The winter of Jiang Yexing ended.
The annual great flood.
The streets of the hot spring area were also flooded. Fortunately, waterproofing was considered during the villa construction, so no water entered the house. However, looking out from the upstairs window, one could still see a vast expanse of water.
Jiang Senlin particularly enjoyed watching the flood. He would spend hours gazing out the window.
He had learned to go up and down stairs, but he still couldn't speak.
Major cities experienced varying degrees of flooding, resulting in over 140 deaths and countless livestock swept away. Some private factories were also leveled.
Considering Jiang Yexing had a population of six million, with only over a hundred deaths, it was a rather ideal outcome. Major cities had already factored in the annual floods during their construction, implementing stringent waterproofing measures. Otherwise, the death toll might have reached tens of thousands.
After the floodwaters receded, widespread diarrhea broke out in major cities.
It was a rather ferocious diarrhea, progressing from stomach pain to explosive expulsion in less than a minute. There were no premonitory symptoms, making it impossible to guard against.
Many people on the streets would suddenly cry out, clutch their pants, and look around frantically.
Diners in restaurants would stand up and run mid-meal.
Students in class would raise their hands one after another to go to the restroom. Upon exiting, they would bump into teachers rushing in.
A stench permeated major cities, and stray dogs chased people with their tongues hanging out.
The Binhai City Hospital was the first to research the diarrhea. It was caused by a new type of bacteria that had minimal effects on humans and was not fatal. The only adverse reaction was sudden diarrhea.
A vaccine was developed in just three days, and six million doses were mass-produced within a week. Each dose was the size of a thumb, powered by compressed air. It was injected into the arm vein, completing the vaccination in three seconds.
The cost of production was 50 yuan, and the selling price was 500 yuan. More than half of the profit went into Jiang Ye's account.
Over two billion yuan was earned effortlessly.
Jiang Ye began to see the advantages of a large population. Even a small business could yield substantial profits.
However, he had no use for this money, so he invested it all into the military.
The breeding farms for the intelligent fungi were also expanded, increasing their area by fourfold.
Various types of alcohol were poured in daily for the intelligent fungi to sample.
On the LED screens at the bottom of the cultivation tanks, educational videos on mathematical calculations were also being broadcast.
After each video concluded, a math problem would appear.
The intelligent fungi would then attempt to solve it.
Initially, they could only perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division within one hundred.
As their learning time extended and the number of intelligent fungi increased, the difficulty of the math problems they could solve rose sharply.
Decimals and fractions.
Positive fractional exponents.
Functions and matrices.
Calculus and limits.
Triple integrals.
Laplace transforms.
Jiang Ye watched the problems solved by the intelligent fungi daily. At first, he smiled, thinking the little fellows were becoming smarter. Soon, however, he could no longer smile, as the problems surpassed his own knowledge.
Increasingly complex formulas and problem statements.
Jiang Ye thought their computational ability was already extraordinary.
But the learning continued; true mathematics was just beginning.
Euclidean space, Riemann surfaces, Galois theory, the Hairy Ball Theorem...
Knot theory, Clifford algebras, Lie groups, Klein four-group...
As willow catkins drifted through the streets, a line of text finally appeared on Jiang Ye's office desk display:
[Intelligent Fungi have successfully completed the study of "Fermat's Last Theorem" and have officially entered the calculation phase, possessing basic computational abilities. Subsequent computational abilities will continuously strengthen with the expansion of the fungal colony. The next evolutionary stage is the "Sentient Stage," which requires larger cultivation space.]
Jiang Ye took a photo with his phone and sent it to Li Nannan.
Li Nannan: "Congratulations, the cultivation is going smoothly."
Jiang Ye: "These fungi can actually prove Fermat's Last Theorem. What's the use of mastering so much mathematical knowledge? Are they biological computers? I already have cheap and effective supercomputers here. Isn't it a waste to spend a fortune raising a bunch of biological computers?"
Li Nannan: "Yes and no."
Jiang Ye: "???"
Li Nannan: "The primary reason these fungi are learning mathematics is not to improve their computational ability, but to build more effective connections."
Jiang Ye frowned, a vague suspicion dawning on him.
Li Nannan: "Nature is a very lazy engineer. It doesn't overthrow biological structures wholesale; instead, it makes minor modifications each time. If something can be made to work, evolution stops. The human brain is a product of this mechanism. The connections between brain cells are quite haphazard, adjusted from time to time, as long as they aren't too clumsy. But intelligent fungi are different. The connections and information exchange routes for each individual fungus need constant optimization."
Li Nannan: "When these fungi learn new mathematical knowledge, they immediately experiment, altering their connection routes and methods to achieve the most efficient group structure. Imagine the intelligent fungi colony as a brain. The brain cells within this brain are constantly whirring, as if placed in a soy milk maker. Although these fungi are imperceptible to us, on a microscopic scale, they are gradually building their own villages, towns, empires, and civilizations, reaching increasingly complex forms."
Li Nannan: "The next stage is the sentient stage. At this stage, the intelligent fungi will possess human-like thought and begin to contemplate philosophical questions. Once they reach the sentient stage, these fungi will have practical applications. I will tell you their specific uses then."
Jiang Ye looked at the office desk display.
The brandy concentration in the cultivation tanks was high today. Hugo called this wine "the elixir of the gods." Within the apple juice-colored liquid, many large and small white intelligent fungi colonies were constantly dispersing and aggregating.
On the LED screen at the bottom of the liquid, dazzling mathematical symbols scrolled by, and various colored lights flickered, resembling a nightclub dance floor. It appeared these little creatures had indeed gained astonishing intelligence, but due to their minuscule size, they were still insignificant.
Jiang Ye: "These fungi will become smarter than us, but due to their size limitations, they can only stay in the wine tanks and serve us, right?"
Li Nannan: "Yes. Fungal slaves."
Jiang Ye: "It feels similar to us."
Li Nannan: "Similar to us?"
Jiang Ye: "Could humans also be created by some advanced alien civilization for a purpose? Such as developing planets like viruses, or creating art. Our bodies are subject to many limitations. Simple temperature fluctuations can cause us to melt or freeze, we explode without suitable atmospheric pressure, and a bit of cosmic radiation can kill us. We can only exist on tiny habitable planets; the vastness of space is a graveyard. Just like these intelligent fungi, if they leave the wine tanks, they will silently bake to death on the floor."
Li Nannan: "As far as I know, humans are not like these intelligent fungi. But if you are referring to some unknown, ultra-high cosmic consciousness, then who knows? This enters the realm of theology. Don't overthink it; if you think too much, even eating won't be enjoyable, and you won't figure anything out even if your head explodes. I have a meeting, talk to you later."