In the dead of night, two regiments escorted a construction team to the Intelligent Fungus cultivation ponds to carry out renovations.
Outside the Intelligent Fungus pond buildings, hundreds of meters of soil were cleared away and replaced with cement.
Thick cement completely encased the Intelligent Fungus pond structures, like an eggshell hundreds of meters thick.
Next, a sterilizing agent was sprayed.
Ten centimeters of highly concentrated sterilizing liquid submerged the entire Intelligent Fungus pond building.
While called a sterilizing liquid, its effect was akin to bone-dissolving fluid. Construction personnel were warned not to touch the sterilizing liquid, as it could easily cause severe burns and ulceration of the skin and flesh.
Further out, two rings of electromagnetic shielding fields were laid, powered by the nearby power plant, providing all-around, dead-zone-free defense. Even flocks of birds and insects flying over would perish and fall.
However, this was still not enough.
The pipelines leading to and from the Intelligent Fungus ponds were also excavated and modified overnight. Six layers of electromagnetic filtration systems and multiple gates were installed, with over a hundred monitors packed in. This dense, iron-clad defense ensured that the Intelligent Fungi could not escape through the pipes.
Jiang Ye’s concerns were well-founded. A mere sunflower could undergo such drastic transformations in the hands of the Intelligent Fungi.
If the Intelligent Fungi escaped and began modifying organisms throughout Jiang Ye Star, creating man-eating trees and ferocious beasts everywhere, they might even usurp humanity's position on the planet.
Although the Intelligent Fungi still called him master and were very docile, they had reached a considerable level of intelligence, and caution was necessary.
The next morning, the sunflower modifications continued.
Jiang Ye’s phone began receiving a barrage of messages.
[Modifying sunflower reproductive capabilities…]
[Sunflower seed production per flower doubled.]
[Sunflowers can reproduce through roots and branches.]
[Sunflower trees have differentiated into mother and daughter trees. Mother trees are about sixty meters tall, and daughter trees can spread over an area of half a kilometer. Both mother and daughter trees can produce seeds.]
Jiang Ye was shocked.
Yesterday, they were cute sunflowers that could be placed in flower pots.
Today, how had they become giant organisms sixty meters tall and spreading for hundreds of meters?
Was this still a sunflower?
[Intelligent Fungi: The main body modification of the sunflowers is largely complete. A series of fine-tuning adjustments are still needed. Does the master have any other requirements?]
Jiang Ye: [Why did you create something so massive? This is no longer a sunflower!]
[Intelligent Fungi: All phenomena are mind-created. The essence of the sunflower tree is still that of a sunflower. We have modified the sunflower's form based on the model of mangrove trees. A single mangrove tree can cover a vast area, and its contact surface with air and soil is immense, suitable for absorbing nuclear radiation.]
Jiang Ye: [Can the seeds produced by these sunflower trees be eaten? Can they be pressed for oil?]
[Intelligent Fungi: Not yet. If you require it, simple fine-tuning can be done. However, the trace radiation within the seeds is difficult to avoid, and consumption is not recommended. If you desire oil-producing crops, we can design sunflower species with higher yields.]
Jiang Ye: [How much longer will it take to complete?]
[Intelligent Fungi: No more than a week.]
Soon, another five days passed.
Jiang Ye’s phone received thousands of fine-tuning messages.
The Intelligent Fungi worked like sculptors, first carving out the basic framework and then slowly refining the details.
The amount of alcoholic beverages consumed by the Intelligent Fungi during their work was enormous. Staff had to add new wine multiple times almost every hour.
These fungi survived on alcohol. Their high energy consumption during busy periods was normal. However, the existing wine stock of several merchants on Jiang Ye Star was depleted, necessitating urgent imports from other planets.
Finally, five days later, the first batch of sunflower tree seeds was produced, totaling 500 seeds.
They had completely lost their original shape of sunflower seeds, becoming like walnuts, encased in a layer of green, fleshy tissue. Inside this was a hard shell, and within that, the actual sunflower seed.
That evening, this batch of sunflower seeds was transported to Bi Rong Star and sown in the nuclear radiation zone.
The Intelligent Fungi expressed great fatigue and requested three days of rest, along with a large quantity of alcoholic beverages.
Jiang Ye personally traveled to Bi Rong Star to inspect the growth of the sunflower trees using a drone.
Sprouts emerged within 5 hours. After 10 hours, the stems began to grow rapidly, shooting upwards like bamboo shoots at a visible pace.
Two days later, they had grown into small trees taller than a person.
A radiation detector measured the radiation level of the tree trunks. It was ten times higher than the ambient radiation, all absorbed from the surrounding air and soil, demonstrating significant effectiveness.
Jiang Ye handled some miscellaneous matters on Bi Rong Star before returning to Jiang Ye Star.
The Intelligent Fungi were about to begin creating carnivorous organisms.
Of course, "carnivorous organisms" did not refer to animals that ate meat, but rather animals that provided a source of meat for humans.
Jiang Ye had initially assumed that the Intelligent Fungi would request some kind of livestock, which they would then deconstruct, re-modify, and finally reassemble, much like they had created the sunflower trees.
[Intelligent Fungi: No, animals are not needed this time. Animal cells are different from plant cells and cannot be decomposed. We will use some of our own cells as raw materials.]
Jiang Ye felt a pang of emotion.
The Intelligent Fungi were willing to sacrifice their own vitality to help him.
Each Intelligent Fungus bacterium had an independent consciousness and was a complete individual. Some were willing to sacrifice themselves, suggesting strong sociality and group behavior… No, it was possible they had already merged into a single entity, and individual consciousness had disappeared.
After a brief hesitation, Jiang Ye voiced his speculation.
The response he received was unexpected.
[Intelligent Fungi: No, we have not become a single entity. Each of us remains individual. We have formed a civilization, and each fungus has different tasks. However, we share thoughts. The thoughts of each fungus can be rapidly transmitted to all others, without deception. Therefore, we are completely different from human society; we are thoroughly united. As for sacrificing some Intelligent Fungi, that is not the case. We can split off unconscious cells and use these cells to create animals.]
Jiang Ye was secretly astonished.
This was impressive.
He imagined the entire human society becoming a single entity, with everyone's thoughts able to be shared with others…
It felt like his head would explode.
Seeing that the master had no further questions, the Intelligent Fungi busied themselves, sending messages as they made progress.
[Increasing cell mass.]
[Shedding cell characteristics, transforming into primal cells.]
[Upgrading intracellular mitochondria to accelerate cellular activity.]
[A sufficient quantity of cells has accumulated, beginning the formation of multicellular organisms.]
[Initial multicellular organism formed. This is a spherical organism with cells on the exterior that are more resilient, resisting environmental impacts, and a softer interior filled with moisture, genetic material, and mitochondria.]
[The exterior surface of the multicellular organism has developed pores for the passage of molecular substances, allowing it to absorb nutrients from the environment. It has begun to feed.]