Chapter 744 - Green Tide
Chapter 744: Green Tide
Faint golden electric arcs shot out from Meng Chao’s fingertips.
They twined around a few harvesting blades and danced around the cables, scraping off some samples of the covering.
He put the samples of the covering, the faint green liquid extracted from the deformed monster’s body, and the strange green lichen under the crystal microscope to study.
As expected, he found something that was highly active in animal cells, plant cells, and fungal cells.
Meng Chao asked Long Feijun, as well as the others, to come over and observe.
Then, he began to ponder.
“I have an idea, or rather, a question.”
After everyone saw it, Meng Chao said, “Have you ever thought about how monsters come about? I mean, monsters like the seven-star Wolf Spiders that can combine the characteristics of arthropods and mammals, or monsters like the griffins that can combine liger-type monsters and falcon-type monsters. They certainly didn’t evolve naturally. There must be… a ‘modulator’, right?”
Long Feijun and the other members of the exploration team looked at each other and nodded at the same time. “That’s right.”
“However, the chances of failure are very high for this type of modulation, which combines the most brutal features of all kinds of animals in an attempt to create the most powerful carbon-based biological weapon. That’s because the organs and motor functions of most animals are not compatible at all. The slightest carelessness will result in a situation like this small saber-toothed tiger with two wings on its ribs, where its different organs contradict each other. Forget fighting, even survival will be extremely difficult.”
Meng Chao continued, “Therefore, the modulator must carry out a large number of experiments and fuse the organs of countless monsters… No, it’s not a fusion yet. It should be ‘stitching’ together and screening out the species with stronger combat ability and longer survival time. They should discard the failed products that were pieced together.
“This process is somewhat similar to human genetic farms. The seeds are optimized and screened over generations. Naturally, the crops that we need the most will be obtained.
“The Hidden Mist Domain is the ‘genetic farm’ of the monster civilization. No, to be more precise, it should be the laboratory.
“The main brain of the monster civilization sewed up a large number of deformed and ugly monsters in the depths of the foggy extinction domain and released them to observe their traits, combat ability, and survival time, and analyze the possibility of further modulation.
“If the ‘combat parameters’and ‘survival time’are relatively excellent, we can further modulate them or replicate them in large quantities and turn them into the ‘Beast Tide’that we see.”
Everyone followed Meng Chao’s train of thought and revealed expressions of sudden enlightenment.
“How do we explain the super-active cells that are hidden in the moss, lichens, and deformed monsters?”Long Feijun asked.
“I think it’s some kind of… ‘biological glue’,”Meng Chao said
Meng Chao said, “The so-called ‘monsters’are animals that are different from each other. The organs, characteristics, and traits of animals and plants are all stitched together. It will inevitably trigger an extremely strong rejection reaction. Two or even three sets of completely different organs can not coexist. At that time, they will have to be glued together with the ‘biological glue’.
“Originally, a monster whose organs were forcibly pieced together might not live for more than three to five hours.
“After the bonding of the ‘biological glue’, it might survive for three to five days or even longer.
“We thought that the monsters were the products of natural evolution and overestimated their survival time. Naturally, three to five days was far from enough.
“However, if some of the monsters were artificially created to attack Dragon City, as long as it could survive for three to five days, it would be enough.”
Long Feijun nodded repeatedly. He thought for a moment and asked, “Then, why was the mysterious ‘biological glue’not found in the bodies of the monsters that Dragon City captured in the past?”
“Two possibilities.”
Meng Chao extended two fingers. “Either that, the monsters are all ‘mass-produced’models that have been successfully tested, and their organs are perfectly compatible without the need to use the ‘biological glue’to glue them together.
“Or, these strange cells have already fused into the monsters’bodies in a more mature and secretive way, and with our current biochemical technology, we’re still unable to detect them.
“Wait, if that’s the case…”
Meng Chao suddenly stopped talking.
Looking at the lush green lichens in the distance that were so intense that they didn’t seem real, he started thinking silently once again.
Suddenly, he threw the small saber-toothed tiger with wings far away towards the lichen.
The monster’s corpse, which was cut into pieces and covered in blood, fell into the green lichen and immediately caused a green tide to surge.
Countless lichens seemed to have been stimulated. From the depths of the mushroom blanket, they extended tiny green threads and wrapped the monster’s corpse tightly.
At first, the monster’s corpse was still like a small hill that was high and bulging.
Soon, it became smaller and smaller amidst a series of ‘Chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi’sounds.
About a minute later, the lichen returned to its original state as if nothing had happened.
Only one corpse was missing.
Meng Chao signaled long Feijun to let the exploration team burn the lichen.
The two exploration team members stepped forward again and raised their flamethrowers.
The lichen turned into ashes, revealing the broken bones below.
This saber-toothed tiger with two wings was only the size of a bobcat.
But with a pair of wide wings, it weighed hundreds of pounds.
But it was completely devoured by the lichen within a minute.
Even the bones had countless needle-like holes, as if it had been soaked in highly corrosive acid for a long time.
It seemed that if they had burned the lichen a little later, there would not even be any bones left of the saber-toothed tiger.
Moreover, not far from the saber-toothed Tiger’s corpse, they found traces of more monster corpses.
Because they had been swallowed by the lichen for too long, these monster corpses really only had a tiny bit of bone residue left.
However, there were quite a number of them. According to Meng Chao’s identification, there were at least dozens of different types of monsters with the hardest claws, teeth, and horns.
“This makes sense. Since the hidden fog absolute domain is a natural large-scale laboratory, why don’t we see too many corpses of ‘experimental subjects’and ‘failed products’Here?”
Meng Chao said, “The weird cells contained in the green lichens are not only the magical ‘biological glue’, but the lichens themselves are also natural ‘scavengers’. They can devour the weak and the strong among the experimental subjects and break down the corpses into the most basic raw materials and energy. Perhaps, they can be transported back to the ultimate nest of the monster civilization in an unbelievable way so that the ‘mainframe’can carry out a new round of modulation.
“Now, there’s only one problem.
“These green lichens must have smelled the fresh blood on the monster’s corpse. That’s why their activity increased so much that they devoured it.
“Will the fresh blood of humans trigger a strong reaction from them?”
As Meng Chao spoke, the reaping blade spun and cut a small wound on his fingertip. It moved to another piece of lichens not far away.
A drop of blood seeped out of the wound. Before it fell, it triggered the response of the lichen under his finger.
A few clusters of lichens hissed and extended green threads, greedily taking the blood.
Meng Chao dripped the blood into the lichens.
It was like ice water dripping into a boiling pot of oil, causing ear-piercing squeaking, sizzling, sizzling sounds.
He squeezed another drop of blood to the edge of the lichens. It was about 20 to 30 centimeters away from the lichens, on the scorched ground.
Two clusters of lichens sniffed the scent of fresh blood and squirmed over with all their might.
However, one cluster of lichens, which was relatively far away, only squirmed for five centimeters before shrinking back.
The remaining cluster licked the drop of blood successfully. As strands of dark red spread in the emerald green, it became even more beautiful and intense.
Meng Chao threw another drop of blood a meter away.
This time, none of the lichens moved.
“They can’t sense the flesh a meter away?”Long Feijun asked.
“No, it’s not worth it.”
Meng Chao said, “Activate Your Super Vision, and you’ll find that when I threw the blood a meter away, a few green threads stuck out of several clusters of lichens and trembled a few times in the direction of the blood.
“It should have sensed it, but the energy it consumed to move the entire settlement was far more than a drop of blood could make up for. Therefore, it couldn’t be bothered to move.
“If it wasn’t a drop of blood, but a human covered in wounds and bleeding profusely, I believe that they would have come here without any effort.”
This sentence gave everyone goosebumps.
“It seems that the most terrifying creatures in the hidden fog domain are not the monsters, but the weird lichens?”Long Feijun mumbled.
Meng Chao agreed with his judgment.
They temporarily named these dangerous lichens the green tide.
After repeated tests, they found that the green tide possessed extremely strong mobility and regenerative abilities. It could invade the bodies of animals and plants, devour flesh and blood, seize nutrients, multiply infinitely, and even cover the entire jungle.
The good news was that the spiritual energy of extraordinary individuals had a strong restraining effect on the green tide.
Moreover, they were afraid of fire and could be temporarily eliminated with flame ejectors and incendiary bombs.
If the heavy incendiary bombs were fired from a train gun and filled with fire-type crystals, they might even be completely eliminated.
Of course, it was best not to stand next to anyone when it was ‘completely eliminated’.
Otherwise, it would literally be ‘mutually assured destruction’.
Apart from that, there was more good news.
The components of the portal had been tested, and the technicians had pieced together all the components needed for a portal.
Next, they only needed to spend time to assemble it.
After the spiritual energy frenzy caused by the carpet bombing subsided, the communicator also made contact with the other nine exploration teams and the rear, connecting the tactical data chain.
Other than the Kun Peng that had to call for long-range fire support due to the attack of the ultra-high voltage transmission tower, the other nine exploration teams had ventured deep into the jungle without any danger.
Before the spiritual magnetic interference intensified again, they had successfully shared their positions and the latest topographic map. Their exploration of the hidden fog domain had increased to more than 60% .
“Since everyone is still well-organized, let’s follow the original plan and march toward the sinkhole in ten directions!”
The Strange Green Tide made long Feijun’s hair stand on end.
In order to avoid more trouble, he made a prompt decision.