186: The Lost Territory, Qinghai
Cong Zhenzhong convened the first meeting after his and Tang Tingzhi's advancement. Cheng Tianbi and other key members of the dragonblood Clan participated.
Zhuang Yao looked at them expectantly and said, "I'm waiting for you to share your experiences."
Cong Zhenzhong said, "It truly was quite a remarkable experience. I've never felt my mind so clear before. If I had advanced earlier, I wouldn't have needed the Russians' help at all to develop the new energy source. During those over twenty hours, I primarily pondered many things related to increasing the production of new energy and restoring nationwide communication. I can already see a promising future."
Tang Tingzhi added, "I've also extended my thoughts on researching dragonblood individuals and have overcome a limitation in my thinking. Before heading to Qinghai, I plan to involve Al in the energy compression experiment, with a high likelihood of success."
"What's the Energy Compression Experiment?"
Tang Tingzhi explained, "The full name is quite lengthy—so let’s just stick to 'Energy Compression.' It involves shrinking the body size when energy is depleted, reverting to a baby-like state to expedite energy recovery, reduce visceral load and physical wear. For example, it's similar to Shen Changze's state when he's depleted of energy and becomes smaller."
"Ah, we remember, but is this approach significant? He already possesses self-healing ability, and there are risks associated with becoming smaller."
"It's quite significant. In the baby-like state, his energy recovery rate is three to four times faster compared to his normal state. Due to the smaller wound area, his healing speed increases by more than five times, facilitating the rapid restoration of combat prowess in a short time. Of course, this state, as you mentioned, has a fatal weakness: after energy depletion, the body can't be controlled while in the smaller state. However, since the energy is completely depleted, he wouldn't be able to move anyway. So, what's the difference between a disabled person and a baby?"
"So, have you now overcome a certain technical obstacle, making it possible for others to undergo such modifications?"
"Only Shen Changze and Al. Originally, it was just Shen Changze because he's the only pure-blooded dragonblood individual. This experiment was specifically designed for the energy of dragonblood individuals. However, as Al continues to revert to ancestral traits, his blood concentration has exceeded 75%, making him eligible for the modification as well."
Cong Xia blurted out, "What about Abu?"
Tang Tingzhi frowned, "Your cat?"
"Yes, it's too big, inconvenient for traveling, and could easily become a target."
Tang Ting shook her head. "Any ideas in this era seem to have the potential to become reality. However, if you really want an ordinary mutated creature to change size at will, two difficult problems must be overcome. First, it is completely different from the dragonblood humans in terms of mutated beings. Second, the process of reverting to infancy is a spontaneous self-protective mechanism for dragonblood humans during times of severe injury, not something that can be done just by wanting to transform."
Zhuang Yao also chimed in, "I had this idea a long time ago, but there are too many challenges to solve. It's difficult to achieve."
Tang Ting replied, "If you're interested, you can participate in the energy compression experiments with me. However, I can't guarantee any results."
Deng Xiao sighed disappointedly, "Does this mean I'll never have the hope of holding Abu in my arms or keeping him in my pocket?"
Zhuang Yao proudly stated, "I've been holding him for three years."
Deng Xiao smirked at him.
Cong Zhen added, "Apart from some breakthroughs in scientific research, I've also given deep thought to the Cambrian consciousness and puppet jades. I think your conjecture is on the right track. I'm inclined to believe that the Cambrian consciousness lacks the idea of intelligence. Some force has interfered with the Cambrian consciousness's judgment of the global situation, and it's likely to have influenced the way the Cambrian consciousness balances the world. We've always thought that the Cambrian consciousness would appear when the Earth's species are imbalanced beyond salvation and perform a great cleansing, wiping out the thriving biosphere and replacing it with a new batch.
Of course, the Cambrian consciousness has never cleansed thoroughly, as species like cockroaches and rats have survived through several Cambrian consciousness cleansings. So, can we assume that the Cambrian consciousness won't cleanse those lower animals that can never dominate? Because the existence of these creatures doesn't pose a significant threat to other species. Humans, on the other hand, clearly belong to the group that needs cleansing. However, the Cambrian consciousness hasn't initiated a great cleansing; instead, it has launched a major evolution. This is a fundamental contradiction. Therefore, I've come up with an idea."
"What idea?"
"The Cambrian energy seems to be turning humans into creatures like cockroaches and rats, which don't pose a threat to other organisms. It's strengthening the physical abilities, intelligence, and reproductive capabilities of other species to contrast with the weakness of humans."
Cong Xia furrowed his brows. "How is that possible? Even if humans are fewer in number, we have powerful evolved individuals and weapons. As long as we have weapons, we will always be the rulers of the world."
Tang Tingzhi explained, "This involves the criteria by which the Cambrian consciousness assesses life forms. We're still assuming that the Cambrian consciousness lacks intelligence and is merely a highly functional computer. So, what standards does the Cambrian consciousness use to evaluate Earth's ecological system? Is it based on quantity? Perhaps. But cockroaches and rats outnumber humans by far. Is it intelligence? Very likely. Is it reproductive capability? Also possible.
The assessment by the Cambrian consciousness should be comprehensive, considering quantity, intelligence, reproductive capability, influence, global spread, and so on. When the final assessment is made, humans will undoubtedly emerge as winners in this comprehensive evaluation system. Whether it's the population of over six billion, the highest intelligence in the biosphere, or the ubiquitous influence and expansion capabilities, humans are the culprits causing imbalance in the biosphere.
Therefore, humans are the target of the Cambrian consciousness's grand cleansing. However, the key issue is that the Cambrian consciousness didn't initiate the grand cleansing but instead launched a major evolution. Moreover, we've known all along that the Cambrian consciousness awakened prematurely, at least a hundred or even a thousand years early. When it awakened, it toppled humans from the top of the food chain, becoming one of the most heavily affected species in the post-apocalyptic era. Not only did it lose two-thirds of the population, but many also lost their ability to reproduce. This shift in the Cambrian consciousness's evaluation of Earth's biosphere must have led to changes."
Cong Xia exclaimed in surprise, "I understand what you're talking about. If we consider all the speculations above, it's possible that the Cambrian consciousness wasn't ready for a grand cleansing yet, but it awakened prematurely and triggered a major evolution, causing significant losses to humans. This sharply lowered their population, reproductive capabilities, global influence, and spread, leading to a plummet in the imbalance assessment value of humans. As a non-thinking machine, the Cambrian consciousness might conclude that humans no longer pose a threat and decide to abandon the grand cleansing."
Zhuang Yao's voice grew serious. "Exactly, that's the conclusion we've reached. If our speculation holds true, the biggest question now is, who or what possesses such tremendous power? Not only did it awaken the Cambrian consciousness prematurely, but it also saved humans in such an extreme way. If we can even call it salvation."
The author adds a note: Everyone, go to bed early~~=3=
186: The Lost Territory, Qinghai
Cong Zhenzhong convened the first meeting after his and Tang Tingzhi's advancement. Cheng Tianbi and other key members of the dragonblood Clan participated.
Zhuang Yao looked at them expectantly and said, "I'm waiting for you to share your experiences."
Cong Zhenzhong said, "It truly was quite a remarkable experience. I've never felt my mind so clear before. If I had advanced earlier, I wouldn't have needed the Russians' help at all to develop the new energy source. During those over twenty hours, I primarily pondered many things related to increasing the production of new energy and restoring nationwide communication. I can already see a promising future."
Tang Tingzhi added, "I've also extended my thoughts on researching dragonblood individuals and have overcome a limitation in my thinking. Before heading to Qinghai, I plan to involve Al in the energy compression experiment, with a high likelihood of success."
"What's the Energy Compression Experiment?"
Tang Tingzhi explained, "The full name is quite lengthy—so let’s just stick to 'Energy Compression.' It involves shrinking the body size when energy is depleted, reverting to a baby-like state to expedite energy recovery, reduce visceral load and physical wear. For example, it's similar to Shen Changze's state when he's depleted of energy and becomes smaller."
"Ah, we remember, but is this approach significant? He already possesses self-healing ability, and there are risks associated with becoming smaller."
"It's quite significant. In the baby-like state, his energy recovery rate is three to four times faster compared to his normal state. Due to the smaller wound area, his healing speed increases by more than five times, facilitating the rapid restoration of combat prowess in a short time. Of course, this state, as you mentioned, has a fatal weakness: after energy depletion, the body can't be controlled while in the smaller state. However, since the energy is completely depleted, he wouldn't be able to move anyway. So, what's the difference between a disabled person and a baby?"
"So, have you now overcome a certain technical obstacle, making it possible for others to undergo such modifications?"
"Only Shen Changze and Al. Originally, it was just Shen Changze because he's the only pure-blooded dragonblood individual. This experiment was specifically designed for the energy of dragonblood individuals. However, as Al continues to revert to ancestral traits, his blood concentration has exceeded 75%, making him eligible for the modification as well."
Cong Xia blurted out, "What about Abu?"
Tang Tingzhi frowned, "Your cat?"
"Yes, it's too big, inconvenient for traveling, and could easily become a target."
Tang Ting shook her head. "Any ideas in this era seem to have the potential to become reality. However, if you really want an ordinary mutated creature to change size at will, two difficult problems must be overcome. First, it is completely different from the dragonblood humans in terms of mutated beings. Second, the process of reverting to infancy is a spontaneous self-protective mechanism for dragonblood humans during times of severe injury, not something that can be done just by wanting to transform."
Zhuang Yao also chimed in, "I had this idea a long time ago, but there are too many challenges to solve. It's difficult to achieve."
Tang Ting replied, "If you're interested, you can participate in the energy compression experiments with me. However, I can't guarantee any results."
Deng Xiao sighed disappointedly, "Does this mean I'll never have the hope of holding Abu in my arms or keeping him in my pocket?"
Zhuang Yao proudly stated, "I've been holding him for three years."
Deng Xiao smirked at him.
Cong Zhen added, "Apart from some breakthroughs in scientific research, I've also given deep thought to the Cambrian consciousness and puppet jades. I think your conjecture is on the right track. I'm inclined to believe that the Cambrian consciousness lacks the idea of intelligence. Some force has interfered with the Cambrian consciousness's judgment of the global situation, and it's likely to have influenced the way the Cambrian consciousness balances the world. We've always thought that the Cambrian consciousness would appear when the Earth's species are imbalanced beyond salvation and perform a great cleansing, wiping out the thriving biosphere and replacing it with a new batch.
Of course, the Cambrian consciousness has never cleansed thoroughly, as species like cockroaches and rats have survived through several Cambrian consciousness cleansings. So, can we assume that the Cambrian consciousness won't cleanse those lower animals that can never dominate? Because the existence of these creatures doesn't pose a significant threat to other species. Humans, on the other hand, clearly belong to the group that needs cleansing. However, the Cambrian consciousness hasn't initiated a great cleansing; instead, it has launched a major evolution. This is a fundamental contradiction. Therefore, I've come up with an idea."
"What idea?"
"The Cambrian energy seems to be turning humans into creatures like cockroaches and rats, which don't pose a threat to other organisms. It's strengthening the physical abilities, intelligence, and reproductive capabilities of other species to contrast with the weakness of humans."
Cong Xia furrowed his brows. "How is that possible? Even if humans are fewer in number, we have powerful evolved individuals and weapons. As long as we have weapons, we will always be the rulers of the world."
Tang Tingzhi explained, "This involves the criteria by which the Cambrian consciousness assesses life forms. We're still assuming that the Cambrian consciousness lacks intelligence and is merely a highly functional computer. So, what standards does the Cambrian consciousness use to evaluate Earth's ecological system? Is it based on quantity? Perhaps. But cockroaches and rats outnumber humans by far. Is it intelligence? Very likely. Is it reproductive capability? Also possible.
The assessment by the Cambrian consciousness should be comprehensive, considering quantity, intelligence, reproductive capability, influence, global spread, and so on. When the final assessment is made, humans will undoubtedly emerge as winners in this comprehensive evaluation system. Whether it's the population of over six billion, the highest intelligence in the biosphere, or the ubiquitous influence and expansion capabilities, humans are the culprits causing imbalance in the biosphere.
Therefore, humans are the target of the Cambrian consciousness's grand cleansing. However, the key issue is that the Cambrian consciousness didn't initiate the grand cleansing but instead launched a major evolution. Moreover, we've known all along that the Cambrian consciousness awakened prematurely, at least a hundred or even a thousand years early. When it awakened, it toppled humans from the top of the food chain, becoming one of the most heavily affected species in the post-apocalyptic era. Not only did it lose two-thirds of the population, but many also lost their ability to reproduce. This shift in the Cambrian consciousness's evaluation of Earth's biosphere must have led to changes."
Cong Xia exclaimed in surprise, "I understand what you're talking about. If we consider all the speculations above, it's possible that the Cambrian consciousness wasn't ready for a grand cleansing yet, but it awakened prematurely and triggered a major evolution, causing significant losses to humans. This sharply lowered their population, reproductive capabilities, global influence, and spread, leading to a plummet in the imbalance assessment value of humans. As a non-thinking machine, the Cambrian consciousness might conclude that humans no longer pose a threat and decide to abandon the grand cleansing."
Zhuang Yao's voice grew serious. "Exactly, that's the conclusion we've reached. If our speculation holds true, the biggest question now is, who or what possesses such tremendous power? Not only did it awaken the Cambrian consciousness prematurely, but it also saved humans in such an extreme way. If we can even call it salvation."
The author adds a note: Everyone, go to bed early~~=3=
