However, what he didn't expect was that Xiao Qi actually imitated his tone and sighed, and sighed in an old-fashioned way.

"Yes, it always feels like time flies so fast when I'm with my master. Every second when we're not together feels like a year."

Hearing this, Chu Guang glanced at the little guy sitting on his shoulders and swaying his feet.

Ever since he got this new toy, this guy is almost obsessed with him.

"I didn't leave you alone for long, right?"

"Yes!" Xiao Qi gave a thumbs up with a confident look on her face, her eyes shining like light bulbs, "The master is the best!"

""

With a slight cough, Chu Guang turned around and left the side of the floor-to-ceiling window. "It's time to get off the boat. Okay!"

Reaching out to grab the floating drone, Xiao Qi obediently jumped off Chu Guang's shoulder and wandered into his pocket.

Chu Guang specifically told it not to be too conspicuous when there are people around.

The rumors and rumors about myself are already outrageous enough.

He doesn’t want to be misunderstood by the melon-eaters anymore that he has some strange hobby...

In order to avoid disturbing the lives of the residents, Chu Guang ordered the crew to drive the airship directly into the boundaries of Qingquan City and hover over the Genghu Wetland Park.

Under the nervous gaze of a pair of eyes on the giant wall, Chu Guang took the elevator and landed at the base on the surface of the shelter.

Before he even stepped out of the elevator, the sharp-eyed mosquito spotted him and immediately ran up to him, asking for credit with a smile.

"Dear administrator, the traitor 'Luo Yu' has been captured and returned!"

"In order to prevent him from going wild, we imprisoned him in the small dark room next to Nico... It's just a pity that this guy doesn't seem to be to your mount's liking.

Chu Guang's brows twitched, but he didn't blame this guy.

Currently known clues indicate that Luo Yu's remains were "seized" by the mutant slime mold in No. 7 Oasis.

When you are not sure whether the anomalous individual is safe, letting Nija look at it is indeed the best choice. The powerful breath of life exuding from the Death Claw is also a deterrent in itself.

"......I understand, go ahead and do your business."

"So young!"

The completion of the task was confirmed through V, and the mosquito disappeared in a flash.

The agility system is indeed not that fast.

Ignoring this guy, Chu Guang went straight to Ni La's den.

However, what surprised him was that brother "Luo Yu" was not suppressed by Ni Zang's momentum. Instead, the latter had a fearful expression on his face, staring dangerously at the cell next to him, with his teeth bared.

exposed dangerously low

"Luo Yu" standing in the cell had a dull expression on his face and looked harmless.

After all, it's not very smart, so even if it's harmful, it's hard to imagine how bad it could be.

but--

After all, the thinking mode and perspective of beasts are different from humans. Maybe Nizo smelled something bad from him.

Chu Guang patted Nico's head.

The latter made a purring sound and rubbed his arm. The aggrieved expression on his face seemed to be begging him to keep that guy away, and also seemed to be complaining about leaving him alone for so long.

Yin Fang and He Ya were standing in front of the iron fence of the small black room nearby, looking at Luo Yu standing inside as if they were inspecting a product.

"It's strange..." He has everything a person should have, and he also has things he shouldn't have, but why can't he feel the sense of autonomy?"

Yin Fang had a confused expression on his face.

Hea stood aside with his arms folded, his expression seemed to be deep in thought.

"Hmm... - It's really strange. The cells formed by the slime mold seem to have become a part of him. I don't know if it is by changing the receptor or something. It actually deceived the immune system and did not cause any rejection reaction. It even worked.

The efficiency is higher than that of normal body cells."

Yin Fang looked at her and asked.

"I don't know much about mutant slime mold... I just want to know what's the difference between this and what happened to that guy Butch?

Hea thought for a while and said.

"The difference is still very obvious, one is parasitism and the other is symbiosis."

Stock owner: "In any case, they are all replaced by slime mold?"

Hea nodded, but then shook her head.

"Yes, and no...for example, if you replace your arm with a bionic prosthesis, are you the same person as you were before undergoing the transformation surgery?"

Yin Fang replied matter-of-factly.

"Of course. Replacing the mechanical prosthetic body is just a more efficient tool, not a change of brains."

Hea nodded and continued

"His situation is the same, except that the replacement tool is an organism. His genetic information has not been changed. Even if all the body cells are replaced with slime mold, he can still retain his original consciousness...at least in theory."

A look of astonishment appeared on Yin Fang's face

However, he did not rush to refute, but fell into deep thought.

"Well...what you said makes sense."

But this is only theoretical.

The existing theories cannot provide a reasonable explanation as to why this guy still looks stupid.

Walking next to the two of them, Chu Guang asked.

"Has the research produced any results?"

Hea shook her head.

"It's a pity that I don't have it...Although life science is my research direction, I always feel that the issues involved are beyond the scope of my subject."

After a pause, she looked at Chu Guang and continued.

"However, based on my observations over the past few days, I discovered a very interesting phenomenon."

Chu Guang asked immediately.

"What phenomenon?"

Hea then spoke.

"The mutant slime mold at the No. 7 Oasis site is fundamentally different from the slime mold in Qingquan City in terms of genetic information structure. Although we use the same term to call them, in fact they have evolved into two completely different species.

.”

"For example, the most prominent feature is that the mutant slime mold in Qingquan City transmits information through spores, and the fruiting body of this No. 7 slime mold - let me call it that, does not have the function of transmitting information. The fruiting body and the

Communication between fruiting bodies requires the same sound waves as humans."

Chu Guang nodded thoughtfully.

"My subordinates also discovered this situation...the slime mold fruiting bodies will become significantly more aggressive after hearing the mother's roar..."

Yin Fang suddenly seemed to have thought of something, his eyes lit up and he said.

"Could it be because of the lack of water and organic matter in the desert? So spores cannot be released on a large scale, and the environment of the valley is convenient for echo transmission of information..."

"That's what I think!" Hea nodded, with a hint of excitement in his tone, "Slime molds are extremely adaptable to the environment, which in turn means that their evolution is extremely susceptible to environmental influences. Short

In just two hundred years, their populations have differentiated to the point where they cannot recognize each other, which is good news for us anyway!"

Yin Fang was thoughtful.

"To put it simply, wouldn't two slime mold mother bodies merge into a larger one?"

"Correct!" Hea snapped his fingers and continued with a smile, "Although there are some differences in details, this is roughly what it means. And more than that, when the differences between these mutant slime molds reach a certain level, intraspecific struggles will occur.

It will even evolve into a species competition! The two sides will no longer exchange genetic information harmoniously, but will fiercely compete for living space until one side completely replaces the other... But this part is just my guess, and there is not enough evidence.

That’s it.”

This is indeed good news and provides a new way of thinking about solving the problem of mutant slime mold.

If nuclear weapons can't destroy these nasty guys, maybe they can actively introduce benign strains to compete with malignant strains for living space.

As for how to make benign strains have stronger species competitiveness, that is a question that requires researchers from the alliance to think about.

"Are there any other clues?"

Hea shook her head in shame.

"No more...that's all for now."

Chu Guang nodded and comforted the two of them,

"Don't be depressed, you have done a good job.

Four days have passed since Luo Yu was transferred to Qingquan City.
To be continued...