"In this world, I know there's another Black Thorn. It's very special; it has never responded to me. Every time I try to approach it, it swiftly dodges away."

Ni Ge sat cross-legged on the ground, recalling, "Because the speed of Black Thorn is constant—even if I forcefully initiate the Light Core Body state—it would trigger the same action from the other party. I can never make contact."

"Later on, I could only give up."

"But I discovered something strange. It actually appears around some Space Bubbles, which is strictly forbidden in operations."

"Every Mud Tree Person using Black Thorn knows that Space Bubbles might contain life from Otherworlds. Unless you're ready to cross worlds, you must keep your distance from them."

He looked toward Zhou Yi, "Seriously violating the basic protocol means the other Black Thorn should be in an unclaimed state, hence the uncontrollable movement."

"Normally, Black Thorns maintain a distance from one another to ensure their independent spaces."

"Unfortunately, I can't get close, nor can I inspect it."

Zhou Yi asked, "Not even with a recovery platform?"

"No."

Ni Ge shook his head, "According to protocol, the Mud Tree People shouldn't stray too far from Black Thorn; otherwise, it might fly away on its own. If a recovery platform is built, it will just cause one's own Black Thorn to come for landing."

"They have no intelligence, only instinct to act upon, so they can't accurately differentiate or execute complex commands."

He glanced again at the new Black Thorn beside Zhou Yi, with a somewhat complex expression, "Now we indeed have one, but it's completely unusable…"

"Can you determine its exact location?"

"Yes. I know it roams within a particular area, within a large vortex to the east."

The "large vortex" he refers to is a major rapids.

With these characteristics, it's easier to search.

Zhou Yi then asked, "Was the Mud Tree Civilization really destroyed?"

Ni Ge nodded, "Our world has been conquered by the bugs. The Sky-reaching Tree has been gnawed to death from its roots, and bugs are everywhere. They have the power to destroy plants, and the foundation of the whole world no longer exists."

"Explorers from the Mud Tribe like me can still withstand the corrosive forces in the Dead Sea. But the vast majority, ordinary people and newborns, cannot live in the Dead Sea; they are the majority."

"We can only cultivate Black Thorns as much as possible and send our compatriots one by one to the outside world through Space Bubbles."

What Zhou Yi was more concerned about was, "Under normal circumstances, only the Light Core Body can truly pass through Space Bubbles. Are you relying on temporarily entering the Light Core Body state with Black Thorn and then crossing worlds?"

"Correct. You're quite knowledgeable."

The Mud Tree Person's face, however, showed a somewhat heavy expression, "Regrettably, the Light Core Body state of Black Thorn, after all, is only catalytically transformed by force. Its inherent fruit shell and flesh are far from the strength of a real Light Core Body."

"The Mud Tree Civilization can't create synthetic photonic bodies. We could only search for high-strength fruits to transform, through generations of refinement, removing parts with autonomous consciousness, retaining the largest and most energy-storing parts, and in the end, finding hollow ones, because we need them to carry us…"

Zhou Yi then understood.

Black Thorns inherently have a certain autonomy, but Mud Tree Civilization selectively bred them over generations into non-thinking biological carriers.

"Even after tremendous efforts, the state of Black Thorn's Light Core Body can only be sustained for a very brief period. They're not completely solid Light Core Bodies, so there are flaws."

"The success rate of passing through Space Bubbles is only 10%."

He sighed.

"But even with only a one in ten chance of survival, we still have to try. Because the bugs are evolving too fast. Initially, they gnawed on Sky-reaching Trees, various plants and fruits on the trees, later, they began to consume humans, and various monsters in the Dead Sea."

"They get stronger as they kill, their numbers swelling uncontrollably, nothing can withstand them…"

Ni Ge's voice got lower and lower.

Zhou Yi stroked his chin thoughtfully, "However, if the bugs hunt and consume everything as you say, then eventually all life over there will be devoured by them. Next comes cannibalism because their hunger won't disappear as the external environment deteriorates, right?"

"That's not how it is. If it were as you described, we would have a chance to take back our world."

The Mud Tree Person shook his head, "Those bugs, they learned how to parasitize and cultivate various creatures, including the decaying Sky-reaching Trees, the various monsters in the Dead Sea, and birds in the sky."

"The bugs are becoming smarter. They've discerned the secret of sustaining life, no longer simply eating and breeding little things, but truly beginning to dominate and use the other living things in the world, as their resources."

"Many believe, they've learned everything from us, because we also use insects to help plants pollinate and bear fruit."

"Wait."

Zhou Yi keenly realized, "You said they would parasitize other creatures, don't tell me that the Mud Tree People have also been…"

Ni Ge nodded heavily, a pained expression on his face, "Many of my compatriots are also controlled by parasitism. So people say, the bugs have stolen all our achievements."

"Just as we use plants to cultivate fruits, transforming them into our symbiotic tools, the bugs use us in the same way. Those who are parasitized serve the bugs because their minds are controlled, unable to even seek death."

Zhou Yi felt a shiver down his spine.

It was not some colossal insect disaster that destroyed the Mud Tree Civilization, but an emerging insect parasitic civilization.

This new entity not only had a formidable ability to survive and reproduce, but also stole the fruits of the former's civilization for its own use, parasitizing and exploiting other life forms.

The defeat of the Mud Tree Civilization was not undeserved.

"Although we have Black Thorns, entering the Space Bubbles is still very dangerous. Space Bubbles have a periodic nature; only at certain intervals are they penetrable, otherwise, they close."

"Anyway, that's it. We were defeated by the bugs and fled to other worlds for refuge."

At this point, Ni Ge finally let go of his burden, even showing a self-deprecating smile, "Pretty miserable, right?"

"Everyone encounters difficulties."

Zhou Yi pointed out the window with his finger: "This world once had a brilliant human civilization, but after the Circular Flow catastrophe, only ruins under the sea remained. The new humans on the surface are the descendants of the Old Humans, but they are fundamentally incomparable to the past."

"You are much luckier than them."

The other party was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Before the Circular Flow appeared, energy levels were very low, yet they were still able to establish a world-class civilization. That must have been an ancient and powerful civilization... Eh, you're talking about the original builders of those undersea ruins, right?"

"Yes."

"They were indeed impressive."

With a serious expression, Ni Ge said: "Those huge building complexes covering the surface, as well as the ground passages resembling main trunks and branches, are beautiful and stable structures."

"It seems everyone has their own difficulties, every world has its own disasters."

Zhou Yi steered the conversation back: "Right. You just said you belong to the Mud Tribe? Are you divided into many tribes?"

"We don't have the concept of tribes."

The Mud Tree People moved their shoulders and smoothed their spiky hair on top of their heads: "Here you speak of countries and cities; in our place, we simply refer to ourselves as 'Mud Tree', with two branches: Mud Tribe and Tree Tribe."

"The Mud Tribe consists of warriors and explorers, and their bodies have to be strengthened to a certain degree."

"Warriors are responsible for protecting the entire group and the Sky-reaching Tree, specializing in combat. Explorers like me must explore the Dead Sea and the outside world."

"But the Mud Tribe has a common characteristic; they are responsible for finding quality mud. Mud is an essential foundation for Mud Tree Civilization. Without quality mud, the trees cannot grow and reproduce."

"The Tree Tribe is basically made up of naturalists and logistics personnel."

"Naturalists specialize in hybridizing, pairing, and grafting plants, to stimulate the potential hidden within them. Every plant has a vast repository of abilities; it's just a matter of how to tap into that."

"Logistics are responsible for most of the everyday life matters, including distribution and organization of supplies, maintenance of various plants, and taking care of children, the sick, and the like."

According to Ni Ge's description, this is equivalent to two professional systems.

The Mud Tribe deals with external matters; the Tree Tribe deals with internal matters.

Curious, Zhou Yi asked: "You said you're surveying minerals over here; it looks like you're searching for mud?"

"Yeah. We need the corresponding mud to cultivate the Sky-reaching Tree. Each of us Mud Tree People escaping from Black Thorn keeps a few seeds of the Sky-reaching Tree."

He promised again: "You just help me get that Black Thorn, and I will join you and teach you how to plant the Sky-reaching Tree."

"Right now, I'm too weak, I can't recover it safely by myself. An explorer without a Black Thorn is inherently too weak."

"Deal."

...

Jade City rose into the sky.

Under satellite navigation, Zhou Yi began searching for the whirlpool that Ni Ge mentioned.

Through the visualized images on the tablet, they quickly locked onto the target's location.

"This is the spot."

Ni Ge pointed to a large rapids area.

So Zhou Yi and he descended from the sky on Black Thorn, plunging into the Dead Sea.

Yuan Xiao followed by flight.

Arriving at the sea floor.

From a distance, Zhou Yi observed the target.

The second Black Thorn didn't look particularly different on the outside, just trembling occasionally, showing signs of unrest.

He said to Ni Ge beside him: "Build the recovery platform."

So the Mud Tree People began to break into the tough layer of the sea floor, his large hands dug out the seabed mud and built a mud platform, both quickly and well, showing a high level of proficiency.

"Done."

Ni Ge said.

Then both men retreated two hundred meters away.

They waited quietly for a few minutes.

The second Black Thorn wobbled over, circling slowly above the recovery platform. But just as it was about to land, it suddenly shook violently and then flew away.

Ni Ge's face turned grim: "It indeed has a problem; it can't be recovered in the normal way."

Zhou Yi was in sync with the first Black Thorn, inquiring about the situation.

"That guy seems to be controlled by something; he must be very confused, otherwise he wouldn't be so indecisive, wasting energy."

The first Black Thorn eagerly said: "I'll go catch it!"

"Can you do it?"

"Yes."

Black Thorn stated: "After awakening, my control ability far exceeds the past, I can catch it."

"Then let's try."

Black Thorn instantly switched to the Light Core Body form and charged at the opponent.

The second Black Thorn was also stimulated into the third stage, and the two began to chase each other frantically at the bottom of the Dead Sea, flickering wildly.

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