"Elder Liu, Elder Qian."
A researcher responsible for monitoring the soil pointed at the World Tree's roots, his tone somewhat hesitant.
"The water... there seems to be too much."
Everyone immediately looked over.
A clear puddle had already collected on the previously damp soil around the World Tree's roots.
As more nuclear wastewater was released, the puddle rapidly expanded, soon forming a small pool.
"Quick, stop releasing it!
"Plant roots will develop problems if they stay submerged for too long!"
Liu Chengen also realized the problem.
"Right! It only absorbs energy, not much water. Shut the water off!"
The valve on the tank storing the nuclear wastewater was closed. Beneath the World Tree, the small pool was still bubbling faintly.
"Gurgle... gurgle..."
By now, nearly half of the ten tons of nuclear wastewater had been used.
The World Tree's height finally settled at 4.3 meters.
Its emerald-green rootlets swayed in the water and appeared perfectly normal, but no one dared take risks with this national treasure.
"Bring in pumping equipment."
"Wait!" Liu Chengen stopped them.
"We can't use ordinary equipment. This water needs to be collected and sent to the laboratory for comprehensive analysis. We can't waste it."
He immediately assigned personnel to prepare sterile tubing to carefully pump out the accumulated water and seal it away.
After waiting half an hour and seeing the radiation reading drop completely to zero, the researcher decided to collect a sample for on-site analysis.
A few minutes later, he reported:
"The water sample analysis is complete. It's pure water. Apart from microorganisms and such from the soil, all indicators are normal."
Liu Chengen walked excitedly up to Lin Mo.
"Commander Lin, the preliminary test was a success."
"I request permission to proceed to the next experiment."
Lin Mo looked at him.
"Nuclear fuel