"I was so scared."
The girl's face on the Wisdom Tree said, "Even though I only had a hazy mind at that time and didn't have a precise definition of the word 'fear'.
"But any life form has an instinctive resistance to death.
"All the nerve bundles in my body were convulsing and contracting violently, saying the same thing — Don't eat me! Go away! Don't eat me! Go away!
"Then, something incredible happened.
"I can sense that this voice is transmitted into the scavenging monster's head through a mysterious method.
"After being confused for a moment, it really gave up on digging and tearing at me. It turned around and went in search of other prey!
"It seems that the threat of death this time has stimulated me to evolve a brand-new ability. Apart from sharing senses, I can also, to a certain extent, interfere with the brain, central nervous system, and any form of decision-making organs of other living beings.
"Of course, the degree of this interference is very slight. It is only limited to making other living beings within my perception range do relatively simple actions that do not strongly violate their instincts.
"For example, I can make a scavenger-type monster that isn't hungry enough to go berserk give up on eating me and search for other prey.
"But it's unlikely for it to create a set of exquisite tools or deduce complicated mathematical formulas.
'After all, the brains and limbs of scavenger-type monsters are very low-grade. At that time, I was just an amalgamation of these low-grade creatures. I didn't even know how to create tools or make deductions. In fact, I didn't even know a bit about it. How could I have influenced, interfered with, or taught other life forms the concepts of high-level intelligence?
"No matter what, even the most basic interference ability has greatly improved my living conditions.
"My range of perception has increased further, reaching a radius of three to five hundred meters or even higher.
"I also used a large number of red threads that grew out of my body. They seemed to be similar to nerves, but they were more amazing than the nerves of carbon-based life. I used them to bind a few monsters that I had carefully selected, including the scavenging monster that tried to uproot me in the beginning.
"I'll try to perfectly fuse my nerves with the monsters' nervous systems and turn them into my eyes, ears, and claws. Then, I'll be able to break free of the maximum sensory range of five hundred meters. I'll be able to see, hear, and change things thousands of meters away.
"With this ability, I've explored all of Hidden Fog Desolate Domain. I know which mountains have crystal mines with abundant spirit energy, which mountains have powerful monsters that I can't afford to provoke for the time being, and which mountains are the intersection of Red Dragon River and Tiger's Wrath River. Even though the land seems to be fertile and full of plants, making it very suitable for people to live, in truth, it's very easy for them to be attacked by floods and mudslides. If I move there recklessly, I'll be destroyed before long.
"After completing this exploration, I know which direction my roots and nerve bundles should grow in.
"The animals and plants that are bound by my nerve bundles and brought into the same neural network can also seek benefits and avoid harm, and they can grow healthily.
"Under my guidance, a thriving, semi-independent ecosystem gradually took shape.
"The etherealized plants within my sensory range draw clear boundaries between their roots and branches. They don't snatch sunlight and nutrition from each other.
"The small animals also learned to work with the plants. They put the rotten meat and excrement that they don't eat under the roots and in the humus so that the plants can grow even more luscious. Without any effort, they can obtain a lot of food and comfortable nests.
"When powerful predatory monsters invade my territory, I can even command the small animals to work together to fight against them. My nerve bundles seize the chance to invade the monsters' brains so that the fierce monsters will give up on predation and even join my world.
"As my world becomes more prosperous, more animals and plants are attracted over and take the initiative to fuse with me.
"It's just like how I have more eyes, ears, and tentacles. I can sense the entire world from more angles and scales.
"And as I can connect to more monster brains, my … intelligence and self-awareness will also increase geometrically.
"Gradually, aside from practical problems like what to eat, what to drink, how to get more sunlight, how to search for underground water sources and crystal mines, how to avoid the invasion of large monsters, the deepest part of my neural network will always have sparkling sparks. It's a deep sense of puzzlement and dissatisfaction.
"You must know that survival was no longer a problem for me at that time.
"Even the strongest monster in the Hidden Fog Desolate Domain knows how powerful I am.
"They were either hesitating about whether they should work with me and bring me into the same neural network, or they kept a respectful distance from me and did not dare to step into my world.
"And through the shared senses, I learned a lot of interesting things. I learned about the vastness and wonders of the world around me.
"I can sense the anticipation of every flower that is about to bloom. I can also sense the joy of insects that break out of their cocoons and dance. Every bud that grows out of the soil reminds me of the first time I experienced the excitement of life. Every wolf, wolf, tiger, or leopard that runs and jumps in the wilderness tries its best to contract its heart so that its boiling blood will rush to every muscle. That kind of wildness and wildness is even different from the plants that spend thousands of years to experience the vicissitudes of life. It is completely different, but equally exciting, from the plants that take root in the ground and spend thousands of years to experience the vicissitudes of life.
"I could enjoy so many exciting things that can't be described with words at the same time. It was as if I was living ten thousand times at the same time.
"But perhaps the essence of life is to never be satisfied.
"Gradually, I began to find it boring, boring, and empty.
"There was no difference between this shoot growing out of the ground and that shoot growing out of the ground. No matter how many insects broke out of their cocoons and turned into butterflies, they just danced along the same path." Wolves, tigers, and leopards hunted in the forest while snakes, insects, rats, and ants ran in front of them. I could watch the same scene with relish if I watched it once or ten times, but watching it one hundred times, one thousand times, or ten thousand times made me tired and bored.
"I started thinking.
"Even though I didn't know that I was thinking at that time, I was just complaining.
"I just instinctively complained. That's it? That's everything? That's the reason I was born? To create a better forest? But aside from being more lush, there was no difference between a forest with me and a forest without me! Besides, even if the forest was one hundred times, one thousand times, or ten thousand times, it didn't matter. Was there anything new that I hadn't seen, heard, or experienced before?
"It was especially so on every night when everything was silent and the stars were shining brightly. When the brilliant galaxy slowly unfolded above my head and led to the depths of the universe that I couldn't see, this vast and mysterious picture always made me feel … an inexplicable urge.
"I tried to extend my nerves straight into the sky, wanting to grow all the way to the heavens. I wanted to use my nerves to connect to billions of stars and form an enormous neural network among the stars.
"Of course, I failed.
"After failing ten thousand times, I gradually began to realize the vastness of the universe and the insignificance of the land that I was rooted in.
"For a period of time, I was extremely depressed and angry.
"Why was it that the universe was so vast, but I could only be bound to this tiny ball of mud and mixed with some silly animals and plants? No, I was the amalgamation of these silly animals and plants. I was them — the pitiful prisoners who were bound to a tiny ball of mud in a carbon-based body!
"However, no matter how angry I was, the cosmos would not lower its height by even half a foot because of this.
"I was helpless and angry for a long time. Then, I calmed down and thought about how I could touch the cosmos.
"I realized that even if my body was one hundred times, one thousand times, or ten thousand times larger, it would be impossible for me to touch the stars in the sky and absorb their energy.
"No, even the sun that was right in front of me and the tiny ball of mud with countless crystal mines under my feet couldn't perfectly absorb all their energy with my body alone.
"I had to create an organization that was even more complicated, precise, and advanced than that of the jungle.
"This system was billions of times larger and more exquisite than my neural network.
"It was only after a long time that I realized that what I needed was … a civilization."
When the Wisdom Tree said the word civilization, all the tentacles on its body shuddered and shone with an enchanting light.
It made Meng Chao shudder.
"Looks like you've already realized it."
The girl's face on the Wisdom Tree continued smiling sweetly. "Peach Blossom Town inspired me to create a civilization. It's a human town that transmigrated here from Earth.
"In truth, Peach Blossom Town, which transmigrated to the Other World, is not far away from my original birthplace. It's near the sinkhole.
"In fact, I'm guessing that the space and spirit energy ripples you stirred up when you transmigrated here and the surging energy that spread out stimulated my awakening.
"If that's the case, then the monster civilization and Dragon City civilization are really two sides of the same coin. They're twins who are fated to be entangled with each other.
"But in the beginning, I didn't notice Peach Blossom Town.
"One of the reasons was that the range and strength of my senses were rather limited. The other reason was that Peach Blossom Town was originally stuck in a space wrinkle. The town was surrounded by fog, and the people inside could not come out. It was also difficult for my neural network to spread inside.
"But as the waves stirred up by my transmigration gradually calmed down, the wrinkles were smoothed out, and the fog around Peach Blossom Town dissipated. More contact with the outside world occurred, and we exchanged a large amount of materials and information.
"The range of my senses and control continued expanding, and we got closer to each other. In the end, I discovered Peach Blossom Town and the interesting humans."
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