits an extremely strange blue light, occasionally mixed with dazzling bright red light. There is no pattern in the amplitude and intensity of the light, and it feels like a naughty boy holding a flashlight, pressing the button back and forth at will, emitting chaotic and disorderly light.

In addition to the light, a dozen small glass boxes half a meter square were installed around the cage. The height of these crates from the ground varies, some are located in the middle of the aspen tree, some are located at the top of the branches, and a few are located at the root of the tree. These cages are filled with insects large and small. Lao Song didn't know much about insect species, but he could only see that there were longhorn beetles, pine caterpillars in the juvenile stage, as well as snails, drillworms, and so on.

Wang Qinian slowly held each other's hands, and a sinister and treacherous smile appeared on his wrinkled face: "How is it, do you see something?" ”

Lao Song did not answer. He had seen a lot of parts of this aspen that were unusual to its species.

Its main trunk is very thick, and the branches that extend out look strange. Instead of spreading out like a common tree, they begin to form a loop along the edge of the cage. It's like a ten-meter-long hairtail fish that has to be curled up and folded in a small tank that is only five meters square.

"Plants are equally sensitive to the presence of black particles, and the effects of the transformation are still effective for them."

Without waiting for Lao Song to ask, Wang Qinian had already approached the Kongzhì platform next to him, and showed a sinister smile at Lao Song: "Next, I'll let you watch some special performances." ”

The old fat man made a stormy knock on the control platform, and the small motor set up around the cage on the pipe wall immediately roared. Following Lao Song's gaze, the four black nozzles of more than twenty centimeters at the bottom of the cage suddenly released a large number of electric sparks, which flickered and jumped on the surface of the tall poplar tree, and soon covered the entire trunk. At first glance, it looks as if it has turned into the depths of rain clouds full of thunderstorms. There were crackling electric sparks everywhere, but there was no rumbling thunder. The electric sparks flickered as the poplar branches and leaves twitched. The branches that coiled around the main trunk quickly stretched out, but the moment the blade touched the outer pipe wall, it quickly retracted and returned to its original position.

Old Song's eyes were completely wide.

He felt that the tree was truly alive. It is not a silent life that is silent and only absorbs nutrients from the soil, but an intelligent life form that screams and wails like animals. All the blades are flying in the electric sparks, they are dodging, they are hiding, but they can't escape the cage and be completely safe. This is definitely not a fantasy in the mind, but a real sight for the eyes.

Yes, it was screaming, crying for help, roaring angrily at itself and Wang Qinian.

"Bastard, why do you have to torture me like this repeatedly?"

"I'll curse you damned human forever! Cursed forever! I'm going to kill you! ”

“…… Leave me alone! I will always obey and never resist! ”

A tree, of course, does not speak. However, Lao Song did hear the tree shouting, roaring, and wailing. To his horror, he discovered that the sound was produced by the collision of branches and leaves. It's like a thin steel wire being taut, and only a single syllable can be uttered when a finger touches it. However, if a wooden card is inserted in the middle of the wire, the distance between the wire and the distance of the wire will change, and the syllables produced by the touch can also become do, come, mi, fa, and so, and become a piece of music when connected.

The collision of leaves and branches follows the same principle. When a leaf collides with a soft branch and produces an "a" sound, the collision between the branch and the main stem becomes an "o", and many leaves overlap and collide with the thicker part of the branch, resulting in a syllable effect of "e", and so on, and the syllable is silent and noisy, but the basic intention of the tree can be heard.

"It has the ability to think independently."

"It speaks in this most wonderful way, communicating with us."

"Its intelligence level is not weaker than that of animals, and even similar to that of humans."

Wang Qinian kept chattering: "Did you see it? This is the tree that makes up the earth world. We classify them as plants that can't move freely, but the truth tells us that this classification is really stupid. Both animals and plants reproduce according to pre-set rules. They are the product of the real chamber of the Atlanteans, but the appearance of black particles fills a vital link in the Earth's biosphere. ”

Lao Song didn't wait for Wang Qinian to explain this time, and spoke directly: "You mean wisdom? ”

"No!"

The old fat man shook his head and denied: "I mean genes. ”

"Genes?"

"They have the same genetic makeup as we do."

Wang Qinian's face was full of sternness and profundity: "I took all the samples of xenomorphic monsters and viruses that were captured, as well as most of the currently known species for comparison. There is definitely a difference between them and us. Take the Loch Ness monster you've seen, for example, and the savage Xiaofang, those talking tigers, monkeys, crocodiles, pythons, ants, spiders, including this tree, even if it takes trillions of years, they won't evolve into what we are now. ”

"...... you mean"

"Regardless of appearance or brain development, humans are the most suitable race for the earth's environment. This is not my personal opinion. I don't know if you've noticed the details of this tree's roots? Outwardly, the view is partially obscured. You'd better come over and look at the stereoscopic perspective of the computer probe, which will be more intuitive. ”

As he spoke, Wang Qinian pulled Lao Song to the electronic screen. He pressed the keyboard, and an image of the roots of the poplar tree immediately appeared on the screen.

The stout trunk is bifurcated into four taproots in the nutrient solution tank. They are like the tentacles of an octopus, firmly holding the four corners of the cement pool, keeping the trunk steady and balanced.

Wang Qinian's voice sounded in Lao Song's ears, and it sounded like the devil was teaching evil knowledge from hell: "Do you see those taproots?" This guy didn't choose the most stable triangular support structure, but chose a loose four-corner bifurcation. Those fibrous roots are so soft, I don't think you would think that the pliable process of the taproot is actually similar. It can merge the four taproots into two when needed. Hey, hey, hey! How does it feel? Imagine that it looks very much like human thighs? ”

"Looking back at the top, do these two particularly thick branches sound familiar? The whole tree is coherent, isn't it a vague human form? Any idea why I used a light-emitting tube to build a cage? Only the chaotic light can limit it, and this guy's ability to grow is amazing, and the effect of black particles on it is very obvious. Its fibrous roots can even grow in cement and can penetrate alloy plates by guò permeation. This guy is slow, and it's always trying to get out of here. It was brewing silently, and if it weren't for the fact that the monitoring computer found that there was a leak of liquid at the bottom of the nutrient pool, the danger it caused would have been far greater than I imagined. ”

"It's much more difficult to threaten a modified plant than it is to an animal. I've tried using fire, but it's not afraid at all. Burning ash is the equivalent of fertilizer to it, and it has evolved to the point where it can reproduce with a single fibrous root. You also see the way this guy communicates with us. Do you know what it asked of me? It wanted to be transplanted into the woods outside, and of course I declined the impudent request. Then it began to try to control the other plants in the room. Its leaves were able to release spores, and a pot of cacti on the researcher's desk was parasitized, which then became highly toxic, stabbing the researcher. The damn tree reached out to me, threatening not to give me the detoxifying fruit if I didn't let it go. Of course, this is not a false myth, it can blossom and bear fruit within 24 hours, and the fruit contains special elements that can detoxify. So I sued it, this is the Academy of Sciences. Here, I'm never the only one who can threaten people. ”

Although his heart was full of horror, Lao Song was still curious about Wang Qinian's story: "And then? ”

"And then? Hey, hey, hey! ”

The old fat man sneered gloomily, and the wrinkles on his face continued to contract and release as his muscles trembled: "Then, I will give it electricity once a day to stimulate it to complete the growth period ahead of schedule." I added more to the liquid in the nutrient pool, including asphalt, lime and various metals, and occasionally warmed it and washed its feet in hot water. There is a small water lice in the nutrient pond that likes to cling to the surface of the roots of trees and slowly suck up the sap. Well, you can see the glass boxes above, and whenever I'm upset, or this guy is annoying, I'll open the box, put some cute little caterpillars in it, and give them extra food. ”

As he spoke, Wang Qinian smiled and pressed the button, the glass box door opened, and swarms of pine caterpillars wriggled out of the box, climbed up the leaves along the conveyor belt, and chewed on the tender green leaves. The long-hungry long-starved long-starved beetle spread its wings and flew to the trunk of the tree, piercing the bark directly with its hard mouthparts, humming and chirping, and eating it very pleasantly. The snails are the slowest, but there are several small dexterous robotic arms next to the box to help them, gently holding the hard shells and holding them firmly at the end of the most tender branches, and the rest of the destruction is of course done by the snails themselves.

The tall poplar tree roared again. It became even more frenzied, constantly waving its branches in the air, whipping hard at the insects that crawled on it. The soft branches bobbed back and forth like human arms, and within a few minutes, all the bugs were shot down and even crushed.

Lao Song turned around and glanced at Wang Qinian: "Your threat doesn't seem to have any effect. The tree is more difficult to deal with than expected. ”

"Not necessarily."

The old fat man smiled faintly, pressed the button again, and the walls around the cage began to shrink inward, sticking out a dozen hoses with a diameter of half a meter. Swarms of bugs poured out of the mouth, and there were so many of them. Through the transparent cage, it was as if an insect-like tornado storm was forming inside.

The poor poplar tree was almost roaring, and it was swinging its branches faster, and more insects were being shot down from the air and branches, and more insects were climbing up the leaves and trunks to bite wildly. The war of resistance lasted for more than half an hour, and when everything had subsided, the liquid surface of the cement pool was covered with a thick layer of insect corpses, and the leaves of the poplar trees had become sparse, and the skin of the trunk was covered with scars, which looked shocking.

"This kind of thing happens every few days. This tree belongs to the kind of guy who is not afraid of pain and is easy to forget the past. Only by giving it a little bit of ruthlessness will it listen to you honestly. ”

As he spoke, Wang Qinian turned his gaze to Lao Song and said seriously: "Now, do you understand what I mean by taking you to see these modified species?" ”

Old Song raised his eyebrows: "You mean black particles?" ”

"What all living things on Earth have in common is that they have the same missing part of the gene chain."

Wang Qinian pulled up a research paper from the computer. That's an electronic image taken under a microscope. The background is a pale yellow liquid, filled with bustling cells. They move slowly, occasionally colliding, and then moving away quickly. Both the movement and the flow speed seem sluggish, as if walking in space.

A round particle that is black all over suddenly appears at the edge of the scene. They swim much faster than the original cells, and are dozens of times larger than those cells. Once on contact, no matter what shape or type the opponent is, the black particles will protrude sharp spikes from the edges and pierce directly into the opponent's interior, injecting their own fluid. Soon, the captured endosomes begin to become cloudy, trembling in an abnormal way, and even swelling. Instead of collapsing on the spot, they were let go by the black particles, as if they had lost their souls, and floated aimlessly in the nutrient solution.

"These cells produce new changes in 24 hours. They regroup, divide at an increased rate, and form new systems within the organism. It's a connection that fills the genetic gap from within, resulting in an unprecedented change. It is effective for almost all species. Note that "almost" here is because I didn't test all terrestrial species. But as far as the numbers are known, this modification should have an effect on all species. ”

Old Song nodded knowingly. Rigor and rigidity are the biggest characteristics of Wang Qinian, and they can also be regarded as advantages.

He quickly came up with another question: "If you think of this black particle as a parasitic virus, then ......"

Of course, Wang Qinian knew the question that Lao Song had not yet spoken: "Then the entire biological world of the earth will become the same as human beings." ”

"You just said it's a transformation?"

"That's right! At least it seems to us. Lions, ants, snakes, and plants have become more human-like and communicate in the same way as we do. Maybe one day in the future, all species will have similar recipes to us. ”

Wang Qinian's words did not make Lao Song easy at all. On the contrary, Lao Song only felt an indescribable fear: "So, can you be sure that there are any species that are immune to black particles?" ”

The old fat man stared at Lao Song for a long time, and suddenly grinned and smiled.

"Hahahaha! It seems that we all have the same problem in mind. ”

Old Song's expression was still grim: "You haven't answered my question just now." ”

Wang Qinian laughed for a few seconds, and his face became rigid again: "I'm not sure." But as far as I can guess, there should be. ”

"Guess? It's not like the way you speak. ”

"That's why I need your help. Or to put it another way: we have to work more closely together. ”

Lao Song nodded heavily: "Say it!" What do you need me to do for you? ”

(I sincerely advise all readers, don't go to Puzhehei Scenic Area when you come to Yunnan to travel, the staff almost beat the tourists to death, for the sake of life, stay away from this black-hearted scenic spot.) The recipes of all species are similar to ours. ”

Wang Qinian's words did not make Lao Song easy at all. On the contrary, Lao Song only felt an indescribable fear: "So, can you be sure that there are any species that are immune to black particles?" ”

The old fat man stared at Lao Song for a long time, and suddenly grinned and smiled.

"Hahahaha! It seems that we all have the same problem in mind. ”

Old Song's expression was still grim: "You haven't answered my question just now." ”

Wang Qinian laughed for a few seconds, and his face became rigid again: "I'm not sure." But as far as I can guess, there should be. ”

"Guess? It's not like the way you speak. ”

"That's why I need your help. Or to put it another way: we have to work more closely together. ”

Lao Song nodded heavily: "Say it!" What do you need me to do for you? ”

(I sincerely advise all readers, don't go to Puzhehei Scenic Area when you come to Yunnan to travel, the staff almost beat the tourists to death, for the sake of life, stay away from this black-hearted scenic spot.) ）