Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation The torrential rain didn't last long. When the dark clouds dispersed and the light returned, Leviathan once again set foot on the Shining Woodland.
But … could this place still be called a woodland?
Scorch marks could be seen everywhere. Thick tree trunks had been reduced to black fragments and dust, covering the ground.
There were still many twisted trees that hadn't fallen, but they had been charred black by the flames. The entire forest was filled with a strong smell.
This scene was caused by the extinction of a species.
The extinction of a species … Lin had only just begun to consider this question.
Indeed … a beautiful environment, a suitable environment for living, was made up of countless living creatures. Living creatures protected the land from the threat of ultraviolet rays. Living creatures enriched the world. Every species, every predator and every prey were intertwined. They formed a special relationship with each other, allowing nutrients and energy to be constantly rotated between them.
Lin had already noticed this relationship when she was observing various living creatures, but she didn't delve too deeply into it at the time.
If one of these creatures disappeared, something unexpected would happen.
Extinction … Lin had only done the same thing in the single-cell era, but there were simply too many cells back then. Even if one type went extinct, another type would quickly take its place. However, in the multicellular era, it did not seem like life would take its place so quickly …
After all, every multicellular organism had evolved through countless disasters. Once it disappeared, it would disappear forever, along with its countless years of evolutionary information, without a trace.
So that's how it is. Is this the true meaning of compassion?
Lin didn't know how the Qibucha Insects managed the fungi, but it seemed like they had a way to prevent the fungi from spreading into the forest. Perhaps the Qibucha Insects also had other effects on the forest, but there was no way to know.
She felt a little regretful …
If a similar situation were to happen again, Lin wouldn't make a decision so easily. She would consider it more thoroughly, but Lin also wouldn't easily let go of creatures that threatened her.
Now that it was over, Lin wouldn't think too much about it. After concluding and thinking, Lin would know what to do next.
Now, she would continue her research and see what the flames left behind.
The flames didn't spread into the Dark Woodland. Lin discovered that the trees that weren't destroyed could produce a special liquid that seemed to prevent the flames from burning them.
However, fungi would destroy this element and cause the trees to become dry and cracked.
Right now, Lin was mainly researching the Flickering Woodland that had been burnt to ashes and was now giving off the smell of smoke. Everything that had been burned by flames would give off this smell, the high temperature of the flames had destroyed the structure of their cells and caused them to give off a thick smoke.
In fact, Lin's olfactory system was able to define scents on its own. Lin allowed them to evolve and grow like normal cells. Regarding the sense of smell, the cells had evolved quite quickly.
What was strange was that the smell of the smoke was not stinky, but fragrant.
'Fragrant' was the opposite of 'smelly'. It was a signal of food, which meant …
Lin asked the Leviathan to release a few Collectors and let them eat some of the ashes around them.
These ashes should be left behind after the plants were burned, and most of them could be digested very quickly.
So that's how it is. After being burned by fire, things that were originally food would become easier to digest. In other words, fire wasn't completely destructive.
Lin also noticed that many of the small creatures that escaped during the fire had returned. They were rummaging through the ashes. Lin even saw a large cockroach that was constantly digging through a pile of ashes.
It was a four-meter-long cockroach. It was the largest cockroach Lin had ever seen, but it wasn't ferocious. When the Leviathan walked towards it, it ran away.
The Leviathan dug away the ashes that the cockroach was digging. Lin discovered that there were a large number of scorched reptiles hidden underneath. It seemed to be their nest.
Lin had the Devourers eat some of the scorched reptile meat. She discovered that the meat was as digestible as the ashes mixed with plant residues.
However, the nutrients contained in the meat were much less than when it wasn't burned. Lin calculated that the meat of the reptile would require about ten times the amount of nutrients to replenish the nutrients obtained from eating the reptile alive.
Other scorched meat might be different, but they were basically not as nutritious as eating the reptile alive.
However, the scorched meat also had an advantage. There were almost no fungi on it.
Single-celled organisms were a very strange kind of organism. No matter how many of them were killed, they would just keep popping up. For that reason, when normal organisms ate food, they would need to prepare a large number of immune cells, which slowed down their digestion process. If they encountered a fungus or virus that their immune cells couldn't defeat, they could only wait for death.
However, there were almost no single-celled organisms in the scorched food, nor were there viruses or too many impurities, so it was much easier to digest. Was that why so many organisms liked to eat scorched food here?
If that's the case, does it mean that food would be safer after being burned?
But that didn't mean anything to Lin. Lin completely ignored the threat of single-celled organisms and viruses, so she would never choose to eat food after being burned.
Lin had already finished her research on fire before the rain stopped. She discovered that the reason for the appearance of fire was quite simple. It required a high temperature and a flammable object to be ignited.
Lightning was the cause of the high temperature. As long as there was a certain object, such as dry and cracked wood, it would ignite. Additionally, it seemed that oxygen was also required, and the burning of the flame would reduce the oxygen in the surroundings.
This phenomenon was quite interesting, but due to the high temperature of the flame, Lin found it difficult to study its detailed structure. So Lin planned to create some units with the ability to resist the high temperature before studying it.
The flame would disappear due to being separated from the flammable object, which could be blocked by water. This was also why Lin had never seen such an interesting phenomenon in such a long time. After all, she spent most of her time in the ocean.
High temperature could be generated by friction between objects at high speed, and this method could produce flames.
For now, Lin felt that the meaning of fire was only to destroy organisms. Perhaps it could be used in battle.
However, it was better not to use this kind of difficult to control thing carelessly for now …
After looking around the charred forest, Leviathan once again returned to the cave in the base.
Now, there was new news … A moss had successfully evolved immune cells against fungi!