BXBX NOVEL Chapter 123 - 120 A Penetrating Analysis Just like that, you agreed?
But at this moment, Gu Qingyuan really started to doubt whether he was getting old; he turned his head to look at the dazed Wu Gang and repeated himself.
“He agreed?”
Wu Gang swallowed a mouthful of saliva and nodded.
It was too unexpected.
Their answer came without even a hint of hesitation, as casual and easy as when one’s mother asks what they’d like to eat for dinner.
Are there really such people?
Bom with a love for adventure, not fearing death at all?
[Wait! Just wait a bit longer!]
[There are too many uncertainties about this matter; we have too little information on this creature.]
[I think we should discuss this some more…]
Gu Qingyuan hurriedly sent out the message; he had acted on impulse just now, not expecting the other party to agree so easily. Now that he had cooled down, it made him feeling conflicted.
This matter was truly too dangerous, as difficult as capturing a wild crocodile, no, even more so!
Our current research on crocodiles is very mature, their weaknesses and habits are crystal clear, but this creature is a complete unknown!
We are all blind here!
You have no idea how fast it can run, how strong its biting force is, whether it’s nocturnal, where its weaknesses lie, how defensible it is, or if it hunts in packs.
The only bit of information we have is that short video from last night, less than three minutes long – that is simply not enough!
“It’s enough,” Bi Fang took off his storm jacket, smiling, his voice filled with excitement, “I chased it away last night, that’s enough, isn’t it?”
Gu Qingyuan was stunned.
Such words were brash and spirited, like the morning sun of early spring.
The natural and friendly smile carried a confidence that seemed to grip everything firmly in hand, enough to influence everyone.
Seeing Bi Fang on the screen, Gu Qingyuan felt as if the young man was a tiger in the wilderness, possessing an irresistible urge to bow one’s head to him!
Even living fossils that existed millions of years ago would be no exception!
He trembled his fingers, deleted the message he had been about to send, changing from dissuading to one of caution.
[Be extremely careful!]
Bi Fang nodded; confident yet not arrogant, he was very aware of the dangers involved.
But, that’s what adventure is all about, isn’t it?
Last night he was still wondering how to concoct a reason to go underwater, and today someone offered him a divine assist!
Moreover, the emergence of this professor had also stirred a lot of memories for Bi Fang.
Although they had never met face to face, just a few exchanges were enough to remind Bi Fang of his old professor from his previous life.
With the same incomprehensible dedication to academic research, strict with himself, yet tolerant and kind to colleagues and teammates.
Having returned to the pool, Bi Fang did not rush to enter the water.
A lot of preparations still needed to be made; the possibility of the underground cave having plants was slim, so if it was pitch-black, a torch would be crucial.
At the very least, his backpack needed to be packed to the brim with glow sticks and some flammable plants to ensure that he would have a light source in the cave.
Nobody knew the situation inside the cave; it’s always better to err on the side of caution.
And he had many questions in need of answers, even for a creature that had not appeared before, sometimes one could infer a lot of information from its evolutionary chain.
Bi Fang rummaged through his own brain and finally posed a question.
“Professor Gu, can you tell me about the relationship between Tiktaalik, Coelacanths, and Lungfish?”
Brilliant!
On hearing that question, Gu Qingyuan almost applauded with admiration; the other party was clearly not just an ordinary retired special forces soldier who was adept at Wilderness Survivalist!
Even many of his specialized students, after understanding the special nature of Tiktaalik, could not so quickly and incisively pinpoint this question.
“Is it that exaggerated?” Wu Gang scratched his head, not quite understanding why his teacher was so excited.
The speed of his typing almost matched the furious speed of his hands when he vented at his teammates while playing games.
“If you read more like I told you to, you wouldn’t be ignorant now, would you? I bet if I made you take a test, you wouldn’t score as high as this young man!” Gu Qingyuan was frustrated with Wu Gang’s lack of progress.
“How is that possible!” Wu Gang was incredulous, recognizing flora and fauna was one thing, but evolutionary biology was not simply about recognizing different species.
“How is it not possible? Not to mention asking, you can’t even see the key point of this question! Haven’t you noticed that these two creatures have one thing in common?”
“Uh… they’re both lobe-finned fish?” Wu Gang scratched his head again, coming to this conclusion after recalling what his teacher had mentioned about evolutionary relationships.
Lobe-finned fish are a superclass of osteichthyans, most of whose members are extinct. The characteristic feature of these fish is a central bone in their fins.
That is evidence of biological evolution onto land!
“Exactly! In the long history of biological evolution, whatever creatures we see now, close or distant, connected or separate, there is always an invisible bridge linking all life together!”
“And it is the lobe-finned fish that ties together all the terrestrial vertebrates and aquatic fish of today! The two fish he just mentioned are the only two living species of lobe-finned fish!”
Gu Qingyuan was not only responding to Wu Gang, but also typing these explanations in the chat to answer the audience’s questions.
[So impressive?]
[I checked, and the only living Coelacanth is the West Indian Ocean Coelacanth!]
[Why does my research show that it appeared between two hundred million to three hundred million years ago, which is later than that Tiktaalik thing?]
“Evolutionary biology should not be understood that way. Creatures moving onto land were an evolutionary trend, not an inevitability; otherwise, we wouldn’t have so many fish still happily living in the sea. The two are just evidence along the evolutionary chain, with different species showing varying tendencies towards land habitation.”
“And from the point of view of emerging onto land, Tiktaalik’s evolution is indeed superior because it is both a fish and a tetrapod! Compared to the signs from lobe-finned fish, it is direct evidence! It is the missing link in biological evolution!”
Gu Qingyuan briefly addressed the netizens’ queries before continuing to answer Bi Fang’s questions.
“This creature’s ‘fins’ possess primitive wrist bones and simple digits, suggesting they could bear weight and even bend like fingers.”
“From this point of view, the tetrapod most similar to it would be the crocodile, and the nostrils located on top of the fossil’s head indicate they had lungs as functional as gills! This is similar to lungfish!”
Realizing this, Wu Gang started to understand why Gu Qingyuan was so excited just before; Bi Fang’s question was extremely sharp.
It directly pointed out the only two surviving creatures on the evolutionary chain of the transition from water to land!
Damn, that’s awesome!
Wu Gang was thoroughly convinced now, and if his teacher weren’t still occupying his seat, he’d have pushed him aside to send the broadcaster a few meatballs as a tip.
“So that’s why it dared to come out of the water to attack me yesterday?” Bi Fang stroked his chin, figuring out many key points.
From an evolutionary standpoint, the creature had evolved, but not completely; the monster could move on land for short periods, but its tail fin kept it from leaving the aquatic environment entirely.
That’s why, when Bi Fang grabbed the creature’s tongue, attempting to drag it away from the water, its struggle was so fierce, preferring to risk tearing its own tongue rather than letting go.
Thus, in the face of danger, fleeing onto land was almost certainly safe, a significant difference compared to a crocodile.
However, the situation would completely reverse underwater.
Underwater, the creature was a predator far more adept at swimming than a crocodile!