Wasteland: My items are infinitely upgraded.

Chapter 65: Evolutionary Essence, Paths and Choices

Lin Feng carefully cut open the soft gelatinous connective tissue, which is the substance that glues the dermis and outer armor of the rock wildebeest together and is full of collagen.

Maybe it would be delicious in hot pot.

A thought flashed through his mind. Facing Lisa's question, Lin Feng put away his messy thoughts. After thinking for a moment, he answered with his limited knowledge of the past and present:
"Evolution is when life breaks through its original limits, possessing stronger physical and mental strength. At the same time, during this breakthrough, special abilities awaken, previously known as superpowers or psychic abilities. This is also the key characteristic that distinguishes Evolved from Enhanced Humans..."

Lisa smiled and continued to ask:

"Then how do we break through the existing enhancement limit?"

Lin Feng was slightly stunned, and said the mainstream answer he knew about the wasteland:
"Eat evolutionary meat... inject evolutionary potion..."

Lisa hummed, and deftly removed the rock plate and belly armor on one side of the rockhorn horse corpse with her hands. She cut open its belly with a knife and asked:

"The evolution agent is extracted from evolution meat, so where does the evolution meat come from?"

Lin Feng blurted out:

"I have always been a first-level desolate being that has completed its evolution..."

But before he could finish his words, Lin Feng realized that the other party's real problem was not the current appearance.

He stopped cutting and replied:
"Wait, you mean the initial evolution, that apocalyptic crisis..."

Lisa nodded. Only by tracing back to the source could she explain everything clearly and sort out the logical relationship, so that Lin Feng could better accept the truth behind it:
"That apocalyptic crisis was accompanied by a global wave of evolution. Humans are just one of the many creatures on Earth. Besides us, a vast number of plants and animals have also benefited from this gift."

"But initially, evolution was chaotic and without any rules. No one knew the specific steps to becoming stronger, nor was there a clear understanding of the levels of evolutionary strength."

"And those who can truly achieve evolution are even fewer. The vast majority of humans and mutant creatures are stuck at the ninth level of enhancement."

"But even so, after evolution, the physical and mental strength of life around the world has increased several times compared to before. This is what gives humans the ability to cope with crises."

Lin Feng tried hard to recall the research reports from that time. Although humans around the world were desperately building engines and underground shelters at that time, some research institutions still published various studies on evolution:
"I remember there was news saying that those evolved humans and evolved organisms contain a substance that can promote qualitative changes in their cells. This is the original source of evolution..."

Lisa breathed a sigh of relief. Talking to newcomers to the wasteland was convenient because they still remembered most of the history and hadn't been brainwashed by the various theories and doctrines of the wasteland.
"Yes, and that thing is in here."

As she spoke, Lisa opened the abdominal cavity of the wildebeest corpse and took out a huge, still beating heart from a pile of bloody organs.

It is as big as a washbasin. The aorta and vein absorb old blood and spit out new blood as the myocardium contracts.

This scene made several people nearby feel physically uncomfortable.

This first-level female rock hornbill was clearly dead, but its body still looked alive and continued to function.

It was like a brainless walking corpse.

Lisa looked at the still beating horse heart and continued with a slightly excited tone:
"The substance that promotes evolution has many names. Some call it life essence, life energy, others call it evolution factor, God factor, and so on..."

"Your Asia region seems to call this the Evolution Essence."

"Anyway, no matter what it is, it's a substance that appeared during that crisis."

"Initially, life on Earth couldn't withstand its transformation, and most of it failed to evolve. It wasn't until later, with the arrival of large numbers of specimens, that human evolutionists and evolved beasts were born."

"It has also gradually evolved into the current evolutionary levels and the specific steps of evolution and strengthening..."

Having said that, Lisa changed the subject and threw the beating heart in her hand in front of Lin Feng:
"But after they established the path of evolution, they also completely blocked other directions of evolution."

"If those who come after them want to achieve evolution, they can only follow the evolutionary path they have taken. They will always be behind them, unable to catch up..."

After Lisa finished speaking, Lin Feng stood there in a daze.

The other party's words contained too much information, and Lin Feng was unable to react for a while, until he sorted out the cause and effect and connected it to the beginning of evolution...

A slightly dark truth.

Gradually emerged in Lin Feng's mind.

So he quickly asked:

"You mean, by using the life essence from other evolving organisms, we will also absorb the impurities within them, thus embarking on their path of evolution."

"So subsequent evolution will be constrained by this evolutionary path and forever restricted within it?"

Lisa raised her eyebrows, and one side of her lips under the mask slowly rose into a smile:

"Yes, that's it."

"This is the truth about the evolution of Oasis Town."

"Mr. Lin is such a smart and cautious person, it shouldn't be difficult for him to guess the reason behind this..." "Whether it's the evolutionary potion extracted by the big family or the pure evolutionary surgery promoted by the church, in essence, they are all for the sake of their own long-term rule."

"But there's no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

"Now, in the wasteland, apart from the mutated wild beasts and the organizations that control different evolutionary paths, only a small amount of the original evolutionary essence remains in the ancient ruins."

As she spoke, Lisa pointed her dagger at the rockhorn carcass in front of them.
"The evolutionary pathway extracted from the rock wildebeest herd must rely on the rock wildebeest to survive."

"There's actually not much difference between eating the evolutionary meat directly and evolving it, and giving it to the farm village in exchange for purified evolutionary agents. Eating it directly carries the risk of contamination from excessive impurities."

"But as long as we use the Rockhorn Horse's evolutionary meat to achieve evolution, if we want to achieve further qualitative change and evolution, we will have to submit to the Farm Village and crawl at the feet of the Li family's patriarch."

"The subsequent evolutionary essence is in their hands."

“This is a road that is doomed to fail.”

"So, you still want to try?"

Lin Feng frowned slightly, thinking of the task Father Su An had given him, to go into the ruins to look for something.

Could it be this so-called original essence...

The purpose is naturally very simple, for the future evolution of his daughter, Su Yueyue.

But he himself is a middle or senior level member of the Holy Spring Sect, and he has both strength and status. Why should he let his daughter embark on an unknown evolutionary path?

Unless there is something else hidden within the Holy Spring Sect.

Nowadays, the oasis clans are not trustworthy, and the Holy Spring Cult is not a good destination either.

But without the strength of an evolver, going to the dangerous prehistoric ruins will basically result in death.

Therefore, the evolutionary problems facing everyone are actually just problems and have not been solved.

But now that Lisa said that, the precious first-level rockhorn carcass in front of him didn't seem as delicious as before.

Lisa pulled out all the internal organs from the rock wildebeest's stomach, revealing two active tenderloins on both sides of the spine. She held the dagger tightly in her hand, eager to try.

However, she seemed to be aware of the strange atmosphere around her, so she waved her hand and spoke comfortingly:

"Everyone, don't be so anxious. I'm saying this to Lin Feng. He awakened a very rare ability before he evolved."

"You have outstanding talent and your future is limitless!"

"That's why I wanted to remind him not to be fooled by temporary gains. Sometimes, seemingly convenient paths are often traps laid by others."

"As for ordinary people like us, becoming an Evolver in this lifetime is a great blessing. Even if we work hard, we will only be able to reach the middle stage of the first stage."

"The shackles of any evolutionary path have a very limited impact on us, because, in fact, we will never reach the end of the trap on these evolutionary paths until we die."

"Whether it's the evolution potion from Holy Spring Village or the evolution surgery from the church, everyone can use them with confidence. Of course, if you really want to rank them..."

"The church is definitely better. After all, the Holy Spring Cult rules the city, while the Li family of Farm Village is just a local noble family."

"That depends on your future development direction. If you want to stay in Oasis Town and live a stable life, then Rockhorn Horse is a good choice. If you want to develop in a big city, the church is the right choice."

After saying this, Lisa looked down at the silent man in front of her, and used the sharp knife in her hand to cut off two pieces of tenderloin weighing 100 kilograms.

Together with the horse's heart, they were placed in front of the man.

Then he slowly spoke:
"Lin Feng, you have the potential to become a high-level evolver. This world of Oasis Town is too small for you. You will be able to reach the top in just a few years..."

"This place is too small to display your talent."

"Do you want to live in seclusion in a corner until the end of your life, or head to a large city, or even further afield, to explore this world, perhaps even slay the Three Suns in the Sky and break the curse that shrouds all life in the wasteland..."

"Become the legendary savior of mankind."

The man looked at the huge beating heart and the twitching tender tenderloin in front of him, took off his mask, and smiled:
"Sorry, I just want to survive first."

As he spoke, a reminder appeared in the corner of his eye:

"Rockhorn Evolution Meat lv11, Red Quality"

"..."

(End of this chapter)