Chapter 435: Creatures in the Ice and Snow World_1

Cao Yang reported, "The unidentified creatures that attacked the soldiers can be seen everywhere under water, their form is like sticky water, changing in a thousand ways."

"We compared the reports from early detectors about the creatures on the White Planet and found that these creatures were named 'Mucus Beasts.'

"The naming is quite vivid indeed, their state really resembles mucus in water."

Everyone in the meeting room smiled knowingly, as the creature originally had a long string of code. The nickname "Mucus Beast" became the official name over time.

Cao Yang continued, "Because many Mucus Beasts share a similar shape to humans, a model J195 captured one and brought it back for dissection.

"The result of the dissection was almost like what I had guessed in my previous report. Inside the dissected Humanoid Mucus Beast were human remains, some with only the skull and teeth left.

"We can be almost certain that Mucus Beasts were not humanoid before, but they took on human form after swallowing the remains of human victims.

"The remains of more than forty thousand compatriots have been turned into their food."

Jiang Yu sighed, "We can't blame them for this, after all, in their eyes, the bodies of our compatriots are just a combination of proteins and energy.

"We still have to focus all our hatred on the enemy, it's the enemies who slaughtered our compatriots! It's our enemies who have left our compatriots without a trace! There's no need to waste too much energy on these primitive creatures."

Jiang Yu said this because about a week ago, some had suggested eliminating all the Mucus Beasts to avenge our compatriots.

It was in this meeting that Jiang Yu firmly made a statement, rejecting this suggestion.

Jiang Yu went on, "We don't have time for revenge now, we must quickly build our industrial system.

"If you want to take revenge, then work hard to produce industrial products, strive to build warships, so we can catch up and wipe out the enemies one by one!"

The attendees clapped together, seemingly motivated by his words.

After a few seconds of applause, the meeting continued, and Cao Yang said, "There are numerous species in the underwater world, but we only have two model J195s, which have only given us a brief understanding of the underwater situation.

"So far, only Mucus Beasts have been observed to burrow to the surface to forage, and they seem to be the most active animals on the White Planet during its winter season.

"Besides, J195 has also observed two other species, both of which were found in the archives from earlier explorations.

"One of these creatures is the Tadpole Beast, and the other is the Root Tentacle Beast.

"Tadpole Beasts are about the size of a fist, somewhat resembling a tadpole, with a big head and five tail-like structures at the back.

"There is a large number of Tadpole Beasts, and most Mucus Beasts feed on them.

"Then there's the Root Tentacle Beast, which clearly stands at the top of the food chain. It resembles the roots of a Big Tree, its root tentacles slowly undulating, catching the Mucus Beasts that roam everywhere.

"Root Tentacle Beasts are incredibly large, with the largest ones exceeding one hundred meters in length!

"According to the early exploration reports, Root Tentacle Beasts are amphibious creatures that go onto islands during the summer, where they live symbiotically with plants that have large 'leaves.'

"A J195 dissected a 'root tentacle' as thick as an arm and brought it back, the surface of the root had structures similar to suckers, capable of clinging onto Mucus Beasts.

"As for how it absorbs the Mucus Beasts, further observation is needed, and we suspect it might be like a spider sucking the fluids out of the Mucus Beasts.

"These three species form a simple biological chain. The ecosystem of the White Planet is probably much larger and more complex, but we don't have time now for these observations.

"Let's just briefly summarize and understand for now, and we'll explore further when we have time."

Cao Yang took a sip of water, then concluded, "Based on early exploration and recent observations, creatures on the White Planet apparently lack visual organs like eyes.

"Of course, it's also possible that due to long periods under thick ice layers and the deep sea, their visual organs have degenerated.

"Their sensory organs might be limited to tactile perception, and their nervous systems are not well-developed, responding very slowly but with a strong vitality."

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"After DNA comparison, their DNA has many similarities with the organisms on Earth, and they should share a common ancestor with Earth's life forms."

Everyone was slightly startled by Cao Yang's last remark.

Xing Yuanbin followed up by saying, "This further proves a hypothesis from the Academy of Sciences: carbon-based life should have a common ancestor.

"Just how life was spread between star systems remains an unsolved mystery.

"When there's time, we should contact Earth Province and ask if they've 'caught' any comets."

Jiang Yu smiled and said, "We don't have time to research these topics right now."

Then he spoke more seriously, "Cao Yang has made another major discovery, which we haven't had time to announce before the meeting started."

Everyone focused their attention on Cao Yang, who took out a white, brick-like object enclosed in a transparent bag and told everyone, "This is silicon dioxide found near the position previously observed by our detectors, where Silicon Star People were located, and is presumed to be the enemy's excrement!"

There was a moment of surprise among everyone, followed by a sudden understanding—so the enemy was silicon-based life!

Carbon-based life forms inhale oxygen and produce carbon dioxide through metabolism.

Since oxygen is quite reactive, and in environments conducive to the formation of complex life, it is bound to be very abundant.

Therefore, generally speaking, the metabolism of complex life forms involves oxygen to some extent.

If silicon-based life also requires oxygen for metabolism, they would produce silicon dioxide instead.

The difference is that carbon dioxide is a gas, while silicon dioxide is solid.

Silicon-based life had only existed in theory before, and it was unexpected to discover silicon-based intelligent life so "close" to the Solar System!

No wonder the enemy's colonization focus is not on the habitable zones; as carbon-based beings, humanity's habitable zones are vastly different from the enemy's.

This is critical intelligence, from which we can infer many clues about the enemy.

After a few seconds of silence in the conference room, Jiang Yu asked Xing Yuanbin to give a report.

"Our part has been the most successful," said Xing Yuanbin, snapping out of his musings on "silicon-based life." "Early probes exploring the planet have already located many mining sites.

"I have brought along exploration robots to confirm these locations one by one, and we have found all the various minerals our industry needs.

"I suggest establishing the first base on an island just over a thousand kilometers away from us, which is closer to the mining fields, cutting a lot of transportation costs in the early stages.

"Moreover, from the wreckage of the civilian ships destroyed by the enemy, we dismantled quite a few parts that are still usable, and I estimate that we can repair the Command Ship's nuclear engine!"

This meeting was mainly filled with good news.

Then Jiang Yu began further planning, "According to the intelligence provided by the Solar System and our observations, the White Planet will gradually enter summer in about three Earth months.

"Before this happens, we must work hard to repair the Command Ship and plan the preliminary construction of the base.

"Especially the repair of the Command Ship—if we cannot fix it in the next few months, we may never have the chance to do so again."

The Command Ship's current location is actually at sea.

If summer comes, the surrounding ice and snow will inevitably melt and soften.

If the Command Ship is still immobile, it will be buried in the loosened ice and could even fall to the seabed. When winter returns, the Command Ship would be frozen under a kilometer of ice and snow!

Once humanity's industrial system is up and running, the cost of salvaging and repairing a Command Ship will certainly be higher than producing a new one.

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