Menurut sistem, Pohon Pemurnian bisa tumbuh selama lima tahun. Saat kekuatannya habis atau umurnya berakhir, ia akan mekar, berbuah, dan layu.
Tapi Pohon Pemurnian di area ini baru ditanam beberapa bulan. Tak ada tanda mekar atau berbuah, tapi daun dan cabangnya sudah mulai mengering, benar-benar membingungkan.
Seorang rombongan mengerutkan kening di sekitar pohon-pohon layu itu, berdiskusi lama tapi tak mencapai kesimpulan. Beberapa merasa itu hanya kecelakaan, yang lain menduga karena hujan lebat belakangan ini; pendapat bermacam-macam.
Shen Tang bertanya ke sistem dalam pikirannya, "Ada apa ini?"
Setelah memindai, sistem menjawab dengan nada serius: [Tuan Rumah, akar-akar pohon ini sudah busuk. Saat ini pelayuan daun hanyalah gejala awal. Jika tidak segera ditangani, kebusukan akar akan cepat parah, dan pohon-pohon ini tak bisa diselamatkan.]
[Lagi pula, pohon di tengah paling parah kebusukannya. Kuruga ini menular. Segera gali keluar agar tidak menular ke Pohon Pemurnian lain.]
Hati Shen Tang tiba-tiba tenggelam.
Kalau penyakit ini benar menular, seluruh area Pohon Pemurnian bisa musnah, usaha setengah tahun mereka sia-sia dalam sekejap!
Dia segera memerintahkan pohon-pohon itu digali.
Xiao Jin memimpin Beastmen, menggali dalam. Akar Pohon Pemurnian luar biasa panjang, bisa menembus lebih dari sepuluh meter ke bawah, mengakar kuat di tanah.
Tapi di bawah cakar tajam Beastmen, penggalian berjalan cepat.
Saat hendak sampai ke ujung akar, seseorang tiba-tiba merasa menghancurkan sesuatu, telapak tangannya penuh cairan lengket putih susu bercampur tanah.
"Yang Mulia, Tuan Lu Xiao, cepat mari lihat! Kami temukan ini!"
Tak lama, Beastmen lain juga menemukan benda serupa — bola-bola putih seukuran jempol, menempel di akar, padat sekali, seperti telur serangga.
Shen Tang memindai dengan sistem, wajahnya langsung suram; memang telur serangga!
Dia menyuruh memeriksa tanah hasil gali dengan teliti, dan benar ditemukan cacing kecil sebesar kelingking, coklat gelap. Mirip cacing tanah, bergeliat pelan di tanah, nyaris menyatu sempurna, sangat sulit terdeteksi.
Dengan ada telur dan induknya, sebab pohon layu jadi jelas; serangga ini mengunyah akar!
Saksi pemandangan menjijikkan itu melompat mundur beberapa langkah, gosok merang di lengannya, mengutuk, "Sialan, kenapa tempat ini penuh hal menjijikkan begini?"
"Pernah lihat ulat semacam ini?"
"Bukan asli sini, ya? Kalau aku sendiri sejak kecil tak pernah lihat."
"Kalau benar gigit akar, pasti banyak lagi tersembunyi di tanah. Tapi kenapa cuma beberapa pohon ini kena, yang lain aman? Artinya hama ini menyebar pelan-pelan."
"Bicara soal itu, kenapa ulat ini justru menyasarkan Pohon Pemurnian yang kita tanam susah payah?"
Beastmen berbicara, banyak yang marah.
Wajah Shen Tang juga jelek, hati penuh ragu. Masuk akal, Pohon Pemurnian produk sistem, meski ketahanannya bukan puncak, seharusnya tak mudah diserang hama penyakit lokal.
Dia perlahan berkata, "Menurutku, ini mungkin bukan sekadar masalah hama penyakit; bisa jadi sengaja orang."
Mendengar itu, semua Beastmen terkejut.
Kalau benar, memang mengerikan kalau dipikir!
Telur serangga ini berkembang biak sangat cepat, untung ditemukan dini. Kalau dibiarkan, tak lama lagi puluhan ribu hektar Pohon Pemurnian yang mereka tanam susah payah akan habis total.
Semua usaha jadi sia-sia!
Memikirkan itu, semua orang tak bisa menahan napas terengah-engah.
"Siapa yang kejam begini?"
"Huh, banyak yang benci Empire kita. Negara tetangga selalu bikin gaduh di batas, sesekali bikin onar cuma buat mengganggu. Paling besar kemungkinan mereka."
"Bisa juga orang dalam; ada yang memang watak buruk, spesialis hal-hal curut ini."
"Gimana sekarang? Harus gali semua ulat dan telurnya? Tapi mereka sembunyi begitu dalam, mustahil dibersihkan total..."
Sistem tepat bicara: [Tuan Rumah, jangan khawatir, Insektisida buatan sistem bisa membunuh 99% spesies serangga. Bisa dipakai untuk membasmi ulat pengunyah akar ini.]
Shen Tang langsung beli Insektisida banyak-banyak di Sistem Mall, bagi ke Beastmen, dan menyuruh menyemprotkan ke seluruh area, tak meninggalkan sudut mana pun. Kalau satu telur pun tersisa, usaha sebelumnya bisa sia-sia.
Lagi pula, mereka harus tangkap pelaku di balik ini.
According to the system, a Purification Tree can continue to grow for five years. When its power is exhausted or its life reaches the end, it will blossom, bear fruit, and wither.
But the Purification Trees in this area have only been planted for a few months. There are no signs of blossoming or fruit-bearing, yet the leaves and branches have begun to wither, which is truly puzzling.
A group of people frowned around these withering trees, discussed for a long time but couldn’t come to a conclusion. Some felt it was just an accident, while others speculated it was due to too much recent rainfall; opinions varied.
Shen Tang asked the system in her mind, "What is going on here?"
After scanning, the system replied in a grave tone: [Host, the roots of these trees have already decayed. Currently, the leaf withering is just an initial symptom. If not handled promptly, the root decay situation will quickly worsen, and these trees will not be preserved.]
[Moreover, the tree in the middle is the most seriously decayed. I suspect this might be infectious. Please excavate them quickly to avoid infecting other Purification Trees.]
Shen Tang’s heart sank abruptly.
If this disease really is contagious, the entire area of Purification Trees could be doomed, their half-year effort would be ruined in an instant!
She immediately ordered those trees to be dug out.
Xiao Jin led the Beastmen, digging deeply. The roots of the Purification Tree are extraordinarily long, capable of penetrating more than ten meters underground, firmly rooting in the soil.
Yet under the sharp claws of the Beastmen, the excavation proceeded rapidly.
Just as they were about to reach the bottom of the tree roots, someone suddenly felt as if they had crushed something, their palm covered with sticky, milky white liquid mixed with soil.
"Your Majesty, Lord Lu Xiao, come quickly and see! We’ve found this!"
Soon, more Beastmen discovered these things — thumb-sized white spheres, clumped onto the roots, densely packed and seemingly like some kind of insect eggs.
Shen Tang used the system to scan, her face immediately darkened; indeed, they were insect eggs!
She instructed to carefully check the excavated soil, and indeed found a small pinky-finger-thick, dark brown worm. They resembled earthworms, gently wriggling in the soil, almost blending seamlessly, making them extremely hard to detect.
With both insect eggs and adults appearing, the reason for the Purification Tree’s withering was not hard to deduce; these insects were gnawing at the roots!
Someone witnessing the disgusting scene jumped back a few steps, rubbed the goosebumps on their arms, and cursed, "What a curse, how could this place have so many disgusting things?"
"Have you ever seen these bugs before?"
"Probably not local, right? Anyway, I’ve never seen them since I was a child."
"If they really bite the roots, then there must be many more hidden in the soil. But why only these few trees are affected, while others remain unharmed? It indicates the pests are slowly spreading."
"Speaking of, why do these bugs specifically target the Purification Trees we’ve worked hard to plant?"
The Beastmen discussed, many indignant.
Shen Tang’s face also turned unpleasant, her heart full of doubts. Logically, the Purification Tree is a system product, even if its resistance isn’t top-notch, it shouldn’t be so easily invaded by local pests and diseases.
She slowly spoke, "I think, this matter might not be purely a pest and disease issue; it could very well be manmade."
Upon hearing this, all the Beastmen present were shocked.
If true, then indeed, it’s quite terrifying upon reflection!
These insect eggs reproduce extremely quickly, luckily found early. Otherwise, if left unchecked, it wouldn’t take long for the tens of thousands of hectares of Purification Trees they’ve painstakingly planted to be completely wiped out.
All efforts would be in vain!
Thinking of this, everyone couldn’t help but take a sharp breath.
"Who exactly is this malicious?"
"Huh, there are many who dislike our Empire. Some neighboring countries are always stirring trouble at the borders, occasionally creating disturbances just to annoy people. I bet it’s mostly likely them."
"It could also be internal people; some are simply of bad character, specializing in these sneaky deeds."
"What should we do now? Do we have to dig out all these insects and eggs? But they’re hiding so deep, it’s impossible to clean them all up..."
The system timely spoke: [Host, don’t worry, the system-produced Insecticide can kill 99% of insect species. You can use it to eliminate these root-eating insects.]
Shen Tang immediately purchased large amounts of Insecticide from the System Mall, distributed it to the Beastmen, and had them thoroughly spray the entire area, not leaving any corner unchecked. If even one insect egg is left, all previous efforts might be for naught.
Moreover, they must also capture the culprit behind this.
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