Wasteland Development Diary.

Chapter 190 Each Has Its Own Value

Zhou Yi, along with the weapon masters, collected all the flying silk they could find, and then brought the silkworm-like creature aboard the Poseidon.

As soon as he returned to the Emerald City, he found Da Vinci and Beach.

The electromechanical doctor first performed a comprehensive scan and examination of the silkworm.

"It doesn't belong to any of the previously documented species."

"Usually, insects have a forebrain that is the visual center, a midbrain that processes information from the sensory organs, and a hindbrain that serves as a coordination function, or at least one of them. But this one has no brain-like structure and is simply a digestive organ."

“The closest thing to it, based on the properties exhibited, is the intestine.”

Zhou Yi was stunned.

This silkworm is essentially a piece of intestine?
He looked carefully.

The white silkworm-like creature did have no eyes, only a toothless mouthpart, and it did not seem to have any other hairs or legs or appendages, nor did it have any antennae.

He does look weird.

"It should be a kind of light nano species, right?" Zhou Yi asked.

"For now, it is more accurate to regard it as an independent light-nano organ."

Da Vinci's green rays scanned back and forth across the surface of the unidentified creature.

"Its physiological function is very simple. It takes in food from the front end, digests and transforms it, and then secretes thread-like substances from the back end. However, this thread-like substance is very special. Its surface is extremely smooth and can produce a special reaction with the death light, thus keeping it floating."

Squidward also said: "This guy is a severely alienated light organ."

"In extreme cases of continuous strong stimulation, the light organ will become out of control, and then gradually take over the entire host body, eventually digesting other external organs, leaving only the independent light organ. It's like the stomach and intestines eating the whole person."

It gestured with its tentacle with suction cups: "But usually at this stage, the organ itself can't survive on its own. Because its functions are limited, it is not enough to support survival in a complex environment. It can't find food, rest, or recognize, so it will soon destroy itself or be eaten by other creatures."

Zhou Yi summoned out Suneo from Unit 2 and asked it if it recognized this thing.

The upstreamer said: "This is a low-level circular life form. It is called differently in different worlds. We upstreamers call it a silk-spinner. The silk threads it spits out will float up and connect with each other, then capture and connect many broken consciousness keys, and eventually slowly expand..."

Zhou Yi immediately realized: "Are they related to Xinqiu?"

"Correct."

Xiaofu said: "The silk of the silkworm can form the framework of the firewood mound, just like some creatures will build a skeleton before building a nest. Several low-level circular flow life forms have this function. The most important thing is that the silk of the silkworm is very stable and tough, and can float under the action of the circular flow, so the firewood mound formed is often in a suspended state. Even if there is a large amount of material accumulated, it is still very light."

"It's a pity that just one of these is useless. There are too few of them. It takes tens of thousands of them, and months and years to build a firewood mound."

This thing can indeed fly and stay afloat in the dead light.

What Zhou Yi was more concerned about was: "Why does this thing exist?"

The upstreamer said: "When the circular current erupts, it will instantly dismember and shatter most life forms, and instead create low-level creatures like the silkworm."

"They only have one pair of consciousness keys, which are stable but cannot evolve, nor can they communicate with the outside world. They can only spin silk. This silk is actually their own growth and extension."

“Can the silkworm reproduce?”

"They don't have the ability to actively reproduce, but they can passively divide."

Xiaofu said: "Under the impact of strong external energy, the silkworm can be exploded and split. In fact, it simulates the process of circular explosion... The closest thing is the light explosion zone. Although the intensity is very low, it is still possible to do a single split."

Zhou Yi felt relieved.

This thing is safe, won't multiply itself, and is a lazy dog.

It's a good research subject.

Xiaofu continued, "The silkworm needs a large amount of food that can be transformed to support itself and exchange substances with the outside world, that is, to spin silk."

"In one hour, it eats 1 times its own weight in food. It is not picky about the types of food, and it can basically eat anything that animals can eat. It is not aggressive, and will not eat anything that is not near its mouth. If an animal in its mouth escapes, it will not chase it. It is also extremely lazy and hardly moves."

Leonardo da Vinci also verified the information of the tracers.

"Chairman, this creature consumes a lot of food. It needs 10 kilogram of food to produce 1 centimeters of silk. The consumption is very high."

Silk production is low and food requirements are high.

No wonder the long-necked crocodile had to move food from the Airbus station, otherwise it would not be able to afford it.

Industry specializing in surgery.

Zhou Yi finally handed the silkworm to the insect breeder A Feng, and solemnly told him to be careful in raising it and pay attention to safety issues. "Yes, Chairman, I will definitely raise this insect well."

A Feng was very happy.

He held the silkworm and looked around: "This guy can really eat a lot. He's really fat. Eh, it doesn't look very comfortable. This situation looks like..."

A Feng reached his hand into its mouth and scratched it for a while, then pulled out two staples and a piece of plastic...presumably they were from the food packaging bag.

Tusizi's body suddenly stretched out and he seemed much more relaxed.

After all, he is a professional insect keeper, and right away he discovered something unusual that no one else noticed.

……

Currently, the silk-spinning machine can only do some basic research. To rely on it to mass-produce flying silk requires a huge amount of food. The company's food has not yet reached the stage where it can be squandered.

Just as Zhou Yi and A Feng were discussing spinning silk, the Red Kestrel's electronic eyes suddenly lit up.

"Nemo made an important discovery off the coast."

Zhou Yi went over immediately.

Then he saw that Xie Xun and his scavenger team were looking at something on the ground.

Zhou Yi also came over.

It turned out that there were several gerbils on the ground mating rapidly.

Zhou Yi was immediately disappointed. What was so good about this?

But he soon realized something was wrong.

Because there are two coal beetles inside the gerbil.

They actually joined the group mating and did not seem to be rejected by the gerbils, but the process was a little more difficult.

Coal beetles carry heavy shells on their backs and must turn over with their limbs facing upwards to carry out reproductive movements. They move clumsily and their athletic ability is visibly poor.

Nemo, the electromechanical mouse, said on the sand nearby: "Chairman, look. This coal beetle can mate with gerbils, and they can even communicate and talk."

"The shell on the coal worm is actually hair and bones. It evolved to adapt to the Dead Sea environment and change into this appearance. It can protect itself and camouflage. Inside the shell are fragile internal organs and skin and flesh."

"Based on the smell, the gerbils believe that the coal worms are their distant relatives. I boldly infer that the coal worms are gerbils that entered the underground of the Dead Sea, mutated, and survived."

Zhou Yi's eyes suddenly became serious: "Are you sure?"

“The probability of this is very high.”

Nemo's eyes glowed with a faint green light. "Because the language of gerbils has a specific frequency, coal beetles can understand it. The sounds of coal beetles are much lower, but gerbils can understand them. The smells of both sides are also very similar, and they have a natural affinity."

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

"I think that some gerbils entered the seabed and evolved into the coal scale insect branch. Or earlier, the two were originally one, and they chose to live on land or in the Dead Sea according to their survival needs, and then they had specific forms in different environments."

"However, it will take at least a month to verify whether the two parties can produce offspring. But at present, it seems that there is no rejection."

"But whether or not this succeeds, the coal worms are extremely valuable. They are like gerbils in the Dead Sea."

The mechanical mouse wiggled its tail excitedly. "Chairman, I strongly suggest that we naturalize them and turn them into the company's spies and scouts under the Dead Sea. With them, it will be much easier to find city ruins or minerals!"

Zhou Yi was overjoyed.

The silkworm looks intimidating, but the coal beetle is more practical!
These inconspicuous creatures are the natives of the seabed. As we can see from the fact that they were ordered by the long-necked crocodile to collect supplies, they can cooperate with each other and perform complex tasks, which is indeed similar to gerbils.

With the coal shell worm, the pace of external exploration is no longer one step at a time, but a silent expansion underground in all directions.

"Nemo, it's up to you to recruit and naturalize them."

Zhou Yi said: "What do they need?"

The mechanical mouse replied: "The coal worms feed on some underground sediments, so their bodies are severely deformed. They don't have any other demands, but like gerbils, they are very interested in fresh food. They like sweet potatoes and peanuts very much."

Zhou Yi thought for a moment and said, "Then we should distribute a batch of food to them every month as a reward for their underwater exploration. You can discuss the specific amount with Zheng Tao."

"Yes. Chairman."

(End of this chapter)