Monster Hunt: Notes from a Hunter

Chapter 1412 Searching for Fungus
The next day, Ansel no longer bothered the elderly raiders to serve as guides.

Last night, they had already explained the situation inside the Miasma Valley very clearly. The mushrooms that were born and raised deep in the valley were more than capable of doing the job.

Originally, the leader of the third group also wanted to go with them as an editor, but was rejected by Anshil.

The latter's reason for refusal was very direct: the danger of this "collection mission" was actually quite high.

He was worried that the leader of the Third Regiment, who seldom participated in field investigations personally, was not smart enough. They did not bring their toothhounds, and pterosaurs would not be very useful in the canyon.

If a chase breaks out, this female scholar who doesn't like to wear shoes will probably have to be pulled by someone.

The leader of the third group expressed deep regret, so he stuffed Ajian, who tried to sneak back to the research base to "take charge of work", into the team, asking him to replace himself and assist the hunters in their actions.

This time Ansel didn't refuse.

The middle-aged scholar with pigtails in front of me looks like a lazy and decadent guy. Well, actually he is.

But when it comes to the level of understanding of the Miasma Valley, Ajian from the third group is far ahead of any other hunter.

Over the past twenty years, he had entered the Miasma Valley at least eight hundred times, if not a thousand, and had long since honed his feet to be a pair of hardy feet necessary for a field investigator.

If he really encountered any danger, he could run back by himself without the need for himself and Gail to cover him.

"Let's get started."

Ansel grabbed the cable of the lifting device and jumped into the entrance to the miasma valley below first, followed closely by Gail.

Ajian was dejected, but under the stern gaze of the leader of the third group, he could only sigh and follow.

With the help of the lifting device, they arrived at this underground world filled with miasma and bones in just a few minutes.

The three people and two cats each put on a mask to filter out the miasma, and as for the miasma protective stone, it was worn around Anshil's neck.

In this mission, the heavy crossbow he chose was the Wangya Cannon [Thunder] equipped with a shield, and it was also equipped with a large number of shotgun shells.

If they are chased by dangerous monsters including the Hazak, he will be responsible for covering their retreat.

"According to the plunderers, the Hazak has been relatively well behaved lately." Gale spoke in a muffled voice, shielded by the filter mask and the mask of the Strange Face Tribe. "Should we go directly to the Hazak's lair?"

Ansir adjusted his breathing frequency to adapt, "No need, our goal is not to cause trouble for the Hazak, but to find fungal samples.

To avoid trouble, we try to avoid the core areas.”

The mushroom also spoke up: "The type of fungus we are looking for is more common in the southeastern area of ​​the underground cave. Let's go straight there, meow?"

"Ah."

"In that case, I recommend going this way." Ah Jian pointed in a direction, "Although it will take a detour of several kilometers, it will avoid areas where the Deinonychus is active frequently.

Although the Deinonychus and the like shouldn't pose a threat to you, it's always good to save some ammunition, right?"

"That's right, the Miasma Valley is your territory, and the task of planning the route is left to you." Ansir nodded at him.

"The lounge chair and hammock should be my territory," Ajian muttered and started running.

The hunters followed closely behind. Gale laughed, "Hey? You're running pretty fast."

It turned out that bringing Ajian along was indeed a wise choice.

It is true that the mushroom is a native of the Miasma Valley, but what it is really familiar with is the underground caves deep in the Miasma Valley, which are dotted with sulfuric acid springs.

As for the outer area of ​​the Miasma Valley, it was not very familiar.

Ajian was different. Before the passage was opened, few hunters came to the research base, and the investigation of the Miasma Valley could only be carried out by scholars like them.

In order to avoid encountering monsters, they summarized several safe routes.

On the way to the underground cave area, which took nearly half a day, they didn't even encounter a large monster.

At the entrance of the cave area, Anxier couldn't help but look at him a few more times, "This is not the first time you have led us.

When we came to the Miasma Valley before, the route you took us didn't seem to be so smooth?"

Ah Jian scratched his head. "Maybe I'm just lucky this time? Or is it because of some other factor that the large monsters rarely show up?

I can’t really say, after all, I haven’t been here for a while.”

Ansel frowned when he heard this, but he didn't have the time or energy to investigate these things in depth.

"Let's keep going and find the fungus first."

The group moved on.

Compared to the last time I came here, the underground cave area has not changed much.

The same beauty, the same silence.

From here on, it is completely the mushroom's territory. It leads everyone through various narrow tunnels and even cracks in the rocks.

Fortunately, no big guys like Gordon or Ted came over, otherwise we would have been stuck halfway.

Reminded by the mushrooms, the hunters noticed that there were many fungi of various shapes growing next to stalactites, between rocks, and even next to sulfuric acid springs.

Although this cave area is quiet, it is by no means lifeless.

"You can't eat these, meow. Otherwise, the best result will be vomiting and diarrhea, and strange hallucinations, meow. As for the worst result..."

Mushroom, who was originally very excited and kept explaining, lowered his ears and said, "Many tribesmen left in this way, meow."

Gale rubbed its head fiercely. "Let's not talk about that. Do you recognize the fungus that coexists with the Hazak?"

Mushroom nodded, "Of course, that kind of fungus is actually very common, and can often be seen on dead animals.

If the wound comes into contact with the spores, it may also infect the cat, which will almost certainly kill the cat.

In order to reduce the possibility of infection with this fungus, the bodies of the companions cannot be buried, but can only be cremated or placed in sulfuric acid springs to dissolve. "

The mushroom lowered its head again.

Gale pulled the corner of his mouth together. This group of predators must have lived such a miserable life in the past. No wonder there were only a few left in the entire tribe.

Anhil was lost in thought.

It is easy to grow on corpses. Logically speaking, in such a closed environment, spores are everywhere, and the Corpse Hazak, which is covered with rotten flesh, is easily infected.

So why didn't the Hazak get infected before? Is it because of the strong immune system of the ancient dragons?
After all, I have never heard of an ancient dragon dying of illness.
But how did the wound become infected? Does it have to meet the "injury" condition at the same time for the Hacarus to be infected with this fungus?

If this is true, the person must be seriously injured and have a drastic drop in his immunity, which would allow the spores to take advantage of the opportunity and infect him.

Anhil kept this speculation to himself and planned to share it with scholars later.

Teaching them will find out the real reason.

"Found meow!"

Ansel, who was walking and thinking, was awakened by the sound of mushrooms.

Next to the stalactites, among the fungal plants that looked like giant dandelions, there was a dead bat.

The highly decomposed corpse was covered with silky cocoon-like vesicles filled with pus-like liquid. It looked slimy and was almost exactly the same as the Mist Hazrat that we had seen before.

"That's it, start sampling." Ansel took out a sturdy empty glass bottle.

"Oh my god." Gail's face wrinkled.

She wasn't afraid of dirt, but she really didn't want to touch a corpse whose flesh and blood were almost melting and covered with strange hairs.

Ansel, who is a bit of a germaphobe, also had a look of resistance on his face.

He looked at Ajian who was daydreaming, then looked at Mushroom who looked calm, and decisively handed the glass bottle to the latter.

"Mushroom, I leave it to you. I'll treat you to a feast later."

(End of this chapter)