Chapter 28 New Commission (Part 3)

Following the map, the group continued to travel through the wilderness and headed to the edge of a rock to look for mutant begonias. After the mutation, the leaves of this begonia had a lot of fluorescent substances added, and the leaves became wider, emitting a soft, bright white light in the dark.

The three researchers carefully collected the mutant begonias, while the guards stood guard. Fortunately, apart from a few squirrels and birds passing by, there was no other movement.

It seems that luck has improved a lot. However, with the lesson learned last time, no one dared to relax, and rushed to the next location without stopping, collecting a hard vine called iron wire vine on the outer wall of a cave.

He Cong put the last wire vine into the folding space box, closed the lid with a "click", and then heaved a sigh of relief: "The collection mission has been completed, and the next thing is to explore the undeveloped areas."

Zhao Cheng said, "In that case, let's rest here first. Everyone hurry up and eat something. Then camp on the spot. After we have rested well, we will set off again tomorrow."

It was already evening, and it would be completely dark before they could get back to Jiangcheng. According to the plan made previously, the exploration team would set up camp on the spot and continue to go deeper tomorrow to complete the exploration mission.

Ruan Lu put down his backpack and took out the self-heating lunch boxes to distribute to everyone. When going out camping, the food was naturally simple. The taste of the self-heating lunch boxes was not good, but it was a little warm.

Gu Nian put the backpack under his body and sat down to rest, waiting for the self-heating lunch box to heat up. Lotus jumped lightly on the ground, placed its two fat paws on Gu Nian's knees, and looked at him with its round and bright cat eyes with grievance.

Gu Nian understood immediately. After running around all day, Lianhua had been staying on Gu Nian's shoulder or in his pocket, and hadn't eaten anything. The little one must be starving. Gu Nian took out a bag of dried fish, put it in a folding bowl, and put it on the ground. Lianhua immediately started eating.

The dried fish were carefully baked by Gu Nian, with a golden brown skin, crispy and fresh fragrance. Lianhua Ah Wu ate them one by one with relish.

Looking at the kitten munching on its rice, the human eating the boring and rough self-heating lunch box next to it suddenly felt that the rice in his hand didn't smell good anymore.

Gu Nian took out two large bags of pork jerky from her backpack. Each bag weighed a pound. She had roasted the mutant wild boar meat recently. She packed a lot this time. Gu Nian opened the bags and distributed them to everyone. "Try the pork jerky I made."

Ruan Lu couldn't wait to take a piece. As soon as he got it in his hand, he smelled the tempting aroma. The brown-red pork jerky made him salivate. He quickly took a bite. It was so delicious! It was chewy, with just a hint of sweetness in the salty fragrance. It filled his mouth with freshness and fragrance, satisfying his taste buds. The more he chewed, the better it tasted!

This is delicious food! Ruan Lu was completely impressed by the pork jerky. He didn't care about his manners and quickly asked Gu Nian for a few more slices.

Thanks to Gu Nian's generous donation of two pounds of pork jerky, everyone ate with it and felt full. At this time, the incinerator had been set up, and four boxes of biofuel were put in it. The rising red flames drove away the chill of the night, and everyone felt a little warmer.

Lan Shuangshuang started to clean up the cave. The iron wire vine happened to grow next to a small cave. Lan Shuangshuang had just carefully checked it with a portable light. The cave was about two meters square, and behind it was a hard rock wall, which was perfect for camping.

Gong Hong also hurried over to help. She and Lan Shuangshuang worked together to burn the ground of the cave, first to isolate mosquitoes, and second to burn away the cold air on the ground. While the ground was still warm, Gong Hong quickly laid a layer of hay, then a layer of inflatable mats, and then stacked two layers of electric blankets on top, connected a small power supply, hammered two nails into the wall of the cave, and hung a thick windproof blanket. Thanks to the folding space box, we can bring these cold-resistant things.

When Gu Nian came back, he lifted the windproof blanket and looked inside. The cave had changed a lot and was obviously much warmer.

"You and Ruan Lu are back from your investigation? How was it? Are there any mutant beasts nearby?" Lan Shuangshuang asked.

"No, it's safe for now." Gu Nian replied. This cave was allocated to the three ladies to rest. Gu Nian didn't expect that when she came back from her exploration, Lan Shuangshuang and Gong Hong had already cleaned up the room. She put her backpack against the wall, took out a gas cylinder heater from her backpack, and turned on the switch in the middle of the cave.

The heater quickly gave off heat, adding some warmth to the small cave. Gong Hong cheered, "Great, this can also be used to heat water, right? This way, I can have hot water to drink when I get up at night!"

Lan Shuangshuang also took out three hot water bottles and gave them to Gong Hong and Gu Nian.

Gu Nian went out to take night duty with a hot water bottle in his pocket. Two double tents were set up right outside the cave, and five men slept in them. After all, it was warmer to sleep in a crowded place at this time. Outside the tent was a burning platform, which continued to burn biofuel for heating. The flames danced on Yue Jian's face, making her features even more beautiful and stunning.

"Are you on duty in the first half of the night?" Yue Jian smiled and asked when he saw Gu Nian coming over.

"Yes, you too?" Gu Nian said.

"Well, let them go to sleep first. It's a good opportunity for me to take some fresh air while on night duty." Yue Jian said.

Gu Nian walked over and sat down next to the incinerator to keep warm. Lotus stayed obediently in Gu Nian's inner pocket, sticking its head out from the collar.

"Is its name Lotus? Very cute." Yuejian said. He looked at the kitten with great interest. It had a round head, big cat eyes, pointed ears, and a proud look. It made people want to pinch it.

However, the kitten's owner also looked very cute. He looked at Gu Nian silently. Her black hair was soft and gentle under the firelight, and her black pupils were quiet and gentle. Maybe she was a little tired, so she supported her face with both hands. Because it was cold, she stretched her sleeves to cover her hands, revealing only the tips of her fingers. She looked like a yawning black cat.

It was completely different from what Yuejian had expected.

Gu Nian looked at Yue Jian with some surprise. She thought Yue Jian was the type who didn't like small animals. But Gu Nian didn't think Yue Jian was lying. After all, the look in his eyes when he looked at Lianhua was full of love, and it didn't seem fake.

She suddenly remembered something and asked, "You said today that it's not advisable to go out early because of divination? Does that mean there will be problems with this mission?"

"What answer do you want to hear?" Yue Jian casually fiddled with the flame core of the biofuel, and the flame suddenly rose, leaving a dark shadow on his face, looking careless and dangerous.

Gu Nian asked back: "I want to hear the result of your divination?"

Yuejian laughed again, and that dangerous aura flashed away, just like an illusion. He now looked relaxed and happy: "I said that because of my occupational disease. Many people come to me for divination, but they don't really want to hear the results of my divination. They just want to hear the answers they want to hear. If the divination master doesn't tell them, it often makes things awkward. As for my divination results, this mission is very troublesome and it should involve something."

After listening to this, Gu Nian fell into deep thought. Then she suddenly turned around and went back to the cave, leaving Yuejian behind.

As expected, you don’t like to hear the truth? Yuejian felt regretful, thinking it would be more interesting.

Gu Nian came out of the cave soon. She took out a glass bottle from the backpack in the cave, sat next to the incinerator again, picked up the arrow and dipped it into the glass bottle.

Now the Moonlight Book became curious. "What are you doing?"

"Didn't you say this mission is very troublesome? I'm poisoning my arrows to increase their lethality so that I can handle the difficult missions." Gu Nian said. She used the venom of the mutant python, which was less than half a bottle. Gu Nian had always cherished it and was reluctant to use it, so she took it out now.

Yuejian hesitated. "You believe my divination results so much? I thought you would have some doubts."

Gu Si Nian did not even raise his head: "Actually, I don't really believe it. But isn't there a saying that it is better to believe it than not to believe it? After all, saving your life is the most important thing."

Yue Jian was amused by her reaction. He looked at Gu Nian carefully and said, "Actually, you can rest assured. Judging from your face, you have a face that will bring you a long life."

"Thank you for your good wishes." Gu Nian couldn't help but feel happy when she heard that. Her biggest wish was to survive this natural disaster.

Gu Nian carefully put each arrow into the glass bottle, rotated it to apply poison on the arrowhead, took it out to dry, and carefully oiled his compound bow for maintenance.

When she finished doing all this, she looked up and saw a small pile of firewood in Yuejian, with something burning in it.

Seeing that she had finished, Yuejian went to the fire and dug out three eggs. "When I was walking around, I saw a bird's nest and emptied it," he said.

Yue Jian handed two eggs to Gu Nian. His fingers were stained with black ash, which made his slender fingers look as delicate as white jade. "Try it. They are mutant bird eggs. They are not poisonous. I have eaten them before. One is for you, and the other is for the kitten."

Lotus understood, but it was not easy to say anything in front of outsiders, but she patted Gu Nian with her claws. What could she do with her own greedy cat? Gu Nian could only say thank you. She took the kettle and washed her hands carefully, then took it over and peeled the eggshell for Lotus. Lotus knew that Gu Nian was doing it for her, so she stopped urging her and squatted quietly in Gu Nian's arms, with her tail wrapped around her claws to protect her claws.

Gu Nian found a small rice bowl for Lianhua, broke the egg into pieces and put it in, then tasted his own roasted bird egg. Yue Jian's cooking skills were good, the bird egg was roasted just right, the egg white was tender and the yolk was soft. Maybe because it was a wild egg, it tasted unexpectedly delicious. The two people and the cat sat in front of the fire, quietly enjoying the food.

A bird egg is only the size of an ordinary chicken egg. Just when I finished eating, I heard a voice behind me. It was Lan Shuangshuang. "I'm here to take over. Hey, why is there a fragrance?"

Gu Nian suddenly felt guilty, as if he was eating alone without telling his teammates. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Yue Jian quickly hide the empty bowl of Lianhua behind him and said, "The biofuel is almost burned out. Is it time to change it?"

Lan Shuangshuang's attention was diverted, and she turned to the incinerator, "It's about to be burned. I'll go get a new one to replace it."

Gu Nian breathed a sigh of relief, and Lianhua quickly jumped onto her shoulder. After Lan Shuangshuang finished changing, Gu Nian said hello and turned back to the cave. Compared to the outside world, the cave was warm inside the windproof curtain. Gu Nian took out her down sleeping bag, took off her fur coat, and got in first, then spread the fur coat outside the sleeping bag to keep warm. Lianhua also followed her into the sleeping bag obediently, found a comfortable position next to Gu Nian's shoulder, and soon began to snore sweetly.

Touching the warm fur of Lotus, Gu Nian also fell into a deep sleep.

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The next morning, just after the sun rose, the group entered the wilderness again. They were now in an area that few people had ever visited, so everyone was on high alert.

The three researchers also rushed to explore. Gong Hong took a camera to take pictures of the plants along the way, Xi Hao took tweezers and a knife to collect samples on site, bagged them, numbered them and put them into collection boxes, and He Cong marked them on the map to preliminarily divide the area.

Zhao Cheng divided everyone into two teams, one team to guard the periphery, and the other team to protect the three researchers to avoid emergencies.

The deeper you go into the wilderness, the more mutant beasts and plants there are, and the more ferocious they become.

A group of mutated army ants swarmed in, each one was the size of a fist, with their mouthparts flaring and drooling as they rushed towards Gu Nian and his group.

Mutant ants are the most feared creatures in the wilderness, for no other reason than that they move in groups, and an overwhelming attack of these insects is enough to scare people.

Yue Jian's sword moves were no longer light and agile, but he chopped and slashed with great force, swinging away the mutant army ants that crawled close to him. He could not let these ants crawl to his body, otherwise he would die. Gu Nian no longer held back. Before leaving, she bought another batch of burning arrows in the camp. Under Yue Jian's cover, she aimed at the densely populated areas and shot them at them. The air was filled with the smell of burnt protein.

Lan Shuangshuang and Ruan Lu used the same strategy. Lan Shuangshuang chopped with a Tang sword, while Ruan Lu used guns to shoot and force the ants to retreat, but the efficiency was far less than Gu Nian's burning arrows. Although the owner of the equipment store asked for a ruthless price, the goods were not ambiguous. The fuel in the burning arrows was extremely difficult to extinguish.

Zhao Cheng protected the three researchers and retreated. The group fought and retreated, and gradually left the territory of the mutated army ants.

"No ants have caught up." Yue Jian said, holding up his long sword. After a battle, he was exhausted, sweat beads appeared on his smooth forehead, and he was breathing slightly.

The few of them finally had time to look around. They were busy dodging the attacks of the mutant army ants and had already deviated from their original route.

Zhao Cheng managed to figure out the direction and led everyone forward. This time, Ruan Lu was the one exploring the way ahead. He was the fastest in the whole team.

Everyone moved forward again.

However, not long after, a loud, long whistle came from the front. It was Ruan Lu warning that he was in trouble!

Lan Shuangshuang and Ruan Lu were on good terms, so they immediately ran quickly in the direction where the whistle came from. Gu Nian and Yue Jian did not hesitate and rushed over, leaving Zhao Cheng alone, who continued to escort the three researchers with a bitter face.

When Gu Nian arrived, she gasped. A group of more than 30 mutant rats, half the height of a man, were attacking Ruan Lu crazily! The mutant rats' eyes were red, crazy and dangerous, and their behavior was even more uncharacteristic. They attacked Ruan Lu desperately. One of them had half of its body blown away, and it was still rushing forward until it was completely dead and collapsed!

The mutant rat's madness and brutality shocked Gu Nian, but she did not slow down at all. She immediately shot a fine iron arrow at the nearest mutant rat! However, the arrow that could easily penetrate the mutant rat's body only penetrated the skin.

The bodies of these mutant rats were greatly strengthened. Gu Nian no longer held back and simply took out a poisoned arrow and shot it straight at the mutant rat's eyes. The poisoned arrow pierced through the fragile eyes, and the mutant rat screamed and tried its best to bite forward, but soon blood spurted out of its mouth and it fell to the ground and died.

The mutant python's venom is effective! Gu Nian no longer hesitated, took out the poisoned arrow from yesterday, and rushed forward.

Just as Gu Nian was attacking from afar, Lan Shuangshuang and Yue Jian also rushed to Ruan Lu's side and worked together to block the attack, especially Yue Jian. It was unknown how he had mastered the swordsmanship, but his moves were agile and extremely lethal, bringing about a heavy rain of blood.

Zhao Cheng escorted the three researchers over, letting them hide behind him and joined the battle. After a hard fight, they finally killed the mutant rats.

Ruan Lu covered the wound on his calf, which had been bitten by the mutant rat and had a deep wound visible to the bone. Gu Nian showed no mercy and washed it down with a bottle of alcohol. No one knew whether the mutant rat's saliva was poisonous or not, so it had to be disinfected and washed immediately. Ruan Lu bit his mouth in pain until it bled, and his face was as pale as a dead person.

Zhao Cheng and Lan Shuangshuang were not much better off. Zhao Cheng was injured when he dealt with the mutant frogs, and now he had more scars. Lan Shuangshuang's arm was also bitten and had a bloody hole. Gu Nian and Yue Jian were the two people whose combat power was the most intact. Gu Nian couldn't help but look at Yue Jian with new eyes. She was a long-range attacker, relatively far away from the battlefield. Yue Jian dealt with so many mutant beasts and was still unscathed. It seemed that his swordsmanship and fighting skills were quite exquisite.

Three researchers wearing gloves were picking through the bodies of mutant rats, while Yuejian stood guard with a sword in his arms.

He Cong carefully examined the body of the mutant rat, his expression becoming increasingly serious.

Xi Haoxian couldn't hold back his anger: "Teacher, there's something wrong with these mice."

He Cong nodded: "You speak first."

"The hair on the inner thighs of three mutant mice had been shaved, which is a common method of animal injection in laboratories. The hair on the inner thighs of five mutant mice was shorter, and it is suspected that the hair grew back after the injection and shaving," said Xi Hao.

"Brother is right. These mutant rats have abnormal behaviors. They are bloodthirsty, crazy, and have attacks that violate their physiological instincts. Their body size is also very different from the normal habits of mutant rats." Gong Hong added.

He Cong called them over to have a look. Gong Hong and Xi Hao were puzzled, but they still went closer. They saw a faint tattoo of a number on the ear of a mutant mouse under He Cong's finger. It was the number 83. How could Gong Hong and Xi Hao not understand?

"Teacher, are these mice numbered experimental animals?" Xi Hao said with a trembling voice.

"Not only that. If you look closely, this tattoo shows signs of being stretched and deformed." He Cong said with a wry smile.

Xi Hao and Gong Hong didn't care about the hideous mutant mouse corpse, and hurriedly took a closer look. It was indeed true. If there is a tattoo on the skin, if it grows quickly, such as from a child to an adult, then the tattoo will also expand as the skin tissue extends, and the tattoo on the mouse's ear has such a mark.

Could it be that these mutant mice were marked for the experiment when they were still small? If so, was the huge size of these mutant mice caused by the mutation or the experiment? The three researchers looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Put these mutant rat corpses into mutant folding boxes as much as possible. I suggest that we return immediately." He Cong made a prompt decision and said to Gong Hong and Xi Hao. The two research assistants immediately started to act.

"Return? We have only explored the gray area of about 30 kilometers." Zhao Cheng was a little confused when he heard He Cong say this.

He Cong did not explain to Zhao Cheng. He still had to go back to continue researching the mutant rats and did not want to make it public for the time being. He said vaguely, "I think our estimation of the dangers of the wilderness is still insufficient. Although we have only advanced 30 kilometers, it is also a remarkable achievement. It is better to go back first and come back next time."

Zhao Cheng wanted to say something else, but He Cong blocked him with one sentence: "After arriving at the institute, I will be responsible for the task report. I will also apply specifically, and the remuneration will still be paid based on the success of the task." As a senior researcher, He Cong can allocate a lot of resources in the institute.

Zhao Cheng simply nodded in agreement. Ruan Lu was seriously injured and could barely hold on, but what if something happened? Since He Cong was going to take on the task report and subsequent matters, he was of course happy to play it safe.

The group immediately packed up and headed back, finally arriving back in Jiangcheng the next day.

The off-road vehicle stopped in front of the factory building of Operations Group 2. Zhao Cheng scratched his head and explained to Gu Nian, "We are still busy with the mission report today. The remaining half of your reward will be approved in the next two days. You will have to come and get it then."

Gu Nian nodded and said simply, "Okay, I'll go first then."

Zhao Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about was that Gu Nian would find it troublesome and must pay the reward now. After seeing Gu Nian's skills during this operation, he didn't want to offend her. Seeing Gu Nian walking away with her bag, he tactfully didn't offer to send her off. After all, masters have tempers, and if he rashly offered, others might misunderstand that he wanted to find out his address.

Speaking of masters, Zhao Cheng couldn't help but think of another master in this temporary team, Yue Jian. But that master had asked Zhao Cheng to drop him off on the roadside when they entered the city, and then he left. No one knew where he went.

Yue Jian walked slowly along the streets of Qingpu District, and stopped in front of a large courtyard.

There are high-rise buildings everywhere in the urban area of Jiangcheng, but this courtyard takes time back to hundreds of years ago. It is still made of wood and bricks, with long corridors and deep courtyards, exquisite eaves and stained glass windows. It is an extremely elegant and noble mansion.

The red door in the middle opened with a click, and an old man in a black suit respectfully welcomed him into the mansion.

Yuejian walked through the long corridor and the flower wall and went deeper into the mansion. Seeing him coming back, the servants in the mansion stopped silently and bowed.

This courtyard still retains its original beauty after the natural disaster. Looking closely, the lush trees and blooming flowers in the courtyard are all mutant plants, and only such plants can survive in today's weather. In the wall lamps around the courtyard, the fat of the mutant beast Flame Rat is burning. This is an expensive fuel discovered recently, which can effectively resist the severe cold and provide more heat than electric heaters. Therefore, the price has risen sharply, but in this courtyard, wall lamps are decorations that can be seen everywhere, keeping the whole house warm.

With a luxury that is unimaginable to ordinary people, this courtyard was maintained in the days before the natural disaster.

"The house has been rearranged according to your preferences." The butler followed behind and said carefully.

Yue Jian's long hair fell down. "I have seen the girl mentioned in the oracle inscriptions. Let's arrange it..."

The old man in a black suit behind him bowed respectfully and stepped back, then did as he was told.

Yue Jian walked into the main house. Even though the courtyard maintained the scenery before the natural disaster with amazing luxury, it still couldn't block the white snow falling from the sky. He reached out and caught a snowflake, which was the same color as his hair.

"When you get older, you don't want to change. You always like familiar things." A whisper left in the snow.

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Deep in the wilderness, in a hidden valley, a huge cave was dug out. Multiple lights were installed around the rock walls to illuminate the interior of the cave.

Many rooms were dug out here, or more precisely, cells. In each cell, there was a large mutant female rat, with a bulging belly, ready to give birth at any time. There were also densely stacked iron cages, each holding a single mutant rat.

"Something happened!" There were actually humans in the cave, and one of them ran over in panic.

The man in the white coat calmly put down the scalpel. On the restraint chair in front of him was a half-man-high, disemboweled mutant rat. His goggles were splattered with blood, and he looked extremely creepy. "What's the matter?" he said impatiently.

The person who ran over was frightened and stammered, "A... an experimental subject escaped..."

The man in the white coat didn't say anything. After a while, a weird and ferocious smile appeared on his face: "Really? What a coincidence, I was planning to release these transformed little creatures today."