In the depths of the universe, thousands of light-years from the Solar System, beside this small star and on a small planet orbiting it, Xiao Yu personally witnessed a scene of bloody predation on another world.
The carnivorous creature, resembling a lion, paid absolutely no attention to the strange craft hovering several kilometers above it. Its focus was wholly on its prey. It pinned the antelope-like animal beneath it, its sharp teeth swiftly severing its throat before tearing flesh from its body and devouring it greedily.
“Sigh.” Xiao Yu let out a disappointed sigh.
“Keep searching. Perhaps there will be creatures on this planet akin to Earth’s ancient apes. Ancient apes… they fall a bit short, but within two thousand years, I could still elevate them to the level of intelligence comparable to the Luka.” Xiao Yu mused, piloting the ship away from the scene.
Ships crisscrossed the oceans, mountains, forests, and fields, searching for any organisms that might be of value to Xiao Yu. He even examined the ocean floor, releasing tens of thousands of specially designed submersible probes into the seas, as he could not rule out the possibility of intelligent life dwelling below.
Xiao Yu also collected vast quantities of air, soil, and rock samples to analyze back on the larger ships, because he could not discount the chance that microscopic intelligent organisms existed. Perhaps the intelligent life here was no larger than bacteria.
Underground, in caves, within forests, Xiao Yu dispatched countless land-based robots to investigate all these environments.
“To think how difficult and improbable the birth of intelligent life is… In such a perfectly suitable environment, with such abundant biodiversity, there isn’t even the most primitive intelligent creature.” Xiao Yu sighed inwardly, then suddenly brightened.
He had just seen a rather interesting scene.
It was a creature somewhat resembling an ape on Earth, but noticeably larger and more robust.“Stronger gravity than Earth has led to generally sturdier animals on this planet… Hm… If I were to compare it, the most powerful carnivorous land-dwelling creature here would need over a dozen tigers on Earth to bring it down.” Xiao Yu considered.
At that moment, the ape-like animal standing before Xiao Yu’s miniature unmanned aerial probe was engaged in a purposeful activity.
Xiao Yu saw the creature holding a stone in its hand, repeatedly striking a hard-shelled fruit on the ground, once, twice, three times, dozens of strikes, until the outer shell cracked, revealing the flesh inside. Then the creature tossed aside the stone, deftly picked up the fruit flesh with its fingers, and brought it to its mouth.
“This… this creature is rather clever.” Xiao Yu thought in surprise. “Capture one for detailed study.”
A Village-Class ship sped to the location. The bottom hatch opened, and two combat robots descended.
The animal seemed to sense something ominous. It warily looked around, then abruptly leapt and darted into the dense forest.
Xiao Yu felt slightly amused. He had no intention of letting this target escape. The miniature aerial probe kept pace, guiding the two combat robots through the trees.
Amid the pale pink forest, the two sleek, high-tech robots chased after the massive native animal.
It soon became clear that even in such terrain, the creature was no match for technology. After twenty minutes, Xiao Yu succeeded in capturing it.
The two robots each seized two of its limbs, pinning it firmly. The creature roared, struggling furiously, its sharp fangs bared in repeated threats. But these robots were built with Level 5 Civilization technology, how could a wild animal hope to resist? Its efforts were futile.
Bright flames ignited from the robots’ backs as they rose slowly into the air. The creature’s eyes, filled with confusion and fear, watched helplessly as it was brought into the hovering Village-Class ship.
Inside, the ship had been set up to simulate the native environment, making it suitable for the creature’s survival. Once it was securely restrained, the Village-Class ship rapidly departed the planet and returned to the Yanjing.
Inside the Yanjing, Xiao Yu had already prepared a specialized biological laboratory.
He first analyzed this creature’s bodily structure, nervous system, and other characteristics, then conducted numerous biological experiments on it.
But regrettably, on the second day of testing, the creature died. Xiao Yu was not at all discouraged. He directed large numbers of robots to capture at least three hundred more of these animals, bringing them all aboard the Yanjing.
During ten days of experiments, three-quarters of them perished. By this point, only about seventy remained. The deaths of more than two hundred specimens gave Xiao Yu a comprehensive and detailed understanding of this lifeform.
The conclusion showed that these creatures did indeed possess intelligence surpassing ordinary wild animals, but only to that extent. They were inferior not only to humans of Earth’s era but even to primitive hominids.
This conclusion left Xiao Yu somewhat disappointed.
“Hm… If I were to modify them, it would probably take three thousand years to elevate them to the intelligence level of Earth-era humans. That isn’t worthwhile. In three thousand years, I could devote the same resources and effort to cultivating other intelligent species and increase their numbers many times over. In that case, I’ll give up.”
Xiao Yu made this decision with a trace of regret.
But he did not intend to stop there.
After all this investigation, Xiao Yu had determined that this ape-like creature was the most intelligent species on this planet. Given that, a new thought occurred to him.
“This should be rather interesting…” Xiao Yu murmured. He operated the laboratory’s biomechanical robots, which extended cold, sharp instruments toward the seventy-odd sedated animals lying flat on surgical tables.
He opened their skulls, installed a chip onto their brain tissue, then subjected them to dozens of gene modification treatments and infused them with large quantities of chemical solutions. Once everything was complete, Xiao Yu reawakened them.
In the containment chamber, as they regained consciousness, they began shrieking in fear, producing all sorts of sounds Xiao Yu could not comprehend. But he quickly noticed that occasionally, certain individuals among them would quiet down, no longer panicking, simply sitting there in silence, as if in contemplation.
“They already have the capacity for thought?” Xiao Yu was very satisfied with this outcome.
He kept them aboard the Yanjing for another half month, monitoring all aspects of their physical condition after modification. Then he returned them to the forest.
Regaining their freedom, they did not immediately flee like ordinary animals but instead looked up in confusion at the strange vessel hovering overhead. Their simple brains could not understand what it was, but Xiao Yu believed that the image of this thing would remain buried deep in their memories, and through their own ways of communication, would be passed down generation after generation.
Indeed, after Xiao Yu’s intervention, these creatures, now endowed with rudimentary intelligence, would inevitably become the most powerful species on the planet. With these seventy individuals as the core, they would surely form a new population. They would reproduce, and their offspring would inherit their newly optimized genes, then continue to evolve in response to their environment…
Their descendants would grow more numerous. They themselves would die, but their genes would survive, spreading across the planet. In countless battles with ferocious predators and the forces of nature, the weak would be weeded out and the strong would win the chance to survive. Through this process of natural selection, their genes would be refined.
They might not grow ever stronger physically, but they would certainly grow more intelligent.
Xiao Yu did not know how far they would ultimately evolve, but he had already opened the door to their development. How far they progressed would be up to their own destiny.
Xiao Yu thought calmly, “Perhaps, in Earth’s distant past, humanity also went through such a process? In those days, did the Taihao Civilization similarly modify humans? And as they reshaped humankind, did they feel the same as I do now?”
His thoughts drifted further and further.
By this point, Xiao Yu had been orbiting this planet for half a year. In that time, he had turned the world upside down. Though he still had not found an intelligent civilization, he had at least gained something.
He had collected specimens of every animal and plant and stored them aboard the Yanjing.
“It’s time to go.” Xiao Yu sighed inwardly, then commanded the massive fleet to begin gradually accelerating, slowly pulling away from this wondrous, vibrant world.
“Adorable little ones, I wish you luck. I hope that the next time I return here, I’ll see that you have at least gained the power to leave your planet… Farewell, farewell.”