Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

Upon hearing this, Mao Zhengzhi's expression immediately became more serious.

There's a saying that's been passed down among the older generation from Earth's time.

Never question Professor Lü's intuition, no matter how outrageous it may sound!

Since the beginning of Earth's history, whether it was one genocide crisis after another or nitrogen-accelerated technological development, at every critical moment, Lü Yongchang's intuition has pointed out the right direction for human civilization!

"The exploration mission has been halted, and they will begin their return journey soon."

Lu Yongchang turned his head to look at the vibrant planet in the holographic projection, a deep sense of apprehension showing in his eyes.

"I hope nothing bad happens..."

……

A shadow loomed over us from behind, blocking the beam of the high-powered searchlights.

Having survived a life-or-death crisis, Zhu Ziwen suddenly turned his head and controlled the exoskeleton armor to assume an escape posture.

"Dude, calm down, it's me."

Su Pengfei's voice rang out in the team's communication channel.

"The underground probes didn't sound an alarm, so there's no need to worry about their attack." Perhaps noticing Zhu Ziwen's unusually vigorous movements, Su Pengfei's laughter carried a hint of teasing. "Hey buddy, you weren't this timid back on the starship, were you?"

"What? Aren't you going to eat some hot dinner?"

Zhu Ziwen shook his head with a wry smile: "Never mind, Professor Lü's analysis results haven't come out yet, so I don't have much of an appetite."

"If you ask me, they're just some moving trees! If they really piss us off, we'll just burn them all down!"

"No way!" Zhu Ziwen's expression changed drastically. "These trees are treasures! If you burn them, Professor Lü will probably burn you down too!"

Su Pengfei chuckled awkwardly, raised his hand to scratch the "iron head" of his mechanical exoskeleton, and said with an embarrassed expression, "Hey... I was just saying it offhand, don't take it seriously, buddy!"

Zhu Ziwen rolled his eyes in annoyance.

Who knows if you're serious or joking?

He finally figured it out.

Academician Mao's assessment of this group was indeed correct—they were barbarians.

He gazed at the dark forest under the starlight in the distance and sighed softly.

"This planetary exploration... is so different from what I imagined."

"Sigh." Su Pengfei sighed softly, "What's the big deal?"

"They are just some creatures living on the planet. What is truly terrifying is the power of the planet itself."

"What do you mean?" Zhu Ziwen asked curiously, "Isn't this the first planet you landed on in actual combat?"

The position of planetary explorer originated in the time of Gliese.

His existence was short-lived, and since there were no other inhabited planets in the Gliese 555 system, these explorers did not have much practical experience in landing on planets.

"train."

Su Pengfei grinned and said, "Back then, in order to train for landing and reconnaissance operations in various environments, we were sent to the Dawn Star X region."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Ziwen's face showed a look of surprise.

The X region of Dawn Star is a product of the planetary climate control system, and is filled with high-intensity extreme weather year-round.

"Compared to Zone X, this place is simply paradise."

Zhu Ziwen nodded silently.

That's absolutely true.

Just as he was about to say something else, Xia Zhou's voice rang out on the communication channel.

"Academician Zhu, we should retreat."

Zhu Ziwen was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously asked, "Retreat?"

"Where to?"

"Return to base," Xia Zhou explained succinctly. "The order to retreat has been given, and all reconnaissance missions have been halted."

The sound of exoskeleton armor moving came from the side.

Su Pengfei controlled the massive exoskeleton armor and ran towards the starship.

"Dude, hurry up!"

Seeing this, Zhu Ziwen had no choice but to start walking and follow Su Pengfei's pace.

The communication channel carried the cheerful sounds of teammates discussing something.

Clearly, the cessation of the exploration mission is excellent news for these planetary explorers.

But unlike these explorers, Zhu Ziwen showed no smile at all.

As a scientist, he immediately understood the meaning behind the order.

Is it...

The truth hidden on this planet is even more terrifying than he imagined.

Zhu Ziwen frowned, carefully considering every clue he knew. With Zero's assistance, the exoskeleton armor swiftly moved forward.

"Beep!! Beep!!!"

As the piercing alarm sounded, the azure miniature holographic image turned blood red once again!

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!"

Xia Zhou's roar was like a thunderclap, instantly shattering Zhu Ziwen's thoughts.

The scene of the tree roots dancing wildly resurfaced in his mind once again.

His brain involuntarily issued commands to the mechanical exoskeleton armor.

"Thump!"

"Thump!!"

Driven by the abundant energy generated by the miniature fusion reactor, the mechanical exoskeleton's movement speed suddenly increased dramatically, carrying Zhu Ziwen inside as it sped towards the starship.

The distance between the two is not long.

With the help of the mechanical exoskeleton, he stood next to Xia Zhou in less than five seconds.

Looking at the massive starship behind him, Zhu Ziwen felt a faint sense of reassurance.

Su Pengfei's voice could also be heard on the team's communication channel.

"Captain, is it underground?!"

Unlike his usual carefree demeanor, Su Pengfei's tone now carried a strong sense of iron-bloodedness.

Zhu Ziwen subconsciously turned his head to look at Xia Zhou.

Although he was encased in a mechanical exoskeleton, he was still able to discern the direction of Xia Zhou's gaze thanks to his familiarity with the exoskeleton.

He was gazing at the forest at the edge of the "helipad"!

The high-powered searchlights illuminated the entire helipad and the surrounding forest.

Even these searchlights could not penetrate the lush forest.

They can only dispel the darkness on the surface of the forest.

As for what lies deep in the forest...

No one knows.

The twinkling starlight in the sky flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning.

it's dark.

Those arthropods that are five meters long are about to start making their moves!

"It wasn't underground," Xia Zhou's response confirmed Zhu Ziwen's suspicions. "The enemy attack came from the forest."

"Radiation detectors have detected a large number of fast-moving unidentified radioactive sources in the surrounding forest."

"It's a lost giant insect!" Zhu Ziwen said in a deep voice.

"According to observation data from some time ago, these giant insects become active at night."

As he spoke, he used his access privileges to obtain data from the radiation detector.

A three-dimensional detection image quickly appeared in the miniature holographic projection in front of me.

From the perspective of the radiation detector, the tarmac is a circular area, black with a hint of fluorescent green—there is only a small amount of weak radiation here.

The area surrounding the circular helipad is a vast expanse of green.

This green is a light green.

Like newly sprouted leaves, it exudes a rich vitality.

This is the radiation emitted by the lost giant tree.

Under normal circumstances, that is, during the day, the detector's image should be covered by this vast expanse of light green.

But now, against this light green background, countless tiny, densely packed, rapidly moving dark green dots have appeared!

Without a doubt, these dark green dots are the radiation emitted by the lost giant insect.