Chapter 16

It's a mutated field mouse!!

Jiang Zhi straightened up and looked over.

The field mouse in the man's hand looked about the same size as his old house cat.

I've killed this mutated field mouse, Ginger Branch, once before. It's very fast, and when cornered, it will call for its companions. If you don't kill it in time, you can easily find yourself in danger.

She couldn't help but glance at the man a few more times.

The other person looked to be in his late twenties, and even sitting down, his robust physique was evident.

Looking up, the distinct facial features appear as if meticulously sculpted by a knife and axe. Beneath the deep, sharp eyes is a high, straight nose.

Jiang Zhi couldn't help but mutter—"She is quite good-looking."

Noticing Jiang Zhi's gaze, the man stopped what he was doing and glanced over indifferently.

Jiang Zhi suddenly had the illusion that she was being stared at by a dangerous animal.

She silently withdrew her gaze.

The other person seemed surprised that the person spying on them was a young girl. After a pause, they also shifted their gaze.

With that intimidating gaze gone, Jiang Zhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The man didn't seem like a good person, but fortunately he wasn't a bad guy either; otherwise, the brother and sister alone probably wouldn't be a match for him.

Thinking of this, Jiang Zhi was eager to improve her abilities.

It seems that we still need to develop a plan to improve our combat capabilities when we get back.

Just then, Jiang Shu's soft snoring came from next door.

Jiang Zhi also admired her brother; he was able to sleep under such circumstances.

She silently continued flipping through the collection.

After reading the last page, Jiang Shu was still asleep, and Jiang Zhi didn't disturb him.

Since she gained a mental map, she has had much more energy than the average person.

You only need to sleep 4 hours a day to ensure you have enough energy.

With nothing to do, Jiang Zhi began to review her thoughts in her mind.

It would have been better if I hadn't looked; what I saw shocked me.

Jiang Zhi noticed several light gold markings overlapping on the man's body.

This person actually has so many good things on them...

She couldn't help but glance over again.

The other person's clothes looked very ordinary, and there was nothing special about them from their appearance.

This time she didn't dare to look too long and looked away before the other person looked over.

She maximized the coverage of the dashboard.

Apart from the gold insignia on the men's bodies, there was nothing particularly unusual about this area.

Just as Jiang Zhi was about to back out, a red warning dot suddenly appeared in the shepherd's purse field not far away.

Jiang Zhi winced.

Upon closer inspection, there was no trace of it left, as if it were her imagination.

But Jiang Zhi was certain that she wasn't seeing things.

She remembered the silver carp she had encountered in the river that morning, and the golden sign had flashed by in the same way.

The terrain dashboard can only display objects on the ground, so... what about those underground?

Could we explore underground?

Thinking of this, Jiang Zhi felt a little excited.

She steadied herself and manipulated the dashboard to change direction, quickly transforming the area that was originally only covering the ground from horizontal to vertical.

The next moment, she was startled by the dense array of red and green signs on the ground.

Currently, she can only explore a range of four or five hundred meters. Now, as she probes deeper into the ground, she is surprised to find so many creatures hidden just two or three meters below the surface.

Jiang Zhi suppressed her pounding heart and continued searching the surrounding area.

About 100 meters to their right front, several meters down, there were seven or eight overlapping red warning signs, covering a small area.

Jiang Zhi guessed it was a nest of field mice.

Jiang Zhi probed downwards again, until she reached a depth of 200 meters underground before she could no longer see any trace of the mutated creature.

Having discovered a new way to play, Jiang Zhi was quite happy and explored the surrounding area thoroughly.

However, after a while, her head began to feel dizzy, and Jiang Zhi knew she had reached her limit, so she had to withdraw her probing power.

During this time, several people tried to get close to them, but were scared off by the intimidating aura of the man next door.

Jiang Zhi ignored it and silently processed the jute she had just picked.

In the blink of an eye, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon, and the temperature had dropped significantly. Jiang Zhi nudged the ginger tree.

"Brother, get up, get ready to work."

Jiang Shu was half asleep and had a few dreams. In one dream, he was soaking in hot water and struggled but couldn't get out.

Upon seeing Jiang Zhi's face clearly, he instantly sobered up. "What time is it? Why didn't you wake me up?"

He glanced at the time and saw it was already four o'clock. He couldn't help but complain, "Honestly, you're doing this kind of thing again. Don't think you don't need to rest just because you have a lot of energy. If Mom finds out, she'll scold me again."

Jiang Zhi pointed to the flatbed cart, "I don't need to push the cart."

Jiang Shu: "...So it's so that I can rest more and continue doing hard labor."

Jiang Zhi couldn't help but laugh.

"Brother, let's go to the elm forest later and cut down some wood to take back."

"Whatever you say goes."

Jiang Shu resignedly got up and pushed the flatbed cart.

Jiangzhi didn't plan to gather any more food for the rest of the time. The base would close its gates at 7:30, and they needed to allow time for their return trip.

Before they left, the man next door had already left. Jiang Zhi frowned as she looked at the few small mutated beasts hanging from his waist.

Could the other party be a mutant?

Jiangzhi didn't dwell on it and quickly put it out of her mind.

The brother and sister did not linger and went directly to the elm grove not far away.

Although it's called an elm grove, it only has a dozen or so trees, but it covers a vast area and stretches as far as the eye can see. The huge elm trees stand side by side, arranged very closely.

The dense branches stretch out in all directions, intertwining to form a huge canopy, which, from a distance, looks like a large forest supporting the tree.

The two stopped under one of the elm trees.

Beneath my feet lay a thick layer of fallen leaves and branches, exuding a musty smell. Looking up, I could only see a few rays of light occasionally filtering through the leaves.

Looking up from below, the leaves are broad and dense, layer upon layer, completely blocking out the sunlight. If you go further in, you can't even see the path ahead.

Jiang Shu touched the elm tree in front of him; its bark was rough and thick, with deep textures.

He took a deep breath. "A-Zhi, are you really going to take this tree branch back with you?"

Jiang Zhi nodded.

The mutated elm tree is harder and more heat-resistant than before.

Jiang Zhi planned to take a few back and nail them around the outside of the tent, and then surround it with a large patch of shepherd's purse leaves to temporarily block the view of outsiders.

Jiang Shu sighed helplessly.

"I reckon we don't have the tools we have to cut down these trees."

Jiang Zhi looked around and picked up a branch that was over a meter long and as thick as an adult man's arm.

"Who said you have to cut it down? You can pick it up too."

Jiang Shu: ...Fine, he's done something stupid again.

Finally, the brother and sister carefully selected about ten elm branches that were all roughly the same length and size.

To avoid spoiling the food, the brother and sister had to rearrange the items on the cart.

Due to limited conditions, the cart was not very large, at most only 1.2 meters wide and 1.5 meters long.

When the dozen or so elm branches were placed on it, due to their high density and astonishing weight, the spare wheel was pressed down and sank two centimeters into the ground.

Although I haven't weighed them, I estimate that these trees alone weigh nearly 200 jin (100 kg).

Jiang Shu tried pushing it, and it was still bearable.

“It’s definitely more convenient to have a means of transportation.” He piled the food he had gathered earlier on top, covered it with a layer of leafy elm branches that looked inedible, and finally used elastic rope to tightly tie everything to the truck bed. “No wonder those people looked at our truck like it was some hot commodity.”

This cart saves a lot of effort.

Jiang Zhi checked the time and said, "Brother, it's getting late, let's go back first."

They collected quite a lot, but Jiang Zhi was worried that someone might intercept her on the way.

Even if they were capable of protecting themselves, it wouldn't be easy to keep this cartload of goods. Jiang Zhi didn't want the things she had worked so hard to collect all day to be stolen.

Jiang Shu had no objection.

With bone clubs, they were no longer afraid of insects and ants.

The brother and sister deliberately bypassed the crowded areas and returned to the valley entrance through the tall, dense grass.

At this time of year, there are still few people going back. You can only see a few scattered figures on the road, all alone. They are probably just like us, afraid of being robbed on their way back.

The two returned to the official road, and not long after they walked, two red warning points appeared on the terrain dashboard in Jiang Zhi's mind.

Jiang Zhi felt a chill run down her spine—it was about four hundred meters to her right.

Jiang Zhi slowed her pace and frowned as she looked over.

There was only goosegrass there, which wasn't dangerous. The danger must lie in what was hidden inside...

Seeing that she had stopped, Jiang Shu also stopped.

"A-Zhi, what's wrong—"

Before he could finish asking, a loud, arrogant, hoarse voice came from in front of him.

"You brat! Hand over what you're holding!"

"No!" another childish voice rang out, choked with tears. "I searched for this for so long before I found it."

"You say you don't want it, then you don't? Give it to me!!"

As he spoke, the man snatched the item from the child's hand.

The child cried desperately and lunged forward to snatch it back: "No! Please give it back to me, my father has been starving for days..."

Get out of my way!

It sounds like someone was lying in ambush there and robbed passersby.

The victim was a child.

Jiang Shu frowned. "These people really have no class; they're even snatching children."

Despite saying that, Jiang Shu didn't intend to interfere: "Azhi, let's go."

Jiang Zhi pursed her lips and continued walking forward.

For some reason, the child's voice made her inexplicably uneasy.

As the two men passed by, they overheard the two robbers saying, "Brother, there are two more fat sheep here! They even have a cart!"

This person's words seemed to give Jiang Zhi an excuse to meddle.

She turned her head to look over there.

After seeing the child's face clearly, Jiang Zhi froze on the spot.

Immediately afterwards, a surge of immense anger rose up.

Jiang Zhi slowly turned her head to look at the two people, her calm expression masking a surge of emotions.

She said, word by word, "Did you inflict the injuries on his face?"

Jiang Shu noticed her unusual behavior and, fearing she might meddle, quickly said, "A-Zhi, please don't—A-Zhi?!"

By the time Jiang Shu reacted, Jiang Zhi had already rushed over with a watermelon knife.

The two robbers were caught off guard by her sudden attack and could only raise their hands to protect their heads. With a hiss, blood immediately appeared.

"Damn! This girl has a knife!"

The taller man tried to retaliate immediately after being injured, but was kicked away by Jiang Shu who was right behind him.

Although he didn't know what his sister was going to do, Jiang Shu would never allow anyone to bully her!

Jiang Shu spat angrily. "You dare touch my sister? Are you tired of living?!"

As he spoke, Jiang Shu's gaze inadvertently fell upon a familiar face, and he froze in shock—

"Sui, Sui Sui!?"

The dirty little child in front of them, who else could it be but their nephew Jiang Sui?