The Heavens: A Qing, the Yue Girl at the beginning

Chapter 506: Ancient Evolution History, Final Mission (4K)

"Look carefully. The male sickle-tailed weasel here should belong to the Sauropsida (reptiles) - Archosauria (archosaurs) - Ornithopoda (bird-necked archosaurs) - Wukong Pterosauridae, a species between rhinoceros and pterodactyls, and has the characteristics of a long neck and a long tail..."

Standing outside the space barrier of the ice cave, Zhao Qing, who was hiding his body, probed his mental power into it, noticed the appearance and habits of the sickle-weasels, and analyzed the biological characteristics of the prehistoric relics in detail. It can be basically confirmed that this dragon subspecies is essentially a small pterosaur with a small amount of dragon blood.

As for the larger female sickle-weasel, it was the dragon blood that induced a gene mutation, resulting in a "multi-headed deformity" with split cervical vertebrae. This trait is determined by the W chromosome representing the female, allowing it to grow to a size with a wingspan of three or four meters. Each of the nine heads has independent vocal and auditory organs, giving it more complex and efficient information exchange and processing capabilities.

The reason why these billions of sickle-weasels are powered by the alchemical matrix is ​​because Zhao Qing did not find anything that could serve as food. According to the known information, all creatures in the Nibelung will not starve to death or die of thirst. There is always a force that sustains their lives. If they are creatures born here, they should not die naturally when they are outside.

"Why does it look like the Kamaitachi is a primitive dragon that has not yet evolved intelligence, but can already make use of the wind element in a preliminary way?"

She moved closer, sensing a few furry little sickle-weasels that were a little closer. She saw them flapping their membranous wings lightly and tumbling nimbly in the air. They were as free as elves, riding the whirlwinds and air currents. She couldn't help but feel thoughtful.

Kassel Academy has always believed that the dragon race originated from a certain type of lizard-like reptiles, and gradually developed top-level intelligence and brilliant civilization, mastering the power of words and alchemy. In the academy's internal textbooks, the era of dragon rule was named "the theocratic dynasty of reptiles."

However, according to Herzog's research, the dragon race belongs to the fourth domain outside the bacteria domain, archaea domain and eukaryotic domain, the so-called "Dragon Domain", the bloodline of the dragon race is not as simple as conventional genes. In Zhao Qing's understanding, it is actually an extraordinary gene that can be fused and superimposed with other species.

The "ultimate reptile" that Kassel Academy believes to be the true form of the dragon clan is exactly the target selected by the fusion of the dragon domain's extraordinary genes. Without considering unconventional characteristics such as spirit, elements, and soul, it can be considered that this ideal species is the same thing as the dragon clan. It is difficult to distinguish them from each other, and they are still extremely important research objects.

"For nearly two hundred years, the Secret Party and other large hybrid organizations have invested a lot of energy in exploring the possible origins and evolution of the dragon race. Since the discovery and naming of pterosaurs and dinosaurs, the former crocodile and python factions have fallen into decline, and new factions have come onto the stage. These two overlords of the sky and land in the Mesozoic Era quickly became the mainstream of the theory of the ancestors of the dragon race."

Originally, pterosaurs, as the earliest pioneers among vertebrates to learn to fly actively, had a membrane wing structure similar to that of today's dragons. The discovery of these aerial behemoths, such as the Death Pterosaur, Quetzalcoatlus, and Hatzeg Pterosaur, gave the pterosaur faction an absolute advantage, but this was only a temporary lead.

In contrast, the fossil record of dinosaurs is richer and their species diversity is far greater than that of pterosaurs. From their first appearance in the Triassic period, to their prosperity in the Jurassic period, to their heyday in the Cretaceous period, dinosaurs were undoubtedly the undisputed land overlords of that era.

In addition, the long-armed Hunyuansaurus and Qiyisaurus with membrane wings were discovered later. The descendants of dinosaurs, birds, have occupied the current sky. Their ability to fly and the intelligence of corvids and parrots have also left a deep impression on people, further proving the huge evolutionary potential of dinosaurs.

In contrast, pterosaurs were widely questioned for even being able to fly, and were long believed to be unable to compete with birds of the same period in terms of ecological niche. By the middle and late Cretaceous period, it seemed that only the giant pterosaurs were barely surviving, and they had reached a dead end on the road of evolution, making it difficult for them to match the "incomparable" status of the dragon clan.

In fact, there has always been a saying that if there had not been the earth-shattering mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period, the Troodontidae family among the maniraptorans, with their intelligence far superior to their peers, keen senses and relatively flexible forelimbs, might have really taken a decisive step in the torrent of evolution and stepped into the threshold of intelligent creatures, or even evolved into the prototype of dinosaur men.

Although this idea is a fringe theory in the biological community, it has many supporters. In the view of many scholars, it may be some similar high-potential maniraptoran that successfully opened the evolutionary bridge for them to transform into dragons and knocked on the door of civilization.

However, the discovery of a living sickle-weasel, a prehistoric relic suspected to have been born in the late Jurassic period 1.6 million years ago, was like a flash of lightning that broke through the sky of traditional cognition and reshuffled all previous assumptions.

They have extremely high flying abilities, their thumbs and paws can hold together, they live in groups and are social, and their unique vocalization abilities and relatively complex language systems seem to be somewhat related to the power of words, which to some extent coincides with many of the characteristics of the dragon clan.

Among these traits, the most important one is perhaps the mutation of a six-fingered hand (excluding the sixth finger supporting the membranous wing, there are five fingers, one of which is a pseudo-thumb similar to that of lemurs) and a thumb that can be fused with other fingers.

You should know that previously, this feature was considered exclusive to only a few specialized species such as primates and pandas.

This means that they have the potential to use simple tools, gradually transform the environment, and carry out more complex survival activities, which is one of the important signs of the evolution of intelligent organisms.

从6000万年前的原猴类到4000万年前的旧世界猴，再到2500万年前的猿类1800万年前的大猿1400万年前的人亚科，从 300万年前南方古猿的阿法种到直立人再到智人，手是非比寻常的进化见证者。

From foot → foot-hand → hand, from grip → pseudo opposition → opposition, human hands are so sophisticated and representative of evolution that they have gradually formed the basis for using tools.

The emergence of the clasping thumbs has almost narrowed the gap in evolutionary levels between the kamaweed and the current dragon clan to the level of primates to humans, and has become a key step in their evolution of intelligence.

Equally remarkable is the social structure of the sickle-tailed weasel and its relatively complex language system. In nature, living in groups often means higher survival efficiency and stronger adaptability, while complex language is the basis for the exchange and inheritance of wisdom.

Coupled with the natural interference with the wind element, it is not surprising that over a long period of time, with the continuous enrichment and purification of the Dragon Realm's extraordinary genes, the prototype of the Word Spirit was eventually developed, which can systematically mobilize more elemental power.

Finally, the ecological niche of the sickle-tailed weasel is similar to that of the vampire bat. Most of them are nocturnal animals, so they have developed the ability of echolocation and glowing eyes (golden eyes). The bright golden eyes of dragons may be due to this early need.

In fact, after learning about the controversy over the origin of dragons, Zhao Qing has always been more inclined to the pterosaur hypothesis, largely because the giant dragons she has seen recently look quite similar to pterosaurs, belonging to two-legged, two-winged flying dragons with hands or claws on their wings. In addition, the brain structure of pterosaurs is probably not much different from that of birds, but the upper limit of their size is much larger, with species with a wingspan of 11 to 15 meters, a skull length of up to 3 meters, and a brain capacity that is completely close to that of elephants, while its weight is only one-tenth of the latter.

As long as the kamaweasel starts with an initial wingspan of only 65 to 85 centimeters and grows larger as it evolves, while keeping the proportion of its brain basically the same, it is estimated that when its wingspan reaches 5 meters, it will exceed the average human level. After it develops into a giant dragon body of tens of meters, its IQ can be imagined.

In general, the seemingly inconspicuous sickle-weasel may be an important link in the dragon evolution chain, which greatly fills the gap in related research in this area. At the same time, it also raises new questions in Zhao Qing's mind:
Where are the fossils of early dragons that evolved from pterosaurs such as the sickle-weasel? Did all these ancient dragon species die out, or did some of them still exist? Does the sickle-weasel still retain its original form and have the potential to evolve into intelligent dragons again?

What role did the Black King Nidhogg play in this series of processes? During the co-rule of the Black King and the White King, were the many subjects of the Dragon Empire mainly the old dragons that evolved step by step, or were they new dragons that the Black King and the White King "bred" again?
She had a lot of thoughts in her mind, and she thought of Caesar, who was highly valued by the Gattuso family and regarded as the person who had been waiting for a thousand years. This A-level hybrid inherited the Word Spirit Kamaitachi from his mother Gullveig. He seemed to be quite important in the plot of "Dragon Tribe", but his combat power was really not high.

Assuming that the sickle-itachi is one of the direct ancestors of the dragon clan, the spiritual sickle-itachi residing in the spiritual space of the owner of the Word Spirit sickle-itachi is no longer just an illusory existence. They may have the potential to become real dragons, waiting for a special opportunity to break free from their shackles and soar into the sky.

If one could control hundreds or thousands of pure-blooded dragons in spiritual form with thoughts, ordering them to attack fiercely, releasing two stages of Word Spirits separately, while simultaneously launching more layered and more complex combinations of Word Spirits, how powerful would it be?
Speculating that this place was most likely guarded by high-level dragon-level combatants, and that the ultrasonic concentrated attack of the sickle-weasel group could not be underestimated, Zhao Qing spent a lot of time recording a large amount of habits and data information of this type of life, but still chose to leave quietly without revealing her whereabouts.

……

At the same time, late at night, in the small street behind the National University of Tokyo, there were old Japanese houses on both sides of the road, with sycamore and cherry trees planted in front of the houses. It was quiet and dilapidated. Lin Fenglong put down his bowl of noodles, which he had eaten clean, and walked quickly out from under the awning of a ramen stall.

"The rain is getting heavier. The weather is never peaceful these days."

The 130-year-old German sighed and gently stroked an eight-diagram compass with a dragon pattern covered with gold lacquer in his hand. He shook it left and right, turned it, and went to another street. Suddenly, with a few nimble leaps, he landed steadily on the terrace of an old building. His figure blended into the night like a ghost.

He then released several sickle-weasels to monitor the surroundings. With his other hand, he pulled out a specially made mobile phone from his pocket and dialed a number expertly. After pressing a few buttons, the miniature earpiece lit up red and a familiar middle-aged man's magnetic voice rang out:
"I'm receiving the image files you uploaded. I've done a great job on this mission... Herzog's latest research results have really given him some ideas. He has never systematically studied alchemy, but he can actually come up with such inventions. It really makes people cherish his talent!"

"So far, the strength of the Eight Snake Clan and the Fierce Ghost Clan has not exceeded the danger line. Among the several 'Emperors', Uesugi Yue is relatively stable. The information on Minamoto Chitose is currently insufficient, but due to the limitations of her bloodline and rank, she does not seem to be a threat."

Lin Fenglong lowered his voice and quickly reported the latest situation: "The Bai family has recently appeared in Tokyo again. They are also descendants of the Bai King and have the ability to influence subsequent plans. I wonder how to deal with them?"

"Don't worry too much," the voice on the other side instructed, "Next is your last mission of the year. It's not difficult, but the reward is quite generous. Simply explore an underground river called the Red Ghost River and install several alchemical monitoring devices around it. That's where the Well of Corpses is located."

"Thousands of years ago, the place where the 'Sacred Remains' were sealed by Izanagi?" Lin Fenglong repeated the name, a solemn look flashing in his eyes. "In the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, the Yamata-no-Orochi, which had just recovered, swam back to Tokyo from Takamagahara in the sea. Is it now hiding in the 'Well of Remains' to recuperate?"

"You are right. This operation is extremely critical. I can also mobilize a group of personnel previously stationed at various volcanoes in R to cooperate. We require that it must be successful and not to alert the enemy."

The voice in the headset turned serious: "Things don't wait for anyone. It seems that Herzog, this experimental chess piece, will not be able to play a greater role in time. It would be best if we can get the White King's Sacred Remains within a month to deal with the situation that may change at any time... To this end, I will personally take action after locking on to the target."

"After the mission is accomplished, there is no need for you to return to Beijing and continue your disguise. The Sanwang Twins there are not something you can handle. It is better to go to the 'Noah's Ark' that the 'Doomsday Faction' is building, check out their progress, and stay somewhere a little safer..."

"From the time we met in Tongwan City in 1900 to today, Friedrich von Roon, you have worked for me for more than a hundred years. You can be said to have made great contributions. If everything goes well, I promise that the position of a second-generation Duke will be the reward you deserve."

"Understood! I will do my best and live up to my mission." The rain was getting heavier. Thunder and lightning were interweaving in the night sky. The scene on the small street was gradually becoming blurred and distant. A trace of imperceptible fatigue and determination flashed in Lin Fenglong's eyes, but the voice of his reply seemed firm and powerful.

……

I feel dizzy and have a lot of things to do recently, I will update 6K later
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The dragons in "Dragons" should be two-legged and two-winged dragons in their normal form. Fenrir has hands on the tips of his wings, and the sickle-weasel dealer can also use his winged hands to grasp and play cards with people; the dragons in human form have two hands, two feet and two wings. In further changes, referring to the dragon-shaped Deadpool and the White King Herzog, their legs will merge into a tail.

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The giant pterosaurs were about the same size as giraffes, but had much larger heads and were carnivorous. The brain of a giraffe is about the same size as a human's. There is reason to believe that the upper limit of the brain capacity of pterosaurs could be several times that of humans, reaching the level of elephants.
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The sickle-tailed weasel here is based on the "Kunpeng Pterosaur" and "Dusk Pterosaur" discovered in the Yanliao area, which means that the earliest dragon clan in the setting originated in China, and the sickle-tailed weasel in Japan just spread there. There are a lot of sickle-tailed weasel fossils under the ground in Beijing.

By the way, the earliest monkeys also originated in China.