mesbooks Chapter 12 Environmental Adaptability Challenges
Chapter 12 Environmental Adaptability Challenges
Twenty-four hours passed in the blink of an eye, and all participants' natal species were teleported to a circular platform suspended in the void.
The platform is surrounded by several portals that emit different energy fluctuations, corresponding to four extreme environments: ice field, desert, rainforest, and plateau.
"Environmental Adaptability Challenge Rules: All species must enter four environmental zones in sequence. The top three species in each zone in terms of survival time will receive three, two, and one points respectively. The final ranking will be based on the total points."
"First place: 1000 points."
Second place: 700 points
Third place: 500 points.
A cold, mechanical voice announced, "Initial environment: desert. Teleportation will begin in 10 seconds."
The countdown ended, and all the innate species were simultaneously teleported to a yellow desert.
The desert was flat, with nothing but sand.
The temperature of the desert was displayed on the screens of all participants.
"The initial temperature was 30℃, and it rose by 0.01℃ every ten days."
Earth Online simulates an abundance of food, ensuring that all participating species do not have to worry about food.
The only thing to fight here is the increasingly severe extreme climate.
The initial temperature of the desert is not friendly to the red junglefowl, so it can only drink water constantly in the hope of lowering its own temperature.
Not only the red junglefowl, but also the brown bears of Antara are suffering, as their thick fur severely hinders heat loss.
Despite the brown bear drinking water continuously, the cooling effect was minimal.
In no time, the water it drank turned into sweat and flowed out, making its fur wet and causing the brown bear to stick out its tongue.
While most animals were suffering, the hyena, the native species of Lee Seok-il of South Korea, attracted everyone's attention.
In previous competitions, hyenas suffered repeated defeats due to their lack of strength, but in the "Environmental Adaptability Challenge," the hyenas, as native animals of grassland and semi-desert regions, unexpectedly showed that their physiological structure was well-suited to the desert environment.
Hyenas' short fur helps them dissipate heat, making them more drought-resistant. Their kidneys' ability to concentrate urine also effectively reduces water loss.
While other animals were too tired to move in the scorching sun, hyenas ran around the desert with great excitement.
As time went by, the temperature in the desert environment also rose day by day.
30.01, 30.02, 30.03...40.4.
The rising temperature caused the red junglefowl to begin showing signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion.
As for brown bears, they were eliminated when the temperature rose to 35 degrees Celsius.
Archer's bald eagles, on the other hand, try their best to create a shady spot for themselves with their wings.
Although various species have made some changes to adapt to this high-temperature environment, such as hair loss and increased sweat glands, these changes are negligible in the face of the rate at which the temperature is rising.
When the desert environment finally ends, the system will announce the first round of scores:
[Korean Lee Seok, whose native species is the hyena, has the longest survival time in desert environments, earns 3 points.]
【Camel Kingdom....】
Upon seeing the rankings, Li Xi's previously gloomy face instantly lit up with ecstatic joy. He threw a punch into the air, as if he had already won the entire match and secured the points.
Not only was Lee Seok excited, but South Korean netizens were equally excited:
[South Korea: Did you see that? This is the true strength of our great Korean nation!]
[South Korea: Some countries previously relied on luck to gain points, but now they've shown their true colors when faced with a real test!]
[South Korea: The chickens of China can only flutter a few times in quizzes; when it comes to survival in the wild, they're not even as good as a hyena's claw!]
[South Korea: Lee Seok has finally brought us glory! Let the world see who the most adaptable species is!]
Chinese netizens also don't tolerate this:
[Are South Korea really getting cocky after winning, forgetting their previous two goalless matches?]
There are four environments in total, and this is only the first one. There are three more to come. I don't understand what's so great about this?
[Yes, we won first place three times before. Did we become arrogant?]
Inside the game space, Li Xi deliberately walked near Wu Yu and said loudly, "Luck always runs out. True strength can adapt to any environment..."
Wu Yu didn't want to talk to Li Xi at all, and didn't even look at him.
Feeling ignored, Li Xi froze. He had been thinking of showing off his points, but Wu Yu didn't say a word.
After a ten-minute rest, the system notification sounded again:
"We are about to enter the second environment - the ice field."
All the species were transported to an ice field at -20°C, where the biting cold wind, carrying snowflakes, swept over them.
"Initial temperature -20℃, decreasing by 0.01℃ every ten days."
Like deserts, ice fields are flat terrain with no shelter from the wind, leaving one exposed to the biting cold.
Wu Yu's red junglefowl curled up its legs and tucked its neck in an attempt to reduce its surface area exposed to the wind and conserve its body heat.
Archer's bald eagle was barely holding on thanks to its feathers, but it probably wouldn't last long.
The hyenas from South Korea lost all their advantage in the desert; their short fur couldn't keep them warm, and they quickly collapsed from hypothermia.
The brown bears of Antara, after two million years of aging, have reached a size of 800 kilograms, with an extremely thick layer of subcutaneous fat and thick fur, yet they remain carefree and at ease.
What is a biting cold wind for other species is a cool breeze for brown bears.
As temperatures continue to drop to -50°C, other species are gradually eliminated.
Finally, when the icefield environment ended, a system notification sounded:
[Andona, the native brown bear of the country, has the longest survival time in icy environments, earning 1 point.]
【...】
[Damn, I suddenly realized that none of these four environments seem particularly friendly to our red junglefowl.]
That's right. Leaving aside deserts and ice fields, rainforests and plateaus aren't particularly advantageous for red junglefowl either.
It's okay, we've already won first place three times, so it doesn't matter if we win it one less time.
......
"We are about to enter the third environment - the plateau."
The light from the teleportation dissipated, and the blinding sunlight and thin air instantly assaulted us.
All living things live in a vast alpine meadow, with snow-capped mountains stretching into the distance.
The system notification coldly announced:
"In a high-altitude environment, with an initial elevation of 5000 meters, the oxygen content is about 50% of that at sea level. Every ten days, the oxygen content decreases by 0.1%, and the wind speed increases."
This is the ultimate test of the cardiopulmonary function and cold resistance of all species.
Smaller creatures are fine, but creatures like brown bears and elephants experience rapid breathing, a racing heart, and sluggish movements even before they begin to move.
They had to reduce their activity, crawl on the ground, and minimize their oxygen consumption.
Bald eagles have a relatively high tolerance for low oxygen levels thanks to their efficient air sac system.
Earth Online begins to accelerate the passage of time in the high-altitude environment. As time goes by, the oxygen content in the air gradually decreases.
The brown bear went from sitting to lying down, and then to panting heavily, clearly indicating that it was not getting enough oxygen.
......
The high-altitude environment ended with the game notification sound.
[The beautiful country of Archer, whose native species, the bald eagle, has the longest survival time in high-altitude environments, earns 3 points.]
【...】