The main trunk of the Seven-Colored Fruit is somewhat like a vine, growing along the crevice.
The top is more than four meters from the ground, deeply rooted in the rock wall.
The main trunk hangs with hundreds of Seven-Colored Fruits.
These fruits are plump, looking a bit like cherries on creeping plants.
Meanwhile, Lu Chaoyang noticed that there are subtle protrusions on some parts of the trunk.
They appear to be unopened flower buds.
Then he thought for a moment and asked Cui Xiaofeng:
"Professor Cui, can you determine what kind of plant this is?"
Upon hearing this, Cui Xiaofeng stepped forward and carefully examined the Seven-Colored Fruit and the vine.
Although he is a wildlife expert, botany is ultimately a branch of biology.
Besides, he has spent years traveling outside, so he is not lacking in some plant knowledge.
More than thirty years in the industry, this is not a valuable experience that can be given by test-based education.
Honestly speaking, in terms of knowledge reserve, even some botany graduate students may not be able to compare with him.
A wildlife expert is actually like an old fishing brother; the fish might not be caught, but he is well-versed in bird knowledge.
Soon.
Cui Xiaofeng arrived beside the main trunk.
Because the cold-resistant suit is one-piece, his vision is somewhat obstructed.
Thus, he could only observe through a portable microscope.
After a while.
Cui Xiaofeng turned around and shook his head at Lu Chaoyang:
"Professor Lu, judging by appearance, the fruit should be an aggregate fruit.
It develops from the numerous free carpels of a single flower, with each carpel forming a separate small fruit clustered together on an enlarged receptacle.
Besides that.
The fruit shows some traces of Rosaceae family characteristics but is unlike any known fruit — including variants."
Lu Chaoyang stepped forward upon hearing this, reached out and picked a fruit, observing it in his hand.
Although he still couldn't directly touch the fruit due to the one-piece suit,
he could see with the naked eye that the colorful spots on the fruit did not resemble textures.
Rather, they are small protrusions like embedded sesame seeds, somewhat similar to the surface of strawberries.
Then he thought for a moment and turned to Su Bai:
"Major Su, let's just sample this fruit as usual.
But take care to protect the root of the main trunk, which might be the only specimen of its kind here."
Su Bai nodded and asked:
"No problem, but Professor Lu, should we also cut a portion of the main vine?"
Lu Chaoyang hesitated upon hearing this and subconsciously glanced at the main trunk over four meters long.
Being a Third-Layer Qi Cultivator nowadays, he could clearly see distinct claw marks on some branches, with some depth.
Obviously.
These are the marks left by Pan Jianwei's pawing at the fruit.
With paws larger than an average human face, expecting it to be as precise as a machine is clearly impossible.
Looking at these claw marks, Lu Chaoyang gently nodded:
"Major Su, also cut a small section of the tail area.
Three to five centimeters is sufficient, but be careful to select the areas that Pan Jianwei scratched."
"Understood!"
As the instructions were given.
Su Bai soon arranged for personnel to collect plant samples.
Zhu Yuhao took a step aside to record other data of the area:
Inside the cave opening: 19.54 meters.
Temperature: minus 47.2°.
After about fifteen minutes, the sampling task was completed.
Seeing this, Lu Chaoyang casually raised his head and glanced around, noticing no anomalies, then lightly coughed:
"Continue forward!"
...
The position of the fruit tree was in the middle of the cave, and there were no other obvious or important targets in the remaining tunnel.
Thus, after just over ten minutes, the group arrived at the end of the cave — beyond the groove of the ice coffin.
The groove's size was exactly as Zhu Yuhao sensed earlier, and Su Bai quickly measured the specific data of the groove using a laser rangefinder:
Depth: 5.23 meters.
Length: 3.47 meters.
Width: 2.18 meters.
Then Su Bai turned the rangefinder toward the ice coffin:
"Professor Lu, length: 2.89 meters, width: 1.6 meters, depth: 85 centimeters."
Lu Chaoyang was stunned upon hearing this and asked somewhat urgently:
"Wait, Major Su, can the rangefinder measure the dimensions of the ice coffin?"
Su Bai looked at him with an inexplicable expression, clearly not understanding what his question meant.
Nevertheless, out of trust for Lu Chaoyang, he passed the rangefinder to him:
"Of course it can, here, you see, the data is right here."
Looking at the information displayed on the screen before him, Lu Chaoyang's brows furrowed immediately.
Back then in the Mo Family's secret chamber, he had close contact with the ice coffin along with Zhang Mu and other experts.
As one of the earliest researchers to approach the ice coffin, Lu Chaoyang was more than aware of its features:
The ice coffin holding the little girl externally was covered by a barrier layer!
That barrier achieved the most refined concept of 'closure,' keeping particles blocked outside of the ice coffin.
Of course.
Later, the rabbits eventually identified the barrier's characteristics based on the absence of hydrogen and phosphodiester bond groups within the gas wall:
It was composed of an iron helium microcrystal vapor wall, providing micro-level obstruction through iron helium dimers.
Speaking on this.
This conclusion was initially proposed by Lu Chaoyang himself.
Everyone knew what iron helium microcrystals later brought to the rabbits, so there was no need to elaborate.
However, on the other hand, before it was deciphered, the rabbits couldn't assess its specific data — light could indeed reach inside the ice coffin but would create a polarized feedback causing data distortion.
Thus, only after the barrier was removed could the command center roughly sample the data of the ice coffin.
It was precisely based on this situation previously discovered.
The command center specifically arranged for Lu Chaoyang to lead the team and even brought a set of emitters reserved with cyanide ions.
Preparing to perform the same trick again, eliminating the barrier's limitation.
Yet now Su Bai could use a rangefinder to detect data on the ice coffin....
Wouldn't it mean...
That the outer surface of the ice coffin did not possess a barrier?
Upon thinking this.
Lu Chaoyang leaned down and casually picked up a small stone from the ground.
Then he casually tossed it at the ice coffin.
Thud——
The stone crisply contacted the surface of the ice coffin, bounced twice, and settled on the right side.
Seeing this scene.
Lu Chaoyang's brows furrowed even more deeply.
Everyone should remember.
According to Academician Pan Jianwei's findings, the energy provided by the ice coffin to the barrier might be vacuum zero-point energy.
In other words, inside the ice coffin might be a certain area of physical vacuum.
It's just that due to technical limitations, the camp never managed to break through the ice coffin in the Mo Family's secret chamber.
Of course.
Here the breakthrough methods refer to fairly conventional ones.
Remaining options like express delivery via Juniper might break the seal, though with catastrophic results—ruinander coffin.
From both scientific value and humanitarian perspectives, this clearly didn't align with the rabbits' style.
Thus, upon discovering that this ice coffin contained no one, the core naturally directed some expectations onto it.
However if, at present, no iron helium microcrystals exist in the surroundings...
Could it imply there might be no 'vacuum' within?
......
Note:
Can you all still see this chapter?
