章 195: Chapter 194
Lin discovered that the collapse of the largest creature in history was a spectacular sight. The giant tree creaked incessantly. Because the branches at the top of the Hometree extended into the rock layer above the cave, when it fell, a huge crack spread across the cave. Countless rocks were pulled apart by the falling tree. Finally, as the internal structure of the tree could not withstand the weight of the tree, it shattered and the entire tree collapsed.
The moment the tree fell to the ground, a thunderous sound reverberated throughout the entire underground world. The two Purgatory Worms were right under the tree.
The Infernal Worms were quite slow. They could not even quickly retract into the ground. Unable to dodge, they could only watch as the collapsed Hometree fell on their heads.
Even though they were the largest creatures, under the impact of a 300-meter-tall tree, they could not withstand a single blow. Their solid carapace was crushed in an instant. Lin only heard the sound of the carapace being crushed and a loud scream. The two enormous creatures were crushed into pieces just like that.
A part of the head of a Infernal Worm was exposed outside the collapsed Hometree. Its innards sprayed out over a hundred meters. Lin could not help but sigh at the terrifying weight of the Hometree.
Lin did not test the weight of the Hometree, but this time, the war was completely over.
But there was still a problem, a very important problem.
This was not Lin's doing.
That's right, the collapse of the Hometree had nothing to do with Lin. No matter what, Lin would not risk the collapse of the underground world to bring down the Hometree. Because the Hometree was most likely the 'supporting pillar' of this place.
Even if they drilled a hole in it. They would also be very careful not to affect the main structure of the tree. It was even more impossible for them to bring it down.
Was it done by the Inca Worms? That was not very likely. Why would they smash it? Lin also noticed that the Inca Worms were very careful with the structure of the tree. No matter what, they would not bring down a tree. Even if they burned the Hometree, they would know that it was not a threat.
Then, if it was not done by the Inca Worms, how did the Hometree collapse?
This was what Lin wanted to investigate next. It was very strange. The Hometree was very sturdy. How did it break in the middle?
Lin ordered the troops at the back of the army to enter the battlefield. These were the collectors used to clean up the battlefield. Lin originally planned to have them collect all the corpses on the battlefield after the war and research some powerful Inca Worms. It seemed that they had entered the battlefield early.
A large number of collectors appeared from the forest in the north. Lin felt that there were not enough of them, so she ordered the mobile base to produce more collectors. At the same time, the collectors went to the battlefield and devoured everything that could be eaten. Including the roasted creatures.
Those Earth Splitters were still unconscious. It seemed like the effects of the mucus acid were pretty good. However, how could the Inca Purgatory Worms create a gas that could cause acid to deteriorate?
Lin did not think too much about it at the time, but after thinking about it for half a second, she figured it out. It was a simple question. Since the Earth Earthbreakers had blocked their stomachs, some of it must have seeped into their body and been absorbed by their olfactory organs. Even if the Earth Earthbreakers were unconscious, their brains would still be operating at low power. This way, they would be able to transmit the information about the acid to the Infernal Worms. After all, the Inca Worms could communicate with each other.
After the Infernal Worms received the information and understood the situation of the acid, they began to release the gas in an attempt to help the Earth Earthbreakers wake up.
Even though it was Lin's first time using this kind of acid, it was actually a combination of normal dissolving fluid and some mucus. Many common creatures could secrete similar substances, so it was not surprising that the Inca Worms were familiar with it.
Lin did not deal with the Earth Earthbreakers for the time being. She let them sleep while the collectors dealt with the other corpses, the collapsed tree, and the creatures below.
The collector's body was very small, and it could drill into the collapsed giant trees. The collector found that the Inferno Worms were almost completely squashed, and there were scattered blood and shell fragments everywhere. It was very troublesome to study them.
Even though the shells of the Infernal Worms were good at resisting deep underground pressure, they were easily crushed by the Hometree. Lin had done some research on this.
It was like a fish that could withstand thousands of meters of water pressure in the deep sea. However, it could be easily crushed by any hard object.
Lin called it 'complete pressure' and 'incomplete pressure'. It was quite interesting.
In short, the collectors began to decompose and devour some of the Infernal Worms' blood and organs. However, it was difficult to understand the internal structure of the Infernal Worms with just a few cells.
At the same time, Lin had some of the collectors climb up the tree to study the cause of the collapse.
After a period of research, Lin found that there were many holes and cracks in the wooden structure of the Hometree. The damage covered almost the entire tree. However, there were more holes at the height of 20 to 30 meters. Furthermore, during the war, the Hometree had been hit by the Sandblasters' sand balls, blown up by the Earth Earthbreakers' jaws, and burned by the Infernal Worms. Under various circumstances, the Hometree finally broke and collapsed.
Even though the war between Lin and the Inca insects had a great impact, the root of the problem was that the Hometree had been damaged for a long time.
What could have caused such damage?
It was something Lin was very familiar with … fungi.
The inside of the Hometree was full of fungi. It was unknown when they started growing, but there were so many of them that they had seriously damaged the wooden structure of the Hometree. The fungi had filled the insides of the Hometree with holes and cracks, causing the whole tree to be close to an extremely weak state.
Would the Hometree … be affected by the fungi?
Lin recalled what the headworm had said when it saw the Hometree on land. "The Hometree will not collapse. The tree trunk is very sturdy. Only fungi can destroy the structure of the tree. There are no fungi here."
Even though the Hometree on land was fine, the fungi had invaded the underground world …
"Crack …"
At this time, a loud noise was heard. The roof of the cave that was originally supported by the Hometree started to crack. The cracks continued to spread and a large number of luminous creatures fell down.
As expected, the Hometree had a great impact on the cave's support.
The cracks stopped after spreading to a certain extent. However, there was no guarantee that they would continue to spread. The internal structure might have been damaged.
If the fungi had invaded the underground world, it might destroy the entire underground world. Was this something Lin's troops brought in?
Lin immediately ordered the troops in the Rocky Ground base to study the surrounding Hometree. Lin didn't discover the fungi at first. In fact, the fungi were quite well-hidden. Even if the Hometree was dug up, the internal structure wouldn't be discovered without special attention.
She found it! Lin also found the fungi in the Hometree on the other side of the Rocky Ground. However, the amount was very small and didn't seem to be a threat. She still had time to deal with it.
But why was the Hometree here covered in fungi? It was so fragile.
Was it related to the time of infection? No, it was probably due to the difference in immune cells.
Lin noticed that the Hometree on the other side of the Rocky Ground had a special type of immune cell that could resist the spread of the fungi. However, the Hometree here didn't have any immune cells. Was that why the fungi spread?
Why was that?
There was only one reason. The Hometrees on both sides were too far apart. They had lost contact with each other for too long. The immune system in their bodies was starting to change.
The lifespan of the Hometree was a mystery. However, there was a large gap between the Hometrees. Lin had done some research on them and found that some of the internal structures of the Hometrees were different.
Speaking of reproduction, Lin had never seen the Hometrees reproduce, nor did she see them grow seeds. They seemed to be fixed at various locations in the underground world. Lin had no idea how they spread and spread.
She had to let the immune Hometrees reproduce in order to produce offspring that weren't afraid of the fungi. Of course, Lin had tried 'transplanting immune cells' on land, but it usually didn't work. Even if they were of the same species, the immune cells in a creature's body would kill other immune cells of the same species. It was quite troublesome.
If the transplanter and the transplanter were split from the same creature, there wouldn't be any rejection. However, the Hometrees were so far apart from each other.
Right, the reproduction of the Hometrees might be related to the Incan insects.
The Incan insects should know how the Hometrees reproduce … In other words …
She had to find the Incan insects.
The current situation of the Inca swarm was rather strange. After the two Infernal Worms were crushed to death, a large number of troops in their territory ran out of the Hometree. The Inca swarm did not mobilize all of their troops in the battle against Lin, but they did not intend to continue the battle. Instead, almost every troop was building rock nests like before. They crushed rocks, mixed them with spider silk and mucus, and put them together to form towers or spheres. They also made many holes on the surface to act as passageways. What were they trying to do by making these things?
No matter what, Lin had to find out if they knew how to reproduce the Hometrees. Lin didn't want to find out that this place was about to collapse after she won.
At the same time, Lin had also conducted some research on the crushed Purgatory Worm. Because the head of the Purgatory Worm was crushed, it was difficult for Lin to figure out the structure of its brain. She could only make some calculations and guesses. However, the collectors could drill into the other part of the Purgatory Worm's body buried in the ground for detailed research.
How many secrets did this strange giant creature have? Floating astronomy.
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