Flora Bloom suddenly realized that these bamboo shoots might be the raw materials Levi Seymour had collected to lure and trap the Iron-Eating Beast.
Moreover, they had been to this bamboo forest before. There were new shoots under the ground, but it would be a long time before they grew into edible bamboo shoots.
The Iron-Eating Beast probably hadn't found food in a very long time and was starving, which explained why it was wolfing everything down now.
And the way it had tossed its cub to her made Flora Bloom wonder. "Lex," she said, "do you think this thing is trying to trade its child for my bamboo shoots?"
Lex Cross nodded with a faint smile. "I've only ever heard that the intelligence of an Iron-Eating Beast rivals a human's and that they are quite cunning. It seems the rumors are true. You should take them into your space.
No matter how powerful they are, the wild plants can't possibly grow fast enough to keep up with their appetite.
