Chapter 184: The Similarities of Sentient Races

Forcefully stuffing three engines, two reactors, and a combat-grade gravity-control system into the Tomahawk only turned the originally spacious and opulent interior into a huge mess.

Thankfully, both Xia Fei and Phantom were already used to living in such maze-like surroundings. Only Harris was unused to it and spent his days staying in his cabin, not leaving aside from preparing meals for Xia Fei. He had devoted all his time and energy on studying Xia Fei, not letting go of even the tiniest details like heart rate or blood pressure.

Before Xia Fei entered the supergravity zone, he called Avril and told her that he was about to enter an area with no signal reception so she should not worry much.

It was essentially impossible to get a girl who was head over heels for the first time not to worry about her beau. Though Avril verbally expressed that she would not worry, her eyes said otherwise. Filled with unease, she promptly asked Xia Fei just where exactly he was going.

Xia Fei did not tell the lady about the supergravity zone because he knew that, given Avril’s personality, there was a possibility of her sending Starlink Corporation’s fleet to his location, for that was exactly what she had done when Xia Fei was lost in the Wild Star Region.

After Avril’s probing finally ceased, Xia Fei once more established a long-distance conference call with Andre and the others back on Earth. The production of the energy-shield boosters was not a simple task, and implementing such an idea needed years of research and experimentation.

Presently, the energy-shield booster was still in the testing stage. Several batches of samples had already been manufactured, but these samples were still replete with flaws. The energy shield value it could repair when used was still unstable and the booster itself was very easily damaged.

There would still be too many flaws even if they used higher-grade materials for the production, though that would also increase the difficulty and cost of production, making it not cost-effective.

The best solution was to find a type of substitute material that was inexpensive yet able to provide relative stability; present experiments were focused on this aspect of the product, and Quantum Holdings had searched across the universe for appropriate metals, launching tests on each one found. Though such a method was cumbersome and took more time, it was still quite effective.

Turning off the screen, Xia Fei lit a cigarette, got up, and made his way to Harris’s cabin.

The scientist was typing away with great enthusiasm on a computer, the screen displaying an image of the human body with the bones and blood vessels all visible, looking like a human being whose skin had been peeled off.

Xia Fei suddenly thought the person on the screen looked very familiar, having a body structure very similar to his.

Furrowing his brows, Xia Fei asked, “Harris, what is this?”

“That’s you. I constructed this model according to your physical specifications. Look, isn’t this body structure just like yours?” Harris gushed.

Xia Fei shook his head. He was not too well-versed in the skillset of a genetic biologist, so he was not too concerned over Harris’s study. As long as Harris was talented, it meant he could have use for him in the future or that the scientist could contribute to Quantum Holdings. In any case, now that he was wearing the life bracelet, Xia Fei simply left him to his devices.

“Oh, I suddenly recalled that I have an insectoid on hand that is very strange. Would you like to take a look?” Xia Fei asked.

This insectoid that Xia Fei was referring to was none other than the one he had killed while exploring the ancient ruins back then. As Xia Fei was promptly sent to the Heritage Planet after and had been busy with Old Porter and Avril’s matters upon his return, he never did manage to find a chance to sell off that insectoid carcass, so he figured that he could just give it to Harris for study.

The research of genetics biology just so happened to be Harris’s forte, so letting him study the carcass would also be worthwhile. There was no telling what sort of results he might get from it.

“What strange insectoid?” Harris curiously asked.

Xia Fei brushed his spatial ring with a finger and took out that insectoid carcass as well as a sample of its blood.

Harris was completely shocked hearing Xia Fei describe the unique characteristics that this insectoid possessed. He wore his rubber gloves and, using a scalpel, began poking at the carcass in his cabin. His eyes were visibly excited as if he had stumbled on a treasure.

“The physiological structure of this insectoid is very abnormal; I’ll need to examine and study it closely before I can give you an answer, but since this ship lacks research instruments, I can’t guarantee anything,” Harris lowered his head and said.

Xia Fei shrugged. “Also, I noticed something special. The insectoids seem to possess strong mental resistance to my ability, making it impossible for me to control them. Do you know why that is?”

This question had been sitting at the back of Xia Fei’s mind for a very long time. He had already confirmed the Beast Spirit Codex’s ability to control animals long before, but the insectoids could not seem to be manipulated by it, and that vexed Xia Fei greatly.

Harris chuckled. “Insectoids are different from beasts, especially in terms of their brain structures. The lower the rank of an insectoid, the simpler their brain structure. I don’t know if that’s the reason, but I happen to have a report written a long time ago by a junior researcher on hand. I’ll sort things out, then send it to you.”

Xia Fei nodded and left Harris’s cabin. Now that the mad scientist was his slave, there was no way Harris would reveal anything pertaining to Xia Fei to anyone else. The life bracelet would prevent him from making any attempts to do so, which was why Xia Fei was not the least bit worried about telling Harris his secret.

After some time passed, Harris sent a document into Xia Fei’s mailbox.

They still had thirty-two hours onboard before they reached the supergravity zone, so Xia Fei started leisurely reading it in the command deck while he had nothing else to do.

Looking at the date, the research report had been published by Harris over a hundred years ago. He was still very young back then, but the scope of the research and the obscure jargons used left Xia Fei scratching his head. It was evident that Harris’s talent lived up to its name.

The research report started from human’s physiological structure before delving into the insectoid and the other races’ habits, physiology, psychology, and diets. Everything was extremely detailed, and what drew Xia Fei’s attention was still the analysis of the brain structure of the various races.

Every higher organism was able to gain sentience solely because they had a developed brain. While all the races might vary in shapes, the brain was one such factor that unexpectedly stayed consistent.

The analysis pointed out that the brain structure of the insectoids was the most varied out of all the known races in the universe thus far, differing in accordance to their ranks; their brain composition and capacity were also distinct from each other.

The lower-rank insectoids’ brains were extremely simple, only capable of reacting to the changes to their surroundings.

The higher-rank insectoids were a stark contrast; not only were their brains the most similar to humans’, their brain cell capacity was even higher than humans’, which was why it created the two-tier disparity that was prevalent today. The higher-rank insectoids were as smart as humans, while the lower-tier insectoids were lacking in sentience, barely developing past the primitive crawling bug stage.

Xia Fei was becoming more interested by the second. Phantom had no idea what was stated in the report, so he could only stay anxious at the side.

Once Xia Fei was interested in something, he would devote all his attention and energy toward it, causing him to forgo eating and drinking for ten over hours. Now, he was reading the report Harris had given him as if he had gone mad.

After reading the entire report twice, Xia Fei stretched his back, closed his eyes, and lit himself a cigarette, taking a long drag from the stick.

“Just what exactly did the report say? Anything explaining why the Beast Spirit Codex is ineffective against the insectoids?” Phantom asked.

Xia Fei smiled. “Though the report did not explain this particular phenomenon, I’ve managed to vaguely infer some things from it.”

“So why can’t you do it?”

“Because the insectoids are not animals,” Xia Fei stated matter-of-factly.

“Not animals? What are they then?” Phantom curiously asked.

Because of the peculiar forms the insectoids possessed, humans had likened them to common bugs all this time, which partially stemmed from discrimination. This was despite the fact that insectoids had already developed their own technology, even able to construct warships, and could be considered a sentient race with strength on par to humans.

Xia Fei shrugged. “They are just like us.”

Phantom pursed his lips. “How is that possible? We are humans, and they are bugs. How could we be the same?”

Xia Fei calmly explained, “Their brains. All sentient races have one similarity in their brains, and that’s the crystallization of nucleic acid. Because of their individual particularity, a large portion of insectoids don’t have crystalized nucleic acids in their brains, so my Beast Spirit Codex isn’t able to have any effect on the low-rank insectoids, making it impossible for me to control them.”

Phantom shook his head. “I still don’t quite get it.”

“To put it in layman’s terms, the Beast Spirit Codex is a super-telepathic technique that controls beast, and because the insectoids have already detached themselves from the concept of beasts, I am unable to control them.”

“They aren’t beasts? Then, what exactly are insectoids?” Phantom was perplexed.

“A sentient race with similar brain structures, emotions, and intelligence to humans,” Xia Fei answered.

Perhaps Xia Fei’s explanation was so provocative that Phantom became dazed for some time. It was not just him; a majority of humans would most likely be shocked to hear this truth. No one would also believe that the disgusting insectoids possessed the same brain structures to humans.

After a pause, Xia Fei continued. “What’s really surprising isn’t it; rather, it’s the fact that all the sentient races have similar brain structures. Which is to say since humans are able to unlock their seventh brain region and gain special abilities, the same can be achieved by the other sentient races.”

“What?!” Phantom could not believe his ears. “Are you telling me that there are ability users among the insectoids as well?”

“Indeed.” Xia Fei folded his hands behind his head and propped his two legs up on the command console. “They have a special region in their brains just like us, but it is just that they’re more devolved than us, humans, so that special region of theirs has been utterly ignored and untapped.”

Phantom was speechless. It was fine learning that almost all the sentient races shared similar brain structures, but for them to have access to special abilities as well… As a proud human, Phantom found it hard to accept that he could be on the equal footing with insectoids.

“Is that stated in the report or just your hypothesis?” Phantom asked.

Xia Fei chuckled. “Of course, this is just a hypothesis, but this isn’t without basis. The data and information to derive it are all written inside.”

This was when the indicator light of the communication system flashed red, interrupting Phantom and Xia Fei’s conversation. The screen displayed a call request from Qin Mang.

Xia Fei laughed. “The old man must have learned that I’m heading into a supergravity zone. I wonder what he wishes to talk to me about?”

“Who knows?” Phantom, who was still digesting what Xia Fei had just said, responded off-handedly.

Just as Xia Fei was about to push the button and answer, the indicator light was cut off, along with his connection to the interplanetary internet.