Chapter 108
The brother and sister were immersed in the joy of a bumper harvest.
Forty minutes had passed by the time they finished harvesting the fruits and tender leaves from the large banyan trees.
After putting the items into his spatial storage, Jiang Shu said while eating a fruit:
"Ah Zhi, there are so many good things here, we won't have to worry about food all winter."
Jiang Zhi disagreed: "Our current position is relatively safe, but it might be a different story if we go deeper."
Jiang Shu thought for a moment: "Should we ask Brother Lin Yuan for help later? With his abilities, we can also go deeper into the field."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhi was somewhat tempted, but after a moment's thought, she said, "We don't know the extent of his injury yet. Let's ask him when we get back."
After resting for a while, Jiang Zhi saw that it was still early, so she told him about her initial plan: "Brother, there's a kind of fleshy fungus up ahead. This thing eats dead things and can secrete something like fertilizer. I checked, and it seems safe over there. Let's pick some and take them back; it should help our land."
Jiang Shu's eyes lit up.
If we can really grow some edible crops, then wouldn't we never have to worry about food and clothing in the future?
He immediately said, "That's great, let's go take a look now!"
Without further delay, the brother and sister headed straight for the location of the flesh-covered fungus.
To reduce the consumption of her mental energy, Jiang Zhi deliberately chose a path with little threat so that she could temporarily remove the protective shield.
As a result, not long after the protective shield was removed, the two were blocked by layers of ferns.
Each plant grew wildly to half a person's height, with many barbs growing on the edges of the leaves, which would snag on clothes and trouser legs with the slightest touch.
Some of the taller ones have leaves that droop down at the top, which can suddenly get tangled in your hair and pull on your scalp, causing severe pain.
Left with no other choice, the brother and sister put their fur hats back on.
The thick downy fuzz made the brother and sister sweat profusely from their foreheads.
After walking only a few steps, the back of my clothes was already soaked with sweat.
Unfortunately, this place was densely packed with air, stuffy and hot, and Jiang Shu was afraid that he would suffer from heatstroke.
To make matters worse, there were some creeping stolons spreading along the ground ahead, as thick as a finger, with a slippery surface covered in a sticky sap, making them slippery underfoot.
If it weren't for the ginger tree, it would have taken twice as much effort to build this road.
The brother and sister finally managed to get out of the area covered with ferns, and then they saw several large trees ahead with twisted vines hanging from them.
Every now and then, sticky sap drips down from the tips of the leaves, leaving dark, speckled marks on the fallen leaves.
Jiang Shu pushed aside the fleshy stem blocking his way with one hand, and the thing trembled and shrank when it was touched.
Jiang Shu was startled.
Ginger twigs also instinctively released a protective shield.
As a result, the vines simply retracted back into the tree like snakes and then remained motionless.
The brother and sister exchanged a glance, both unable to suppress a smile.
"Brother, why have you become so timid?"
Jiang Shu, feeling a little embarrassed, snorted, "These ghosts are impossible to defend against. Even the low-level ones are troublesome. What's wrong with me being careful? Besides, weren't you scared enough to release your protective shield just now?"
Jiang Zhi also found herself a little amused just now, but still feeling uneasy, she continued to release the protective shield: "Alright, it seems that this place is safer with a protective shield."
Although it was a joke, the two became even more cautious.
The brother and sister worked together, one keeping an eye on the dashboard and the other using their eyesight to keep watch on their surroundings. They avoided some troublesome mutated plants and soon arrived at the location of the flesh-covered fungus.
In front of them, a large depression was completely covered with oval-shaped, dark red fleshy membranes.
Upon closer inspection, the patterns on the membrane resemble blurry human faces. In some places, dark brown cracks reveal a faint, crimson layer of flesh inside, exuding an indescribable eeriness.
What's even more chilling is that the edges of these fleshy fungi wriggle slightly, just like facehuggers.
The brother and sister exchanged a glance, and both could see the disdain in each other's eyes.
But—since we're already here, we have no choice but to get to work.
The two walked over cautiously, the whole area reeking of a faint stench of decay.
The more Jiang Shu looked at it, the more disgusted he became.
"Ah Zhi, can this stuff really be used as fertilizer?"
Jiang Zhi was also somewhat uncertain.
She picked up a withered leaf from the ground and threw it over.
As the withered leaf fell onto the mushroom's surface, the facial features instantly cracked open, as if opening a mouth to engulf the leaf.
Then, the fleshy fungus actually moved a few times as if it were chewing.
After a moment, a black bead the size of a thumb seeped out from the cracks in the pattern.
When Jiang Zhi picked it up, the black grains had a thick, rotten smell on their surface.
Jiang Shu curiously leaned closer: "Can this stuff be used as fertilizer?"
Jiang Zhi wasn't sure either, "It's hard to say, we'll have to try to find out."
Jiang Shu: "The base has strict rules. I'm afraid they won't allow these unregistered mutant plants to be planted casually, right?"
Jiang Zhi didn't think it was a big problem. "Just go back and get a new record from Professor Shen."
She turned to look at the vast expanse of fleshy fungus around her: "There's such a large patch of it growing here. If we can really bring it back, the base will definitely buy it. After all, it's good for cultivation, and we'll always find a use for it."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu said, "Alright, let's get started. It would be best to finish before one o'clock."
The two of them got right to work.
Jiang Zhi squatted down, took out a specially made short blade from the bag at her waist, and then inserted it diagonally into the ground. With a flick of her wrist, she pulled out a large piece of the fleshy carpet fungus, along with the thin roots underneath.
This thing felt heavy in my hand, and a light red juice was oozing from the cut, almost like holding a piece of fatty pork.
Seeing this, the ginger tree next door also picked up its tools, selected a thick piece, and started working.
The brother and sister busied themselves with their work. After more than an hour, they had harvested most of the large patch of fleshy fungus.
The two snakeskin bags beside him were bulging, and the corners of the bags were filled with red juice that had seeped out due to the squeezing of each other.
Exhausted, the two sat down side by side on the open ground.
They each shook their sore, tingling, and numb arms.
Jiang Zhi took out a military water bottle from her backpack and handed it to Jiang Shu. Jiang Shu took it and gulped down two mouthfuls before tossing it back to her: "These fleshy mushrooms are too heavy. The two bags weigh almost seven or eight hundred pounds. Luckily we have a space device, otherwise our arms would probably break if we had to carry them all the way home from here."
Jiang Zhi unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip of water. It tasted quite different from the filtered water at the base; it felt like it had been squeezed out of moss.
Jiang Zhi guessed that it was the old lady who had prepared it for them again.
She couldn't help but drink a few more sips before saying, "There are many mutated plant bases here that haven't been included. If I had the chance to bring Professor Shen here, he would be very happy."
Jiang Shu laughed heartily, "If we really wanted to get that old darling Professor Shen to come, we'd have to mobilize a whole platoon of soldiers from the base."
The two chatted casually for about ten minutes before Jiang Zhi stood up and dusted herself off. "Let's go. While we still have some time, let's see if there's anything else we can collect nearby."
Jiang Shu also propped himself up on his knees and stood up. "Where do we go now?"
The brother and sister didn't touch the remaining dozen or so flowers; they understood the principle of sustainable development.
Jiang Zhi did not answer immediately.
She was mentally calculating the purple-gold items and the ultra-high-level mutated creatures she had sensed in the cave.
I couldn't help but scan the dense array of red warning dots on the dashboard again, but still couldn't detect any relevant alerts.
If she weren't absolutely certain of her memory, she would have thought she had misheard.
Where exactly is it...?
This forest isn't very big; it shouldn't be impossible to sense it...
Could it be in a dormant state?
Jiang Zhi looked southwest and pondered for a moment.
She knew that the dashboard couldn't provide timely alerts when the mutated plant was dormant or inactive.
Just like the locust tree I encountered during my previous trip to Hunan Province.
In fact, Jiang Zhi knew the truth.
Leaving now is the safest option.
But I was still somewhat unwilling to accept it.
She had originally thought that even if she couldn't get her hands on it, at least she could take a look at the purple-gold item and figure out what it was.
I didn't expect to see a single person after I came in.
For a moment, Jiang Zhi didn't know whether she should breathe a sigh of relief at not having to face ultra-high-level creatures, or feel regret for not being able to find the purple-gold item.
She sighed and said to her brother, "Let's go back first—"
Before she could finish speaking, an annoying voice suddenly emerged from Jiang Zhi's mental pool again:
"—I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it, I want it…"
The same word kept repeating itself in my head, like a rusty spring, endlessly spinning and grinding against my temples.
Jiang Zhi laughed.
This little thing just finished causing trouble a couple of days ago, and now it's already starting to cause trouble again.
This time, Jiangzhi didn't indulge it and conveyed her thoughts: "It's too dangerous over there, I don't plan to go."
He barged into her mental pool for no reason, and now he wants to make her take risks?
Ginger twigs don't have the patience to be ordered around.
Most importantly, she still doesn't understand what this seed is.
Upon hearing this, Na Zi immediately became anxious.
He appeared directly in her mental pool.
The originally white shell now glowed with a restless red light, as if it had been scorched by fire.
It spun around anxiously in mid-air. After spinning a few times, it pointed its pointed end sharply to the southwest and then bounced up and down rapidly.
This series of commotions even caused a chaotic fluctuation in her mental pool.
Jiang Zhi was dizzy from being shaken: "Stop, stop, stop! You mean—there's something you want over there? And something I want too?"
The seed shook vigorously up and down, as if nodding.
Jiang Zhi said helplessly, "No, I'm not strong enough to go. I'll go explore when I'm stronger."
Seeing that Jiangzhi still refused, the seed became so anxious that it bounced around in place in her mental pool, its round body shaking violently up and down, as if it was desperately shaking its head in opposition.
Suddenly, it stopped abruptly at the edge of the ginger twig spirit pool, its tip tapping rapidly at the same spot again and again, as if emphasizing something.
Jiangzhi couldn't understand it, but there was only one possibility that could make it oppose it so vehemently.
Are you trying to say that if you miss this opportunity, you'll never have another chance?
The seed nodded emphatically.
Jiang Zhi glanced at it coolly, remaining unmoved. "That's a super high-level mutated creature. I'm not going. You can go by yourself."
She was already quite bold; she only wanted to take a peek.
I never expected that this guy, who's even less reliable than her, would actually want to sleep with her!
Upon hearing this, the seed panicked and paced anxiously in her mental pool, the red light on its white shell flickering.
In just two seconds, it seemed to have made up its mind, paused abruptly, and then transformed into a warm stream of light that slowly poured into her mental pool.
The force didn't seem like an invasion; rather, it felt like a warm, flowing energy.
Jiang Zhi was startled, but it was too late to stop her.
The next second, Jiang Zhi discovered that her mental pool had expanded tenfold.
The ginger twigs even felt like they were being submerged by the entire grassland.
Is this—the power of the entire grassland being poured into her spiritual pool?
Jiang Shu, who was standing nearby, saw Jiang Zhi stunned and assumed she had discovered something unusual, so he didn't dare to disturb her.
He was suddenly stunned by the subtle change in her.
"Azhi?"
Jiang Zhi snapped back to her senses instantly.
The next second, the surge of spiritual power within her receded like a tide, and her spiritual pool steadily returned to its original state.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes..."
The annoying sound rang out again.
Jiang Zhi's heart skipped a beat—did this mean he would help?
Realizing this, she hesitated for a moment.
If it could really boost her strength like it did just now, it wouldn't be so bad to take a gamble.
Jiang Shu waited a moment, but didn't get a reply from Jiang Zhi. He became a little anxious. "A-Zhi, what's wrong? You don't look well."
Seeing her brother's worried expression, Jiang Zhi didn't know how to explain it to him.
The seed's abilities are too incredible; if she told her brother, he'd probably think she was talking nonsense.
She checked the time; it was already 1:55 PM.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Zhi made a decision.
"Brother, I'm going to venture deeper into the southwest. You wait for me outside the cave."
Jiang Shu exclaimed in surprise, "Are you crazy?! Aren't there lots of mid-to-high-level mutated plants over there? It's too risky for you to go alone!"
After considering for a moment, Jiang Zhi said, "Brother, I have something that can double my strength. The thing in the southwest direction might only appear once. If I miss it, I won't have another chance..."
Jiang Shu firmly disagreed, "No, no, what's more precious than life? Listen to me, stop now and get out of here! If you really want it, we can find some help later—"
Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly felt his feet sink.
No.
It wasn't just the ground beneath their feet that was sinking; the entire ground was slumping.
Immediately afterwards, the forest began to shake violently.
The surrounding tree trunks were shaken so violently that they left afterimages.
The lingering stench of putrid fungi mixed with the rising dust hit me as if the ground beneath my feet was about to crack open into an abyss.
At that moment, a piercing alarm sounded from the dashboard, and the red light flashed wildly: "High-level mutated creature detected—Air Sac Hydroid! Evacuate immediately! Evacuate immediately!"
Jiang Zhixin felt a chill.
—It's here!!
A super-high-level mutated creature!
This time, the entire dashboard area was flashing a red warning light.
It's not just a few scattered warning points, but the entire interface!
Jiang Zhi held her breath and immediately focused two-thirds of her mental energy on Jiang Shu.
Her gaze swept rapidly around her, her heart pounding in her chest.
Where?
Where exactly is that thing hidden?
The thought had barely formed when the ground suddenly tilted violently, and the entire forest was violently flung around like a giant blanket.
All the trees instantly bent into terrifying arcs, and soil mixed with broken branches fell down. Jiang Zhi only had time to grab Jiang Shu's arm before the two of them were involuntarily thrown into the air, two or three hundred meters high.
The feeling of weightlessness erupted instantly.
Jiang Zhi strained to open her eyes in mid-air, her gaze passing through various swirling, mutated plants.
Upon seeing the colossal creature beneath the entire forest, my blood suddenly froze.
Below, what they thought was the ground was slowly unfolding, revealing a chilling full view—
It was a giant, sac-like creature that was translucent all over, about the size of half a forest.
Its enormous body was hidden in the lake that Jiangzhi had seen before.
The entire lake seemed to be just the right size of its nest.
The monster's neck alone was five or six stories high, and its huge head was covered with fine, pale purple blood vessels that rose and fell slightly with its breathing, like a giant water bag that had been inflated.
However, what's most shocking is its tongue, which hangs down below and is twice the size of its body—
Above their tongues was the entire forest where they had just been standing!
Realizing this, Jiang Zhi felt a sudden chill run down her spine.
It turns out that what they were standing on was never the earth.
They were standing on the tongue of a super-high-level mutated creature!
At this moment, they were like two tiny ants, tossed about a hundred meters into the air.
That's how we got the chance to see the full shape of the hydroid's tongue.
The dark brown tongue was covered with wrinkles, and every groove was filled with humus. The towering trees were nothing more than parasitic plants growing on the tongue's hairs, and now they were swaying precariously as the tongue moved.
The monster had no obvious facial features, but a ring-shaped mouth was split open in the center of its body.
At this moment, the enormous tongue is slowly rolling into the mouth, and the layers of white teeth inside are opening and closing methodically.
Jiang Zhi's expression changed drastically upon seeing this—
Oh no!
It's chewing and swallowing the mutated plant growing on its tongue!
Jiang Shu coughed a few times from the wind blowing in mid-air. When he finally steadied his vision and saw what was below, he froze instantly, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinpoints.
"Th-that is..."
His voice trembled, his gaze fixed on the slowly rolling giant tongue and ring-shaped mouthparts. He saw the familiar trees being dragged little by little towards the teeth as the tongue folded. A chill ran through him, and his stomach churned.
“Ah Zhi… now, what…” He couldn’t finish his sentence, his lips trembling.
A large tree, also suspended in mid-air, brushed past his shoulder.
Jiang Shu subconsciously pulled Jiang Zhi behind him, even though the two were still suspended in mid-air and the action was meaningless, he still did it.
The two were about to fall into the giant creature's mouth.
"It...it's going to devour the whole forest!" Ginger Tree, disregarding its fear, shouted to Ginger Branch, "A-Zhi, we have to get down here quickly! No, we have to run!"
As soon as Jiang Shu uttered his voice, he was swept into the air by the hurricane created by the hydra curling its tongue.
Looking at the constantly opening and closing toothed plate below, Jiang Shu couldn't help but shut his mouth.
Run? Where to run?
Below them was the "tongue" being rolled towards the mouthparts, surrounded by swirling and churning air currents. They had no other choice but to become food for this behemoth!
At that moment, Jiang Zhi's heart pounded wildly in her chest, and the feeling of weightlessness made her dizzy, but her mind was unusually clear.
We can't fall behind!
We absolutely cannot let things continue to decline as they are now!
She stared intently at the approaching mouthpiece, channeling all her mental energy to envelop herself.
At the same time, it frantically urged the white seed in the mental pool.
quick!
Hurry up!
Just as the two of them fell into the monster's mouth together as the hydra's tongue retracted, Jiang Zhi's mental pool suddenly erupted, and a surge of scalding energy rushed out like magma.
Without a second thought, Jiangzhi instantly enveloped herself and the ginger tree with all the spiritual power given to her by the seed.
The protective shield of the tortoise shell also spread out instantly.
Two barriers kept out the howling winds and flying fragments of mutated plants.
Immediately afterwards, the brother and sister fell violently into the hydra's mouthparts.
The densely packed teeth made a crunching sound when they touched the protective shield.
The tortoise shell cracked instantly due to the immense force of the bite.
The next second, they and the surrounding mutated plants were swallowed up by that abyss-like maw.
In a dizzying moment, the two of them crashed heavily into a slippery, warm darkness.
All around were constantly writhing flesh walls.
It had a nauseating, fishy-sweet smell.
Countless fragments of mutated plants, broken branches and leaves, and other random things were swept up and tumbled and collided in the murky gastric juices.
They were like being thrown into a high-speed washing machine, tossed and slammed around with the violent contractions of their stomach walls, sometimes submerged in viscous liquid, sometimes tossed high into the air, and then slammed heavily onto the slippery flesh.
Jiang Shu covered his mouth tightly, his face turning bright red.
"No—glug...no, glug...I, I'm going to throw up...glug..."
His voice was distorted beyond recognition by the frantic churning inside his stomach.
His body jolted violently as his stomach walls spasmed, and the nausea felt like a hand that was about to rip his intestines out.
Ginger twigs are also not feeling well.
However, due to her brief surge in strength, Jiang Zhi was in much better condition than her brother.
Other mutated plants were completely corroded the moment they came into contact with the hydra's gastric juices.
In this situation, she actually felt relieved—
At least they are still alive, proving that the power given by the seeds is enough for them to protect themselves.
After an unknown amount of time, the violent churning finally stopped.
The surrounding flesh walls stopped contracting wildly, and the turbid mucus gradually subsided, leaving only slow and regular peristalsis.
The entire stomach was eerily quiet, with only the fleshy walls rising and falling slightly.
After a long pause, Jiang Shu was finally able to speak.
He whispered, "Ah, Ah Zhi, we won't get dragged out with this guy's poop, will we—"
In the end, Jiang Shu couldn't hold back and spat out a mouthful of bile.
Jiang Zhi:......
That's quite possible.
She frowned and didn't say anything.
Now that her stomach had calmed down for the time being, she forced herself to suppress the discomfort in her throat and tried to sort out the situation.
The super-high-level mutated creature must refer to this air sac hydra.
But what about the purple-gold items? We still haven't heard any notifications from the dashboard.
Furthermore, what exactly do the seeds in one's own mental pool desire?
Could it be that purple-gold item?
Thinking of this, Jiang Zhi couldn't help but ask the vanished seed in the mental pool, "Hey, do you have any way to get us out?"
The seed seemed to fall silent, offering no response whatsoever.
Jiang Zhi pursed her lips.
Forget it, at this point it's better to rely on yourself than to ask others for help.
She closed her eyes and cautiously extended her spiritual energy.
The peristalsis of the entire flesh wall was accompanied by a rhythmic tremor.
The enormous creature appeared to be digesting itself, its body completely still.
After an unknown amount of time, the ring-shaped mouthparts in the center of the hydra suddenly opened slowly.
The giant tongue that had once supported the entire forest stretched out again, spreading wetly across the barren ground.
Just as the ginger twig was trying to break through the hydra's stomach wall from the inside.
Sudden.
The mutated plant remains in the stomach, corroded into a paste by gastric juices, seemed to be drawn together by an invisible force, converging towards the center at a visible speed.
Before the brother and sister could react, the hydra's entire stomach began to contract violently, and a powerful repulsive force surged in from all directions.
Jiang Zhi felt a blur before her eyes, and the mostly digested mucus in her stomach, along with the two of them, was violently ejected towards their mouths by a tremendous force.
at the same time.
The dashboard emitted a familiar notification: "Beep—Golden item detected, Dewdrop of the Airbag Hydra."
The two were ejected by the immense force and slammed heavily onto the slippery tongue of the hydra.
Jiang Zhi raised the protective shield, which cushioned most of the impact. When she looked up, she saw another shocking scene.
—The wrinkles on the tongue are slowly unfolding, revealing the soil that is deeply embedded in them.
As the soil rolled on the tongue, it gradually piled up again, forming the rudimentary shape of land.
The liquid that had been sprayed out along with them and digested into essence has now condensed into glistening green dewdrops.
They traced delicate arcs in mid-air, like a fishy rain, pattering onto the tongue.
The plant seeds that were originally embedded in the crevices of the tongue seemed to be instantly infused with life when they touched these dewdrops.
Jiang Zhi could clearly see that the shriveled seeds quickly swelled up, cracked open, and then rushed to break through the moist soil, sprouting out in unison.
In just a short while, the once bare tongue was covered with tiny specks of new green.
Like a miniature spring suddenly blooming on this eerie tongue, it is both vibrant and strangely unsettling.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com