This creature, possessing many insect characteristics, has not only a hard carapace but also extremely hard mouthparts. Below its head and above its mouth, there is a gland that can secrete liquid.
This substance has a complex composition; it can paralyze nerves and carries a deadly poison, not targeting the flesh. It can disrupt all molecular structures, even steel, thus destabilizing its structure, which is why it can gnaw at the surface of satellites.
After the structure was destroyed, the originally hard material turned into powder that could be crushed with your fingers.
Jiang Cheng also discovered that this creature is hermaphroditic, so it can reproduce autonomously, and its eggs are located in its abdomen. When it gnaws on things, it converts matter into energy and then supplies it to the eggs.
Normally, organisms produce energy after eating and distribute it throughout their bodies. However, this organism only works for its own eggs; its digestive system is linked to the eggs. In other words, once it lays its eggs, its own life ends.
This suggests that after the guard captain was implanted with the egg, the worm inside the egg emerged within minutes. It had already formed inside the previous generation's abdomen and did not require any development process.
After devouring the guard captain's brain, several new eggs were produced in its belly, and so on, thus multiplying.
In other words, from the moment it is created, its fate of death is already sealed. Its survival is for the propagation of its species. After obtaining energy, it immediately lays eggs, and then its stomach ruptures, causing it to die instantly.
The soft abdomen is where the eggs are placed.
This extremely peculiar way of reproduction is somewhat similar to that of mayflies on our planet.
Mayflies are born in the morning and die in the evening, and they only survive in areas with clean water. They are the most primitive insects and belong to the same category of creatures as dragonflies.
Mayflies have slender, soft bodies and well-developed compound eyes. Adults do not feed; their stomachs are used solely to hold air. After molting, their digestive tract and stomach are filled with air, forming a balloon-like structure. This allows the larvae to easily float to the surface of the water, where they can then find mates and reproduce.
They are born, then leap out of the water and fly under the azure sky. Their figures can be seen above the pond. Due to their extremely short lifespan, they mate eagerly. Afterward, the male dies, and the female flies upstream with the eggs to complete the task of reproduction, and then ends her own life.
It was so short that it lasted only one day.
This is the origin of the saying "born in the morning and dying at dusk".
Every summer, millions of mayflies can be seen on the Tissa River in southern Ukraine, appearing on the river surface like flowing clouds, creating a spectacular scene that looks like the entire river is blooming with flowers.
Jiangcheng gave the invading insects a similar name: insect worms.
Inside the brain of an insect is a very strange thing, so tiny that it is almost imperceptible and invisible to the naked eye. The structure of this thing is somewhat like a product of technology, which can achieve a combination with a mirror through the insect's eyes. In other words, what the insect sees can be copied by the mirror.
The only thing that disgusted Jiang Cheng was that the slugs were just gnawing machines, devoid of any thought. As if remotely controlled, they would simply exist in one place and begin feeding, devouring everything in sight, and then multiplying exponentially. Because of their tenacious vitality, they were extremely difficult to eliminate.
If millions of slugs existed on the planet's surface, it would be catastrophic; they would devour soil, rivers, buildings, and life to fuel their own reproduction.
If we imagine them expanding without limit, it would only be a matter of time before they devour the entire Milky Way, because their reproduction rate is simply too fast.
Fortunately, this also makes the area where it places its eggs vulnerable to impact, thus breaking their vicious cycle during the period before they become adults.
Jiang Cheng was studying insects in the laboratory when suddenly there was a knock on the door. His thoughts were interrupted, and he wondered who it was.
Immediately afterward, a familiar face came into view.
It was none other than the long-awaited Mr. Zhong Yingzhe.
Because Jiang Cheng rushed back just as Zhong Lao was in a meeting, they hadn't had a chance to meet for several days. Jiang Cheng immediately stood up to express his respect.
His relationship with this old man could no longer be described by the simple concept of scientific research. The other party treated him like his own grandson, and Jiang Cheng would definitely be the one to take the position at the Institute of Biotechnology.
"Little town, you're back."
Although Jiang Cheng had only been gone for a few months, Old Zhong seemed like a different person. He used to be energetic and sprightly, but now he walks very slowly and his steps are not as steady.
Human aging always comes exceptionally quickly, imperceptibly. When you wake up in the morning, you find that you no longer have such abundant energy, and your organs are constantly deteriorating, losing the luster of your youth.
Mr. Zhong is nearly eighty years old and only now does he feel the power of time, which has transformed him from a spirited young man into a frail old man.
Within two or three months, he showed signs of aging.
Jiang Cheng quickly went over to help him sit down, and the old man and the young man looked at each other.
“I already know the details of this space docking mission. I never thought we would come to this. It’s truly regrettable.” He sighed.
"Plans never keep up with changes, and I couldn't have predicted these unexpected events," Jiang Cheng replied.
"I'm old. Look, I can't even walk steadily anymore. I don't know how many more years I have to live. My body below the chest is buried in the ground. Only my head is still breathing. I'll just keep living like this."
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