Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

The long night has fallen once again.

Unlike its usual swaggering manner, an arthropod cautiously peeked out from among the broad leaves.

It stared wide at its six tiny eyes and raised its head to look at the sky.

The night was deep.

It should be safe in theory.

But yesterday's lesson tells it that peacetime has not yet arrived, and caution is still needed at night.

It slowly rubbed against the ground along the thick, sturdy tree trunk, ready to turn and run away at any moment.

As it crawled toward the surface, it saw the huge, circular crater in the distance.

The tall trees beside this giant pit looked as tiny as ordinary twigs.

It stopped, and a faint fear appeared in its six pairs of eyes.

The events of the previous night slowly surfaced in his mind.

A huge sphere of light, accompanied by a warm and pleasant "sunbathing"...

Logically speaking, that should be a beautiful symbol.

But this time, it was Death's scythe raised high!

Countless of their kind perished in that catastrophe.

A hint of sadness shone deep in its eyes.

But as it continued to crawl down, the deep pit in the distance was gradually obscured by the crooked trees, and it left this terrible memory behind.

We've reached the ground.

It carefully observed its surroundings.

There were no abnormalities.

The forest at night remained as peaceful as ever.

It rained heavily during the day.

Because of the weather, it was unable to enjoy "sunbathing" and was extremely hungry, urgently needing to find some energy-rich food.

At this moment, it thought of the dangerous "feast" of the previous night.

It casually ate a few bites of the disc-shaped food, and guided by its senses, quickly ran towards the deep pit.

Before long, it reached the edge of the pit.

At this moment, a number of people with the same goal have gathered near the pit.

Near the deep pit, there are thick tree roots standing tall.

The weak radiation at night, combined with the damp environment, caused these tree roots to fall into a deep slumber.

Now, this place is a paradise for giant insects!

It quickly crawled forward and buried its body in the soil inside the deep pit.

Despite the dampness around it, it still felt the pleasant comfort of sunbathing.

It stared blankly at the center of the deep pit.

Due to the heavy rain during the day, a pool of crystal-clear water had accumulated in the center of the pit.

The pool was not large, and it was incomparable to the vast body of water in the distance.

But this scene touched the deepest memories in its genes.

In my memory, a long, long time ago, there wasn't such a vast body of water around us.

Yes, there are only small puddles like these.

Danger lurks everywhere; they could be devoured at any moment by monsters hidden underground!

But as time went by, after a major disaster, a vast body of water appeared in the surrounding area.

From that time on, the survival pressure on their species instantly decreased significantly.

It was after that disaster that the concept of peacetime and crisistime began to circulate among the race.

The method of differentiation is also very simple.

During the day, the sphere of light hanging in the sky brightens, signifying a time of peace.

Conversely, it is an era of crisis.

In peacetime, sunbathing is more comfortable and pleasant, and the activity frequency of underground monsters will decrease significantly, allowing them to reproduce and thrive.

In times of crisis, as the comfort of "sunbathing" decreases, the activity frequency of monsters will increase rapidly!

As it pondered, it raised its head to look at the star-studded night sky.

A deep sense of doubt was evident in those six small eyes.

For some reason, the ball of light disappeared without anyone noticing.

Instead, there is this huge disc.

After that, the feeling of "sunbathing" changed slightly. Although it was still comfortable and pleasant, it was just a little different.

However, the intensity of "sunbathing" has increased considerably.

From this perspective alone, it should be a time of peace now.

But what has happened in the past few days has far exceeded its comprehension.

It gently shook its whiskers and turned to walk towards its lone companion.

It's time to get down to business.

……

Earth

Experiments on versatility in biological laboratories have been ongoing.

Good luck.

As the experiment progressed, Lü Yongchang and his colleagues were able to draw basic conclusions.

The cellular structure of the lost giant tree is indeed like that of plant cells on Earth, possessing pluripotency.

However, compared to plant cells on Earth, it is far more difficult to redifferentiate and grow into a complete giant tree than to plants on Earth.

First, moisture.

Too much water will inhibit the biological activity of the giant tree.

Insufficient moisture will affect the growth of the giant tree's tissues.

Based on a large amount of experimental data, Lü Yongchang and his colleagues finally determined a suitable moisture ratio.

But then problems arose.

Even if these giant tree tissues are provided with the right amount of water, they cannot complete the full differentiation and growth process.

Looking at the data in front of them, Lü Yongchang and Mao Zhengzhi already had a vague guess in their minds.

"Perhaps, more factors are needed to activate its versatility."

As he spoke, Lü Yongchang turned his head to look at the experimental group on the other side.

Over there, an experiment on radiation intensity is underway.

But for some reason, these giant tree tissues did not show any significant abnormal reactions, whether the radiation intensity was reduced or increased.

The most noticeable reaction is that the leaves become greener, or the leaves wither.

As for the differentiation and growth phenomenon that Lü Yongchang and others wanted to observe, it did not appear at all.

"That's strange..."

Mao Zhengzhi's eyes were filled with confusion: "Logically speaking, radiation should be the most important factor, how could this be..."

Like Mao Zhengzhi, Lü Yongchang was also somewhat confused at this time.

The experiment seemed to have hit a roadblock at this point, unable to proceed any further.

He shook his head vigorously, preparing to think of other questions to find inspiration.

He subconsciously turned his head to look at the porthole not far away.

Outside the porthole, the black hole accretion disk was emitting endless light.

Lu Yongchang stared blankly at the black area in the center of the accretion disk, a multitude of complex thoughts rising in his mind.

There was amazement, curiosity, and a slight sense of apprehension.

He took a deep breath and asked, "Zero."

"Where is the black hole detector located?"

"Is the gravitational pull sufficient?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a 3D model of a black hole appeared beside him.

The relative positions of the detectors were also marked.

Looking at the data marked in the model, Lü Yongchang's eyes revealed a hint of joy.

"We're almost at the target area!"

"What about the data? Has the detector sent back any relevant data?"

Zero's cold voice rang out in the laboratory: "Sorry, no corresponding data has been detected yet."