Strange Noises in the Compartment

Along with Xu Tui and his group, thousands of buses transporting students, and thousands of escort vehicles departed.

The escort vehicles were equipped with heavy weapons mounted on their roofs.

Transportation in the 22nd century, due to advancements in technology, was naturally more advanced than in the 21st century.

However, changes in the travel environment made 22nd-century journeys more complex and less convenient than in the 21st century.

Humanity officially entered the great gene era starting in 2037.

But humanity was not the only one to enter the great gene era.

Animals and plants on Blue Star also entered it.

On Blue Star, the history of animals and plants had always been longer than that of humans.

Some people asked, if humans entered the great gene era with Gene Liberation Potions, what did animals and plants have?

The entire Blue Star was a large ecological cycle.

On a smaller scale, human excrement and urine after injecting Gene Liberation Potions became sources for the gene evolution of animals and plants.

On a larger scale, in the human great gene era, all gene products, from various large-scale animal and plant experiments to microscopic particle fluctuations and even scent transmission, including changes in human abilities, were sources for the gene evolution of animals and plants.

Moreover, animals and plants had an advantage that humans could never match, and it was the biggest evolutionary difference between humans and animals/plants.

Modern gene evolution research divided gene evolution into two major categories.

One was Generational Hereditary Evolution.

The other was Individual Mutation Evolution.

In terms of population gene evolution efficiency, Generational Hereditary Evolution was the most effective and lowest-cost evolutionary method.

The Individual Mutation Evolution currently undertaken by humans was too inefficient.

However, human reproductive cycles were too long.

Even with the current encouragement and rewards for childbirth across Blue Star, a human generation's reproductive cycle took 20 to 30 years, averaging 24 years per generation.

On average, humans could only complete one Generational Hereditary Evolution every 24 years.

But for many animals and plants, 24 years was enough for them to complete over 20 instances of Generational Hereditary Evolution, with some completing over 500 instances.

Since the beginning of the great gene era, humans had only completed four to five instances of Generational Hereditary Evolution.

According to big data from the great gene era, each instance of Generational Hereditary Evolution could increase basic human quality by 1% to 3%, averaging 1.9%.

With four to five instances of evolution, the speed of human improvement was only between 7% and 10%.

But what about animals and plants?

In 100 years, they had completed an average of over 100 instances of Generational Hereditary Evolution.

The increase in basic quality from each instance of Generational Hereditary Evolution for animals and plants ranged from one-thousandth to 5%, averaging 0.8%.

The cumulative increase from 100 instances of Generational Hereditary Evolution was terrifying!

This was cumulative, not additive!

Furthermore, some animals and plants had undergone far more than a hundred instances of Generational Hereditary Evolution within 100 years.

The most representative example was the mosquito today!

Blue Star had launched at least five gene extinction campaigns against mosquitoes, yet they had survived.

The surviving mosquitoes had become even more terrifying.

They were no longer afraid of extreme cold or heat, and even had a certain tolerance to electric shocks. Their flight speed was faster, their buzzing was quieter, their proboscis was sharper, and smaller ones became smaller while larger ones became larger.

Nowadays, if one were unprotected in the wild, being bitten to death by mosquitoes would only take a few hours.

Of course, dying from mosquito bites in the wild would be considered the luckiest way to die.

Because the paralyzing effect on mosquito proboscis was very strong nowadays, it could lead to a painless death.

However, in the wild, mosquitoes were not the only animals and plants that could be deadly.

Over the past century, due to these changes, humans had gradually retreated from the depths of nature's power.

Various wild animals and plants had reproduced rapidly, making the wilderness extremely dangerous.

In short, long-distance travel had become very dangerous and costly.

Airplanes had long become the mode of transportation with the most accidents in the world, bar none.

This was even with the escort of fighter jets at a huge cost.

The birds in the sky, there were too many flocks, and each one was... stubborn!

Most current travel methods involved high-speed rail, low-altitude flights, magnetic levitation, and high-grade maintained roads.

Airplanes were rarely chosen except for ultra-long distances.

Of course, air travel also had its advantages.

For example, this time, flying from Jincheng Prefecture to Kyoto Prefecture for Huaxia Gene Evolution University would be very fast, taking less than two hours to arrive.

With the full cooperation of the government, multiple fighter jets can be deployed for escort, along with multi-frequency infrasound emitters. The risks can be reduced to a very low level.

However, in this world, more dangerous than wild flora and fauna are people.

Over the past hundred years, during the school season after the Gene Aptitude Test, there have been a total of 41 air disasters caused by traitor organizations attacking various locations on Blue Star.

And once an air disaster occurs, it means total annihilation.

The survival rate is extremely slim.

The loss of talented students in various regions has been devastating.

Many regions were wiped out entirely.

After all, a single aircraft can carry anywhere from one to two hundred, or even seven to eight hundred passengers.

Later, governments in various regions gradually switched to the current method of reporting for school.

Escorts using magnetic levitation, low-altitude flight, and high-grade highways running in parallel.

This is to reduce losses and avoid the possibility of total annihilation.

Because with this method, even if one vehicle is destroyed, the possibility of total annihilation is not high.

Even in the worst-case scenario of total annihilation, the loss would only be twenty to thirty people.

Moreover, with the current mode of transportation, many traitor organizations, led by the Dawn Redemption Traitor Organization, no longer prioritize killing students who have just injected Gene Liberation Potions.

Their primary objective is now kidnapping.

Because the entire Blue Star has implemented the Gene Aptitude Test policy, many traitor organizations face a serious problem: they have no source of geniuses who have unlocked a high number of Gene Points.

Occasionally picking up one or two from trainees who did not pass the Gene Admission Line is a pathetically low probability.

Whether for experiments, testing new technologies, or cultivating future forces, they must act during the annual school season to replenish their numbers.

Of course, in worse situations, kidnapping can turn into murder.

This is because such outcomes can earn them higher-level technological advancements or potions and other rewards from extraterrestrial invaders.

Within urban areas worldwide, governments have a high degree of control, at least in China.

But outside urban areas, government control weakens with increasing distance.

Especially in sparsely populated areas with long distances between cities, the danger increases exponentially.

Jincheng Prefecture is such a region.

"Students, before we arrive at Xi'an Prefecture, we are in a high-risk area. According to the plan, the total travel time is eight and a half hours. Apart from the scheduled rest and meal breaks, you will have two opportunities to use the restroom during the journey.

Please pay attention to your water and food intake frequency during this period.

In the high-risk travel zone, we will not stop anywhere except at designated supply points.

If you absolutely must, we have adult diapers prepared for you.

Students who urgently need them can come to me to collect them."

The accompanying teacher, Cha Yifeng, faithfully carried out his duties.

What made Xu Tui a bit depressed was that Cha Yifeng's last sentence was directed towards his direction.

It was likely aimed at Cheng Mo, who had already started eating.

Thinking about the possible scenario of using adult diapers, Xu Tui couldn't help but shiver.

"Hei Zi, are you sure you're okay eating so much? There are only two stops on the way," Xu Tui asked in a low voice.

"Don't worry, I eat a lot, but I don't excrete much. My absorption must be good."

Xu Tui: "..."

The bus they were riding in was a special vehicle, capable of magnetic levitation and high-speed travel, with strong off-road capabilities.

The glass was specially reinforced.

When boarding, Xu Tui noticed that it was impossible to see inside from the outside.

But fortunately, it was possible to see outside from the inside.

Although he brought a book, Xu Tui, who was stepping out of Jincheng for the first time, wanted to see the outside world.

Thousands of identical buses departed from Jincheng Prefecture one after another, then split into pairs and threes, heading off through various routes.

Xu Tui had looked at a map; Xi'an Prefecture was located slightly east and south of Jincheng Prefecture.

However, the convoy was currently heading slightly northeast, resembling a route towards Ningyin Prefecture.

This route planning was likely also for their safety.

According to Xu Tui's understanding and the manual, the primary target of many traitor organizations was geniuses like them who had unlocked ten or more Gene Points.

In other words, the students on their bus would be the most dangerous.

However, from the current departure method of the convoy and the arrangements on the route, Xu Tui felt safe.

With thousands of identical buses equipped with ultra-micro radiation particle generators, how could the traitor organizations identify the two or three buses carrying genius students?

The difficulty of that, Xu Tui thought, was terrifying.

Furthermore, the closest route to Kyoto Prefecture was through Xi'an Prefecture, then Nanzheng Prefecture, and finally Kyoto Prefecture.

However, looking at the current route arrangement, they were detouring towards Ningyin Prefecture first. What if they detoured again midway?

It would be too difficult for the traitorous organization to capture their planned route.

Xu Tui felt that the official arrangements for this escort were very thorough and provided a strong sense of security.

He could relax.

Putting his mind at ease, Xu Tui began to peacefully admire the scenery outside the window.

Towering trees and dense grass that looked like saw blades.

Occasionally, one or two crawling creatures would dart out from the roadside grass like lightning.

Their speed made Xu Tui worry if the glass would break.

In the end, the glass didn't break, nor did the heads of the cat-like crawling creatures.

Instead, there were screams from inside the bus.

Of course, there was also the crunching sound of Cheng Mo eating.

Occasionally, palm-sized birds would fly directly towards the speeding bus.

The students didn't pay much attention.

But with a bang.

The beak of a palm-sized bird directly pierced the front windshield of the bus and entered the vehicle.

Even more astonishingly, the bird wasn't dead yet and was still struggling.

The driver didn't move.

The young man in military uniform sitting behind the driver used his portable tools to poke the bird directly out. He first sprayed water to clean the front windshield, then stuffed a wad of glue into the hole, and lightly sprayed some kind of agent. He then applied a special setting cloth.

The glue melted and directly integrated into the cracked windshield.

A few seconds later, the windshield returned to its original state.

The young man in military uniform security sat back in his seat.

Everything Xu Tui saw was very interesting.

Along the way, Xu Tui saw many scenes that he had only encountered online, unfolding one by one in the world outside his car window.

A thought suddenly struck Xu Tui, "Will there be a chance to personally set foot here in the future?"

"There should be."

Along the way, the convoy changed direction twice more, but the final direction was still northeast.

It seemed they were heading to Ningyin Prefecture, not Xi'an Prefecture.

The students' chatter grew louder.

With electronic devices unusable and no one having Gong Ling's foresight, what else could they do but chat?

Fortunately, after three hours, they reached the first supply point.

"Students, if you need to use the restroom, please do so. My recommendation is that even if you don't need to, you should still go.

Because the next supply point is also about three hours away," said Cha Yifeng, leading the way and being the first to get off the bus.

The supply point was filled with armed guards, and many unmanned patrol devices flew around the perimeter.

Xu Tui and Cheng Mo got off the bus to use the restroom.

After a refreshing release, Xu Tui was about to leave when he suddenly heard a faint click from the large stall behind him.

The sound was very light, like the press of a switch, or perhaps the soft sound of a leather shoe stepping on the ground.

Xu Tui's heart stirred, and his attention instantly focused. With his Mental Induction, the situation in the large stall behind him appeared in Xu Tui's mind.