The insects did not attack the group.
They crawled around the clearing, some burrowing into the bones, others crawling back into the soil.
Ponzu crouched down and reached out to pick one up.
The insect struggled in her hand, pinching her finger with its pincers, only to find that it could not hurt her at all. Her skin was too tough.
"Its shell is pretty hard," she said. "I'll study it when we get back."
She stuffed the insect into a small bottle and put it in her cloth bag.
Although she was not particularly satisfied with it, that did not stop Ponzu from studying it.
Nor did it stop the other researchers. They were already urging Knov and the others to help collect specimens.
With a resigned air, Knov asked the others to catch a few, put them into sample bags, and store them in Hide and Seek.
The team then packed up and continued onward.
After walking for about an hour, they came upon a river.
The river was wide, at least a hundred meters across by their estimate.
Its water was pale blue and looked so clear that they could see the stones on the riverbed.
To everyone's surprise, quite a few strange-looking fish were swimming in the river.
The fish were small, only about the length of a palm. Their silvery-white scales glittered in the sunlight.
As the group watched them swim, their speed left everyone astonished.
Not only were they fast in a straight line, but they could also turn with remarkable agility.
One staff member crouched by the river, intending to collect some water for testing.
Morel stopped him.
In an unknown environment like this, carelessly approaching any unfamiliar location was dangerous.
When they had an ability that could perform the test from a