Chapter 638: Another group of seekers
Except in highly unusual worlds such as Margeson and Kasluopa, humanoid beings were generally the dominant form of life. Aside from a few minor evolutionary traits, they largely retained four limbs, one head, and the basic facial features.
These were not merely coincidences. To some extent, they were inevitable choices suited to the needs of biological evolution.
Higher animals rarely arose among insects and other creatures with exoskeletons. The foundations for advanced evolution often included the ability to maintain a constant body temperature and more complex cellular structures.
In the early stages of life, limbs served as legs, primarily enabling creatures to run and accelerate, moving their bodies and escaping danger. Four limbs were the most reasonable arrangement, minimizing the burden on the nervous system and organs while ensuring efficient movement and physical balance, as well as reducing nutritional demands.
Evolution often included a tail for balance or other purposes. To ensure that offspring survived and developed normally, most creatures evolved either to lay large numbers of eggs or to bear small numbers of live young.
As evolution continued, the resource efficiency of live birth became increasingly apparent. It better ensured the birth of a healthy offspring and often provided a competitive advantage.
As brains evolved and thought grew sharper, limb dexterity gradually developed, giving creatures the intellectual and physical foundations to handle more complex tasks.
The inevitable result was a division of labor among the limbs. At this stage, creatures no longer benefited from devoting most of their limbs' functions merely to walking, and the roles of the upper and lower limbs gradually began to separate.
As the upper limbs grew more dexterous and the purpose of the lower limbs became clearer, they came to be defined as hands and feet.
This gradual