Old wine indulges in collecting various insect shells, and has found several hollow skin sacs with obvious anomalies.

There were two insects that had been hollowed out of their backs for unknown reasons, and they appeared to have only an outer layer of skin left, but they were still able to move, albeit stiff and slow.

This piqued his curiosity.

Is this the rumored "zombie insect"?

The so-called "zombie insects" refer to insects that have been infected by certain parasitic fungi and have abnormal behavior.

In 1859, scientists found a large number of strangely shaped ants in Sulawesi, Indonesia, as if they were sealed on plants, and a whisker grew on their heads.

This is the first time in human history that a "zombie insect" has been discovered.

Precious Chinese medicinal materials such as Cordyceps sinensis that we often hear about in our lives are the result of being infected by parasitic Cordyceps fungi during the larval stage of insects.

There are more than 600 species of Cordyceps in the world, most of which are found in tropical rainforests. In addition to this, thousands of species of zombie fungi live here.

They infect the "host" they pick by releasing spores, feeding on their nutrients to raise their "offspring".

"Zombie fungi" are highly parasitic in relatively weak animals such as ants.

Therefore, in the Amazon rainforest, if you look closely, you can often see ants that have left the team, twitching all over, and their bodies are shaking unconsciously, they are "zombie ants" infected by fungi.

After becoming "zombie ants", they also have the ability to continue to spread spores and continue to infect other ants.

After some searching, Lao Jiu found more different kinds of "zombie insects".

He reported to Song Yuanze with a treasure specimen, and his eyes were full of surprise and excitement like discovering a new continent.

"Boss, boss! Look what I found! ”

This time, it was not Lao Tian who came first before people arrived, but Lao Tian, who has always been calm and moderate.

Song Yuanze raised his eyebrows curiously and looked at the tray in Lao Jiu's hand.

He knew that his brother had recently become a "collector" and loved to collect all kinds of animal and plant specimens.

It's just that this is the first time I've shown it to him.

However, these "specimens" don't seem quite right?

Song Yuanze walked over and looked carefully.

"These are zombie insects, right? Do you still collect this? ”

"I didn't collect it on purpose, but I happened to come across it, and I was very interested."

The old wine carefully held the tray, treating these "puppets" manipulated by parasitic fungi as treasures.

What really interested him was not the shells, which had lost their beauty and display, but the mysterious parasitic fungus.

Of course, it was also because they did not pose a threat to humanity that he dared to get up close.

Other players also came over to see the old wine holding the tray with a precious and important look.

Soon, Lao Jiu gained several "like-minded" brothers.

Under the urging of their "enthusiasm", Lao Jiu had to put away his "spoils", and then led them to find more "puppets" who had gone out of their souls.

Those who have seen it are regarded as opening their eyes and seeing the excitement, no one takes them to heart, and they just sigh a few times when they look at it, lamenting the cruelty of the natural world.

Except for the old wine who went to "not do their job", the rest of the players are still diligently carrying out the great cause of "cultivating trees and forests".

The decaying stumps turn to dirt, and the new seedlings thrive on the foundation they have laid.

Song Yuanze walked up to Tang Qinqin and pulled up the broken hair for her.

Tang Qinying smiled and glanced up at him.

"Hey, Aze, why is your face a little gray?"

Thinking that it was a problem of angle, she took a closer look, but Song Yuanze's originally healthy complexion was indeed much darker.

She is now at the second level of deafness and vision, and her heart is bright and her eyes are bright, and she can directly see through the surface of her skin when she uses her ability.

However, the gloomy state on Song Yuanze's face was not from the inside out, but only superficially floated on the surface.

She held out her finger and dabbled it lightly on his face.

As expected, her fingers were also stained with a layer of small, dusty particles.

"What is this? Dust? ”

Song Yuanze expressed doubts.

How can there be dirt on your face?

Did you just accidentally throw dirt in your face?

Tang Qinqin shook his head.

The moment she withdrew her hand, she felt her psychic ability vibrate slightly.

It was telling her that what she had on her fingers was not dust, but a living substance.

"Xiao Qi, help me scan it."

Tang Qinqin stretched out his fingers and used his other hand to carry a rotten cat out of the back of his neck.

Xiao Qi shook his body and stretched his waist deeply.

"Meow!" Now the cat's meow is also vividly learned.

Tang Qinqin touched its head very embarrassedly.

"Qinqin, there is no data on it in the existing species database, but after comparison, it is very similar to a known fungal spores."

After a period of scanning and processing, Xiao Qi finally gave the answer.

"Spores?" Tang and Song were both surprised.

When it comes to spores, the first thing that comes to mind is the mushrooms on the table, which reproduce in the form of spores.

However, how "lucky" should this be, to be pounced on by the spore "powder"?

Tang Qinqin was about to laugh, when he heard Xiao Qi's voice continue to sound: "Qinqin, what I didn't have time to say is that the fungus that is very similar to it is a parasitic fungus......"

Tang and Song Two: ?!

Not to mention the parasitic fungus, Song Yuanze still has no impression, and as soon as Xiao Qi mentioned it, his heart suddenly moved.

Parasitism?

Isn't it those "puppet" insects that Lao Jiu brought just now?

Yes or no, it's useless for him to guess here, just call all the big guys who just saw the "lively" over and take a look.

are all as "blackfaced" as him, so they basically didn't run.

The players were urgently assembled in a daze.

Tang Qinqin took a closer look, hey, good guy, except for a few little sisters who had just stayed with her and didn't go anywhere, the rest of the people were all looking up with a gray face of the same style as Song Yuanze.

Lao Jiu's "puppet" caused trouble, and Song Yuanze quickly called Lao Jiu and a few people back.

Not surprisingly, these are also spore powder.

Even because they went to the area of the "spore transmission center" again, the spore powder on their faces was thicker, their faces were darker, and the "complexion" visible to the naked eye was not good.

After learning from Song Yuanze's mouth that the reason why he hurriedly greeted them back was because everyone's faces were covered with parasitic fungal spores, Lao Jiu breathed a sigh of relief: "What should I do, boss, brothers, don't be afraid, it's not a big deal, I know this kind of parasitic fungus, it will not be harmful to us humans, it is mainly parasitic on small insects such as ants." ”

As he spoke, he moved his wrist and prepared to take out his treasure tray from his backpack and show it to everyone again.

"Old wine! Wait! Hear me first! ”

Seeing this, Song Yuanze hurriedly got up to stop it.

(End of chapter)