Over ten million years ago, the first Nyxian accidentally crawled out of a subterranean cavern and gazed up at the distant starry sky...

That day happened to be perfectly clear. A violent hail storm had just passed, stripping away the thick layers of volcanic ash and toxic clouds. The shy Milky Way finally revealed its true form, like a luminous waterfall suspended in the heavens, its primary stars twinkling with captivating beauty.

The ancient, ignorant, primitive reptilian was deeply drawn to the brilliance of the cosmos for the very first time... He stood there, shivering in the freezing winds of minus sixty or seventy degrees Celsius, utterly mesmerized.

He witnessed the vastness of the stars and instinctively yearned to unravel the mysteries of the endless universe.

Perhaps all intelligent civilizations share a common trait: when faced with the infinite cosmos, they inevitably feel their own insignificance.

Even the reptiles crawling in the mud have the right to gaze at the stars. Even if an entire species is silent and stagnant, there will always be a few mavericks who crawl out of the gutter and look toward the horizon...

Upon returning to the caverns, that ancient Nyxian painted a crude mural depicting the starry sky.

This mural became an invaluable cultural treasure for the later Nyx Civilization, passed down through generations! It was widely featured in their children’s educational primers and evolved into a classic historical fable.

It proved that the Nyxians were not content with hiding in small caves; they aspired to reach the vast surface of their planet. And eventually... the endless starry sky!

The recorded history of the Nyx Civilization began with this very mural.

From that point onward, a unique title emerged in their culture: "The Great Sage," designating the absolute wisest individual of their era.

The title was not hereditary; it demanded the most outstanding scientific breakthroughs and required the universal recognition of their global society. It was the highest honor of any era.

Throughout many successive dynasties, this title often remained vacant because no one was qualified to inherit it.

The Nyx Civilization progressed through primitive tribalism, slave states, feudal empires, and finally, an industrialized, modernized society...

This evolutionary timeline was remarkably similar to human history.

However, one stark difference remained: even when subterranean chaos erupted and dynasties violently changed hands, whenever the ruling class interacted with a Great Sage, they were always exceptionally respectful and never dared to show the slightest impatience.

Rulers were common, but there was only one Great Sage in any given era—and sometimes, none at all...

"The reason for this reverence is that Nyx is simply too hostile... They constantly needed technological breakthroughs, and they desperately required stronger industrial capabilities at all times just to survive," Jason sighed as he sat across from Lily at the dining table.

"Once they realized that higher intellect brought greater survival power, their entire species began to fanatically pursue supreme wisdom..."

Different environments breed vastly different cognitive frameworks.

Life on Earth was peaceful, and the biosphere was highly forgiving. As long as agriculture or animal husbandry was developed, humanity could easily ensure the survival of the species. Even in the face of natural disasters or man-made calamities, absolute mass extinction was highly unlikely; it was almost impossible for every single human to die.

Therefore, for humans on Earth, agriculture and food production were of paramount importance; it was the most natural evolutionary mindset.

In ancient agrarian societies on old Earth, ruling classes typically implemented policies that prioritized farming while actively suppressing commerce and trade. The aristocracy viewed agriculture as the bedrock of the state, while dismissing trade, science, and artisanship as "frivolous pursuits."

The prevailing theory among ancient feudal governments was that merchants simply profited by moving goods around, rather than actively contributing to physical production. Because they made money through "speculation and profiteering," ancient rulers placed merchants at the absolute bottom of the social hierarchy.

Given the sociopolitical climate of the time, this was completely understandable.

Based on this logic, the social status of craftsmen and engineers was also lower than that of farmers. The core reasoning was simple: people need to eat, and without food, society collapses! Humanity could still survive without heavy industry.

Although farming carried a humble, earthy connotation, it was deeply revered because of its vital importance to national stability. Whether a scholar was a high-ranking government official or a retired landowner, showing concern for agricultural issues demonstrated moral integrity and a high sense of civic duty.

However, the elites often looked down on the manual labor of artisans, placing them below the peasantry.

But the Nyxians were fundamentally different from humans; their environment was infinitely more brutal.

They were locked in a constant, desperate struggle against nature. Volcanic eruptions, tectonic earthquakes, or cavern collapses—any of these localized disasters could cause catastrophic casualties, or even wipe out a major settlement entirely!

Lily pulled out a translated historical dossier and a biological research report on Nyxian fossils from her satchel.

"Furthermore, and most importantly: the Nyxians had very little need for traditional food. Or rather, they consumed very little! Consequently, the profession of ’farmer’ simply didn’t exist in their society, and they never developed large-scale agriculture. Basic hunting and gathering were more than enough to meet their caloric needs!"

"Instead, they valued heavy industry and applied technology!"

"This is the most profound cognitive divergence caused by environmental pressures. That is why they developed advanced sciences incredibly early compared to humanity."

"Through our morphological analysis of the fossils and data extracted from their primers, we discovered that their digestive tracts were incredibly small. Ingesting physical food wasn’t their primary source of energy..."

"Their bodies evolved to utilize ambient geothermal radiation to directly synthesize organic matter!"

Jason nodded repeatedly. Even though he had long since outgrown the mindset of an academic underachiever... and had literally just reviewed this data during the executive briefing, having a brilliant mind like Lily explain it to him one-on-one felt remarkably pleasant.

Lily had a soft, melodic voice, and her Advanced Federation Standard pronunciation was flawless. From every objective angle, there was absolutely nothing to criticize about her.

Strangely enough, the moment they shifted the conversation to work and scientific analysis, the suffocating awkwardness from earlier completely evaporated, and their dynamic returned to a comfortable, natural flow.

"In this regard, the physical biology of the Nyxians was vastly different from humanity. They possessed a specialized organ we’re classifying as the ’thermonucleus,’ located roughly in the center of their thoracic cavity. This was their primary nutrient production engine..."

"...They could synthesize organic matter directly from the toxic air using thermonuclear cells, fueled entirely by geothermal energy."

The Senior Scientists hypothesized that the baseline core body temperature of a Nyxian was around 30 degrees Celsius. When they entered an environment with ambient temperatures of 40 or 50 degrees Celsius or higher, the massive temperature differential activated the "thermonucleus" organ within their chest.

It synthesized organic compounds from inhaled carbon dioxide, methane, hydrogen sulfide, and ambient moisture. Simultaneously, their core body temperature would slowly rise until it achieved equilibrium with the environment.

Through this biological process, they required very little physical food intake; it was the equivalent of replenishing their energy reserves simply by taking a nap near a high-temperature magma vent. Eating was just a secondary, supplementary method of caloric intake.

From an evolutionary standpoint... they actually appeared biologically superior to humanity!