Super Zoo

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The springs bubbling with hot water were surrounded by an abundance of creatures that were hard to see with the naked eye. The smallest among them might only measure a few micrometers, and the largest only one or two millimeters. In the scalding hot springs, they lived quite contentedly and happily.

"Huh?" Suming was startled, actually coming across tardigrades!

No wonder they could survive in the boiling hot springs!

Tardigrades are nearly mythical creatures, and if Earth were to be destroyed, leaving only one animal to carry on, it would definitely be the tardigrade!

It is the strongest known survivor on Earth. This little thing that looks like a silkworm pupae, which dates back to the Cambrian period 500 million years ago, has evolved to become extremely small over time. It has eight chubby, round legs and a layer of water film covers its body, which when observed under a microscope, reveals its comically endearing manner of crawling along.

Tardigrades can be found almost everywhere in the world, from the highest peaks of the Himalayas to boiling hot springs and down to the depths of the ocean, more than four thousand meters below.

They can survive under a variety of harsh conditions, such as in the vacuum of outer space, in strong acids and bases, and even having fun in the terrifying radioactive environment of nuclear reactors—it's almost as if they simply cannot die. Research has shown that a group of tardigrades, after soaking in liquid nitrogen at negative 253 degrees Celsius for 26 hours and another group boiled in water for an hour, seemed as if nothing had happened after they were removed and sprang back to life at full health.

Yes, these guys can actually resurrect, at full health...

"What a lucky find!" Suming was so delighted he would have laughed out loud if he hadn't been underwater.

While these little fellows are widespread, they are not easily found anywhere. Due to their adaptability, they don't have a fixed habitat. Theoretically, you could encounter them anywhere, but if you set out to look for them specifically, you might not find them even after traversing half the Earth and spending three to five years searching.

"It's all up to you guys to conquer the universe!" Suming didn't even think about it as he shattered the last energy sphere of his spiritual power reserves, replenishing his spiritual power to its fullest, then took control of a tiny tardigrade.

The stronger the body, the less likely the brain is enough! Tardigrades were a typical example of this, and controlling them hardly required any spiritual power. It was as easy as dealing with single-celled organisms; with just a hint of spiritual power exerted, a swarm of tardigrades followed the current and gathered onto Suming's body.

Just as he was about to bring the tardigrades back with him, a slight tremor came from beneath the water, and it seemed as though the cave shook a little. Find more to read on My Virtual Library Empire

"What's going on now?" With the company of tardigrades, Suming felt much bolder. He still had enough spiritual power to form an energy sphere and could anticipate that the ones obtained from the tardigrades would definitely be the kind that greatly enhances life force, making him unafraid of any danger.

Thus, he bravely continued swimming forward, bypassing the scorching thermal springs and approaching the source of the tremors.

...

At one end of the pool, Alayi and a group of elders had already shouted themselves hoarse. Ludmila anxiously watched the tactical wristwatch's timer; nine and a half minutes had passed, but Suming had yet to emerge from the water!

Ludmila rushed to the edge of the pool. The pool's oily, green water had very poor visibility; it was impossible to see if there was anyone below. But the pool was calm, like a mirror, without a single ripple or bubble.

"Alayi! Something seems wrong..." Ludmila said, turning back anxiously.

Alayi, along with a few other elders, raised their heads and stared silently at the surface of the water.

At that moment, they were even more anxious than Ludmila!

Time ticked by, second by second, and every second was excruciating for everyone present!

If Suming did not appear after ten minutes, it would mean that for Ludmila, the protective mission she had risked her life to accomplish would have completely failed;

For Alayi and for the entire Lure People tribe, it would mean that all their previous judgments were wrong, and that this young man from the East was not the envoy of the Fire God. At the crucial moment of the Lure People's survival, the Fire God had utterly abandoned them!

Silence, a dead silence, pervaded the cave as if even breathing had stilled. Only the sound of trickling water could be heard. More than a dozen pairs of eyes were fixed on the surface of the pool, as if some monster from below might suddenly emerge.

Amir's hand, clutching his rifle, trembled slightly. Despite the cold chill in the cave, the young warrior sweated profusely, his palms dampening the cloth wrapping around the rifle's grip.

Basel lay on a stretcher, holding a pocket watch for keeping time.

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Tick-tock... Tick-tock... With each second that passed, the faint sound of the pocket watch seemed to explode like thunder by everyone's ear.

Basel's voice was hoarse as he began to count down, "Twenty seconds left..."

The water's surface remained as calm as ever...

"Fifteen seconds..."

"Ten seconds..."

"Five seconds..."

In the final three-second countdown, everyone's heart rose to their throats, wishing they could gouge out their eyeballs and throw them into the water to see, even holding their breath subconsciously. Ludmila simply lay prostrate at the edge of the pond!

"Three seconds, two seconds, one..." Basel's voice slowed down more and more, the last second drawn out as if unwilling to complete it, as though doing so could delay time and extend the ten-minute deadline by just a bit.

However, the one thing eternal and unchanging in this world is time, not even true gods can alter its pace.

Ten minutes had passed, and every second after was borrowed time...

Yet the pond remained deathly still.

The elders, one by one, sat paralyzed on the ground with ashen faces, while Alayi's parched lips mumbled in a daze, "Great God, have you truly forsaken us..."

Amidst the crowd's waiting, another five minutes slipped by!

Ludmila gritted her teeth and plunged into the pond with a swift dive, took a deep breath, and dove under the water to retrieve Suming's body.

Fifteen minutes later, Ludmila reemerged, her face etched with disappointment; she had not found Suming.

Just then, the water suddenly splashed, and right beside Ludmila's face, a head dripping with water popped up, their faces almost touching.

"What are you doing down here?" Suming wiped the droplets from his face, staring in bewilderment at the Ludmila who was so close at hand.

Ludmila's eyes widened in shock, staring at Suming's face for several seconds, then suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and fiercely kissed him.

"Mmmph... mother of... thug... let go... help... mmph... tongue... tong... mmmph..."

Ludmila embraced Suming like clutching a small chicken, fiercely kissing him, whether out of frustration or some other reason. The intensity was such that the arms around Suming's waist unleashed tremendous strength, nearly snapping his slender midsection.

Suming flailed helplessly in the water...

The Lure People ashore were completely dumbfounded, staring agape at their Divine Envoy about to be smothered to death by a bear-like kiss.

All in all, Suming had stayed in the water for almost thirty minutes, not the ten minutes previously mentioned!

If this was not a miracle, then what else could be called a miracle?!

Seconds later, frenzied cheers erupted from the cave, including some armed soldiers; all the Lure People fell prostrate, surrounding the pond, and shouted loudly toward it.

"Emissary of the Fire God, young man from the East, please guide the direction of the Lure People!"