"Damn, attack."
Although they hadn't reached the optimal position for an assault, they couldn't miss the opportunity. As the small dog beasts on the riverbank turned their heads toward the source of the sound in surprise, the GaGa creatures immediately swung their limbs and tails, their bodies surging with electricity as they charged rapidly toward their prey on the shore.
This was a method GaGa had discovered by accident—releasing electricity during a sprint could effectively increase their speed, though the principle behind it was unknown.
The sound startled the entire riverbank, and almost every creature reacted to it. However, the hunters were evidently quicker to react than most of their prey, as they were already highly alert.
The riverbank, which had seemed to host only a dozen small animals before, now saw its population of creatures more than double.
Biting down on its prey before having a chance to retract its forelimbs, GaGa immediately launched an electrical attack on the small dog beast, something that had become second nature.
The small dog beast, suddenly ambushed and desperate to flee the riverbank, was swiftly caught by GaGa's bite on its forelimb. As it tried to break free, several GaGa creatures caught up and clamped down on it, and the electric shock hit simultaneously.
After some minimal resistance, the small dog beast convulsed and collapsed, quickly being dragged into the water by the GaGa creatures.
... During the meal ...
While sharing the food, GaGa noticed the plump water sac within the small dog beast, which would be advantageous for survival in the desert.
"What was that sound?" GaGa, after a hearty meal, grew curious about the sudden noise earlier. Although it didn't significantly affect its actions, it was a good way to break up the monotony.
But by then, the riverbank had been transformed. The surviving prey had long fled, land predators fought over the delicacies before them, and dozens of amphibious predators enjoyed their meals at the riverbank’s edge, with other GaGa creatures having also caught some small animals.
"The haul was pretty good."
... End of the meal ...
In the following period, GaGa creatures remained around the riverbank. Even though the river’s width had reduced from nearly a kilometer to about a hundred meters, the riverbed seemed to be widening. Compared to the barren central continent, this was already a paradise, not to mention the increasingly dense jungle on the small land across the river and the emerging patches of green on this side.
After hunting sufficient land reptiles, the breeding season once again arrived in a section of the river dominated by GaGa creatures. There was a decent high ground on the riverbank, which could serve as a breeding point.
"Perhaps after this editing process, this phase will be complete, GaGa..."
... Time skips by (off it goes) ...
"So, did the so-called age of giant insects end just as I was beginning to experience it, due to a forest fire?" Back in the biological editing space, Jia'er felt a sense of melancholy after learning about the forest fire's details from 8051. Even though these giant insects posed a significant threat to those with internal skeletons like himself.
"This is how it is: you live in nature. As you are now, you lack the strength to resist nature, let alone harness or create it," 8051 pointed out.
"So how can one gain the strength to resist nature, 8051?"
"You know the answer to that, don't you? There’s more than one path to any goal," 8051 replied with a question.
"Civilization, then? Is there anything else?"
"Most primary consciousness planets are systematically selected. Their ecosystems develop steadily, supporting life without catastrophic events that cause mass extinction. These are considered superior ecological worlds. The arrangement of primary consciousness's ecological planets generally follows a development similar to the primary consciousness's original civilized home planet, but an exact match is impossible. Only a few planets are randomly selected second-class special environment planets, which may lead to unique civilizations but also come with significant risks."
"What about the Dual Moon Star?"
"It's certainly a superior one. You aren’t lucky enough to land on a special environment planet," 8051 reassured.
"Hmm..."
"Yes, isn't it superior? Right, 8051 interjected assertively."
"You're reading my mind again, aren't you?"
"No, your responses are too predictable."
"Are you calling me stupid?" Furious ==#
"I never said that. You're just simple, not quite an idiot," 8051 genuinely explained.
"I..." Furious ==##
"Well, you do enjoy a simple life, don’t you? What's wrong with being straightforward?" 8051 was puzzled by the reaction of the primary consciousness.
"Alright, let's not discuss this further. Let's continue with my editing."
"So, focus on evolving well. Worry about those complex, unnecessary things after achieving civilization," 8051 enthusiastically advised on what the primary consciousness should focus on right now.
"Alright, alright, thank you."
"Good, 8051 is pleased to see the primary consciousness seemingly accepting its suggestion."
Despite finding 8051's growing emotional richness amusing, Jia'er felt increasingly vulnerable. "What's going on here?" Jia'er felt a bit sad, "Am I a pathetic masochist..."
"What kind of nonsense conclusion is this? I absolutely refuse."
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Waving the consciousness body that now had a rough head, limbs, and torso, Jia'er began selecting components gathered in recent times for further editing.
Egg-laying... obtained from a large predator attempting to drink from the river at dawn;
Waterproof skin... donated by the small dog beast;
Reptilian internal organ system... provided by that generous large predator;
Water sac... generously contributed by the small dog beast, for which we are grateful;
After assembling and rearranging various body components, the new evolutionary components were roughly installed. Observing the evolution body's largely unchanged appearance, Jia'er began merging consciousness with the three-dimensional image to make detailed adaptations for terrestrial life.
... Time wriggled by in boredom ...
"Ga—Ga—"
No misunderstanding, it's still the GaGa sound. Initially, Jia'er found the sound unpleasant, but as a creature—well, let's say as Jia'er—it's peculiar. Even if you don't like something at first, over time some sentiment can develop. Thus, after testing various vocal components and finding none superior, Jia'er decided to keep it, for habits are hard to change. (Despite the fact that Jia'er is now non-human, as noted above ==)
Running across the vast desert, Jia'er swung limbs and long tail, feeling awkward.
"What's going on here?"
Halting the movement, the fine scales appeared from a distance like gray-yellow skin. The horn on the forehead lengthened slightly, and two spikes emerged at the tail's end. Jia'er had wanted to add two spikes to the tail while in water, but the risk of snagging aquatic plants or dense terrestrial vines delayed this addition until now, amidst the largely barren continental landscape.
Experimenting with movements throughout the body, Jia'er sensed bodily responses before exiting the fusion state to thoroughly explore the reasons for bodily discord when moving.
"8051, do you know why I feel uncomfortable?"
"I do," 8051 stated calmly.
"You actually know!" Jia'er asked offhandedly and was surprised by 8051’s affirmative response. “What's the reason?” Given 8051's system position, it seemed 8051 was quite useful.
"Please discover it yourself," 8051 continued to copy and paste.
"……"
"Alright, I got played."
"I indeed know, but the system doesn't allow such help. It's up to the primary consciousness to figure it out," 8051 quickly explained, regretting having answered at all.
"Never mind, these things are indeed about personal perception."
Reflecting on the previous discomfort, which always occurred during running. "Could it be from spending too much time in water, making terrestrial activity feel less natural?"
"That's possible."
"After all, since arriving in this world, my awareness of time spans decades or centuries, not counting the actual billions of years."
"And so I continue to ignore it," clearly, Jia'er is not willing to accept the billion-year metric.
"Why do I have to evolve step by step like Earth's biological development?" Looking at the quadrupedal reptilian body, Jia'er caught a spark of inspiration. "I haven't discovered it yet, but why not evolve directly into a bipedal stance? Summon the enthusiasm from completing the first vertebral structure—let's go..."
“Changing the angle, length, and strength of the hind leg bones combined with detailed bodily adjustments should suffice. With my Skeletal Architect ability, I can easily perform such transformations. What a fool I am.”
Promptly, Jia'er poured enthusiasm into this bipedal modification.
"The primary consciousness Jia'er often unexpectedly develops fervor for certain matters," 8051 observed about the primary consciousness.
Focused on the modification experiment, Jia'er didn't hear these words.
...
Amidst the sandy wasteland, occasional plant clusters added specks of green to the monotonous world, disrupted by skeletons visible everywhere. Not far off, a great river carved through barren land, its banks lined with lush greenery gradually replacing the yellow with persistent green.
Running joyously across the sand, leaving a long trail of dust, Jia'er headed towards the great river.
Beneath the brilliant sunlight, Jia'er's newly transformed body was revealed.
Two legs with wide feet and sturdy thighs supported the entire body, while a slender tail tipped with two spikes swung with each stride. The forelimbs, more like feet than hands, swung uselessly from the shoulders.
Looking at these "hands" in frustration, Jia'er reached the riverbank, speechless.
"What's going on here? Why can't they be modified into hands? No matter how I change them, they're just stunted forelimbs."
Now resembling a bipedal dinosaur like a raptor, Jia'er's bipedal stance was easily achieved via skeletal modifications and balance trials. While not aiming to become primate-like immediately, Jia'er realized that such a form offered no significant advantage at this time.
"Moreover, it seems I need to find the hand component."
Abandoning further forelimb modifications, Jia'er recalled an oceanic component.
Electric Tentacles.
Though boneless, they could wrap around objects to some extent due to muscular curling. Being boneless allowed full range of movement, even squeezing through gaps—a good substitute before flexible hands emerged.
"GaGa, I'm becoming a tentacle monster."
Laughing mischievously at memories of certain restricted human scenes, Jia'er exited the fusion state and accessed the component showcase, retrieving the long-neglected electric tentacles.
With an evolution value of 30, the electric tentacles were quite cost-effective compared to now predominantly triple-digit components.
Quickly, the hands were replaced, each hand now sporting three half-meter-long electric tentacles. Additionally, the once-representative nape tentacles reappeared, aligned along the spine with three tentacles each over a meter long, resembling hair falling from the nape to offer dorsal protection.
For enhanced mobility and environmental perception, the black scales and reinforced hide were replaced by newly acquired waterproof skin with fine scales, reducing defense but significantly boosting flexibility and tactile sensitivity.
The mouth was swapped for a sharp-toothed carnivore's mouth obtained from a generous land predator. After multiple minor adjustments, another round of editing was nearly complete.
"Is this a dinosaur-tentacle monster hybrid?" 8051 remarked, observing the primary consciousness's new form.
"Uh... more or less, hehe."
"Then, are you done editing?"
Testing movements again, the three tentacles on one hand discharged electricity, with tiny sparks flickering through the narrow gaps, indicating these weren't ordinary tentacle claws but electrified ones.
"No discomfort remains." Exiting the fusion state, Jia'er's consciousness body had gradually taken humanoid shape as a bipedal entity. Curiously flexing limbs, Jia'er gazed into the void.
"Name it."
"Tentacle GaGa Beast. Hehe, GaGa Beast evolves to Tentacle GaGa Beast."
"Planning to super-evolve it into what?" 8051 was curious.
"Uh... I’ll think about it later."
"……"
"Tentacle GaGa Beast
Terrestrial Creature
Evolution Value: 11
Life: 200/200
Attack: Electric Horn (40) x3, Sharp-toothed Mouth (80), Electric Tentacles (5) x3, Electric Tentacle Claws (20) x2, Concentrated Electric Attack (300)
Defense: Fine Scaley Waterproof Skin (80) (Enhanced Electric Defense)
Speed: 15
Senses: Touch, Vision, Taste, Smell, Hearing
Reproduction: Eggs
Species Evaluation: Carnivorous
Population Evaluation: Military Force
The evolved creature can now survive on land, nearing entry into the terrestrial world. As the new world unfolds before you, how will you react to the terrestrial realm?"
"Swim speed canceled, I get it, terrestrial creature, but why did land speed drop so much? In a bipedal state, it should be faster than those with short, stubby legs."
"It's not reduced; it's converted to your previous measurement unit. Remember, since you haven't delineated time accurately, it defaults to your former time, but the scale has been set by you and is accepted. Hence, top speed is now 15 km/h."
"Was that initial GaGa Beast’s length 1 meter? Quite basic, yet accepted. Does this mean any measurement I or civilization defines will replace what's here?"
"Mostly so."
"What do you mean mostly?"
"Discover on your own."
"GaGa..."
"Alright, editing ends here. Goodbye, 8051."
"Species editing completed, exiting biological editing space."
"Overall electricity surpasses 300, with electrical cells exceeding 60%, meeting the requirement, magnetic sense emerges."
"To meet body needs, the brain evolves to Level 1."
"Brain reaches Level 1, brain evolution tasks initiated."
"Meeting terrestrial requirements, aquatic life phase completed."
"This day finally comes. After 160 million years of evolution, your species, through unity and cooperation under your leadership, has finally left the ocean’s embrace, stepping onto land. The future beckons. This phase, you’ve earned the titles of Medic and Seeker. Your species gains the Survivor of Catastrophes title. For now, return to the biological editing space to bid farewell to the aquatic world."
"Entering biological editing space, primary consciousness transfer."
"Uh... 8051, I’m back."
"……"