A great crisis had arisen within the Tree Transformation Tribe.
Just as the member of the Tree Transformation Tribe had said before, they could no longer become trees.
Their method had always been to use Theseus Cells.
But not long ago, as the tribe was burying one of their own alive per their custom, something strange occurred.
After that tribe member swallowed the Theseus Cells, his companions buried him. But even after they tended to the spot for a long time, no sapling grew.
The tribe assumed it was an isolated incident—perhaps the temperature or location was wrong. Such things had happened before, and they were simply saddened by the loss.
But this type of incident soon repeated itself with other members of their tribe.
More and more of them failed to grow into saplings after being buried, and their numbers began to dwindle.
Then, on one occasion, after the tribe buried a companion, a strange creature emerged from the soil some time later.
It was a black-drill mole, a creature that could burrow through the earth.
Only then did the tribe realize that their failure to grow trees wasn't a problem with the saplings' development.
Rather, the Theseus Cells were no longer under their control.
The cells would transform randomly, turning them into any kind of creature. If they became a creature that couldn't burrow, they would simply suffocate to death underground.
Upon learning this, the panicked tribe conducted experiments, which confirmed their fears.
Furthermore, they discovered that all the creatures in the entire region were transforming chaotically.
The offspring of all creatures were being born as different species entirely. The Tree Transformation Tribe was actually one of the less affected populations.
Chaos erupted among the various species as bizarrely shaped offspring were born into different populations, triggering a biological rampage.
That was why so many creatures were trying to escape, desperately attacking the high walls and assaulting the outpost.
Li Luo asked another member of the tribe how they controlled the Theseus Cells to become a tree. The answer she received was a single word: "Instinct."
Their tribe had appeared out of nowhere from the Big Tree Cave, born with a singular purpose: to become trees.
As for how they controlled the Theseus Cells, not even they knew, nor did they have any way to solve the problem of the chaotic transformations.
Learning of the anomaly with the Theseus Cells, Mo Ling was lost in thought.
'Why would the Theseus Cells, which have always been stable, suddenly undergo such a change?'
'It's as if their recognition function has malfunctioned.'
'You try to disguise yourself as a mouse, but you end up as an elephant.'
Li Luo learned from another tribe member that the Big Tree Cave also seemed to be acting abnormally. Strange sounds often emanated from it, and fewer and fewer of their kind were emerging.
If this continued, their entire species would disappear. That was why the Tree Transformation Tribe was so terrified and was in no mood to go to the outpost to trade for fertilizer.
If the anomaly with the Theseus Cells continued, it wouldn't just be the Tree Transformation Tribe; all life in the region would eventually go extinct.
Mo Ling had a sudden thought. 'Isn't this a good thing?'
'If all creatures infected by Theseus Cells go extinct, then the Theseus Cells will no longer exist in this world.'
'But before that happens, some incredibly powerful creatures are bound to be born, and the outpost is already on the verge of collapse.'
'I have to find out what's causing this anomaly in the Theseus Cells, and I have to find a way to control them.'
'An effect on this scale must leave some clues.'
Mo Ling thought for a moment, his mind returning to what the tribe members had said earlier.
'Strange sounds?'
'The Big Tree Cave?'
He quickly used the can to get Li Luo's attention. After she brought him the electronic screen, he wrote four large words on it: "Go to the Big Tree Cave!"
...
In front of the Big Tree Cave, Mo Ling couldn't hear any strange sounds.
He didn't know if it was because he was trapped inside the Block.
Looking over at Li Luo, she didn't seem to hear anything either.
Inside the Big Tree Cave, spiraling tree roots led down into a bottomless abyss. According to the tribe, they all crawled out of the cave in a daze, and none of them knew what lay within.
As they slowly descended along the spiraling roots, glowing mushrooms filled the Big Tree Cave, their faint fluorescence bathing the entire cavern in a dreamlike, fantastical light.
But various small creatures were emerging around these glowing mushrooms, burrowing out from their very roots.
Moreover, the corpses of giant creatures were embedded at the base of the mushrooms, appearing to grow as one with them, as if the fungi were sprouting directly from the carcasses.
Unsurprisingly, the Theseus Cells were transforming the fungi. The reproduction of these glowing mushrooms had also been affected.
The effects were especially strong inside the Big Tree Cave. As they descended further, Mo Ling saw the remains of many grotesquely formed creatures.
Horns embedded within tree roots.
An arthropod limb jutting out from a patch of moss.
The corpse of a deep-sea creature, lying on the cavern floor.
Coral hanging upside down from a withered branch.
The skeleton of a bird, submerged in a stagnant pool.
...
All the evidence indicated that this was the area most severely affected by the mutations.
Li Luo took out a recording device and documented all these bizarre sights.
But so far, the strange sound the tribe member had mentioned was nowhere to be heard.
Instead, they were attacked by numerous frenzied creatures.
Most of these creatures were ravenous, their bodies emaciated.
Among them, Mo Ling even saw some species from Earth that had long been extinct.
Although they were dealt with quickly, the creatures kept lunging out from dark corners, catching Mo Ling by surprise each time.
When they arrived at a vast platform formed by tree roots, the scene before them left Mo Ling even more stunned.
The skeleton of a colossal sea beast slumbered here, its bones haphazardly fused with biological limbs of every color.
The body of a serpentine creature was impaled on the giant's ribcage, yet it was still stubbornly alive. Seeing them approach, it began to lash out wildly.
There were many other living creatures like this. Though embedded in the skeleton and unable to move, they had survived by attacking one another.
It was like a natural crucible, a place where only the strongest and most adaptable creatures could carve out a space for themselves.
No wonder all the creatures they'd encountered before seemed so aggressive.
'It isn't because of the Theseus Cells. It's because they were all born into this environment.'
'From the moment of birth, they are surrounded by different species, and conflict is unavoidable.'
Moreover, Mo Ling saw two creatures that had been fused together.
A turtle-like creature was half-buried in the tree roots, barely breathing.
But growing from the top of its shell was the upper body of a jackal-like beast.
The jackal was viciously tearing at the turtle, whose limbs were a mangled, bloody mess. The turtle could only retract into its shell.
'What a bizarre biological mishmash.'
Just as Mo Ling was reeling from the sight of this biological chaos, Li Luo suddenly froze in place.
After a moment, Li Luo turned to the Block and spoke with a grave expression.
"I heard it."
"It's the voice of a god!"