Calm Before the Storm

Several years passed once more.

The Abigail Flower had truly grasped a hint of the color of evolution from the teachings of the gods.

It had successfully mastered a sliver of that power over evolution.

A new insect variant appeared on the island.

And the first to learn of this change.

Was Ned, who held the Rot Spirit Staff.

Ned told Boer everything he had sensed.

"I can't see it, but I can feel it's new, something that never appeared on the island before. I think this new insect must be a creature newly bestowed by the divine envoy. It should be in a cave somewhere on the island," Ned said.

In recent years.

The spread of the Rot Spirit Flower's mycelium had grown faster and faster.

These pale blue mycelium not only covered the dim forest where the Rot Spirit Flower dwelled.

They had also been scattered by insects into dark, damp caves.

The Rot Spirit Mycelium seemed to thrive in such gloomy, moist environments.

Those caves were likely where the new insect made its home.

Soon, Boer and Ned led their people together and found the new insect variant in a cave covered in Rot Spirit Mycelium.

In that damp, dark cave.

People holding torches marveled at a glowing worm they had discovered.

The translucent threads this worm spun hung from the cave walls like strings of gems, emitting a dazzling blue light that illuminated the pitch-black cavern.

"Heavens, this is really bright."

"Yeah, this light is even brighter than those little flying bugs that give off a faint glow."

That was the Abigail Flower, using the power of decay to catalyze worms one by one, forcing them to undergo life's destruction and reorganization in the pitch-black caves, repeated over and over, until finally yielding this new variant.

Though in essence.

It was still a worm.

But within this seemingly insignificant change, there was already a breath of evolution.

In the tribe.

People soon began trying to make use of this insect.

This pitiful insect seemed, from birth, destined to be exploited by humans.

The tribespeople first wove cages from vines.

Then, they hung the fluorescent worms that had transformed into Rot Spirits on the cages.

The worms would begin spinning those dazzling threads, and combined with the naturally glowing Rot Spirit Mycelium, the light from the cages, though slightly dimmer than a torch, was not far behind.

Thus, these worms became quite excellent sources of illumination.

Simply put.

They became [Worm Lamps] for lighting.

The invention of these [Worm Lamps] was soon marveled at by the elders.

Not just because of the light.

It meant the tribe could reduce their consumption of wood to some extent, using the felled timber more for cooking food over fires or crafting tools.

Moreover.

Using these [Worm Lamps] avoided the danger of using torches in the forest, preventing the disaster of accidentally setting the entire jungle ablaze.

The tribe had nearly caused a few major catastrophes from using fire in the forest before.

Now.

The Worm Lamps saved wood and protected the forest.

Calling these miraculous Worm Lamps energy-efficient and environmentally friendly was no exaggeration.

Following this marvelous invention.

Came the further expansion of [Insect Farming].

The tribe no longer only raised the giant Yamal Spiders.

To better produce more [Worm Lamps] for lighting, people also began actively farming this insect in damp caves.

Soon.

People in the tribe took pride in being able to light a [Worm Lamp] at night.

On some nights.

The adults in the mountains used these Worm Lamps to illuminate the things within the forest.

Those children also gathered around the Worm Lamps, which gave off a dreamlike pale blue glow, laughing and playing.

Even some craftsmen no longer had to fear that fire would burn their hemp paper or wooden items painted with weapon patterns.

As long as they placed a Worm Lamp on the table in their room.

The craftsmen could better devote themselves tirelessly to learning through the long night, as if failing to do so would betray the light bestowed by the messenger of the gods.

For the first time, people felt.

That the night could be so beautiful.

Just as Ned had once thought.

Everything granted by the gods.

Had truly illuminated the darkness of the world for people.

"How beautiful. No wonder Father told us to come up the mountain and walk around more. Standing here, looking down below—it's truly a different kind of scenery."

Boer stood atop the mountain, gazing at the countless dreamlike fluorescent blue lights lit up in the night below, a flicker of wonder passing through his eyes as he sighed with such emotion.

Like his father back then, he too truly saw the changing, beautiful scenery of this island.

Boer said:

"I hope this kind of sight can last forever."

Ned stood behind him, smiling as he said:

"Listen to you. Under the leadership of the great chieftain, this is only the beginning."

At that time, the tribe was also immersed in the happiness of having received the blessings of the gods one after another.

Even if they occasionally encountered poor harvests in some farmlands or droughts from natural disasters, people still had the confidence and courage to get through it all.

But.

Fate was always like a mischievous child, fond of toying with people's hearts.

As if.

If everything went too smoothly, the world would no longer be interesting.

One night.

A massive tsunami, rare in a century, crashed violently onto the island.

Although the Mangrove Forest on the shore managed to block part of the seawater, preventing it from invading the interior of the island.

The towering waves still swept away some dwellings and wooden towers along the coast.

"It's fine. Just a few broken wooden huts, some storage sheds, and watchtowers filled with odds and ends. Worst case, we rebuild."

"Exactly. As long as no one's hurt."

People comforted those who had lost their homes like this.

They didn't take this disaster too seriously.

They only saw it as another ordinary trial from the sea.

But little did they know.

This was merely the beginning of the calamity to come.

As the pitch-black waves swayed, the broken planks on the shore, the salted fish drying on the beach, and other items piled in the storage sheds slowly drifted away from the coast, gradually floating toward the depths of the ocean.

At the same time, in the distant sea.

The black waves churned.

Within the surface of the water, dense bubbles slowly began to appear.