Chapter 133: Professor Qin’s Concerns (Fourth Update, an additional chapter for all the friends who provided tips)

The fervor across the international network of Blue Star was beyond imagination.

Meanwhile, the top brass in the Lion nation were likely in for a sleepless night. After all, the intelligence they had received went far beyond what was visible on the surface.

At the outermost perimeter of the Ring Forest, the hundred-man team’s base was ablaze with light. Ever since they had relayed the news of their successful contact and the establishment of a cooperative relationship with the Little Deer earlier that day, not a soul had rested. They were busy coordinating with domestic leadership while debating the appropriate scope for their first trade. They were, after all, still wary of the danger of "nurturing a tiger that might eventually devour them."

Such caution was necessary; at the very least, for humanity, a true consensus with an alien species could not be achieved through a single transaction.

Yet, amidst this flurry of activity and discussion, they received another startling piece of news: in the Western Continent, where France was located, a silver dragon—a creature much like the Little Deer—had appeared. Furthermore, the reports confirming that this silver dragon was a transformed olm had been fully verified.

Just as the existence of the Little Deer could not be hidden from the satellites and intelligence agents of other nations, everything happening in France could naturally not be concealed from the Lion nation. In this era of globalization, the major powers of Blue Star were home to an incredibly complex web of personnel; everyone had their spies in each other's camps. Even when they knew exactly who the traitors were, nations refrained from taking drastic action. After all, the current threat of the Purple Moon contamination necessitated a higher degree of global cooperation. Thus, to maintain relationships and preserve a tacit understanding, all nations exercised great restraint.

"An olm? Such a tiny creature can undergo such a massive transformation?" Professor Qin was utterly astonished after seeing the footage and photographs sent from above.

"It really makes one reflect. The Oak Tree, the Spirit Stallion, and now this olm—these creatures all seem to be evolving toward giant physical forms."

"With such identical evolutionary patterns, it is truly difficult not to believe in the existence of so-called gods in this world."

Professor Qin was clearly wavering. Though he had previously been a staunch atheist, the consecutive appearance of god-favored creatures, combined with the arrival of the Purple Moon, made him realize that there were indeed things in this world far beyond human comprehension.

Gods? Even if they were gods, as long as they were placed before Professor Qin, he would want to study them.

Professor Qin no longer blindly denied the existence of gods, though he viewed them merely as higher-dimensional beings whose power far exceeded that of humanity.

"Teacher, if gods truly exist, why would they create beings like the Spirit Stallion or the olm? If they were truly appearing to save the world as those in the West Alliance claim, why wouldn't they act directly against the Purple Moon?" Lin Ling pondered aloud.

Professor Qin chuckled.

"Gods? Who knows what a god looks like, or what kind of existence they are?"

"Stop dwelling on such unreliable thoughts. It is better to rely on oneself than on others. Instead of wasting time guessing why such entities don't strike at the Purple Moon or why they act in such inscrutable ways, it would be better to spend that time researching and discovering the things right before our eyes."

"Do not speculate on things that do not exist, unless they are standing right in front of you."

After saying this, Professor Qin added, "It seems France has reached some sort of tacit agreement with that olm creature; they must be secretly pleased with themselves right now."

"However, we haven't come away empty-handed either. The existence of the Spirit Stallion is our critical breakthrough point. I only hope that such a being has no ulterior motives; otherwise, humanity’s situation will be in grave trouble."

"Huh?" Deng Ziqi, who was standing to the side, suddenly looked startled, as if she had caught the underlying implication in her teacher's tone. "Teacher, what do you mean by that?"

"Meaning?" Professor Qin shook his head and sighed. "Think about it carefully. Don't you feel that the timing of the appearance of creatures like the Spirit Stallion is just a little too perfect?"

"The Purple Moon appears and worsens, and then suddenly, a species capable of saving and helping humanity emerges. It is hard not to smell a conspiracy in all of this."

Once Professor Qin laid it out, everyone present was stunned; as they thought about it, the fear only grew. It was true—the timing of these creatures' appearances was indeed too coincidental. It was coincidental to a degree that demanded suspicion.

Humanity needed external help to overcome its predicament, and creatures like the Little Deer appeared—how could one think humanity would choose otherwise? Of course, humanity could have opted for violence to exterminate them and attempted to break the deadlock by studying their corpses. But the Purple Moon gave them no such luxury, and they would only get one chance. If they annihilated such creatures without achieving a scientific breakthrough, humanity would truly be finished.

They couldn't afford to gamble. In the end, they simply couldn't gamble.

Just as they were doing now, they had tested blood samples from soldiers who had been "enhanced," only to find their DNA was identical to that of ordinary humans, with no suspicious or extra components discovered. They had also tested fur samples from the deer herds. There were even fur samples from the second category of deer, but once these hairs shed from the creatures, they lost all biological activity and contained no living cells.

The fur behaved like inorganic matter, rendered completely inert. This was unheard of, and as a result, their research into the deer herds had fallen into a dead end.

"Alright, don't look so terrified."

"This is all just my personal speculation. At least based on the relationship we've established with the Spirit Stallion, everything is still favorable for us." Professor Qin smiled to comfort them, then looked at the image of the silver dragon-like olm and continued, "All in all, these creatures are generally friendly to humans. Besides, if there really were a conspiracy behind the scenes, it wouldn't need to go through all this trouble. After all, as the situation with the Purple Moon worsens, our living environment will naturally be compressed to the limit."

"So, I still hold great expectations for the appearance of creatures like the Spirit Stallion."

"Alright, stop standing there in a daze. Everyone who needs to rest, go and rest. You've been busy all day, and tomorrow you'll have plenty to do." Professor Qin said with a chuckle.

"Understood, Teacher."

"Professor, you should get some rest too. Don't work yourself to the point of collapse."

The crowd's tension eased as they greeted the professor and headed off to sleep. However, even as they walked out of the tent, they couldn't help but let Professor Qin's theories of conspiracy linger in their minds.