Back at the camp, the girls who had stayed behind saw Huang Wen and the others lugging big and small bags of taro, along with dozens of bottles of water, and immediately let out excited screams.
This caused the small teams nearby to come over and visit. Seeing the large amount of taro and water they had, everyone's mouths watered, and they began asking about the situation. Some even started harboring ill intentions.
Huang Wen then told everyone that they harvested the taro and the water from the pond at the foot of Biyun Mountain, and that everyone could go and do the same.
"Ah, but aren't there water monsters in that pond? Aren't you afraid?"
"Hehe, as long as you don't go into the water, you'll be fine. Just dig from the shore."
"Oh, I see. So, shall we go digging tomorrow?"
"Why not go right now? If we dig in the afternoon, we can enjoy a meal tonight."
Soon, several teams were preparing to set out.
Yang Xiao gathered around thirty girls and said,
"Never forget to protect yourselves. From now on, at least ten girls with iron rod weapons should stay alert. If anyone dares to steal our food, beat them to death without mercy,
the rest should collect as much wood and branches as possible and cut the taro stems into small sections to dry. To save water, don't wash the taro, just roast it directly on the fire,
build a small stove with bricks, and boil water in an iron kettle. Make sure to boil it; beware of the bacteria in the water. Only boiled water is safe to drink, remember not to drink raw water."
"Yes, boss!"
The girls answered loudly.
Yang Xiao smiled and carried a bucket towards the Genetic Store.
"Mr. Gu Bo, could you help me take a look at this eel to see if it's genetically mutated?"
Yang Xiao removed the taro leaves covering the iron bucket.
Gu Bo glanced at it and laughed,
"Not bad, this is indeed a genetically mutated eel. Haha, you're also lucky. In another two days, after this genetically mutated eel has completed its mutation, its body size will at least double, and it'll possess powerful attack capabilities. Ten of you wouldn't be a match for it. You're really lucky!"
Yang Xiao was startled, it matched his own expectations; the eel hadn't completed its mutation. That meant the weird fish in the pond and various mutated creatures on the mountain had also not completed their mutations. Once these creatures finished mutating, he surmised they would have a difficult time moving even an inch on the mountain.
The thought alone was frightening.
Scratching his head, Yang Xiao asked,
"Is this thing edible? Also, where are the Genetic Fragments you mentioned?"
"Hehe, this is a good thing. Mutated creatures are edible. Although it has not completed its mutation, it can still provide you with powerful energy and can somewhat improve your physique. As for Genetic Fragments, well, only creatures that have completed the first Evolution Stage will drop Genetic Fragments upon death."
"The first Evolution Stage?"
Yang Xiao looked at Gu Bo in surprise.
Gu Bo smiled mysteriously and said,
"The creatures on Earth will complete the first Evolution Stage after seven days, which is the evolution of the Primordial Gene. After completing the first stage of evolution, their Evolution Stages will not stop but will continue to evolve by devouring other Mutated Creatures until they reach the Second Stage of Genetic Evolution, the Enhanced Gene Stage."
"So, according to you, after completing the Enhanced Gene Evolution, they will continue to evolve, right?"
Gu Bo nodded and twirled his chin beard with his hand:
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"Haha, you are clever, but you don't need to worry about the later evolution stages yet. At each genetic evolution stage, these mutated creatures' attack power will increase exponentially, and so will the danger you face."
"How do we deal with these mutated creatures?"
"It's simple. They're evolving, and you must evolve, too. As long as your evolution rate surpasses these mutated creatures, you can defeat them."
"How do humans evolve?"
Although Yang Xiao had already guessed some of it, he was still confused about how to evolve himself.
"The evolution of humans is actually the same as other creatures. In seven days, some of you will begin to awaken the Beast Souls hidden within you. Those who don't awaken their Beast Souls will gradually do so during their cultivation. Hunt those mutated creatures, obtain Genetic Fragments, and bring them to my Genetic Store. I will refine them into genetic serums for you. By drinking the genetic serums, you will continuously improve your innate genes, thereby gaining ever-increasing combat power..."
Gu Bo explained for a while, and Yang Xiao roughly understood some of it. As for many specific questions, Gu Bo told Yang Xiao to wait until seven days later to slowly experience them.
After saying goodbye, Gu Bo looked at the giant eel in Yang Xiao's iron bucket, licked his lips, and said:
"How about you sell it to me? I'll give you one Crystal Coin. It's been a while since I've eaten mutated creatures."
There was a hint of craving in his words.
"One Crystal Coin?"
"Mhm, Crystal Coins are the special currency of the Genetic Store, even one Primordial Gene Fragment is just sold for one Crystal Coin. I'm offering a high price here."
"Haha, thank you Mr. Gu Bo, but I also want to taste what this mutated eel is like. Goodbye. Of course, if you're interested, I can bring you a bowl of soup to try."
After finishing, Yang Xiao left the Genetic Store.
From this conversation, Yang Xiao gained a rough understanding of the current state and future development.
When Yang Xiao returned to the girls' dinosaur team with his iron bucket, he saw a crowd gathered outside, and there was arguing coming from inside.
Yang Xiao squeezed through the crowd and saw it was Xiao Zhe's team, with the deputy leader Hao Lei in the lead.
Hao Lei was waiting for Chen Fei and the others to surrender to him. He had waited a day but did not expect that this girls' dinosaur team would dig up yams from the mountain, bring back clean water, and even lead other teams to do the same.
Hao Lei came with a few boys to take a look. Seeing Huang Wen, Chen Fei, and the others boiling water, roasting yams, and drying yam stems, he felt sour inside and scoffed:
"Wow, where did you get so much food? These are yam stems. They aren't even good enough for farm pigs to eat, and you are actually eating them?"
Huang Wen stood up and scolded:
"Hao Lei, mind your own business. We don't interfere with each other, so stay away from us."
"Haha, got a few yams and acting all high and mighty now, have you forgotten how you begged our boss last night?"
The onlookers burst into laughter as well.
Huang Wen's face turned beet red, she picked up an iron shovel and swung it towards Hao Lei:
"You, thug! If you keep this up, don't blame me for being rude."
Hao Lei sneered,
"Haha, I really want to see what not being polite looks like."
With that, he kicked over a kettle of boiling water, extinguishing the fire.