A Hypothesis? (Chapter 6)
Standing beside her, Ye Sheng followed Gu Luoyu's gaze and immediately spotted Ye Heiya, who was lowering its head and eating voraciously.
Unlike Gu Luoyu, who had instantly noticed the issue, Ye Sheng's first reaction was one of disgust.
After all, the evil worms looked disgusting, just the sight of them was enough to kill anyone's appetite. Yet, Ye Heiya was happily chowing down, even determined to lift its head, seems unconcerned about overeating to the point of bursting its stomach!
Ye Sheng refused to store these worm carcasses in her pouch space and thus didn't stop Ye Heiya from eating. Instead, she decided to let it indulge this once, after this feast, it wouldn't get another chance.
“Did you notice anything?”
“???”
Just as Ye Sheng was wondering whether she should fetch some water later to wash Ye Heiya and get rid of the smell, Gu Luoyu's sudden question made her blink in confusion, her face full of bewilderment.
Aside from Ye Heiya's impressive appetite, she hadn't noticed anything unusual.
Seeing her reaction, Gu Luoyu smiled helplessly and shook her head. She gently tapped the little fool's forehead before getting straight to the point, “Little Sheng, look at Ye Heiya's body, it's growing rapidly.”
“!”
At Gu Luoyu's words, Ye Sheng's eyes broadened in shock. She immediately turned her head to look again. Now that she examined it closely, she realized Ye Heiya's size had already increased by one-fifth of its original size, and it was still growing.
What was going on???
Even pig feed wouldn't make something grow this fast!
Could the evil worm meat be poisonous, causing the body to bloat and expand?
Her mind racing with these thoughts, Ye Sheng grew anxious. Just as she was about to step forward and order Ye Heiya to stop eating, Gu Luoyu stopped her with a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “It's fine. I've been observing for a while, Ye Heiya is completely normal. There's no danger.”
“But...”
“I have a hypothesis, but I'm not entirely sure if it's correct.”
Suppressing her unease, Ye Sheng quickly looked up at Gu Luoyu, her dark eyes filled with anticipation, silently urging her to share her thoughts.
Any hypothesis coming from Gu Luoyu had a high chance of being the truth!
“Actually, ever since we left the base, anomalies have been occurring. Ye Heiya's body has been growing, though not as noticeably as now. I kept observing without mentioning it, wanting to confirm first.”
“But now that we've seen Ye Heiya eating the remains of the polluted creatures and growing even more, my hypothesis feels more certain. Perhaps there's some miraculous substance in the ocean that accelerates the growth of polluted creatures, like fertilizing a flower.”
As for the little one in Ye Sheng's belly, Gu Luoyu didn't bring it up directly, not wanting to add pressure.
So, she only pointed out Ye Heiya's unusual changes. However, if this growth rate continues, their child might also develop faster, requiring a massive amount of life force from the mother's body, which would explain Ye Sheng's recent surge in appetite.
In that case, once they reached the coast, their first priority would be finding food for Ye Sheng, everything else could wait.
“Wow, if that's true, then the ocean must be filled with powerful polluted creatures! No wonder it's called humanity's forbidden zone, it's terrifying.”
After hearing the explanation, Ye Sheng's panic subsided. As long as Ye Heiya wasn't in danger, she was fine. Still, she couldn't help but sighed.
‘Help, I'm about to develop thalassophobia!’
“We don't know the exact reason for the polluted creatures' growth yet, it's just a hypothesis. Don't panic just yet.”
Gu Luoyu smiled and took Ye Sheng's hand to comfort her. Meanwhile, after she had used her psychic abilities to exterminate the swarm of evil worms, the underground fissures stopped spreading suddenly.
The fleeing crowd also came to a halt. Realizing they were safe, some immediately collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, their faces filled with relief, not just for avoiding the troubles, but also for having Erensu in their group.
Without Erensu's intervention, they would've been doomed today.
The journey had been too smooth so far, lulling them into a false sense of security. Now, they have received a harsh wake-up call.
Indeed, once outside the base, danger lurked everywhere. One wrong step, and they could plunge straight into the abyss…
Afterward, team leader Liu Li organized everyone to assess the damages and regroup to prepare for any sudden crises.
The incident had been abrupt but ended without major casualties. Aside from a few unlucky souls who had fallen into the troubles and couldn't be retrieved, the rest only suffered minor injuries from tripping during the chaos.
The massive fissure loomed before them, filling everyone with dread. Once Liu Li finished her assessment, she was eager to move on, quickly gathering everyone to continue the journey.
However, just as the group was about to set off again, Gu Luoyu announced she wouldn't be joining them for now.
She didn't elaborate, and Liu Li didn't dare ask. Although she wished Erensu would stay with the group, or that the group could wait for her, it was clear Gu Luoyu didn't want others prying into her personal affairs. Knowing better than to push, Liu Li didn't press further.
By the time the group had dwindled into tiny black dots in the distance, Gu Luoyu and Ye Sheng had returned to their vehicle.
The two waited for Ye Heiya to finish its feast…
It was unclear whether the worm meat simply turned into energy inside Ye Heiya's stomach, but from dawn till dusk, the bird kept eating nonstop without any signs of slowing down, its belly didn't even bulge.
At one point, Ye Sheng asked her pet, Little White, if it wanted to join Ye Heiya.
Given how much Ye Heiya seemed to enjoy the meal, it must've been good stuff.
However, Little White resisted, showing no interest in the worm meat. It was then that Ye Sheng remembered, Little White had come from the gacha system, not the natural world of polluted creatures.
Fortunately, although the evil worm carcasses were everywhere, their numbers were finite. With Ye Heiya practically inhaling them at storm-like speeds, by the time the sun began to set, most of the meat had been devoured.
Finally, it's over!!!
Just as Ye Sheng sobbed in relief and raised her hand to call Ye Heiya back, the bird suddenly froze mid-bite, standing rigidly in place without moving.
Then, a series of cracking sounds came from its body. The moment Ye Heiya regained mobility, its first action was to raise its head and let out a loud cry.
Amid its pure black feathers, large patches of white rapidly emerged.
Besides her, Gu Luoyu offered a definitive explanation:
“Ye Heiya has officially left its juvenile stage!”