Chapter 389 Verification and Request
Several days later, in the center of the tower laboratory, a three-dimensional light screen was divided into several different observation angles, transmitting the dynamics of various parts of the plane in real time.
Standing in front of the control panel, Jieming's sharp gaze swept over the constantly refreshing data stream as he delivered his report in a steady voice:
"Experimental Sequence Seven, Phase Three Begins. Observation Target: The newly introduced 'Striking Vine' intelligent variant enters the Seventh Plains Battle Zone."
On the light screen, a group of new, resilient vines, their surfaces covered with dark brown nodules, were approaching the distant battlefield, where light shimmered and vines swirled, at a speed that belied their clumsy appearance.
"According to Lord Starfall's design, the 'Sticky Vine' and the early-awakened 'Demon-Eating Vine' have some overlap in their ecological niches, and both require rare minerals in the soil."
"In terms of aesthetic form, the 'Sticky Vine' tends to be more 'solid' and 'heavy', and theoretically should be more different from elemental creatures that pursue 'streamline' and 'radiance', while having a potential resonance with the 'twisted and intertwined' beauty of the 'Demon-Eating Vine'."
As the new vines reached the edge of the battlefield, the elemental creatures of light that had been entangled with the "Demon-Eating Vine" immediately reacted.
Like a disturbed swarm of bees, they unleashed a blazing stream of light and launched an attack on the "Tangled Rock Vine" without hesitation, with energy rays raining down like raindrops.
However, the "Demon-Eating Vine" army on the other side of the battlefield reacted in a completely different way than before.
Instead of attacking indiscriminately as they had done to other outsiders, they slowed down their confrontation with the elemental creatures. The tips of countless vines turned like eyes to the newcomers, cautiously "sizing them up".
After a brief standoff and observation, a dense mental fluctuation emanated from the group of "Demon-Devouring Vines".
Immediately afterwards, they turned their attention to the newly arrived "Tangled Rock Vines" and launched a swift and combined attack on the separated elemental creature of light!
The light-elemental creatures, already outnumbered, quickly scattered under the combined attack of the two types of vines.
After the battle, the "Demon-Eating Vine" and the "Rock-Strangled Vine" did not immediately merge.
Instead, they maintained a distance, exchanging faint and complex mental signals, seemingly carefully assessing each other.
A moment later, both sides retreated slowly and in perfect unison, moving to opposite sides of the plain, leaving behind a desolate, scorched wasteland in the middle.
"Recording complete!" Jemin finished his report and looked to the side.
The Starfall Wizard's hands flew across the auxiliary light screen, his face beaming with barely suppressed excitement: "Success! Look! The living plants are showing a completely different reaction than when they faced humans, various flesh-and-blood creatures, and even those elemental creatures we temporarily conjured with the living stones!"
She pulled up previous experimental records for comparison: "Before, whether it was flesh-and-blood monsters or those angular stone golems, as long as they entered their perception range, they would be subjected to indiscriminate and fierce attacks from the 'Demon-Eating Vines' and the light elemental clusters. At that time, we almost thought that the hypothesis of 'aesthetic war' was wrong."
“But now it seems,” Jemin interjected, his eyes filled with understanding, “that even among elemental beings, ‘light’ and ‘rock’ have vastly different ‘appearances’ in their eyes. And plant life forms that are somewhat similar in form can maintain restraint and even cooperate to a limited extent in their initial contact, even if there is competition for resources.”
The Starfall Wizard nodded vigorously: "Moreover, not all enlightened creatures will attack other species indiscriminately because of differences in aesthetics."
"Now it seems that this extremely exclusive and life-or-death characteristic based on 'appearance' is likely only present in the two specific combinations of 'Demon-Eating Vine' and 'Radiant Aggregate'."
She stroked her chin thoughtfully and offered a new conjecture: "I suspect that when I first performed the 'spiritual ignition,' the technique was not perfect enough and had some unknown flaws."
"Or... my mental state at the time—such as my eager anticipation of the experiment's success, or my subconscious perception of the opposition between the two forms of 'light' and 'vine'—subtly influenced the process of endowing them with intelligence through the element of fantasy, shaping their unique and extreme cognitive pattern based on the beauty and ugliness of form."
“That’s highly likely,” Viola agreed. She had also studied the imaginary element before. “Jermin’s imaginary elements are indeed easily influenced by the user’s emotions and will. The ‘oppositional’ ideas you put into creating them may have actually become the cornerstone of their core wisdom.”
Jemin nodded in agreement with the analysis: "If that's the case, then we can try to design new experiments, such as having Anya, who has a peaceful mindset, lead a small-scale 'spiritual ignition' to see if the newly born intelligent life will still exhibit such extreme 'aesthetic fastidiousness'."
"Excellent idea!" Starfall Wizard's eyes lit up, but then her excited expression faded, replaced by a rare hint of embarrassment. She rubbed her hands together and looked at Jemin and Viola: "Um... we can put the new experimental plan on hold for now. Right now, there's a small matter that might require your help."
Viola raised an eyebrow: "Oh? What could possibly be troubling you, the ruler of this plane?"
The Starfall Wizard sighed and pointed to a specially marked underground area on the main light screen, which was flashing a high-energy warning signal continuously:
"It's probably because we've been conducting experiments too frequently lately, and deploying too many of these 'weird' test units, that those two native intelligent beings have developed a huge sense of crisis."
"Based on my monitoring of the flow of energy in the plane and the fluctuations of the earth's veins... those clusters of light seem to be brewing something big deep underground. They seem to be concentrating the energy of their entire race, trying to construct a super-giant... well, something like a self-destruction or energy annihilation core."
Jemin asked with some doubt: "If you wanted to stop it, with your control over the planes, you should be able to intervene easily, right?"
A level six wizard could theoretically suppress such a local disturbance effortlessly on their own territory or by manipulating the essence of the plane and mobilizing its power.
The Starfall Wizard quickly waved his hand: "I don't mean to stop them! On the contrary, this is an excellent opportunity to observe! Even if they do create something that can blast through the dimensional barrier, I'm confident I can suppress it at the last second. But..."
She paused, a hint of caution on her face: "To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, in case things go wrong and my laboratory... uh, I mean the plane is blown up, I need to be closely connected to and monitor the plane's origin at all times to ensure that I can use the maximum authority to suppress it at any time. Therefore, I cannot be distracted by anything else."
She looked at the two of them, her eyes pleading: "I hope you can help me gather data up close during the construction of that 'giant bomb'—energy convergence patterns, structural stability, and the mental state changes of those light orbs, etc. This firsthand information is invaluable! And, if possible..."
Her voice carried a hint of researcher's fervor: "It would be best if you showed up at the very last moment, when they were about to succeed, or rather, thought they were about to succeed, and forcibly stopped their actions!"
"In this way, we can most directly detect the extreme fluctuations in their emotions when faced with a catastrophic failure after exhausting the entire clan's efforts, and the adaptive... or catastrophic changes in their intelligence and social structure! That would be perfect!"
Jemin and Viola exchanged a glance. They didn't feel guilty about the request to "stir things up" and "collect tragic data," since these creatures were essentially experimental products.
Although these two races have indeed awakened intelligence, to put it bluntly, how many intelligent beings have died at the hands of wizards?
They nodded and agreed to Starfall's request.
Considering that Viola is also a level six wizard, it would be most appropriate for her to oversee the laboratory and operate the numerous observation arrays and emergency facilities throughout the plane when Starfall needs to focus all his efforts on maintaining the stability of the plane and has no time to spare.
Thus, the division of labor was quickly determined: Viola would stay at the central tower to oversee the entire operation.
Meanwhile, Jemin, along with Anya, who possesses an extremely keen sense of elements and life, personally ventured into the turbulent underground region to closely observe the ultimate plan of the elemental orbs of light.
And they are prepared to deliver a "surprise" interruption from the "ugly flesh monster" at a crucial moment.
(I'm asking for a day off tomorrow in advance. It's the beginning of the month, and there are so many things to do. I'll try to finish them all tomorrow.)
(End of this chapter)
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