Chapter 1242 - The Theory of Oxygen Supply Layer (2/2)

“Oh?” Jiang Chen waited for him to continue.

“In addition to the strong acid blood, we also found some unique organic compounds in its blood.” Verdell Taylor wrote a string of chemical formulas on the whiteboard, of which Jiang Chen could not comprehend with his knowledge. “And this organic compound can only exist in a strong acid environment.”

“…My chemistry knowledge is only at that of an undergraduate student.” Jiang Chen said while looking at the long list of chemical formulas on the whiteboard.

“You don’t have to understand it, you just need to recognize this symbol.” Verdell Taylor shook his head and pointed to the letter O in the formula. “These represent oxygen atoms.”

“I do know this…” Suddenly, Jiang Chen found the strangeness in the formula.

Almost after every few letters, he could see an uppercase O.

This may be a bit amateur of an explanation, but it intuitively reflected the problem.

“Even if this Mars creature could survive in an acidic environment, it would never be able to survive without oxygen.” Verdell Taylor said in a tone with absolute certainty. “We have not yet named this organic compound, but it’s an organic compound that can only exist in a strongly acidic environment, and this exact compound gives the Devil Worm the ability to move in an anaerobic environment!”

Jiang Chen understood the message.

There was no oxygen on the surface of Mars. And not just on the surface, but oxygen must also be depleted in the caves underground. The Devil Worms that moved underground like worms must possessed an organ that held oxygen. Jiang Chen suspected it may be a kind of high-pressure airbag, but it turned out the blood was the enabler…

Wait, if there is no oxygen on the surface and underground, where is it getting its oxygen?

There is also the Gaia civilization. He never noticed this problem but how did civilizations breathe underground? It’s just unrealistic to think they mastered air filtration in the Stone Age.

How did these Mars creatures survive underground?

Jiang Chen suddenly realized the problem.

And Verdell Taylor’s next sentence revealed the answer to this question.

“The oxygen content in the atmosphere is less than 1%, and it’s impossible to provide the oxygen needed for an arthropod of this size,” Verdell Taylor said with a hint of excitement. “So, we can say with certainty that there must be a location underground with high oxygen concentration! We call it ‘Oxygen Supply Layer’!”

“Oxygen Supply Layer?” Jiang Chen frowned.

“Yes!” Verdell Taylor nodded, and the excitement between his eyebrows grew stronger and stronger. “I’m sure that in this special underground layer, there must be some special anaerobic fungus. This fungus has adapted to the Mars environment and survives in the acidic environment by consuming carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. Its energy source may be geothermal, or it may be the Devil Worm’s feces, but it acts as both a producer and a decomposer. Only with the presence of this fungi could the underground biosphere form into a locked loop!”

“I was invited by SpaceX to design an anaerobic bacterium that could survive in a medium-acid environment for their Mars atmosphere transformation project.”

“Do you know what this bacterium means to us?” Verdell Taylor said with euphoria and zeal on his face.

Although Jiang Chen could already guess it, he still asked the question.

“What does this mean?”

“It means we will be able to transform the atmosphere on Mars!”