Lighthouse Jellyfish.

Fu Wenduo puts his ear to the metal wall of the safe, tapping the side of the box with one hand and flicking the combination lock with the other, listening for sounds. Tang Mo used a flashlight to illuminate the room. The three of them held their breath, only hearing the clicking sound of the lock and key turning in the room, one by one.

I'm not afraid of anything, I'm just afraid of what might happen.

It is reasonable to say that the Black Tower Institute is hidden underground, using a robotics lab as a cover, and is highly secure. Such an unassuming black safe placed in a corner should not have any extra protection, and can be opened by force. But Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo decided to be careful.

The safe has an eight-digit combination, and after an hour, Fu Wenduo tries out four numbers.

The three of them were very patient. After another half an hour, only to hear a crisp sound, Fu Wenduo looked up to Tang Mo. the two nodded, Fu Wenduo stood up straight, and with a snap, opened the heavy safe.

The bright light of the flashlight shone in, and there were no measures to prevent violent demolition. Tang Mo took out a thick stack of information, and the dense English immediately caught his eye.

"Marine Biological Institute of Texas, USA

Lab date: November 15, 2017

Subject: XX Jellyfish

......

Level A response: 141 experimental samples died ......』.

The thick document was spread out by Tang Mo on the table for the three of them to read together. There were too many exclusive terms in this document, it was normal that Fu Wen Sheng could not understand it at his young age, Tang Mo's English was not bad when he was in college, but he could only understand it roughly. He tried his best to read the entire document, but he was still confused by the whole thing.

Tang Mo turned the information back to the first page and looked at the line on it.

"...... is a jellyfish?"

Fu Wenduo's low voice rang out, "It's a lighthouse jellyfish."

Tang Mo turned his head to look at him.

Fu Wenduo: "This experiment is a study of the lighthouse jellyfish. This kind of jellyfish usually inhabits the waters of Central America, and has recently died in large numbers, the Black Tower Institute in the United States discovered this abnormality, and brought samples to China, and the two countries discussed it together. The experimental anomaly was on November 15th, and the American researcher came on the 17th. Before both sides could scrutinize it, Earth came online."

Tang Mo : "I think I've heard of creatures like lighthouse jellyfish somewhere."

This is something Fu Wenduo does not know. What was written on the information was no longer something that could be read with good English, it required a certain amount of knowledge. This was not the two men's specialty, perhaps Luo Fengcheng could read it, but unfortunately he was far away in Shanghai.

Since there was nothing they could do, the trio scrutinized the lab again. After making sure there was nothing else out of the ordinary, they took the file and the blue glass vessel from the safe with them. The water in this vessel has been sitting for five months and has become cloudy. Tang Mo guesses that what was originally in the vessel was probably a lighthouse jellyfish. The vessel is empty because all the animals in the world have disappeared and only human beings are left when the Earth comes online.

The three of them took the information and quietly left the institute in the night.

Tang Mo found a new bookstore, and with his experience as a librarian, he easily found a thick English dictionary of marine life. The three of them spent a day and a night flipping through the books, which were even thicker than a dictionary, and finally figured out what the material was about.

The lighthouse jellyfish, which inhabits the Caribbean, has spread to Spanish and Japanese waters in recent years.

This is a small jellyfish with a transparent body and a red digestive system on the head. The whole body is about 5 millimeters long, only the size of a human fingernail cap. Jellyfish are generally quite sensitive to various reactions in nature, just as dragonflies will fly low before a rainy day and earthworms will crawl out of the mud, jellyfish are also much more responsive to nature than humans. That's why the Marine Biological Institute of Texas, USA, collected more than two hundred species of jellyfish from all over the world after the Black Tower went online for research, including the lighthouse jellyfish.

"Lighthouse jellyfish are the only known organisms in the world that can change from an adult to a juvenile ......"

Tang Mo was shocked when he saw the line of introduction.

Changing from an adult back to a juvenile ...... This means that this creature can achieve rejuvenation. Tang Mo had a guess in his mind, he looked further down, and to his surprise, the lighthouse jellyfish was actually immortal!

When they reach sexual maturity, the lighthouse jellyfish reproduce by turning back into juveniles and then growing from juveniles to sexual maturity. There is no limit to the number of times this process can occur, meaning that if no external force kills these jellyfish, they can reproduce, turn into juveniles, and grow into sexual maturity over and over again, truly realizing immortality.

Tang Mo looked at the empty blue vessel. This was where the lighthouse jellyfish had originally been placed, yet with the Earth coming online, they were bound to disappear. And before disappearing ...... they actually died.

The three had already read all of this information. The reason why the Black Tower Institute in the United States had to specially cross the Pacific Ocean and come to China to discuss the lighthouse jellyfish experiments with Chinese scientists was because these lighthouse jellyfish had died in a safe environment. There were 201 experimental samples in total, and 141 of them died, close to two thirds of them.

Tang Mo thought for a moment, "The information says that these lighthouse jellyfish didn't die from external forces, they died from self-generated reproduction. Every time they reproduce asexually, they should change back to their hydroid form. But on November 15, two-thirds of the lighthouse jellyfish in this batch did not change back to their hydroid form after reproduction. Like the other jellyfish, they simply died."

Fu Wen voiced, "November 15th is the day that the Black Tower made its first sound, and three days later Earth came online. The death of these jellyfish must have something to do with the Black Tower. Jellyfish are more likely to notice changes in nature than humans, did they notice something that made them die?"

There's some truth to that.

The date of November 15th is so special that it's hard not to think of the Black Tower. And since jellyfish are very sensitive creatures, it's most likely that these lighthouse jellyfish sensed some change and died one after the other. Yet it still doesn't make sense.

"These 141 lighthouse jellyfish should have changed back to juveniles after asexual reproduction, but instead of changing, they died." Tang Mo tightened his brows as his brain worked rapidly. After a long time, he suddenly looked up at Fu Wenduo as he recalled a word: "This can't be suicide, can it?!"

Fu Wenduo's mind has always been bigger than Tang Mo's, but this time he was also slightly stunned by Tang Mo's words.

Fu Wenduo thought for a moment, "It was not influenced by external forces, and it is indeed a suicide."

Tang Mo had a sudden flash of light in his head.

It seemed like he had read somewhere about a creature similar to a lighthouse jellyfish, not immortal, but similar. He recalled for a long time and finally found something like that from his memory fragments. Tang Mo immediately said, "I've seen a lobster before, and it was the product of a genetic mutation. Lobsters are creatures that reproduce sexually, but that lobster can reproduce asexually, meaning that it can constantly clone itself, and all of its offspring are genetically identical to it. It's kind of immortal like that, with a passing resemblance to this lighthouse jellyfish."

Fu Wenduo gradually understood what Tang Mo meant: "You mean, asexual reproduction, constant cloning of oneself, with no change in genes ......"

Tang Mo caught that aura in a flash: "The genes stay the same forever, which means that no evolution occurs."

Fu Wenduo's eyes narrowed as he grabbed the keyword, "...... Evolution."

Nice, just evolution.

Tang Mo flipped the information to the last dozen pages. In the lighthouse jellyfish death experiment, the researcher gave eleven possibilities for death. Three of them were the most likely. The first was the influence of external forces. Even if the researchers were certain that they had accurately controlled the external elements of the experiment, they were not one hundred percent sure that they had actually allowed these jellyfish to reproduce and multiply in a completely safe state. The second was that the lighthouse jellyfish had some sort of special way of dying that was currently undiscovered by humans. And the third is species evolution.

Asexual reproduction is a low level of reproduction. Genetic stability makes it difficult for evolution to occur in species that reproduce asexually, such as mealybugs and jellyfish. Sexual reproduction is the mainstay of evolution.

Researchers in the United States didn't think that these lighthouse jellyfish would suddenly evolve as a whole overnight, because it was too much of a biological theory. However, they were afraid that they would never know that three days later, the global human race was forced into the Black Tower game. Compared to the Black Tower, a sudden biological evolution would seem incredibly normal.

"They guessed it had something to do with the Black Tower, but they didn't guess that it would end up like this."

American researchers came across the ocean, they failed to reach a conclusion before the disappearance, but passed on a guess to Tang Mo, Fu Wenduo five months later.

Everything the Black Tower did was for the evolution of mankind.

No one could prove whether this conjecture was correct or not, and there wasn't a lighthouse jellyfish to be found on Earth right now to support this theory. Tang Mo's heart was beating fast and after a long time, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down.

It's just a guess after all.

Tang Mo read all the information again and memorized it in his head. To be on the safe side, Fu Wenduo and Fu Wen Sheng also read it again. Then, Tang Mo burned the information. Including the lighthouse jellyfish that disappeared into the blue vessel, he threw the blue glass container into the fire.

Having done so, Tang Mo looked up and realized that Fu Wenduo was looking at him.

The two men stared at each other in silence.

After a long time, Tang Mo smiled and asked, "It doesn't seem that strange. If the Black Tower is really forcing people to evolve, then it would be logical for it to act as a catalyst to inspire human psychic abilities. But why humans?"

The lighthouse jellyfish had evolved, but after three days, they all disappeared. In the end, the only ones left on Earth are humans.

In the quiet of the bookstore, Fu Wenduo rhetorically asks, "What is the smartest creature in the world?"

Tang Mo didn't understand why he asked this question, but he remembered a movie. Rarely in the mood for a joke, Tang Mo said with a serious face, "Rats."

Fu Wenduo: "......"

Fu Wenduo, who had actually seen that movie as well, said, "It's all the Black Tower's choice."

Yes, everything is the choice of the Black Tower.

Tang Mo didn't know why the Black Tower had chosen humans, nor did he know if its purpose was to force humans to evolve or not. But there was no doubt that if this game really continued and humans attacked the seventh level of the Black Tower, evolution would definitely occur. As of right now, the human players with the worst levels are also smarter and physically stronger than they were half a year ago.

The information taken from the lab was all burned, and as it was getting dark, the three of them planned to rest in the new bookstore.

Suddenly, Fu Wenduo's eyes turned cold. He quickly got up and ran outside the bookstore with great speed. Tang Mo was startled and pressed his hand on Xiao Yang San. Only to see Fu Wenduo's figure flashed and walked to the door. After waiting for ten seconds, Tang Mo did not wait for the other party to come back.

Fu Wen voice: "Big brother should have discovered something, but not something dangerous."

Tang Mo looked towards his little friend. Indeed, with Fu Wenduo's caution it was impossible for him to just leave, something must have happened for him to suddenly go out, but it wasn't an enemy attack, otherwise he would have spoken to Tang Mo.

Tang Mo thought about it and went out with Fu Wen Sheng.

The two of them rounded the intersection, and immediately saw Fu Wenduo. Fu Wenduo had also turned around, and seemed to want to turn around and call Tang Mo to come over. Seeing Tang Mo, he stopped in his tracks. Tang Mo's face gradually sank, he had already seen the corpse lying behind Fu Wenduo.

Blood gurgled from the other's chest.

It was a young girl who was lying on the ground, looking at the sky, her eyes widening in resignation. Her heart had been half ripped out, and the flesh and blood fell beside her body, a death that could be described as a single blow. The blood hadn't completely coagulated, and the thick blood flowed down to Fu Wenduo's feet, wetting the soles of his shoes.

According to the time reckoning, the girl had just died when Fu Wenduo came out. If an outsider saw this scene, he would naturally think that Fu Wenduo had killed her, just as Fu Wenduo's hands were still stained with blood. However, Tang Mo calmly came over, examined her, and asked, "Have you seen the murderer?"

Fu Wenduo: "No. When I arrived her body had not collapsed and was standing here. But her chest was broken open and half of her heart and ribs fell to the ground. I couldn't save her, I treated her with mineral water and she still died. The injuries were too severe, and she wasn't fit enough."

This should just be a lower strength reserve, even Fu Wenduo's fastest speed didn't save her.

Fu Wenduo's physical fitness was even better than Tang Mo's, he should have suddenly heard the sound of the girl being attacked in the bookstore, it was also possible that he had been doing missions for many years and was more sensitive to this kind of thing, and noticed that someone was killing this girl, so he didn't have the time to say hello to Tang Mo, and directly ran over, wanting to rush over as fast as he could. Unfortunately, he was still one step too late. He didn't see the murderer and didn't save the girl.

Tang Mo reaches out and closes the girl's dead eyes.

"Last time that one could still be considered if it was thrown out from a copy, this one is even stranger." Tang Mo's expression was icy cold as he rationally analyzed, "First of all, they must have all been killed by humans, and they were killed in one hit with brutal means. This is the same point. There is another common point, the person who killed them we didn't see."

Fu Wenduo knows Tang Mo is talking about a body they suddenly saw on the road three days ago. Just like this time, it seemed to have been killed by a transparent person, both of them died in different ways, yet neither of them could find the murderer. Last time, they could say that it might have something to do with the copy of the Black Tower, but this time Fu Wenduo saw the girl fall with his own eyes, and still couldn't see the murderer.

It's not like the Black Tower games.

The night was getting low, without electricity, the streetlights on both sides of the road would not light up on time, and the world was plunged into darkness. The three of them stood beside the cold body, the cold wind burrowed into Tang Mo's sleeves, and the wind seemed to be whimpering. The girl's blood slowly coagulated and turned dark brown and burned on the ground.

Tang Mo said, "It's getting dark, find a place first, take her, and take a closer look at the situation."

The three moved to get ready to leave.

Suddenly, a joyous musical sound rang out. The lively and delightful music rang out over the globe, and Tang Mo quickly craned his head to look at the Black Tower, only to see bright white line after bright white line rolling up, from the bottom to the top, of the pitch-black tower. The bright white lights continued to flash, and the sound of the Black Tower's music didn't end.

As soon as the six o'clock hour arrived, the music screeched to a halt and the bright lines settled into a row in the center.

Players all over the world stopped their movements in unison and looked at the black tower. Ninety percent of the players had a look of fear on their faces as they trembled in terror. Some cried and knelt down, begging God to save them. However, what they waited for was not God, but the Black Tower's excited-to-the-point-of-excitement beep-

"Dingdong! The first mandatory tower attack game opens on March 31, 2018."

Buzz!

After a dull sound, Tang Mo saw the line of bright white lines on the body of the black tower slowly change, finally changing to an eight-digit number-

"28315123"

As if he suddenly understood something, he turned his head and exchanged glances with Fu Wenduo.

Within ten seconds of them preparing to carry the girl's body, the numbers on the black tower had changed-

"28315019"

Tang Mo's eyes widened.

...... This is only ten seconds past!

The numbers are still changing on the giant black tower.