Was it expected?
The professor looked at the flashing screen in his hand, which had completely turned into "888888", and let out a wry smile.
Although not a professional in the field, the professor had already made some guesses about this based on the previous drone crash incident.
Despite the screen malfunctioning, the instrument in my hand did not emit any beeping sounds or interference noises.
Based on past experience, this influence from another world is neither ionizing radiation nor simply similar to electromagnetic radiation, but rather a more mysterious form of radiation.
Of course, in another world, it can be summed up in just one word— Psionic Energy.
It seems we need to purchase another batch of instruments using glow discharge tube displays...
The professor muttered to himself, then responded again to the concerned calls from his two wayward students, who were dozens of meters away.
He then reassembled the instruments and drone that were no longer working, and began to continue walking deeper into the cave.
Along the way, some offerings placed by local indigenous people appeared. The professor glanced at them briefly and then stepped over them.
As he rounded the last bend, a scene he would never forget unfolded before him:
Emerald green banyan vines hang down from the cracks in the cave ceiling, sometimes crossing and sometimes separating, eventually reaching close to the ground.
Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the rocks, filtering through the vines, and into the cave in the small mountain, its warmth gradually turning to coolness with each reflection.
At the deepest part of the cave, there is a statue of a god carved from a giant stone by the indigenous people.
The most bizarre thing is this—whether it's a coincidence or some kind of secret connection.
That statue was the origin of all the vines, and now it was entangled by many branches, hanging in the air less than half a meter above the ground.
Beauty, eeriness, and a sense of the sacred blend perfectly in this small world, making one feel as if stepping into it is an act of transgression.
No wonder it's called a miracle...
The professor nodded calmly and took out a professional camera from his waist to take notes.
As expected, after turning it on, he found the screen was full of "snow," and he sighed and put it away.
Looks like I'll have to buy some older camera models...
The professor paced and observed the slightly more spacious stone chamber compared to the cave, while also paying attention to the subtle changes in his own body.
In another world, his special attribute points are always allocated to Plant Compatibility and Psionic Energy Compatibility.
The former is his major, the latter is his interest.
After staying there for about five minutes, the professor finally felt the tinnitus-like sensation.
Avoiding the drooping vines, he also discovered the root of all the problems.
The Strangler Fig branches seemed to extend from inside the statue, as if the statue itself were a door connecting to another world.
This wasn't the first time such an incident had occurred, but the professor had never seen such a coincidence before.
He was now certain that the real anomaly was occurring in the statue before him, and this thing had a special name among them: the Source of Disorder.
This rainforest disorder stems from this.
The professor made a decision in his mind.
Everything makes sense now; the reason the canopy shyness disappeared is because this phenomenon would never have occurred between the branches of the same plant in the first place.
The Strangler Fig that Spread from this statue has actually parasitized and assimilated a large number of trees.
In a sense, it can be argued that they have all become the same tree.
As he thought about how similar incidents had been handled before, his expression gradually became uncertain.
A moment later, the professor reappeared before everyone and handed the drone and radiation counter to the team members and his wicked disciple.
"Teacher, what's going on inside?"
"It's simple in some ways, and difficult in others..."
The professor sighed and said seriously:
"The solution to this problem is simple: although the plants outside Spread over a large area, their roots are actually in a statue inside."
"Either smash the statue, or use some means to completely seal it off and cut off its connection with the outside world, which is similar to our previous approach."
"As for why the instrument malfunctioned this time, I think it's because the problem was discovered too late, allowing the 'invasive species' to Spread over too large an area, making this region more like 'over there'."
"However, as long as the source is cut off, those vines that extend in all directions will gradually wither and die."
Okay, although the incident sounds a bit strange, the solution is actually not difficult.
If all else fails, why not just use explosives to blow the statue up?
"Teacher, what exactly is the difficulty you mentioned?"
The professor sighed again upon hearing this:
How to persuade these indigenous people?
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent and turned their gaze to the local translator who had some indigenous ancestry.
"Okay, I'll figure something out."
The man shrugged, sensing that the situation was a bit tricky.
However, as a local, he wasn't entirely without options...
Eight hours later, late at night.
In the innermost stone chamber of the cave, there remains the same old statue, less than half a meter off the ground, covered in vines and moss.
Less than a meter away from the statue, a group of people were busy demolding a huge rectangular plaster block.
After removing several wooden planks, a plaster pillar, taller than a person and appearing somewhat gray due to the addition of a small amount of fuel, came into view.
The young graduate student looked at the statue, then at the plaster pillar beside it, and felt that the development of events was somewhat too abstract.
He patted the translator next to him and asked:
Is it really okay to do this?
The translator nodded confidently:
"This is the best solution—it's impossible to successfully negotiate a price with them."
"But if we succeed in the replacement, how do we explain that?"
The translator shrugged.
"It's very simple--"
He said to the young man beside him:
"Miracles appear and then disappear; is there anything hard to understand about that?"
"This..."
The young man had nothing to say and stepped back to the sidelines, becoming an observer.
Because less than half a day had passed since the discovery of the statue, the group's preparations were somewhat rushed.
The professor originally planned to use some advanced technology to complete the replacement, but found that the scanning equipment would malfunction when it was close to the statue due to some inexplicable electromagnetic interference.
Now, neither casting nor 3D printing was so easy. Left with no other option, the professor reported the situation. With the help of a local translator, everyone finally came up with a "good idea."