The Earth is Online

Fu Wenduo placed his ear against the metal wall of the safe. One hand gently struck the side of the box while the other hand constantly turned the password lock, listening to the sounds inside. Tang Mo was holding the flashlight on the side. The trio held their breaths softly, so that only the clatter of the key seals turning was heard in the room.

They were afraid but it was just in case.

The black tower institute was hidden underground and was visually protected by the robotics lab. The black safe was placed in an inconspicuous corner and shouldn’t have extra protection methods. They should be able to use brute force to directly open it. However, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo decided to act carefully.

The safe had a total of eight digits and one hour later, Fu Wenduo had four digits.

The trio were very patient. After another half an hour, there was a clear sound and Fu Wenduo looked at Tang Mo. The two of them nodded. Fu Wenduo straightened and opened this heavy safe.

The light from the flashlight entered and revealed there weren’t any measures to prevent it from being forcefully opened. Tang Mo took out a thick pile of documents, a dense amount of English entering his vision.

[Texas Institute of Marine Life.

Experiment time: November 15th, 2017

Subjects: XX jellyfish

……

Class A reaction: 141 experimental samples died…』

The thick materials were placed on the table for the Tang Mo trio to read together. There were too many scientific terms in this data. It was normal for Fu Wensheng to not understand when he was so young. Tang Mo was good at English during university but he only had a rough understanding. He tried to read all the data but it was very confusing.

Tang Mo turned back to the first page and looked at the lines above.

“…Is it a jellyfish?”

Fu Wenduo repeated in a low voice, “It is the immortal jellyfish.”

Tang Mo turned to look at him.

Fu Wenduo stated, “This experiment is studying the immortal jellyfish. These jellyfish generally inhabit the waters of Central America and have recently died in large numbers. The black tower institute in the US found this strange and brought samples to China. The two countries were discussing it together. This experimental anomaly was found on November 15th and the American researchers came on the 17th. The two sides didn’t have time to study it properly before the earth went online.”

Tang Mo muttered, “I seem to have heard about the immortal jellyfish somewhere.”

Fu Wenduo didn’t know about this. In order to read the data, good English wasn’t the only thing required. They also needed a certain amount of knowledge. This wasn’t the specialty of the two people. Perhaps Luo Fengcheng could understand it but he was far away in Shanghai.

Since there was no other way, the trio once again carefully examined the laboratory. They determined there was no other abnormalities and took the data and blue glassware. The water in this vessel had been stagnant for five months and was already cloudy. Tang Mo caused that originally an immortal jellyfish was placed inside here. It was only when the earth went online that all animals in the world disappeared and only humans were left.

The trio took the information and quietly left the institute.

Tang Mo found a Xinhua bookstore and used his experience as a librarian to easily find a thick English dictionary on marine life. The three of them looked through the book, which was extremely thick. After a day and night, they finally figured out what the data meant.

The immortal jellyfish, which inhabited the Caribbean, spread to Spain and Japan in recent years.

They were small jellyfish that were transparent and had a red digestive system in their heads. The whole body was around 5mm long and they were only the size of a human fingernail. Jellyfish were generally sensitive to various reactions in nature, just like dragonflies flying low before rainy days or worms crawling out of the soil. Jellyfish reacted much more keenly to nature than humans. After the black towers appeared, the Texas Institute of Marine Life in the US collected more than 200 species of jellyfish around the world for research, including immortal jellyfish.

“Immortal jellyfish are the only creatures in the world that can transform from an adult body into an infant…”

Tang Mo saw this introduction line and was shocked.

From an adult body to an infant… this meant that the creature could achieve rejuvenation. Tang Mo guessed something in his heart and looked down again. Sure enough, the immortal jellyfish was actually immortal!

After the sexual maturation stage, the immortal jellyfish would change back to infancy after breeding. Then they would grow from an infant to a sexually mature body. This process of change didn’t have a limit on the number of times it could be used. In other words, if there were no external forces killing these jellyfish, they could repeatedly become young and then grow into sexual maturity, truly realizing immortality.

Tang Mo looked at the empty blue glassware. There was originally an immortal jellyfish in here but it disappeared after the earth went online. Before it disappeared… it was dead.

The trio finished reading all the data. The reason why the US black tower institute crossed the Pacific Ocean and came to China to discuss the immortal jellyfish experiment was because the immortal jellyfish died in a safe environment. There were 201 experimental samples and 141 died, which was nearly two-thirds.

Tang Mo thought, “The information says that these immortal jellyfish didn’t die from external forces but died from reproduction. Every time they asexually reproduced, they should turn back to their young body. However, on November 15th, these immortal jellyfish reproduced and didn’t regain their young bodies. Like other jellyfish, they directly died.”

Fu Wensheng said, “November 15th is the first day that the black tower spoke. Three days later, the earth went online. The death of these jellyfish must have something to do with the black tower. The jellyfish are more likely than humans to detect changes in nature. Perhaps they became aware of something before they died?”

There was some truth to this.

November 15th was so special that it was hard not to think about the black tower. The jellyfish were very sensitive creatures. It was likely that the immortal jellyfish were aware of some changes before they died. Still, it didn’t make sense.

“The 141 jellyfish should return to infancy after the asexual reproduction. They didn’t change and died instead.” Tang Mo’s brow furrowed as his brain worked quickly. After a long time, he looked up at Fu Wenduo and asked, “Is this suicide?”

Fu Wenduo’s different method of thinking had always been bigger than Tang Mo’s. This time, he heard Tang Mo’s words and were slightly stunned.

Fu Wenduo took a moment to think. “If they aren’t affected by external forces, it should really be suicide.”

A light suddenly flashed in Tang Mo’s mind.

He seemed to have seen a creature similar to the immortal jellyfish. It wasn’t immortal but was similar. He thought for a long time before finally finding the fragment of memory. Tang Mo immediately said, “I have seen such a lobster before but it was a product of genetic mutation. A lobster is a sexually reproductive creature but can also asexually reproduce. This means it can continuously clone itself, its offspring having identical genes. It is also immortal, similar to this immortal jellyfish.”

Fu Wenduo gradually understood Tang Mo’s meaning. “You mean, asexual reproduction, constantly cloning themselves, genes not changing…”

Tang Mo caught the next line. “Genes will never change, meaning there is no evolution.”

Fu Wenduo grasped the key word. “…Evolution.”

Yes, it was evolution.

Tang Mo turned to the information in the last 10 pages. In the experiment with the immortal jellyfish, the researchers gave 11 possibilities for the deaths. Three of them were most likely. The first was the influence of external forces. Even if the researchers determined that they accurately controlled the external forces on the experience, they were afraid that the jellyfish hadn’t reproduced in complete safety. The second was that the immortal jellyfish had a special way of dying, which hadn’t been discovered by humans. The third possibility was the evolution of species.

Asexual reproduction was a low-level form of reproduction. The stability of the genes made it difficult for asexual species to reproduce, such as jellyfish. Sexual reproduction was the mainstream of evolution.

Researchers in the US didn’t believe that these jellyfish would suddenly evolve overnight. This was too inconsistent with biological theory. They probably never knew. Three days later, humans around the world were forced to enter the black tower game. Compared with the black tower, the sudden evolution of creatures seemed normal.

”They guessed it had something to do with the black tower but they didn’t guess the black tower would cause all of this.”

American researchers crossed the ocean but failed to reach a conclusion before disappearing. Still, they gave a clue to Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo five months later.

Everything the black tower did was for the evolution of humanity.

No one could prove whether this conjecture was correct or not. There were no immortal jellyfish left on Earth to prove this theory. Tang Mo’s heart beat faster. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths to calm himself down.

It was just a guess after all.

Tang Mo read all the data again and memorized it. For insurance, Fu Wenduo and Fu Wensheng also read it again. Then Tang Mo burned the data. This included the blue glassware that the jellyfish had been contained in. He threw the glass container into the fire.

After doing all this, Tang Mo looked up and found Fu Wenduo looking at himself.

The two people stared at each other quietly.

A long time passed before Tang Mo asked with a smile, “It doesn’t seem so strange. If the black tower really compels evolution then it will act as a catalyst to inspire human abilities. Then why the human race?”

The immortal jellyfish evolved and then disappeared after three days. The last existences left on Earth were only humans.

In the quiet bookstore, Fu Wenduo asked, “What is the smartest creature in the world?”

Tang Mo didn’t understand why he asked this question but then he thought of a movie. He was in a rare mood to make a joke and replied with a serious face, “A mouse.”

Fu Wenduo, “…”

Fu Wenduo had also seen the movie. He said, “It is the black tower’s choice.”

Yes, everything was the black tower’s choice.

Tang Mo didn’t know why the black tower chose humans and if its purpose really was to force human evolution. However, there was no doubt that if this game continued, humans would surely evolve when they attacked the seventh floor of the black tower. Even the worst humans right now were smarter and stronger than they were six months ago.

The materials taken from the laboratory were all burnt and the sky was becoming dark. The three people planned to rest in the Xinhua Bookstore.

Suddenly, Fu Wenduo made a cold expression. He quickly got up and ran out of the bookstore. Tang Mo was startled and pressed a hand to the small parasol. He saw Fu Wenduo flashing outside the door. After 10 seconds of waiting, the other person didn’t come back.

Fu Wensheng said, “Brother should’ve discovered something but it isn’t dangerous.”

Tang Mo looked at the little boy. Indeed, it was impossible for the cautious Fu Wenduo to leave casually. He must’ve gone outside for some reason, but it wasn’t an enemy attack or he would’ve definitely talked to Tang Mo.

Tang Mo thought about it and went outside with Fu Wensheng.

The two of them passed an intersection and suddenly saw Fu Wenduo. At this moment, Fu Wenduo also turned around, apparently to call to Tang Mo and Fu Wensheng. He stopped once he saw Tang Mo. Tang Mo’s expression sank because he saw the body lying behind Fu Wenduo.

Blood was gushing from the other person’s chest.

A young girl was lying on the ground, staring at the sky with wide eyes. Half her heart was destroyed and flesh and blood fell next to her body. The blood hadn’t completely solidified and flowed to Fu Wenduo’s feet, wetting his soles.

According to the time, the girl should’ve died when Fu Wenduo just arrived. If someone else saw this scene, it was natural for them to think that Fu Wenduo killed her, especially when Fu Wenduo’s hand was stained with blood. Tang Mo just calmly came over and examined the body. He asked, “Did you see the murderer?”

Fu Wenduo replied, “No. When I arrived, her body hadn’t yet fallen down. Her chest was broken and half her heart and ribs had fallen to the ground. I couldn’t save her. I tried the mineral water but she died. The injury was too heavy and her physical fitness wasn’t good enough.”

She should be a less powerful reserve player. Fu Wenduo had arrived at the fastest speed but he couldn’t save her.

Fu Wenduo’s physical state was better than Tang Mo’s. He should’ve heard the girl being attacked from the bookstore or it might be because he was more sensitive to this type of thing. He realized the girl was being killed and didn’t have time to speak to Tang Mo. He ran straight out at the fastest speed. Unfortunately, he was still a step too late. He didn’t see the killer and couldn’t save the girl.

Tang Mo reached out and closed the girl’s eyes.

“The last time it could’ve been considered as the person being thrown out of an instance. However, this time is even stranger.” Tang Mo coldly and sensibly analyzed. “First of all, they must be killed by humans. The means of killing are cruel. This is the same point. There is also one thing in common. We didn’t see the people who killed them.”

Fu Wenduo knew that Tang Mo was talking about the body they saw on the road three days earlier. Like this time, that person seemed to have been killed by an invisible person. The two of them died differently but the murderer had never been found. Last time, they could say that it might be related to a black tower instance. This time, Fu Wenduo saw the girl falling down yet still failed to see the murderer.

This wasn’t the style of the black tower games.

Night gradually descended. Without electricity, the street lights on both sides of the road wouldn’t turn on and the world was dim. The three of them stood by the cold body, the wind entering Tang Mo’s sleeve, as if the wind was sobbing. The girl’s blood slowly solidified and turned dark brown on the ground.

Tang Mo said, “It’s getting dark. Let’s first find a place to take her and examine the situation.”

The three people prepared to leave.

Suddenly, cheerful music was heard. The lively and pleasant music sounded all over the world. Tang Mo quickly raised his head to look at the black tower. He saw that a line of white lights was moving from the bottom to the top of the tower. The white lights kept flashing and the black tower’s music wasn’t over.

Once 6 o’clock arrived, the music stopped and the bright lights also froze.

Players all over the world stopped to look at the black tower. 90% of the players had a look of fear on their faces as they trembled in horror. Some people wept while others begged for God to save them. However, the thing that showed up wasn’t God but the black tower’s extremely excited voice.

“Ding dong! March 31st, 2018, the first forced tower attack game is opened!”

There was a dull sound and Tang Mo saw the line of white light on the black tower slowly changing, finally becoming an eight digit number:

28,315,123.

Tang Mo seemed to understand something and turned to Fu Wenduo.

10 seconds after they were preparing to take away the girl’s body, the number on the black tower changed to:

28,315,019.

Tang Mo’s eyes widened.

…It was only 10 seconds!

On the huge black tower, the number was still changing.