In the pitch-black darkness, a young Goliath Beetle couple was secretly prying at the castle walls.
No one would choose to live this way unless absolutely forced.
But soon, this act of theft was stopped.
A large swarm of insects aggressively charged out, surrounding the couple rolling a dung ball.
They were terrified, but they couldn't bear to part with the dung ball they had obtained. Facing the swarm, the couple bared their teeth and claws, puffing themselves up.
It looked like a posture of standing up and raising both hands in surrender, but it was actually to make themselves appear larger visually.
To be more threatening.
Confusingly, in the darkness, neither side could see the other, yet they could clearly'see' each other.
The swarm rushed forward, overturned the couple, and reclaimed the dung ball.
The cruelty of natural law was vividly displayed here.
But strangely, the swarm did not kill the young couple.
The young couple struggled to turn back over, remaining dazed for a while.
Honestly, they thought they were going to die.
However, since they weren't going to die, they might as well keep digging.
Food was more important than life.
The couple did not give up, moving to another spot to continue secretly digging at the wall.
But this behavior was quickly stopped again.
The situation unfolded just as before.
If they didn't die, they would keep fighting; the tenacity of life lay in its stubbornness.
The young Goliath Beetle couple did not give up, and their soon-to-be-born baby also needed food.
Then, the couple was once again knocked to the ground by the swarm.
After dozens of such cycles, the young couple finally realized that this approach wouldn't work.
However, since they couldn't take it away, they might as well eat some.
This time, it was surprisingly smooth; if they just ate, the previously fierce insects did not come out to stop them again.
Hooray! The young Goliath Beetle couple happily ate their fill, then spread their elytra and flew away from this peculiar place.
Life outside was as usual: find food, then eat it. But after a busy half-day, they still had no harvest.
The young couple couldn't help but think of that peculiar place.
Mountains of inexhaustible food.
At this point, they had a choice: there was no fresh food nearby, the environment was becoming harsh, and migration was a solution—finding a new suitable place to live.
However, the insects living in that peculiar place, though fierce, weren't too terrifying after all.
Some Goliath Beetles expressed fear and decided to migrate.
But the young Goliath Beetle couple couldn't forget those mountains and made their choice.
Head towards the mountains.
They couldn't take it away, but they could eat it.
Living there wasn't impossible, after all.
Organisms make the most appropriate current strategy due to their environment to ensure survival.
From the moment a survival strategy is decided, the hand of evolution begins to push species forward.
The adaptation of organisms to the environment and the competition between species—once a decision is executed, survival or death is what is called natural selection.
The Goliath Beetle abandoned rolling dung balls, and evolution began at this moment.
It chose to rely on the Eve Swarm's symbiotic relationship, sacrificing a portion of its larvae in exchange for the continuation of the entire species.
Typical examples include cattle, horses, sheep, and pigs.
Looking at the vast numbers of these groups in nature, one can understand that being eaten is actually an extremely clever survival strategy.
And at this time, the Goliath Beetle was not the only species that had changed due to the Eve Swarm.
Driven by the hand of evolution, these species began to evolve around the Eve Swarm to adapt to the Eve Swarm's ecosystem.
Miki and Orochimaru discussed matters related to Ninjutsu and biology. After a while, Miki gained an understanding of Orochimaru's current level.
His knowledge in Ninjutsu was rich and profound; the Sandaime truly deserved the title of 'Professor of Ninjutsu'.
As for biology, Orochimaru could only be said to have just entered the field. Much of the related knowledge was not just half-understood; he had barely even touched upon it.
Currently, Orochimaru was mainly researching the human body and Ninjutsu, still at a very superficial level.
More often, he had merely memorized the related knowledge from written theories.
At this moment, several Shadow Clones had finished cleaning up and dispelled themselves with grim expressions.
Orochimaru's main body showed no visible change in expression.
Seeing this, Miki nodded secretly.
His body is quite sturdy, a good laborer.
She stood up and said, "Follow me."
Orochimaru followed.
They passed several completely enclosed buildings along the way.
Orochimaru couldn't help but glance at them more closely.
These buildings were constructed with Earth Release, their outer walls made of hard rock, square like blocks of tofu standing upright. Their purpose was not apparent from the outside.
They were densely covered with spell symbols.
Orochimaru knew these were Barrier seals, but he wasn't clear about their purpose. Many were types of Barriers he had never seen before.
"Closed experimental areas, to prevent experimental accidents," Miki said.
"What kind of accidents?" Orochimaru asked.
"Any kind of accident is possible," Miki said. "It mainly depends on what is being researched."
"That one, that's the Reverse Four Symbols Seal, isn't it?" Orochimaru pointed to one of the buildings.
Miki nodded and said, "That's right, your sealing knowledge is quite good."
"Are you crazy?" Orochimaru asked. "If someone inside activates the Reverse Four Symbols Seal..."
"Shadow Clone is a useful Ninjutsu," Miki said. "As experimental personnel, there's no need for sterilization or disinfection, nor worry about fatal virus infection. If an experiment spirals out of control and becomes irreversible, the final safety measure can be directly activated."
She meant activating the Reverse Four Symbols Seal to cleanly wipe away everything in the entire building from existence.
"It's like an eraser, wiping everything clean without a trace," Miki said. "The entire cave is within the range of the Reverse Four Symbols Seal. In necessary moments, everything can disappear cleanly."
Too dangerous!
Here!
Cold sweat dripped from Orochimaru's forehead.
"What kind of experiment requires such extreme caution? Are you afraid the world will be destroyed?"
Orochimaru couldn't quite imagine it.
But he instinctively felt something was wrong.
"Life is very fragile, Orochimaru," Miki said. "And biological weapons push this fragility to its extreme."
"No matter how powerful a Shinobi is, they can get sick," Miki said with an inexplicable meaning. "Just as heart disease can take the life of a Super Saiyan."
"Viruses, toxins, fungi, bacteria, and other deadly microorganisms can easily end a Shinobi's life."
"There's a story from ancient times: a country was always victorious in war, but its army wasn't particularly strong."
"The reason for their invincibility was that before going to war, they would send sick sheep into the enemy city. The mysteriously appearing sheep would be eaten by people off guard, and terrifying infectious diseases would then spread through the city."
"Ultimately, the entire city would be unable to resist, dying under the torment of disease."
"Are you researching this type of Ninjutsu?" Orochimaru thought for a moment and said, "Killer Medical Ninjutsu?"
"That's just a byproduct," Miki said. "The true subject of research is..."
"Immortality."
As Miki spoke calmly...
Orochimaru's eyes widened.
At this moment, Miki reached out and pushed open a laboratory door.
A door opened before Orochimaru's eyes.
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