The Beast Management Bureau, Director's Office.
Yu Lei observed the blue-haired girl before him and slowly asked, "Are you really An Yao scholar?"
"No doubt about it. Let me explain again, I was cursed by a time-manipulating mutated beast, which is why I became like this."
An Yao looked at Yu Lei and pulled out a certificate. "My pet is Mid-Rank Monarch Species ' Angel Dolphin.' This is my graduation certificate from Canglan Ocean University, and the pet registered on it is also Angel Dolphin... This kind of pet is extremely rare, so it should be able to prove my identity."
"Well... but there's actually such a curse." Yu Lei found it unbelievable.
"Where was the cursed?" Yu Lei felt increasingly weak; if he could be decades younger, that would be the best outcome.
An Yao looked at the old man in front of her with a disgusted expression. "A curse will shrink the body, but age and lifespan will not change. Being cursed will also affect strength. In other words, if an old man is cursed, he will become an old child instead of regaining his youth."
"Then let's not," said Yu Lei. "Welcome, Scholar An Yao. Although we've communicated through the Communication Conch, let's take you to see that Ancient Grotto first."
"Mm." An Yao nodded.
Yu Lei said, "Oh, by the way, the main person in charge of exploring the Ancient Grotto shouldn't be there right now. I'll let him know and ask him to come along."
"Okay, no rush." An Yao sat down, elegantly sipped her tea, her small feet dangling in the air, swinging erratically.
On the other side, Yu Lei called Luo Yu.
Now, having researched rock honey, raised Rock Goat, and been the first to verify the evolutionary path, Luo Yu has undoubtedly become the core person in charge of the Ancient Grotto project.
This is the person in charge... He has too many projects on his hands, so he can't spend all day in the caves like other researchers.
"Luo Yu, Scholar An Yao has arrived at Mirror Moon Island. I'll have my pet beast pick you up. See you at the Ancient Grotto."
Outside the Ancient Grotto.
After An Yao arrived with Yu Lei, she found Luo Yu already waiting there.
Short sleeves, shorts, a research lab coat—a rather unconventional outfit... An Yao frowned, observed carefully, and realized that he was probably just a kid who had barely come of age.
Who is it?
"Scholar An Yao, this is Luo Yu, the biologist and the main person in charge of exploring the Ancient Grotto on Mirror Moon Island."
An Yao:?
"No, don't you have any adults on Mirror Moon Island?" she wondered to herself, knowing that the ways of the world are often unconventional in small places.
Of course, it wasn't said aloud.
"No, where are the archaeologists? Who is this child?" Luo Yu blurted out.
An Yao stood aside, too lazy to explain. Yu Lei finished explaining, Luo Yu was also very surprised!
"Anyway, let's go in first," said Yu Lei.
The first place the three entered was a spacious cave.
There are no research facilities here, nor are there any mutated beasts being raised; it's all empty, except for an Ancient Evolution Stone embedded in the stone wall.
When bringing An Yao to Mirror Moon Island Mirror Moon Island the first time, he naturally didn't let her know the progress of the exploration directly. Instead, he took her to an area that looked completely undeveloped, wanting to assess her level of expertise.
After entering, An Yao looked around and then walked to the Ancient Evolution Stone.
"I really don't know whether to say Mirror Moon Island is lucky or unlucky..."
"What does scholar An Yao mean by that?" Yu Lei asked.
"This is a good thing. It should allow bird-like mutant beasts to 'revert to their ancestral origins' and undergo 'atavism'," she said, looking at the evolution stone.
Hmm... The director and Luo Yu exchanged a glance. This little girl is something else; she actually figured out the function of the Ancient Evolution Stone at a glance.
"So, finding this evolution stone is Mirror Moon Island's good fortune?" the director asked. "And what does 'unfortunate' mean?"
An Yao said, "This all started with an asteroid hitting Earth..."
"I remember, Scholar An Yao, you argued that after the age of dinosaurs ended, there was a brief period of extraordinary history in ancient times, is that right?" Luo Yu asked.
"That's right."
An Yao said, "That meteorite that hit Earth definitely contained a cosmic virus!"
"However, a large portion of these cosmic viruses died during the impact with Earth due to the high temperatures."
"Therefore, only a very small portion survived, successfully combining with ancient organisms and undergoing mutation."
"It can't compare to the torrential rains of over a hundred years ago. Those densely packed water bodies caused a super-heavy rainstorm that lasted for a full decade. Every drop of rain contained viruses, and the coverage area was much wider."
Luo Yu asked curiously, "How did you determine that? Was it a guess? Or have you already made some archaeological discoveries?"
An Yao said, "Of course there have been archaeological discoveries, but not by me, but by my parents, who are also archaeologists. They were the ones who made the discoveries."
"The last time they spoke to me, they talked about this: while exploring the remains of an underwater Volcano, they discovered traces of ancient, extraordinary creatures."
"Unfortunately, they disappeared shortly after that call ended."
"Nobody knows the location of the Volcano remains they mentioned, but I believe them."
An Yao at Luo Yu and the director and said, "Moreover, doesn't the discovery of this Ancient Grotto on Mirror Moon Island prove that their findings were correct?"
"After that, I also began archaeological research, traveled to many places, and pieced together some of the truth."
Did you just ask me what misfortune is?
"Hmm..."
An Yao looked down at the ground and continued, "If the torrential rain more than a hundred years ago ushered in the extraordinary era of oceans on Earth, causing countless creatures to evolve and mutate towards aquatic systems..."
"So, that meteorite from tens of millions of years ago ushered in the 'Age of Extraordinary Land' on Earth. The impact of the meteorite caused the earth's veins to tremble, Volcano Eruption, and underground energy to leak out. Coupled with the catalysis of cosmic viruses, some ancient creatures evolved. In order to adapt to the environment, most of them should have evolved towards 'earth-based' or 'fire-based' structures."
"Two batches of cosmic viruses that arrived on Earth at different times evolved in different directions."
"Currently, although we don't know where these ancient creatures went, and they may have gone extinct, their power and the power of the current extraordinary era of the ocean should be opposing forces, incompatible as fire and water."
"The first batch of viruses invaded the Earth and developed their own evolutionary path, while the second batch of viruses, once discovered, naturally had to erase their traces, much like the changing of dynasties."
"During my swim to Mirror Moon Island, I noticed that the movement of the underwater corpse horde seemed rather strange, which further confirmed my suspicions."
"Mirror Moon Island, where remnants of ancient power have been unearthed, is very likely to be seen as an adversary by the current virus-infected 'zombies.' Therefore, Mirror Moon Island will most likely suffer an even stronger Zombie Tide than before!"
This archaeologist...
Everything you said was correct, and you even clearly explained why the Ancient Grotto attracted Zombie Tide!!
"But in this era, there are also mutated beasts with earth and fire elements," said Yu Lei.
An Yao said, "Compared to the sheer number and power of aquatic creatures, they are insignificant. Do the creatures at the top of this era even possess these attributes? Ninety-nine percent of them are aquatic! They can be ignored!"
"But in ancient times, it is estimated that creatures with earth and fire attributes reached the pinnacle of Earth's existence."
"I suspect this Ancient Cavern might be the 'tomb' of a powerful ancient overlord. After its death, its power merged with the earth's veins and was preserved. Now that it has revived, only the power of a being of this level could be rejected by this era."
"So, the misfortune of Mirror Moon Island is that it will face... an even stronger Tidal Corpse Transformation?!" Yu Lei asked.
"Well, you Mirror Moon Island should have realized it yourselves by now..." An Yao said.
"Although it may be presumptuous, I strongly suggest that you, Mirror Moon Island, abandon this small island. It would be safer to relocate the entire island to the Azure Billows Continent..."
"Otherwise, if we encounter an even stronger Zombie Tide later, we'll probably be destroyed."
After listening to the other party's analysis... well, has this archaeologist handed down a verdict on Luo Yu Mirror Moon Island... is it destined for total annihilation?
"Is it that serious?!" An Yao had already demonstrated a certain level of professionalism, and even Yu Lei had to take her words seriously.
An Yao said, "It won't be too serious in the short term, because the transmission of the earth's magnetic field fluctuations here also takes time. What's attracted this time is probably just low-level zombies from the vicinity."
"But if this continues for too long, the magnetic field signals here will travel to farther places and be detected by the zombies in the Abyss Belt. At that point, the situation on Mirror Moon Island could become quite troublesome."
"Mirror Moon Island might be able to handle a situation like this Tide Tidal Corpse Transformation."
"But what if, ten years from now, the Tidal Corpse Transformation? If Mirror Moon Island attracts a large number of Abyss Level Aberrant Corpse Beast, how will we deal with that?"
"This level of Zombie Tide is probably only manageable by a few concentrated areas like the Azure Billows Continent. It would be very difficult for Mirror Moon Island to resist it."
"Therefore, although this Ancient Grotto has great development value,... we also need the strength to protect it."
"How about we donate the entire island to the Azure Billows Continent in exchange for a new home?" she said. "Of course, this is just a suggestion; whether you take it or not is up to you. Actually, there are other solutions, but they are more difficult."
Luo Yu began, "For example, Mirror Moon Island has developed rapidly in recent years, its military strength has increased significantly, and it has the ability to fight against even stronger Zombie Tide on its own?"
"That's right, that's right." An Yao laughed, "Of course, it's very difficult. Whether simply tapping into the value of this one Ancient Grotto can enable Mirror Moon Island to develop so rapidly is an unknown."
She didn't believe Mirror Moon Island could do it; it was just a remote little island... its talent and resources were too scarce.