Change the water?
Ling Shuying looked at the Sea Erosion Cave, where the water directly connected to the open ocean.
It was easy enough to change the water in a village’s shallow irrigation pool, but changing the water in the sea?
Pure fantasy!
Even changing the water just within this small enclosed section of the cave would be incredibly difficult.
Ling Shuying engaged Qing Ling to calculate her options.
Instantly, seventeen plans appeared before her eyes.
However, without any tools, none of them had a high success rate.
Changing the water meant replacing it with new, stable water that perfectly matched the original marine environment.
But the warm current fluctuation was undoubtedly regional, meaning the seawater surrounding the entire island had likely already been affected.
Furthermore, the increased salinity of the seawater presented another problem.
She needed something capable of slowly releasing or absorbing salt to block the cave entrance.
This would form a microbial buffer zone and minimize the impact on the Basic Algae seedlings.
No matter how hard it was, she had to do it.
The path to truth was paved with hardships.
Even a genius scientist and top scholar in her field like Ling Shuying had experienced countless failures before achieving her outstanding results.
Among the seventeen plans, the one with the highest success rate involved using freshwater to mix a solution that matched the exact composition of the seawater for replacement.
This plan faced two major hurdles: first, getting the mixture ratio right; second, securing enough freshwater.
With Qing Ling’s assistance, nailing the ratio would take a few tries at most.
The real trouble was the sheer volume of freshwater required.
Thinking of the meager amount of water left in her storage tank, Ling Shuying decided to head to the stream to collect more.
Although the stream didn’t hold much water at any given moment, its flow was constant.
She could mix a batch, replace a portion of the cave water, and at the very least, temporarily stall the environmental deterioration inside the Sea Erosion Cave.
With the plan finalized, Ling Shuying hurried toward the stream.
Left on the sidelines, Hai Yao had been watching Ling Shuying curiously.
Seeing the scientist’s eyes turn a deep algae-green that rippled like seawater, she stared at her for a long time.
When the green in her eyes finally faded and she suddenly started walking toward the woods, Hai Yao quickly called out to her.
“Where are you going?”
“To fetch freshwater,” Ling Shuying replied without looking back, continuing her stride.
“That little stream won’t work, it’s too bland.
If you want stable, clean seawater, I know a place.”
Ling Shuying paused slightly.
“Does she actually know a place?
Or is she just tricking me again?” she wondered.
Reading Ling Shuying’s doubt, Hai Yao let out a dramatic sigh.
“I’m not lying to you!
I found it while I was catching fish. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
I guarantee the water is good to use.”
Ling Shuying hesitated for a moment but decided to follow.
Although the girl was a freeloader and overly blunt, she had plenty of wilderness survival experience.
Perhaps…
this water really could work.
Hai Yao led the way.
Walking one after the other, they arrived at a hidden crevice between some reefs.
Behind the reef was a Tidal Pool.
Snow-white waves crashed against the rocks, and the seawater flowed through the crevices into the pool—crystal clear and pristine.
The water exchange here was thorough and stable.
Buffered by the reef cluster, it was minimally affected by the abnormal warm current.
Delighted, Ling Shuying quickly scooped up a handful to taste, then spat it out.
Both the salinity and temperature were close to the water in the Sea Erosion Cave.
It was usable.
Watching Ling Shuying’s expression, Hai Yao knew she was satisfied.
She proudly patted her chest.
“See?
I told you it would work!”
“It will indeed,” Ling Shuying replied with satisfaction.
She then took a few quick steps up the bank, looking around in search of materials to store the water.
Hai Yao sidled up to her again.
“Looking for something to hold the water?”
Seeing her expression, Ling Shuying knew she was about to ask for food again.
“Add an extra dish to my meals every day, and I’ll find them for you,” Hai Yao offered.
Just as expected.
Considering that the water source Hai Yao had just found suited her needs perfectly, Ling Shuying agreed.
Before long, Hai Yao returned with a few strange, lumpy materials.
They were dry and porous.
Even with her expertise in marine research, Ling Shuying couldn’t identify the species.
Hai Yao took one and tossed it into the seawater of the Tidal Pool.
Soon, the material swelled up, completely saturated with water.
Its size expanded by dozens of times.
“Is this a sponge?
Its water absorption is stronger than any known species,” Ling Shuying wondered, unable to hide her surprise at the instantly expanding mysterious object.
She thought, “The Wave Ruins truly contain a massive number of undocumented species.
If we could conduct comprehensive research here, it might push human oceanography to a whole new level.
Perhaps…
it could even give rise to a dedicated scientific discipline.”
While Ling Shuying was still marveling at the discovery, Hai Yao had already soaked all the sponges.
Their storage capacity was astonishing.
She tossed two to Ling Shuying, loaded the rest onto her own back, and demonstrated how to carry them.
Like this.
Just like this.
Twist it a bit, fold it over, and it won’t leak.”
She gestured with her hands, demonstrating the process without proper linguistic descriptors.
If they were in the City State, Ling Shuying would have undoubtedly labeled someone like this an “irrational person” who was “incapable of using language and had a low level of cognitive reasoning.”
But right now, she felt a trace of admiration for Hai Yao’s vivid and intuitive demonstration.
Simple experience—accumulated through the trials of nature, devoid of data analysis and rational calculation—could also guide human actions.
And in certain situations, it was far more reliable than pure reason.
Carrying the water on their backs, the two returned to the Sea Erosion Cave and carefully dropped the water-absorbent sponges inside.
These “buffer packs” would slowly evaporate moisture, helping to cushion against external temperature fluctuations and keep the humidity and salinity of the cave’s microenvironment stable.
Tasting a drop of the seawater and feeling the shift in the cave’s temperature and humidity, the erratic fluctuation curve in Ling Shuying’s vision gradually flattened out.
If they just brought a few more batches, the water environment of the Sea Erosion Cave would return to its original state.
Glancing at the leaf tips of the A-1 algae seedling, she noticed that the bite marks had worsened slightly, and the substrate had been stained with a smear of brown.
Qing Ling’s visual enhancement activated.
At this moment, the sunlight shone directly into the cave.
The bright lighting allowed Ling Shuying to clearly see the appearance of the creatures: they were a type of snail, smaller than a grain of rice.
Their shells were almost transparent, and they moved sluggishly.
They attached themselves to the seedlings, using their radulas to scrape away the chloroplasts and tender tissues.
And the brown smear in the substrate was clearly a type of algae—one that Ling Shuying recognized.
Felt Algae.
It was an extremely fast-growing filamentous weed algae, similar to pond scum.
Once its spores invaded, it could cover the water’s surface within days, stealing nutrients, light, and space until it ultimately smothered all other algal plants.
The experimental algae seedlings for Ling Shuying’s undergraduate thesis had been invaded and destroyed by this very same Felt Algae, nearly causing her graduation to be delayed.
No matter how genius a scholar was, there was nothing they could do when their experimental field was ruined.
Ling Shuying’s face darkened.
Recalling that humiliating incident from her past, a wave of anger toward the algae swelled in her heart.
But things were different now.
Ling Shuying was a mature, distinguished scholar, and she had Qing Ling’s assistance.
She would not let this little pest run rampant again.
Rummaging through her inner pocket, she pulled out a leaf wrapping a batch of small experimental tools, all fashioned from natural materials.
Ling Shuying fished out a pair of tweezers made from fishbones.
The tips were ground sharp, like a minimally invasive Surgical Knife.
Holding the tweezers, she crouched before the A-1 algae seedling and engaged her visual enhancement, as if declaring war on the parasitic snails and the Felt Algae.
“Hai Yao, I’ll add a cold dish to your meals.
Help me make a few more buffer packs,” Ling Shuying said, her gaze locked on the microscopic targets.
“…I have important business to attend to.”