Chapter 80 Sandstorm [VIP]
She shone the flashlight upwards and was surprised to find that there was a big hole in the ceilings of the second and third floors.
This has never happened in other research institutes.
Cheng Jing frowned:
"Could it be that a gerbil gnawed it?"
When they saw the destroyed buildings and facilities, their first reaction was the swarm of gerbils.
If it was really done by a group of gerbils, the entire institute might have been worn out and its foundation is unstable.
Besides, gerbils are now aggressive towards humans, so whether we should take the risk is a question.
Shen Boyun was silent for a moment before answering:
"If there were a lot of gerbils here, we wouldn't be able to hear anything and it wouldn't be so quiet."
"How about this, forget about everything else and go straight to the seed vault, take the most valuable ones, and leave."
Tang Tian made the final decision, and the others agreed.
This type of safe is usually located on an upper floor, and a team of people immediately rushed up the stairs.
“Tick…tick…”
Unexpectedly, they heard the sound of falling water drops, which was amplified several times in the dead silent environment, making people feel uneasy.
I couldn't find the second or third floor, and there was just a big hole on the ground.
Tang Tian looked at the edge of the cave entrance with the flashlight, her brows slightly furrowed.
She raised her foot and rubbed it there again, and found that the edge was a bit sticky, like a transparent mucus.
But how could there be such fresh mucus in a research institute that has been abandoned for nearly a year?
Unless... this was just left behind!
Could it be that there is someone else in the shelter? Or perhaps... someone other than human?
Tang Tian was shocked by her own thoughts.
Tan Tan lowered his head and sniffed there. Not knowing what he smelled, he began to bar his teeth and growl, as if he also sensed some danger.
"Tiantian, I found it, come quickly!"
Tang Yi was shouting in the distance, and the sound echoed in the open area.
Tang Tian agreed and went over first.
The seed vault of the Breeding and Cultivation Research Institute is located on the fourth floor of the top floor, but there is still a hole in the ceiling of the fourth floor, which makes the room full of sand and dust.
The seed vault is still an independent room-like place, where they did find a batch of preserved seeds that are resistant to extreme environments, including staple foods, vegetables and oil crops.
In addition to these, they also found newly developed special fertilizers, hormones, and a large amount of nutrient soil, and they planned to take a few of each back.
Cheng Jing, Li Feiyang and Tang Yi started the moving work again. Going up and down the stairs in one breath was not an easy task at the moment.
Tang Tian then told Shen Boyun about her discovery.
"You mean, there might be mutants nearby?"
Shen Boyun naturally had no idea what those were, so he just shouted along with the researchers.
"I'm just guessing, but that's really weird. I have to be suspicious... Forget it, let's take it and leave. Don't stay here any longer--"
However, before he could finish his words, Tan Tan suddenly barked loudly towards the ceiling, and his voice was even a little frightened in its intensity.
Tang Tian and Chen Boyun looked up, their pupils constricted.
At the entrance of the cave, amidst the wind and sand, there were several dark green vine-like things sticking out, and the cricket pupae were so disgusting.
It clearly had no eyes, but for some reason its soft and moving tip could find the traces of living people and immediately pointed in the direction of Tang Tian.
The body appears sparkling in the light, and the mucus at the edge of the hole may come from this.
And it was still dripping down, like a few drops of drizzle falling when the weather turns from sunny to cloudy, some of them even fell right on top of one's head.
Tang Tian suddenly felt a chill on her back and got goose bumps all over her body.
This creature that looked like the opposite sex, she didn't want to confront it head-on even if she had special abilities!
“Run!”
…
However, he didn't expect that his shouting would make the vine pay more attention to the target, and it rushed towards him at an extremely fast speed with a "whoosh"!
In a panic, Tang Tian felt that she was pushed silently and rolled several times after falling down.
She stood up again, her eyes wide as Tan Tan continued to bark.
Maybe the vine doesn't care who it catches, it just wants to catch people.
So at this moment, as soon as the vines touched Shen Boyun's body, they immediately tightened and wrapped around his entire body like a python, and slowly pulled him up.
Shen Boyun was strangled by a powerful force, which was equivalent to having his hands and feet tied. His face flushed red and he couldn't make a sound, almost suffocating.
But he could also feel his feet lifting off the ground - he wondered where they would be taken.
In any case, this vine is aggressive, and Lin Zhiqiu's worries are correct!
Tang Tian cursed inwardly, drew out his knife, leaped up, and chopped down directly.
Tan Tan also jumped up, it jumped higher than the former, and bit the strange vine in one bite.
This vine is a plant after all, and when it is cut or bitten, it forms a so-called wound.
The top part also loosened, Tang Tian quickly pulled out Shen Boyun, and the two fell
Tan Tan spat out a soft and sticky piece of unknown creature from his mouth, with obvious disgust on his dog's face.
Bah, bah, bah, it tastes terrible!
“Cough cough cough…”
Shen Boyun was coughing violently, and under his long coat and trousers, he was afraid that he had been caught.
"Brother, Tang Tian, are you okay?!"
Cheng Jing, Li Feiyang and Tang Yi were just moving things by the car downstairs when they heard a loud noise upstairs and hurried up.
"Oh my god, what the hell is this!?"
Li Feiyang looked up at the still wriggling vines, his face full of disbelief.
Tang Tian shouted:
“There are too many people, you take Shen Boyun away first. Sister, the two of us will stay and deal with it!”
Cheng Jing didn't agree with this method at first, but thinking that Tang Tian was not acting alone, the situation was urgent, and they always had their own ideas, he had no choice but to hold one side with Li Feiyang and take Shen Boyun downstairs first.
But the vines seemed to sense that the prey wanted to escape, and several vines, some thick and some thin, reappeared at the entrance of the cave, and the center point was still the one that was enough to tie up the whole person and pull him up.
For a moment, the sounds of wind and sand, dogs barking, and vines twisting all mixed together.
"Sister, I suspect its true form is up there. I have to go take a look."
Tang Tian said in a deep voice.
"Is this... too dangerous?"
Tang Yi asked with great concern.
"It's okay, you and Tan Tan will support me down there. Since I'm alone here, I can use my powers freely!"
Tang Tian spoke quickly and took the initiative to step forward to act as bait.
The vines were fooled and stretched out quickly, wrapping around her body and pulling her straight up.
But this time, Tang Tian paid special attention to her hands so that they were not bound at that moment.
As she saw herself getting closer and closer to the ceiling, until she was out of the cave, she immediately raised her hand and chopped at the vines!
The knife split the thick vine, and mucus gushed out.
Tang Tian fell to the ground and rolled again on the broken rooftop, with sand and dust making a noise.
But when she saw the scene on the rooftop clearly, she couldn't help but be shocked again.
…
It turned out that on the edge opposite the rooftop, there was something similar to a bush as big as a van.
Growing out from the gaps are vines of varying sizes, with the backbone in the middle!
Let's not talk about how this thing actually grew. Perhaps it was originally a seedling in the laboratory, mutated by a natural disaster, and then absorbed various nutrients from the research institute to grow to this size.
But Tang Tian finally understood why the building complex was not eaten by the gerbils. It was probably because the mutated vines ate them as snacks!
In the wind and sand, the vines rose up again, like several murderous whips, sweeping directly towards Tang Tian.
The octopus tentacle-like vine in the middle also moved forward, as if trying to recapture the prey in front of it.
Tang Tian put away the knife and rolled to the side to avoid it. Then two bottles appeared in her hands and she threw them forward without hesitation!
“Bang! —”
There was a flash of fire, and the fire element intensified in the bushes, causing a huge fire.
The vines seemed to be able to sense pain and began to reduce their attacks, flapping randomly on the rooftop continuously.
But the flames continued to burn, and surprisingly, they didn't burn the vines to death or ash. No wonder it was a mutant creature. It seemed that she had to find a way to strengthen her attack.
While the vines were burning in the fire, Tang Tian turned over his palm, and a hint of yellow-green appeared in the palm of his hand. A thick liquid gradually formed in the air, and then automatically became a ball bigger than a fist.
With the balls floating in her hands, she smashed them into the bushes again!
“Hiss…hiss…”
Green smoke rose from the place where the bushes touched the yellow-green liquid, and soon turned into black-brown charcoal, which could be turned into ashes if blown by the wind.
Great, this worked!
Tang Tian was secretly delighted.
This is the special dish she unlocked from the SR-level recipe - pickled fish!
The special ability of this pickled fish is [Corrosion]!
Although citric acid bombs have a similar effect, each one produced is only the size of a lemon at most, and the acidity is not particularly strong.
The corrosive ability of pickled fish is different. It has strong acidity and its size can be controlled at will, so Tang Tian immediately generated several more corrosive acid balls and continued to smash them on the bushes without hesitation.
There was both fire and corrosion, and several vines could no longer hold on and lay limply on the ground, some even turned into charred charcoal.
Tang Tian then took out the knife again and stabbed the thickest vine with it.
In the flames and black smoke, the mutated vines finally succumbed to Tang Tian's hands and were burned black, with thick smoke billowing above them.
"Tiantian, what's wrong?"
Tang Yi asked loudly from below. Tan Tan next to him was also barking anxiously.
Tang Tian poked it with the tip of the knife, and the charcoal powder-like substance was immediately blown away and buried by the wind and sand. At least this mutant was not very aggressive at the moment.
“Almost there!”
Tang Tian responded and released the wind attribute ability in an instant.
This made her whole body covered with a layer of light blue-gray color, and then her body became light, and she slowly fell from the cave entrance and returned safely.
"I've suppressed it for now. It looks dead, but I don't know if the mutant will revive. Let's get out of here!"
After saying that, Tang Tian and Tang Yitantan ran and reached the bottom floor in one breath.
After Cheng Jing and Li Feiyang took Shen Boyun into the car, they quickly drove the vehicle to a safe area before stopping and waiting anxiously.
Before long, they saw thick smoke rising above the institute, the kind that only appeared during a fire.
They knew that the Tang family had homemade □□ and might have brought it this time, and currently there was no creature that was not afraid of fire.
The three people who had been waiting anxiously saw the two sisters from afar and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"We've taken what we need, let's get out of here!"
Several people got into the car quickly.
Li Feiyang had never driven before, so he took the driver's seat. Cheng Jing was the co-pilot, and the others sat in the back seat.
The former stepped on the accelerator, the motor roared, and with a faint smell of burning, the van quickly drove away from the research center.
"Are you okay?"
Tang Tian and Shen Boyun spoke at the same time, but paused after asking this question.
"I'm fine, but I think your injuries might be more serious than mine."
As Tang Tian spoke, he took out his water bottle and drank the juice inside to restore his mental strength.
The SR-level corrosive energy was released recklessly, and only after her tense nerves relaxed did she feel her mental strength exhausted.
Being entangled to death by thick and strong vines may not cause any external injuries, but the internal injuries may be more serious.
"I'm fine too. Besides, on missions like this, we can go straight to the medical station for a checkup when we get back."
There was still some half-dry, half-wet mucus on Shen Boyun's clothes, and his body was still a little painful because of the strong pressure.
But in front of Tang Tian, he pretended everything was fine.
But how could Tang Tian not see this?
She glanced at Shen Boyun's gentle face, and for some reason she felt depressed, and her tone became heavier:
"Don't be so impulsive in the future. You have to take care of me in everything. Facing this kind of crisis, staying alive is the most important thing!"
Shen Boyun responded softly, but then he said:
"I just saw that thing rushing towards you and didn't think too much about it."
The gentle words startled Tang Tian for a moment, and then she fell silent.
After a long while, she replied:
"I don't mean to blame you, but that was really too dangerous. Don't do that next time."
The wind and sand hit the car windows, and the sound of the vehicle moving was loud. The people in the front row hardly dared to breathe and just kept driving.
Tang Yi was thinking: I should be under the car, not inside the car.
…
"Hey, look what that is?!"
The wipers could barely block out some of the wind and sand. Li Feiyang had been looking through the telescope, but he didn't know what he saw. His breathing immediately became rapid. He thought he had seen it wrong, and hurriedly handed the telescope to Tang Tian.
Tang Tian took it, but as she covered her eyes, her pupils instantly turned into a strange golden color, activating her clairvoyance.
In the nearly endless sandy land, amidst the yellow sand, several grayish-white, swirling dust pillars appeared. They were...
Tornado?!
No, it's not, it's much smaller than a typical tornado...
That's a dust devil!
"Turn left!"
Tang Tian immediately gave the order, and Cheng Jing, who had already trusted her, also cooperated very well and turned the steering wheel.
Although dust devils are not very powerful, and are much weaker than tornadoes, they can sometimes blow down sheds and even blow up steel plates weighing hundreds of pounds.
The apocalyptic natural disaster was strange and the car was still loaded with supplies, so she didn't dare to make the bet.
"Turn right! Speed up! - How much gas is left in the car?"
"It's less than a third of the way there, and it's almost night. We have to find another place to rest!"
There was spare fuel in the car, but it was impossible to stop. Cheng Jing gripped the steering wheel tightly, a thin layer of sweat oozing from his forehead.
Tang Tian's lips were tense. She took out a few pieces of candy from her pocket and put them in her mouth. While recovering her mental strength, she continued to use her clairvoyance.
I don’t know if it was due to coercion or something else, but the clairvoyance suddenly upgraded in such an emergency situation.
Let her slowly realize that this was a sudden dust devil in this area, and as long as she passed this area, she would probably be temporarily safe!
Tang Tian continued to give directions, but because of the constantly rotating dust column, the dust on the ground was raised again, visibility was reduced a lot, and everything was gray.
This means that the former has to keep his eyes open at all times in order to see the best route to escape from beginning to end.
Almost there, only about two hundred meters left...
Tang Tian said the last sentence, and suddenly her eyes blurred. The light seemed to have suddenly turned to dusk, and she could only see some vague shadows.
Because she had been using the clairvoyance for a long time, which consumed a lot of mental energy, she suddenly sat back in the seat behind her.
It was a complete fall, and to outsiders, it looked like she was about to faint.
"Tang Tian! What's wrong with you?"
Shen Boyun held her arm, but the person in the conversation just stood there in a daze without responding.
In Tang Tian's mind, there was an urgent warning from the system:
"Host, please temporarily stop using your abilities. You need to replenish your mental strength! Complete depletion of mental strength will cause irreversible damage to the subject!"
Fortunately, Tang Yi understood the reason. She quickly took out the prepared water bottle and fed Tang Tian to drink while comforting her:
"It's okay, I'm just tired. Let's take a rest first."
Shen Boyun stammered, but ultimately said nothing. He certainly took everything Tang Tian did seriously, so he didn't want to disturb her rest.
But when he saw Tang Tian's slightly pale face and sweat on her temples, he frowned and became more worried than usual.
Tang Tian drank the juice from the kettle numbly.
It felt like hypoglycemia, and if it was completely depleted, I couldn't imagine what would happen.
And perhaps because she used her eyes too much, her eyes have not yet recovered.
If she went blind because of this, her survival in the apocalypse would basically be a death sentence, which made her feel a wave of fear.
…
Fortunately, at this moment, the joyful voices of Cheng Jing and Li Feiyang from the front row came:
"Great, Tang Tian, there's no more wind ahead!"
"I never expected the sandstorm to even begin to develop into dust devils... What if it turns into a tornado?"
Tornadoes are much more powerful than dust devils. They come at you with overwhelming force, and even if you have shelter to defend against them, it will be very difficult.
The carriage fell silent again, as if the haze outside had gathered here, and everyone looked unhappy.
Shen Boyun picked up the telescope and looked, and confirmed that the vehicle had truly left the dust devil area before saying:
"Okay, don't think too much about it for now. Let's find a place to rest quickly. It's time to refuel the car!"
Since he had very little fuel, Cheng Jing drove into a large abandoned building and stopped.
After getting off the car, he and Li Feiyang first filled the car with spare fuel.
After Shen Boyun opened the car window and looked, he was about to look back when he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulders.
He turned his head and saw Tang Tian leaning against him slightly, but it was obvious that she was asleep.
He was so flustered that he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet, and he had to look to Tang Yi for help.
But Tang Yi had a half-smile on her face. She just used the excuse of having a picnic as an excuse and actually got off the car with Tan Tan.
Shen Boyun: …
It’s over, I dare not move...
After this battle, everyone was exhausted.
This task is indeed very difficult, let alone for ordinary people to do it.
To block the wind and sand coming in through the window, Cheng Jing and Li Feiyang took out outdoor props and started a fire.
After making a fire, they prepared to roast all the remaining potatoes in the supplies, while Tang Yi decided to cook porridge in the pot.
It is difficult to find fresh meat at this time, but dried meat is very filling. Just put it in the porridge and it will be a pot of meat porridge that can fill your stomach and quench your thirst.
However, the main component of this porridge is not white rice, it is filled with crushed compressed biscuits and miscellaneous grains.
After spending tonight, if nothing unexpected happens, we will be able to return to the shelter during the day tomorrow. This is just a transition.
The heat and fragrance that slowly came out gradually relieved the emotions that had just been relieved from tension, and soothed people's hearts.
At this time, even a bowl of hot soup or even a cup of hot water can have this effect.
Tan Tan lay obediently beside him, and only after the pot boiled did he tremble his ears.
“Hmm…”
Tang Tian woke up slowly, her vision flickering, and she thought her eyes had not recovered yet.
But the feeling of mental exhaustion has disappeared, and the system no longer alarms. The problem with mental strength has probably been solved.
But she suddenly realized that the main problem at the moment did not seem to be this.
But…why did she see Shen Boyun directly after her vision became clearer?
Tang Tian realized later that she seemed to be lying down.
What's that on the back of her head?
"...Are you awake?"
Shen Boyun asked in a low voice, and then hurriedly explained:
"It was already night, we found a shelter and started a fire to cook, but you fell asleep, so..."
Tang Tian raised her eyebrows and interrupted:
"But I don't think I'll just sleep on your lap."
Shen Boyun looked particularly embarrassed, and because he placed his hands behind his back, he gave people the illusion that he was standing at attention, and his body was unusually stiff.
"I apologize if that was intrusive... I just thought you'd sleep more comfortably this way."
“…Thank you.”
Tang Tian answered and stood up, shaking her short hair that she often trimmed. She indeed felt a lot more energetic.
Her spirits lifted as she immediately smelled the aroma of food from the open car window. Her stomach, desperately in need of being filled, began to rumble, and she felt so hungry that she could swallow a cow.
Tang Tian turned around and smiled brightly:
"Let's go, let's eat first!"
Shen Boyun was stunned. He had hardly ever seen Tang Tian smile so brightly.
But in a blink of an eye, it seemed that it was not a smile.
Maybe it was the fireworks that were blooming somewhere.
"Tiantian, are you awake? How do you feel?"
The pot is bubbling and the roasted potatoes are steaming. They will be delicious if you just sprinkle some seasoning on them. They are just cooling down now.
Tan Tan called out, gave up the delicious food, ran over, threw himself into Tang Tian's arms and licked her with his tongue.
"Much better, hurry up and eat, and get a good rest tonight."
Tang Tian comforted Tan Tan, and they sat around the campfire and started their post-victory dinner.
I haven't eaten much in almost the whole day, but people in the apocalypse are already used to being starving.
You can't eat and drink too much at this time, so a soft and glutinous baked potato and a bowl of hot meat porridge are both suitable foods to relieve extreme hunger.
After eating and drinking, sleepiness quickly set in. After saying goodnight to each other, they went to their respective tents to rest.
As soon as the next day was bright, they got up on time, cleaned up the venue, and drove as fast as they could to the end of the shelter.
The dawn of victory is finally at hand.
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