BXBX NOVEL Chapter 122 - 1191 say, I promised.
“No.”
“Has he started yet?”
“No…”
“Has he started?”
“No…”
“Why hasn’t he started yet?”
“It’s only six o’clock now, Professor…”
Wu Gang was speechless. Since Professor Gu found out about this last night, he rushed over right away, and it had taken a lot of effort to convince him to go back.
Wu had thought that the matter was settled until the knocking at the door woke
him up this morning…
“Actually, you could contact him yourself, Professor…”
“I don’t know how to do live streaming,” Professor Gu Qingyuan replied, effectively shutting Wu Gang down with a single sentence.
“Actually, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to contact him either, but I will do my best.” Wu Gang said, tapping away at the keyboard.
From earlier on, Wu Gang had been building a wall in the blackened live stream room, hoping to catch Bi Fang’s attention.
Neither he nor the professor had much money; they couldn’t rely on giving a large amount of donations to attract the other party’s attention.
As the number of Bi Fang’s fans steadily grew, even with restrictions on the number and frequency of comments, there were still over dozens of bullet-screen comments shooting across every second. It wasn’t certain whether they would notice Wu’s efforts.
“I’ve got six thousand yuan left. If we really can’t get in touch later, you’ll go and donate a… boat or something…” Professor Gu Qingyuan was about to transfer the money, frightening Wu Gang nearly to the point of jumping up.
“No, Professor, please don’t. I will be able to contact him, definitely!
“Didn’t you just say it was very difficult…”
“I will be able to get through to him if I just work hard enough!”
Wu Gang insisted that he couldn’t take the professor’s money, and sat back down in front of the computer, working even harder to build up the comments.
Seeing how the professor was behaving, he realized just how important this was to him.
Professor Gu had always treated him well; how could he let him down like this?
Please see it, Master Fang!
Wu silently prayed, all the while growing more curious about what kind of magic this creature possessed that had even the weathered old professor this excited?
Fortunately, his prayers were not in vain. When Bi Fang woke up and started his live stream, the first thing he saw was that long string of comments.
“Wow, someone’s been building up comments early in the morning.
Bi Fang didn’t look closely, smiled, and pushed aside the stone-built wall, crawling out from the cave.
It was early morning, and the temperature hadn’t risen too high yet. Bi Fang moved his body a bit, then greeted the audience.
But he noticed that the bullet-screen comments were repeating the content of the comments!
[Master Fang! I’m Wu Gang from Handong University, and my professor, Gu Qingyuan, would like to talk to you about the creature you encountered yesterday, the Tiktaalik!]
[It’s very important, Master Fang!]
[It’s a creature that could make history in the study of biological evolution!]
[Who is this, waking up early to spam comments? A scammer?]
[Don’t overdo it]
[Seems serious, not like a scam… I just googled, that professor is real, and he s
a big name…]
“Oh, Tiktaalik?” Bi Fang glanced at the bullet-screen comments twice. When he heard the name, he was startled, it sounded familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he had heard it.
“Could you explain in more detail? This Tiktaalik,” Bi Fang asked people to slow down the comments because he wanted to see what the other person would say.
Hearing Bi Fang notice him, Wu Gang was thrilled and turned to Professor Gu, “Professor, I’ve made contact! He’s asking what the Tiktaalik is.”
“Really?” Professor Gu Qingyuan’s eyes lit up, and he immediately pulled Wu Gang away from the computer and started typing bullet-screen comments himself.
[The Tiktaalik is a fish fossil from three hundred million years ago, discovered by a research team from Ugly Country in the Canadian Arctic.]
[The fossil skeleton had fins, scales, and other characteristics of large fish, with sharp teeth and a flat body, measuring about 1.2 to 2.75 meters.]
[Although still a fish, it already had key changes for transitioning to land life, a forerunner of amphibians!]
[After carefully reviewing the video from yesterday, despite many changes in appearance, overall, it should beTiktaalik!]
Professor Gu Qingyuan became increasingly excited as he typed. He was absolutely certain that it was a living Tiktaalik!
Although the passage of long time has brought many changes, such as the sharp spikes behind its head and the overly large tongue, its overall features haven’t changed a bit.
It’s a living fossil, just like sturgeons!
A precursor?
Hearing this, Bi Fang supported his chin and began to ponder deeply.
However, the audience found such statements to be incredibly far-fetched.
[The Arctic? That’s preposterous! This is a desert!]
[If you’re going to lie, at least come up with something credible. Three hundred million years ago? What could possibly live that long?]
[Although I don’t believe it either, the comment above…]
[It’s not about living for three hundred million years…]
“No, it is possible!”
Bi Fang refuted the audience’s view, and thanks to Professor Gu’s reminder, he roughly understood what kind of creature Tiktaalik was.
The monster from last night did indeed look bizarre, with limbs that were part claw, part fin, and yet it had the head of a crocodile.
It possessed features of both fish and tetrapods.
“If it truly is a creature that has survived since three hundred million years ago, then finding fossils in the Arctic is not inconsistent with it residing in the Qaidam Basin!”
“Three hundred million years ago, the Earth was in a primordial era. According to the theory of continental drift, all the land was still connected as Pangea, and the ocean was the vast Panthalassic Ocean, with no split like we see today. The distribution of species can’t be viewed through the lens of current continental layouts.”
“Moreover, many scholars believe that Qaidam was actually an ancient sea a long time ago because here they not only found fossils of Wu’s Fish Offering dating back three million years ago but also discovered shell layers of lamellibranchiata and gastropoda.”
“If you were to search online, you’d find out that Qaidam has a very developed underground water system, with springs in some areas.”
“As for three hundred million years, that time span is actually not exaggerated. I know of several species that are even older and are still living today. Even the lamprey I ate last time appeared 360 million years ago, which is older than Tiktaalik.”
[! I have nothing to say, just a big exclamation mark for Old Fang.]
[This analysis… is just outrageously implausible]
[Now even continental drift is in the mix. What exactly is your background, and how do you know so much?]
[Following geographers and meteorologists, do we now have a paleobiologist?]
[You know too much.]
[So Master Fang has feasted on such incredible creatures…]
An expert is revealed by their handiwork.
Even Professor Gu Qingyuan was startled by this analysis, many parts of which even he himself was unaware of. He pondered the entire last night and reviewed copious materials to obtain a slight idea.
But now, listening to Bi Fang, everything was interlinked!
A modest live-streaming platform also shelters hidden dragons and crouching tigers?
If it wasn’t for the thousands of miles separating them, Professor Gu Qingyuan would really like to have a thorough discussion with Bi Fang right now.
“So Professor Gu, was there something specific you wanted to contact me about?”
Having grasped some of the situation, Bi Fang wanted to know why the other party had contacted him, what was the matter at hand.
Professor Gu Qingyuan hesitated for quite a while upon hearing this question. He initially hoped Bi Fang would stay put or send coordinates so that he could lead a team to explore the area.
But now, having truly recognized Bi Fang’s extraordinary nature, and his exceptional abilities from last night…
As Bi Fang said, the underground water system in Qaidam is indeed very developed. One moment’s hesitation or delay could mean missmg out on an excellent opportunity.
As a biologist, he really didn’t want to miss this chance, and the benefits a species’ genetics could bring might be beyond anyone’s expectations.
But Tiktaalik is extremely dangerous; as everyone witnessed last night, it’s not inferior to a crocodile!
Professor Gu Qingyuan gritted his teeth and sent out a request he himself considered excessive.
Whether agreed to or not, he wanted to give it a shot!
[I want to ask you to capture a live Tiktaalik.]
“Alright!”
[I know this is asking too much, but this chance is really—]
Professor Gu Qingyuan, who was in the midst of typing, paused, deleted the ongoing barrage, and began to edit a new one.
[What did you say?]
“I said, I agree,” Bi Fang nodded.