Just a Lick

In fact, there was no need to wait for a moment.

After the juice of the Dodder Vine was applied to the wound, the Windbird Lizard Beast, which had been struggling violently just moments ago, began to droop its eyelids and close them, then its head tilted, and it collapsed on the ground.

"It's not dead, it's just fallen asleep." Du Ke saw the rhythmic rise and fall of the Windbird Lizard Beast's belly and understood the effect of the Dodder Vine juice; it must be a potent anesthetic.

He tried to pat the Windbird Lizard Beast forcefully, but unfortunately, it was sound asleep and couldn't be woken up. Getting closer, he could still hear its heavy breathing. To gauge the anesthetic effect of the Dodder Vine, he decided to bring the Windbird Lizard Beast along and continued his journey. The current temperature had already soared to 38℃, which would be considered extreme heat on Earth, but according to the Flower Spirits, it was still spring in the Fantasy World.

It was truly hard to imagine what the Fantasy World would be like when summer arrived.

High temperatures easily lead to fires. Would this Great Blue Forest be engulfed in flames during the summer... It probably wouldn't. If it burned down once a year, it likely wouldn't grow into such a lush forest.

On a large tree ahead, an orange-yellow flower the size of a washbasin caught his attention. He went closer to examine it and found that it didn't look like the tree's own flower, but rather some kind of parasitic plant growing on the tree trunk. It had five petals, each the size of a basketball, and in the center, where the stamen should be, was a spherical part the size of a soccer ball. He had no idea what was inside.

"Let's poke it."

So, he quickly materialized a mask to shield the front of his Nano Armor, then materialized a long needle and quickly pierced the spherical part of the monstrous flower.

BANG!

With a huge explosion, the spherical part of the flower detonated, scattering a large area with special pollen. Soon, the entire forest was enveloped in orange-yellow smoke. Small birds and beasts that lived in the treetops fled in panic, and even from the piles of dead leaves on the ground, things that were either small beasts or insects scurried out, crawling past Du Ke.

"What's going on!" Du Ke quickly checked his Nano Armor. It was covered in yellow powder, but it seemed to cause no harm.

He quickly cut off the external air supply and switched to the internal circulation of his Mind Armor, then materialized a gust of wind to blow away the yellow smoke in front of him, wanting to get another look at the parasitic flower on the tree. However, the flower was no longer there; it had been reduced to dust and fragments in the explosion, and a large chunk of the tree trunk had been blown away, nearly breaking the tree. In other words, this flower exploded at the slightest touch.

Exaggerated.

Du Ke waited for a while before the yellow smoke began to dissipate. However, the yellow powder had already coated a large area of the forest, temporarily turning the blue forest into a light yellow one.

He suddenly thought of something and looked at the Windbird Lizard Beast hanging from his armor.

What he saw stunned him. The Windbird Lizard Beast was gone. All that remained tied by the rope was a melting skeleton, no, a yellow skeleton. The yellow powder was like the bone-dissolving powder from novels, rapidly melting the Windbird Lizard Beast's skeleton, leaving only some residue on the ground. And on the ground, many miniature orange-yellow flowers had sprung up without him noticing.

"Is this its method of reproduction?"

"It's truly astonishing."

This strange flower, capable of exploding and corroding skeletons, made Du Ke break out in a cold sweat. If he hadn't been protected by his Nano Armor, he probably would have died on the spot when he boldly poked the flower.

The Fantasy World was too terrifying.

Du Ke suddenly missed Earth. "I want to go home."

Fortunately, the fear was temporary. Protected by his Mind Armor, he was safe for the time being. After thinking for a long time, he named this strange flower the "Devil Explosion Flower." Its bizarre reproductive method was indeed more frightening than a devil. However, the newly formed Devil Explosion Flowers didn't seem to have explosive power. Du Ke stomped on several of them, but there was no reaction.

"It must need to mature, meaning the spherical part of the stamen needs to swell up. At that point, it can unleash its explosive power. Looking at it this way, it doesn't seem as terrifying as it did just now."

"And it seems to need to eat meat to grow."

Du Ke observed carefully. The patch of Devil Explosion Flowers at his feet had likely reproduced by consuming the flesh and blood of the Windbird Lizard Beast. The small patches of Devil Explosion Flowers in the distance must have reproduced by consuming other small animals. The yellow powder that had settled on the plants and dead leaves showed no signs of sprouting. Du Ke considered scraping some off as a sample, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.

He worried that if the sample leaked back to Earth, it could cause immense damage to Earth's ecosystem.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly noticed a group of familiar small animals appearing. They moved in packs, crawling on the ground and greedily licking the yellow powder.

"It's a Fire-breathing Golem. These things actually eat the powder of the Devil Explosion Flower. Aren't they afraid of being fertilized?" Du Ke was greatly surprised.

However, with the arrival of the Fire-breathing Golems, the small beasts, insects, and birds that had fled the area also returned, joining the ranks of licking the yellow powder and competing with the Fire-breathing Golems. Some even seemed unafraid, gradually ignoring Du Ke's presence and licking the yellow powder at his feet. However, all the animals deliberately avoided the newly formed Devil Explosion Flowers, only licking the powder.

"Can this stuff really be eaten?"

Du Ke raised his hand and looked at the yellow powder clinging to his Nano Armor, feeling a sudden urge to try it. "If it were dangerous, these animals definitely wouldn't be eating it so greedily. And they haven't shown any abnormalities after eating it; in fact, they seem excited, as if it's a good thing... Should I try it?" At this point, a bold insect had followed the trail of yellow powder all the way to his feet.

It even tried to lick the yellow powder on his Nano Armor.

Du Ke naturally didn't want to be licked by an insect, so he stomped his foot, crushing the insect.

He stood there, watching the animals' feast. In just over ten minutes, the large patch of yellow powder was completely licked clean by the small animals, leaving no trace behind. Only Du Ke's Nano Armor still had a layer of yellow powder on it, but intimidated by his presence, the animals dared not approach. Some of the smarter small beasts had already turned and left.

Only some lower-class insects remained, stubbornly trying to get closer.

"I'll just take a lick!" Du Ke saw that the animals were truly fine and finally couldn't resist. "The bold get rich, the timid starve. What's wrong with taking a lick? At worst, I'll just induce vomiting myself!"

On Earth, when he visited the hospital, he had learned how to induce vomiting, just in case he accidentally ingested something poisonous in the Fantasy World.

With his Mind Armor, he could induce vomiting at any time.

So, taking a deep breath, Du Ke finally licked the yellow powder. The yellow powder melted in his mouth, and a sour-sweet taste instantly bloomed on his tongue, then spread throughout his body. The melted powder didn't seem to enter his stomach but transformed into a warm current that spread from his mouth and tongue, quickly reaching every part of his body. Instead of any discomfort, he felt refreshed.

After half a minute, the sensation disappeared, and he didn't experience the expected poisoning reaction.

"It's edible!"

His eyes lit up. He finally understood why all these small animals were scrambling for it. The experience of eating it was simply too good. He carefully maneuvered his Nano Armor, collecting the yellow powder clinging to it bit by bit. He collected a piece the size of a fingernail. He didn't eat it immediately but sealed it in a test tube, waiting to confirm it was safe and non-toxic.

As if the scent of the yellow powder had disappeared, the swarm of insects surrounding Du Ke finally dispersed.

In this forest that had returned to blue, the remnants of the Devil Explosion Flower were only the clusters of young yellow flowers. The young yellow flowers on the ground had already begun to wither, while only the young Devil Explosion Flowers that were fortunate enough to grow on the tree trunk remained strong.