Chapter 327

Chapter 327: Invitation Letter

When Ji Yongxing clicked on the exclamation mark, something absurd yet expected happened.

A pop-up suddenly appeared in the center of the screen, displaying a large blood-red word:

"Father!"

Ji Yongxing raised an eyebrow, then saw a second identical pop-up appear in the lower right corner of the first, followed by a third, fourth, and fifth…

Watching the pop-ups multiply on his computer, Ji Yongxing took a deep breath and pressed the power button, directing the cameras toward his hand.

In an instant, the entire computer seemed to experience a reversal of time. The overwhelming pop-ups began to disappear one by one, leaving only the first pop-up in the center of the screen. The pop-up then folded and expanded twice, transforming into a chat box with a new line of text:

"Father, Dr. Lin wants you to prepare; a record-breaking beast tide is forming, and you might have to go to the front lines."

Ji Yongxing wasn’t overly concerned about the possibility of going up on the city wall. The human weapons he had recently restored hadn’t been properly tested, and this opportunity would allow him to put them through their paces.

What did concern him, however, was that the last beast tide had just ended less than 24 hours ago. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the blood of the extraordinary beasts on the city wall hadn’t even dried yet. How could another wave come so soon, especially under such unprecedented circumstances?

This unexpected change triggered an instinctive sense of unease in him, but without concrete evidence, he couldn’t report it directly to Deputy Director Zhou Zhuo.

After briefly replying to [Skydome], Ji Yongxing steeled himself mentally and plunged back into his research on the mysterious material.

Having reported the matter, [Skydome] thought his task was over, but then Lin Qingliu tossed him the codes for two more communicators.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Hack into these devices and leave a message."

"Understood."

In another part of the inner city, two messages quietly rested in the communicators of Zhuang Mian and El:

"[Possible anomalies; maintain order.]"

—

Lin Qingliu looked at the terminal in front of him, confirming his current identity:

"[Professor of Paleobiology, XX University: Lu Shangwen]"

Perhaps due to prolonged overexertion, the brain Lin Qingliu entered did not place him in a third-party perspective as usual when entering others’ dreams; instead, he experienced the life trajectory of Professor Lu as if he were a possessing spirit.

Of course, it began from the day fate changed.

Exploring new planets required a variety of talents, and biology was one of them.

Although this was an era where starships were not uncommon, no signs of life had appeared within the range humanity could explore.

As for the few possible destinations, their existence could only be inferred based on some signs, but upon humanity’s arrival, nothing could be confirmed.

The criteria for selecting immigrant planets were quite simple—go to those with life, and avoid those without.

It was easy to explain, as humans could easily perish in harsh environments.

Considering that by the time humans landed, the original simple life forms might have already evolved or vanished, including several paleobiology professors in the mix was necessary.

For this reason, Professor Lu’s personal terminal received an invitation to the Dandelion Project.

He was fortunate to be selected as a crew member for the spaceship Taraxacum-03, which would allow him to spend hundreds or thousands of years in stasis before arriving in the future, contributing his strength to humanity’s new homeland.

Even though the welfare policy stated he could bring along up to five family members, Professor Lu’s conflicted heart found no solace.

Although his immediate relatives filled the five-person quota, Professor Lu had to consider matters that any human would think about.

Taking this step meant saying goodbye to many of his current relatives and friends. Although the Dandelion Project could theoretically save all humans, the nature of the ship he boarded was more like a group of scouts heading out to begin basic construction.

When he opened his eyes again, perhaps he could only gaze across the river of time and space, looking at planets in the galaxy from a distance, separated from some friends.

Lin Qingliu, who had experienced everything in the first person, felt a sense of empathy.

He lived in the present, while Professor Lu had already died in the past, yet they could share the same dream across time and space; from a cosmic perspective, it was indeed miraculous.

After much contemplation, Professor Lu ultimately signed the confidentiality agreement, accepting the gift of fate.

Crew selection was happening everywhere on the human home planet, but there were still several years until the construction plan was completed. Before truly boarding that spaceship, Professor Lu’s life wouldn’t change much.

Just like now, he still had to prepare for tomorrow’s class aimed at university students.

The flow of time in dreams was unstable. Perhaps due to the high repetitiveness of the experience, Lin Qingliu almost completed the jump without actively adjusting the speed.

The next day, possessing the body of the professor, he encountered university students of this era.

The tiered classroom, capable of holding hundreds, was filled to capacity, each seat occupied, reminding Lin Qingliu of his university experience in his previous life. The attendance rate would have made every professor in his past gnash their teeth.

Of course, it would have been even better if the seats were filled with humans.

The twisted mycelium struggled to disguise itself as humans. They sat in the chairs, looking at the podium with spherical fake heads.

At that moment, Lin Qingliu sharply realized a fact: this dream belonging to Professor Lu contained not just the two of them, but…many, many strands of mycelium.

A group of mycelium life forms listened to a human lecture on paleobiology in the dream world.

Lin Qingliu didn’t know how to respond.

This is way too eager to learn!!!

From Professor Lu’s perspective, the students’ enthusiasm for learning was exceptionally high that day.

He animatedly discussed the evolution of flounders, explaining how these strange creatures ended up with both eyes on the same side.

With numerous fossils serving as evidence, it was clear that all changes could be traced back, meaning all life could be connected to its origins.

Seeing the interested mycelium life forms, Lin Qingliu vaguely sensed their purpose in attending this class—

If the mycelium acquired thinking ability by manipulating human brains, then they would inevitably fall into pondering the "three questions of life" once their intelligence reached a certain level.