Chapter 379: A New Dawn for Evolution: Collaborations and Discoveries

The meat from Red Lantern animals has had its nutrients and flavor ruined by the Devastation Element. Even after the Safe Zone’s processing plant removes the contaminant, they have to add all sorts of nutrients just to make it into food that barely satisfies hunger—forget about promoting evolution.

In the Evolved Forest, carnivorous beasts prey on herbivores stuffed with high Devastation Element. Once their bodies reach a certain level of contamination, they lose all reason, turn aggressive, and become mindless killing machines. They keep hunting and butchering until they’re too weak, at which point they’re torn apart and devoured by others.

That’s the core reason behind the beast tides sweeping Blue Star.

So, the real challenge for humanity is to quickly identify and cultivate stable Evolution Element plants and animals from these crazed evolved lifeforms, then breed and plant them in large numbers to rebuild a functioning ecosystem.

Xia Qing let out a sigh. “That’s a steep climb.”

“It really is,” Yang Jin agreed with a smile. “But Huaguo is full of talented people. As long as we’re on the right track and work together, we’ll overcome it sooner or later. The fact you’ve already cultivated so many edible plants in your territory means we’ve taken a big step forward.” He lifted a tiny bag of seeds. “This is 6,271 seeds—want to count them again?”

6,271 was how many spinach seeds Xia Qing owed the Azure Dragon Squad. Chatting while picking up seeds is one thing, but who could actually keep count while doing it so fast?

Only a dual-evolved like him could manage both speed and focus. Xia Qing was impressed. “No need. You can pack them up.”

Yang Jin stowed away the spinach seeds, pulled out another smaller bag, and kept working. Then, he gave Xia Qing some bad news. “I had someone test the Green Lantern chestnuts—it turns out they can’t grow new saplings from just the nuts.”

“Really?” Xia Qing was only stunned for a second before regaining her usual calm. “That means that chestnut grove must use its root system to reproduce.”

“Exactly. Evolved plants are getting weirder by the day but root-based propagation is pretty standard now. Even if it’s slower, it’s stable and the trees produce plenty of fruit, so you should raise the price of those saplings.”

Yang Jin noticed the girl he cared for looked disappointed that she couldn’t mass-produce Green Lantern saplings. He smoothly changed the subject to something more cheerful. “Do you know how Cordyceps grows on the plateau these days?”

Xia Qing genuinely had no clue and could only guess. “Parasite?”

After Blue Star’s great evolution, any area over 3,500 meters altitude got drenched in Devastation Element. The highlands became unlivable, and the survivors had to move to lower ground.

Covered in a blanket of polluted snow, the highlands turned into a forbidden zone for Evolution Element life. So what’s going on with Cordyceps up there was a mystery to Xia Qing.

Yang Jin explained, “Cordyceps are technically a mix of fungus and algae. The ‘worm’ is actually a bat moth larva. The fungus invades the caterpillar’s body, filling it up with mycelium. By next summer, a yellow or pale-brown mushroom stalk sprouts from the larva’s head, pokes above the ground, and looks like a blade of grass—that’s the ‘grass’ part of Cordyceps.”

Fascinating—she’d learned something new!

Xia Qing gasped. “That’s a lot like how other parasitic plants evolved their reproduction. So you’re saying after evolving, Cordyceps didn’t ditch animal parasitism entirely, right?”

How is she so smart—and so incredibly cute with those wide eyes…

Trying to steady his heartbeat, Yang Jin kept picking seeds as he replied, “Half correct. Now, Cordyceps fungus can reproduce not only through insect larvae but also by using plants. Latest research says Cordyceps grown with plants can boost human immune systems.”

“There’s also another exciting breakthrough.” Yang Jin looked up, his smile bright. “Using pure spring water to hydroponically grow high Evolution Element vegetables, we can cultivate Cordyceps that’s especially effective at healing Devastation Element damage in the body.”

Now that is a huge win—props to the researchers!

Xia Qing was thrilled too. “Has Blazing Fire Squad raised the price of their pure spring water yet?”

Yang Jin chuckled. “Fire Phoenix plans to visit Zhang San soon, hoping to cooperate on Cordyceps-based medicine. If it doesn’t work out, Blazing Fire Squad will definitely jack up spring water prices—and yours probably should go up too. Since we’ve got a long-standing deal, can Azure Dragon Squad keep getting Section Three’s spring water at a twenty percent discount?”

Man, he’s stingier than a miser. Won’t even let the smallest deal slide.

“Sure,” Xia Qing agreed. Then she asked, “Why did Fire Phoenix go straight to Third Brother for cooperation? Was this new Cordyceps strain his idea?”

“He’s the main researcher, with others on board too. I only just heard myself.”

Wow. Just—wow!

If Yang Jin weren’t around, Xia Qing would’ve shouted for the world to hear: See this? That’s my idol—a top-tier legend on Blue Star!

As a hardcore fan, Xia Qing’s devotion ran so deep she could’ve tunneled through the planet. She wanted to skewer Blue Star on a stick, candy-coat it, and offer it up as a treat for her idol—let him nibble on it to his heart’s content!

Seeing how hard she was trying to hide her excitement, Yang Jin helped her out. “When it comes to researching medicines, Zhang San’s a genius.”

Xia Qing nodded so hard her head about bobbed off. “Exactly! All the potions from Section Seven work wonders. Humans desperately need medicine that can heal Devastation Element injuries.”

Yang Jin pulled them back to business. “It’ll only benefit everyone once this medicine can be mass-produced. For now, though, only Cordyceps grown with pure spring water and high Evolution Element veggies actually works.”

Xia Qing caught his drift. “Is it difficult for you to cultivate Cordyceps?”

“Yeah. Odds are slim that Third Brother and Fire Phoenix can work together, so our joint operation can supply Cordyceps directly to him.” Yang Jin flashed a killer smile and brought up a new joint project.

“People can get infested if they inhale Cordyceps spores, so we’ll need to set up high-standard clean rooms and hire specialists for plant-based cultivation. Azure Dragon Squad will handle the site, build the rooms, buy hydroponic nutrients, and provide labor and security. You’ll supply the spring water, and we’ll split the spinach seeds half and half. Profits—we do a 40-60 split, 40 for you, 60 for me. What do you think?”

“Let’s go fifty-fifty,” Xia Qing shot back, straightening her back as she entered haggling mode.

“Your group’s putting in a lot, but don’t forget—one of the key investments, the spring water, is coming from me. Also, those high Evolution Element spinach seeds are originally from my territory too. After a few generations, the seeds you have might lose their Evolution Element, and then I’ll be your only source. Finally, it’s your squad supplying the technical crew. So fifty-fifty is my bottom line.”

The girl he liked wasn’t just more confident now—she shone when she bargained, and every point she made was spot-on. Honestly, she could’ve pushed harder for sixty-forty or even seventy-thirty, but he could hardly help her knock his own asking price down.

Yang Jin nodded. “You’re absolutely right. Fifty-fifty it is.”