Chapter 69
After exiting the toll station, a scene of utter chaos unfolded before my eyes.
The fields on both sides of the highway are completely abandoned.
Weeds filled the farmland and even swallowed up the furrows.
On the contrary, the middle road retains enough space for vehicles to drive.
Lin Yuan checked the time; it was already 7 p.m.
Although it was still barely dawn, going into the city at this time was not a wise choice.
Huang Xianming got out of the car and came to the window: "Captain Lin, are we going to spend the night here tonight?"
Lin Yuan calmly scanned the surrounding area with his mental power, but found no lurking mutated creatures. He then said, "Let's set up camp here."
Huang Xianming saluted and then dismissed the soldiers.
Jiang Shu immediately used his ability to scan the area, and was stunned when he saw a garden three kilometers away from them.
Luo Yonghui: "What? Is there danger?"
Jiang Shu lowered his voice and said, "Uncle Luo, there's a strawberry field over there. I see it, it's full of strawberries!"
Although he couldn't completely cover the strawberry field with his abilities, judging from the entrance, the field was definitely not small.
Even though Luo Yonghui had seen many good things, he couldn't help but be delighted upon hearing this.
One of their missions was to transport grapes for trade with the southern base.
If we could add some strawberries, it might even make a difference.
Even if we don't trade these strawberries, it would still be a good thing to collect them and share them with our brothers and sisters.
Luo Yonghui suppressed his agitation and nodded, "Okay, I understand. Follow my instructions."
Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, Jiang Shu moved closer to Jiang Zhi.
"Ah Zhi, let's pick more strawberries later."
Perhaps this harvest will be no less than that of the previous vineyards.
Most importantly, this time they have a spacecraft that can hold a lot of things.
Jiang Zhi gave her brother a thumbs up and whispered, "Brother, you're doing great! You're getting more and more skilled at using this ability."
Jiang Shu chuckled. "From now on, I'll take care of the more remote areas."
Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "Alright, I'll leave it all to you!"
In fact, the range of the Jiangzhi dashboard can cover 1.5 kilometers, but this range encountered a bottleneck more than a month ago.
She instinctively felt that she needed to absorb some energy related to mental power in order to break through her limits.
I'll take this opportunity to search for some special items that are beneficial to mental strength on the road.
After everyone had set up their camp, Luo Yonghui reported to Lin Yuan, "Team Leader Lin, our team would like to request an hour to collect supplies."
Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look over.
The mutants in Gu Kaizhi's team, in particular, were somewhat disdainful.
What good things are available nearby?
Luo Yonghui remained unfazed—"Hmph, what do these people know?"
Once their team brings back the mutated strawberry, they'll regret it to death!
Individual search activities that do not interfere with the task are permitted.
Lin Yuan didn't say anything, but nodded in agreement.
Luo Yonghui turned to Jiang Shan and asked, "Professor Jiang, would you like to come along?"
Jiang Shan glanced at his children whispering not far away and sighed inwardly, "I'm too old to get involved in your young people's affairs."
Jiang Shan was worried about the brother and sister, but as an ordinary person, he would only be a hindrance if he went with them, so he stayed by Lin Yuan's side to put their minds at ease.
Professor Ning glanced at them, perhaps thinking that Luo Yonghui's team was neglecting their duties, and said in an unfriendly tone: "Although the base allows you to collect and find resources on your own, that is on the premise of not interfering with the main business. I hope you will not interfere with the main business."
Luo Yonghui smiled and said, "Professor Ning, don't worry, it won't exceed the time limit."
Professor Ning snorted, "You can't get hurt either!"
The loss of mutants diminishes the overall combat effectiveness, and Professor Ning felt an urge to curse the leaders of the base who implemented this policy whenever he thought about it.
Luo Yonghui cursed inwardly.
He spoke as if he were injured.
But he still smiled and said, "I understand, Professor Ning."
After Luo Yonghui and his team drove away from everyone's sight, Gu Kaizhi frowned.
*
After Luo Yonghui and his group drove away from the tollbooth, Hu Yang asked nervously, "Boss, Professor Ning seemed really unhappy about us coming out like this? Did we offend him?"
Wu Bing said nonchalantly, "What's there to be afraid of? Doesn't the base allow our mutant team to search for supplies? We're just following the rules and regulations. Even if he's unhappy, there's nothing he can do."
Chen Shaoting also said with a smile, "Yang Zi, you came late and don't know. The base gives us so much freedom in order to win over the mutants. This is a benefit of the exploration team. Otherwise, wouldn't it be better for everyone to join the army?"
Hu Yang thought this made sense. "So, boss, where do we go find resources now?"
Luo Yonghui laughed and said, "Jiang Shu found a strawberry farm. Since we have some free time, let's go take a look."
Wu Bing thought he had misheard: "What?! Boss! You mean that kid Jiang found a strawberry farm over there?!"
Jiang Zhi calmly thought: Luckily we're in the car with soundproofing, otherwise Wu Bing's voice would be terrible in the wilderness.
Luo Yonghui laughed and said, "That's right. If we have a good harvest over there, we can make a fortune this time."
"Big Tree, you're amazing!" Hu Yang exclaimed excitedly. "I've been buying that long whip from the base shop. If I get enough this time, my wish will come true!"
Chen Shaoting: "Jiang Shu, what do the mutated strawberries look like? Are they as big as a soccer ball?"
Jiang Shu nodded repeatedly, "Pretty much, and it looks very pretty, so it should taste good too."
The strawberry farm was built next to a secondary fork in the road.
The lamplight cleaved through the twilight, illuminating the wildly growing weeds along the road.
The wild grass growing on the road rustled against the undercarriage of the car, and the tires rolled over the collapsed asphalt potholes, making the steering wheel tremble.
After exiting the toll station, the car turned right and drove for two kilometers along the bumpy asphalt road, passing a nearly collapsed concrete bridge along the way.
As the group chatted, the closer they got to the strawberry farm, the sweet aroma of strawberries filled the air.
Jiang Zhi immediately sensed something was wrong.
—How come such a strong smell didn't attract any other mutated creatures?
This does not conform to the laws of nature.
Luo Yonghui and his group also thought of this problem.
"Old Wu, slow down."
The car's speed gradually decreased.
Having learned his lesson the hard way, Luo Yonghui was much more cautious this time.
He stopped the vehicle: "Park the car here, grab your gear, and we'll walk over."
After everyone got out of the car, the aroma became even stronger.
At this point, the strawberry field had entered Jiangzhi's sensing range.
All the indicator dots are green.
Jiang Zhi frowned: Could she be mistaken?
The group arrived at the entrance of the strawberry farm.
Outside the nearly weathered greenhouse, a faded red banner reading "Strawberry Picking" hangs crookedly, next to a wooden frame with a rusty bell tied to it, which jingles loudly in the wind.
By then it was completely dark.
Chen Shaoting took out several pairs of night vision goggles from her backpack.
Jiang Shu refused, offering one set to each person.
His ability would have allowed him to see perfectly even at night.
Jiang Zhi put on her glasses, and it was as if a layer of blue-green plastic film covered her eyes, making the surrounding darkness suddenly become three-dimensional.
She took a moment to adjust before looking at the strawberry field.
Looking inside from the outside, the entire strawberry farm covers an area of over a thousand square meters.
The ripe strawberries bulged with round bellies, each one looking incredibly fresh and juicy, and the air was filled with a strong sweet aroma.
The smell, if inhaled for too long, can even give you a feeling of being drunk.
Wu Bing whispered, "Boss, don't you guys think this smells amazing, like wine?"
These words sent a chill down everyone's spine.
Luo Yonghui cautioned, "These strawberries might erode your mental strength, so don't be careless."
If that's the case, these strawberries are not only inedible, but could also be poison to them.
Everyone became even more cautious.
The mutated strawberries are so large that they crowd the spaces between the rows, leaving no room to even step.
On the contrary, the strawberry branches and leaves were almost the same as before the mutation. The large strawberries drooped to the ground, their bright red skins covered with dense seeds, making the stems and leaves look wilted and droopy, like a top-heavy, big-headed doll. It looked bizarre no matter how you looked at it.
Beneath the strawberry stems and leaves, one can still vaguely see plastic sheeting that has been almost completely destroyed by the sun.
Yan Liang, as the vanguard, stepped into the strawberry field first.
The moment his right foot stepped inside, countless notification sounds blared in Jiang Zhi's mind:
"Beep—Variant Level 2 organism Venus flytrap detected. Watch your step."
"Beep—Variant Level 2 organism Venus flytrap detected. Watch your step."
"Beep—Variant Level 2 organism Venus flytrap detected. Watch your step."
...
The dense, continuous sound sent chills down my spine instantly.
Jiang Zhi blurted out:
"Brother Yanliang—come back quickly!!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a mutated creature resembling a bear trap suddenly sprang out from under the mutated strawberry plant closest to Yan Liang and opened its mouth to bite Yan Liang's calf.
All of this happened too fast.
Jiang Zhi's reminder was timely; although Yan Liang reacted quickly, his calf was still cut open.
Even though Yan Liang was used to being injured, he couldn't help but feel fortunate to have escaped a calamity when he saw the bite force of this mutated creature.
If you were bitten, your leg might even be bitten off.
Only then did everyone get a clear look at the mutated creature.
It's a mutated Venus flytrap!
The two leaves are like a large clamp, with a row of sharp teeth along the edge.
—They are real teeth.
The mutated Venus flytrap appears to have evolved in an animalistic direction.
Those two rows of teeth were as sharp as a great white shark's.
This time, the Venus flytrap failed to catch its prey, and unwillingly swayed left and right in the air, searching for a while before slowly sinking into the ground.
To everyone's surprise, the Venus flytrap and the strawberry had actually combined to form a new species!
On one side is the Venus flytrap hidden underground, and on the other side is the sweet strawberry that lures its prey into a trap.
These two combined are a perfect match.
Chen Shaoting murmured, "This world has gone mad."
For a moment, no one knew what to say.
If even the Venus flytrap, which originally grows on the ground, can bury itself underground to continue surviving, what else is impossible?
Yan Liang took out some medicinal powder from his bag, sprinkled it on his injured leg, bandaged the wound, and then stood up to thank Jiang Zhi, saying, "Thank you for earlier."
Jiang Zhi was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, "You're too kind."
Luo Yonghui looked at Jiang Zhi thoughtfully—this girl seemed to be very perceptive when it came to danger.
Jiang Zhi stopped hiding her feelings and said frankly, "My sixth sense has always been pretty accurate."
Wu Bing gave her a thumbs up: "Not bad, girl! You've been a big help."
Hu Yang had never seen anything like this before and was a little timid. "Captain, should we still go in?"
Luo Yonghui did not answer, seemingly pondering his next move.
In fact, these fly-catching strawberries pose little threat to them.
These things won't attack them unless they step into the garden.
The danger is not great.
Jiang Shu was a little embarrassed.
"It's all my fault, I told you without seeing it clearly."
Luo Yonghui waved his hand: "It's not your fault. This mutated Venus flytrap only appears when its prey steps in."
While the group was still discussing, Jiang Zhi seemed a little uneasy.
—There's something wrong with her dashboard.
So many mutated creatures that can attack, yet the dashboard doesn't show them.
Only alert them when these things are preparing to attack...
This puzzled Jiang Zhi.
The terrain dashboard is arguably her secret weapon.
It has never made a mistake in all these years, but this time it has "gone on strike"...
Jiang Zhi looked back at the strawberry field.
Strawberries of all sizes filled the field of vision.
Jiang Zhi frowned, about to look away, when suddenly she thought of something—
wrong!
There was nothing wrong with her dashboard.
The problem is with this strawberry farm!
Jiang Zhi immediately checked her mental energy pool and quickly discovered that there was a black dot the size of a mosquito hidden inside!
Without a second thought, Jiang Zhi used her spiritual power to submerge the black spots.
Jiang Shu: "Azhi, what are you thinking about?"
Jiangzhi didn't bother to explain and blew several bubbles over everyone's heads.
When everyone first witnessed Jiang Zhi's extraordinary abilities, they were all taken aback.
Chen Shaoting asked instinctively, "Jiang Zhi, what's going on?"
Jiang Zhi took a deep breath. "Do you guys feel a little foggy-headed?"
The group hadn't thought of it at first, but Jiang Zhi's reminder made them realize it immediately.
Luo Yonghui quickly figured out the crux of the matter, and his face turned somewhat grim. "Jiang girl, do you mean we've been tricked?"
Jiang Zhi nodded: "Our mental energy has probably been contaminated, and our five senses have been affected. To be precise, our vision and mental perception have been affected."
After discovering the problem, Jiang Zhi immediately examined her spiritual energy and found that there were some particles in her spiritual energy pool that would not be noticed without careful sensing.
Judging by its shape... it looks a bit like the seeds on the surface of a strawberry.
This thing can not only block and tamper with the prey's vision, but also block mental perception.
If the dashboard hadn't promptly alerted her, she probably wouldn't have noticed the problem.
Upon discovering the anomaly, when the strawberry field was sensed again, the situation was indeed different from before.
The ground was covered in a dense mass of red, with a bright gold dot and seven or eight colorful markers in the very center.
Jiang Zhi was overjoyed.
Indeed, risks and opportunities coexist.
There are many good things in this strawberry farm.
Upon hearing Jiang Zhi's words, Chen Shaoting sensed the unusual situation and indeed discovered it.
Everyone broke out in a cold sweat.
Hu Yang was somewhat panicked: "Boss, it seems like my mental energy has been attached to something, a lot of it, about the size of a key."
Wu Bing said with a stern face: "Me too, mine is about the size of my little finger."
Chen Shaoting and Yan Liang didn't say anything, but their expressions were not good.
Needless to say, the two of them encountered the same situation.
Jiang Zhi frowned. It seemed that the attack of this mutated strawberry would vary in severity depending on the strength of the mutant's mental power.
She quickly asked Jiang Shu, "Brother, can you check if there's anything unusual in your mental pool?"
Jiang Shu obediently examined it and said with a bitter face, "Yes, it's about the size of an ant."
Luo Yonghui had the strongest mental strength among them, and he was the least affected.
But he felt ashamed that his team members got into trouble right under his nose and he, as the team leader, was completely unaware.
"It's my fault for not noticing it in time," Luo Yonghui said. "This thing's attack ability is too stealthy. We have to eliminate it quickly, or we'll all be in trouble."
To remove the contaminants that have entered the mental pool, the source must be eliminated as soon as possible. Otherwise, if too much time passes, even the most powerful mutants will not escape death.
As Luo Yonghui spoke, he released a small-scale lightning bolt, turning a patch of mutated strawberries that was more than ten meters away from them into ashes.
After cursing under his breath, Wu Bing also threw out several metal shards, cutting the mutated strawberry in front of him into pieces.
Wu Bing is actually a metal-elemental superhuman!
Watching the two work together, the brother and sister felt as if their eyes had been opened again.
Everyone thought that with the two captains joining forces, they could wipe out the entire strawberry field, but an unexpected and shocking scene unfolded—
The mutated strawberry, which had turned to ash, instantly grew back to its original form.
Jiang Shu's eyes widened: "This..."
The attack was ineffective?
Jiang Zhi reacted immediately: "Uncle Luo! We have to kill that mutated strawberry that can use mental attacks!"
Luo Yonghui quickly realized what was happening.
He immediately said, "Jiang Shu, find out which one looks unusual."
Not wanting to waste time, Jiang Zhi said directly, "The strawberry in the very center that isn't fully ripe yet is it!"
Without the interference of the mutated strawberry, her dashboard display was perfectly clear.
That mutated strawberry was not only powerful, but also a special gold item.
"Beep—Special golden item detected: a slender fruit of a mutated strawberry Venus flytrap. The fruit produced after planting can have varying degrees of visual and mental effects on creatures within a 500-meter radius."
Jiang Zhi guessed that this so-called impact was similar to the damage they had just suffered.
After what had just happened, Luo Yonghui trusted Jiang Zhi completely. He assessed the distance and frowned, saying, "No, releasing superpowers from a distance won't be accurate."
To put it bluntly, it's because the range of mental power isn't far enough.
This is also a drawback of natural attribute abilities.
At this point, Chen Shaoting suggested, "Let Jiang Shu help us take a look."
Luo Yonghui: "Great idea!"
He turned to Jiang Shu and said, "Young Jiang, you have good eyesight, locate that strawberry for us."
Jiang Shu gave an "OK" sign.
Then Luo Yonghui tentatively sent down a bolt of lightning.
Due to the distance, it deviated by about 3 meters.
Jiang Shu could see it clearly.
"Uncle Luo, move another three meters to the right front. Be quick. Your attack just now caused a lot of new mutant plants to grow around here. I guess they're trying to protect that mutant strawberry from the disaster."
Luo Yonghui nodded: "Okay."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Luo Yonghui's superpower struck down!
With a loud "boom," Luo Yonghui's lightning power struck the mutated strawberry that was red with a hint of green.
The speed at which the superpowers are unleashed, combined with the powerful destructive force of lightning, creates an aura of world-destroying power.
Jiang Zhi opened her mouth, wanting Luo Yonghui to be gentler, but it was too late.
The mutated strawberry turned to ash, and even the Venus flytrap underground was blasted into dust.
At the same time, all the strawberries in the entire strawberry field, which were originally bright and vibrant, deflated in an instant, like balloons that had been punctured.
Yan Liang took out his weapon and tentatively poked the plant in front of him.
There was no reaction.
Hu Yang said happily, "That's great, we've finally solved this problem."
The others also relaxed slightly.
Luo Yonghui patted Jiang Shu on the shoulder: "Kid, well done!"
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