Fan Li and the others felt nervous when Tesla was carefully cutting the large pupa made of spider silk like a sculptural work of art.
Unlike the scientific madman Tesla, they were all worried that a terrifying creature would suddenly pop out of the cocoon.
Fortunately, when Tesla finally broke through the layers of "shell" and revealed its true appearance, it was not a fatal thing.
However, everyone was no less shocked than when they saw the terrifying creature.
Because in addition to the mummy of a man, there are also countless alien and alien creatures inside.
This creature has unusual appearance features, with powerful L-shaped hind limbs like a grasshopper, but an armored abdomen like a cockroach.
With Fan Li's limited knowledge of insects, they could not use the known biological classification logic to locate this creature. "Oh my god, what is going on?"
Tesla felt like he had found a treasure, "It's so amazing. This monster is actually an ancient creature that survived in the Cretaceous era, the alien nightmare wasp, the ancestor of Martian ants."
Fan Li disagreed, "We already have dinosaurs, so there is nothing to make a fuss about when there are alien bumblebees, right?"
Chloe also dismissed it, "It's just a bigger, scary-looking insect. I'm more concerned about how they and the mummy died."
Tesla carefully took out one, "This powerful alien predator has no descendants with alien characteristics that have evolved on the earth today.
"Moreover, only one complete corpse of this ancient alien species has been unearthed so far. It is much more precious than dinosaur fossils, and its research significance is much greater."
Mai Ziwen peeled off the cocoon silk on the mummy, "Well, this thing feels... hard and dry, very dry, almost as if it has been embalmed."
Fan Li nodded, "It looks like it's been coated with antiseptic."
Hannah disagreed, "No, it's almost as if all body fluids have been drained, more like it's been air-dried.
"Looking at his attire and features, he should be a male warrior from the Varaj tribe."
Chloe frowned, "The male warrior of the garbage digging tribe? This tribe has existed for hundreds of millions of years? This spider nest or insect cocoon has also existed for hundreds of millions of years?"
Fan Li looked up at the branch where the cocoon was removed, "What insect can catch a person...and drag it all the way to a big tree?"
Hannah's expression changed when she heard this, "Yes, I don't know what they are, but these things will fall from the sky at night, drag people up, and then eat them alive.
"I saw with my own eyes once, a ferocious and powerful barbarian was dragged to a tree and eaten alive by them.
"Quick, we have to pass through this forest as quickly as possible. We must leave before dark, because for some reason, those things are afraid of light."
Tesla, who had been lowering his head to study, breathed a sigh of relief, "Hannah is right, there may really be such a creature, an ancient alien species that even the alien giant bees are unable to fight against."
Chloe jumped, "I told you earlier that we should go back to the tower first. What should we do now? Turn back immediately?"
Mai Ziwen hesitated for a moment, "It's too late to go back. We have to keep moving forward and pass through this forest area as soon as possible. If it doesn't work, we will light bonfires and torches."
Hannah was unsure, "I only know that this kind of thing is afraid of light, but I don't know if it is afraid of fire."
Tesla affirmed, “Although the amount of firelight irradiation is not large, it will still prevent insects that are afraid of light from approaching, but the radiation range should be very small.
"And as Mai Ziwen said, we definitely don't have enough time to go back. Only by moving forward can we find out the truth of the matter."
At this time, he was still thinking about research.
You must know that whether it is the person in the cocoon or the alien wasp, except for the loss of all body fluids, almost all of them are unscathed.
What kind of strange existence is an insect that can spin silk, a creature that can "trap" humans and alien wasps at the same time and kill them quickly?
Perhaps it is a biological species that is unknown to human science so far?
When everyone set off again, except for Tesla who was in high spirits, everyone including Fan Li felt heavy.
This unknown and terrifying creature is like a sharp sword hanging above their heads, making everyone feel more depressed than ever before.
Everyone hurriedly walked for a while, and deep in the jungle, they made new discoveries.
This kind of white cocoon that seems to never fade appears more and more the deeper you go.
From huge dinosaurs to tiny crawling insects, they include almost every creature imaginable.
And in the broken roots of an ancient giant tree, Fan Li discovered another difference, "Tesla, come and take a look, there is something wrong with the growth rings of this tree."
Everyone gathered around.
Hannah frowned, "The growth ring in the middle should be the oldest, right?"
Mai Ziwen nodded, "Yes, each ring represents a growing season. This tree has a history of more than a thousand years. It records the history of rainfall and climate."
Hannah pointed to a ring in the middle that looked fresh and had a color that was obviously different from other growth rings. "My father taught me basic science, but I couldn't understand this ring."
Tesla studied it carefully and then took the tools and said, "I want to take a tree core sample."
Chloe looked at the sky, "Can we end this boring field expedition? The biggest enemy now is darkness!"
Tesla didn’t even look up, “We’re trying to figure it out.”
Chloe was upset and annoyed, "Just stare at the tree stump?"
Tesla continued working carefully, "Only by understanding the alien creature can we understand its weaknesses."
Chloe was furious, "Tesla, you, like us, are always facing the possibility of being eaten by scary monsters, and you should escape from the woods as soon as possible;
"Instead of studying this damn tree stump."
Fan Li helped Tesla take out the tree core, "Since it is an insect, its habitat is nothing more than trees and soil. Tesla is an expert in this area and he knows how to do it."
Tesla stared at the removed tree core, "Although I don't have a microscope to observe it, I found that there seemed to be some kind of living insects in the growth rings. This is very unreasonable.
"Just think about it again, in this dead primitive jungle, without lumberjacks, who would break a thousand-year-old tree?
"There are several ways for parasites to eat away at trees, but it seems that they only eat away at the living parts. Even if they are borers, they will not penetrate so deep."
Fan Li squinted his eyes and looked at the tree core against the light, and indeed found tiny squirming insects. "Perhaps the wood of this growth ring is special, and they feed on it."
Mai Ziwen took a piece of the tree core and looked at it, "Professor, can you identify what kind of insect this is?"
Tesla immediately took back the core of the tree, "Without equipment, it is impossible to confirm it specifically. It must be an unrecorded xylopharyngeal insect."
The reason why he was so anxious to take it back was because he found that these insects seemed to have become inactive.
Fan Li suddenly thought, "Maybe they have been living in that tree for hundreds of years?"
Mai Ziwen shook his head, "I don't think it will take that long, because the inner growth rings of the tree are essentially dead wood;
"The vascular system of trees only exists in the outer growth rings. Without water, they cannot survive."
He thought for a while, "If I guessed correctly, they might have hatched from the hole in the tree. Maybe there is a bigger nest deep in the heart of the tree."
Fan Li's eyes lit up, "Do you think they can form cocoons?"
Even he felt that it was extremely absurd to think that this tiny insect was the main culprit of pupae killing humans and other creatures.
However, Mai Ziwen was stunned.
Chloe was dumbfounded, "Do you think these bugs killed so many giant creatures?"