The sun hid behind thick clouds and did not shed a single golden ray. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The weather was a bit overcast and cold.

Through the tall floor-to-ceiling windows of the study, a small blank sky can be seen.

The color of the sky is almost the same as the silver-gray curtains that flank the floor-to-ceiling windows.

All give people a sense of solemnity.

A small cold wind came from nowhere, blowing lightly on the back of Zheng Qing's neck.

This made Zheng Qing, who was observing the 'beautiful bones' skull, shudder.

He didn't think it was psychological.

Because he didn't feel too scared, just a little uncomfortable.

So, Zheng Qing shrunk his neck and looked around.

Sure enough, he saw the culprit behind him.

The wooden door of the study seems to have fallen into disrepair and has not been closed tightly.

The cold wind outside the house peeked through the crack in the door, teasing the uneasy thoughts of the young wizard in the house.

"I'm sorry, but for the layman — I mean non-professionals, these cuties are somewhat taboo. Dr. Duzem rubbed his palms uneasily and glanced at Zheng Qing inquiringly.

He seemed to think that the skull or the group of small bugs had caused Zheng Qing to show unease.

Zheng Qing smiled reluctantly and said that it didn't matter.

"Are they imported from outside the island?" Jiang Yu walked up to the two of them, looked at the small insects in the cabinet, and asked with interest, "Which country did you import them from?"

"No, it's a specialty from the depths of the Silent Forest. The doctor shook his head: "Compared to the Qinling corpse beetle and the pyramid scarab, these corpse beetles in the depths of the Silent Forest are a little more adaptable. ”

"What's the difference?" Jiang Yu seemed very interested in these little bugs, "I mean, what's the difference between corpse-eating insects from different origins?"

"The ghoul beetle in the depths of the Silent Forest is compared to its counterparts in the outside world in that it has a slower rate of evolution because it lives in a closed environment all year round, maintaining some of the characteristics of the original ghoul beetle. "Clearly, Dr. Duzem is more than happy to put on a show in front of his big patron.

He pulled out a pair of tweezers from the toolbox next to his desk, reached into the fish tank, and pulled out a ghoul beetle.

When the insect was really exposed to the faint light, Zheng Qing was surprised to find that it was not really white.

To be precise, the skin of the ghoul beetle is blackish-gray, but it has a thin layer of white fluff on the shell.

Although called beetles, those blackish-gray cortical shells are badly deformed when clamped with tweezers.

Zheng Qing was very worried that if the doctor's hand strength was a little bigger, this bug would burst out a cloud of meat sauce.

Dr. Duzem lit up the clip slightly towards the side of the window that let in the light, and the bugs writhed wildly, making a screeching sound.

"As you can see, these ghoul beetles deep in the Silent Forest retain the photophobia of their ancestors. The Doctor moved the clamp back into the shadows, and the poor worm gave up the struggle with a last two clicks.

"Because they live in the dark, their cortex lacks sunlight-synthesized calcium, so the cortex is soft. ”

"Perennial scavenging and lack of sunlight make these cortices moldy and grow fluff, and the excess phosphorus in their bodies will volatilize through these villi. ”

"You see it white in dark places, which is the volatile phosphorescence. ”

Zheng Qing looked at the delicate little insect on the clip and sighed.

"What about the corpse-eating beetles outside the island?" Jiang Yu asked persistently.

"Bugs off the island are much more complicated. Dr. Duzem carefully placed the beetle back in the fish tank, then carefully wiped the clip with a kerosene-dipped flannel cloth and admonished, "The corpse-eating beetles of the Silent Forest naturally carry poison on their bodies, and they are the favorite thing of the fallen lich. If you accidentally get contaminated with it, you can disinfect it to a certain extent by wiping it with kerosene. Of course, the best thing to do is to soak up the sun – this poison dies in the light. ”

The two young wizards nodded their heads.

"As for the bugs off the island. The doctor squinted, pondered for a moment, and concluded, "Actually, I have already mentioned that there are two main ones left. One is the corpse beetle of the Qinling Tomb of China, and the other is the scarab beetle of the Egyptian pyramids. There used to be a species of feathered carabiner in the South American rainforest, but it has been a long time since a wild population has been discovered – the equivalent of extinction. ”

"The Qinling corpse cockroach likes to be damp and dark, and it is an enhanced version of the original ghoul insect. Generally raised by wizards in the body of zombies, the larvae feed on the internal organs of corpses, and the adult worms have a strong reproductive ability, and it is difficult to eradicate when they see blood. ”

"The pyramid scarab beetle, on the other hand, loves sunlight and is dry, which is completely different from other corpse-eating beetles of the same species, and can be called a variant. ”

"According to the generally accepted view, after the ancient corpse beetle was buried in the dayless pyramid along with the old Egyptian priests, it slowly changed its habits and gradually gave birth to the modern scarab. ”

"Scarab beetles usually lay their eggs in the blood vessels of a living body, and then the larvae swim down the blood vessels and finally enter the heart of a living body. When it breaks out, it is considered a real adult. ”

"The Pyramid Scarab also has a unique skill that has evolved over time. They can be dehydrated. ”

"Dehydrated?" Jiang Yu raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I happen to have a dehydrated scarab moult here. Dr. Duzem snapped his fingers and quickly slipped behind his desk, digging out a small clear glass bottle from the cabinet.

Zheng Qing noticed that there was a stack of tissue-like things stacked in the bottle.

The doctor opened the bottle, took out a 'paper towel' with tweezers, threw it in a sea bowl, and quickly sealed the small glass bottle and stuffed it back into the back of the desk cabinet.

In just a few seconds, the thin tissue that was thrown into the sea bowl had begun to slowly turn color and yellow.

"This is what the scarab beetle looks like when it is dehydrated. Dr. Duzem poked the tissue with a glass rod and explained to the two guests, "If no one stops them, after an hour, the adult worm will draw enough moisture from the air to regain its form and become a terrible killer again." ”

"Of course, if we give them a little bit more help, we can shorten that recovery time. With that, the doctor picked up the ink from the desk and poured it into the bowl: "Any liquid, I mean any...... Including but not limited to venom, grease, boiling water, etc., any state of liquid, can help these dehydrated people to recover health. ”

Zheng Qing held his breath.

The ink in the bowl disappears at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The tissues that absorb enough moisture bulge like balloons.

The head, horns, whiskers, eyes, mouth, and feet, the tiny parts of the insect's body stretched out again like an inflated, gradually forming a hideous-looking, palm-sized insect.

"The normal color of the scarab beetle is golden yellow, as dazzling as the sun. However, if they absorb impurities when they recover from dehydration, it may have some effect on their body color. The doctor tapped the worm in the bowl with a glass rod.

The scarab beetle, who had just returned to normal, shook the tentacles in front of his forehead a little impatiently, and tried to puff out the drum sheath.

Zheng Qing nodded.

Indeed, the insects in the bowl now slowly moving their arthropods looked yellow and black, with faint spots on their backs.

Just as he was expecting further performance from the bug, Dr. Douzem threw a little spark into the bowl.

It was as if dry wood met a blazing fire, or rather, like a spark falling into explosives.

The scarab beetle, which had just regained its life, turned into a fireball in the blink of an eye. With a piercing scream, it quickly turned into a cloud of ashes.

There was a pungent smell in the air, like burnt plastic.