Agricultural technician Zhang, an honest man with a name as plain as a lump of earth, was now looking at a few wilted plants with a sad face.
He brought these precious treasures back from a strange wilderness at the risk of his life - well, at least he risked spraining his ankle.
They are like shy girls, hiding in a specially made petri dish, and no matter how Lao Zhang coaxes them, they just refuse to stretch out their branches and leaves.
"This thing is as delicate as a little princess!" Old Zhang muttered, his eyes full of bloodshot behind the lenses.
He poked the soil in the petri dish and said, "This soil doesn't work, and that water doesn't work either. What does it want?!" He scratched his already sparse hair and felt that he was one step closer to becoming bald.
The door of the laboratory was pushed open, and Mou Xuan walked in with a cup of steaming wolfberry tea in his hand.
He immediately noticed Lao Zhang's anxiety and joked, "Hey, Lao Zhang, are you communicating with alien plants?"
Lao Zhang raised his head and smiled bitterly: "Brother Xuan, please stop making fun of me. If we can't grow this thing, our alliance will be in trouble."
Mou Xuan patted Lao Zhang on the shoulder and said, "Don't panic. There will always be a way when you reach the mountain. There will always be a way when you reach the bridge... Wait, the boat seems to be leaking!" His joking tone suddenly turned serious because he noticed that the leaves of the plants in the petri dish began to turn yellow and even curl up.
"What's going on?"
At this time, Chen Yao also walked in with a stack of information in her hand.
She handed the information to Mou Xuan and explained, "According to my analysis, this plant has very demanding requirements for its growth environment. It needs specific light, temperature, humidity, and even the microbial community in the soil to match." She paused, her tone a little heavy, "And our current technology cannot fully simulate this environment."
"Oh my god! This is harder than climbing to the sky!" Lao Zhang sat down on the chair, feeling completely hollowed out.
Mou Xuan flipped through the information with a frown on his face.
He knew that a food crisis was imminent, and if a new source of food could not be found quickly, the stability of the alliance would be seriously threatened.
"Knock, knock, knock!" The knock on the door interrupted their thoughts.
Wang, the granary manager, walked in anxiously, with a hint of panic in his tone: "Brother Xuan, when can this new plant... be planted? The grain in the granary is running low, and everyone is... worried."
Mou Xuan took a deep breath and tried to keep himself calm: "Old Wang, don't worry, we are working hard to overcome the planting problems, and there will be results soon." He tried his best to make his tone full of confidence, but he was unsure in his heart.
After Wang, the grain depot manager, left, there was a noise outside the laboratory.
Chen Panic Crowd and some other alliance members gathered at the door, their faces full of anxiety and uneasiness.
"Brother Xuan, can this new plant be grown? We are almost starving to death!" Chen panicked as he spoke to the people with a trembling voice.
"Yes, Brother Xuan, you have to think of a solution!" Others also echoed.
Mou Xuan and Shen Yao looked at each other and knew that they could not delay any longer.
They walked out of the laboratory and faced everyone's anxious gazes.
"Everyone, please be quiet!" Mou Xuan's voice was steady and powerful. "I know everyone is worried, but please believe us, we will definitely be able to solve this problem!"
Chen Yao also comforted everyone: "Please wait patiently, we have found some clues, and I believe we will find a suitable planting method soon."
However, the panic among the crowd did not completely dissipate. People whispered,
At this moment, a loud "bang" was heard in the laboratory... Everyone's heart tightened, and an ominous premonition came to their minds... Mou Xuan turned back suddenly, his face suddenly changed: "Not good!" He pushed the crowd away and rushed into the laboratory...
The laboratory was filled with a burning smell, the petri dishes were broken into pieces all over the floor, and those delicate plants had turned to ashes.
Old Zhang collapsed on the ground, his face pale, as if he had seen a ghost.
Next to the petri dish, a small device was hissing and emitting smoke - obviously, this was a man-made destruction.
Mou Xuan's eyes turned cold instantly, and a dangerous light flashed in his eyes.
"Damn it!" He cursed and clenched his fists.
This is obviously aimed at him!
Chen Yao also realized the seriousness of the matter and immediately began to check the scene, trying to find some clues.
"It looks like they came prepared," she said, pointing to a special symbol on the device. "This is... the symbol of the Black Snake Society!"
At the same time, on the outskirts of the alliance farmland, patrol member Xiao Li discovered something unusual.
Tiny cracks appeared on the originally peaceful land, as if something was stirring underground.
He squatted down and touched the soil at the edge of the crack with his hand, feeling it was unusually damp and warm.
"What... is going on?" Xiao Li muttered to himself, a feeling of uneasiness rising in his heart.
He picked up the walkie-talkie and was about to report the situation when he suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him.
He turned his head suddenly, but only saw a vague black shadow flash by.
“Who?!” Xiao Li shouted and ran after him, but ran headfirst into a sticky, smelly spider web… “Help… Help…” His terrified cries were quickly drowned out by the night… In the distance, a cold voice came: “Haha, the fun… has just begun…”
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