The remains of the Bru Tribe could build a bridge of communication between different species.
Because the communication occurred directly on a conscious level, there was no need to worry about grammatical or translation issues arising from language differences.
Every sentence either party wanted to say would automatically adapt to the other's grammatical habits, and the deep meaning within the words could be directly analyzed, ensuring that information was transmitted clearly, accurately, and instantly.
This was how Morrow's group and the elderly member of the Lakeside Tribe were able to communicate unimpeded about the 'Nitro Rice.'
In fact, in the cognition of the Lakeside Tribe, this immature Nitro Rice, currently in its insect phase, had other names and titles.
However, the method of conscious communication directly resolved this issue for Morrow and the Lakeside Tribe.
"The insect phase refers to...?"
Morrow and the other team members showed curious expressions at the term mentioned by the elderly Lakeside tribesman.
Based on the information they currently had, there was no description of this phase.
The elderly Lakeside tribesman hadn't expected that Morrow's group would dare to venture into that deathly marsh in search of the Nitro Rice without even knowing about its 'insect phase.'
He was slightly surprised but didn't ask further, simply explaining calmly within their shared consciousness, "The growth of Nitro Rice is divided into two phases. The first is the 'insect phase.' At this time, it hides in the mire in an insect-like state, using the marsh as a medium to absorb the flesh and blood of other creatures' corpses from a distance."
"After absorbing enough nutrients, it will evolve into the second phase, the 'fungal phase.'"
"In this phase, the Nitro Rice will sprout from the soil like a seed. After a period of growth, the mature fungus will emit a rich life aura."
"To other creatures, this aura is full of temptation, but most of the beings attracted to it will die under the attack of the 'Hellbell,' ultimately becoming nutrients for other Nitro Rice in their insect phase."
"That area is extremely dangerous, my tribe once passed through there during a migration and was nearly wiped out by the 'Hellbell.'"
"Although I was lucky enough to escape and even brought back one fungal-phase and one insect-phase Nitro Rice, the price... was these ears, which now have no possibility of being healed."
The elderly Lakeside tribesman raised a hand and gently stroked his ears, which could no longer hear any sound.
Those were the organs he had resolutely sacrificed to escape the attack of the Hellbell The Twin-Tailed Snake.
It was a sacrifice on the soul level.
Therefore, these ears, which were crucial to his survival, had forever lost the possibility of healing.
"Do you, know of the 'Hellbell?'" the elderly Lakeside tribesman asked subsequently.
"We do," Morrow responded swiftly through their consciousness.
The elderly Lakeside tribesman's expression immediately turned solemn. "Without the resolve to 'sacrifice,' it is difficult to obtain the gift of the Earth God. I actually don't wish to see you meet a terrible fate under the Hellbell's assault, perhaps this insect-phase Nitro Rice can open another path for you."
Under the connection of the Bru Tribe remains, the communication between the two parties was efficient and in-depth.
The elderly Lakeside tribesman not only clearly explained the characteristics of the Nitro Rice but also frankly expressed his worries, hoping to use the insect-phase Nitro Rice to dissuade them from going to the deathly marsh.
But Morrow knew he didn't have enough time to study this insect-phase Nitro Rice.
He couldn't even be sure if he could revive it from its withered state and successfully nurture it to maturity.
"Could you tell us more about the origin of these withered leaves?"
Morrow suddenly shifted the topic to the layers of withered leaves the elderly Lakeside tribesman had just unwrapped.
He was extremely interested in their 'time-isolating' effect, and more importantly, with the 'Water Droplets' in his possession, he vaguely felt that these withered-leaf creatures could become a special tool.
This idea probably arose because the elderly Lakeside tribesman before him was actually able to use such a dangerous creature as a preservation tool.
The elderly Lakeside tribesman saw that Morrow was determined to go to the deathly marsh, so he stopped trying to persuade him.
"The Toothed Leaves..."
Seeing Morrow turn the topic to the withered leaves, he said slowly, "Since you've seen these things, you should know how astonishing their numbers are. Once they are revived by water, they will devour every living thing within their sensory range."
"Living things, does that include plants?"
For the first time, Morrow interrupted the other's narrative, pressing, "For example, Nitro Rice in its insect phase, or its fungal phase?"
The elderly Lakeside tribesman glanced at Morrow with a hint of confusion, seemingly not understanding why he would ask such a question.
But he still answered with certainty, "Plants are not within the Toothed Leaves' range of consumption. Although the insect-phase Nitro Rice can move freely in the mire, the Toothed Leaves will not target it. The same goes for the fungal-phase Nitro Rice. I can guarantee this."
In their withered state, the Toothed Leaves were a highly practical 'preservation' tool.
Anyone who understood this would naturally not pass up its unique value.
The elderly Lakeside tribesman was one of them.
As long as they were kept constantly dry, the Toothed Leaves would never truly die.
In other words, as a preservation tool, their effect was eternal.
As for why the elderly Lakeside tribesman was certain the Toothed Leaves wouldn't attack Nitro Rice, it was because during his experience in the deathly marsh, he had accidentally dropped a few Toothed Leaves into the damp mire.
At that time, the Toothed Leaves had indeed not attacked the fungal-phase Nitro Rice that was emitting a rich life aura, let alone the withered, insect-phase Nitro Rice he now held in his hand.
Hearing the elderly Lakeside tribesman's answer, a glint flashed in Morrow's eyes.
He hadn't expected that a single in-depth contact with the Lakeside Tribe would yield so much important intelligence.
Good luck. Morrow thought to himself, then guided the conversation back to the 'time-isolating' effect.
Regarding this, the elderly Lakeside tribesman held nothing back.
The so-called time isolation meant that anything tightly wrapped by the Toothed Leaves would be as if time had stopped for it; no matter how many years passed, it would not change.
Of course, changes might still exist, but they were too minuscule to be perceived.
After learning about this effect of the Toothed Leaves, every member of the team instantly had different ideas.
Menchi thought of food preservation, as expected of a Gourmet Hunter.
Sanbica thought of vaccine preservation, which fit the mindset of a Virus Hunter.
Biscuit thought of face masks to wear during sleep, which was very Biscuit.
Gel considered its auxiliary role in preserving corpses; oh, right, she was also a coroner.
Kalluto's first reaction was that with this, he would no longer have to worry about the sugar pancakes he carried with him getting soft from moisture.
Ponzu didn't rush to think of uses, but instead worried proactively, "What if we accidentally get them wet?"
Morrow, on the other hand, thought of cryogenic pods for interstellar space travel.
So, this bizarre creature called the Toothed Leaf seemed to have far more uses than expected.
For a moment, everyone looked at each other, a similar thought reflected in their eyes: if conditions allowed, why not turn back and collect some Toothed Leaves?
Morrow thought this idea was feasible.
In his view, there was an extremely high compatibility between the Toothed Leaves and the Water Droplets.
In the right situation, they could be combined into a powerful superweapon.
This point alone made it worthwhile for them to go back and collect a batch of Toothed Leaves.
Besides, both the Water Droplets and the Toothed Leaves were as easy to carry as the fireproof epidermis they had obtained earlier.
In the absence of space-type storage abilities, this characteristic was very friendly to the team.
Furthermore, speaking of spatial abilities, Morrow was also thinking about deeply researching the nature of the 'Water Droplets.'
These regular spheres, no more than five millimeters in diameter, could expand to about twenty-five centimeters after being soaked in water and release seven or eight tons, or even more, of pure water.
This made him wonder, while the surface of a soaked Water Droplet became fragile, did it also gain a property similar to some kind of 'spatial pouch'?
If he could figure this out, it might just solve their 'luggage' problem.
In order to gain a deeper understanding of the Dark Continent, Morrow's group, having just arrived at the Lakeside Tribe's settlement, decided to stay for a few more days.
Menchi, Sanbica, and the others used the communicative ability of the Bru Tribe remains to ask the Lakeside Tribe for local knowledge about ingredients, diseases, and toxins.
Morrow, meanwhile, conversed with the eldest Lakeside tribesman every day, listening with great interest to the experiences of his long life.
This not only broadened his horizons but also brought him closer to the elder.
After all, unlike the young Lakeside tribesmen who easily deified him for destroying the massive black hand, the elder's eyes always held the clarity and restraint of one who had weathered the vicissitudes of life.
So, compared to a simple display of power, sincere communication was the best way to build a relationship.
Moreover, Morrow had other considerations in mind.
He noticed that the Lakeside Tribe had preserved as many as six sets of Bru Tribe remains.
Clearly, this tribe had indeed paid a heavy price during their long migration, but they had also reaped many treasures along this path of survival that could be called 'Hope.'
Whether it was the Nitro Rice or the Bru Tribe remains, these hopes obtained along the way were perhaps the true strength that supported the Lakeside Tribe in their journey.
Even today, when facing the problems of survival and racial continuation, the Lakeside Tribe still needed to rely on objects of hope like the 'Water Droplets.'
After understanding all this, Morrow suddenly understood why Don Freecss had collectively called these strange objects 'Hope.'
For the races struggling to survive in the Dark Continent, they were indeed irreplaceable hope.
The hope to live on, the hope for the race to prosper and multiply.
Morrow, who had now collected two kinds of these objects of hope, also deeply understood that while the Dark Continent was certainly filled with deadly calamities, it was also easy to obtain various hopes with strange effects.
Of course, this was predicated on being able to solve or avoid the calamities.
Risk and reward were directly proportional.
This could probably be called a 'rule' of the Dark Continent.
In the following days, everyone in the team except Kalluto seemed to find their own busy pursuits in the Lakeside Tribe's settlement.
Even Ponzu was surrounded by the younger generation of the Lakeside Tribe, who showed great interest in her bee-taming techniques and eagerly sought her guidance.
Seeing that everyone had their own business, and with nothing to do himself, Kalluto could only accompany Morrow in listening to the old elder's past stories.
It was also during this listening process that Kalluto casually created a living paper doll of the old Lakeside tribesman.
Perhaps they would return to this restricted area known as the Land of the Drained Marsh in the future, and this living paper doll would serve as the most precise coordinate marker.
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
During this period of in-depth contact with the Lakeside Tribe, everyone in the team had their own gains.
Since the Lakeside Tribe had migrated here, Menchi was able to learn from them the specific locations and acquisition methods of various ingredients along their route.
Sanbica and Gel learned from the Lakeside people about the prevention and treatment of some common diseases, as well as the extraction methods and practical effects of various animal and plant toxins.
As for Morrow, the greatest gain from this trip was undoubtedly confirming the exact location of the marsh where the Nitro Rice grew from the old Lakeside tribesman's mouth.
He also learned more details about the Nitro Rice and the threat of the Hellbell The Twin-Tailed Snake.
One point was extremely important.
Even if one lost their hearing by physically destroying their eardrums, they could not completely resist the bloodlust contagion of the Hellbell The Twin-Tailed Snake.
The Lakeside Tribe was born with excellent hearing, but this talent, when facing the Hellbell The Twin-Tailed Snake which hunted using 'sound wave transmission,' became a disaster within a disaster.
Therefore, when facing this huge threat back then, some Lakeside tribesmen had resolutely chosen to destroy their own ears.
Even so, they still fell victim.
Theoretically, only by retreating outside the 'range of the sound waves' could one be completely free from the Hellbell's influence.
Tragically, the Lakeside Tribe's extraordinary hearing, originally used to avoid danger, brought them even greater peril in this desperate situation.
This kind of almost predator-prey relationship between species in an ecosystem was probably just like that.
The reason the old Lakeside tribesman was able to survive the Hellbell after destroying his hearing was more due to a method similar to a 'Vow and Limitation,' permanently sacrificing his hearing.
All in all, after mastering this intelligence, Morrow's next move, aside from collecting some Toothed Leaves, was to head to that deathly marsh.
He had thought of a method that might be able to deal with the Hellbell without risk.
The marshland.
The corpse of the massive black hand still lay like a mountain range.
Even though it had lost its life, for nearly half a month, few creatures dared to step into this area.
But in this silent place, an 'earth curtain' quietly moved here.
It was like a curtain that could move across the ground, arriving beneath the corpse of the massive black hand.
It moved past.
The corpse of the massive black hand immediately sank into the earth curtain and soon vanished without a trace.
—--
In a place farther away.
A figure quietly watched this scene.
—--
Intelligence:
Hezhogen (Calamity · Gaseous Lifeform)
Ferocity: A (The ecological behavior of this being poses a fatal danger to humans.)
Quantity: E (Single individual)
Reproductive Ability: ?
Destructive Power: A (Very high mortality rate, extremely difficult to evade.)
Overall: A+ (Possesses energy-based regeneration ability; world-class cooperation is ineffective.)
Weakness: None, but it should be noted that Hezhogen can produce and store large amounts of hydrogen. The use of thermal weapons and conventional Emission attacks should be avoided.
This brief intelligence is excerpted from the third list of the 'Calamity Compendium.'
—--
Intelligence:
Black Hand (Calamity · Gigantified Creature)
Ferocity: A (The ecological behavior of this being poses a fatal danger to humans.)
Quantity: E (Single individual)
Reproductive Ability: ?
Destructive Power: A (Very high mortality rate, extremely difficult to evade.)
Overall: A (Must be annihilated as soon as possible, but is extremely difficult to deal with, requiring world-class cooperation.)
Weakness: None.
This brief intelligence is excerpted from the fourth list of the 'Calamity Compendium.'
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Bonus chapter @200power stones and next one @400