I asked Zhao Jinfu very curiously: "Old Zhao, have you ever seen this bark like a Shar Pei dog?" Does this tree have this variety? ”

Zhao Jinfu shook his head: "I haven't seen it, I haven't heard of it." ”

We looked at it for a long time, but we didn't understand the reason for the wrinkles in the bark. Zhao Jinfu suddenly asked, "Where is the blood he wiped on the tree just now?" ”

At this time, I also found out, and I shone a flashlight up and down the tree, and found that it was all black and one color, and there was no difference in color. Curious, I turned my head to see the blood bowl and brush that were still thrown aside, and hurriedly picked up the brush, and saw that the blood stains on it had not completely dried up, so I experimentally smeared it on the tree a few times.

Although the body of the tree is pitch black, the bright blood immediately takes on a dark red color on the bark, which is still very noticeable up close.

Zhao Jinfu and I glanced at each other, and I whispered: "This is too strange, if what Sun Ji said is right, Zheng Xiaocheng smeared Gao Dong's blood on the tree, and now we can't see any traces, this can only mean that this tree is ...... It drinks human blood? ”

Zhao Jinfu stared at the bark that I had just smeared with blood without blinking, his expression was very solemn, and he didn't answer my words. After a while he said to me, "You said that although this tree is counterintuitive, the mutated cell structure may really make it so large and cause this strange phenomenon." But what I don't understand is, how did that mysterious magnetic field form? The influence of the magnetic field is so great that it is almost all over the Black Heart Forest, and this is not the effect that a mutated tree can produce! ”

Indeed, since we discovered it, the mysterious magnetic field feels that its power covers a wide range, not only can affect the growth of plants, but also block all electronic signals, and even the compass will be controlled by him, the characteristics of this magnetic field force are never in contact with us, and even violate the laws of science. If it's the tree in front of us, we really can't believe it.

I suddenly had an idea, and I couldn't wait to say to Zhao Jinfu: "Do you think there is such a possibility?" Is there any other mysterious substance in the trunk? ”

Listening to my words, Zhao Jinfu's eyes lit up slightly, "Very likely!" Maybe Zheng Xiaocheng smeared human blood on the body of the tree for the sake of the contents of the trunk! ”

I said that I thought this idea was very likely, and I said: "Listening to the conversation between Sun Ji and Zheng Xiaocheng, Zheng Xiaocheng once said that he needs a lot of blood, and the amount of blood for one person is far from enough. At first, I misunderstood that this guy might be smearing the body of the tree with blood for some kind of special ritual, but now that I think about it, he may be trying to make the tree suck human blood to achieve some kind of effect. I wonder what special effect human blood has on this tree! ”

Zhao Jinfu nodded approvingly, and said, "I was thinking just now, there are so many giant ant eggs buried in the ground around this tree, and they are all still asleep. If you look at the fruit that grows on the tree, it's a miniature version of the eggs in the ground. Could it be that this big tree, the King Cuckoo, has been turned into a parasite for the breeding of red fire ants? ”

I looked up at the trees in amazement, but I couldn't see anything, but I still remembered the countless white ant eggs hanging from the treetops in the light of flares.

Big trees can bear the fruit of ant eggs! Multiply parasites! Such a bizarre thing left me speechless for a while.

Zhao Jinfu said to me in a low voice: "The huge pit we are in now is definitely not naturally formed. And I suspect that this place may have been full of trees like a forest before, but after an unknown number of years, those trees have disappeared. And it is precisely because of the disappearance of these trees that the ground has sunk and become what it is today. ”

"The trees are gone? What do you mean? "I've been confused by what Zhao Jinfu said.

"I ask you, do ants gnaw trees?" Zhao Jinfu asked me.

I thought about answering him, "I know that termites gnaw trees, and red fire ants seem to be miscellaneous creatures, but I don't know if they eat trees or not!" ”

Zhao Jinfu said: "There are so many red fire ants here, and there are so many huge mutant ant eggs, I think except for this big tree, the King of Rhododendrons, which is regarded as a breeding parasite, other trees have been gnawed away by these red fire ants." If that's the case, I'm sure the crater is still getting bigger and bigger, and the trees here are actually the food for the anthill. ”

I secretly praised Zhao Jinfu for his unique insights, and it was really reasonable for him to say this, and I sincerely admired him. This is inseparable from his extensive experience in the field! Although his education is not high, his ample field experience allows him to make up for the lack of knowledge. At least what he said was something that I, a top student of the military academy, couldn't have come up with in any way.

Seeing the look of adoration in my eyes, Zhao Jinfu smiled and said, "I also guessed based on experience, and the truth still needs to be verified before it can be confirmed." As he spoke, he suddenly changed his tone and said to me, "Look! The blood you just smeared is gone. ”

I hurriedly looked at the tree, and sure enough, the wisp of blood red I had smeared just now was gone, and the surface of the bark was back to the same dark black as it was around.

"This tree really drinks human blood?" I blurted out in surprise, turned my head to look at Zheng Xiaocheng, who knew that he was also peeking at us, in a moment of eye contact, I saw an anxious look in his eyes, and then he turned his head and turned his face away.

"Looks like he's worried about what clues we've found here!" I secretly said in my heart, and secretly told Zhao Jinfu what I had just discovered.

Zhao Jinfu didn't look back at him, and said to me: "Actually, it's just such a thing, and it's all on the surface, even if he doesn't open his mouth, we can guess eight or nine." ”

"Or maybe ......" Zhao Jinfu hesitated and said, "It's not that this tree is interested in blood!" ”

"It's something hidden inside the tree that is interested in blood!" I blurted out.

Zhao Jinfu nodded at me and praised me: "That's right, there is progress!" ”

I glared at him and said unconvinced, "Look, it's here again while talking." You want to educate me, don't you? I'm not stupid than you, and I'll be able to figure this out if I give me some time. ”

Zhao Jinfu didn't sarcastically mock me this time, he said to me: "I have a general idea of the whole thing, let me tell you to listen, if you think there is something wrong, you wait for me to finish talking and bring it up, and we will study it again." ”

I didn't expect him to come up with the whole thing, I was a little surprised, "You say, I'm listening!" ”

Zhao Jinfu sorted it out again in his mind before he said: "I don't think this Zheng Xiaocheng is here for the first time, maybe he came here not long before this incident!" ”

His mouth was explosive, "You wait! I immediately interrupted him, "You mean Zheng Xiaocheng has been here once before this?" I asked Zhao Jinfu in shock.

Zhao Jinfu looked at me in shock, and said to me with some disgust: "Didn't I say it, wait until I finish speaking, you have questions and then ask together, don't babble, what do you look like?" ”

I waved my hand speechlessly, "Good, good!" You continue! ”

Zhao Jinfu continued: "We don't know how he came here in the first place and why he got here, but it was probably a coincidence. And I have a guess that last time he may not have come by himself, and there were other companions, but everyone else died, and he was the only one who survived. His companions may have been in danger, such as the ant colonies. Maybe he killed them to keep it a secret, but it's hard to say. ”

Seeing that I couldn't speak, Zhao Jinfu continued: "The reason why I guess this is because he is no stranger to the environment here, and he knows about the existence of red fire ants and has made effective preparations, which is enough to prove this." ”

Speaking of this, I couldn't help nodding, it is indeed as Zhao Jinfu said, Zheng Xiaocheng obviously knows too much about this, and Zhao Jinfu's guess is indeed very likely.

Zhao Jinfu said: "The first time I came here, I accidentally discovered the mystery here, so Zheng Xiaocheng did a detailed investigation of this place after he escaped. We don't know what he found, but it must have been something of great value that attracted him to want to come back again, and as for the perverted method of requiring human blood, I think it must have been some kind of magic that he found somewhere, or maybe some kind of special ritual. ”

Looking at the giant tree in front of him, Zhao Jinfu said: "The special environment here, the cause of this result is probably what Zheng Xiaocheng wanted to find when he came here, that is, the secret hidden in this tree." I think these red fire ants were probably attracted here by this mysterious thing, and then they lived and thrived here. Due to the increase in numbers, they began to feed on trees. There are fewer and fewer trees, and the number of ant colonies is getting bigger and bigger, and over time it has become what it is today. ”

Speaking of this, I subconsciously glanced at Zheng Xiaocheng, he lowered his head and didn't know what he was thinking.

Zhao Jinfu followed my eyes and looked at him for a while, and then said to me: "What I say next may be a bit bold, you listen to it first." ”

In fact, by now, I think Zhao Jinfu is basically very close to the truth, so I nodded to him in a hurry and asked him to continue.

Zhao Jinfu said: "The directional magnetic field we have been talking about, maybe my previous opinion was wrong, and I now think that this magnetic field is more like a radioactive substance. And this radioactive material is the root cause of the change in the original ecology here. It is the influence of it that makes the tree so huge, and even ordinary ants can become so huge. ”

"Radioactive material?" I know the word, but only to know that it does not bode well in military operations.

Zhao Jinfu said: "You look at this tree now, it is no longer an ordinary tree, it has been mixed with these ants, this tree has gathered so many ant colonies all year round, and absorbed the nutrients of dead ants, plus the radioactive substances that cause mutation, so the genetic organization of this tree has also slowly changed, and now it has become a medium for ant colony reproduction, which is why the tree bears the fruit of ant eggs." I suspect that the huge ant eggs in the ground were actually formed by the fruit of this tree. Because even if radioactive substances can affect the growth genes of organisms, but as we have just seen, although those ant colonies are much larger than ordinary ants, they still have a limited impact after all. ”