readytorunbook Chapter 520 Pollen
Chapter 520 Pollen
This question is so easy to answer that you could answer it with your eyes closed; there are just too many to count at a glance.
The number of syconia fruits is dense, hanging in clusters on the branches.
If these syconia are inhabited both on and inside, the number of fig wasps would be immeasurable.
With a meticulous attitude, Bai Mengyan explored a distance further, thoroughly examining the area covered by the Hidden Flower Fruit and the Banyan Bee.
Soon, she gathered accurate information: there were three trees with canopies full of syconia, and the number of syconia on the canopies outside these three trees was significantly reduced.
Bai Mengyan informed Leng Yuexiu and the others of this discovery and continued to observe the movements of the first-tier zombies.
"This zombie seems a bit off..." Bai Mengyan said uncertainly.
"What do you mean?" Leng Yuexiu pressed.
Before Bai Mengyan could answer, the rabbit preemptively described, "His steps were unsteady, and his body was wandering, much like a normal person sleepwalking."
“That’s right. Unlike the zombies before whose joints were stiff and whose movements were jarring, just like Rabbit said, he’s now more like a slightly tipsy normal person…”
The rabbit observed the zombie using enhanced eagle-eye vision and could only see its back.
Bai Mengyan's consciousness was in the tree-lined path, surrounded by zombies, where more details could be seen.
The fact that the two people's statements are so consistent speaks volumes.
The human body is a very complex system composed of different systems. When a person is transformed into a zombie, their bodily functions are greatly reduced, muscles lose their activity, tendons lose their elasticity, and their mobility is inevitably affected.
This kind of necrosis is completely irreversible. If a zombie looks no different from a normal person, it is enough to prove that its level is absolutely astonishing.
Clearly, a first-tier zombie is far from being able to regenerate its physical body, so the only factor causing its changed appearance can be the influence of the massive banyan tree that is about to advance to the second tier.
But how exactly does it have an impact?
Perhaps because of the approaching zombies, the fig wasps hidden in the Hidden Flower Fruit became active and restless.
Even so, the banyan wasps showed no intention of leaving the tree canopy, and they did not even form a large-scale flight.
Based on the density of the Hidden Flower Fruits that Bai Mengyan observed, if all the banyan wasps were to swarm and take flight, it would be enough to form a dense black fog visible to the naked eye.
Just when everyone was at a loss, Leng Yuexiu suddenly exclaimed, "It's pollen!"
"pollen?"
Bai Mengyan repeated, her gaze also falling on the hidden flowers and fruits.
There were too many small bees in the banyan tree. Bai Mengyan couldn't even tell what color or state the pollen of the Hidden Flower Fruit was. So how could Leng Yuexiu be so sure it was pollen?
A few seconds later, the rabbit's voice followed: "Indeed, a layer of almost colorless dust mist has settled down, covering the area in which the first-level zombies are advancing."
Bai Mengyan was taken aback by these words. She was right there, yet she hadn't noticed at all.
She quickly moved her consciousness away from the treetop, retreating dozens of meters, and hovered in mid-air to observe.
A gentle breeze stirred, and the dense leaves rustled against each other. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground, where tiny dust particles could be faintly seen floating.
The dust particles' activity area happens to be in the upper half of the entire tree-lined avenue.
Now Bai Mengyan understood. Although the common fig wasps are non-toxic, whether the pollen of the syconium has other effects depends entirely on whether the banyan trees in this area have mutated.
Clearly, as a plant, its hunting methods are limited. Unlike animals, it cannot have significant offensive means; it can only stay in place and lure its prey into a trap.
But the question is, can zombies still be affected by smell or other external factors?
Or perhaps the pollen of the cryptogam has hallucinogenic effects, acting directly on the crystal body and influencing the energy field.
Perhaps Bai Mengyan's consciousness was present within it, and she was eager to find an answer, so her physical body unconsciously leaned forward.
Leng Yuexiu pressed down on her shoulder, and the rabbit also raised a hand to shield Bai Mengyan, silently protecting her.
"Xiao Yan, don't rush, let's wait and see, we still have time."
Leng Yuexiu gently comforted him, and continued, "If it really is caused by pollen, it's not a problem for us. Wind control can solve this problem. We need to see what other methods it has up its sleeve."
When Bai Mengyan heard Leng Yuexiu say that, she calmed down and stopped being so eager to find the only answer.
Leng Yuexiu's comforting words were like a gentle breeze, always able to soothe agitated mind and calm it down.
There's a sense of security that there's someone to shoulder everything, and you don't have to bear the burden alone.
"it is good."
"The zombies went toward that tree."
The rabbit reported earnestly, "The target banyan tree has a normal energy supply and shows no obvious intention to launch an aggressive attack."
Under the gaze of Bai Mengyan's consciousness, the first-tier zombie stopped three meters away from the trunk of the banyan tree with tree crystals.
After a while, the rabbit spoke up to warn, "The dust fog around the zombies is getting denser."
Bai Mengyan then reported, "The zombies' facial expressions have changed; they're contorting and becoming ferocious."
Her arms unconsciously clenched into fists, and her arms tensed up.
Bai Mengyan looked into the pupils of the first-tier zombie and thought, "The zombie's instinctive offensive consciousness is awakening."
As Bai Mengyan finished speaking, the first-level zombie's pupils trembled, and its eyes, which were shrouded in white mist, seemed to clear a little. It let out an angry roar, and in an instant, violent energy was released along with its emotional outburst.
"The banyan tree is reacting; all its energy is concentrated in its trunk and root system..."
The rabbit paused for a moment, then said, "It looks like...defense?"
No sooner had the rabbit finished speaking than the first-tier zombie pounced on it as if it had seen an enemy, clinging to the tree trunk and using its evolved claws and teeth to scratch and bite.
Because the zombies moved so fiercely, some of the outer layer of weathered bark peeled off and fell in fragments.
Once that layer of bark falls off, revealing the inner layer of bark with few patterns and full of sap and fiber, the zombie's scratches can only leave some faint marks.
On the contrary, the zombies' teeth could not bite down, and they fiercely gnawed at the tree trunk, leaving a lot of bloodstains on it.
Aside from the rabbit and Bai Mengyan, who could enhance their vision to see close-up shots, everyone else could only see a distant figure clinging to a tree, seemingly doing nothing.
Rabbit and Bai Mengyan watched this ridiculous scene speechlessly, not even knowing how to describe this foolish attack.
The two remained silent, and no one else knew what had happened.
"What is it doing?"
Cheng Kaixi couldn't help but ask.
The rabbit relayed the message without any emotion: "Gnawing on a tree... raw... really intense gnawing..."
Upon hearing this result, an ellipsis appeared above everyone's heads. They considered various possibilities, such as unseen branches binding the tree, or swarms of fig wasps attracting the tree, and other similar answers.
Unexpectedly, the zombies went to attack a tree that had neither the scent of humans nor the smell of blood.