Zhou Yi brought the Weapon Masters with him, collecting all the Flying Silk they could find, and also transported the silkworm-like creature onto the Sea God.

Upon returning to Jade City, he immediately sought out Da Vinci and Bi Qi.

The Mechanical Doctor conducted a comprehensive scan and examination of the silkworm.

"It doesn't belong to any of the existing recorded species."

"Usually, insects have a forebrain for vision, a midbrain for processing sensory organ information, and a hindbrain for coordination at a minimum, with at least one of these present. However, it lacks anything resembling a large brain, consisting purely of digestive organs."

"Based on its displayed characteristics, it is most closely related to intestines."

Zhou Yi was stunned.

Was this silkworm inherently a piece of intestine?

He observed carefully.

The white silkworm-like organism indeed lacked eyes, only possessing a toothless mouthpart, and seemed to be without any other features like fine hairs, feet, appendages, or antennae.

Its appearance was indeed strange.

"Shouldn't it be considered a member of the Guangna Species?" Zhou Yi asked.

"For now, it's more accurate to consider it an independent Guangna Organ."

Da Vinci's green ray scanned back and forth over the unidentified creature.

"Its physiological function is very simple—it ingests food from the front, then after digestion and conversion, secretes a thread-like substance from the rear. It's just that this thread-like substance is very special, extremely smooth on the surface, and can react uniquely with Death Light to maintain a floating state."

Octopus Brother also said, "This fellow is a severely mutated Guangna Organ."

"Under continuous, intense stimulation in extreme conditions, a Guangna Organ can become out of control and gradually take over the entire host's body, eventually digesting other external organs, leaving only the independent Guangna Organ behind. It's like the stomach eating the whole person."

It gestured with its sucker-lined tentacles, "However, usually at this stage, the organ itself cannot survive independently. Its limited function is not enough to sustain it in a complex environment. It can't forage, rest, or perceive, so it quickly self-destructs or is hunted and eaten by other organisms."

Zhou Yi then summoned Xiao Fu from No. 2 machine to see if it recognized the thing.

The Reverse Flow, however, said, "Ah, this is a lower Circular Flow Life, called differently in different worlds. We Reverse Flow call them Spit Silk. The silk they spit floats up and interconnects, then captures and connects many fragmented Conscious Keys, eventually slowly expanding..."

Zhou Yi immediately realized, "Do they have anything to do with Firewood Mounds?"

"Yes."

Xiao Fu explained, "The silk of the Spit Silk can form the framework of a Firewood Mound, just like some creatures building a nest would first construct a skeleton. Several types of lower Circular Flow Life have this function. Most importantly, the silk of the Spit Silk is stable and tough, and can float under the influence of the Circular Flow, so the Firewood Mounds they form are often in a suspended state, even if a large amount of matter accumulates, they still remain lightweight."

"It's just that there's not much use in having only one of them; the number is too few. Thousands of Spit Silk over the years are needed to create a Firewood Mound."

This thing could indeed fly and maintain a floating state in the death light.

What Zhou Yi was more concerned with was, "Why does such a thing exist?"

The Reverse Flow said, "When the Circular Flow erupts, it directly shatters most life in an instant while creating lower organisms like the Spit Silk."

"Their Conscious Key is just a pair, stable but incapable of evolution, and unable to communicate with the outside world, only spitting silk. This silk is actually their own growth and extension."

"Can the Spit Silk reproduce?"

"They do not have the ability to reproduce actively, but they can divide passively."

Xiao Fu said, "Under the impact of strong external energy, the Spit Silk can be split. This actually simulates the process of a Circular Flow eruption... The closest thing to this is the Light Burst Zone. Although the intensity is very low, it's still possible for a one-time division."

Zhou Yi was reassured.

This thing was safe, not capable of self-propagation, and lazy as a dog.

It would make for a good research subject.

Xiao Fu continued, "The Spit Silk needs a large amount of convertible food to support the material exchange between itself and the outside world, which is spitting silk."

"In one hour, it has to eat 64 times its own weight in food, which can be anything that animals can eat, not fussy at all. It has no aggressiveness, won't eat unless the food is fed directly to its mouth, and won't chase if prey escapes once inside its mouth. Moreover, it is extremely lazy, hardly moving at all."

Da Vinci also confirmed the information from the Reverse Flow.

"Chairman, this creature consumes a large amount of food when feeding. It needs one pound of food for every 10 centimeters of silk it produces, which is a substantial consumption."

Low silk production, high food demand.

No wonder the long-necked crocodile had to empty the bus station's food supply; otherwise, it really couldn't be sustained.

Everyone has their specialty.

Zhou Yi finally handed the Spit Silk over to the Insect Breeder, A Feng, and sternly reminded him to be careful with its care and to pay attention to safety issues.

"Yes, Chairman, I will definitely take good care of these insects."

A Feng was actually very happy.

He looked at the Spit Silk from left to right: "This guy can really eat, so fat. Oh, it looks uncomfortable, this situation looks like..."

A Feng reached into its mouth and scratched around for a while, then pulled out two staples and a piece of plastic... probably from the previous food packaging.

The body of the Spit Silk suddenly relaxed and looked much more at ease.

After all, he was a professional Insect Breeder, immediately noticing abnormalities that others had not.

...

The Spit Silk could currently only be used for some basic research; to mass-produce Flying Silk would require a huge amount of food, and the company's food supply was not yet at a stage where they could afford such extravagance.

Just as Zhou Yi and A Feng were discussing the Spit Silk, the electronic eye of the Red Kestrel suddenly lit up.

"Nemo has made an important discovery on the coast."

Zhou Yi immediately went over.

Then he saw that Xie Xun and the Scavenger Team were surrounding something on the ground.

Zhou Yi also went over to look.

It turned out that a few sand rats were engaging in rapid mating.

Zhou Yi was immediately disappointed—what was there to see in that?

But he quickly realized that something was off.

Because among the sand rats, there were also two Coal Shell Bugs.

They had actually joined the group mating swarm and seemed not to be rejected by the sand rats, though the process was a bit arduous.

The Coal Shell Bugs, carrying heavy shells, had to flip over with their limbs facing up to be able to perform reproductive movements; their actions were clumsy and their mobility visibly poor.

The electromechanical mouse Nemo spoke from the sandy ground nearby: "Chairman, look. These Coal Shell Bugs can mate with the sand rats, and they can even communicate with each other."

"The shell on the Coal Shell Bug is actually hair and bones, evolved to adapt to the environment of the Dead Sea, protecting themselves and camouflaging. Inside the shell are fragile organs and flesh."

"The sand rats consider the Coal Shell Bugs to be their distant relatives based on their scent. I boldly hypothesize that the Coal Shell Bugs are sand rats that entered the underground of the Dead Sea and survived after mutating."

Zhou Yi's gaze suddenly became solemn: "Are you sure?"

"There is a high probability."

Nemo's small eyes shone with a faint green light: "Because the language of the sand rat itself has a specific frequency, yet the Coal Shell Bugs can understand it. The vocalizations of the Coal Shell Bugs are much lower, but the sand rats can understand them. Their scents are also very close, and they have a natural affinity."

"Beyond that, the most important is the mating instinct."

"I believe that some sand rats entered the sea floor and evolved into a branch that became the Coal Shell Bugs. Or perhaps, earlier on, the two were one in the same, choosing to live on the Land or in the Dead Sea according to survival needs, then developing specific shapes in different environments."

"However, whether they can successfully bear offspring still needs at least one month to verify. But for now, there seems to be no rejection."

"Regardless of whether this aspect is successful, the Coal Shell Bugs have extremely high value. They are like the sand rats of the Dead Sea."

The electromechanical mouse excitedly wagged its tail: "Chairman, I strongly recommend domesticating them, making them our spies and scouts underground in the Dead Sea. With them, whether it's searching for city ruins or minerals, it will become much easier!"

Zhou Yi was overjoyed.

The Spit Silk might look intimidating, but Coal Shell Bugs had more practical value!

These unassuming creatures were natives of the sea floor. It was already evident from their previous orders to collect materials under command of the long-necked crocodile that they could cooperate with each other and perform complex tasks, in this respect truly similar to the sand rats.

With Coal Shell Bugs, the pace of external exploration would no longer be step by step, but a silent expansion in all directions underground.

"Nemo, you'll be in charge of recruiting and domesticating them."

Zhou Yi said, "What do they need?"

The electromechanical mouse replied: "Coal Shell Bugs feed on some sediments from the underground, so their bodies are severely altered. They don't have any other demands, just like sand rats, they are very interested in fresh food; they like sweet potatoes and peanuts very much."

Zhou Yi pondered briefly: "Then let's distribute a batch of food to them every month as a reward for the undersea survey. Discuss the specifics with Zheng Tao."

"Yes, Chairman."

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