"Go on, have some milk tea first, then continue," urged Hao Yun, taking advantage of a pause in Tie Zhu's narration, tossing him another bottle of milk tea. Since Tie Zhu had been talking all along and could probably use some hydration, Dream Jia didn't object this time.

After indulging in half a bottle of milk tea, Tie Zhu gave Hao Yun a thumbs-up, indicating that the peach-flavored milk tea was indeed fantastic. Then, he continued, "Faced with this historically significant discovery, the Gaia people immediately organized a secret spaceflight mission—Genesis Journey. Gaia dispatched several of the world's top scientists to Mastani Star. Upon successfully locating the oasis based on the locator signal sent by the exploration robot, they immediately began on-site inspections of the oasis. Finally, they returned to Gaia with a large number of plant samples collected from the oasis, and then began round-the-clock research on these samples, aiming to find out why they could survive in an environment completely devoid of atmosphere and moisture, facing extreme cold and heat every day. Little did they know, their act of bringing those plant samples back to Gaia would soon plunge the Gaia people into catastrophe."

"It's worth noting that because those plant samples were kept in storage boxes equivalent to outer space environments upon arrival on Gaia, they appeared to be unusually shaped plants with exceptionally tough fibers, but otherwise seemed normal. It wasn't until Gaia's scientists attempted to transplant some of the plant samples into a greenhouse with an environment similar to that of Gaia to test if they could continue to survive in Gaia's environment that things began to go awry."

Tie Zhu continued, mimicking the swaying motion of seaweed with fingers that were similar in shape to humans but noticeably thicker and longer. "It is said that an alien plant resembling ordinary weeds underwent the first change upon entering Gaia's daily environment. Not only did it quickly adapt to Gaia's living environment, but it also seemed to come to life, wriggling non-stop."

"Naturally, this result thrilled the Gaia people, but in their excitement, scientists immediately began the next step of work. To prevent this plant from dying accidentally, scientists decided to collect secondary samples of it while it was still vigorous. However, just as a sampler was about to take a sample from this dancing plant, an accident occurred suddenly. The sampler, holding a slicing tool, was about to slice a small piece from the dancing plant when it was unexpectedly attacked by the plant."

"As the sampler's hand approached the plant, which resembled wild grass, the plant voluntarily adhered to the sampler's index finger. Then, many suckers appeared underneath the plant, firmly attaching to the back of the sampler's index finger like octopus tentacles. Because this plant was very tough and attached to the sampler's index finger, it immediately tightened its grip on the sampler's finger. As a result, the sampler couldn't immediately pull the plant away and retrieve his finger when attacked, but was completely restrained in place by the plant."

"Even more frighteningly, after this plant controlled the sampler's finger, it immediately sprayed a large amount of unidentified liquid from those suckers. Not only could this liquid easily burn through the sampler's protective suit, but it also corroded the surface of his skin with numerous tiny holes upon contact with the sampler's finger, all of which penetrated into the sampler's body through the holes. At this point, the sampler, who had been shouting for help, immediately felt a severe tingling pain all over his body, and after convulsing violently for a few seconds, he passed out on the spot." Tie Zhu even tilted his head in a fainting gesture after saying this. It seemed that after drinking half a bottle of peach milk tea, Tie Zhu was quite excited.

Seeing the three priests and six brothers looking at him with surprise, Tie Zhu realized that he might have gotten a bit too excited. So, after coughing awkwardly twice, he hastily continued as if nothing had happened, "The sampler was quickly rescued by the on-site security personnel and immediately underwent a comprehensive physical examination. To the relief of the rescuers, apart from finding that the sampler's finger attacked by the alien plant was very swollen and that he showed some signs of poisoning, no abnormality was found on him. Moreover, not long after, the sampler woke up on his own and felt no discomfort. However, because the sampler was the first Gaia person ever to be attacked by an extraterrestrial life form, for his safety, he was naturally required to stay in the laboratory for comprehensive observation. Oh, by the way, according to historical records, the sampler's name is Hēimén."

Hao Yun and the others didn't need to think to know that leaving a victim attacked by extraterrestrial creatures in the laboratory would definitely lead to no good in the subsequent plot development.

Tie Zhu continued, "In the next two days, all of Hēimén's bodily data were normal, and he didn't experience any discomfort. The plant that attacked Hēimén was locked in a separate greenhouse box and was not allowed to be sampled again to prevent it from causing harm to others. However, an incident occurred on the third night."

"At that time, it wasn't another researcher being attacked by the extraterrestrial plant, but because Hēimén, who was still being observed by scientists in the laboratory, suddenly woke up from his sleep and loudly demanded that his colleagues take him back to the laboratory containing the extraterrestrial plant. Upon hearing the news, the researchers who rushed over were puzzled, but they learned that Hēimén had just dreamed of a conversation between himself and the extraterrestrial plant, from which he learned that those extraterrestrial organisms harbored immense power. Because of this revelation, Hēimén suddenly clamored to meet the extraterrestrial plant."

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"Given the irrefutable evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial plants, which, like a scene from a sci-fi movie, had attacked a Gaia person suddenly, the researchers present also showed cautious belief upon hearing Hēimén's account. After all, with the discovery of these extraterrestrial plants, the Gaia people's understanding had been refreshed once again. Now, to them, anything sounding peculiar deserved attention, especially considering that Hēimén was the Gaia person who had been attacked by extraterrestrial plants."

"Therefore, despite questioning Hēimén's words, considering the various recent events that had exceeded conventional understanding, and the researchers' desire to unravel the secret of why those plants could survive on Mastani Star, if Hēimén could successfully communicate with the extraterrestrial plant, they might have a chance. Under the careful consideration of the laboratory leadership, they ultimately decided to take the risk and allow Hēimén to have another contact with the extraterrestrial plant."

"Even though there might be a real danger to Hēimén's life, if Hēimén could help the laboratory make a significant discovery, it would bring more honor to the leaders who led the research task, thus ensuring their place in history. So, even if sacrificing the life of a mere researcher, it would be worth it."

Hearing this, Hao Yun couldn't help but comment, "Ah! It seems that all beings in the universe are the same. Everyone finds it difficult to resist the temptation of self-interest and selfish desires, making it hard for them not to sacrifice others for their own benefit. Little do they know, the cost of their actions may bring disaster to more beings. Even in the end, their actions become pitiful acts of harming others without benefiting themselves."

"Humph! So, these beings can only linger in the lower realms for a long time, unable to ascend to the realm of the enlightened," Dream Jia said disdainfully.

Regarding Hao Yun and Dream Jia's views, Tie Zhu just shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and then said, "It's a pity that the Gaia people thought their little schemes could account for everything, but little did they know, others were planning their own plans based on their scheming. Hēimén, clad in reinforced protective gear and accompanied by two fully armed guards, entered the isolation greenhouse containing the extraterrestrial plant once again. But just when everyone thought Hēimén was about to attempt to communicate with the gradually weakening extraterrestrial plant, an unexpected event occurred."

"As soon as Hēimén reached his gloved right hand into the isolation chamber, his body began convulsing violently again. The two guards beside Hēimén thought he was being attacked by the extraterrestrial plant again and hurried forward to help pull his arm, which was stuck in the isolation chamber, out. But to their surprise, after Hēimén's arm was pulled out, he, while still convulsing at a distance, quickly slapped each guard on the body. Then, the pale green slime that was on Hēimén's hand pierced through the guards' protective suits and instantly incapacitated them as if they had been electrocuted."

"As the onlookers outside the isolation greenhouse saw the accident inside, before they could react, they witnessed another bizarre scene. They saw Hēimén muttering incomprehensibly in some language, disregarding everyone's obstruction, reaching into the isolation chamber again, and pulling out the rapidly withering extraterrestrial plant by the roots. Then, Hēimén removed his protective helmet, greedily chewed up all the plants in his hand, and swallowed them."

Tie Zhu finished the remaining half-bottle of milk tea and then, savoring the taste in his mouth, continued, "It was only then that the researchers present realized that Hēimén had deliberately used the excuse of communicating with the extraterrestrial plant to enter the isolation room and seize the extraterrestrial plant. More guards rushed into the greenhouse, trying to stop Hēimén from continuing to chew the extraterrestrial plant and extract it from his mouth. However, just as those guards rushed into the greenhouse, the two guards who had fallen to the ground unexpectedly stood up and attacked them without warning. Seeing the two guards who had led the charge into the isolation greenhouse being attacked, the guards immediately behind them opened fire in retaliation, directly killing the two guards who had launched the attack."

"Although the riot happened very suddenly, fortunately, the guards in the laboratory quickly brought it under control and locked the isolation greenhouse. They prepared to deal with the situation here after more support personnel arrived. However, just as everyone was waiting for reinforcements, an even more terrifying scene unfolded. They saw Hēimén, after completely chewing and swallowing the extraterrestrial plant, immediately collapse to the ground, unconscious. Then, Hēimén's hands and head, exposed outside the protective suit, began to shrink visibly at an alarming rate, quickly turning into a state like that of a mummy dried for several years."

Tie Zhu paused, deliberately lowering his voice to create a creepy atmosphere before continuing, "However, the most eerie change was yet to come. After Hēimén's body had completely transformed into a mummified state of dry grass, his body suddenly shook violently, and he slowly crawled up from the ground. Hēimén, now back to life, slowly turned around and looked at the researchers outside the isolation greenhouse with eyes flowing with crimson bloodlight, revealing a cruel smile. Hēimén effortlessly broke out of the isolation greenhouse and immediately launched a bloody massacre."

"The Gaia people were naturally no match for Hēimén, who had turned into a monster, so Hēimén quickly slaughtered all the living people in the laboratory. However, after killing all the Gaia people in the laboratory, Hēimén did not rush to leave. Instead, he gathered all the Gaia people's bodies together and began meticulous care of these corpses."

"At this time, outside the laboratory, the military, having received the distress signal, had arrived to provide support. However, after several small-scale incursion attempts arranged by the military failed, and upon learning that none of the laboratory personnel had survived, the military temporarily abandoned the attack on the laboratory. Instead, they chose to surround the laboratory with heavy troops and then make further plans. Of course, the reason they did this was also because the Gaia people were unwilling to give up the idea of capturing the mutated Hēimén alive. In their view, as long as they could capture Hēimén alive for further research, they would have the opportunity to significantly enhance the Gaia people's military power. They might even use this as a turning point for the advancement of Gaia civilization, accelerating the Gaia people's conquest of the universe and the grand ambition of colonizing alien planets."