Cao Cao called me to rob a tomb

At this point, Wu Liang guessed that it was almost done.

So I sprinkled the last layer of salt on the floating corpse and the completely deflated bugs, and wrapped all the exposed parts of the body with sackcloth, and put on a gas mask on my face, and even covered my own leather shoes. After adding a layer of salt, he stepped into the white circle made of refined salt and squatted in front of the floating corpse to check the situation up close.

At this moment, except for the deflated big bugs, all the small bugs that were clinging to the big bugs like fluff had disappeared.

In order to find out what kind of state these big bugs were in the abdominal cavity of the floating corpse before, Wu Liang did not take them out easily, but chose to sort these entangled big bugs in the abdominal cavity of the floating corpse open.

This is also careful work.

It is necessary to find the roots one by one, and then separate them one by one. If you are impatient or use too much force, you may tear them off, or make them change their original state.

This took about ten minutes.

These big bugs had been sorted out by Wu Liang. At this moment, they were neatly arranged and unfolded like strips of kelp, while the other end was still connected to the abdominal cavity of the floating corpse.

"A total of fourteen..."

Wu Liang counted and kept this number in his heart.

At this moment, the length of these big bugs was already clear at a glance. The longest one of them was almost two feet, and the shortest one reached one foot.

However, this length may be slightly different from the fresh state, and it can only be said to have a certain reference value. After all, their length should also be slightly reduced during the process of being dehydrated by refined salt.

After doing this, Wu Liang finally set his sights on the other end where they are still connected to the abdominal cavity of the floating corpse.

When separating these big bugs just now, he has already noticed that the connection between these big bugs and the inside of the floating corpse's abdominal cavity is much tighter than imagined, and it is impossible to pull them off with a gentle tug.

And this is under the circumstances that these big bugs have basically lost signs of life at this moment.

From this, it can be judged that these big bugs should not be absorbed in the abdominal cavity of the floating corpse like most molluscs, but most likely it should be a more reliable special method.

With such speculation, Wu Liang lowered his body slightly, and looked into the abdominal cavity of the floating corpse from a lower angle.

"Son."

Dian Wei didn't know when he had already lit a torch, and when he saw this, he immediately stretched the torch forward in a tacit understanding, trying his best to cooperate with Wu Liang to see more clearly.

Unknowingly, a crimson fire cloud appeared in the sky.

The sky was also getting dark gradually, and it looked like it would be night in half an hour at most.

Wu Liang was already used to this kind of tacit understanding that surpassed ordinary people, and he still leaned over to check the situation in the abdominal cavity of the floating corpse in a leisurely manner:

The other end of these large insects does not seem to be clinging to the soft tissue of the floating corpse, but all clinging to the spine and ribs, which is also the difference between them and most molluscs.

At least as far as Wu Liang knows, common molluscs like those conchs, snails, slugs, and earthworms basically feed on soft tissues, and their bones are still too hard for them. There is no such a good mouth at all, let alone being able to cling firmly to the bone after losing signs of life.

...

with such questions.

Wu Liang carefully observed the joints between these big bugs and the skeletons of the floating corpses... No!
These big worms didn't seem to be clinging to the spine and ribs of this floating corpse, but more like they directly drilled the other end into the bone?

To prove that I am not wrong.

Wu Liang immediately picked up one of the big bugs, and continued to observe the place where the two connected while pulling slightly.

This time he saw more clearly that the other end of the big bug did not cling to the surface of the bone, but was directly connected to the inside of the bone through a small hole.

What makes Wu Liang even more puzzled is that the human spine is a structure that is connected together one by one, and there are some small gaps between each section. Inside, these gaps are undoubtedly the most labor-saving shortcuts.

But this worm didn't take such a shortcut, but forcibly drilled a small hole in a complete spine in some way?
It should be known that the spine is supposed to protect the human body, so its strength and thickness are stronger than most other bones, and just drilling this small hole is absolutely necessary for molluscs like the one in front of us. Not a small project!

Wu Liang couldn't help thinking of the beak that resembled a bird's beak at the front of those little bugs.

I have to say that the mouth is indeed slightly similar to that of a woodpecker. Woodpeckers can easily dig holes in trees... Could this be the secret weapon for these bugs to drill holes in bones?
Have these in mind.

Wu Liang has already moved his hand a lot forward, almost grasping the place where the big bug connects to the spine, so as to avoid tearing the bug's body apart as much as possible during the pulling process.

Then he began to increase the force evenly...

"puff!"

With a soft sound, the other end of the big bug was completely pulled out from the spine by Wu Liang.

At the same time, a dark red viscous liquid flowed out from the small hole on the spine, which may be the bone marrow in the spine, or it may be the secretion of the big worm.

In order to prevent the imperceptible bugs in it, Wu Liang immediately grabbed a handful of refined salt and sprinkled it on the red viscous liquid, and used some refined salt to forcefully wipe the small hole.

After finishing all this, Wu Liang was carefully observing the big bug.

Sure enough, a beak-like head was found at the end where it drilled into the spine.

This head not only has a sharp and hard mouth, but there are also small jagged teeth growing in the mouth.

And around the mouth, there is a circle of small tentacles resembling the feet of a creeper, and the ends of the small tentacles are small disc-shaped suckers... This shape looks like a blooming flower at first glance, but The red stained on it is extraordinarily bloody and cruel, just like the aliens or virus monsters that appear in some science fiction movies in later generations, which makes people feel scalp numb unconsciously.

So compare.

This big bug seems to be basically the same as those small bugs except for its size, and some of the differences in details may be due to the fact that those small bugs are too small to see clearly.

...

"Young master, what exactly is this? Why is it so weird?"

Yu Ji still has a lot of curiosity at an early age. This is also the reason for joining the Huan army before. He is a model of living and learning.

Everyone also looked at Wu Liang and the big bug in his hand eagerly, with expressions of curiosity and fear on their faces.

"do not know……"

Wu Liang shook his head, but added, "However, what I have seen so far reminds me of something similar to it, except that it usually lives in the vast ocean and should not appear in inland rivers like the Yellow River. And the kind of thing I'm thinking of shouldn't grow that big."

"My lord, although the Yellow River is an inland river, it is only fifty miles away from the mouth of the sea. It's only fifty miles. Things in the ocean may not swim upstream here, right?"

Hearing this, Yu Ji immediately put forward his own idea, "And as far as I know, some sea fish will go upstream and enter inland rivers for some reasons, just like migratory birds flying in the sky, they will swim between the north and the south every year. migration."

"The old man is right..."

Wu Liang suddenly woke up like a dream.

Even in later generations, many marine organisms regularly enter inland rivers for reproduction and food, even if they will be buried by black bears during this period and the risk of being stranded is still the same.

And this big bug is obviously very interested in human corpses.

If wars and frequent floods increase the number of corpses washed down by the Yellow River, these big insects will naturally be attracted... Didn't the big dog say before that in the waters near the "Xianshan" they are about to go to, Hundreds of floating corpses often gather together, this is undoubtedly an irresistible temptation for those who are interested in human corpses!

But even this question can be explained in this way.

Is that the shape?

The kind of thing Wu Liang thought of was definitely not that big. Some branches were similar to those small bugs that he had eliminated, and the small ones could only be seen with the help of some magnifying tools.

But then again, that's just a later discovery.

There is nearly 2000 years between the end of Han Dynasty and later generations. Such a long time is enough to change many things. Some species will gradually disappear during this process, while some species will quietly evolve to continue in a form that is more suitable for this world.

These are all natural selection in nature, and human beings probably don't know enough about them. After all, even in later generations, scientists are still discovering new species... Those species have always been there, and some of them may have a history of existence. It is longer than dinosaurs, but it has not been discovered or valued by humans for a long time.

Platypus, lamprey, horseshoe crab...these are all vivid examples. For them, dinosaurs are just passers-by who appeared on the earth for a short time.

So, is it possible that the big bugs he discovered now are actually a branch of the kind of thing he thought, but due to the influence of the environment, this larger branch gradually became extinct, and later generations only found those that were smaller and easier to survive down species?

There are countless examples of this in nature...

...

"My lord, tell us what you thought of first. If you don't tell me, everyone will be more curious, right?"

Yu Ji urged with a look of expectation.

"That's right, talented brother, you can talk about it first, right? Let's analyze it together with you."

Zhuge Liang also said eagerly.

"Gentleman, let's talk, our ears are pricked up."

Zhen Mi nodded like a chicken pecking rice.

"Ah."

After thinking about it just now, Wu Liang also understood that his thinking might have entered a dead end, so he finally said to everyone, "What I thought of was actually a thing called 'bone-eating worm'. This kind of thing has a long history and usually parasitizes in the On the whales in the sea, they will enter the whales through the whisker-shaped pores, drill holes in the bones of the whales to suck the marrow and oil, and their reproduction speed is very fast, and they will eventually kill the huge whales. When a whale dies, its bones are riddled with holes."

"..."

After listening to Wu Liang's words, everyone fell into silence, with a look of bewilderment on their faces.

After a moment.

"Although the 'bone-eating worm' you mentioned is indeed somewhat similar to the bug in front of you, but..."

It was Yu Ji who raised the question in his heart as the representative, and said with a wrinkled old face.

"But what?"

Wu Liang asked.

"But what is a whale?"

Yu Ji asked.

"..."

Wu Liang was stunned for a moment.

Yes, there is no such thing as a whale in this era. The earliest record about whales is the "Han Shu", which records the phenomenon of collective stranding and suicide of whales observed by people at that time. However, in the relevant records, only whales It is called "big fish" and does not have a specific name.

So Wu Liang had to popularize science for everyone: "The so-called whale is a kind of big fish that lives in the sea. This fish is so big that it can't be stewed in a pot. As far as I know, the larger ones may be more than ten years old." Zhang, the height is also several Zhang, even the smaller ones should be seven or eight Zhang long."

"This……"

Everyone concentrated on imagining Wu Liang's description, and Yang Wanli couldn't help sighing, "Isn't that a small mountain, and there is such a strange thing in the sea? Could it be the legendary Kun?"

"You bastard is really ignorant. Although this whale is indeed very big, it is still far behind the Kun."

Yu Ji said contemptuously, "There was a saying in the ancient books when the Kun was recorded, 'The Kun is so big, I don't know how many thousands of miles it is.

"That's just a legend. Have you ever seen Kun with your own eyes?"

Yang Wanli immediately retorted.

"Although the old man has never seen Kun with his own eyes, he is still talking about the matter. The whale that the young master mentioned is absolutely impossible to be Kun. The two are not the same."

While talking, Yu Ji did not forget to pull Wu Liang into the battle group, looked at him and said, "My lord, you are well-informed, so you can judge what the old man said?"

It's crooked, everyone!
Wu Liang glanced at the two helplessly, skipped the topic and continued: "As far as I know, this 'bone-eating worm' also has the habit of collecting bones, so the place where they gather usually forms a bone mountain. , Bone Mountain is framed by a huge whalebone and filled with the rest of the bone, making it look like a giant bony fish that lived on the bottom of the ocean."

"If so..."

Everyone continued to analyze, "Then it is said that this kind of insect is entrenched in the floating corpse, and dragging the big dog into the water before should also be preying."

Cao Cao called me to rob a tomb