412: Version 4g2.0.

Lu Jianchuan put down his phone.

"Even you don't know..." he repeated softly, then looked up at the other three. "Alright then. We can only leave it at that for now. It seems... there's nothing we can do at the moment."

The room fell silent.

The four of them looked at each other; no one spoke.

The silence lasted for about a dozen seconds.

Ye Ouyang scratched his head. Wei Ziqing stared down at the floor. Shen Mingyuan leaned against the wall, lightly tapping his arm with his fingers. Lu Jianchuan stood by the table, his gaze fixed on his phone, lost in thought.

Finally, Shen Mingyuan was the first to speak.

"Then... let's call it a day?" He straightened up. "We can't do anything anyway, so let's just wait and see."

The others nodded. Ye Ouyang gave a grunt of agreement, and Wei Ziqing waved a hand in farewell as they filed out of Lu Jianchuan's room, each heading back to their own quarters.

—

Shen Mingyuan didn't go directly back to his dormitory.

He wandered around the corridors for a while and unknowingly ended up back near the laboratory. A soft light shone through the transparent glass windows; someone was still working overtime inside.

He pushed open the door and walked in quietly.

A Researcher in a white coat had his back to him, head bowed, staring intently at a petri dish. Inside the dish was a clump of bright green—Algae. They floated in the nutrient solution, occasionally releasing tiny bubbles.

Shen Mingyuan crept up behind him and suddenly spoke:

"Yo, what are you doing?"

The Researcher jerked violently, the dropper in his hand nearly flying out.

"I—ouch!" He turned around, saw it was Shen Mingyuan, and let out a long breath of relief before looking helpless. "Shen Mingyuan! You again!"

Shen Mingyuan smiled. "Ah, we meet again."

The Researcher rubbed his chest and put the dropper back on the rack.

"What are you up to?" Shen Mingyuan leaned in, looking at the petri dishes. "Culturing this Algae?"

The Researcher nodded, composed himself, and began to explain.

"Yes. It's the one you heard about before—Evolved Cladophora. Their oxygen-producing capacity is truly incredible." He pointed to a row of instruments next to the petri dish. "I've been monitoring them; they produce oxygen almost 24 hours a day without stopping. During the day they rely on photosynthesis, and at night they continue working via their own bioluminescence. Look at this data—"

Shen Mingyuan waved his hand. "No need to look at the data, I know. I heard those insects want to use this Algae to return to the primordial era and make all insects become giants."

The Researcher paused for a moment, then nodded.

"There is indeed such a theory. However..." He turned back to the petri dish, his tone becoming serious. "This Algae actually has many other uses. If this oxygen-producing ability is utilized well, it could play a role in many places. For example, oxygen supply for enclosed spaces, underwater workstations, even future space colonization—"

He paused.

"But that's not the most urgent thing right now." He sighed. "I have to quickly research a way to manage it. Think about it, this Algae was already in that river; if even a little bit drifts away with the current, it will soon grow everywhere. It'll be a real mess then."

He rubbed his temples.

"So I must find an effective way to clear this Algae as soon as possible, and... it can't be too harmful to the environment. Don't you think that's troublesome?"

Shen Mingyuan stood by, looking at the Researcher's miserable face, then at the green filaments floating quietly in the petri dish.

"It is quite troublesome," he said.

The Researcher clutched his head with both hands and leaned back against his chair.

"I can't take it anymore!" he wailed. "Why can't I be a bit more ruthless? Just find an animal, try to guide its evolution to feed on this Algae—biological control, what a great idea!"

Shen Mingyuan looked at him with a subtle expression.

"Wouldn't that lead to a rampage?"

The Researcher looked up, his eyes brightening. "As long as we find some weak ones, there shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Shen Mingyuan looked speechless.

The Researcher stared at him for two seconds before deflating.

"...Sigh, damn it."

He slumped back onto the Experimental Table.

"If all else fails, we'll just build some machines to scoop it out every day," he muttered. "At least it increases the oxygen content in the air, which is good for the world, right?"

Shen Mingyuan looked at him and said nothing.

The Researcher himself couldn't stand it first.

"I was wrong." He sat up straight. "I'll continue the research now."

Shen Mingyuan nodded and patted his shoulder.

"Keep it up. I hope you develop this... insecticide soon." He paused. "Wait, I should say herbicide. That's more accurate."

The Researcher rolled his eyes and turned back to stare at the petri dishes.

Shen Mingyuan stood there, suddenly feeling a bit bored.

He scratched his head, looked around the lab, then at the Researcher's focused back.

Should I go find... never mind.

He decided to just stand there and watch the Researcher work.

The Researcher had just picked up the dropper to add a reagent to the petri dish when he caught a glimpse of someone standing next to him, staring motionless.

His hand trembled.

"What are you doing just standing there?"

Shen Mingyuan said naturally, "Nothing, just watching."

The Researcher's mouth twitched.

He wanted to tell him to go away, but he opened his mouth and didn't know how to say it. The guy wasn't really bothering him; he was just standing there watching.

He could only turn back and continue his work. But he felt like those two eyes behind him were like searchlights, making him feel uncomfortable all over.

He almost missed the mark with the reagent in the dropper.

"..."

He took a deep breath, tried his best to ignore the person standing next to him, and continued his research.

On the other side, Lu Jianchuan sat in the lounge outside the detention area, slowly munching on a carrot.

A rabbit was perched on top of his head.

The rabbit was a size larger than a normal one, with snow-white fur and two long ears drooping down, just covering half of Lu Jianchuan's face. It lay very steadily, its four legs tucked under its body like a fuzzy hat.

In the open space in front of them, over a dozen rabbits of various sizes were frolicking. Some were nibbling on vegetable leaves, some were chasing each other, and a few were huddled together grooming each other—a scene of pure leisure.

Lu Jianchuan took another bite of the carrot.

"Hey," he said. "My head feels a bit heavy. Have you gotten fatter recently?"

The rabbit on his head didn't move.

"Yeah," a voice sounded directly in his mind. "I don't usually exercise, and the food here is so good."

Lu Jianchuan was silent for a moment.

"Regarding that New Federation," he said, "do you have any thoughts?"

The Rabbit King's voice paused. "What do you mean?"

Lu Jianchuan put down the carrot stick and leaned back.

"If we want peace, the leaders on both sides must agree to it, right?" he said. "Do you think... you could go to the New Federation and become a king?"

The Rabbit King didn't speak.

Lu Jianchuan continued, "You could call yourself the King of Animals or something, and then shake hands and make peace with us humans. We'd reach a peace agreement. Wouldn't that be great?"

Silence reigned on his head for a few seconds.

Then the voice sounded again, carrying a subtle emotion.

"In your dreams," the Rabbit King said. "You're dreaming way too big. I'm just a rabbit. Even if I've evolved, in front of those Evolved Animals, I'm just something at the bottom of the food chain. At most, I'm powerful compared to those non-Evolved Animals. After evolving—I'm still at the bottom of the food chain."

It paused.

"Don't forget, I originally appeared here as cannon fodder."

Lu Jianchuan sighed.

"Sigh."

A soft snort came from above his head.

"No, what do you mean by that?" The voice carried a hint of resentment. "Why are you sighing? Are you dissatisfied with me? Huh??"

Lu Jianchuan didn't speak; he just picked up another carrot and continued munching.

The rabbit colony in front of him continued to frolic.