Jiang Xiao's thought just turned quickly in his heart, but there was no show on his face, and he only nodded quietly.

"So, is it up to you to ask, or shall I explain to you first?" Ziyan also picked up the wine glass and took a sip, revealing a satisfied expression.

"You say, I'll listen. Jiang Xiao nodded quietly, stretched out his chopsticks and grabbed a peanut from a plate and threw it into his mouth. This peanut is just an ordinary street product, and it seems that the old Chinese store has all the signs on his unique wine.

"Good. Ziyan nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, raised his head and said, "I once asked you a question, do you really think that you are a homo sapiens? You didn't answer at that time, but now three days have passed, have you come up with an answer?"

"Nope. Jiang Xiao shook his head and smiled bitterly: "I can be sure that I am the biological son of my parents, and I am by no means adopted." If I'm not Homo sapiens, then are they...... And my older generation, and my ancestors of the older generation, weren't they all Homo sapiens? And ......"

Jiang Xiao raised his originally lowered head slightly, and looked directly at Ziyan's beautiful face: "Moreover, your wording at that time was really intriguing. You're not talking about 'we're not human,' but — 'we're not Homo sapiens,' and that's kind of ...... It's weird. Isn't the so-called human being the colloquial term for Homo sapiens?"

Ziyan laughed: "Your observation is really sharp. Yes, I used the word 'Homo sapiens', not 'human'. There is a difference between the two. ”

Jiang Xiao sighed lightly: "Sure enough, my suspicion is not wrong in the direction." That is, we are indeed 'humans', not descendants of monster vampires or the like, but — not in the usual sense of the word, animalia, chordates, mammals, primates, hominidae, hominus, homo sapiens. So...... Tell me plainly, what are we?"

"Yes, what exactly is 'we'......" Ziyan gently stretched out his hand, picked up the wine jug, and filled the empty porcelain cup in front of the two of them again: "It is indeed effortless to talk to a calm and intelligent person like you. At least I believe that even if you have doubts about what I am going to say next, you will not have any violent reaction, refuse to admit it. ”

Jiang Xiao nodded: "I think I should be mentally prepared enough." ”

Ziyan gently pecked a sip of the wine in the glass, and the white porcelain wine glass and the white fingers turned into the same color under the flickering of the dim oil lamp, and they couldn't distinguish each other: "Since you have suspected the word 'Homo sapiens' that I am talking about, then I think that in the past three days, you should have also collected some information in this direction, right?

Jiang Xiao smiled: "Indeed, I have checked. Naredis man, Madame Ludaw, Homo sapiens, Pioneer man, Sibrano man, Homo erectus, Craftsman, Heidelberg man, Penghu ape-man, Neanderthal, Homo sapiens, Denisovan, Cro-Magnon, Floris, and Javanese ape-man, these are all species under the genus Homo. But today, all the other species have long since disappeared in the long process of evolution, and only Homo sapiens remains, which is commonly referred to as humans. ”

"yes...... Disappearing in the long process of evolution...... Ziyan sighed softly, and there seemed to be some sadness in his eyes: "But have you ever thought about what it means to disappear, why did they disappear?"

Jiang Xiao thought for a while and said, "Because...... Homo sapiens has a more developed brain, better environmental adaptability, and occupies a higher position in the ecological niche. The specific way in which other kinds of disappearance is still a matter of opinion. Some theories claim that it was because of a direct primitive war between Homo sapiens and them. Some theories claim that it was because Homo sapiens had better access to food that caused the natural decline of other species. In addition, there are many theories such as inbreeding, pollution, environmental change, etc., but none of them can dominate. ”

"No, that's all wrong. Ziyan shook his head slightly, and there was a mockery in his eyes: "I don't know about the extinction of other species, but at least - Neanderthals are not extinct for these reasons. On the contrary, they have disappeared into the long river of history because they are too strong! And we are their descendants! Neanderthals!"

Jiang Xiao raised his hands, supported his chin, stood on the table with his elbows, and stared intently at Ziyan.

Although this answer was shocking, it did not surprise him, at least it was not enough to make the current Jiang Xiao show abnormality. In all the previous speculations, he did not think that this possibility existed.

He thought for a moment and slowly spoke: "So, I have two questions. First, Neanderthals possessed abilities far beyond those of other species in the genus, just like me...... And the same abilities that you've performed before, so what exactly is the reason for their extinction? Second, since you say that they are extinct, how do you explain that we are all descendants of Neanderthals?"

After speaking, Jiang Xiao paused again, and suddenly laughed: "Moreover, on the restored maps of the materials I consulted, the appearance of Neanderthals is not good-looking compared to modern humans, but closer to ape-mans. It really makes me unimaginable that among their descendants, there will be a beauty like you. ”

Ziyan looked at Jiang Xiao's gaze with undisguised appreciation: "Among the freshmen I have come into contact with, you are the one hundred and thirty-one, but after listening to the above words, you are the only one who can still remain so calm and still raise questions." ”

Jiang Xiao remained silent: "Thank you." ”

"As for your question...... Ziyan picked up a edamame and chewed it gently: "Actually, these two questions are the same question." And the answer is - strictly speaking, Neanderthals did not go extinct, they just chose to integrate their blood into Homo sapiens. ”

"Integration?" Jiang Xiao frowned and said, "At least under the current biological definition, the Neanderthal species has completely disappeared. Even if there are some genes remaining, they can only account for less than one thousandth. If it's really what you're calling integration, not extermination, then shouldn't the reality be that Neanderthals' genes took a stronger position? and...... Modern human genes, to a greater or lesser extent, will have Neanderthal genes, so how do you define what you call 'the same kind'?"

"After all, it was 100,000 years ago, and in that period when human beings were still in a state of ignorance, there was not even writing, so how could there be any historical records?" so we can only infer many things...... Ziyan smiled faintly: "According to some of the active integration we get now, it's just a choice out of desperation." For reasons that remain unexplained today, Neanderthals lost the ability to have children. Not one or two people, not dozens or hundreds, but - a whole race. When they realized this, they also understood the inevitability of the demise of the population. And in order to avoid extinction, the ancient Neanderthals chose ...... Hybridization. ”

Ziyan sighed, and her deep gaze projected on Jiang Xiao: "At this time, the orthodox ancestor of modern humans, Homo sapiens, came out of the African continent. And they became the mating partners of Neanderthals. Although this was just a crazy attempt in desperation before the extinction, I didn't expect that there would still be some successful examples. ”

Soon, with the arrival of natural lifespan, the original pure-blooded Neanderthals gradually died out, but the hybrid offspring born to them and Homo sapiens survived tenaciously. They multiplied from generation to generation, and their bloodlines were diluted from generation to generation, but the original genes of Neanderthals have always remained in the human race today, waiting for the day to ...... The awakening. ”

Jiang Xiao lowered his head and fell into deep contemplation, and after a long time, he frowned, raised his head and shook it: "This...... Wrong. ”

"Oh?" Ziyan smiled, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Xiao pondered for a moment and said slowly: "What you said is what happened tens of thousands of years ago, or even hundreds of thousands of years ago. And in that era, whether it was Homo sapiens or Neanderthals, according to our definition today, they were all primitive people. They have no written language, not even a language in the strict sense of the word, and their way of life is nothing more than a family or a small tribe that lives on gathering, fishing and hunting, and there can be no unified organization among themselves, but why ......"

Jiang Xiao's gaze suddenly froze, and he stared at Ziyan: "Why does the concept of 'Neanderthals' sound more like a group with a collective will in your description? How could a group of primitive people scattered on the European continent and live in the form of families and small tribes have a unified understanding and find themselves incapacitated at the same time? Unless, they are not primitive people, but a well-established country, and it can even be said that they are ...... Civilization!"

"Your questioning...... Reasonable. Ziyan nodded lightly: "I didn't say these things clearly, but you thought of them first." That's right—"

She lowered her head, slowly raised it again, looked at Jiang Xiao, and said word by word: "Neanderthals, indeed, were a civilization, a civilization that existed 100,000 years ago!"

Jiang Xiao took a deep breath. What Ziyan said was far beyond his common sense.

All the extant records and archaeological evidence prove that the upper limit of human civilization does not exceed 6,000 years ago, even by the broadest standards. And in the purple smoke, Neanderthals actually pushed this number forward by more than an order of magnitude!

Even the mythical Atlantis was only more than 10,000 years ago. But 100,000 years ago, in everyone's common sense, it was still the era when human beings drank blood. How could such a civilization exist in such a barbaric age?

What's more, if what Ziyan said is true, then why is there no archaeological evidence on the entire European continent? Even if there are only one or two uneartheds, it will be enough to turn the whole world's understanding of human history upside down!

As if seeing Jiang Xiao's suspicions, Ziyan smiled: "I understand, this is too bizarre for you." Even if you don't believe it, it's normal. And there are some deeper truths that you should not be exposed to right now. After all, you're just a kind of person who has just awakened. Unless...... One day, you become a member of the Academy. ”

"So, are you going to let me join the academy now?" Jiang Xiao smiled and shook his head: "But until now, I didn't know anything about the academy. ”

"Nope. It's not that time yet. Ziyan's answer was beyond Jiang Xiao's expectations: "The academy will try to include as many of its kind as possible into its own intelligence database and establish some preliminary contacts, but it doesn't mean that everyone will be invited to join." Especially...... People like you who have not yet fully awakened to the same kind. ”

"Well, you mentioned the word before, 'awakening'. In other words, my current ability has not yet reached the point of full growth, so what is the true awakening?" Jiang Xiao pondered for a moment and asked.

At the same time, his heart was a little more relieved. Originally, he was still a little worried that Ziyan and the organization called the academy to which he belonged would forcibly ask him to become a member. If such a situation really occurs, Jiang Xiao is bound to have a headache.

From the day he discovered his ability, Jiang Xiao was very glad about it. With this special ability, he can obtain many things that ordinary people cannot reach—wealth, fame, and so on. He enjoys the life he has now, but ...... Will an organization of its kind make his current life disappear, or at least make some difference?

As if seeing what Jiang Xiao was thinking, Ziyan smiled: "Don't worry, the purpose of the academy will never force people of the same kind who are not volunteers to join." As for awakening, there's no specific ......."

Before she could finish her sentence, a buzzing buzz suddenly sounded on her body. Ziyan raised her wrist and looked at it, said sorry, and then gently pressed the delicate women's watch on her wrist, and stuffed a miniature earphone that popped up into her ear.

"Hey, yes, it's me. ”