Chapter 9, Stem Cells

Since this is the case, let us take a look at the past

But how are they recorded? Is it related to the observer who has been watching from the side

However, Lin still does not understand why cone cells evolved to appear

It seems to have succeeded; this digger did not split but continued to feast on the remains of the amoeba.

At that moment, the observer positioned at the front discovered fresh food

At the same time, its body size became exceedingly large, almost three times that of other excavator cells. The fragments of the amoebas stored within it were also broken down, but not digested; instead, they were converted into a liquid that resembled water, yet was more viscous.

Identical to the original cone cells

Lin does not know how they are formed; this is not under Lin's control, but rather occurs naturally within the cells

Next, Lin attempted to evolve the basic cells into acidifiers, and the result was remarkably simple to achieve

Lin named this type of cell the "Keeper"

The closer one gets, the brighter and warmer this body of water appears. Lin quickens her pace as she swims, feeling the warmth that seems to invigorate her cellular community, which is in stark contrast to the cold, constricting sensation. It feels exceedingly comfortable

The amoeba has consumed everything completely, carrying 1,233 cells, Lin drifted into the boundless deep blue...

Lin knows that these liquids are called oil

It was successful; the food within the excavator was not digested, but rather stored in one location

Should we perform the same action again? For instance, should we allow the cells to engulf the dissolution solution once more in order to evolve into acid injectors?

However, Lin never ceased to allow her thoughts to evolve, and ultimately, a cell responded to her

A good feeling, as long as there is a bit more, then there is no fear of hunger. However, such cells cannot be too numerous, as they are ultimately unable to engage in combat and their movement speed is quite slow

Lin is not 100% in control of the cells; behaviors such as division are operations carried out by the cells themselves. The oil is also produced at their own discretion. It seems that there are some deeper mysteries within the cells that Lin is unaware of

Next, Lin allowed this cell to continuously consume food, digesting only the portion necessary for its activities, while the excess was not used for division but instead stored within its body. This also resulted in the cell's size increasing significantly; after a while, it was almost twice the size of other cells.

... ... no response

As the process of consuming without working continued, the serrations of its outer membrane began to gradually disappear, and Lin understood that this phenomenon is referred to as degeneration

Lin can also cause the storers to split, but the new cells that result from the splitting of the storers do not contain oil; they need to consume food in order to convert it into oil

Like a miracle, after digesting the food it just consumed, this cell began to slowly elongate, then developed a conical long mouth similar to that of a conical cell, covered with spiral serrations

In fact, Lin has contemplated this issue more than once

How to prevent fragmentation? Lin is also unclear; fragmentation arises on its own. Therefore, Lin merely controls it incessantly in her thoughts, prohibiting it from engaging in actions that do not align with her ideas.

Lin does not think so

Each type of its cells has a certain quantity; if they all die, how can one regain them again

Preliminary calculations indicate that it is approximately above 10,000

But can it evolve into something else

These cells are referred to as basic cells by Lin. They typically evolve into diggers quickly during their work with the diggers. However, this time, the cell had not yet had the chance to transform into a digger when it received Lin's signal

Lin initially attempted to evolve the digger into one of these two forms, employing the old method of continuously imagining in her thoughts how to transform this cell into that one

These purple cells show no concern for Lin's community; even when Lin's cells approach them, they do not attack and exhibit no reaction, instead hurriedly swimming in the same direction

As her intelligence gradually increases, Lin will be able to fully master everything

Indeed, everything failed, and in the end, Lin felt that her approach was quite foolish

The warm place that He Lin originally intended to go to is in the same direction.

The observer has never participated in any activities, so it retains a basic appearance in all aspects except for its vision, while the cells that have split off from it do not possess vision.

Lin thought to itself, attempting to evolve the basic cells into amoebas or mutant cells

However, what Lin desires the most right now is to regain the acidifiers and cone cells

That is a basic cell, which is the initial type, a cell that has no functions at all

Next, in storage, Lin began to try to stop the digestion of food and instead retain the food within the body

This will make it even difficult for it to eat, but this problem is quite simple for Lin; it can simply let other cells assist it, using ordinary diggers to help this food-storing cell collect food, while this cell only needs to be responsible for eating

They are oval-shaped, surrounded by a dense covering of cilia, and are approximately half the size of Lin's cells, yet their numbers are exceedingly abundant

At this point, Lin's diggers have already consumed half of a shapeshifter, and the number of digger cells has surged, reaching 699.

Ke Lin did not give up; it continued to experiment, for instance, by having the excavator perform actions similar to conical cells, or simply trying to use other cells to squeeze one cell into a conical shape

Lin did not know, but now the most pressing issue has been resolved, and Lin feels very happy

Lin began to implement her idea, starting with the storage of energy and food. She attempted to make a nearly bursting digger continue to eat and prevent it from splitting.

However, it is ineffective; the cells that are extracted from cell division are still the extracted cells

Gradually, this cell underwent interesting changes

Lin will find a way

This direction seems to be upward

Lin had no goals; in this deep blue expanse, she could not see any objectives, yet there was something that captivated her attention

It appears that only the cells belonging to the Lin community can transform into basic cells; they do not possess any evolutionary capabilities, but rather record the information of such evolution

This type of cell can only be derived from a single cell with vision: the observer.

Moreover, storing these foods can cause the cell to become quite inflexible and sluggish, making even the action of cutting food difficult to perform

That is warmth

Next, let us once again venture into the vast and boundless world to explore all that is unknown

This cell converts the food it ingests into oil and stores it within the body. This oil is convenient to carry, appears to contain higher energy, occupies less space, and is more effective than directly storing food.

But the focus is not here, the focus is whether such complicated steps are really necessary to obtain them again

The feeding continues... Not long after, the body of the amoeba was reduced to about 10%, and Lin's cell colony had nearly restored its original number, with the number of reservoirs increasing to thirty. The large amount of fat within them would allow Lin's colony to swim a considerable distance without feeding.

I see, so what you are saying is that although the basic cells have no functions, they can still evolve

Unexpectedly, it was so simple, which made Lin feel somewhat happy

This is another type of cell, and Lin does not know what they are called, so she simply gives them the simplest name, 'purple cell'

Countless purple creatures appeared above Lin's settlement

The abundance filled the entire field of vision observable by the observer.

Swimming continuously in this direction, Lin increasingly felt that it had shed the previous coldness, and the water became warmer and more comfortable.