Chapter 537

The winding cave was full of mud, and on top of the mud was a layer of multicolored liquid; a foul, pungent odor wafted out, which was extremely unpleasant.

"Activate air purification system." The Engineer frowned and pressed two buttons on his suit; his furrowed brow smoothed out.

"Really nice, it can even purify the air," Ye Nan said, feigning an envious expression.

"Country bumpkin." The Engineer gave Ye Nan no face at all, bluntly attacking him, "Only you low-level civilizations would worship an air purification system like this."

"It's true, civilizations like yours develop at the cost of destroying the environment you live in. Industrial pollution has reached a sickening level. I really don't understand how you can live so happily while residing in a world full of toxic gas."

"If it were me, I would leave the planet. Oh, right, you can't escape the planet. However, I still suggest you purchase air purification technology; don't always think about buying weapon technology. Deformed development is not good."

The Engineer reminded him, but his gaze was malicious.

Whether it is silver coins or battle merits, both are limited. Investing limited funds into improving the environment means there will be less for weapon data, and strength will also decrease by a notch.

If it were peaceful times, it wouldn't matter, but at a time when the Zerg have already launched an all-out attack, a civilization without sufficient military strength has only one dead end.

Don't think that low-level civilizations can be safe and worry-free. Once the flames of war spread across the entire galaxy, low-level civilizations will be the first to be wiped out. In fact, in just these few days, two low-level civilizations have already been wiped out.

In the face of the overwhelming Zerg army, except for high-level civilizations that still have the strength to fight, other low-level civilizations only have the outcome of fleeing in terror—no, they don't even have the chance to flee; the bugs will devour the civilization along with the planet.

"Mm, I'll get it done when I go back." Ye Nan nodded, looking like he was earnestly taking the advice. In reality, deep down, he didn't take the Engineer's suggestion to heart at all. He had always let such obviously treacherous advice go in one ear and out the other.

"Actually..." The Engineer hesitated. The words were on the tip of his tongue, wanting to be said but unable to come out; he realized he had just done something stupid.

Although he didn't have a good impression of Ye Nan and wished he could kill him immediately, he had an innate sympathy for the other members of the Human Federation. To take revenge on one person by dragging an entire civilization down seemed a bit too much.

However, since the words were already out, it was very difficult to change them.

"Forget it, if they are attacked by the bugs, they will die anyway, regardless of whether they have that bit of weapon technology or not." The Engineer made up his mind not to say those words.

"Actually what?" Ye Nan asked suspiciously.

"Nothing." The Engineer turned around, concealing the hesitation on his face, and said, "Let's go, let's hurry over and collect the Source of Evolution."

After saying this, the Engineer trotted forward, and Ye Nan followed suit upon seeing this.

As they went deeper into the cave, the strange odor in the air decreased, and the liquid left behind by the bugs was almost invisible on the ground, replaced by green ferns.

"The direction of the pursuit can't be wrong. The bugs' liquid and odor have disappeared, which can only mean these ferns have an effect similar to an air purification system." Ye Nan muttered in his heart; the familiar ferns flooded his mind, giving him a strange feeling.

He still remembered that on that unnamed planet, that huge fern plant, which was thought to be alive, withered after the consciousness of the Zerg Overlord Harris was destroyed. Now that this fern plant appeared again, it made him feel a bit strange, as if this life form harbored hatred toward him. It was a feeling, a peculiar feeling.

"Could it be that this fern plant not only has life but also consciousness?" This terrifying guess emerged from the bottom of Ye Nan's heart.

"If these ferns are here, then the Zerg commander should be here too." The Engineer looked at the ferns on the ground, his face hidden under the transparent visor becoming solemn. He grabbed a fern with his thick white spacesuit glove and warned, "Be careful yourself, don't get eaten by this thing."

"Eaten? Could it be that this plant is alive?" Although he already knew the answer, Ye Nan pretended to know nothing in order to fish for information.

"Of course it's alive." The Engineer said in a deep voice, "No one knows the name of this thing, but everyone knows it is one of the Zerg's food sources. Like the Zerg creep, it provides energy for the bugs. The only difference is that the creep provides food for newborn bugs, while this thing provides energy for adult bugs."

"It can secrete a liquid that can erode all ores, metals, and other substances; basically, nothing can withstand its erosion."

"Once eroded by its liquid, one becomes nutrients for the liquid, and this liquid contains a massive amount of energy. If a bug eats it, it can remain active for at least half a month."

"Legend has it that if given enough time, it can absorb an entire planet."

"Then how should one destroy it?" Ye Nan asked.

Although he had already overestimated the danger of this fern plant, he still underestimated it. These ferns were not just the Zerg's logistics, but also their trump card. Think about it: the Zerg occupy a planet, and humans are always about to take it back. Even if they can't take it back, they can cleanse the battlefield with large-scale weapons of mass destruction like Q-bombs.

But once the fern plant takes root and sprouts, if it is not killed in the future, the entire planet will be turned into nutrients and disappear from the universe.

Ye Nan suddenly realized the Zerg and humans' tug-of-war behavior; now it seemed they were preparing for the fern plant to devour the planet.

Human civilization development requires all kinds of ores, while the Zerg need energy to develop. Their conflict, in essence, is a struggle for the planet, while the Zerg unknowingly plant the seeds of the fern plant inside the planet to digest it. The Human Federation, however, is unaware and only knows how to fight for the surface. No matter how you look at it, it feels somewhat tragic.

"Find its root and kill it." The Engineer's face was filled with murderous intent, "The roots of the fern plant are usually deep underground, but your civilization has no other way to kill it except for the Planet Destroyer Cannon."

After a pause, the Engineer said, "After I collect the Source of Evolution, I will help you eradicate the fern plant."

"Can you tell me what method is used to kill it?" Ye Nan asked with a thick skin. He decided to use the Zerg to kill the Engineer, so naturally, he couldn't wait for the Engineer to help him eliminate the fern plant and eradicate its threat, so he had to ask for the method and do it himself.

"It's very simple, a virus." The Engineer pressed a few times on his protective suit, then reached out and grabbed a bottle of transparent reagent, "Just throw this onto the fern plant, and it will corrode it and make it wither. However, it must be thrown at the core of the fern plant to kill it; otherwise, it will only alert the enemy and make it cut off its tail to survive."

The fern plant's body is neither too big nor too small. It takes a certain amount of time to corrode its body with the virus, and during this time, it can completely cut off its tail to survive—that is, discard a part of its body in exchange for survival.

"This thing." Ye Nan grabbed the bottle with a thick skin, put it away, and carefully tucked it away.

Seeing Ye Nan's actions, the Engineer immediately sneered, "You want to go kill the fern plant yourself? Keep dreaming."

"I just want to give it to the Human Federation to study." Ye Nan casually found an excuse to fob the Engineer off.

The Engineer laughed out loud as if he had heard a huge joke, "Study? With the Human Federation's pitifully weak virus technology, you want to study the virus of our Prometheus race? Ridiculous!"

"Even if it can't be studied, it can be collected. It's a good thing after all, isn't it?" Ye Nan didn't care about the Engineer's mockery. He was not the Human Federation; the Space-Time Empire had always had excellent success in the field of viruses. To say nothing else, the number of generations of viruses developed based on the T-virus was unknown, and even he, the Emperor of the Space-Time Empire, didn't know the data.

"You want to say you've taken advantage, is that it?" The Engineer's face turned green instantly. He felt like a clown, saying a bunch of words he thought were clever, while in reality, the other person couldn't even be bothered to pay attention.

"That is indeed the case." Ye Nan said triumphantly, "If this thing were sold on the internet, it would probably sell for a high price."

"In reality, its value is very low." The Engineer said, "Actually, it is just a virus specifically targeting the fern plant and has absolutely no research value whatsoever."

In order to strike at Ye Nan, the Engineer didn't even hesitate to disparage his own virus.

"Whatever, it was free anyway, might as well take it." Ye Nan shrugged and said with a relaxed expression.

"You..." The Engineer was so angered by Ye Nan that he felt uncomfortable inside. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and a nameless fire burned with rage in his heart.

"Give my virus back to me."

The Engineer reached out, wanting to grab the virus and take it back, but Ye Nan, who was already prepared, pulled his hand back, avoiding the Engineer's hand, and retorted, "Could it be that the Prometheus race are all stingy?"

The virus was an unexpected joy for him. Whether it was used to corrode the fern plant and wipe it from this planet or taken back for Dr. Ashford to study to enrich the T-virus system, it might even be possible to create a brand-new virus.

"Fine, you win." The Engineer's expression shifted a few times, and after dropping this sentence, he turned and left. (To be continued.)