333 Convergent Evolution

Li Aoz and Disville discussed for a long time, but due to limited information, they did not come to any useful conclusions.

"Narrative No. 5, ' The Eternal Corridor,' represents the limit of what we in the Abyss can access. We are not qualified to access the four narratives preceding number 5. To them, we are far too weak. Even if we were to receive their messages, we would instantly perish and vanish into the long river of the universe."

Disville pondered for a moment and said, "I wouldn't dare say that English and this... Intricate Language are related, but their structures look very similar. If they don't represent a common thread, then there is another possibility."

"Convergent evolution".

Li Aoz said, "In the biological world, even organisms that originated from different ancestors may change their overall or partial morphological structure in the same direction due to occupying the same ecological niche or having similar lifestyles."

"Termites are more closely related to cockroaches in kinship, but their appearance and habits are more like ants. Whales are clearly mammals, yet they look like fish, have fins, and are called 'whales.' Magical and technological civilizations may seem contradictory, but they both require calculus, materialism, and physics..."

"No matter what planet it is, as long as civilization is to be born, it cannot do without fire. Even underwater civilizations are no exception. Eventually, they will come into contact with fire for various reasons. The final result is that the races that set foot in the universe are generally close to 'humanoid'."

"If the environments of the two universes, Star Abyss and Earth, are similar, and even their structures are quite similar, then it is not impossible for their cultures to converge, and it is very possible that similar letters will emerge."

Li Aoz gave an example:

"My Lioz Dominate. This 'first name first, last name last' structure is used by the vast majority of civilizations. This structure appears and is promoted in many different civilizations. In a sense, it can be considered a kind of cultural convergence."

"That's very possible, and I can only say that it's very possible."

Disville did not draw a definitive conclusion; as a rigorous scholar, he would not jump to conclusions without sufficient information.

"If this statement is true, it can corroborate why Gaia, the [Hidden Society], or rather, the [society] born from Earth Civilization, is so obsessed with invading our Star Abyss —for it, the civilization structure of Star Abyss is incredibly similar to that of Earth, the birthplace of it, and it might be able to further enhance its power."

"Is that so?" This was the first time Li Aoz had heard of it.

Disville explained, "Many societies, after their birth, are eager to devour civilizations similar to themselves. In the beginning, the bodies of these societies are very weak, and they may even be unable to solidify their bodies because the civilizations before their transformation were too weak."

Disville walked to a pile of books and quickly began searching through them, not forgetting to exchange ideas with Li Aoz:

"Therefore, at this time, 'cultural cohesion' is needed. You must know that society is also a living organism. Although it has no lifespan, it cannot grow due to insufficient cultural diversity, and it will naturally become weak due to the lack of a dominant culture."

As he spoke, he took a book from the bottom shelf and handed it to Li Aoz:

"For example, just as humans can develop rickets due to a lack of vitamin D, society also needs certain 'elements' to maintain its full potential."

Li Aoz took the book; the cover read, "The Physiological Needs of Animals—A Social Anatomy."

Publisher: Life Commune – Alde Midkash Ryue "It's actually a book by Mr. Liu E..."

Li Aoz was surprised and quickly flipped through it.

"No one should forget the goodness of the commune. They dared to risk being corrupted and bravely studied and dissected the remains of [society]. Countless researchers sacrificed their lives for it."

Disville said in a deep voice, "This book was bought with the lives of three researchers—one of whom was a pregnant mother whose child was corrupted in the womb. She couldn't bear to kill the child and chose to die with the fetus."

"Technological progress always results in death. Even if it happens to me one day, I will accept it calmly."

Li Aoz said calmly, "I've roughly skimmed through the contents of this book. Theoretically speaking, [society] is actually just a kind of living civilization. Once it loses certain important things within it... let's call them 'vitamins' for now, it will get sick, and the civilization within it may even split up, escape, and eventually disintegrate."

"That's exactly right. It's even possible that when society loses too many 'vitamins,' it will fall back into civilization..."

Disville glanced at Li Aoz:

"This is only a theoretical possibility, but it would take several years for a living person to give up language and fall back to Primitive Man. Even if society is fragile, it is still stronger than a person. No matter how short this cycle is, according to the calculation given by the commune, it will not be less than 225 million years. Forgive me for speaking frankly, but in such a long time, even dinosaurs could evolve into a pretty little girl like you."

"Thank you for the compliment—but if that's really the case, why doesn't Gaia turn around and attack Earth?"

Li Aoz frowned and said:

"Earth is its cultural origin. Once it devours Earth, it probably won't need to replenish its elements for hundreds of billions of years. If I were hiding, I would have just come up and devoured Earth. Why all the nonsense? I would have just eaten and done it!"

"I have no idea."

Disville gave a wry smile:

"That's a lack of information. Maybe it doesn't value efficiency as much as you do, or maybe it has its own concerns, or perhaps it's even more humane than we imagine..."

"I value efficiency? Uh, do I?"

"Even among the hunters, you are the most efficient communicator."

Disville's rant:

"If you weren't standing right in front of me, I would have thought I was talking to an artificial intelligence!"

"Haha, it's not that exaggerated... uh, wait... artificial intelligence?"

Li Aoz was laughing when he suddenly realized something, and his expression froze.

He glanced around the living room and asked, "Are there any mirrors?"

"Here it is." Disville casually turned on the front camera of the terminal and pointed it at Li Aoz: "Times have changed, it's time to learn how to use a mobile phone."

Li Aoz gazed down at the camera. His face on the screen was handsome, with exquisite and flawless features and distinct angles. If other people's eyes fell on him, they would immediately be drawn into a vortex and could not look away.

But none of that matters. Looks are just a shell; you can have as many as you want.

"Eye..."

Li Aoz murmured.

In the footage, his eyes were no longer as clear and bright as before, but a zircon-like gray.

Instead, there was a cold, profound, and deep blue, like the vastness of the starry sky.

He had seen the owner of this color before; not long ago, he had even worn armor of this color while fighting Nefes.

"I have never been reincarnated."

Lioz's words echoed in my ears:

"Jio Zeiou's condition led me to conclude that I am different from them. I was not shielded, but rather further separated."

"Li Aoz, you are none other than me, and I am you. We have only one identity— Lioz, the God of Reality."

"Our state was already shielded and separated, and you further shielded our fusion process by taking Xia Er Guiniya's ' Truth Drug '."

Has the fusion already begun? During this time, he has been taking the Truth Drug on time, and his thoughts are no longer interfered with by Lioz.

But instead, his body gradually became one with Lioz's, and his personality, behavior, and habits were all controlled by physiology.

However, even if Li Aoz is not influenced by Lioz, he will gradually become another Lioz.

They share the same hatred of secrecy, the same desire to dominate others, and the same beliefs about the path.

In a sense, this can also be considered a form of convergent evolution.

"Ingenious, mysterious, Earth—things are getting more and more complicated."

Li Aoz straightened his collar, looked down at himself, and murmured, "What do you think... Lioz?"