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These beetles are indifferent to everything else, whether it moves or not.

Including any of these uninvited guests.

Their only target is this beautiful tree.

However, Renyi became conflicted.

From a purely pragmatic perspective, he could simply sit back and watch the tigers fight it out, waiting for these insects to devour the damned "trap" forest...

Then the path to the Abyss naturally emerges.

It's convenient, effortless, and you can even enjoy a fantasy version of "Walking into Nature".

But......

The faint sense of being spied on was like a feather, gently irritating his nerves.

As can be seen from the turtle family and the Deep Blue Kingdom, the operating logic of this world is far more complex than it appears on the surface.

He had a gut feeling.

Any seemingly shortcut may come with unforeseen costs.

This could be a good path... or it could be a big problem.

This forest has existed for so long; it's impossible that it could be unilaterally controlled by these beetles.

If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place. Since you're being watched, you might as well put on an act and do something that fits your persona.

"well......"

The captain sighed almost inaudibly...

What a life of toil!

Just as he made up his mind to intervene—regardless of whether it would be useful—in this one-sided 'massacre', an unexpected change occurred!

The glass tree, drained of its brilliance and reduced to a sculpture, silently crumbled!

It did not melt like a fallen leaf.

Instead, it started from the treetop, turning into powder inch by inch and falling down, piling up in heaps—

It looks like a tomb.

Ivan, who was closest, held his "Thoughts" in front of him and stared warily at the ever-growing pile of ashes.

After the tree was completely reduced to a small pile, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, a tiny glimmer of light appeared at the tip of that pile of ashes—

It shines with the same radiance it did when it was alive.

Like a candle flame in the wind, it flickers gently in the ashes, like a young heart that is reviving.

next second.

A tiny, delicate bird's head peeked out from inside!

The bird looked around with a very fixed gaze, then shook its head, shook off the ashes, and leaped out.

"...It's so beautiful..."

Nathan instinctively pulled out his small notebook, which had only a few blank pages left.

It's not very big, and it looks like a pigeon, except...

It is a dove made of blown glass.

Each feather was similar to those incredibly lethal leaves from before—slender, translucent, and its body reflected a seven-colored halo.

"Gurgle!"

The glass dove leaped lightly from the ashes, spread its wings, and soared gracefully into the air.

After circling in the air once, it suddenly swooped down.

The target was the swarm of black beetles that were still feasting on another tree!

"puff!"

The glass pigeon was very fast, diligently pecking at the beetles one by one.

Nathan's charcoal pencil was practically leaving afterimages as he swung it:

"Predator and prey, destruction and rebirth! Trees sacrifice and transform, giving birth to their own guardians... Through death, they complete the life leap from plant to animal! My God!"

Compared to the explorer's excitement, Ivan's focus was much more pragmatic.

He stared at the dense army of beetles on the tree, his expression indescribable.

"But they're eating way too slowly..."

In the few seconds he watched, the light from the second glass tree also quickly dimmed.

"Splash—"

Another blank space.

Then the second tree followed suit, silently turning into a handful of ashes.

The same script is playing out again.

From the ashes, yet another glass bird emerged from the earth—

This time it's a golden oriole.

"Chirp!"

It chirped merrily and joined its companions, and the two glassbirds began to diligently sweep away the beetles.

The scene was quite touching... but the efficiency was truly touching too!

"I think... if we didn't intervene, we might have been watching a bird hunting documentary all night."

Ivan scratched his head.

The third tree, the fourth tree...

Death continues to spread, but the number of newborn glassbirds is also increasing.

They come in many varieties, large and small, and are born from the remains of their predecessors, one after another throwing themselves into battle.

Suddenly, Renyi bent down and picked up a beetle from a passing group.

The beetle with the pointed beak struggled on his fingertip, its six legs kicking wildly, protesting with a "squeak, squeak, squeak" sound.

【Shattered Light Beetle】

[Comment: Give them a tree, and you'll get a bird in return. Hardworking and conscientious, it's every unscrupulous boss's dream bird. PS: It probably eats better than you do.]

"..."

He let go of her hand, allowing the "dream bug" to fall to the ground and quickly crawl away, returning to its demolition crew.

He doesn't like these beetles.

Lacking reason, they only know how to expand and encroach endlessly without restraint.

This represents chaos and uncontrollability.

Compared to beetles... these birds are much better!

It is the forest's self-regulating tool, a product of order, a weapon, a guardian, and... a resource that can be utilized.

He looked up into the depths of the forest, the sense of being spied on had vanished, as if he were preoccupied with his own affairs.

"Boss, what do we do?"

Nathan lowered his voice and asked, "Are we just going to wait like this?"

"No, we won't wait."

He casually looked away, "These birds are too slow."

They are born too slowly and are not very aggressive.

They are merely reacting passively to the crisis, rather than proactively solving it; the number of beetles shows no sign of decreasing.

While it's true that one side is gaining at the expense of the other, at this rate...

This tug-of-war was going to continue until dawn.

"So, let's help them out." Ren Yi's lips curled into a smile.

Nathan put down his pen and asked curiously, "Help them kill the beetles?"

"No."

The captain's gaze shifted to a glass tree that had been half-climbed by beetles. "We need to help the beetles."

"?"

Ivan, Nathan, and Aurora all looked bewildered.

Help the beetle?

Renyi didn't explain much, but simply raised his chin, gesturing for them to look at the unfortunate tree.

"Ivan."

"Huh? Oh!"

"Go, loosen the soil around that tree so the insects can eat it faster."

Let him go help those dark, swarming bugs and cut down that tree that was already in a terrible state.

"Boss, are you sure?" he couldn't help but ask again.

"OK, go quickly."

The species of these birds appear to be born randomly, but upon closer inspection, there seems to be a certain pattern, so an experiment needs to be conducted.

Ivan, carrying an axe and looking like he was wondering "Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?", walked towards the tree, stepping over the dense swarm of beetles on the ground.

Sorry, brother!

He muttered something to himself, then swung his "Heart's Desire" and chopped it hard at the tree trunk!

"Bang!"

The glass tree trunk trembled violently in response.

Before the insects could even suck the pith from the tree, the luminous liquid flowing inside the trunk dimmed considerably.

"Splash—"

The leaves on the tree canopy fell again like a torrential rain.

However, Ivan was prepared this time. He held the axe above his head and quickly jumped back to Renyi's side, patting his chest with lingering fear.

With Ivan's help, the beetles' efficiency in killing the glass tree increased several times over.

It only took a dozen seconds.

"Click—"

As before, the dead tree turned to ashes, except that it did so much faster.

But this time...

The light from that pile of ashes grew ever brighter, brighter than ever before!