Chapter 107.1: Even Though It's a Pest, Its Body Is a Treasure

Devil Moths were one of the deadly high-risk mutants on the wasteland.

Although their individual combat power was not strong, and they were basically only comparable to a Cruncher in terms of strength, if they were to be ranked according to the degree of danger, even the Creepers would have to admit defeat.

Their danger level was at least B or higher!

Creatures like that usually lived in groups. Their larvae fed on psychoid leaves, and the adults were omnivorous and predominantly carnivorous.

Their larva did not have any fighting ability, but the mouthparts of an adult were extremely sharp, and they had an extremely strong bite.

It was said that the strongest Queen Devil Moth could even tear steel with its fangs. As for ordinary Devil Moths, it was not a problem for them to bite through a few bulletproof vests.

Of course, not every nest of Devil Moths could give birth to a Queen Devil Moth, just like not all Crackleclaw Crabs had a queen.

But even so, it was still dangerous enough.

What was more interesting was that although such mutants were no different from pests, they were not entirely useless.

For example, the larvae of Devil Moths could secrete a kind of silk thread called Devil Silk, which was used to make cocoons.

It was said that the strength of this kind of devil silk was very high, even more than some macromolecule biopolymers, and its material was light, so it was usually used to make excellent armor. This material was not only popular with wastelanders such as mercenaries, caravan guards, etc. but also with the upper class of Boulder Town.

However, such mutants were not common, and their requirements for the living environment were even more demanding than mutant leeches.

First of all, they needed enough light and heat, and secondly, their larvae needed to feed on the psychoid leaves, otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to reproduce.

As for the psychoid leaves, it was said that they could be used to make a mildly addictive stimulant. Even if it was used as tea leaves, it would have a refreshing effect far better than ordinary coffee and tea.

Why was there such a thing as psychoid leaves in an abandoned greenhouse site?

This was what Chu Guang couldn't figure out.

Looking at the description of Makka Pakka on the forum, the number of Devil Moths they encountered in the greenhouse was pretty large...

Makka_Pakka: Fuck! You can't imagine how unlucky I am! Sideline and I planned to go to the greenhouse site and see if there are any treasures we can recycle. But as soon as I entered, I was attacked by moths!

Night Ten: Exploring the jungle without a ward. It reminds me of one person. (?° ?? ?°)

Yaya: Hahahaha! This person died twice! Noob! So bad! Hahahaha! o(*≧▽≦)ツ

Makka_Pakka: (#`Д′)!

Ample Time: Let's ignore the question of whether he's a noob or not first. How did you get in?

Gale: I am also very curious about this. If I remember correctly, the gate outside the greenhouse is controlled by electrical components and it was so rusted that Old White still couldn’t pry it open after breaking two steel pipes. It didn't even shake when we tried to destroy it with gunpowder. We suspected that it was an image setting.

Makka_Pakka: Brother Sideline is a fireman, and he's of the perception type. This guy walked around the tower-like greenhouse for a while and told me that there had to be a fire escape. I thought that it made sense, so I searched for a while. Then we found an emergency exit in the warehouse!

Ample Time: The emergency exit in the warehouse? I seem to have seen it before, and I'm sure that it cannot be opened as well.

Gale: Mhm, that entrance is also powered by electricity.

Makka_Pakka: This is where it got interesting! It indeed couldn't be pried open, but there was a power distribution box in the room. Sideline checked the power distribution box and found that the switch inside was stuck and the fuse was blown. He wanted to fix it, but didn't understand how to. We scratched our heads for a while and thought of a dumb way to fix it. We unplugged the box, removed all the replaceable objects inside, and then found replaceable parts around to replace them.

- We didn’t even expect that it would work, but after replacing a few things that we didn’t know whether it was a battery or a fuse, the light of the door was switched on magically! Then we couldn’t wait to open the emergency exit and walked into the greenhouse... Soon after that, I was attacked by a group of moths!

Sideline Slacking: It’s called a Devil Moth! The administrator told me.

Makka_Pakka: Yo, Brother Sideline is here. Are you okay?

Sideline Slacking: Hey hey, I’m not too bad. I took back the VM, and saved my equipment. It's just that my injury was too serious, so they decided to end my suffering.

Yaya: o(*≧▽≦)ツ

Ample Time: The official website just updated the information of Devil Moths, saying that the silk thread produced by Devil Moth larvae is a kind of textile material with excellent performance. Their teeth can also be used to make tools such as daggers and scissors, and the psychoid leaves, which are their larvae’s main food, can be used for stimulants.

Mosquito: Holy shit! Advanced equipment materials?! Doesn't that mean it's a treasure trove?!

Escaping Mole: Yeah, a dangerous one. Just look at Pakka and Sideline. Their party is made up of a strength type and a perception type, both who have reached LV4. However, they were still easily killed. Isn't it enough to explain the problem?

Ample Time: Mhm, what surprised me in particular is that the LV4 perception type player failed to detect those moths. Devil Moths are probably more well-concealed than Creepers!

Old White: This is indeed extremely scary, and in that greenhouse, there are actually crops? More importantly... Does it still have running electricity?

Ample Time: This possibility is very high. The power supply system of the gate and the cultivation system inside the greenhouse may have two completely different sets of power sources. Let's make a bold assumption. What kind of safety issue will this type of highly integrated greenhouse worry about the most?

Old White: A power outage?

Ample Time: Yes! Unlike traditional agriculture, once a greenhouse like that suffers a power failure, it means the complete interruption of the water supply system, the ventilation system, and the lighting system. It may cause the crops to die under unsuitable temperature, air, and lighting conditions in just a few hours. Therefore, in addition to relying on the public power grid, facilities like this should also be equipped with an independent power supply.

Gale: Mhm, and the backup power supply for internal facilities and external facilities should be separate.

Night Ten: What power supply can work for two hundred years?!

Escaping Mole: Are you stupid? The pre-war era in the background settings of this game is already half a utopia, right? Controllable nuclear fusion was definitely the most basic energy source of this kind of society. One kilogram of helium III can generate 1.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, and one hundred tons is enough to power the world for one year. So if there's a one-ton fusion fuel rod, let alone two hundred years old, I guess it wouldn't even be a problem for it to keep running until the next century.

Gale: It doesn't have to be nuclear fusion. Even the solid-state hydrogen batteries that often appear in science fiction works can last a long time. Since hydrogen itself is not active, as long as the battery structure is not destroyed, the battery can theoretically be stored for a long time.

Night Ten: How is it possible?! Even if it is a controllable fusion, does the equipment not need to be maintained?

Escaping Mole: What else do you want? Do you want the game developer to build one for you to verify it? Does

EVE

have to build a stargate? Does

J.K Rowling

have to show you a magic spell?

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel, Ample Time hurriedly interrupted: Okay, okay, Night Ten is overthinking it. Let's ignore him and talk about your thoughts.

Escaping Mole continued typing.

- In short, I think this should be considered a wild monster spawning point. The official website said that devil silk is a treasure, and the body of Devil Moths, as well as those psychoid leaves that can do stimulants, are obviously very profitable materials. Now, the question is, how to safely harvest this profit? Blindly rushing definitely won't do. Even a LV4 strength type player couldn't stand a chance, I doubt others would be able to do anything.

There were many replies after this, and the entire post had twenty pages of replies, but Chu Guang kept reading until the end.

At first, this group of people decided to try attacking it with fire. Fire could restrain the mutants of the insect system, but the disadvantage was that the spoils would also be burned along with the creatures.

Others mentioned letting in cold air.

But the building itself was durable enough, it may not be easy to dismantle the greenhouse. In addition, if the facilities inside were still working and there was enough heat generation, it was difficult to say how effective opening a large hole in the window could be.

Finally, after some discussion, a group of people decided to lure Devil Moths out of the emergency exit, and then kill them one by one outside.

When the number of Devil Moths in the lair was reduced, they would rush in, plunder quickly, and then retreat.

As for Mosquito...

He chose not to work with others. He left a sentence before disappearing. “I am the best when it comes to stuff like that!”

He went offline and entered the game immediately.

Chu Guang didn't know what he planned to do, but he didn't interfere with the players' gameplay. Since the active matter reserve in the outpost was still sufficient, he allowed them to die if they felt like it.

Not only could the devil silk be used as armor, but it could also be used as a special product to trade with other survivors' strongholds. So it was a very popular item.

In particular, the analysis of this group of players mentioned that the greenhouse was very likely to have a controllable fusion battery that could be recycled.

If this was the case, then Chu Guang would really make a fortune.

......