The deep blue water roared overhead, as if the entire mountain was pouring water into it. Chen Hao clung to the rock face, his fingers digging into the cracks in the stone, his nails half-turned over, but he didn't let go. He was panting like a fish thrown ashore, each breath carrying the taste of rust.

Nana's mechanical arm was stuck in the crack, and her force field shield was reduced to a thin layer of light, barely creating a water-repelling angle. Her optical eyes flashed intermittently with blue light, scanning data line by line across the edge of her field of vision.

"What exactly is that thing?" Chen Hao's voice was hoarse. "It looks like a telephone pole, and it twitches."

“It’s not a telephone pole.” Nana’s voice was so calm it made you want to punch her. “It’s a root aggregate, 3.4 meters in diameter, with rhythmic pulses inside, consistent with the characteristics of plant nerve conduction.”

"Plants can grow brains?"

“Not quite a brain, more like a primitive signal network.” She adjusted her posture, the metal joints making a slight clicking sound. “Analysis of the fragments we just collected is complete—it contains a type G neurotoxin, at a concentration three hundred times higher than the standard.”

Chen Hao was stunned: "Wait, you mean... this thing releases poison?"

“It’s already being released.” Nana turned to look at him. “The petal fragments on your left hand started releasing volatile compounds three minutes ago. Your dizziness isn’t caused by lack of oxygen.”

"So I was poisoned by the scent of flowers?" He looked down at his hands and almost bit off his fingers. "Whose flowers come with built-in biological weapons?!"

“A mutant species,” she said. “It is speculated that it spreads pheromones through underground rivers to attract and manipulate surrounding organisms to form a defense chain.”

"So it's not only poisonous itself, but it can also keep a whole bunch of bodyguards?"

"The logic holds true."

"This isn't an orchid, it's a mafia boss!"

Nana didn't reply, but suddenly tightened her grip on his arm, pulling him a short distance towards the rock platform. A murky current rushed past where they had just been, sweeping away a loose rock.

“The water flow rate has increased by 18 percent,” she said. “The spread of the toxins is expanding.”

"We can't just sit here and wait to die." Chen Hao wiped his face. "If we keep soaking like this, I'll evolve into an amphibian."

“Evacuation approved.” Nana deactivated the residual force field and retracted the mechanical arm. “I will pull you along the main river channel, keeping a low profile to avoid causing any additional disturbance.”

"Can't you carry me on your back?"

"Energy levels have dropped to 62%, so priority should be given to emergency systems."

"Robots have learned to shift blame too."

The two moved slowly along the side wall, the reflections of the stalactites resembling dangling blades. Nana used her optical eyes to mark the reflective points as landmarks, occasionally reaching out to shield herself from oncoming pebbles. Chen Hao followed behind, his legs cramping twice, but he managed to grit his teeth and keep quiet.

Half an hour later, they climbed onto a half-submerged rock platform. The water level slowed down here, and there was a recessed cave entrance above, which provided just enough shelter.

"Is it safe now?" Chen Hao collapsed to the ground, his clothes dripping with black water.

“Relatively safe.” Nana spread out a waterproof tarpaulin to set up a makeshift shelter, securing the edges with broken vines. “But we are still within the toxin-affected area, so we recommend reducing your breathing rate.”

"So you're going to make me hold my breath until tomorrow?"

"I didn't say that."

"You get the point."

Nana ignored him, activated the low-power scanning mode, and projected the data onto the rock wall. After the images were stitched together, the outline of a huge underground flower field emerged—dense, dark blue plants took root in the cracks of the riverbank, their roots intertwined like a net, and their tops were adorned with bowl-sized flowers, their petals slightly open and closed, as if breathing.

"Are these the mother cells?" Chen Hao leaned closer to take a look.

“It’s a breeding community.” Nana pulled up a heat map. “They regulate insect activity by secreting pheromones from groundwater. The abnormal fermentation of the fruit wine last time was probably due to this interference.”

"So bees don't collect from other flowers, but only from these poisonous ones?"

"They don't choose; they are controlled."

Chen Hao was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed: "No wonder the petals in the jar were leaking water on their own... It turns out this thing was remotely controlled."

"The probability is extremely high."

“Alright.” He sat up straight. “Since it can control bees, it must be afraid of fire—insects are afraid of high temperatures. Let’s burn it down, roots and all.”

Nana looked at him: "Incineration may cause toxins to vaporize, and the mortality rate increases to 91% after inhalation."

"Then wear a gas mask."

"There are no gas masks."

"Wouldn't it be alright to cover your mouth with a wet towel?"

"The effect is limited."

"Can you please stop being so discouraging?"

"I'm just stating the risks."

"You're more accurate than the weather forecast."

After a brief argument, Nana pulled up a wind and water flow model and finally determined an upwind ignition point, suggesting the use of high-ignition-point gel to reduce smoke spread. Chen Hao rummaged through his backpack and pulled out the last tube of igniter, then disassembled half a circuit board to use as an igniter.

“If you don’t want to go, just wait for me here,” he said.

“I must come along.” Nana stood up. “Your mission has a 37% success rate.”

"The way you're saying that makes it sound like I deserve to be poisoned if I don't go."

That's the truth.

They crept along the riverbank, avoiding the swarms of toxins. As they approached the flower field, the ground became slippery, and a faint, sweet, fishy smell filled the air, like rotting honey.

Nana stopped in front of a protective netting—the isolation zone that had been set up earlier, now covered with thin vines, as if it had been forcibly torn apart by something.

“The alert system failed,” she said. “A person or creature recently passed through.”

"Who else could it be? It couldn't have been someone who ran here on their own, could it?"

They bypassed the damaged area and applied the gel in the designated location. Chen Hao crouched down and connected the power supply using a circuit board.

The flames shot up with a "whoosh" and quickly licked the nearest orchid.

At first, everything was normal. Flames spread along the vines, and the poisonous flowers shrank and charred in the high temperature. Just as Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief, a dense buzzing sound suddenly came from the distant valley.

"What's that sound?" He looked up.

The next second, the entire hive began to shake.

Thousands upon thousands of bees surged out of the rock crevices, their wings beating out in storm-like gusts of air. They did not scatter, but instantly coalesced into a swarm, like a rapidly moving black cloud, hurtling straight towards them.

"Turn off the fire!" Nana slapped the lighter away from him.

It's too late.

The swarm of bees crashed into the protective netting, causing the ropes to vibrate violently and several connection points to snap instantly. The bees ignored the obstacle, relentlessly ramming and tearing at it, some even spontaneously combusting on the edge of flames without backing down.

"They've gone mad!" Chen Hao stepped back. "This isn't driving them away, it's a suicide attack!"

Nana immediately activated the sound wave generator, simulating the frequency of the wasp's natural enemy. However, the swarm only slowed slightly before regrouping, their flight trajectories exhibiting a strange synchronization.

“It’s ineffective,” she said. “They’ve been completely controlled; their nervous systems are bound to the orchid signaling network.”

"So burning flowers is equivalent to hitting its head, so it simply sends its underlings to fight desperately?"

"Exactly."

Nana quickly switched to high-frequency interference mode, and the sound waves swept across the edge of the bee swarm, causing several bees to fall to the ground out of control. The rest immediately adjusted their formation, splitting into two groups to encircle the swarm.

"Retreat." She grabbed Chen Hao's arm. "If we stay any longer, we'll be surrounded and killed."

The two turned and ran, their engines roaring behind them. Chen Hao ran until his lungs felt like they were going to explode, his shoes slipped three times, and he fell into the mud the last time, only to be pulled up by Nana.

The swarm of bees stopped chasing the flower field only after climbing a steep slope, hovering there like a persistent dark cloud.

Chen Hao lay on the ground, panting heavily, his mouth full of the taste of dirt. He looked up at Nana and noticed that the sensor on her chest had been pierced by a bee sting, leaving a small hole, from which the blue light flickered.

Are you alright?

"Minor damage, does not affect operation."

"Then why didn't you say there was this risk earlier?"

"Would you not go if I told you?"

"Of course I'll go! If I don't go, who will be the cannon fodder?"

Nana glanced at him but didn't say anything.

In the distance, the dark blue flower field swayed in the firelight, its unburnt petals slowly closing as if in a cold laugh.

Chen Hao propped himself up on his knees and stared at the sea of ​​flowers for a long time.

“So there were two traps,” he said in a low voice. “One was poison, and the other was soldiers.”

Nana nodded: "The cleanup plan needs to be reassessed."

"Then let's try another method." He rubbed his face. "Since it's controlled by pheromones, can we create a fake signal to trick it into killing each other?"

“Theoretically feasible.” Nana pulled up the database. “It requires synthesizing a specific hormone ratio and finding a transmission medium.”

"for example?"

"Dead bee."

"...You really dare to think that way."

"You brought it up first."

Chen Hao sighed, took out a charred bee corpse from his pocket, and examined it from all angles.

Its wings were carbonized, but its compound eyes remained intact, reflecting a faint light.

He suddenly grinned and said, "Do you think if we held a funeral for it and played some funeral music, it might be so moved that it would defect?"