"My research institute is located behind Shenshan Middle School. I also supply some of the varieties raised in the school's silkworm breeding farm."
"This was the condition the principal gave me when inviting me to teach at Shenshan Middle School."
"Although Shenshan has a long-standing history, it hasn't ranked in the top eight in the Youlin Cup or the Fengchu Cup for many years."
"I was the champion of the 80th Young Scale Cup."
"After discovering that I developed the Light Goddess Butterfly, Principal Zhang Dashan personally approached me with an irresistible offer and recruited me."
Though Zhang Lingxue was technically a faculty member, she held great authority. Aside from her teaching duties, the school rarely assigned her additional tasks.
Shenshan Middle School was determined to achieve strong results in the Fengchu and Youlin Cups.
Zhang Lingxue now donned a white lab coat again, covering her elegant figure and giving off an air of professionalism and restraint.
She brought Ye Bai to the heavily guarded research institute.
Patrolling machines equipped with infrared scanners recognized them and allowed passage after verifying their identities.
"I've already registered your information in the system. These patrolling robots will now recognize you as one of us."
"My institute is mainly focused on researching the evolutionary path of the ever-changing silkworm."
"According to my current findings, the Variety Silkworm can also evolve into the Dark Butterfly."
Just then, a sharp sound came from the sky, and a small black butterfly fluttered down into Zhang Lingxue's arms.
It was extremely petite, its wings thin as gauze—like the purest dark-glass wings under the night sky—glowing with a faint fluorescence in the dark.
"This is the Dark Butterfly, my second contracted pet beast."
"Its special traits include invisibility in the dark and the ability to share vision with me, allowing me to see in the dark as well."
"The military was very interested when they heard about it. The Night Watch also wanted to buy the evolution formula."
"But the key issue is that the experiment cannot be replicated!"
"No matter how many times we've tried, at the crucial moment, the Variety Silkworm always evolves into a gray poisonous moth instead."
"I had originally hoped that student Li Weiyang could help, but he was taken away before I had the chance to ask."
"They say he's under protection now and won't be returning."
Zhang Lingxue shared her current research bottleneck with Ye Bai.
"This is where I raise the Variety Silkworms."
As soon as she opened the door, Ye Bai saw clusters of plump, white silkworms feeding on expensive nutrients.
"These guys eat better than I do—all for the sake of research results."
All the silkworms, regardless of size, were carefully raised.
Their bodies were smooth and jade-white, emitting a faint fragrance.
"Let me take a closer look."
Ye Bai also wanted to test the limits of his own Insight Eye.
After absorbing the essence from a life spirit seed, Ye Bai had a feeling that his Insight Eye had evolved.
He knew that if his eyes began to feel sore, he'd have to stop immediately to avoid damaging his vision.
Ye Bai activated his Insight Eye.
To avoid detection, he wore color-changing glasses in advance.
[Pet Name: Variety Silkworm]
[Level: Lv2 (Stage 1, Tier 2)]
[Skills: Charge, Silk Spinning, Hardening]
[Evolution Path: Flame Butterfly—requires absorption of fire-type natural treasures. If evolution fails, it turns into a Gray Poisonous Moth.]
[Pet Name: Variety Silkworm]
[Level: Lv2 (Stage 1, Tier 2)]
[Skills: Charge, Silk Spinning, Hardening]
[Evolution Path: Gray Poisonous Moth]
Ye Bai inspected over a dozen silkworms and noticed a recurring issue:
If a Variety Silkworm failed to evolve properly, it always turned into a Gray Poisonous Moth.
Each silkworm's attribute energy varied.
To evolve successfully, they had to consume natural materials with matching attributes.
[Pet Name: Variety Silkworm]
[Level: Lv2 (Stage 1, Tier 2)]
[Skills: Charge, Silk Spinning, Hardening]
[Evolution Path: Dark Butterfly—requires multiple dark-type treasures and must evolve at night. Otherwise, it will turn into a Gray Poisonous Moth.]
Finally, Ye Bai found a Variety Silkworm that could evolve into a Dark Butterfly.
"Teacher, have you ever tested the attributes of these Variety Silkworms?"
Due to their complex genetics and frequent mutations, analyzing their attribute energy was essential.
"I know what you're getting at. You think maybe I fed them the wrong type of materials, leading to incorrect evolution, right?"
"I've tested the attributes of every Variety Silkworm here."
"There's no such issue," Zhang Lingxue said, having already considered and tried every conceivable variable, to no avail.
Instead, her mind had grown increasingly muddled from overthinking.
Even when she detected a silkworm with dark attributes, she didn't dare act rashly.
"By the way, Teacher, why is there no one else in this institute?" Ye Bai asked, looking around curiously.
"I run the entire place with intelligent systems and robots."
"The more people involved, the more risk of spies or data theft. If my research were stolen, I'd be devastated."
Ye Bai nodded. Clearly, the teacher trusted him fully—enough to bring him here.
"This is my research data on the Dark Butterfly. It includes cases of failed evolution too. Go over it and let me know if anything stands out."
"I've been pulling all-nighters. I'll take a quick nap."
The head teacher yawned and walked toward the lounge.
Ye Bai began flipping through the experimental records.
Before long, he closed the book.
He had already found the issue—Zhang Lingxue's experiments failed because they ignored the time of evolution.
Nighttime was a required condition.
That was the missing piece.
Hearing the silkworms rustle as they ate, Ye Bai smiled.
After an hour's nap, Zhang Lingxue came out refreshed.
"Ye Bai, did you make any big discoveries?"
This was her way of testing him. If he failed to provide a useful answer, it would impact her impression of him.
Ye Bai had no intention of disappointing her.
"Teacher, I did find something important."
Zhang Lingxue immediately perked up.
"Tell me what you've discovered."
Ye Bai already had the answer but decided to reverse-engineer it from the problem.
After a moment's thought, he said, "Teacher, do you think the environment plays a crucial role in the evolution of the Dark Butterfly?"
"For example, evolution might need to occur at night. I found that your data lacks consideration of the environmental factors."