The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4089

Chapter 4089 Survival Pressure

The discussion that Gloriana held with Ves stuck in her mind throughout the rest of the excursion.

She remained distracted and in thought even when the submersible approached a pod of whales.

"It's kind of funny how there are whales on every aquatic planet." Ves mirthfully said as he and his daughter eagerly looked and studied the whale-like exobeasts.

While they shared a great resemblance to Old Earth's whales, the biologies of the local species were substantially different. They weren't mammals who had gone back to living underwater so they did not have to swim to the surface in order to breathe in the local air.

However, their large bodies and their graceful lines were highly similar to that of many large aquatic races such as the phase whales.

If not for the fact that the House of Meringo had performed detailed genetic studies on the whale species of Makairo IV, Ves would have thought that these beasts were the genetic off-shoots of the phase whales.

Ves became disappointed at the whales after a time. While they possessed plenty of interesting biological properties, none of them possessed any extraordinary qualities.

They merely relied on their bulky body mass to fend off predators and stay alive in these waters.

Aurelia enjoyed the fact that there were juveniles among the pod of alien whales.

"Look! Look! Little whales!"

"Yup. These are whale calves. They're like you but in the form of a whale."

"Huh?"

"Do you see the big whale that the little one over there is following around? That must be the calf's mother."

"Whales have mama's?"

"Every human and creature has mothers, Aurelia. That is the magic of life. Of course, all of those mothers are different from your own mama. She is much more special to you than any other mama."

Aurelia continued to enjoy the sight of the whale calves swimming around and interacting with the bigger ones of the pod.

Though the whales undoubtedly detected the presence of the human vessels and mechs, they barely paid attention for some reason. They acted completely natural and at home in the waters, which granted the tourists a glimpse of life in the Red Ocean that was free from most concerns.

Of course, no one could guarantee that these native whales would be able to relax in the future. For example, the House of Meringo might abandon its current development strategy.

What if the whales had no use to the current rulers of Makairo IV? They would literally turn into fish on the chopping block once the people in charge of the planet wanted to make room for other species!

Both Ves and Gloriana continued to think about different topics as they continued to enjoy their vacation.

They visited a jungle the next day where they could observe both large and smaller exobeasts trying to survive every day.

The smaller creatures had to scurry around carefully because there were too many larger and stronger predators that could easily pounce on them in a second.

On the other hand, the larger exobeasts weren't comfortable either. In exchange for growing big enough to fend off many predators and gain extra power in their fights, they needed to ingest more food and conserve their energy whenever they didn't need to do anything.

It was interesting to observe their niches, their survival pressure and their ability to thrive under adverse circumstances.

From eight-legged mammals that lived their entire lives on tree branches to giant tunneling insects that sneakily fed on the leftovers of other creatures, there were so many new and unusual survival strategies that they sometimes became the source of inspiration for a potential new mech design.

Both Ves and Gloriana regularly entertained themselves by exchanging their ideas on possible future mechs.

"Those wasp-like insects are really interesting." Ves noted as their shuttle flew over a clearing. "The ordinary worker insects look quite weak and dimwitted when they are caught on their own, but as long as they group around their leader insect, they suddenly turn into a coordinated army. It's quite frightening to see how the presence of a single leader figure can completely transform this weak race into a formidable swarm that can devour larger and more dangerous predators."

Due to Makairo VI's relatively low gravity and richer natural resources, a lot of species developed sizable statures.

These exoinsects were no exception. The commander was the size of a human hand and could pose a serious threat to a human on its own. The worker insects were not as impressive, but their lethality was absolutely high if they grouped up into a swarm!

The insects showed what they were capable of by descending on a vigilant mammalian octapod.

The eight-legged creature bleated in alarm and darted away as soon as the giant alien wasps descended upon its vulnerable form.

Yet despite the mammal's impressive speed, the wasp commander already anticipated this reaction and had already spread out different squads.

Two of those wasp squads happened to be in a position to intercept the fleeing mammal. Dozens of worker insects dove and bit at the fur and skin of the panicking mammal as their species did not come with any stingers.

It did not matter. The wasps were strong in other ways and soon inflicted so much damage onto the mammal that it had slowed down.

Soon, the creature stopped entirely once it turned into a bloody mess. The rest of the wasp swarm arrived a moment later and began to gorge on the fresh meat in different batches.

With at least two-thirds of the wasp swarm on guard at all times, none of the carnivores in the vicinity wished to try their luck and snatch the prey from the deadly insects!

"Ewwww…" Aurelia's face scrunched in disgust.

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