Let the xenomorph assistants who work together to operate the "Discoverer" be in place, and Todd himself takes on the role of the "Successor of the Reconnaissance Department".

Samples of the spring water were stained and placed in an observation chamber. After the "wind pressure" vacuum treatment, under Todd's instructions, Reichel fine-tuned the position of the "Tesla", and slowly increased the voltage intensity, and the "concentrating" xenomorph collected and amplified the photons struck by the electron beam and burned them on the white paper.

Todd looked at the last image of the white paper, and could barely see the general situation inside the sample, but it was still too vague.

After a dozen more attempts, Todd picked the one that looked the clearest.

The paper showed a strange thing attached to the surface of the huge bacteria. It looks a bit like a cratered lunar surface, and a "space lunar module" is placed.

Looking at this thing with four legs and a spherical body, Todd became more and more familiar with it, this thing seemed to be the most common virus in his previous life - "bacteriophage".

Speaking of bacteriophages, they are the most common and most diverse viruses in the microscopic world in previous lives. It is no exaggeration to say that one liter of water may contain trillions of bacteriophages, more than all the stars in the universe combined. It is no wonder that some biologists say that compared to the world of viruses, the universe is just a speck of dust.

The principle of bacteriophage lysis of bacteria is summarized in a few simple sentences. In the first step, the tail of the phage attaches to the cell wall of the bacteria, in the second step, "egg laying", the phage pierces the tail axis into the cell wall, like a syringe, and injects DNA into the bacteria, and in the third step, "incubation", the phage will use the "nutrients" in the bacterial cell to replicate the DNA and protein of the progeny phage in large quantities, and finally like an alien bursting from the host's body, the progeny eats up the bacteria and burrows out in large numbers to find the next victim.

But in general, as a phage of a virus, unlike penicillin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic, a single bacteriophage can only lyse one type of bacteria, which sounds a bit useless, but they have many benefits compared to antibiotics.

Like what:

1. Low hazard. Most bacteriophages only attack specific bacteria and do not harm normal cells and beneficial bacteria in the human body.

2. Fewer antibodies. Bacteria have a hard time developing antibodies to bacteriophages, but they have a considerable chance of developing immunity to antibiotics and potentially switching to superbugs.

3. No residue. Bacteriophages are host-dependent, will die with the disappearance of the bacterial host, and will not remain in the human body to trigger a series of toxic reactions.

Fourth, easy to use. The development cycle of bacteriophage is short, the cost is low, and bacterial fragments can be purified and separated by simple centrifugation, which can be stored at room temperature for a long time, and is convenient for transportation and application.

Of course, there are many other uses for bacteriophages, which are not covered here. (For xenobacteria, there is a very important role, which will be mentioned later)

After figuring out the truth that the spring water can "cure" xenomorphs, Todd began to study these phages further, but found two interesting things: most of the phages in the spring water only target xenobacteria and have no effect on other bacteria, and almost every xenobacteria in the Twilight Town's library can find specific phage predators in the spring.

And one more important thing.

The phages in the spring water are ineffective against Sutherland archaea.

Todd was surprised at first, but after repeated experiments, he verified the results. When the phage lands on the Sutherland archaea, after a period of time, it loses its vitality and eventually fails. What the specific reason is, with this primitive electron microscope, it is impossible to find out at all.

In general, bacteriophages can "cure" xenomorphs, but they are not effective against "inheritors".

Todd was relieved to get this result.

Next, the spring water is tested for toxicology.

Todd took five experimental mice as a group and fed them spring water in proportion to their tolerance, and after a week of observation, it was found that five mice had varying degrees of high fever, erythema, and dehydration, exactly the same symptoms as the dead children in Valkyrie Village.

After an autopsy and laboratory tests, Todd finally found the crux of the problem.

Although the majority of the water containing a high density of bacteriophage viruses is harmless to phages, a small part is toxic, which destroys the immune system of the subject, causing concurrent infections caused by weakened immune systems. Especially for those babies whose bodies are not yet fully developed, their immune system is incomplete, and in villages that lack food and water, feeding them with this spring water is tantamount to pouring chronic poison into the babies every day.

As for those Valkyries, why didn't they show symptoms of infection?

According to Todd's speculation, they must have obtained a large amount of Sutherland archaea from some source and stored them in their bodies, and when the phages invaded, the archaea became a barrier to their bodies and saved their lives.

Upon learning of this result, Todd immediately called Huggins and asked him to immediately send his subordinates to Talon Island as quickly as possible to find the Valkyries, telling them to immediately stop using the village's spring water and use other sources of fresh water.

As soon as Huggins walked on his front foot, Cumberland came to the door to find him.

The old knight was dressed in a military uniform, and the first thing he said when he saw Todd was: "Chief Commander, do you have time?"

The latter, thinking that the experiment on the springs was coming to an end, was going to hear what Cumberland had to say.

The two of them came to the chief regiment's office at the headquarters of the knights, and Cumberland didn't intend to sit down at all, so he said straight to the point: "Chief Commander, this expedition to the North Quarry is planned to leave in three days, and I hope you will be the commander." ”

Todd was surprised and said, "What? Do you have other things that you can't participate in this battle?"

The old knight shook his head: "I will participate in this expedition ......"

"Then why do you want me to take the position of commander?"

Cumberland's eyebrows looked a little angry: "Chief Leader, forgive me for talking too much old man, you have too much time in the laboratory!"

Hearing Cumberland's sudden headless words, Todd was completely stunned.

Cumberland looked at the 'umbrella' flag in the chief's room, and said in as calm a tone as possible: "In the past, you were the chief leader of the Dusk Knights, and the spiritual leader of the entire knights, and you could indeed leave the affairs of the war to the chief priest and the legionnaire. But in the future, everything will be different. If we succeed in capturing the Northern Quarry this time, it will mean that the Knights of the Twilight West will be officially established, and you will have the dual responsibility of being the leader of the Order and the king of the world. ”

Cumberland paused and turned his gaze to Todd: "A lamb grazing with its head bowed in the sheepfold will never be able to lead a pack of hungry wolves! Lord Todd, believe me, as a king, you need to get out of that damn 'Tower of Babel' and let your people, your soldiers, see your majesty on the battlefield!"