The piercing screams instantly turned the faces of everyone in the car stiff.
Song Sanchuan immediately steered the little titmouse toward the direction from which the sound came, and then everyone saw the terrifying sight that, even with its outline obscured by the mist, remained grotesque and ferocious—
Little Fatty and Gangzi, who had just gotten off the bus, struggled and crawled desperately toward the vehicle, covered in blood. Their legs and bodies were wrapped in green, biting flowers and grass.
This is the suburban farmland and forestry area before entering the provincial capital.
Normally, the land is lush and vibrant with life, but somehow it has changed its appearance under the fog.
As the little titmouse's field of vision rose higher, the people inside the car saw other cars parked there in the woods ahead.
"Damn it! Grab your weapons and get to the rescue!"
Squad leader Zhou Shan gritted his teeth and was about to rush off the vehicle.
But just before he was about to get off the bus, a slender hand firmly pressed down on his shoulder, making it impossible for him to move forward even an inch.
There is only one person who has that much strength.
"Fugui, what are you doing? Let go of me and stop blocking my way!"
The long-haired youth's face no longer held the shy smile he had shown before; instead, he appeared very calm.
"I'll go down with Tianlang."
“You’re going down now to deliver vegetables, which might interfere with our rescue efforts. Wait in the car.”
Zhou Shan and the other team members were not convinced, but the moment Xie Tianlang stood up, they inexplicably felt an indescribable pressure.
Even the most stubborn person can't deny that kind of gap.
Moreover, Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang were extremely fast; they had already put on full protective suits and gone down while the two were locked in a stalemate.
Just as they were about to go down, Song Sanchuan said, "Pay attention to my commands and instructions."
Si Wuyai had already pulled out his personal research medical kit: "I'll try to synthesize a basic mist-clearing agent. I'll check the effects when you get back. Also, if possible, please pick a flower and bring it back to me. Thanks."
Xie Tianlang gave a clear signal, and the two of them got out of the car.
Zhou Shan and the other team members in the car gritted their teeth, feeling a mix of anticipation and resentment.
They hoped that the two men could successfully rescue Xiao Pang and Gangzi, who were struggling in the carnivorous plants, but they also felt that the two men were overestimating themselves and could not complete the mission on their own.
But now they have also missed the best opportunity to get off the bus. Everyone has already put on protective suits and is waiting to open the door and help as soon as the situation becomes critical.
However, they ultimately failed to get out of the car to help.
After getting off the bus, Gou Fugui immediately activated the "Groundhog Fugui" bloodline bonus. When encountering such troublesome group attacks, the rat's screams became a divine attack skill.
He glanced at Xie Tianlang, who was already prepared beside him, put the megaphone to his mouth, took a deep breath, and the next second a scream burst out from the megaphone, causing the biting plants and the struggling Little Fatty and Gangzi, who were caught off guard, to be plunged into a soul-shaking scream in an instant.
A second before the screams began, Song Sanchuan had already alertly turned down the video playback volume. Even so, the team members in the car, who were hearing the screams of the "Groundhog Fugui" for the first time, stared wide-eyed and stood there dumbfounded for two minutes.
Xie Tianlang, who was outside the car, had probably gotten used to the soul-piercing screams. His body only stiffened for seven or eight seconds before he rushed forward and pulled the unconscious Xiao Pang and Gangzi out of the pile of flowers and grass.
Groundhog Fugui breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He was still a little worried about whether the groundhog's soul scream would be effective on plants without ears, but now, judging from the stiff leaves of those plants, the soul scream is indeed the best crowd control skill.
Even if the effect is not as strong as it is on animals, it can still have an effect on plants.
After pulling the two people back, Xie Tianlang retreated as quickly as possible, his expression serious.
"This road is impassable; ahead lie abandoned vehicles and corpses... This road is a trap."
It's a man-eating trap formed by plants that mutated at some unknown time, using the fog as a cover.
Gou Fugui, with the added advantage of being born from the groundhog Fugui, has eyesight that is even clearer than Xie Tianlang's.
“You take the two of them back, I’ll just pull some weeds and then follow.”
Xie Tianlang paused for a moment, but quickly nodded and continued walking forward.
Although he was somewhat worried, he never doubted Xin Shangyuan's strength.
Gou Fugui looked down at the weeds and wildflowers spreading from the roadside fields and woods. He couldn't see them clearly through the mist, but at least at first glance, he didn't feel that these wildflowers and weeds were any different from the wildflowers and weeds he remembered.
Gou Fugui thought for a moment and stepped on the wildflowers and weeds, already mentally prepared that they might suddenly entangle him or bite him with their petals and flower heads.
But it didn't happen.
Even though he had trampled down all the roadside weeds and flowers that he found suspicious, making himself a complete environmental scoundrel, not a single blade of grass or flower that had been entangled around Little Fatty and Gangzi had attacked him.
"??? Is this discrimination against me?"
Did the flowers and plants sense the danger and flee because of his scream?
Thinking this, Gou Fugui turned and walked towards the left front wheel of the car. Xiao Pang and Gangzi were going to check what was wrong with the wheel that led to the attack, but he wanted to see what was wrong with the car.
Gou Fugui walked to the front of the car and looked down, only to find that the car's left front tire had blown out.
It looked as if some sharp object had pierced the tire, but Gou Fugui squatted down and carefully examined the tire tracks, then scoffed.
Who says plants don't have thoughts or schemes?
As he looked down, the mechanical little tit controlled by Song Sanchuan was also carefully patrolling around him. The team members in the car were all nervously watching the screen and the flowers and plants on the ground, afraid that the flowers and plants would suddenly come to life and attack.
But even after Gou Fugui finished checking the tires, he wasn't attacked by the flowers and plants under his feet. Just as the team members were about to breathe a sigh of relief, a dark green, extremely fast shadow suddenly appeared in the little tit's monitoring video. It actually hung straight down from above and wrapped around Gou Fugui's neck!
"careful!!"
"Ahhh!"
The team members in the vehicle were startled, their faces and voices tense. To them, the sudden attack of the vines was unavoidable. However, just as the vines were about to wrap around the young man's neck, he seemed to have eyes in the top and back of his head, reaching out and grabbing the vines with deadly precision!
Then, with a sharp downward pull!
The people in the car seemed to hear an extremely strange and piercing scream, as if the entire fog and the surrounding indistinct forest trembled slightly because of it.
The wealthy beauty, who had already transformed into orca bloodline while crouching down, clung tightly to the still-moving vine in her hand and rushed to the car door like a rabbit.
Xie Tianlang precisely opened the car door and pulled him in, then sat directly in the driver's seat and forcibly reversed away from this "tree-lined road" in the middle of the fields and woods.
Even though the front left tire of the sealed bus had blown out, Xie Tianlang still forced it to reverse dozens of meters.
He only stopped the car after retreating to a relatively safe area, and at this time Song Sanchuan also took back his little sparrow while cursing.
His little sparrow was attacked by vines when Gou Fugui was attacked. If he hadn't installed a high-current self-defense system on his little sparrow, his round and cute little sparrow would have perished in that dense forest.
"What exactly happened? Is there a problem with the flowers, plants, or trees?"
Song Sanchuan looked at Gou Fugui and the rattan cane that was twitching in his hand.
Si Wuyai, his eyes gleaming, walked over, eager to take over the cane.
Gou Fugui did not give him the rattan cane immediately.
"This thing has a strength of about fifty pounds, so be prepared that it might get away."
A hint of surprise flashed in Si Wuyai's eyes: "But it looks like an ordinary vine, not some strange species I've never seen before."
Gou Fugui shrugged; he didn't know either. "Those carnivorous plants that suddenly sprouted up looked just like roadside weeds and wildflowers. Maybe the plants mutated because of the fog?"
Si Wuyai did not answer. He simply wore special gloves and used metal tweezers to receive the vine that was tightly wrapped around Gou Fugui's hand.
The vines were tightly wrapped around the wealthy beauty's hands, as if they were determined to break his hand no matter what.
However, after Si Wuyai applied a potion to the vine, it gradually loosened its grip and seemed to soften all at once.
Si Wuyai chuckled softly.
If Gou Fugui were to translate that laughter, it would be: "You little brat, I can't handle you!"
At this point, Zhou Shan and the others had already given Xiao Pang and Gangzi emergency hemostasis and treatment.
But their situation isn't particularly good.
If it weren't for their brand-new, corrosion-resistant protective suits that blocked the biting and entanglement of the flowers and plants, they probably wouldn't have lasted until Xie Tianlang and Gou Fugui went down to rescue people.
Even though they have been rescued, their wounds are very deep. After Si Wuyai's examination, it was confirmed that they had lost a lot of blood and had some kind of very difficult-to-treat toxin in their bodies.
When the test results came out, everyone in the car fell silent. The reason people dared not go into the fog was because of the deadly toxins in the fog that still had no way to completely eliminate.
This toxin doesn't seem to cause fatal damage unless it comes into contact with blood; at most, it might cause uncontrollable hallucinations in those who inhale the mist.
However, once people enter the fog without any protection, their skin will be corroded and bleed. If the bleeding areas are then contaminated with toxins from the fog, these toxins will be very difficult to cure.
They will cling to the injured person like maggots, until they completely destroy the body of the injured and poisoned person.
"...Damn it, why did this happen! Why are there so many killer plants and trees in the mist?"
One of the team members couldn't help but curse out, his expression a mixture of anger and fear.
Captain Zhou Shan was more composed.
"Report this information directly to the mayor, and also inform our transport and rescue teams to be careful of the environment around the fog."
"Then, we'll take a detour to the provincial hospital. We can't let Xiaopang and Gangzi die in the car."
Everyone in the car nodded. Even if taking people to the hospital first would delay the assembly time and they might be the last to arrive at the supplies collection point, human lives were more important than supplies.
Si Wuyai looked at the people with heavy expressions and thought for a moment: "It's not necessarily incurable. There's always a corresponding antidote around poison. The people who were poisoned before probably lacked some special detoxifying elements."
"Perhaps I can test whether the sap from this vine can detoxify them. If it can, then the two of them will only need to rest in the hospital for ten days or so to recover."
Zhou Shan and the other team members stared wide-eyed at Si Wuyai: "You really can cure the poison?! You know, even in the capital, there isn't a complete cure!"
Si Wuyai smiled and said, "Didn't I tell you? It's not that they can't find a solution, but that they haven't found the key antidote."
"Let's head to the provincial capital first. I can prepare a basic antidote in about half an hour and then we can test it."
Because of Si Wuyai's words, the originally dull atmosphere in the car improved a lot, and then Zhou Shan, as the captain, took the initiative to get out of the car and start changing the tires.
However, several of his teammates were worried about him and got off the bus with him, each carrying a sharp machete and a long stick.
If any man-eating plants or trees suddenly appear, they will retaliate this time!
Fortunately, no unusual plants or trees attacked people until the tires were replaced.
While the tire was being changed, Gou Fugui was still peering out the window, and now the fog seemed to hold an added sense of inexplicable danger in his eyes.
If the plants have mutated, how are the animals doing?
Did those plants really mutate, or is there some other reason? They don't look any different.
And where does that toxin in the fog that causes hallucinations and is impossible to get rid of once you're exposed to it come from?
The car continued driving forward, and half an hour later, another tire blew out.
Gou Fugui snapped out of his thoughts and saw that the expressions on the faces of Zhou Shan and the others around him were filled with indescribable horror and unease.
"...The tire blew out again," Zhou Shan said in a dry voice.
He couldn't help but glance at Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang, then awkwardly looked away as if he had done something despicable.
Finally, he took a deep breath and reached for the car door: "...I'm going down to change the tire."
But his shoulder was pressed down again.
He saw the long-haired youth who was several years younger than him and smiled: "Captain, you don't need to go. I'll go down with my attack wolf."
"That's faster."
"However, it would be safer to step back about ten meters first."
Zhou Shan wanted to say no, but in the end he opened his mouth but didn't say it.
However, after driving the car back about ten meters, he got out of the car without saying a word, following Gou Fugui and Xie Tianlang.
He already felt ashamed for avoiding getting out of the car to change the tire; he simply couldn't stay in the car and reap the benefits.
Fortunately, the tire-changing process was not dangerous. However, after successfully changing the second tire, Zhou Shan didn't know how to drive anymore.
He was already moving slowly and looking intently at the road ahead, but he still couldn't avoid the flowers, grass, and trees that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He was still more than ten kilometers away from the place in the provincial capital where supplies were being distributed.
Do we have to change the tires every now and then?
Putting aside whether they have enough backup plans, the important thing is that every forced stop is a dangerous situation. In the long run, will they be able to safely get through every plant trap?
Zhou Shan is in trouble.
The other team members had similar thoughts.
At this moment, Xie Tianlang looked at his Yuanyuan and asked, "Is there a way to see through them?"
Gou Fugui laughed and said, "That depends on whether you and I have a good understanding."
Xie Tianlang raised his eyebrows.
Then the two of them sat in the driver's seat and the passenger seat.
Song Sanchuan, unusually, looked up from his computer, a gloating smile suddenly appearing on his face. He was waiting for Captain Xie to crash his car into a wall or have a flat tire.
"I'll watch the road while you drive, and I'll use the dashboard to give you directions."
They were neither poisoned nor hallucinating, but Gou Fugui felt that the sloth's special ability could see through the disguise and changes in the fog.
Perhaps that's a kind of visual illusion? Anyway, let's give it a try.
Then, he activated the sloth's wealth and status bloodline bonus.
The mist in his eyes seemed to change instantly.
The inability to articulate it seemed to make things clearer, and what was gratifying was that his eyes could clearly see the different colors on some of the roadside plants.
Perhaps mantis shrimp, which possess a fourth sense, can also perceive the different colors of plants.
But now that the sloth has already arrived, let's continue.
"Walk."
Xie Tianlang started the car without hesitation.
Song Sanchuan looked at his computer while keeping an eye on what was happening in front of him.
Then he saw a bowl of damnably well-matched dog food—
"Ah..." Sloth Fugui had just opened his mouth when Xie Tianlang glanced at him and immediately turned the car to the right.
"Nine……"
Before he could even finish pronouncing the word "nine," Xie Tianlang glanced at his own Yuanyuan again, then turned the car directly to the left and accelerated past three weeds and vines that were trying to form a trap.
"Hmm."
Later on, Sloth Fugui didn't need to make any more noise. He just sat there and uttered a single syllable, and Xie Tianlang, who was driving, seemed to be able to read his thoughts from that syllable and his expression. The car drove fast and steadily, passing through several dangerous traps almost without any damage.
Because the two of them worked together so well, or rather, because Xie Tianlang was too perceptive, no one in the car noticed Sloth Fugui's incredibly slow and frustrating way of speaking.
Not to mention things like banging your head against a wall.
Song Sanchuan: "...Damn it!"
What kind of bizarre communication is this?! Are they taking advantage of the fact that he's single and can't even exchange glances?!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
