Alien Relic Hunter

"Affects the brain? But the problem is that we didn't inhale the mist at all!" Thirty-three said with a frown.

"It may not be the cause of the fog, it may be the magnetic field, or it may be some extraordinary power that cannot be detected by human technology... The gap between us and Alpha Civilization is simply a chasm." Ivan said.

"Tsk... That's right." Thirty-three glanced down at the black blade close to his fingers and nodded.

"And I discovered one more thing." Ivan raised the transparent specimen bag in his hand, which contained several pieces of tree bark that he had spent a lot of effort peeling off with his robotic arm, but now, these The bark separated from the trunk has shown obvious signs of decay, turning into something like rotten cotton wool.

"This plant should not have evolved naturally, but is a creation of Alpha Civilization's biotechnology. Like the erosion seed, part of the limb will decompose and become necrotic in a short time after leaving the main body... From a certain perspective, it seems that It's also... quite environmentally friendly," Ivan continued.

"No, if the bark of the tree will rot when it is peeled off, then how did these loggers transport the harvested wood back to the ark? Do they have any special way of preserving it?" Thirty-three wondered.

Ke Lan also looked at Mo Jue with some curiosity.

"Actually, there is no special preservation method. It's just that the parts we choose to harvest are different - do you know that there is a plant called 'banyan tree' on the earth?" Mo Jue changed the topic and suddenly asked about another plant that seemed to be Trees that have nothing to do with the problem.

"I know." Ke Lan and Ivan said in unison, but Thirty-three was stunned for a moment, with a confused look on his face.

"Ugh, after being a boss for most of my life, I still suffered the disadvantage of being uneducated." Thirty-three laughed at himself, "How come the indigenous plants on Alpha Planet are related to the banyan trees on Earth? Please tell me in detail."

"Banyan tree, a banyan tree plant of the Moraceae family, a large tree, up to 15-25 meters in height..." Ivan read like an encyclopedia of humanoid creatures, but when he read, "The banyan tree crown has a huge area, extending outward. There will be clusters of beard-like aerial roots hanging down. Once these aerial roots touch the ground, they will take root..." But he suddenly stopped.

"These aerial roots drilled into the soil are the same as the roots on the main trunk of the banyan tree itself. They can absorb nutrients from the soil and continue to grow. The thickest ones can even grow close to the main trunk. At this stage, these aerial roots become Becoming a pillar root... A large banyan tree that is old enough can have thousands or even tens of thousands of pillar roots, describing the strange scene of 'a single tree becomes a forest'." Ke Lan continued.

"I didn't expect you ruin hunters to know a lot about botany." Mo Jue glanced at Ke Lan and Ivan in surprise, "Yes, the mist perch is very similar to the banyan tree on Earth. , that is, a single tree forms a forest. Behind the red line, an ordinary adult mist tree covers an area of ​​more than 10,000 square meters... Most of the tree trunks you see are actually hanging down from the crown. The pillar roots coming down.”

"What do you mean, all these mist trees are actually the same one?" Thirty-three raised his head and looked around, "How amazing..."

"Well... the largest single fog tree we have ever seen covers an area of ​​dozens of hectares. According to my father's speculation, the core area of ​​the gray fog forest, the place you are going to, the foggy mountain that reaches the sky Underneath... there is probably only one mist perch."

"The core area covers at least one hundred square kilometers, which is 10,000 hectares... Is such a large mist habitat enough to be called the King of Trees?" Ivan asked excitedly.

"My father said that this 'Super Mist Perch' is probably inseparable from the secret hidden in the center of the forest." Mo Jueyou said, "This is one of the few times he has mentioned to me and that' Secret' stuff."

"This forest should have been planted by the Alphas... What is their purpose for doing this? Is it because they are hiding something?" Ke Lan couldn't help but fell into thinking... He suddenly felt that information about the Undead Crew would be revealed. Deviation: Is there a possibility that what is hidden in the core of the Gray Mist Forest is not an engine wreckage, but something else?

"The 'trunk' you just selected is actually just a pillar root. Even if the pillar root is harvested, it will rot into slag in just a few hours. Only the real trunk can be preserved... Find the location of the trunk, In fact, it is the longest step in our harvesting work." Mo Jue looked at the specimen bag in Ivan's hand and said, "Another point is that the main trunk will not 'eat people', only the pillar roots will be eaten by the fog. Wood is used as a 'feeding organ'. So when I saw the corpse embedded in the root of the 'trunk', I knew it was a pillar root."

"Then how can we determine which one is the real trunk? Do we need to dig the bark of the tree one by one to check?" Thirty-three asked.

"The bark of the main trunk will also rot when it is cut off. The 'marrow' located in the heart of the fog tree must be connected together to prevent it from rotting. It is precisely for this reason that it is difficult to process the fog tree into floors and walls. Surfaces or small decorations, the misty wood furniture on the Ark are all large pieces containing the 'marrow'." Mo Jue explained.

"Then how can we find the main trunk?"

"Use this." Mo Jue found a strange piece of equipment from his backpack. The handle of this equipment seemed to be modified from a civilian model hook gun, but the muzzle was replaced with a sling gun. Slender hollow steel drill.

"This thing can pierce the trunk of the foggy tree and reach the heart of the tree. If the 'marrow' can be extracted from the heart of the tree, it will be the real trunk. If not, it will be the pillar root." Mo Jue said.

"A stupid method, but reliable, practical and highly maneuverable." Ke Lan commented - he was not very interested in this knowledge. Anyway, the purpose of his trip was not to harvest these mist trees. The method has nothing to do with him.

Apart from its fire resistance, fog perch itself is not a very high-end material. Its physical properties can be completely surpassed by many new materials that can be synthesized at the level of human civilization and technology. In addition to relying on scarcity, it has become a material used by the rich. Apart from being a show-off toy, this kind of wood is worthless in Ke Lan's eyes.

Of course, this is limited to mist trees that have been harvested and processed into wood, and living mist trees are not included.

What is the purpose of the Alpha people planting these fog perches here?

[P.S. Thanks to book friend 20220104211832727 for the 100 starting coins. 】