Luo Ning decided to go find a map, and it would be even better if she could find gasoline.
When the people from the base didn't come, she asked Lu Xinghe to take them to find them. She knew that humans now lived in a place called Lava Valley, where there was scorching magma that could stop the invasion of alien species, and fertile soil that could sustain human life. It was the only mercy God had shown to humanity.
It would take several days to get to the ruined city, so she needed to prepare some food in advance. Luckily, it had rained these past few days, so there would be mushrooms in the forest. If she was lucky, she might even be able to catch some uninfected small animals.
"Xiao Ruo and I are going mushroom picking, do you want to come?" she asked Lu Xinghe.
"Hmm." Lu Xinghe nodded awkwardly. He had been in this room for ten days and his body really needed to move around a bit, and he also wanted to take a look at the surroundings.
"Then I'll find you some clothes." Luo Ning pulled out a few pieces of men's clothing for him: "These are what Xiao Ruo's father used to wear, and they've all been washed."
Lu Xinghe took his clothes to the bathroom to change and came out. He was very tall, and An Xiaoruo's father's clothes were a size too small for him. The top was still okay because he was thin, but the pants were too short, making the long pants look like cropped pants.
Luo Ning looked at it and couldn't help but laugh: "It's quite fashionable."
And he's quite handsome. If he lived in her world, he would be a star in terms of both physique and looks. It's a pity he was born in this world.
An Xiaoruo was already waiting impatiently outside the car: "Mom, Uncle, hurry up, the mushrooms are about to grow big!"
"We're here." Luo Ning put on her coat and got out of the car, and Lu Xinghe followed her out as well.
After getting out of the car, he looked back at the RV where he had lived for ten days. There were countless claw marks on the body, and in some places the outer skin had been torn off, obviously it had been attacked by large alien species. However, the body was still very sturdy, and the wheels were well protected. If there were no problems with the engine or anything else, the vehicle could still be used.
He had an idea. If he could start the vehicle, he might be able to return to the base in the Lava Valley. Otherwise, traveling thousands of miles without any protection, it would be almost impossible to return alive.
"Uncle, are you a snail? Hurry up!" An Xiaoruo took the boy's clean hand and pulled him forward. After ten days together, even though he didn't talk to them much, this little girl had become very familiar with him.
“I can walk by myself, don’t pull me,” Lu Xinghe said awkwardly, but An Xiaoruo excitedly ignored his protest. Lu Xinghe had no way to deal with this kind of child, so he could only compromise in the end.
Before entering the forest, Luo Ning instructed Lu Xinghe, "Don't even think about running away. You can't outrun me, and there are many strange creatures here. If you get bitten, I can't save you."
"Understood." After saying that, Lu Xinghe walked straight into the forest.
The primeval forest was filled with tall trees, humid air, moss-covered rocks, and mushrooms everywhere. After Luo Ning explained which mushrooms were edible and which were not, the three of them got busy and quickly filled a bucket.
Besides mushrooms, Luo Ning also picked some wild vegetables and berries. Just as she was about to look for pheasants or rabbits, a winged alien species with a wingspan of more than one meter suddenly swooped down towards An Xiaoruo. Just as she was about to go to save her, Lu Xinghe, who was standing next to her, kicked the winged alien species away with a beautiful spinning kick, and the winged alien species died on the spot.
The fatal spot of the winged mutant is different from that of humans. In humans, it is in the head, while in the winged mutant it is in the abdomen. Lu Xinghe's kick was very precise.
"Uncle, you're so amazing!" An Xiaoruo said admiringly, but Lu Xinghe remained aloof, as if nothing could arouse his interest.
"Alright, let's go back." Luo Ning was worried that the number of alien species would increase, and the winged alien species were difficult to deal with; she had suffered losses from them several times.
But Lu Xinghe squatted down and looked at the winged alien's claws. Luo Ning walked over in confusion: "What's wrong?"
Lu Xinghe flipped open the feathers on the winged alien's foot, revealing an anklet with a crookedly written English character: Claus.
"Are there any other mutants here besides you?" Lu Xinghe asked warily.
Luo Ning shook her head: "No, I've never met one."
She had lived here for two years and hadn't seen many humanoid aliens, let alone mutants. Moreover, there weren't many mutants in the novel, and they were all eventually captured by the base to be used for mysterious experiments. It's said that the author even wrote a second book about this, but she hadn't had time to read it yet and didn't know what this mysterious experiment was.
"Hurry up." Lu Xinghe became a little nervous, while Luo Ning, completely bewildered, picked up An Xiaoruo and ran out of the forest.
After returning to the RV, Lu Xinghe closed the door tightly and then looked sharply at the sky.
"What happened?" she asked in confusion, while An Xiaoruo hid in her arms, somewhat frightened.
“There are other mutants around here,” Lu Xinghe replied.
Luo Ning also tensed up: "How did you know?"
Lu Xinghe replied, "That winged mutant was domesticated; only mutants would domesticate mutants."
"Mutants can raise other species?" Luo Ning thought for a moment, but couldn't recall such a plot in the novel.
"Mom, I'm scared." The two girls' tense expressions frightened An Xiaoruo as well.
"Don't be afraid, Mom is here. Mom will protect you," Luo Ning said comfortingly. But deep down, she was also afraid. The mutants in the novel were all very powerful, with great speed and strength, and although she could run very fast, she wasn't good at fighting. Now that she had to protect two humans, she didn't know if she could handle it.
Lu Xinghe handed the knife to Luo Ning: "Smear your blood on An Xiaoruo's ears and wrists."
Luo Ning paused for a moment: "But that would increase her chances of getting infected."
In the novel, humans often smear the blood of the alien species on their bodies to avoid being killed by them. This makes the aliens mistake them for their own kind. However, this effect is only temporary, and if a human has any wounds, they are easily infected by the virus in the blood. Therefore, even though Luo Ning knew about this method, she never dared to do it, for fear of harming An Xiaoruo.
"Go check her body. If there are no wounds, she won't get infected," Lu Xinghe said calmly. At this moment, another winged alien was already circling in the sky.
Luo Ning hurriedly carried An Xiaoruo to the bathroom. After confirming that An Xiaoruo had no wounds, she made a tough decision to cut her finger and smear the blood on her skin.
When she finished doing all this and went outside, there were already more than a dozen humanoid mutants standing on the grass outside the car. There were men, women, and children. They looked no different from normal people, except for their tattered clothes and empty eyes.
Ordinary mutants have no consciousness and are like walking corpses. They would wander aimlessly and frantically pounce on humans when they encounter them. But now these ordinary mutants are standing motionless, as if waiting for someone to give them a command.
"Why are they all standing there motionless?" Luo Ning felt something was amiss.
Lu Xinghe clenched his fists tightly because he saw one of his companions among these alien species. Although half of his companion's face was gone, he recognized him at a glance.
The reason these alien species are not moving is likely because someone has used a new type of inhibitor on them. This new inhibitor can make the alien species obey the commands of the user. They came here to conduct a field experiment.
He now hopes that the people of the base, not the mutants, will use the new inhibitors.
However, his hopes were dashed, as a male mutant with distinct brown bear features was walking towards them, kicking over Luo Ning's mushrooms and even stomping on them a few times.
"My mushrooms!" Luo Ning was so angry she was practically steaming. She hated food being deliberately ruined.
The male mutant looked somewhat surprised when he saw Luo Ning. He had thought he was the only awakened mutant, but he didn't expect there to be another woman here.
Oh no, she wasn't just a woman, she was his Eve!
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