The next morning, Yang Lin, who had been thinking about the giant creature all night and hadn't slept much, headed straight to the airport.
Two hours later, he arrived in Ming Kun and, through the connections of Teacher Xiao Liang and Director Song, managed to contact the Ming Kun City Insect Research Institute. After several twists and turns, he was finally led by the institute to a tropical rainforest in Lincang.
As soon as he arrived at the valley shown in the photograph, Yang Lin was awestruck by the scene before him.
Looking out, rows of heavily armed Dragon Country soldiers guarded the entrance to the valley, resembling a military stronghold.
"Director Yang, it's only because you're here today that this is possible. Anyone else might not have been able to enter the Insect Valley. The country has now taken full control of this matter and is awaiting the arrival of relevant experts."
Outside the valley, Yan Bin, the director of the Insect Research Institute, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, said with emotion.
Hearing his words, Yang Lin immediately showed a hint of surprise.
"Oh? Is the matter being taken this seriously by the authorities?"
"Of course. The situation here is so unique, and such a giant cocoon has appeared. It might be the precursor to a crisis, so we have to take it seriously."
As he spoke, Director Yan took out a pass.
With the pass, he then led Yang Lin further into the valley.
As soon as they entered the valley, the giant creatures that had previously appeared in the photos emerged one by one.
Just like when he entered Dolphin Island previously.
Casually catching a dragonfly larger than his palm, Yang Lin immediately began to observe it closely.
Soon, he discovered that this dragonfly was similar to the dragonflies outside, just an ordinary frost-white dragonfly, with the only difference being its significantly larger size.
Besides this dragonfly, he also found a swallowtail butterfly as large as a kite.
"As expected, they are giant animals like those on Dolphin Island. Could there be a similar meteorite here too?"
A strange thought crossed Yang Lin's mind, recalling the waterfall he had seen in the photo with the giant cocoon.
The same terrain, the same giant creatures, it was possible that the deep pool beneath the waterfall was also created by an extraterrestrial meteorite.
To verify his guess, he hurried his pace.
Twenty minutes later, he could hear the sound of water from afar.
Thirty minutes later, a waterfall descending from the sky was right in front of him.
Just as Yang Lin had anticipated, there was a deep pool beneath the waterfall, just like the one underground on Dolphin Island.
After glancing at the deep pool, his gaze immediately shifted to the giant cocoon hanging high above the waterfall.
Four thick silk threads hung from the cliffs on either side of the giant cocoon.
If he hadn't seen this scene in a photo before, Yang Lin would have been utterly stunned right now.
Even with prior preparation, he still felt his scalp tingle upon seeing it up close.
Perhaps sensing Yang Lin's shock, Director Yan Bin of the Insect Research Institute, who was accompanying him, suddenly spoke.
"It looks unreal, doesn't it? I thought it was fake when I first saw it."
"I even thought someone had created it as a prank until we detected signs of life inside with a life detector."
As soon as Yan Bin finished speaking, Yang Lin's eyes immediately turned towards him.
"Director Yan, what did you just say? You mean there are signs of life inside this cocoon? Is whatever is inside still alive?"
"That's right. While it's hard to believe, it is indeed true. We used several life detectors, and the results were all the same."
After confirming he hadn't misheard, Yang Lin asked his second and third questions.
"Director Yan, can you roughly determine what kind of creature is inside this giant cocoon?"
"Is there a possibility of it hatching?"
Hearing Yang Lin's two questions, Director Yan first pondered for a moment, then took out a small notebook.
"In nature, there are only a few types of creatures that can form cocoons on their own."
"Most belong to the order Lepidoptera, and this giant cocoon resembles one formed by the superfamily Bombycoidea, which are moths. However, this is all still subject to further discussion."
"If this truly is a cocoon formed by a moth, then its adult form would far exceed that of a large passenger jet."
"A moth..." Muttering to himself, Yang Lin committed Director Yan's words to memory.
"If only the system wasn't under maintenance right now, I could determine what exactly it is and how long it will take to hatch."
As he spoke, he found an excuse to stay there.
Yang Lin's actions did not seem out of place to Yan Bin; on the contrary, he welcomed them.
After another round of observation, Yang Lin was led to a camp located next to the waterfall. They would begin further research on the giant cocoon once other experts arrived.
As time slowly passed, it soon became eight o'clock in the evening.
The moment the watch hands pointed to eight, the long-awaited system notification sounded.
"Ding! System upgrade and maintenance is complete."
"The current system has been upgraded to Level 3, and the following functions have been successfully unlocked."
"Animal Simulator. (Upon use, you can simulate a random animal and experience its entire life. After the simulation ends, you can randomly obtain one of the animal's talents.) Cooldown: 24 hours."
"Mind Control. (Upon use, you can briefly gain control of an animal's body.) Cooldown: 24 hours."
"Talent Extraction. (Upon use, you can extract a specific talent from an animal. Depending on the talent's level, it will consume different talent points.)"
"Talent Replication. (Upon use, you can replicate a talent you have previously acquired. Depending on the talent's level, it will consume different talent points.)"
"Talent Fusion. (Upon use, you can randomly select two different types of talents to fuse and produce a new talent.)"
"Talent Enhancement. (Upon use, you can strengthen the effects of an activated talent. Each enhancement will consume different talent points.)"
.....
A series of notification sounds left Yang Lin stunned.
He hadn't expected that upgrading the system from Level 2 to Level 3 would unlock so many new functions.
There was so much to do, so much to use.
Just as he thought it was over, the system notification sounded again.
"Due to the extended maintenance period, causing a poor user experience for the host, the system will issue a compensation gift package."
"The gift package contains Talent Points*100, Talent Chests*10, Skill Level Upgrade Vouchers*2."
Yang Lin: !!!
At this moment, Yang Lin felt like kneeling down and calling the system "Dad."
This was hardly a maintenance compensation; what kind of maintenance compensation gave out so many items?