Global Evolution

“You are not intelligent? How can that be possible?” Owning seven different human brains and being able to handle a conversation with Qing Shui in a wise way... no one would believe that the Willow was not intelligent.

“Nothing is impossible. I do not possess intelligence. I am currently only possessing and utilizing these brains. In fact, the ability to organize the language I am speaking with you comes from the signals of these brains. Hence, I, as a tree, am not intelligent.”

“I thought if you can utilize these brains, it means you are intelligent too, isn’t it?” Qing Shui was still confused by the Willow’s words.

“It’s different, I am merely a carrier.” The hollow voice spoke again, “my consciousness was given by these brain; in some sense, I am more of a person who changed its body, but not a tree who grew brains! Because my thoughts and actions are generated by the seven brains, I don’t have the ability to think.”

“I can even say this is a cross-species human evolution, essentially because I only possess human brains, while the thoughts and ideas are all produced by them. I am simply a provider of a stronger body and a bond of connecting these brains.”

“I have learned that in science fiction, humans are planning to relocate their brain into an artificial body when technology becomes advanced enough to do so so that humans can live longer. Right now, even though I am a willow tree, I am like the artificial machine that humans have been aspiring for. The ability I gained from the mutation was absorption and possession. It was a coincidence that I was able to acquire a human brain. But what am I really? I am still a willow tree.”

“It sounds reasonable.” Qing Shui pondered over the Willow’s statement, “but in the end, you are still different from machines as you are constantly evolving; right now, you are already aware of your own existence. I dare to say you are only steps away from having your own intelligence. By the time it happens, you will not be limited to possessing human brains, but will truly exploit their intelligence and make them your own.”

“I am curious about what kind of world will be created by an organism like you that aggregates the intelligence of mankind.”

“You will see that day come...” The last word of the Willow sounded determined, but was filled with hesitation. It chuckled for a few seconds as its figure began to disappear. The shadow on the top of Qing Shui’s head was getting smaller and smaller, and the warmth of the sun sprinkled on Qing Shui again.

“Where are you going?” In the very end, Qing Shui shouted to the vanishing figure.

“To the south. I am biding my time. I’ll come back when I am able to think as an individual.” As the Willow said, the shadow completely became invisible, and the world returned to bright red.

Gazing at where the Willow left, Qing Shui didn’t make a sound for a very long time.

“Mr. Li, Mr. Li...” Qing Shui did not recover until Jing grabbed on his shirt.

“Mr. Li, let go of the Willow, we still have to find formalin.” Jing didn’t consider too much about the Willow. Her world was simple and she had someone and something more important to think about compared to the existence of the Willow.

“Chang and the others are still waiting for us. If we go back late, that bullfrog will rot and we’ll starve again.”

“Right...right! You are right.” After Qing Shui was interrupted by Jing, he grinned to himself mockingly as looked down at the ground again. “I can’t even guarantee my own safety now, why would I think of those problems?” He again glanced at the direction where the Willow disappeared and carried Jing on his back. “Let’s go for the formalin!”

“Now that the Willow is gone, we can take advantage of its power; it is certain that there are no other dangerous organisms around us now.” The courtyard was as peaceful as it had been; they found the chemical storage room, and they didn’t run into other dangers as expected.

In the room, Qing Shui easily found the pungent chemical solution he wanted – formalin.

After confirming the tags on the plastic bucket, Qing Shui picked up two units without hesitation. He also grabbed some small packages of medication just in case. Then, the two walked as fast as they could back to Chang.

The return was fairly smooth and with Jing’s detection, they avoided some dangerous creatures which were circling around the hospital. Half an hour later, they found Chang and the others.

“Why you were so slow? The meat has almost gone bad.” Seeing Qing Shui with the buckets, Pang Zi asked anxiously, “You didn’t encounter any beasts, do you?”

“Yes, in fact, an extremely dangerous one which almost killed me.” As Qing Shui spoke, he walked to the front of Chang, and Chang had been able to stand up. Apparently, he had regained mobility. Although he still looked weak and his upper body was still charred and crimson, he seemed to have no serious problems.

“How? I thought nothing should be able to get close to you with Jing’s forewarning. Was it something that came from underground?” Chang stepped over to check Qing Shui and Jing in haste, but found out they weren’t injured at all.

“We are fine, it is too complicated for me to explain what exactly happened to us right now. I’ll tell you when we get back to the base. Now, let’s treat the bullfrog first. Pang Zi, you guys dissected the frog, didn’t you?”

“We did it long before you came back, we even deboned it. See, me and Lin have packed them into the bags.”

‘Great, thank you.’ Qing Shui walked to those big woven bags and opened one bucket of formalin. He evenly sprinkled the chemical solution into every bag with a wisp of grass, and then said, “The formalin will slow down the rotting process. We need to find some barrels to dilute the formalin with water after we go back to the base, and then we can put them into the barrels. With this strong preservation method, our food can be preserved for three or five days.”

“Alright, we are ready to go. The longer we stay, the more dangerous it will be.” Seeing that Qing Shui had organized everything, Chang turned to the doctor and said, “thank you for today, please come with us.”

“I didn’t help much, you don’t need to thank me about this; your body was strong enough to recover itself.” The doctor was still expressionless; she spoke unemotionally, “Let’s go.”

“Coming,” Chang nodded as he turned to his friends; Qing Shui, Pang Zi and Lin each carried one woven bag on their back.

“Do you need help?” Chang walked with Lin.

“I might have not been able to carry this before, but don’t worry. I have become stronger than before.” Lin had a pale smile on her face, “You were burned; take care of yourself first.”

“Hahaha, good, good.” Chang laughed, he waved his right hand as a sign to ask Jing to follow him. The six walked back together.

As they walked on the gravel pavement, Chang walked behind the group to ensure everyone’s safety. He lowered his voice and asked Jing, “Jing, can you tell me about the danger you ran into?”

“It was a big willow, a gigantic one! I couldn’t see what it looked like at all. I only knew it was there; it was so big that It blocked the sky! And even when it was right in front of me, I couldn’t sense anything as if it nullified my ability.”

“A willow?” hearing the words made Chang frown. A hospital and a willow; he recalled that the second day of the red fog, he also had encountered a willow when he went to the hospital for medication. It consumed human blood and flesh, and it hung those hollow human skins on its branches as if they were trophies. The level of that willow was higher than 100 already by that time, and it was only the second day! The strength and the rate of its mutation were horrifyingly fast.

In fact, Chang clearly knew that he had almost never met any organisms over level 30 these days. That implied that even though the rate of evolution and mutation had been escalated, the willow was still one of the kind in terms of the rate of mutation. If the one he met and the one Qing Shui ran away from were both willows, then the one that Jing was talking about was the one he had escaped from.

“If you really ran into it, it would have been impossible for you to come back alive!” Chang gazed at Qing Shui’s back thoughtfully. Qing Shui was weighed down by the woven bag on the shoulder, and his footsteps were heavy.