Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 234 The Tree of Life's Territory Sprouts: A Viewing Guide
【Ziyun】National Nature Reserve, a place filled with various fantastic legends since its establishment.

The reason so many stories have emerged is naturally because the level of protection given to this reserve is simply too great! So great that it defies common sense, and so great that it provokes much thought.

This area was originally a continuous mountain range, with vast and lush forests, rarely visited by humans, where towering ancient trees intertwined to form a deep green dome. Even the most experienced mountain hikers only ventured into a few relatively familiar areas trodden by their ancestors and themselves, maintaining a natural awe of the mountains.

In the early years, the local government had considered developing tourism, but the terrain was rugged, transportation was extremely poor, and local finances were tight. The development plan remained in the archives year after year, and ultimately, by a twist of fate, the land retained its almost pristine topography.

Then, the change came suddenly. A single order from the Eastern Xia central government stripped this region from the local administrative hierarchy, making it directly under the central government's jurisdiction. Immediately following, a massive blockade project was launched.

It's a real, airtight blockade!
On the outskirts of the entire mountainous area, a majestic gray city wall rises from the ground, stretching as far as the eye can see.

The four-meter-high isolation wall consists of a solid, thick concrete base (three meters) and a top meter of curled steel wire mesh with sharp barbs, gleaming with a cold metallic luster in the sunlight.

Beyond the isolation wall lies a 60-meter-wide blank area, where the vegetation has been completely cleared away, exposing the brown soil and leaving no shelters or obstacles.

Various vibration sensors, infrared detectors, thermal imaging monitors, and high-definition cameras are densely packed together, pointing at the ground and sky around the clock, keeping a close watch on this defensive line.

At the foot of Dayanshan Mountain, which is adjacent to the Ziyun Nature Reserve, an Eastern Xia army is stationed. Helicopters bearing the red star insignia often fly overhead along the isolation wall.

Such a large-scale and heavily guarded operation was bound to arouse speculation. As a result, various versions of the legend sprang up and spread like wildfire in the nearby towns and villages, becoming magical folk tales.

For example, the ancient and mysterious story of "ascending dragon" is told by several old men who claim to be veteran mountain hunters. When they are drunk and in high spirits, they will tell this story with great conviction.

An elder in the family once witnessed a giant snake with two horns on its head and a body tens of meters long breaking free from the mountains amidst lightning and thunder on a stormy night, flying into the sky and leaving behind the "Rising Dragon Platform" covered with scorch marks.

For example, there are rumors that an incredible gold mine has been discovered in the mountains, the kind of super-rich mine where "when you shovel it down, gold particles can bounce up and hit you in the face".

The government is so strict in its control because it's afraid that the news will leak out and attract greedy people to flock here and steal the country's gold.

Privately, the most widespread and the most "understood" explanation is: This is not a protected area at all, but clearly the "private garden" of some powerful and influential young master!
After all, news of people acquiring land to build private estates has happened before.

Because this explanation rejects the feudal superstition of the dragon race and is not contrary to common sense like illegal gold mining, and is dressed in a realistic guise that "those who know, know," it has become the most reliable reason in everyone's opinion.

Whenever people are at the dinner table, during mahjong games, they often sigh, "The rich feast while the poor feast!"

Interestingly, those who are most eager to express such sentiments are mostly the idle types who freeload off others, while ordinary people who are truly living their lives are busy earning a living!

Meanwhile, the "tycoon's son" with a powerful background and extravagant lifestyle, as everyone described, was strolling through the forest in a way that no one could have imagined.

"Sprout" is happy at this moment, but also a little unhappy.

It is happy because it finally has a space where it can move freely. This space is not only spacious enough, but more importantly, it is home to many living beings.

Lab One, a place where you can't even see a single plant, is just too boring to stay in.

What's unpleasant is that Dongxia's establishment of this nature reserve was somewhat too deliberate!

That's right. The climate here is mild and humid, and the environmental parameters and regional vegetation have been strictly selected. Although it cannot be said to be a one-to-one replica of Silvermoon Forest, it has reached a similarity of nine-tenths.

But the question is, who says the Tree of Life only likes Silvermoon Forest...?

At least for now, this little guy doesn't really like it.

The trees here are mainly tall evergreen broad-leaved trees, with a few coniferous species growing intermittently. The tall canopies intertwine to form a deep green dome, and sunlight struggles to penetrate the gaps in the leaves to reach the ground, illuminating the thick leaves and humus under the tree roots.

This environment is extremely unfriendly to little guys who are only a few dozen centimeters tall, making their trek very difficult.

For the first few days, it could only move around cautiously around the buildings in the core area. At the slightest sound of wind or birdsong, it would quickly fold up its leaves and curl into a ball, like a frightened little green beast.

Only when it is certain that the surroundings are absolutely quiet will it carefully stretch out its body and explore this unfamiliar territory using its unique method of moving by adhering to its leaves.

The early years of the Tree of Life are actually very difficult.

Because it contains a unique natural essence, but this small body is severely lacking in self-protection capabilities, it could be easily chewed up and swallowed by anything.

Therefore, the Tree of Life's vigilance is innate, engraved deep in its genes the moment it becomes a seed, and remains an unchangeable habit even after it grows into an adult and becomes the master of the forest.

However, the little guy quickly found the supply point by smelling the aroma.

In the center of the protected area stands a building constructed entirely of modular building materials; this is the new address of Laboratory No. 1 of the Starry Sky Biology Research Institute of the Xia Kingdom Academy of Sciences.

In the center of this building is a huge control hall, where tens of thousands of cameras from all over the forest area, buried in the ground, hanging from trees, and disguised as rocks, branches, bird nests and other fixed objects, keep their cold "eyes" open 24 hours a day, silently recording every swaying leaf and every wriggling insect.

Of course, security personnel in the monitoring department cannot monitor all the footage. The vast majority of the footage is left to the intelligent system for judgment and identification, while human personnel only closely monitor the slightest movement within a few hundred meters of the "budding" area.

This building also houses multiple collaborating departments such as meteorology, fire protection, security, and emergency response. As for the laboratory itself, which is the absolute core, its main task at present is to feed the "budding" cells.

The feeding method is also simple. There are more than a dozen small pits disguised as natural stone depressions lined up in a row. The inside of each pit is connected to a pipe. Once it is time for "Sprout" to come and eat, it will replenish the stone depression with various fresh nutrient solutions.

Other nutrient solutions don't matter, no matter how valuable they are. Now that the No. 1 Laboratory is receiving full support, it can supply them without hesitation. The only time Academician Zheng Yuanhang feels the most heartache is when the Fountain of Life is added.

It's important to understand that the entire Eastern Xia region has only acquired a mere two kilograms of this strategic resource so far. The laboratory has thoroughly verified that this "Fountain of Life" is a highly concentrated liquid polymer of psionic energy, and because it appears to contain some special biological activity, its application effects are even better than the solid "Mana Crystal."

It's worth noting that the elves have confirmed that "Fountain of Life" is one of the main ingredients for crafting "Eternal Song of Life".

The laboratory itself only dares to use milliliters as the unit for performance testing.

However, each time "sprout" is given, it must be at least 20 grams. Every drop of spring water splashed out by "sprout" in its eagerness to drink water is the old academician's hard work.

It was obvious that the little guy always seemed to want more after drinking, and would linger in the stone trough of the "Fountain of Life" for a while before moving on to other nutrient solutions.

As always, it doesn't learn its lesson when absorbing other nutrients. It fully immerses itself in the nutrient solutions it likes, taking a big bath, while only tasting the ones it doesn't like and shivering all over.

As the "bud" grows day by day, some of its characteristics become more and more apparent without us even realizing it.

The first observation is that "budding" has a very strong affinity for plants, which makes it a natural plant leader and the king of grasses.

According to energy observations, after a plant grows to 30 centimeters in length, a faint life energy field is left behind where the plant has been active. Within this field, the plant will visibly become more vigorous.

Even some plants that are withered and emaciated for various reasons will gradually become lush and vibrant in such a psionic field.

The area of ​​this psionic field is expanding as the "bud" grows.

Last week, the area of ​​influence was approximately six meters in diameter; next week, the area of ​​influence of the life energy field exceeded ten meters in radius.

Secondly, attentive staff noticed that this guy seemed to be somewhat obsessed with watching television.

This discovery came quite unexpectedly. Since the advent of the mobile internet era, people have stopped watching TV even when they are at home, let alone in the office.

However, the laboratory is located in a remote area with limited recreational facilities. Due to the high level of confidentiality, everyone's use of mobile phones is strictly restricted and must be used at designated times and locations under the supervision of security personnel.

Therefore, the base is equipped with televisions to supplement everyone's spiritual nourishment to some extent.

Watching movies and variety shows is a way to pass the time after meals.

Normally, after "Sprout" finishes its supplies and recovers from its illness, it will quickly leave and return to its usual spot in the bushes. However, one day, because there was an important speech by a higher-level leader, after finishing their meal in the cafeteria, the members of the laboratory did not leave as usual, but instead, under the organization of the administrative head, they began a nationwide study session.

As "Sprout" tiptoed away, she inadvertently caught a glimpse of the television screen hanging high in the cafeteria lobby from a certain angle outside the window.

That night, the little guy changed his routine and stayed there until the TV was turned off.

After receiving feedback from the monitoring department, a well-known expert from the base immediately made a suggestion.

This expert, named Ouyang Hua, is a renowned expert in plant neurobiology and electrophysiology in Dongxia. Professor Ouyang has long studied the signal feedback of plants to external stimuli, and even believes that it is possible to try to "communicate" with plants to a certain extent through electrical signals.

He subsequently published several papers, which formed a system of "plant psychology".

Although the mainstream academic community largely held reservations about this, and some even thought he was just trying to attract attention, Academician Zheng Yuanhang, with a research attitude of "casting a wide net and trying many things", still invited him to serve as one of the special advisors of the base.

When Professor Ouyang Hua learned that the "budding" behavior had changed, while others were still speculating, he directly put forward a series of suggestions based on possible theories of plant psychology.

For example, large screens and high-brightness outdoor rainproof TVs have been added to outdoor public areas.

This tactic was extremely effective.

The little guy quickly changed his usual routine. After drinking the nutrient solution, he would deliberately "stroll" to a suitable viewing area outside the TV screen, skillfully choosing a hidden spot. Sometimes he would bury himself in a soft mound of soil, and sometimes he would burrow into a thick patch of grass, only revealing the two slightly swaying little leaf buds at the top.

Then he entered a state that was almost like "meditation," remaining completely still.

Only after the TV program ends and the screen goes dark will it seem to wake up from a dream, quietly "pulling" itself out of its hiding place, and leaving with a hint of reluctance.

This discovery left the researchers at the base both amused and exasperated. Professor Ouyang seized the opportunity and created a program schedule.

"Aerial Views of China", "The Rise of a Great Power", "The Glorious Eastern Xia", "National Treasure"...

And the daily news broadcast...

Having confirmed that the little one liked watching it, Dongxia also issued a series of urgent production tasks.

For example, a well-known animation director received a special commission. The client's requirements were very specific: to produce an animated film about how the Dongxia government and people fought against nature, built the Three-North Shelterbelt, controlled desertification, and planted trees, and the moving and inspiring stories that unfolded during the process.

It needs to be emotional, passionate, and highlight collectivism and dedication! Also, the characters should be vivid, with more action and less dialogue, and ideally, it should be understandable even to those who don't understand the Dongxia language.

Don't worry about the ratings or the streaming platform. We'll guarantee the funding, expedite production, and buy out all the copyrights!

As for these programs, whether "Sprout" can understand them, and whether they will affect the little one's values ​​to some extent...

What are you saying? We broadcast excellent programs that promote the main theme and spread positive energy, and some little kid comes to peek at them. Can you blame us for that?
The Ziyun Nature Reserve was completely silent in the night, with only the lights from the research institute and the faint glow of the screens softly illuminating the forest and the unique miracle of this blue planet.

(End of this chapter)