Chapter 30: Tree of Life
“Fetal movement undetectable. Signs of life undetectable!”
“It’s not working… it failed again!”
Lu Zhiyu watched as the few lives that had just been born vanished before him, causing him to be very depressed. Genetically, there was nothing wrong; their life templates were complete and their designs were logical. He did not know why he kept failing over and over again.
After he had begun the Immortality Gene Editing Plan, he had been trying to create an intelligent species with an extremely long lifespan. To achieve this, he had been adding sections of plant genes to existing genes of new humans.
The self-repair abilities and vitality of plants far exceeded that of animals. Even if a plant was chopped up into a few pieces, as long as there were water and sunlight, it could grow out again. Whether it was underwater or on land, cold or hot, plants could be seen; they were even found in harsh environments such as deserts. Plants had a long lifespan, and more importantly, they could always remain in their best condition until the very moment they died!
Lu Zhiyu was precisely trying to design a species that had a plant’s longevity. These organisms would be able to live a thousand years. Like plants, these creatures would be able to maintain their youth and would only start aging in the last hundred years of their lives.
They would not need to consume a lot of food to provide themselves with enough energy to survive. As long as they had sufficient sunlight and water, they could continue living. This would be an extremely perfect creature, and Lu Zhiyu considered it as his masterpiece. The only problem was that he could not successfully create it!
“Could it be because of the mother?”
Lu Zhiyu suddenly realized that he may have made a serious mistake. This organism was very different from ordinary animals, so it would be impossible for this organism, which had plant characteristics, to grow in the wombs of other animals, unlike normal species. Because of its plant characteristics, it would not be able to receive the nutrients it needed in other animals’ wombs.
He immediately turned his research in another direction and began to plan the creation of a plant that could give birth to such an organism. This unique, long-lived species he was creating would grow out straight from this plant!
“My idea is mad! Intelligent life growing out of a plant!”
He stood up from his chair at once and left his lab in the fourth level. Then, he hurried into the library downstairs to read the books regarding this area. Lu Zhiyu had to spend some time thinking.
There were a lot of ant-people hurrying about in the castle, doing their assigned daily chores. They never talked on their own or asked Lu Zhiyu any questions. After a long time, Lu Zhiyu had begun to think of them more like robots. Therefore, he was often oblivious to their presence.
After entering the library, Lu Zhiyu immediately said to an ant-person who was sweeping the floor, “Number 23, get the plant samples numbered 1289, 2358, and 256, and put them on my desk in the lab. Also, get the kitchen to make me some food.” The ant-person lay down its broom and trotted out of the library.
Lu Zhiyu continued towards the book shelves. After checking the shelf with plant-related books, he reached out his hand. Right away, a few books on the shelf flew towards him and landed on his hand. Lu Zhiyu’s mind power at the moment was already strong enough to influence reality and move objects. However, it was only limited to items that were small and light.
The entire library was carpeted and very clean. The fine carvings around and the dropped ceiling on top were all made from wood, making the place look very artistic. As long as they had proper instructions in their brains, the ant-people were excellent workers and artisans. They could achieve most things that Lu Zhiyu wanted in a perfect way. Of course, it only included work that did not require much intelligence.
Lu Zhiyu sat down by the wooden table located at the center of the room. Below the table, there was even a rug made from bear pelt. He snapped his fingers and the lights above him came up at once. Then, he began reading the few books he had taken. Lu Zhiyu scanned through the books very quickly, as if he was only flipping through them, and all the information was already recorded down by his sub-brain. Then, his sub-brain would extract the information Lu Zhiyu wanted and release it to him.
“This plant will be somewhat like the insects’ nest. Perhaps I can learn something from the structure of the nest.”
Lu Zhiyu tapped on the table with his fingers continuously. As he thought about various ideas, the sub-brain constantly sent new information to him. Soon, the bare bones of the whole plan formed in his head.
Just then, an ant-person appeared with a platter of food in its hands. It put the food on Lu Zhiyu’s table, after which it left to continue the task of cleaning.
Two weeks later, Lu Zhiyu picked the other relatively large continent in Maria’s World and landed there. Among the five continents in Maria’s World, the largest two were the continent Alen and the one he was on at the moment. The other three continents either had unique terrains, harsh environments, or were too small. Of course, there were also many islands on the surface of the sea, but he would not count them in.
He had mapped the entire Maria’s world and hung the map in his bedroom in the dimensional castle. However, he had yet to name most of the places on the map. Apart from naming the few major continents so that he could remember and differentiate them easily, he was not planning to name the other places. Instead, he would wait for the lives in Maria’s World to name them!
The continent he was standing on at the moment was named Yala, which was located to the east of the world, in the direction where the sun rose. Its climate was very fit for most lifeform. The continent was filled with forests, and wild animals roamed the land freely.
Lu Zhiyu walked into a flat wetland forest on the continent. The forest was filled the chirps of birds, the aroma of flowers, and many densely packed trees. The place did not seem to know winter and was certainly a paradise for animals.
At the instant Lu Zhiyu entered the forest, he saw many different organisms and plants, some of which he could recognize, but not the others. After such a long time, the plants and seeds that Lu Zhiyu had brought in that time had also been mostly localized. Due to the different biotic environment and terrain, their appearances had changed.
Lu Zhiyu entered the central region of the wetland forest and found a beautiful valley. In the valley, there was a mirror-like lake. The ground was covered with grass, and many colorful flowers were blooming. A breeze blew by, scattering the seeds of dandelions throughout the valley.
“This is the place!”
Lu Zhiyu nodded, satisfied with the location. A sapling appeared in his hand, and he carefully planted it in the meadow in the depth of the valley.
“This will be the birthplace of life on this continent. You will be called the Tree of Life!”
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