The Record of Unusual Creatures

The Purgatory Journey had a great deviation from the expectations of the crowd at the beginning.

A small-displacement private car with a small appearance is driving silently on the grassy wilderness. The gust of wind lingers on the grass behind the car, leaving a faint layer of ripples. The whole world is so vast and small. When the car gallops on the prairie, it looks like a small insect. If it weren't for the occasional black rock formations from the clouds, I wouldn't be able to imagine another layer of the earth's crust hanging over the day.

The car slowly stopped in front of a black "big mountain". This is another "Tianzhu giant tree" that supports the dome. It seems that a huge cliff-like trunk stands straight on the ground, and the lower part is The peaks near the height of the kilometer have disappeared into the depths of the clouds. Hao Ren pushed the door off and took out some equipment like a measuring frame from the portable space and assembled it on the spot.

The data terminal connects itself to the device, and then projects a rough outline of the planet above it, and the cylindrical container underneath the device flies out a few small, silver-like machines. The small machine flew to the "Tianzhu Giant Tree" and quickly dive into the rocky hard black skin of the latter. After a while, the data is transmitted back, and the holographic image of the Tianzhu giant tree in front of the current data shows a cold blue color.

"The third, also the dead individual, the life reaction has completely stopped," the data terminal reported while quietly reporting, "The wood fiber can also be found in the deep layer, but the outer skin is basically petrified, it is a mixed mineral. It may be a reinforced shell that has evolved from the hardening of the trunk for many years. These 'petrochemical' parts provide unimaginable strength to these hollow cylinders... almost as hard as the starship's armor."

"So they can support the world above," Hao Ren looked up at the lower layer of the crust that was covered by clouds. "These trunks are evenly distributed?"

“Yes, evenly distributed. And the number is huge.” The data terminal replied, showing the distribution of the “Tianzhu Giant Tree” between the first and second layers of the Purgatory Planet on its screen. The data is not yet very detailed. But a rough analysis is enough. As can be seen from the picture, the first layer of purgatory is completely suspended more than ten kilometers above the deep crust of the planet. There is no geological connection between the two, and a large number of Tianzhu giant trees are the only evidence to maintain this two-layer structure. These giant trees are evenly distributed under the earth's crust, one every 100 kilometers: far more than the number of purgatory entrances on the surface.

“Not all giant trees are hollow. In fact, most giant trees are solid, they are more solid,” explains the terminal. “And those hollow trunks connect the earth and the underground world like chimneys. They become so-called 'Purgatory second floor entrance'."

Lily curiously asked: "This hollow structure is... disease?"

"No. It should be intentional," the terminal gave a negative answer. "The distribution of hollow giant trees is very uniform. On average, one hundred pillars of Tianzhu are hollow, and the entire atmosphere of the underground space. Also in conjunction with these 'chimneys', this machine analyzes this hollow special trunk should be something like a certain kind of breathing tube, used to exchange the atmosphere with the surface world, and should also have the function of the sensor, the machine scans to the hollow There is a strong electric signal surge under the giant tree. If it is correct, it should be..."

"It is the nerve of the eldest son." Hao Ren interrupted without waiting for the terminal to say, "The trees are the eldest son's tentacles evolved?"

Hao Ren is no longer a rookie who can rely solely on equipment analysis to make judgments, according to the environment of the underground world and the landscape seen in the surface world. It is easy for him to speculate that only the eldest son can create such a miracle. Those "Tizhu giant trees" that support the upper crust are undoubtedly part of the eldest son. The only problem is that this part has evolved and almost no shape of the eldest tentacles. Even the internal physiological structure is not the same as the eldest son. the same.

The data terminal did not directly answer, but directly released a set of holographic projections, which is the structure of the underground part of the Tianzhu giant tree that has just been scanned by deep radar. Everyone can clearly see that there is a underground in the giant tree. More complex to the terrible complex world, countless complex roots like the brain must be entangled in the depths of the earth, the more down the shape is not like the normal roots, but at the bottom. The roots have completely turned into tentacles and extend all the way to the depths of the earth: it is where the radar can't detect. At least a few small power sensors that Hao Ren took with him could not scan so deep.

"The eldest son's tentacles evolved these giant trees, but they were analyzed from the physiological structure. These trees have completely separated from the life form of the eldest son," the terminal's voice is somewhat confused. "They are really real wood, wrapped in a layer of outer The superalloy is also a solid petrochemical shell that is very different from the tentacles. It feels like a fleshy body that grows out of titanium and is not grafted."

"It is understandable that the eldest son is the source of life. If the situation requires it, it is also possible to change some of its limbs into other species. It can do things that can be done with the source of blood, and it is impossible to do without the sense of one's own tentacles. "Hao Ren is not very surprised." These things can be confirmed with Zhuom at the time. The key now is whether this eldest son is alive or dead... You say it has nerve impulses, but these giant trees are obviously dead. ”

"It is impossible to judge that for the class of the eldest son, it is difficult to define its life and death by the standard of conventional species: its body and soul, each of its tissues and organs and even every piece of debris may have independent definitions of life and death. Some of its parts are obviously withered, but these withered parts support a whole world, and there are still some signals coming from deep, but there is only a little electrical signal."

Lily thought about it and came up with a word: "Plant?"

Hao Ren looked at Lily with a look of eccentricity. He said that there should be no more description of the violation of this in the world, but this is really the right situation for the thunder!

"If...if I didn't guess wrong, the layer above should not be the earth's crust," Vivienne looked up for a long time, and suddenly said thoughtfully, "This planet can't grow a new layer out of thin air." The outer shell. The top of the trunk can only be one thing..."

The data terminal immediately switched the screen, showing the further scan results of the outermost layer of the infernal planet's crust, which is the desolate, vast, toxic hot springs and monsters that everyone witnessed when they arrived. It looks like A sturdy and integrated rock dome, but after the probe is scanned in detail, the deep hidden veins are finally revealed.

"You are right, it is the crown. The first crust of the Purgatory Planet is the petrified canopy."

These canopies are continuous and seamless, completely covering the original planet below. The unique "petrochemical" process of Tianzhu Giant Tree is not only reflected in the trunk, but also in the canopy, so after many years of changes, once The plant canopy becomes a rock formation several kilometers thick, and above that rock layer is a bad world enough to be called purgatory.

In the process of carrying out this series of transformations, the Tianzhu giant trees all died. I don’t know if it was in the eldest son’s plan or what happened in the middle. In short, these “black mountains” that everyone can see are just dead plants. The wreckage is the pillar left after the eldest son's tentacles withered. They are fossils, holding the canopy crust that also becomes fossilized.

Nangong Sanba pinched his chin thoughtfully: "That is to say, this place where we are standing now is the real 'original surface' of Purgatory Planet?"

"Yes, at least the original land before these giant trees completely closed the sky," Hao Ren nodded, his eyes extending upwards along the magnificent black trunk. "I think this is some kind of protection, to ensure the original big. The earth's ecosystem can only be built after it has survived. Together with the outermost cloud top, this planet has layers of protection, and this will persist until today without the sun."

At this time, the data terminal suddenly received an emergency communication from a probe, and it suddenly yelled: "Hey! Don't study the tree first, the probe is found!"

Vivian immediately ran over: "Is it the whereabouts of Baptiste?"

“It’s not other traces of man-made objects,” the projection of the data terminal presents a picture from a distance. On the vast prairie, a large ruins covered by plants and mud are clearly visible. “A city! Built by intelligent creatures. City!" (To be continued)