"This creature feeds primarily on plant leaves, and its droppings serve as an extremely effective fertilizer and growth hormone, stimulating the rapid growth of these plants to satisfy its needs..."
Leylin speculated, "And together, these plants and creatures form the foundation of every food chain within the ecosystem..."
Only in this way could the cycle within the ecosystem be sustained for such a prolonged period.
After all, this was merely an ecological laboratory, not a resource-rich secret realm of vast proportions. Though its area was expansive, it was still insufficient to support a complete ecosystem.
Now it seemed that, cut off from the external supply provided by researchers, the creatures here had independently evolved their own unique ecological system.
"Moooo..."
At that moment, a deep, guttural animal cry echoed through the air.
Leylin immediately concealed himself, watching the approaching species.
It was a creature resembling a plesiosaur, but with an enormous black carapace upon its back, covered in rows of barbed spines that gleamed with a cold light — lending it an impression of near-impregnability.
Its head was remarkably small relative to its body, with two short bumps protruding from the back of its skull and a long snout. The sound it had just produced emanated from that snout, carrying a heavy, wavering vibrato.
Boom! Boom!
This creature was no lightweight — it weighed at least three tons, and with every step it took, the ground trembled slightly beneath it.
It ambled up to the plant where Leylin was hiding, its small eyes appearing languid and unhurried, occasionally craning its neck to gnaw upon the enormous leaves.
Along the edges of the leaves it had consumed, marks appeared that were identical to the bite marks Leylin had seen before.
"Chip! Record this creature's image and cross-reference it with the database!"
Leylin commanded silently.
"Beep. Task initiated. Commencing scan and imaging. Cross-referencing with database..." The Chip executed Leylin's command faithfully, producing an answer almost instantaneously.
"No matching entries found for this creature in the database. Commencing search for the closest similarity match..."
The Chip's mechanical voice sounded.
"Cross-reference complete. This creature is tentatively identified as a Serpent-Necked Land Turtle, with a similarity index of 87.9%!"
Subsequently, the Chip provided detailed information on the Serpent-Necked Land Turtle.
"Serpent-Necked Land Turtle: An ancient species, now extinct. An omnivore with a mild temperament. The carapace on its back possesses astonishing defensive capabilities and serves as raw material for many defensive-type Wizard artifacts. A fully mature Serpent-Necked Land Turtle possesses strength no less than that of a Second-rank Wizard."
Leylin examined the image of the Serpent-Necked Land Turtle provided by the Chip — an illustration from an ancient text that the Chip had recorded and archived in its database.
"Hmm! The differences between this creature and the Serpent-Necked Land Turtle are the color of the carapace on its back, the presence of additional barbed spines, and some variations in the head shape. It must have undergone some form of mutation..."
Leylin was not at all surprised by this. In such an ecological environment, ancient species that did not actively evolve would have long since gone extinct. A bit of mutation was perfectly normal — and there might even have been covert involvement from the Quicksand members.
On the contrary, if it could still maintain ecological traits identical to those of the ancient era, that would be the truly abnormal thing.
"In that case, I'll just call you the Serpent-Necked Land Turtle!" Leylin made his decision. The real Serpent-Necked Land Turtle had long been extinct in the outside world, so it had no right to object.
"Moo moo…" At this point, the nearby Serpent-Necked Land Turtle had not noticed Leylin at all. It had finished eating and let out a few long bellows before preparing to leave.
Leylin's heart stirred, and he silently followed after it.
"Shadow Lurk!" Though it was only a first-level spell, under Leylin's control — especially with the boost of his gaseous Spiritual Power — its effectiveness exceeded that of many second-level spells.
Leylin's body sank into the shadow rift and climbed directly onto the back of the Serpent-Encked Land Turtle.
The solid carapace was very stable underfoot, giving a sense of security. Leylin looked around in all directions. The surroundings were filled with broad leaves and enormous trees, with vines hanging down like countless tassels. Enormous droplets of water rolled across the leaves and vines, giving off a mesmerizing glow.
And many flower buds, larger than a grown person, were in full bloom, their colors strikingly vivid. A variety of sweet fragrances drifted through the air — alluring yet dangerous.
Leylin's nose twitched. "Hallucinogenic pollen, and this kind of wave resembling mental suggestion… Even a third-rank apprentice or even an official Wizard would fall victim to it if they weren't careful…"
The feeling this place gave Leylin was like a primeval tropical rainforest from his previous world — species thrived in extraordinary abundance, and the air was thick with an ancient, primal aura.