Of the common octopus beast's eight arms, the one Shen Cong cared about most was the mating arm.

Not because he had any special taste for "pizzles" and the like, but because the mating arm was the most special of an octopus's eight arms.

In theory, all eight of an octopus's arms have secondary brains. It's the secondary brains that make the arms so incredibly nimble, masters of camouflage, color change and hunting alike. In the common octopus beast's arms, no secondary brain had been found to have evolved into a Superbrain, but they had evolved into brain-fire, which proved the secondary brains were there.

Secondary brains and brain-fire were very special tissues.

And the secondary brain in the mating arm, as Shen Cong saw it, ought to be the most developed of the eight.

He had read academic reports on it. In some species of octopus, the mating arm can detach straight from the body and then swim off on its own toward the female.

And complete the mating.

Anything that could navigate and do its job on its own had to have at least a little independent consciousness.

Maybe whatever structure the secondary brain in the mating arm had evolved would bring him a pleasant surprise.

As for Brother Dao, it had already run off to the volcanic lake and was gulping down lava to rinse its mouth out.

"Common octopus beast, you're in my hands now. Time to sit still and talk to me properly, don't you think?" Shen Cong stood on the common octopus beast's head, and the octopus–Cicada Language translation began.

The common octopus beast gave off a violent emotion: "I'm going to kill you... It hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much... My tentacles are cut off... Damn shrimp... Kill you!"

"Looks like you still haven't raised your political consciousness. I'll come back in a little while."

Shen Cong swung down, went back into the Vajra and drove it over to the mating arm. With the 70Bs serving as his hands, he began dissecting the mating arm.

The spirit-fire system in the mating arm…