Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

"Strange?"

Upon hearing Mao Zhengzhi's words, Lü Yongchang also frowned.

To be honest, he felt the same way.

The two stood in front of the holographic 3D projection and fell silent together.

Perhaps due to subtle influence, the two people's movements are extremely similar.

They all rested their chins on their hands, their brows furrowed, and tilted their heads slightly to examine the 3D projection in front of them.

A few minutes later.

Mao Zhengzhi changed his actions.

He lowered his right hand, which had been supporting his chin, and raised it slightly, making a gesture.

Ling easily understood what Mao Zhengzhi meant.

With almost no delay, the 3D projection shrinks rapidly.

A complete lost star appeared before the two of them.

The human fleet has only completed modeling work on the surface of the Lost Star and the subsurface of the Arctic region at a depth of 10,000 meters.

Compared to the entire planet, this amount of work is truly insignificant.

Therefore, in the holographic projection, the entire planet appears extremely dark, with only a small area shimmering with a faint blue light.

"Zero, using the underground structure of the North Pole region of the Lost Star as a template, deduced the structure of the entire planet's underground 10,000 meters underground."

"Academician Mao," the synthesized voice announced, "due to the lack of substantial detection data, the final simulation results may differ significantly from the actual situation. Should we continue with the simulation?"

Before Mao Zhengzhi could speak, Lü Yongchang gave the order for him: "Continue!"

"receive."

[Analyzing relevant data...]

Analysis complete; modeling and deduction work underway...

【…】

In the holographic projection, text shimmering with a faint white light appeared line by line.

[Modeling and simulation completed]

The moment the last line of text appeared, the outermost layer of the Lost Star was "lit up"!

The "delicate" root system, which is spread all over the world, gradually converges and merges into the vast root system of that 10,000-meter-tall giant tree through thick root stems that drop straight into the ground.

"The nervous system?"

Mao Zhengzhi muttered to himself, "Professor, did you see that?"

Lu Yongchang looked serious and didn't speak, only nodding slightly.

Observing the 3D model diagram derived from zero, the roots of these hundred-meter-tall saplings resemble the peripheral nervous system that is distributed throughout the human body.

The massive root system of that 10,000-meter-tall tree is like the central nervous system of the human body.

These peripheral nervous systems connect with the central nervous system, forming a vast and complete nervous system!

Things seem to have gotten serious.

An unbelievable idea popped into Lü Yongchang's mind.

Perhaps shocked by his own thoughts, he swallowed hard, and his breathing became rapid.

"These, these trees..."

"It seems to belong to a complete life?"

Lu Yongchang's pupils trembled slightly, and he murmured, "This, how is this possible..."

That's right, that's the conclusion Lü Yongchang drew from this 3D model in front of him!

In his view, these tree roots buried deep in the soil are like the intricate nervous system inside the human body!

As for the soil on the planet's surface, it is the flesh and blood tissue that makes up the human body!

"How...how can there be such a life form?!"

Mao Zhengzhi, who had always wanted to explore plant civilization, muttered to himself in a strained tone.

At this moment, he was like Lord Ye who saw a real dragon, filled with fear!

Lu Yongchang did not respond to his words, but stared blankly at the holographic projection of the Lost Star, which was surrounded by a faint azure blue and had a dim interior.

Gradually, a bizarre and absurd scene appeared in his eyes.

In the vast universe, an enormous giant gently lay down on a desolate rocky planet.

The giant's body was so broad and thick that it could easily envelop the entire rocky planet.

His head fell to the north pole of the rocky planet.

Even when lying on the ground, his enormous head still reached a height of ten thousand meters!

This giant lay there quietly on the planet.

Time flies.

The giant remained motionless.

Gradually...

His body transformed into the earth and mountains!

Blood becomes rivers and oceans!

The fine hairs transformed into saplings, each a hundred meters tall!

The head transformed into a towering tree, and the hair became the tree's enormous canopy!

His nervous system transformed into the roots of these trees!

The trees absorbed oxygen and radiation, providing the giant with the energy and substances needed to sustain life!

The tree roots are interconnected, transmitting various information to the central nervous system...

Just then, an uninvited guest barged into the place!

The starships, like flies, not only landed on the giants, but even used their pitiful weapons to clean the hair and nervous system off the giants!

"Professor? Professor?"

I heard faint, indistinct calls coming from beside me.

The sound grew louder and louder, and at the same time, the bizarre world before their eyes began to shake.

"Professor!" Mao Zhengzhi shook Lü Yongchang's shoulders forcefully and shouted, "Professor, what's wrong?!"

Lü Yongchang suddenly came to his senses.

"call……"

He was breathing heavily, and raised his hand to wipe the fine beads of sweat from his forehead.

Looking at the Lost Star model so close to him, he subconsciously took a few steps back.

"Bang!"

His body slammed hard against the table behind him.

"Professor, are you alright?"

Mao Zhengzhi looked at Lü Yongchang with a gaze full of worry.

Lu Yongchang's face was ashen, and the piercing pain in his back stimulated his somewhat fragile nervous system, causing his vision to go black for a moment.

Even so, he still raised his hand, waved it repeatedly, and said with difficulty, "No, I'm fine..."

"Exploration team..."

He took a deep breath to relieve the oxygen deprivation in his brain.

"Order the exploration team to immediately cease their mission, leave the Lost Planet, and return to their starship!"

"Now?" Mao Zhengzhi looked at Lü Yongchang with some doubt and asked softly, "They just landed not long ago, and the trees in the landing area have all been cleared away. There shouldn't be too much danger, or else..."

"Now! Stop the investigation immediately!!"

Lu Yongchang suddenly raised his voice and roared, interrupting Mao Zhengzhi's unfinished words!

"..." Mao Zhengzhi paused slightly, then nodded with difficulty, "Okay, I'll contact them right away."

Watching Mao Zhengzhi's actions, Lü Yongchang slowly closed his tired and frightened eyes and took deep breaths.

"...Yes, return to base immediately."

"Reconnaissance mission? Halt all operations. Professor Lü's order is for us to return to base immediately!"

Mao Zhengzhi's voice came from the side.

"The Lost Star..." Lü Yongchang opened his eyes, looking wearily at Mao Zhengzhi beside him, "We are safe in space."

"But staying on the surface would be very dangerous."

"It's my gut feeling."

Lü Yongchang added softly.

(Actually, I'm watching the Three-Body Problem TV series... To be honest, it's pretty good.)

Also, thank you to the amazing Centipede King who loves dragon bones for the certification!