In the days since Lin Hao witnessed the incident of unknown plants attacking people, such events have become increasingly frequent.
Looking at the trending searches on the Star Network, even the most barren planets have begun to discover the traces of these plants.
This had to draw Lin Hao's attention.
Lin Hao lay on his bed, holding the Star Network above his head, browsing the trending searches of the past few days.
#The Federal's Le Mi Star System, first discovery of an unknown species, but no attack cases so far.#
#In a corner of the Imperial Capital – Huaiyi, someone claims to have seen unknown flowers.#
Wow, there are such unknown creatures in the Le Mi Star System too?
Upon seeing this, Lin Hao immediately sat up in bed, his eyes widening.
The Le Mi Star System, isn't that the main political star system of the Federation? It has strong scientific research and military support, so why are there such creatures?
And this Imperial Huaiyi, are the scientists nurtured by the Empire just eating dry rice?
How can there be this thing there too.
Lin Hao couldn't quite understand this.
If even these talented places can have this thing, then it proves that this matter is really not simple.
After thinking, Lin Hao instantly jumped out of bed and went to the living room with the Star Network.
"You guys, look at this. Do you know what this species is?"
Lin Hao said to the three bugs and one salted fish.
He thought that as leaders of the insect race, their experience and heritage should tell them.
And that fish, as the king of the sea, even if he doesn't know about land matters, the old fish in the tribe should tell them, right?
And the four of them, seeing Lin Hao come over with a serious expression, quickly went to his side.
Alpha, upon seeing the photo on the Star Network in the cub's hand, gently shook his head and said coldly, "I haven't encountered it."
"I haven't seen it either," Xi'er also came to the cub's side.
She also wanted to do something for the cub, but seeing the photo in the cub's hand, she hadn't seen it.
She shook her head gently and said.
A hint of regret flashed across her beautiful face.
She thought to herself, why couldn't her experience be a little more, a little more, then she could have helped the cub.
Ruila, standing beside Xi'er, saw the leader's expression and understood the leader's current mood.
She was in the same mood now.
Regretting why her experience couldn't be richer, then she could have helped the King, and the leader wouldn't have made such an expression.
Her leader should always be someone who is in control of everything, always so confident.
"This plant, I think I've seen it."
Lin Hao, standing beside them, frowned seeing them all shake their heads. What should they do if they all didn't know?
He had just seen that even the barren planets inhabited by pirates had successively discovered the traces of this creature.
He was now very worried about the planet they were currently living on.
If at this time, there was no sufficient understanding of this creature, their population could also suffer a great blow.
He would not allow such a thing to happen.
While Lin Hao was still imagining, a voice suddenly came to his ears.
Upon hearing this voice, Lin Hao turned his head with some surprise, looking at that fish.
"Do you really know?" Lin Hao asked the fish.
The three bugs beside them also turned to look at the fish.
Even Xi'er's eyes flashed with a hint of joy.
This fish isn't entirely useless.
Xi'er thought to herself.
At least it can help the cub now, let's keep him for now, and find a chance to send him back later.
After all, he is useful now.
Lan Jia Ruo, seeing the Princess arrive next to the Insect King, also trotted over, wanting to get closer to the Princess.
However, upon reaching the Insect King's side, he saw the photo in his hand and the Princess's question.
He knew that his usefulness had arrived.
It's just that this thing shouldn't appear here.
Wasn't it sealed in the ice layer?
Why did it suddenly appear here?
Lan Jia Ruo heard the Insect King's words and, without further thinking about why it appeared here, turned to Lin Hao and said, "Yes, I recognize it."
A species that should not have appeared.
Even through the network, he could feel the filth and dominance of this species.
Lin Hao breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the fish's affirmative answer.
It's good that someone recognizes it, and if they recognize it, they should know how to deal with this species.
Probably.
"What is this species called? Do you know?" Lin Hao asked Lan Jia Ruo.
The fish opposite him looked a bit conflicted.
After all, this was a secret of their mermaid race, and they were not allowed to tell others without the elder's permission.
Should he really tell them?
Lin Hao was waiting for Lan Jia Ruo's answer, but after waiting for a long time, he still didn't hear a word.
So he tentatively said, "Is there some secret, or a taboo, that you can't tell us?"
He knew that the mermaid race had many secrets that people didn't know, and also things that couldn't be spread. However, he really wanted to know what this thing was right now.
Only then could he protect his insect race.
Xi'er, standing beside them, saw this scene and came in front of Lan Jia Ruo, asking him, "You can't tell?"
While Lan Jia Ruo was still struggling with whether to violate tribal rules, he suddenly heard the Princess's voice.
He suddenly made a very wise decision.
To hell with tribal rules, he was the only fish left, so he was the tribal rule.
No, the Princess was the tribal rule.
Nothing was more important than the Princess.
Having thought it through, Lan Jia Ruo looked up at Lin Hao and said, "Yes, there are some tribal rules, but now that I'm the only fish left, there's nothing to be taboo about."
Lan Jia Ruo said with feigned casualness.
A long time ago, before he was even born, this thing already existed. This thing was called – 'The Filth of the Ocean'.
Hearing this, Lin Hao asked from the sofa, "Then why did this thing suddenly appear on land?"
Lin Hao, who lacked patience to listen to stories, asked the question first when the salted fish finished his first sentence.
From the way this fish spoke, this thing used to be in the sea, so why did it suddenly appear here?
Lan Jia Ruo, who was interrupted, did not show any anger. After all, he didn't like telling stories alone; he preferred interaction with others.
He had been too bored all these years, with no one around, and it was driving him crazy.
Now that someone could talk to him, he was naturally all for it. Oh, no, his tail was also for it.
"I don't know about that either. My inheritance only tells me that this is a product left over from the ocean's self-purification. As for why it suddenly appeared here, I don't understand."
Lan Jia Ruo explained Lin Hao's question to him.
Hearing this, Lin Hao sank back into the sofa, hugging his knees.
Could it be that someone intentionally took this out from the seabed?
Thinking of this, Lin Hao looked up and told Lan Jia Ruo of his suspicion.
Lan Jia Ruo fell into deep thought upon hearing Lin Hao's conjecture. It was not impossible.
"This thing was sealed at the bottom of the sea, thousands of meters deep. No one would know about it, except for our water folk. It was also strictly forbidden to go near that place. Moreover, even if someone knew about the existence of this thing, breaking the seal would be a great difficulty."
Lin Hao fell silent again after hearing this explanation.
If it were really that troublesome, no one should have gotten it.
"Is this thing really called 'The Filth of the Ocean'? Are you sure you didn't mistake it?" Lin Hao made his final confirmation.
The fish opposite him nodded firmly, without any hesitation.
After all, as a fish who grew up in the ocean, he knew the taboos of the ocean since childhood.
How could this be mistaken?
"I can be sure. Even if its form is bizarre, its smell and habits cannot be changed," Lan Jia Ruo said to Lin Hao.
Alpha, who had been watching from the side, felt his heart ache when he saw the cub frowning.
Their cub should live a carefree life.
"King, why did you suddenly ask such a question?" Alpha said to the cub.
Hearing Alpha's words, Lin Hao turned to him and said, "Recently, there have been many reports about this species on the Star Network. I'm a little worried about our safety, so I wanted to ask and find a solution."
Fortunately, that thing hasn't come here yet, and they know what this thing is called, so they have sufficient time to prepare for this matter.
"King, we will not let you be harmed in any way," Xi'er said to Lin Hao, standing up.
She knew the cub's worries for them, and similarly, they felt the same for the cub. They would do their best to protect the cub.
Even if it meant sacrificing their lives.
Seeing Xi'er suddenly stand up, Lin Hao's anxiety disappeared, and his heart was instantly filled with warmth.
He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt like he had sand in his eyes. He was a grown person, no, a bug, and it was a bit embarrassing.
He would protect them too.
Lin Hao adjusted his state instantly and said to Lan Jia Ruo, "Does this creature have any weaknesses, or how can it be eliminated?"
"This thing cannot be eliminated. It can only be sealed by finding the mother body."
'Ding ding ding.'
A crisp sound spread throughout the living room.
Lin Hao felt a sense of inexplicable annoyance upon hearing this sound because it was time for the live broadcast again.
It was afternoon so quickly.
He had no mood to do a live broadcast at all right now; he wanted to ditch the broadcast.
But on second thought, live broadcasting is also a good way to gather intelligence, as the Star Network is not reliable at all.
The Star Network only collects very major events.
It doesn't collect very small things.
Having realized this, Lin Hao immediately stood up and said to Alpha, "Now gather all our scattered compatriots as much as possible. We need to go through this incident together to ensure the least casualties."
Hearing this, Alpha stood up and said to Lin Hao, "Understood, King."
Seeing this, Lin Hao turned to Lan Jia Ruo again and said, "Can I trouble you to check our surroundings and any new bugs in the coming days?"
Even though that species had not come to this star system yet, they still needed to be prepared.
First, check the entire planet to ensure the base camp is safe. Second, check new bugs to prevent them from carrying potential dangers like seeds.
Only Lan Jia Ruo could recognize these things now.
Lan Jia Ruo, sitting on the sofa, was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then smiled and said, "Yes."
Now he was eating the Insect King's food and living in the Insect King's house, so he could do something for him.
Although this matter was a bit dangerous.
But!
For the sake of helping the Princess, he could do anything.
After all, helping the Insect King was helping the Princess.
Hearing this, Lin Hao left the living room and returned to his room.
At this time, in a conference room.
Qin Dongsheng looked at the people below who were acting like quails, and his anger flared up.
He stood up, slammed the documents onto the table, and shouted loudly, "Is this your 'resolve it quickly'? The number of times this creature has been discovered is increasing, and the number of people attacked is also increasing. Tell me, is this your work efficiency?"
A middle-aged man said to His Majesty the King, "Your Majesty, this creature is really difficult to deal with. It's not afraid of anything, and we are powerless."
Others, upon hearing someone say this, quickly chimed in, "Yes, Your Majesty, this thing is not afraid of fire or water, and even high-energy Gatling guns have no effect on it!"
"Yes, Your Majesty. We are also anxious."
"There's really no other way now."
After these people spoke, the entire conference room fell into a low murmur of arguments.
They were all discussing how powerful and troublesome this thing was.
Qin Dongsheng heard this, and his heart rate, which had finally settled down, was agitated again.
"Can't you think of any other methods? Are the Empire's expenses on you for eating dry rice? Do you know how the public outside is evaluating us? They say we are incompetent."
"Your Majesty, the creature's movements seem to have a pattern," a cold voice interrupted Qin Dongsheng.
Qin Dongsheng heard this voice and did not get angry. He turned to the person beside him who was looking down and said, "Mo Han, what do you think?"
Qin Mo Han, who was still looking down at the documents, gently pushed the frame of his glasses with his hand, looked up at Qin Dongsheng, and said, "This creature seems to have a very strong pattern. Although it seems like many cases have no connection, when you connect them all, you will find that they are moving further and further away, little by little."
Qin Mo Han took a table of times and locations of cases from the past few days and presented it to Qin Dongsheng.