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墨書 Inktalez
I was truly caught off guard by Jack. How could he miss such an obvious flaw? I turned my face towards him, only to see that Jack looked even more astonished than I did.
"Can you explain?" I pointed at Fatty. "That's the question I want to ask too."
"I need to think about it. Sorry, I seem to have overlooked an important aspect; my train of thought has derailed."
I nodded silently. I needed to sort out my own thoughts as well. Dealing with Fatty's intelligence was now my turn, and honestly, it felt like I was on the same level as Fan Wei.
"Go ahead, keep making things up. Just finish it," Fatty said, not letting up on his chance to poke fun at Jack.
"I refuse to answer that question."
Hearing Jack's serious response nearly made me burst out laughing. His Chinese was clearly subpar.
Fatty was relentless. Seeing that Jack ignored him, he shot me a knowing glance. Just when I had steadied my mind and brought my thoughts into a reasonable framework, Fatty's exaggerated expressions threw me off again.
"What’s going on?" I asked, annoyed.
Fatty gestured with his eyes towards the bug on the ground, silently mouthing two words: "Burn it."
"Why? If it's harmless, we don't need to burn it. If it's harmful, like Jack's Zombie Fungus, then burning it wouldn’t make any practical sense; its spores would have already spread. Maybe keeping it could save our lives, just like knowing what kind of snake bit you helps you get the right antivenom quickly."
I didn’t hide my thoughts; they were exactly what I believed. Even if we burned it, I didn’t think there was any need for secrecy.
"Burning it might not be a bad idea," Jack surprisingly supported Fatty's suggestion.
"Then we can't burn it. You're clearly trying to destroy evidence," came the sharp retort from the ever-contrarian.
Jack immediately turned his face towards me, his disgust evident.
"I thought about it; my train of thought was disturbed by the emotions of the Hakka People. This Zombie Fungus might actually have the opposite effect. Let’s start with the Zombie Ants from the Brazilian Rainforest. The Zombie Fungus in the Brazilian Rainforest reproduces rapidly but hasn’t led to the extinction of the Wood Ants there. Do you know why?"
It is quite fascinating that the Zombie Fungus, after infecting the Wood Ant, attracts another type of fungus to infect it as well. We call it the Anti-Zombie Fungus. This is a dual parasite that can inhabit the Zombie Fungus, destroying the vast majority of its spores. Moreover, its combat ability is even stronger, capable of eliminating most Zombie Fungus. As a result, even if there is a large group of zombie ants nearby, the remaining healthy ants are rarely infected.
"But this specimen before us clearly grew out of the insect's head; it cannot possibly be what you refer to as the Anti-Zombie Fungus."
I was not satisfied with Jack's explanation.
"Why not? The Anti-Zombie Fungus is indeed a dual parasite. While it parasitizes the Zombie Fungus, it also inhabits the Wood Ant. It does not have the ability to control the Wood Ant's thoughts and actions, but it can achieve this goal through the Zombie Fungus. Once the host reaches its destination, the Zombie Fungus will kill it, while the Anti-Zombie Fungus will accomplish the same objective by killing the Zombie Fungus."
"Then it will ultimately still kill its host. Outside, it kills the insect; here, it could kill those Giant Bats and Long-Tailed Monsters. According to your theory, it has no ability to control and kill its host; instead, it waits for the Zombie Fungus to do so before seizing final control over the host. Is that right? It truly sounds like a cunning vampire."
"That's roughly how it works, but there is a crucial issue: the Anti-Zombie Fungus cannot control or kill its ultimate host yet has the ability to kill another host—the Zombie Fungus. Do you notice anything strange about this?"
My mind was still following Jack's line of thought, digesting the information he provided; there was no way I could suddenly uncover deeper issues. Fortunately, Jack posed this as a rhetorical question, seemingly not expecting me to answer.
"The monsters in the Underground Cavern do not die!"
After saying this, Jack's captivating blue eyes sparkled as they fixed on me.
Damn it. How could I find those eyes enchanting? Did I have latent tendencies? The thought sent a shiver down my spine.
Jack had no intention of continuing; he simply stared at me, waiting for me to grasp his meaning and respond.
However, his information was too chaotic; some concepts were entirely new to me, making it difficult to sort them out in a short time. But one term he kept mentioning seemed key to this issue: Zombie Fungus.
Suddenly, a light bulb went off in my head. I blurted out, "There is no Zombie Fungus in the Underground Cavern; these Anti-Zombie Fungi pose no threat to the ecological balance of the Underground Cavern. Right?"
"If there is no Zombie Fungus in the Underground Cavern, then what about the Giant Bats and Long-Tailed Monsters? They are mutated forms of Hakka People; let’s assume this premise holds true."
At this statement, Jack's face remained expressionless without any body language. However, I sensed that his demeanor was less grim and perhaps even slightly excited.
"If there is Zombie Fungus here, and it has an astonishing level of control over living beings, meaning it can manipulate human behavior, then why haven't we been infected? This isn't our first time down here; we've been here before, and nothing happened for a long time. Do we have antibodies?
Also, where are they? If this Underground Cavern has had Zombie Fungus for thousands of years, then their numbers should be substantial. Even if they aren't everywhere, we should at least be able to find them. After all, we've been trapped in the Underground Cavern for a while and walked from the source of the Underground River to its end. If the Dam is the endpoint."
"My judgment is that the Zombie Fungus here is selective about its hosts, and it's quite harsh. The ones who frequently enter the Underground Cavern and stay longer aren't us; it's the Hakka People. Their kin also haven't been easily infected by the Zombie Fungus. The only ones infected are what they call the Awakened Ones, and they are the elderly and weak.
You should feel that Lao's physical and mental state seems like that of a dying person to us, yet the Hakka People still believe he hasn't reached the time for Secondary Mutation. Tang Yumo passed by; he still hasn't reached the time for Secondary Mutation. Do you remember?"
Of course, I remembered and had even looked down on it. But that didn't convince me because there were still loopholes in his words.
"These aren't judgments; they're just guesses. Give me some evidence that will convince me—where is the Zombie Fungus?"
"You've seen it; don't you remember?" (To Be Continued...)
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