Sixus said.
Good news and bad news?
Ashley stared.
"good news?"
"The good news is that the so-called gray fog exterminated life may not be true. Not many lives on the continent of Ceres were killed. A considerable number of them should have survived."
"Really?" Ashley was shocked. If this was true, it would be good news. It meant that they would be able to learn the secret history from the survivors, and they could also learn how to resist the gray algae fungus by asking these people for advice.
"What about the bad news?"
"The bad news is, they are gray algae."
……
……
"……what?"
It took a long time for Ashley to squeeze out this syllable from her throat.
She couldn't understand.
She felt like her brain was going to burn out.
“This is degradation.”
Sixus said word by word.
"All the life... that once existed there, they have all degenerated into their most primitive life forms. These things won't kill people. They don't want your lives."
"They just want to assimilate you."
"Don't ever touch it again."
Chapter 33: The True Nature of Fungi (Two in One)
"Really... Connie actually said that..."
After washing his hands and coming out of the laboratory, Moore-Sally took off his mask and his eyes widened after hearing what Ashley relayed.
"'Degeneration'! It does sound like that... We found that the fungi were integrating with the patient's lung tissue, and the degree of this was getting worse every second. At first I just thought it was normal 'parasitism', and I never thought it was 'degeneration'..."
"Connie? Moore knows Dr. Sixus?"
"Oh, she went to Talignan to play with those two, and I treated them warmly as a host." Moore nodded, and then added in his heart: Although she certainly doesn't want me to call her that.
"Why do I feel like each of you knows Heath?"
"She has done a lot of things." Moore chuckled. "A lot and a lot. If you ask me, it's actually a blessing to know her because she is not someone who likes to publicize these achievements. There are far more people who don't know about her than those who do."
"I always thought you were a good person." Ashley looked at him seriously and said, "I think so even more now."
"Should I feel honored then, Miss Knight?"
"No, just buy me lunch."
It just so happened that they hadn't eaten lunch yet, so after disinfecting the place, the two of them went to the restaurant together. Moore treated them, so they could talk about whatever they hadn't finished talking about at the table.
We had fish hotpot for lunch today, a way of eating passed down from the upper echelons of the project. The large piece of fish meat is sliced into thin slices the size of a palm, and then put into the boiling soup with two sticks. It can be fished out and eaten every meal, which is very popular among all members.
"I'm basically convinced that it's degeneration, so we have to be more cautious when collecting materials." Moore put a few slices of meat into the pot, but his mind was wandering. "There have been no fatal cases so far, which makes everyone seem to be taking it lightly. This is very worrying. I plan to wait for Darent to come back and ask him to find a time to release the information."
The reason why many exploration operations in history failed or suffered huge losses was that one of the important mistakes was that the intelligence was not made public to all personnel.
You know that going to a certain place or doing something could be fatal, but you deliberately conceal the news, which will inevitably lead to some of your orders not being understood by the lower levels. This is not only a problem that the lower levels cannot execute properly due to misunderstanding, but also will cause a crisis of trust after the truth is exposed.
In Moore's opinion, we are not here to do bad things. The purpose of collecting information about ancient secret history is probably to support a certain research in Shadow City. It is obvious that the research results will benefit human society. Why should we hide it? It is better to make it public.
"Hmm, hmm!" Ashley nodded her head and quickly scooped the meat into the sauce bowl. When Moore came to his senses and wanted to try two pieces of meat, he was surprised to find that the pot was empty.
Should I not have agreed to treat her to a meal?
Moore hesitated for a moment. This female knight named Ashley really broke his perception of women. He secretly checked the banknotes in his wallet and counted the number of empty plates under the table several times, silently praying that he would not make a fool of himself when paying the bill.
In fact, they had free restaurants to eat at, as this was an expedition directly funded by a great power, and all expenses were paid by the White Shadow Palace. But on a long sea voyage, people would inevitably get tired of "cheap food", and in order to avoid making most people feel unbalanced, the person who organized the event specially designed more paid restaurants - if you want to eat well, you have to spend more money.
This will shut up most people and also slow down the consumption of precious fruits, vegetables, drinks, condiments and other supplies.
"Thank you for the hospitality~"
After eating and drinking, Ashley slumped in the chair and squinted her eyes. "The food in the free cafeteria is really too bland. Phew~ I haven't eaten so well in a long time~"
Moore sat opposite with a dark face and didn't say anything. This meal almost emptied his wallet, and almost all of the remaining salary from his first month in joining the engineering club was spent on it.
It was a waste to spend all this money on just one meal. He tried to make the most of the meal and forced a smile with a stiff expression: "Ashley."
"Ok?"
"We have to release the intelligence, but that's after Darent comes back (this kind of thing can only be calmed down by the decision maker). Before that, I need you to do me a small favor."
"Just a small favor? No problem!" Ashley punched her chest twice. "Even without considering this meal, just looking at what Moore has done for everyone, I will definitely do my best to help!"
"I need you to help me collect more materials." Moore said.
"It's easy... I mean, I need to think about it."
Ashley's smile started to become strained.
She is simple, but she is not stupid!
You said it yourself! Although no one has died yet, if the degradation process continues, they may as well die!
Think about it, to help him collect materials, you have to log in and face the environment full of gray algae hyphae in the air. Even if you wear a mask, you can't guarantee that the hyphae will not invade your body. As long as you are successfully invaded by a hyphae, you will irreversibly degenerate and degenerate... In the end, your skin will soften, your flesh and bones will shrink, and everything about you will be transformed into more gray algae - at that time, you can't even think about who you are! You will only be a gray algae without intelligence, mating and reproducing with other bacteria!
This is so scary!
Ashley shuddered unconsciously and vowed to find a way to refuse this request.
"Ashley - don't be so quick to refuse...just listen to me!"
"I won't listen!"
"Oh~ What happened?"
Nellie Bull came closer with a spatula in hand and looked at the couple curiously.
She wore a short shirt tied just below her ribs, exposing her muscular belly and belly button, and she wore cut-off shorts underneath... She also had an apron draped over her elbows.
You can tell from her outfit that she is not here to enjoy herself. She is one of the chefs in the restaurant. Her experience of struggling by the sea since childhood has made her very good at fish dishes.
"Miss Bull, come and help me persuade them!" Moore held Ashley back and said, "So far, this is really a job that only Ashley can handle!"
Naili was very curious. She did want to know more about these people's work and tasks. This kind of natural opportunity did not come every day, so she took the initiative to persuade the two to sit down and communicate properly if there was any conflict.
She had the face to do so… Even though she wasn’t qualified enough to attend the core meeting of the fleet, the ship they were on now was hers a month ago.
“…That’s probably it.”
After briefly explaining what happened, Moore-Sally spread out his right hand, "The gray algae fungus is too dangerous! I can't take the risk of letting anyone go ashore again!"
"Then how dare you entrust me with this..."
Ashley crossed her arms and muttered softly. She suspected that the other party wanted to use the gray algae fungus to assassinate her.
"Others may not be able to do this, but Ashley, you are a knight!" Moore was helpless. "Don't all the flint knights of Sara have special physiques? This kind of mycelium is fatal to ordinary people, but for you... this shouldn't be a problem at all."
"I think I understand." Nari sat across from me with her hands crossed. "Indeed, the body of a knight is a high-temperature furnace. Minor illnesses and disasters cannot be eroded under the protection of God. Such things have even spread to the West Coast."①
--------
①: West Coast refers to the west coast of the Elsa continent.
--------
"You have been taught this internally, right?" Moore asked tentatively. "This should be common sense to you... I guess the gray algae can't survive in the special environment in your body, so you have this idea."
"Ah..." Ashley pouted, looking very unhappy.
"That's about it..."
"Is it true or not? This is very important, Ashley, you have to give me a definite answer."
"Yeah! Even so!" Ashley sighed, "Okay, I'll give it a try."
In fact, she didn't want to go at all.
Yes, it is said that becoming a Flint Knight can make you immune to all diseases...but the problem is that it is just a theory for Ashley. She has never put this theory into practice on herself, so naturally she doesn't have the confidence.
But since Moore said so, she naturally couldn't refuse.
It had nothing to do with the meal, it was simply that Ashley could see that if she took on this responsibility, she might be able to save more people.
"Don't worry." Moore smiled and comforted her. "It has been verified in the laboratory that they are afraid of high temperatures. In fact, if we can raise our body temperature when they first invade, that is, create a fever, then even normal people don't need to be afraid of them."
"And the purpose of my collecting materials is to conduct more detailed research. I want to find a way to prepare a medicine similar to the Boiling Blood Potion. This way, perhaps I can save more people..."
"What is their lethal temperature?" Ashley wondered.
"At least 42 degrees."
Both ladies at the table looked at Moore as if he were crazy.
42 degrees... maybe it's easy for the Flintstone Knights, but for ordinary people, is this the level of fever that a normal person can reach?
Don't let the gray algae die with humans, because then you'll be killing people...
Moore looked very excited that Ashley agreed to her request. He completely ignored the two strange looks, said he would go back to prepare for going ashore, and asked Ashley to wait for him on the deck in half an hour before he slipped away.
Ashley turned her head and stared at Nellie with a resentful look.
"Ah... Sorry, I didn't know it was such a dangerous thing..."
Naili's scalp tingled when she stared at her.
She is a head taller than me, why does she look so aggrieved...
"If that doesn't work, I'll go with you."
"Really?" Ashley was no longer resentful. "This... I don't intend to blame you..."
She knew that Naili had two younger sisters waiting for her to return home, so naturally she didn't want Naili to follow her.
After all, Naili is not a Flint Knight, so wouldn't it be suicide if she followed him?
"I'm not that stupid." Nellie smiled. "I'll find a boat to take you to shore and wait there... maybe that will make you feel better."
"If you want." Ashley nodded and didn't refuse this time.
The feeling of having someone to support you and having no one to support you is indeed completely different, and this is especially true for the more dangerous the job.
Half an hour later, the three men gathered on the deck.
Ashley changed into a set of light leather armor that was convenient for movement. She was equipped with guns, daggers, and supply packs. Her hair was tied up behind her head and dyed. She looked heroic and had a heavy crossbow on her back.
"What do you want to do with this thing?" Nari didn't understand.
"She's right." Moore said seriously, "There's no need to worry about the beach near the sea, but the deeper you go, the more mycelium there is in the environment, especially in the air. We don't plan to burn it down, so don't use firearms if you can."
Only then did Nellie realize that, indeed, if a gun went off accidentally in that environment, the consequences could be disastrous.
Think about it, the air is full of hyphae. Wouldn't the air really burn when the trigger is pulled?
The person who fired the gun was also in the air, which was equivalent to setting himself on fire. It was really hard to estimate the scale.
"Use a crossbow for the long-range ones and a knife for the short-range ones." Ashley pulled out a dagger and waved it. "I won't bring the crusher with me. It's not convenient for us to move."
"Remember to protect the boiling blood potion." Moore reminded her, "If there are more dangerous things... For example, if they have some kind of mutation, these potions can save your life."
"I know." Ashley patted the small bag on her waist, "They're all there!"
After explaining some plans for collecting materials, Moore stood on the deck and watched several sailors help lower a small boat.
Ashley and Nellie were both in the boat. They rowed towards the shore. Halfway through, the former turned back and waved, signaling that the people on the boat should not worry.
"Be careful!"
Moore also waved his hands a few times and shouted as loudly as he could: "If you encounter danger, give up and come back!"
They seemed not to have heard clearly, shook their heads and turned away.
Hope it's okay.
Moore narrowed his eyes, looking from above their heads to the distance, staring at the endless baseline of land.
