This peculiar fungus, which can parasitize machinery, seems to be a little difficult to deal with.

The initial scan of the research ship did not even find the fungi on the surface of the Rim, but went deeper underground to discover the vast mycelial network of these fungi.

In terms of scale, it is highly likely that they have covered this entire section of the world.

If it weren't for the fact that the Ring World Junction is made of a very dense and powerful metal, it is likely that these fungi would have spread to other parts of the Ring World.

But even with Rao, they also show the ability to be dangerous.

The scientific research spacecraft flew over the world around the world, and the ground it faced was a "fungal city" covered with a sea of fungi.

Countless dense fungi covered the regular objects that once looked like buildings, and as the scientific spacecraft swept by, they even slightly pointed in the direction of the ship, as if they were "looking" at the spaceship.

As the scanning progressed, Li Wenyuan gradually found traces of "biological" activities on the surface of the world.

The reason for this is that the "creatures" are supposed to be robots.

More than half of their bodies are covered in fungus, and some of them even grow out of their bodies, pushing the robot's metal shell open, revealing the infected wiring inside.

These robots don't seem to be able to be used again, but they are still doing simple tasks on the surface as if they have been brought to life by the fungus.

The ship's passing attracted their attention, but after a glance, the robots continued to do their thing with their heads down.

As the scanning progressed, Li Wenyuan found some special signals on a huge hemispherical structure.

The structure appears to be cast directly from a dense metal that prevents fungal spores from parasitic in its crevices and breaches the mechanical structure within.

After translating those special signals, Li Wenyuan understood what the fungus was.

[This is a radio station that records our history]

[Even if our civilization is about to be destroyed, we do not want to see our mission sink into this fungus, and this radio station will be our last trace]

[I don't know how long ago, after we were brought into this paradise by "God", we vowed not to shame "God"]

[We are angry and strong, and with the help of the great cause left by "God", we have created our strong civilization]

[But "God" did not come to visit us, and we thought it was because we had not lived up to His expectations.

[So we pursued even more frantically, and successfully cultivated this fungal life that we call "iron-eating fungus"]

[We initially hoped to extend our life with the help of this fungus, so that everyone could see the return of "God"]

[But we made mistakes, and our machines, our weapons, our cities, and even our civilization were infected by them]

[We have put "God" to shame. We failed to destroy the fungus, and we were even destroyed by it.]

[But in some way we may not have disgraced God, because we have created a threat that even we cannot solve ourselves]

[We have made these fungi born wisdom with a crazy plan, they have destroyed us, but they will also replace us and continue the gifts of "God"]

["God"! Your humble believers will always be here! Protect this land for you! 】

This particular fungus appears to have been created by an indigenous civilization that was taken in by humans.

They have such a fanatical belief in humans that they regard "humans" as gods.

Unfortunately, humans did not want to be their "gods", and this group of natives may be forgotten by humans after they are brought in and settled.

But even so, this indigenous civilization is still trying to leave some traces, wanting to show humanity their piety.

“…… Amazing faith, but sadly, your 'God' is gone. Li Wenyuan shook his head and entered the information of this radio station into the database.

He was already preparing to clean up the fungus in this ring world, after all, these things seemed to threaten the normal operation of this ring world.

So the colossus equipped with the star-destroying weapon slowly came to the sky above this ring world.

Knowing that nanobots won't be infected, it's also a good idea to clean up these fungi with a huge torrent of nanobots.

The giant battleship in the sky began to slowly deform, and the muzzle representing "purification" was aimed at the earth below.

Perhaps it won't be long before all these fungi are wiped out.

However, at this moment, Gray Wind, who was staying near the scientific research spacecraft, discovered something, and pointed it out to Li Wenyuan:

"Look, those robots...... What are they doing? ”

Looking in the direction pointed by the gray wind, the scene that was happening made Li Wenyuan stunned.

The fungal-infected robots were all kneeling on the ground at this moment, not running away, nor ignoring the colossus in the sky, but making a gesture like a prayer.

The fungi that had been buried deep in the soil suddenly struggled to grow, and one by one they popped up from the earth, staining the surface of the world into a white blanket.

It looks like there are countless white flowers blooming on the ground.

The fungus that covered the building shook slightly, too, not in an instinctive fear of impending extinction, but as if in ...... Glad?

This strange sight made Li Wenyuan stop preparing for the attack of the Colossus, and instead frowned at these "fungal flowers" all over the earth.

After a moment of silence, he called up the "brainwave translator" that he hadn't used for a long time.

What should have been a calm brain wave index turned out to be many faint fluctuations, and all of this came from the fungus below.

Looking at the content on the "Brain Wave Translator", Li Wenyuan finally sighed: "...... It's embarrassing......"

The series of faint fluctuations finally formed a short discourse:

“…… God...... Have you come to see us......"

The civilization that was destroyed at the hands of this fungus seems to have somehow allowed these fungi to inherit a part of their memories.

At least with regard to devotion to humanity, it has not dissipated even after such a long time.

Li Wenyuan now understands what the previous radio station meant: "They destroyed us, but they also replaced us."

These fungi may not have been conscious at first, but only knew about infinite expansion.

But under some kind of crazy behavior of this civilization, they managed to give the fungi command and make the fungi "think" that they were the civilization that had been taken in by humans.

Humans may never have asked for anything from them, but they still want to make something in return.

They are indeed as they say, and they will always stay in this world to protect this land for mankind.