Chapter 612: Pixel War

Boom!

Two groups of pixelated animals battled each other in the primeval jungle. One side consisted of pixelated creatures formed by octahedrons, while the other was made of pixelated creatures formed by cubes. This was the first pixel war: Cubes VS Octahedrons.

The conflict between the two major pixelated animal factions ceased with the crushing defeat of the cube-shaped creatures. Animals composed of cube-shaped cells were more tightly tessellated, but this also made them too rigid, far less agile than the octagonal cell structures. The cube-shaped creatures retreated.

"These are crude pixelated creatures made of large cells... This is truly a splendid and strange civilization, unlike anything before. After all, those flesh-and-blood humanoid civilizations are too repetitive. This structure is very special; creatures without DNA might develop distinct and brilliant civilizations," Xu Zhi remarked upon seeing this. He continued to watch.

Years passed, and even more terrifying things began to happen. The evolutionary history of the entire planet was simply magnificent!

Six months later, the cube-shaped pixelated animals were repeatedly defeated by the octagonal pixelated animals and were forced to leave the Earth Mother's core. Losing their ability to reproduce their kind, they were left with no choice but to start trying to combine with other plants and beetles to ensure the survival of their species!

"Ulu! Ru!—"

Accompanied by a cheer from the Cube tribe, and as bright sunlight streamed down, the offspring of a cube-shaped pixelated animal and a vacuum plant was born. It was a pixelated seed, which the entire tribe treated like a sacred fruit, placing it on the ground.

Three years passed. A pixelated tree grew. The trunk of this tree was not traditionally round; it was perfectly square, rooted firmly in the earth, and appeared black and shiny. Even its leaves were regular green squares, formed by smaller green cubes with gaps between them. Through these special leaves, sunlight still dappled down, creating a beautiful effect. At the same time, these pixelated trees absorbed the radiation-resistant clay cell traits of the entire tribe, becoming even more adapted to surviving in a vacuum and growing increasingly lush.

An elderly elder in the pixel tribe was immensely excited. By this time, the tribe had learned to record its civilization. He picked up a stone slab and silently carved the glory of this moment.

"Ulu! Ru!" Fine sunlight filtered down, and countless primitive, barbaric pixelated animals cheered excitedly around this pixelated plant. Future beings, upon examining this dust-covered stone slab, would see the oldest tribal mythical history carved into it, recording this scene as an eternal moment on the planet.

Xu Zhi's expression subtly changed, becoming strange. "They can even reproduce with trees."

Caroline smiled. "That's why I said it's eerie, a very eerie race, but it's also natural, even inevitable." She explained, "What's their biggest characteristic? As flesh-and-blood life, they lack the fundamental building block of life—the DNA gene chain. This means they are composed of simple blocks, appearing low-level and crude, almost like primitive single-celled organisms. But in reality? Precisely because they lack a gene sequence, they also lack genetic isolation!"

Xu Zhi fell silent. Genetic isolation is also known as reproductive isolation. Anyone who has studied high school biology knows that all life in nature has this kind of isolation... It stems from differences in the DNA chain. But what if they don't have a gene sequence? Then there's no isolation. This unique species can essentially combine with any life form, creating even more distinct pixelated life.

"Is this another form of infection?" Xu Zhi looked at the once-small vacuum plant; its original characteristics were still there, and its appearance was similar, but it had transformed into a pixelated style. This was a cellular structure different from the entire tribe. Although they had no DNA, they still possessed the material of flesh-and-blood cells and could allow the original species to retain its characteristics to the maximum extent.

"It's not exactly infection or assimilation; it's certainly different from the Pillar God virus. It's not malicious and doesn't possess the destructive power of a natural disaster," Caroline said with a smile. "I've observed closely, and they don't extinguish the original ecological life forms. Instead, their offspring with other creatures just adopt a completely new cellular structure."

Xu Zhi nodded. "Theoretically, yes, but this planet is being occupied by them. Even if they don't destroy the existing ecological plants, those plants will be squeezed out and quickly become extinct."

The ensuing era was self-evident. The Cube pixel tribe began to frantically combine with other creatures—beetles, various trees, without distinction—giving birth to all sorts of new kin and expanding their population in preparation for war.

On the other side, the Octahedron pixel tribe was not to be outdone. They began attempting to assimilate animals and plants, but they discovered that their octagonal crystalline body structure was ill-suited for assimilating other species. Consequently, they started to suffer repeated defeats in wartime due to insufficient numbers of their kin. This time, it was the Octahedron tribe's turn to retreat in the pixel war!

Ten years passed. In this entire world, this pixelated planet before them, even the trees were made of cube pixels, demonstrating the terrifying extent of their expansion. Meanwhile, the Octahedron pixel tribe was being fiercely suppressed and was on the brink of extinction. Eventually, they found their own solution: they discovered they could assimilate many inanimate objects, such as various ores and crystals. So, they began to transform into beautiful, multicolored, glassy gem-crystal pixelated animals, which were extremely hard, and swiftly launched a counterattack.

Xu Zhi: "..." Reproducing with living beings was one thing, but this side was even more extreme—they could "give birth" to inanimate stones?

"This isn't about giving birth to offspring," Caroline clarified. "Rather, some of their kind actively devour metal structures to make their own bodies approach the hardness and form of gems." Caroline's expression remained calm. "Don't forget, they originated as clay-ceramic cellular life. Crystals, by nature, are of the same kind and possess strong compatibility."

"As long as it's not giving birth," Xu Zhi thought as his expression returned to normal. Eating rocks and metals to increase structural hardness was still acceptable.

Soon, the third pixel war erupted on this planet! This time, both sides had made advancements: the flesh-and-blood Cube tribe battled the mineral Octahedron tribe. The war lasted for over twenty years, with victories and defeats on both sides. Simultaneously, the entire world gradually lost its truly living animals, all having transformed into pixelated cellular structures.

Their appearances also became more regular. They were no longer the slimy, round cells that could only lie like mud on the ground. Instead, they had become cubic cells, tessellated, able to stand upright, and their appearances grew more orderly. Furthermore, being mosaic creatures composed of countless block cells, they even looked somewhat cartoonish and cute. And, with the increasing complexity of their societal structure, their body shapes no longer reverted to the paramecium forms of before, nor did they move on all fours like beasts. They even gradually abandoned quadrupedal locomotion, with some becoming upright-walking pixelated tribal people. Because they lacked a fixed genetic hereditary form, they were still capable of self-transformation.

Xu Zhi: "..." Is this what it means for "one" to be "all," for "one" to "give birth" to all things, a complete race with infinite possibilities? Xu Zhi gazed at the planet, gaining a profound understanding of the terms "one gives birth to all" and "mother of all things."

"This is their current state," Caroline said with a somber expression. "It's extremely eerie, and I can't guess what changes will occur in the future."

Xu Zhi's expression also grew strange. Can you imagine the pixelated mini-games from the 1980s on the Famicom? A planet made up of creatures composed of coarse pixel graphics.

"It's quite interesting, though."

"Indeed. By combining all tribal cells, they've transformed into a planet of unprecedented non-DNA gene chain creatures."

*Whoosh!*

As the two conversed and laughed, they had already left the 200-year planetary development history they had been observing and slowly descended onto the planet. The trees were not cylindrical but tall, square trees. The animals were also made of various blocks, but their colors weren't uniform; they had eyes, mouths... This highlighted the terrifying nature of the "all-tribe cells": a single cell type could replace all differentiated cells.

Two delicate white porcelain figures walked on this pixelated, digital planet, their bodies smooth and refined, as if they were life forms from two different artistic dimensions. Two high-definition, delicate, and elegant deities stood in a world of rough, mosaic graphics.

"They are no longer the original paramecium state," Caroline continued. "They are now considered a completely new life form, and their intelligence is developing rapidly. Especially their weight; they're very heavy. While it doesn't matter much to us, we should still be careful," Caroline cautioned with a smile. "The two tribes are still at war, especially the Cube pixel tribespeople. They are obsessed with finding new species and expanding their population... If they see us, they'll probably want to 'deal with us' too, and turn our offspring into pixels."

Xu Zhi: "..." So ruthless? They want to "deal with" every new creature they see? Expand a new tribal branch?

Xu Zhi was silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke, looking at the square trees around them without rushing to study the ecology. He said, "This tribe is entirely savage, wild, and murderous. Like beasts, they only know reproduction and struggle, lacking any civilization. We should create some disasters to spur their development."

Caroline replied, "I had the same thought. The two major tribes are approaching peace now because their conflicts have lessened. The Octahedron tribe still venerates the Earth Mother and reproduces... while the Square tribe can reproduce like regular organisms (for their kind), with one living in the Earth's core and the other on the surface."

Caroline nodded. She was also extremely interested in the development of this civilization; crude flesh-and-blood life without DNA was a completely different form of life. She regretted, "It's just that the Great Unification Virus, being a gene evolution virus, wouldn't work on them. Otherwise, we could use it again."

Xu Zhi wasn't surprised. "Didn't you say you wanted to invite the Asura Path from another world to come here for friendly negotiation and cultural exchange?"

Caroline nodded. The exchange and discussion between the two worlds, both part of the same system, were, in her view, inevitable, especially since both were among the worlds ruled by the ancient gods. Friendly exchange and mutual advancement were only natural.

"Then, for now, let's combine these two matters into one," Xu Zhi said with a smile. "Let these Asura Path beings live and interact in this world. A war will definitely erupt between the two sides."

Caroline was startled, frowning. She quickly said, "After all, they are guests, and should be treated with courtesy... You should know that these Cube pixel tribes are very savage, primitive, and crude. When they see a different life form, they will tie it up and bring it into the tribe, wanting to give birth to new life..."

Xu Zhi shook his head, his expression utterly calm. "It's fine. They're already used to this sort of thing."