Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 1249 Convergent Evolution (First Update)

In the northeastern corner of the Great Wilderness, there is a mountain called Xiongli Hill. Yinglong dwells in the South Pole, having killed Chiyou and Kuafu, and is unable to ascend again. Therefore, there are frequent droughts. When the drought occurs, Yinglong takes the form of himself, and then there will be heavy rain.

—Classic of Mountains and Seas, Eastern Wilderness

Driving the dragon-elephant chariot, its hooves swaying gracefully, and riding the red dragon and blue serpent, its steeds winding and twisting.

—From "The Biography of Sima Xiangru, Rhapsody on the Great Man" in the Records of the Grand Historian

Yu exerted himself to dig ditches and canals, guide rivers and level mountains, with a yellow dragon dragging its tail in front and a black tortoise carrying green mud behind.

—From *Shiyi Ji*

The Yellow Dragon is the official in charge of earth; the first is Chenling, the second is Quanxing, the god of thunder and rain.

—From "Poetic Interpretation of Disasters"

The god of the Yellow Dragon is called Xuanyuan Star. He governs swift thunder and fierce winds. He brings bitter rain to the border camps, and frequent illness and heavy frost.

—The Great Law of the Shangqing Lingbao

The Pegasus Heavy Assault Transport, escorted by numerous fighter jets and lurking in suborbital space, was equipped with a multitude of observation devices. The images displayed by these devices caused everyone who received the information to hold their breath. Victoria Hand and Sorority Chief Commander Tita, aboard the Sky Carrier, witnessed the total solar eclipse unfold at an astonishing speed, as if an unseen creature had opened its gaping maw to swallow the stars. Laura Crawford, standing on the bridge of the Pegasus Heavy Assault Transport, watched with clear, direct images from the observation devices of the dark gray cumulonimbus clouds below, spewing out branch-like bolts of lightning.

Centered on Paititi, orange-red flames and heat radiation pierced through the dark clouds covering the Amazon rainforest, rapidly expanding and spreading in all directions. Hot air from the ground and cold air from above caused the clouds to surge rapidly, creating swirling vortices. A colossal creature slowly rose from the thunder and gray vortexes. It was an incredibly awe-inspiring scene; the images displayed on all devices were dominated by the creature's enormous body. Its colorful scales and flamboyant wings were bathed in the dim light of the total solar eclipse, and massive amounts of rain poured down like waterfalls onto the ground between its feathers and scales.

Whether viewed from suborbital or outer space, the monster's form could be clearly observed with the naked eye, while satellite reconnaissance presented its full form through data and charts. Even though Laura Crawford had experienced many adventures, when she saw this monster on the screen, she still felt the fear of giant creatures ingrained in human genes.

Onuratu, as the legitimate ruler of Paititi, wept bitterly as he watched the burning land on the screen. Regardless of the outcome, the people of Paititi had once again lost their homeland.

"The experimental orbital satellite cannon is ready." Marbas, the supreme sage of the Martian planet and the fifth demon god pillar, said solemnly.

He sat in the command seat on the bridge of the Skysword Space Station, a large group of Martian mechanical sages in red robes communicating with their companions in another orbit via control consoles. The mechanical star that Supilulius spoke of was actually an experimental cannon forged on Mars. For Latvinia and the Martian foundry, dropping hydrogen bombs from orbit to the Earth's surface was not only technologically inefficient but also ineffective at penetrating air defenses—this cannon was built on Mars, assembled in orbit, and finally propelled into Earth's orbit via rocket propulsion. The origin of this technology was known only to a few, but this did not prevent the Emperor from using it as the ultimate means of ground warfare at this stage.

"When can we launch? What will happen after launch?" Natasha Romanov asked anxiously.

Steve Rogers, standing nearby, was in a similar situation, only learning the Emperor's true purpose for going to Cuba at the last minute. Although he was dissatisfied with being excluded from the decision-making process, the scene he witnessed now forced him to admit that this was not a problem the Avengers could solve, at least not with his shield, because it was a giant serpent at least twenty-three kilometers long, and a human was not even as big as one of its scales.

"Awaiting my lord's command," said the High Sage of the Martian Forging Planet. Natasha Romanov had always been curious about the mysterious companions who had appeared beside the Emperor, especially this Martian ruler with formidable scientific capabilities; almost all of Latvinia's weaponry and production equipment originated from Mars.

"When my lord deems it necessary, he will tell me." Mabas traced the symbols and emblems in gold thread on his collar with his fingers—a golden lion and the equation for dismantling a circular seal. However, Mabas wasn't entirely truthful; even after acquiring this weapon, he remained troubled.

The solar wind in space was growing increasingly violent, more intense than ever before. Ionospheric auroras were being observed at both Earth's poles, and the anti-jamming measures of the SkySword space station and all orbital weapon systems were undergoing severe testing. Geomagnetic storms on Earth were intensifying, adding fuel to the fire of an already deteriorating global environment. Mabas knew very well that the Emperor's orders, which he spoke of, were unlikely to penetrate the intense interference and reach the bridge.

"But if the situation gets out of control, then I will have the authority to launch autonomously." Seemingly realizing his words weren't convincing enough, he added, "But I'm not a military officer or a politician, so I need advisors, which means you. Ms. Natasha Romanoff, Mr. Steve Rogers, my lord trusts you can provide the right advice. Ms. Victoria Hand, our call is expected to last two minutes; the next shearing motion could cause irreparable damage to communications."

"I know your true name." The Emperor's intermittent voice in the earpiece pulled Laura Crawford back to reality. She recalled that during the tense evacuation, the Emperor stood on a rain-soaked hillside and asked her a very interesting historical question: Why do similar events often appear in the myths of humanity's past?

The emperor has a hypothesis about this that is worth studying.

"Like biological evolution, many mythologies around the world follow a convergent evolutionary path, with early people adapting and creating based on their local geographical environment. At that time, the Earth's orbit and atmospheric conditions resulted in frequent rainfall, and many human settlements along rivers since the Stone Age were frequently eroded by floods—Greek mythology tells of Zeus ending the Bronze Age with a great flood, Atlahasis mythology of the Great Flood of Enlil, and Chinese legends of Mount Buzhou, including those in Mesopotamia. This led the Jews to record the Great Flood in the Torah, adding legitimacy and a sense of shared identity to their rule. Furthermore, the epic of Gilgamesh in Uruk also provided considerable inspiration to the Jews of the past, including the Garden of Eden and Ecclesiastes. Given this convergence of environments, it's highly likely that similar creatures in Mesopotamian, ancient Greek, and Germanic mythology—such as Goliath, Titans, frost giants, and fire giants—belonged to the same species, proving that the Earth's environment and organisms at that time had a similar impact on the civilizations of different groups."

"Maybe, not necessarily. Is there anything in this world that you can describe with 'maybe'?" Exhausted, Laura Crawford forced a smile. She was also quite curious about the answer to this question, and she had her own interpretation. "This world is getting stranger and stranger. The Norse gods really exist, and immortals like Jacob and you exist too. In this wonderful season, what is impossible?"

Laura swore she saw a hint of pleasure in the emperor's obsidian-black eyes.

Generally, her relationship with her benefactor was quite relaxed, unless he donned that suit of armor. However, she was still certain that the person inside was the same benefactor she knew; otherwise, he wouldn't have been so eager to use multiple transport planes to evacuate the Paititi natives, the residents of San Juan town, and Yasok from the surface. "Anything can happen, Laura," the Emperor said softly. "Don't be misled by the mythological narratives of different cultures. The same thing has different names in different regions, and mythical creatures, if they truly exist, would also have different names. So, is the feathered serpent god also recorded in the mythologies of other cultures?"

Please vote for me!

(End of this chapter)