Chapter 1213: Absolute Adaptation, Infinite Evolution

As more and more roots surged underground, Chu Changqing gritted his teeth and lunged fiercely towards the root remnant lying on the ground!

Never mind, he thought. He needed to get through this first.

Chu Changqing rushed through the crowd and picked up the root remnant. A faint, emerald, gem-like glow flickered from deep within his eyes, as if he were perceiving the object's cellular structure through touch.

"Chu Changqing!!"

"I know! My ability takes time to activate!!" Hearing Su Zhiwei's urgent call from a distance, Chu Changqing could only grit his teeth and reply.

In that moment, Chu Changqing's mind was blank, just as it was when he cultivated spiders in the restroom. Biological codes surged into his consciousness like a torrent. He couldn't explain any fragment of it using existing human scientific theories, yet he was precisely able to perceive its characteristics—like a creator standing high at the end of the food chain, looking down on all living beings.

Gradually, the panic and anxiety in Chu Changqing's heart subsided, and his entire being entered an indescribable state of flow. His emerald pupils, like emotionless eyes of a god, gazed at the root remnant in his hand.

Then, he suddenly plunged its sharp end into his own blood vessel!

For the first time, a remnant from the Gray Realm disaster mingled with the human flesh and blood of this era. Although the writhing plant tissue had lost its vitality, Chu Changqing's own blood vessels seemed to come alive and, surprisingly, began to devour the root.

He was devouring the disaster with his human body!

As the disaster tissue from the Bitter Flesh Mire was gradually devoured and decomposed by Chu Changqing's blood vessels, his entire body visibly began to mutate.

First, a plant-like dark green shell appeared on the surface of his skin. Then, his ten fingers continuously grew slender, like willow branches or blades of grass. Roots pierced through his shoes, embedding deeply into the earth. At first glance, he looked like a half-human, half-disaster monster!

"...Chu Changqing?" Lu Xun, who had been observing from a distance, witnessed this scene, and his eyes filled with shock.

Not only him, but the people who were originally around Chu Changqing shrieked in terror upon seeing this. They frantically began to move away from the half-human, half-tree monster. However, Chu Changqing himself seemed to have no reaction; his consciousness was still immersed in the biological decoding process.

"Professor Ye... I don't understand, why did they return my paper?" Chu Changqing, a university student wearing a plaid sweater and black-rimmed glasses, held a thick stack of documents in his hands, his gaze towards Professor Ye filled with resentment.

By the side of the sunny sports field, Professor Ye finished turning the last page of the paper and smiled helplessly.

He turned the paper back to the cover, revealing several large black characters:

—"King of Cryptobiosis: A Cross-Dimensional Analysis of Tardigrade Extreme Environment Adaptation Mechanisms"

"You wrote it very well," Professor Ye praised sincerely. "The theory of anti-dehydration molecular machines, the quantum biological hypothesis of radiation resistance, and even the rather bold space-time folding model of cryptobiotic metabolism—every point is well-written. However, from the perspective of traditional cell biology, your approach is incorrect."

"What's wrong with it??"

Chu Changqing was unconvinced. "Tardigrades can adapt to various extreme environments and even survive in a vacuum. They are the strongest creatures on Earth—there's nothing wrong with that!"

"I don't disagree that tardigrades are the strongest creatures on Earth," Professor Ye paused. "But why do you think they are the strongest? Is it merely because they can survive in a vacuum? Or because they can withstand 1.14 GPa of impact?"

Chu Changqing opened his mouth, but didn't know how to refute.

"Let me rephrase... What do you think the strongest creature would be like?"

Chu Changqing thought for a moment. "Able to adapt to various extreme environments, not needing to ingest energy in the traditional sense... No, it would be best if it could directly absorb dark matter as energy. Large in size, strong regenerative ability, and..."

"Too much," Professor Ye shook his head. "I can create the strongest creature with just two words."

"What??"

"Absolute adaptation, infinite evolution."

Professor Ye set the paper aside and spoke unhurriedly. "As long as it's a living creature, there will be weaknesses. For example, tardigrades once didn't have UV resistance, but two years ago in India, a scientist discovered a new type of tardigrade that had evolved a fluorescent shield, capable of withstanding four times the lethal dose of UV radiation...

Imagine if a creature had the ability to evolve in an extremely short period. If you threw it into the sun, it could evolve skin capable of withstanding temperatures of 5500 degrees Celsius. If you threw it into a hydraulic press, after being partially crushed, it could evolve a shell tough enough to resist tens of thousands of tons of pressure. Even if you threw it into a black hole, it could draw energy from dark matter and evolve itself...

Initially, there is no absolute strongest creature. But when a creature can evolve to a point where every environment it encounters or other creatures it interacts with are weaker than itself, then the relatively strongest becomes the absolutely strongest."

Professor Ye looked at his proud disciple, who was deep in thought, and smiled slightly. "Now, do you know what the best angle for this paper is?"

Chu Changqing's eyes lit up slightly.

As if he had thought of something, he spoke without hesitation:

"The Evolutionary Revolution of Horizontal Gene Transfer."

"More and more... Damn it!" Su Zhiwei felt the plant roots surging from all directions, and sweat continuously seeped from her forehead.

Lu Xun's starlight was wavering, causing Su Zhiwei's pressure to surge. If she were truly unleashed, she could indeed clear away all these roots. However, Lu Xun had said that no one would die here today.

Su Zhiwei knew clearly that there absolutely could be no casualties among the civilians in this shelter. Otherwise, panic would rapidly spread, and the image Lu Xun had painstakingly built would be shattered. She had to protect not only the name "Lord Tianshu" but also the public's confidence in them.

However, no matter how skilled Su Zhiwei was in combat, she couldn't be everywhere at once. With so many evacuees and so many disaster roots here, how could she possibly clear them all by herself?

That guy Chu Changqing was so slow... utterly useless!

Bang—!! Su Zhiwei smashed several terrifying roots with another punch. The next second, roots astonishingly began to emerge from beneath her feet, coiling around her body like pythons.

"Oh no..." Su Zhiwei's heart sank.

Just then, the roots that had coiled around her suddenly seemed to be pulled by some force. They struggled wildly, broke free from Su Zhiwei's body, and were forcibly pulled back underground!

Su Zhiwei froze for a moment. Before she could react, the ground around her exploded with a roar!

Super roots, several times thicker than the other roots, extended from beneath Su Zhiwei's feet, radiating an emerald glow, and surged overwhelmingly towards the disaster roots!