After running around in the mountains for a long time, we looked back and saw that the giant spider swarm had finally not caught up with us. We couldn't help but stop and gasp for air.

The old man's physical strength was very good. Although he was panting heavily, his running speed was definitely not slower than mine. I couldn't help but sigh. He had been sitting in the store all these years and was too lazy to walk. Therefore, his physical fitness was really bad.

no.

My throat felt like fire was burning, and I couldn't help but open the military kettle and pour water in big gulps.

At this time, I suddenly felt that the mud under my feet seemed a bit too muddy, and the uppers of my shoes actually sunk in half.

I looked around and saw that this jungle has a dense canopy and a very developed root system. It is as rugged as a dragon and intertwined into one. From a distance, it looks like a Thousand-Armed Guanyin.

Why does this forest look so familiar? Why, it looks like a mangrove forest.

There are really surprises everywhere in Wawu Mountain. Mangroves grow in swamps near the sea. Why do they appear in this deep mountain? The pH and trace elements of the soil in this mountain are completely different from the silt on the seaside.

It is not suitable for the growth of mangroves at all, but this mangrove forest is even denser than any mangrove forest I have seen on the beach since I was a child.

"Everyone, be careful. This place may be full of mud. Let's retreat first." As soon as I thought of this, I immediately reminded my teammates.

My feet had sunk a little deep, so I pulled out the shoes with difficulty and took a step back.

When I said this, everyone found that their shoes were more or less stuck in the mud, and they hurriedly pulled their feet out and stepped back.

"Look, they haven't left, they are weaving nets on the trees." Xiangyu said suddenly.

We looked back and saw, my dear, although those tarantulas did not pursue us into the mangroves, they weaved webs on the trees behind us, effectively cutting off our escape route.

"Now there is really a cliff in front of me and a pursuer behind me." I looked at the growing web woven by countless huge spiders behind me. The roots looked as small as silk, which made me

It feels like the white threads are still stained with the sticky saliva of the big spider, criss-crossing and crisscrossing, as if waiting for us to fall into the trap.

"These spiders are so big, have they mutated?" Wang Zhishui looked at Xiangyu and asked, because Xiangyu could call this big guy by name and knew their physiological structure, so Wang Zhishui probably thought that Xiangyu understood this kind of spider.

biological.

"It should be that the oxygen content in this forest is higher than in ordinary places, that's why they grow so big. During the Devonian Period, the earth's oxygen content was very high, and the oxygen concentration was even 1.5 times that of the environment we are in now.

Times, so the creatures in that period were very huge, we call it the giant insect period. However, in our era, such giant spiders should exceed the current records in the world." Xiangyu said.

, and then added: "Tarantulas are inherently poisonous, but the poison is not strong and will not be fatal. However, tarantulas that grow to such a large size have not been studied before. I don't know how strong the venom on their bodies is. What will happen to them?"

It is not fatal. However, even if the venom on its body is not fatal, the itchy hairs on its abdomen will make us miserable."

Although Xiangyu is timid, he is an international student at Stanford University after all and has a very broad range of knowledge. I can't help but secretly admire him in my heart.

"It looks like we can't fight the big spider head-on, but this place is full of mud, and we can't go through the woods and get out from the other side of the woods," Wang Zhishui said.

"Zhou Cang, you grew up by the sea and are familiar with mangroves. Can you estimate how deep the mud here is and whether we can wade through it?" Zhang Jisheng said to me.

Being called out suddenly, I still felt a little panicked. I couldn't help but think back to the scene when I was playing at the beach when I was a child. The mangroves on the beach had a thick layer of silt underground due to the influence of seawater tides. Therefore, my grandma had not been around since she was a child.

They asked me to go into the mangrove forest and lied to me that Granny Tree would take me as her grandson.

However, grandpa is different. Just like he warned me from a young age not to bathe in the creek casually, but he would teach me how to swim and how to save myself from drowning. He told me that mangroves have knee-roots, so if I unfortunately fall into the mud,

In the middle, you can step on the knees and pull the sub-plants out.

Mangroves are viviparous plants, and their branches will grow daughter plants, which grow downwards on the branches until they are inserted into the mud and take root. Therefore, mangroves basically have the phenomenon of a single tree forming a forest.

I have heard this from the old man many times, but because I am afraid of the old mangrove tree, I have never stepped into a mangrove forest, so I don’t know if this method will work. However, this should also be my grandfather’s experience.

It's impossible for the old man to lie to me.

Thinking of this, I hurriedly told my teammates about the characteristics of the mangrove knees and sub-plants. After research, we unanimously agreed on the plan of crossing the mangroves by touching the knees.

However, with these previous experiences and lessons, we dare not act rashly. Wang Zhishui proposed to take the lead. If there is no problem, we can follow.

He held the plant with one hand and groped in the mud with the other for a while, and then he probably touched the base of his knees. Then, using the force of pulling the plant, he pulled his feet out of the mud and stepped on the base of his knees.

"Success, you can come here." Wang Zhishui turned to look at us and said, with excitement on his face. "Follow the traces I stepped on and come here. It will be safe."

We followed his way and slowly walked deeper into the mangrove forest.

Crossing the mangroves this way consumes a lot of energy, especially the arms holding the plants, which will become sore after a while.

At this time, Wang Zhishui, who was walking at the forefront, suddenly had a small cut on his forearm by a thorn on the plant. He only heard him say "ouch" and saw blood flowing down his arm to his elbow, dripping into it.

In the mud.

"Zhou Cang, do the trunks of the mangroves have thorns? I didn't hear you mention it just now." Wang Zhishui asked.

Behind him, Zhang Jisheng hurriedly opened the zipper of his backpack, took out the hemostatic powder and sprinkled it on him.

Our feet were on the cylindrical spherical knee, and there was no way to let go of the hand holding the sub-plant to bandage Wang Zhishui. We could only sprinkle him with hemostatic powder first. Fortunately, the wound was not too big or deep, and the blood immediately started to flow.

It stopped.

Although I have never been to the mangroves at the seaside, I have played on its edge, and I have never heard of thorns growing on the mangroves.

"Professor Wang, no, could it be that there are just thorns on that plant?" I said, with a hint of uneasiness flashing through my heart. This jungle is full of unknowns and subversions of our original assumptions.

The existence of cognitive things.

"I have some unfortunate news to tell you. These sub-plants have begun to grow thorns. The one in front of me is no longer able to be removed. Those small thorns are dense and sharp, just like a cactus." Wang Zhishui said,

"I feel that as we go forward, there will be more and more of these little thorns, and have you noticed that the mud under our feet seems to be getting thinner and thinner."

"Without these small tree trunks as handrails, we wouldn't be able to walk at all." Xiangyu said, with a trace of nervousness on his face.

"Don't panic, let's think about what we can do." Zhang Jisheng said.

"It would be nice if I had a pair of gloves now," Xiangyu said.

"Gloves, Xiao Xiangyu, what you said inspired me. We all have gauze on us. We can wrap the gauze around our hands. With the protection of the thick gauze, we won't be afraid of these little thorns." Wang Zhishui said.

"In this case, if we run out of gauze, if someone gets injured walking back, there will be no gauze to wrap the wound," Xiangyu said.

"Let's get through this hurdle first. We'll figure out what to do next. Do you want to go back and feed the spiders?"

As Wang Zhishui spoke, he had already taken out his bundle of gauze from his backpack, biting one end of the gauze, and handed the other end to Zhang Jisheng, asking Zhang Jisheng to help him tie up his palms.

I looked back at the spider web and was shocked. The web was so big that it almost covered the forest behind us. Not even a mosquito could fly through it, let alone us.

The old man and I followed Zhang Jisheng's approach and helped each other wrap the palms with gauze.

While helping the old man, I said to Xiang Yu next to me: "Xiang Yu, please wait a moment. I will wrap it up for you and then come to help you."
Chapter completed!