The plague caused by the green fungus is spreading in [Xinyang City], and ants are dying every day.
The death of the male ant pupae was just the beginning. From then on, ants showed the same symptoms every day.
The strange green fungus emerged from the body surface and penetrated into the body, causing the patient to suffer great pain and then died in pain.
Some ant patients have come into contact with the male ant pupae, and some have been infected without any contact at all. No one knows whose turn it will be next.
In just three days, hundreds of ants have been infected in the entire [Xinyang City], and about 10% of them have died of the rapid onset.
The entire nest was trembling, and the frightened male ants looked at the protagonist. It seemed that only the great Divine Envoy King could eliminate this disaster.
Although the number of infected ants is not very large at present, if it is allowed to develop, it will explode exponentially.
You know, on the first day after the death of the male ant pupae, the protagonist received a report of only single digits of infected people, the second day it was double digits, and the third day it became three digits.
At present, in the entire [Xinyang City], including the batch of ants that have just grown up, the total ant population has just exceeded five digits. Such a small group simply cannot withstand a deadly plague.
On the first day, the protagonist still holds out hope for a cure for the disease.
Although the male ant pupae died without being cured, the resistance and vitality of adult ants are obviously stronger than those of eggs or pupae.
These green fungi poked their heads out from the cracks in the carapace, which looked very much like parasitic fungi.
The worker ant doctors appointed by the protagonist used their mandibles to remove the hyphae on the surface, but they were unable to do anything to the mycorrhizae in the body. In this way, the condition will recur. In less than a day, the green fungus will grow back, constantly eroding the patient's body and consuming the patient's vitality.
The ants used the method they had originally discovered to inhibit the germination of parasitic fungi. They brought torches close to the affected area and used high temperatures to burn the fungi on the surface to death and also inhibit the activity of mycorrhizae in the body.
This method has a certain effect. At least the patient's condition has stabilized in a short period of time, but it is still unable to cure the disease. It only delays the time of recurrence and eventual death.
The most troubling thing is that the route of infection of this fungal plague is still unknown.
The next day, dozens more ants showed symptoms, and many of the patients had no direct contact with the previous patients.
The protagonist took decisive measures that day:
He ordered the patients to be isolated in remote nesting rooms, where the mildly ill patients took care of the severe ones and treated each other.
The isolation area was blocked, leaving only a small opening through which water, water and torches needed for treatment were passed.
The ants responsible for the delivery can only move within a small area and are not allowed to get close to other ants.
The ants completed this strict isolation measure without restraint.
But the reality is very cruel. On the third day, hundreds of ants in the safe area showed symptoms and were sent to the isolation area.
On the fourth day, there were more than 200 patients in the safety zone. Even the space in the isolation area is not enough, so patients with mild symptoms can only be treated while constructing a new isolation area nest. 168
During the two days that the quarantine measures were implemented, no ants violated the ban, but after still being unable to cut off the infection route, the protagonist realized that this plague may not only be infected by contact with patients, or there may be an incubation period.
Things get tricky!
The protagonist asked healthy ants, at least the ones that looked healthy at the moment, to carry out urgent construction work and built several small nests near [Xinyang City], which were not connected to the main nest. He also stored some food to let the only healthy ants The queen, most of the male ants and the worker ants who take care of her live in it.
If the epidemic goes unchecked, he at least has some seeds saved.
The protagonist also lives in it, and he himself is frightened by this strange fungal plague.
The male ants who stay in the large nest are responsible for following the protagonist's instructions to prevent the epidemic while looking for sources of infection. At present, in addition to isolation, the ants can only use torches to bake the nests in the safe area day after day, hoping to use high temperatures to kill invisible sources of infection.
The earliest batches of sick ants were questioned repeatedly, and all the information was summarized and handed over to the protagonist for analysis.
Finally, the protagonist discovered an important clue - most of the early patients lived or worked in the upper part of the east side of the underground lair in [Xinyang City].
The underground life of ants is very regular. Except for the nest room where they live, they usually only go to the workplace after waking up and do not run around.
The protagonist hurriedly analyzed the main occupations of the ants living and working in this area, and found that although the occupations of these patients were complicated, more than half were breeders in farms or related positions.
After further in-depth investigation, the protagonist found that most of the patients also had direct or indirect contact with farms or breeders.
The protagonist immediately asked some ants to light more torches, go to the farm to check carefully, and pass the information package to himself.
Sure enough, in the breeding farm, the protagonist found traces of the culprit.
These fungi infected some mealworms, and traces of mycelium were found on the walls.
Considering that no such disease broke out in any breeding farms in the homeland, the protagonist speculates that the source of infection of this fungal plague is a unique local strain, and the moist underground environment provides the most suitable environment for the fungus.
The humidity in the breeding farm is greater than in other places, and the entire [Xinyang City] underground is relatively humid, especially after the groundwater level rose significantly during the recent flood season.
The area where the ants live is also close to the combustion chamber or flue, which is relatively dry. These farms have no dehumidification measures at all.
The soil on the wall seems to be able to produce water if you squeeze it. Many of the mealworms here show signs of infection, but they do not have mycelium coming out of the body like ants, but the color of their carapace is slightly green. It seems that this fungus is not fatal to mealworms.
This situation is normal. Some viruses are not fatal to some domestic animals or pets, but they are very dangerous once they are transmitted to humans.
Perhaps, this fungus also mutated from the mealworm and then began to be transmitted to the ants.
After finding the source, the protagonist ordered all the cultured mealworms to be killed, and then carefully roasted the farm with fire to ensure that the remaining mycorrhizae and spores were killed.
These mealworm corpses also need to be disposed of because they are worried that the corpses will still be contagious after being buried. The fire in the combustion chamber obviously cannot cremate so many corpses in a short time. Finding fuel to build new fires requires a lot of ant hands.
The protagonist simply ordered all the corpses to be thrown into the Qinghe River. As for whether it would infect other ants along the river, it was no longer his concern.
He is not the Virgin, he chooses to save as many of his subordinates' lives as possible.
