Train Survival: You're really trying to survive!

Chapter 486 Unique Ecology

Coincidentally, while Song Mingyu was researching the gel, the satellite scan results also came out.

Zuli projected the satellite image onto the screen and began observing the surface of this world. Zuli's fingertips traced across the holographic projection, continuously magnifying the satellite scan. In the green gel ocean, the winding black "rivers" stood out starkly, resembling the writhing blood vessels within some kind of organism.

Within the green gel, there are many colorful patches.

Zuli zoomed in on the satellite image to the black marks and found that they were patches of black gel, which looked rather viscous.

"We can't see what's going on from the satellite," Su Li said, scratching her head in exasperation. "Let's just drive over and take a look."

Everyone agreed.

The train started moving, and the sun was already hanging high in the sky, shining on everything.

The outside temperature is soaring, from minus ten degrees in the morning to 50 degrees, and the upward trend has not stopped.

Zuli turned on the train's air conditioning, and Sofia promptly brought out milk, sparkling fruit, and various fruit juices to make a batch of ice cream for everyone.

Sofia's Ice Cream

[After consumption, it maintains the body temperature at an optimal level for up to 6 hours in high-temperature environments.]

Eating ice cream and singing songs on the train as it starts moving.

Outside the window, the sunlight grew even more scorching. The temperature soared to 65°C, as if reaching a critical point, and viscous bubbles began to rise from the gel-like surface, like a pot of thick soup about to boil.

"Something's not right," Ivan suddenly pointed out the window. "There's something in those bubbles!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound—once the gel floor was calm, thousands of transparent bubbles were slowly rising. Inside each bubble floated tiny clusters of algae, emitting a ghostly green fluorescence. After rising into the air, they stretched out their "tentacles" like jellyfish and began to absorb sunlight.

The train stopped immediately, and Su Li and the others observed the jellyfish.

As the sunlight shone on them, these 'jellyfish' slowly floated up, and a large number of jellyfish flew up from the ground, just like Kongming lanterns released during a festival, which looked very spectacular.

"Grab one and bring them in for research!" Sun Lili excitedly leaped into the void, and the next second she was outside. She reached out and precisely caught a floating bubble. Then she placed it in the sample collection container and walked from the disinfection room into the interior.

Song Mingyu took the jar from Sun Lili, left with the words "Wait a few minutes" and headed to the biology lab.

Ten minutes later, Song Mingyu delivered the report.

"A very interesting plant."

"Plant? I thought it was a jellyfish," Sun Lili said in surprise. "It doesn't feel like a plant either."

“According to the taxonomy of extraordinary species, this thing is indeed a plant. Its name is photosynthetic algae.” Song Mingyu added, “This plant is very afraid of the cold, so it lives underground at night. It can secrete a special sap, which is very sticky. It extends its branches and fills the gaps between the branches with the sap, like blowing bubbles, forming a bubble.”

"Next, it will break down the gel, releasing a very light gas, which, combined with magical energy, provides it with buoyancy. External sap has a strong separating effect on the gel. The plant can then easily detach from the gel, float into the air, and grow using sunlight."

Just as Song Mingyu was explaining, Ivan, who had been observing the outside world, interrupted her, saying, "Many creatures have come, and they come from underground."

Almost immediately after Ivan finished speaking, a large number of flying insects appeared in the surrounding gel.

The first flying insect broke through the gel surface and took to the air; this insect was about the size of a fist. But when it shook off the sticky substance and spread its wings, it revealed a metallic sheen.

Then came the second one, the third one...

"Mechanical Zerg?" Sun Keke's heart skipped a beat.

Sophia, with her better eyesight, denied it: "No, it's a living thing! It just has a metallic-like outer shell."

The swarm, numbering in the thousands, swept in like a tidal wave, frantically attacking the floating algae bubbles in the air. Their mouthparts, like miniature electric drills, easily pierced the bubble shells and devoured the photosynthetic algae.

Fortunately, the number of these photosynthetic algae was overwhelming, a dark mass like a black cloud, blocking out the surrounding sunlight. The thousands of insects quickly ate their fill.

After eating and drinking their fill, the insects slowed down considerably in flight, as their stamina could no longer sustain them in maintaining their flight posture.

As the insects descended, more predators appeared.

One after another, sleek, snake-like predators burst forth from the gel.

"Wow~ they look pretty good." Sun Lili exclaimed as she looked at the predators.

Su Li glanced at it and felt that it was indeed quite pleasing to the eye.

These insects didn't have the sticky substance often found on long worms; instead, they were covered in fine, pale green, transparent scales, making them look very clean and tidy.

Its entire body is transparent, allowing a clear view of its slightly darker internal organs from the outside. The emerald-green, crystal-like bones, combined with its sharp head—somewhat resembling a dragon's head and a helmet—create a striking and refined aesthetic.

There weren't many of these long worms, not enough to completely devour the flying insects. These insects also lacked the will to attack, constantly fleeing like sardines.

The worms then worked together to drive the flying insects together, and then several smaller worms, which were poised to pounce, charged at the sardines.

Their bones emitted green lightning, stunning all the flying insects around them.

Then, the snakes pounced on the stunned flying insects and began to feast on them.

After they finished eating, several strong worms surrounded a thin worm. They kept slapping the thin worm's head with their tails, and after slapping it a few times, they would slam it on the ground a few times.

"Is this bullying?" Ivan asked.

Sun Lili closed her eyes and sensed that "she couldn't feel any malice, and the person being reprimanded didn't seem to have any negative emotions. It must be a child being disciplined."

“During the hunt just now, this skinny one didn’t perform well and almost gave the flying insects an opening to escape,” Sophia said, stating her observation. “The hunt went poorly, and he probably got a scolding from his elders.”

The long worms, having finished their hunt, also discovered Zuli and his group's train. They gathered together and swam around the train with incredible agility, as if they were swimming across the gelatinous ground like they were in the ocean.

Su Li found it a little funny, "You're quite curious."

As they were talking, the gel around the train began to churn violently, and methane bubbles the size of footballs burst continuously. The entire track trembled, as if it were traveling on the back of an enraged beast.

Su Li looked outside and saw that the gel floor was boiling everywhere, as if a pot had boiled over.

Meanwhile, new observations came from the life support room—the surrounding methane concentration was soaring.