Chapter 21
Could it be that this cave has a passageway?
Jiang Zhi glanced at Jiang Shu and Jiang Wen, who were dozing off, silently greeted Xu Na, and then walked deeper into the cave.
She had a flashlight, but she wasn't afraid of the dark.
Xu Na assumed she wanted to use the restroom, so she didn't stop her.
Jiang Zhi walked several dozen meters further in, and after sensing a red warning point more than 400 meters away from her, her heart skipped a beat.
Just then, that faint, cool breeze blew over again.
Jiang Zhi faintly smelled a fishy odor and heard a hissing sound.
She suddenly realized something, her body stiffened, and cold sweat dripped from her forehead.
—Could that red dot be a mutated snake?
Jiang Zhi held her breath and backed away little by little. Only after finding that the warning red dot had not moved did she slowly breathe a sigh of relief.
fine.
The mutated creature was not alerted.
Just as she lifted her foot to turn back, the mutated creature suddenly began to slowly move deeper into the cave.
Jiang Zhi was stunned.
Is this cave really that deep?
Could it be that... there are other exits here?
She hesitated for a few seconds, and seeing that the mutated creature was about to break free from the instrument panel's sensors, Jiang Zhi gritted her teeth and decided to follow.
She moved very slowly, always keeping a distance of four or five hundred meters from the mutated creature, keeping her body tense while observing the surrounding terrain, ready to escape at any moment.
After advancing about a hundred meters, the mutated creature suddenly disappeared from the terrain dashboard.
Jiang Zhixin's heart skipped a beat. She sensed her surroundings from all sides, but still couldn't find any trace of the mutated creature.
Should we go take a look?
The ginger twigs became tangled.
There are two little voices in my heart, having a fierce internal struggle.
On the one hand, they knew that their actions were flirting with death and were simply courting death; on the other hand, they couldn't help but want to explore what lay ahead.
Jiang Zhi stood there for a while, but in the end, curiosity won out, and she simply lifted her foot and continued walking forward.
They hadn't gone far when a glimmer of light appeared ahead.
Jiang Zhi was secretly delighted.
Just as she had guessed—this cave had other exits.
Continue walking forward, and you'll find a narrow path that's two meters long.
Jiang Zhi investigated for a moment with suspicion, and soon realized why the mutated creature hadn't gone to the No. 3 collection area to harass humans.
Even someone as small as Jiang Zhi could barely squeeze through by turning sideways; that mutated creature was quite large and probably wouldn't be able to pass through this secluded path.
When they arrived at the place where the mutated creatures had disappeared, their vision had become completely bright.
What comes into view is a tranquil lake that exudes an eerie atmosphere.
The cave exit connects to the edge of the lake.
Jiang Zhi looked down and saw that the lake water at her feet was a deep green, so deep that she couldn't see the bottom. Occasionally, a few ripples appeared, as if some unknown creatures were swimming in the water.
Countless mutated plants grow densely all around the lake shore.
On the distant shore, towering plants reach for the sky, their trunks twisted and coiled.
Some plants have broad, thick leaves, taller than a person, covered with sharp thorns that gleam coldly in the dim light. Other vines intertwine and spread wildly across the ground; Jiang Zhi could even see the vines twisting and turning as if they possessed their own consciousness.
Deep in the forest, you can also see some plants with enormous flowers, their petals layered upon each other.
At the edge where lakes and plants intertwine, the aquatic mutant plants are even more peculiar. They take root in the lake bottom, with slender stems emerging from the water surface, and unknown vesicles hanging from their tips. Some of these vesicles sway gently and may burst at any moment, releasing unknown substances.
This unexplored place has an inexplicable eeriness to it.
Jiang Zhi sensed for a moment, then her eyes lit up. Within just a few hundred meters of the terrain dashboard, she spotted two golden markers.
However, there are also quite a few red alert locations, which are enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Jiang Zhi suppressed her restless heart and retreated back into the cave.
She took one last look at the world outside the cave and took a deep breath.
This place is not within her reach at the moment; she should wait until she is stronger before exploring it.
Just as she was about to lift her foot, she suddenly noticed a dim golden symbol appearing where the mutated creature had been.
Jiang Zhi was taken aback; she hadn't even noticed.
Jiang Zhi knew she shouldn't be greedy.
But—since we're already here…
Under the intense temptation, Jiang Zhi couldn't help but turn around and walk over.
That was clearly the nest of mutated creatures.
You can smell a fishy stench even from a distance.
Jiang Zhi glanced back at the situation outside the cave and, seeing that the mutated creature showed no signs of returning, quickly went inside.
The cave entrance alone is more than two people high, dark and seemingly leading to an abyss, surrounded by jagged rocks.
Jiang Zhiguang felt like she was going to faint from the stench just by standing there.
As soon as you step inside, a damp, putrid smell hits you.
The empty cavern stretched endlessly into the depths, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling like the fangs of a giant beast, and jagged protrusions on the ground resembling eerie reefs, creating a dark and chilling atmosphere.
Just by looking at the size of the nest, one can guess the size of the mutated creature; its length is probably no less than ten meters.
The area in front of the central boulder was covered with rotten, damp leaves, and the remains of prey lay nearby.
Jiang Zhi carefully avoided the bones, covered her nose, picked up a twig, and dug around at the golden marker.
There was nothing on the ground except a few palm-sized yellow leaves.
Jiang Zhi frowned.
That's unlikely...
Since the advent of the terrain dashboard, it has never made a mistake.
She sensed it again, and the dim golden symbol was still there, firmly in place.
Since there's no error, there's only one possibility—
These leaves are the golden markers.
Upon closer inspection, the ginger branch revealed several leaves shaped like palm fans, with sharp, serrated edges and a strange fluorescence flowing between the veins. The surface of the leaves shimmered with a warm, gentle light, and the veins appeared as if outlined by golden threads, clear yet mysterious.
If you bring the ginger branch closer to smell it, you can smell its faint, rich aroma.
Then, a cool sensation instantly seeped into my heart, and in an instant, all the fatigue in my body seemed to be dispelled with a single click.
If there were any doubts before, after smelling them, Jiang Zhi was certain that these leaves were no ordinary things.
Although I don't know what it does, it's definitely a good thing.
After quickly gathering the leaves, Jiang Zhi swept around the nest again.
Upon inadvertently spotting something crumpled like a tattered rag in a corner, Jiang Zhi's pupils constricted sharply. This was—
Snake molt!
She instinctively held her breath, and it took her a few seconds to recover.
My heart was pounding uncontrollably.
—With such a large snake molt, one can imagine how big the mutated snake must have been.
She steadied herself, tensed her body, and dared not linger any longer. She hurried away from the mutated creature's lair and returned to the other end of the cave.
Not long after they started walking back, they heard Jiang Shu and the others calling out anxiously.
"A-Zhi! A-Zhi, where are you!?"
Judging from their voices, the group clearly wanted to go further in.
Jiang Zhi quickly replied, "I'm here!"
Hearing Jiang Zhi respond, the group visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Shu trotted over, and seeing that Jiang Zhi was all intact, he scolded with a sour face, "You brat, where did you run off to? Did you scare us to death?"
Jiang Zhi quickly smiled apologetically, "Brother, I'm so sorry. I just went to the restroom, but I didn't expect it to be so deep inside, and I got lost."
Xu Na asked anxiously, "You weren't in any danger, were you?"
Jiang Zhi opened her mouth, but finally smiled and said, "No, I didn't make you worry."
As her thoughts raced, Jiang Zhi decided to temporarily conceal the fact that there was another world outside the cave.
The mutated snake couldn't get through due to the narrow terrain, but Jiang Zhi took the good stuff from the mutated snake's nest, and it might go berserk at any time.
Although it's uncertain whether the mutated snake can crawl through, there is still a risk.
Jiang Zhi made up a reason: "Second Brother, this cave is very deep, and there might be snakes or insects hiding there. Let's not come here again in the future."
Jiang Wen nodded quickly: "Okay, I'll listen to you."
Jiang Shu was still feeling a bit scared, and he continued to complain, "Azhi, you should at least tell us before you go far away in the future. I really thought you had encountered a snake just now."
Jiang Zhi laughed awkwardly, "Well, it's just that we encountered a snake."
Xu Na chided, "I originally thought you were going to university, but the more I thought about it, the more worried I became, so I woke Awen and the others up."
Now that they had found the person, the group stopped lecturing him.
Jiang Shu said, "Alright, the temperature outside has dropped. Let's catch more cotton aphids and head home early today."
The four of them left the cave and continued to work together to catch cotton aphids several more times.
I don't know if it was because of the scorching sun, but the winning rate dropped a lot in the afternoon. A whole Oxford cloth bag only yielded 20 or 30 kilograms of goods, and there wasn't even a single cotton aphid with low levels of toxins.
Jiang Shu was greatly disappointed. "Could it be that we've run out of good luck?"
Jiang Wen comforted him, saying, "We collected quite a lot this morning. Anyway, it's almost time to go back now, and we'll come back to check again tomorrow morning."
However, Jiang Wen believes that more people will come to catch cotton aphids tomorrow.
Although they had tried to avoid other people, their movements were so large that quite a few people saw them.
Jiang Zhi and her brother had no objection to this; now that they were carrying a "precious treasure," it was certainly better for them to leave as soon as possible.
Xu Na hadn't been out collecting samples for a long time. Although she had rested for a noon, her physical strength had reached its limit, and she agreed to go back as soon as possible.
After deciding to go back, Jiang Shu and Jiang Wen packed all the day's harvest onto the cart.
Putting everything else aside, catching over a hundred kilograms of cotton aphids is already considered a bumper harvest.
On the way back, Jiang Shu and Jiang Wen, two grown men, took turns pushing the cart, and couldn't help but think about how they would enjoy these cotton aphids that night.
Xu Na exclaimed, "This is the first time I've had such a success; it feels like I've hit the jackpot."
Jiang Wen laughed and said, "Me too. When I went out with friends before, we would either encounter some annoying mutant insects or mutant field mice in the fields. It took a lot of time to deal with these things. Every time, we were on tenterhooks, and we didn't get anything by the end of the day."
Their words made Jiang Shu smug again. "Right? With us, you definitely won't go hungry! We've got Lady Luck on our side."
Xu Na said expectantly, "I just don't know if tomorrow will be like today."
Jiang Shu patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, it will definitely work!"
Jiang Wen couldn't help but laugh.
My cousin has always been optimistic and cheerful. Life with someone like that can't be too hard.
The four of them chatted and laughed as they walked back.
The truckload of goods attracted the frequent glances of passersby.
Although the contents were covered by cloth and could not be seen, to outsiders it looked like a huge harvest!
The closer you get to the base, the more people there are on the road.
Seeing their bulging cart, someone couldn't help but ask, "Young man, what are all these things? Which gathering area did you find them in?"
As soon as the man finished speaking, Jiang Wen's face darkened. "What do you want to do? Don't you know the rules?"
Jiang Wen is usually very smooth and easy to get along with, but this time he has a stern face, which is quite intimidating.
The man was indeed startled and quickly said, "Young man, don't misunderstand. I... I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to know where I could find so much food."
Jiang Wen remained unmoved, his face cold: "We found this ourselves, and we have no obligation to tell you."
The man persisted shamelessly: "Don't be like that, young man. We're all from the same base. You wouldn't want to see everyone starve to death, would you? There are so many resources. Telling us won't hurt you. Just consider it making friends."
He spoke in a high-sounding manner, and even tried to incite the passersby around him.
Those who were already envious of the three strangers seized the opportunity to stop, saying, "Yes, yes, everyone's having a hard time these days. We just want to know where you found your food..."
"We would be grateful if you could just tell us."
Jiang Shu laughed in anger. What kind of bizarre logic was this? He pulled out his bone stick and walked over. "Hey buddy, you used to use moral blackmail like that, but what era are we living in? Who the hell wouldn't want to see you starve to death?"
The man was speechless, and just as he was about to say something more, he saw the tall girl standing next to the cart suddenly pull out a watermelon knife and swing it twice:
"Why waste words with them? They just want to steal our stuff! Let's just chop them down!"
Jiang Wen: ...After not seeing them for several years, I feel that these two siblings have become more and more ruthless.
Upon hearing this, the leader couldn't help but take a step back.
"We were just asking a question, how did that mean we stole your things?"
Jiang Zhi said calmly, "What's the difference between forcing us to reveal our address and robbing us?"
Resources are limited; the more people who know about them, the fewer resources there are left.
This is not the peaceful era of the past.
In the aftermath of the cataclysm, the principle of "might makes right" becomes even more pronounced. Just look at the base's attitude towards and treatment of the mutants, and you'll understand.
Jiang Wenqing coughed and drew his spear. "Stop surrounding us, or don't blame us for being impolite."
Before they could say anything more, someone behind them shouted, "What are you doing? What are you trying to do here?"
Upon hearing the sound, the passersby who had been gathered scattered like birds and beasts.
Jiang Zhi and the others turned their heads and saw people wearing base uniforms riding in a pre-disaster sightseeing electric four-wheeler towards them.
It's the base patrol team.
Unexpectedly, it turned out to be an old acquaintance.
Jiang Shu smiled broadly as soon as he saw the visitor.
"Brother Li, what a coincidence."
Jiang Shu shouted this sentence very loudly, as if afraid that someone would not know that he knew the patrol team.
Chen Li saw that it was Jiang Shu and his sister, and didn't mind Jiang Shu using his influence, but was a little surprised, "Why is it you two? Are you alright?"
Jiang Shu chuckled, "Thanks to Brother Li, otherwise it would be hard to say."
Chen Li smiled slightly.
This kid knows how to talk.
Judging from their posture just now, it's clear that these guys aren't afraid of anything. If a real fight breaks out, those guys will probably suffer.
He glanced at the several burlap sacks full of things on their cart, but didn't ask any further questions. "You've had quite a haul today. Be careful, though. This is base territory. Communication works. Call me if you need anything."
Jiang Shu's smile widened. "Okay, thanks, Brother Li!"
He took out a few sections of cloyingly sweet sugarcane. "These are what we found today. Li-ge, take them to quench your thirst."
Chen Li waved his hand with a smile, "No need, you guys have it tough too, keep it for yourselves. We're not some kind of swindlers, we don't need you to offer tributes to us."
As Chen Li spoke, he got into the car. "We're leaving first. You should go back home too."
He then had his colleague drive away.
After everyone left, Jiang Wen said, "Big Tree, how come you know the patrol team?"
You know, these people always seem arrogant and never interact with ordinary people like us.
Jiang Shu told Jiang Wen about selling the car, and Jiang Wen said, "You guys are really lucky. It was probably the patrol team on duty that day, and you just happened to run into them."
Generally speaking, city gate guards are a separate position, and they are not the same as patrol officers.
Jiang Shu: "Absolutely. I also feel that since I came to the base, my luck has been unstoppable."
Xu Na joked, "Then aren't we all thanks to you?"
Jiang Shu raised his head: "It's just a little bit!"
Jiang Zhi glanced at Chen Li as he walked away and said, "That guy is pretty upright."
Jiang Shu nodded in agreement, "We can continue to cooperate with him on this batch of goods today."
If they're the kind of people with ulterior motives, they won't leave unless you give them something nice, let alone sugarcane.
Jiang Wen smiled and said, "That's the good thing about Ancheng Base. There are very few people who oppress the people. Although there are class differences, there are generally no blatant bullies."
As they talked, they continued pushing the cart toward the base.
With Chen Li's presence, the journey back was surprisingly smooth, and the four of them returned to the base without much effort.
*
After the children left, Ye Qingyun and her two sisters-in-law, Wu Xiu, got busy.
Ye Qingyun plans to weave several straw mats for each family using crabgrass.
There aren't enough beds at home now. Apart from the original three air mattresses, the rest are made of wooden planks. After sleeping on them for one night, Ye Qingyun felt extremely sore in the back and waist.
It might be okay for a day or two, but in the long run, it will definitely cause problems for the person.
The mutated crabgrass grew larger and longer.
A leaf can be divided into four or five leaves, each five centimeters long.
These weeds were exchanged by Ye Qingyun with Ma Yanhong next door. They make excellent mats, and feel cool and refreshing to the touch, making them perfect for summer.
The women were all skilled at managing the household, and they quickly wove and folded the prepared crabgrass into mats.
Wu Xiu put down the cushion she had just woven and couldn't help but look into the tent again.
Her husband and son were still asleep, and she worried about them constantly.
Ye Qingyun said, "Sister-in-law, you go inside and take care of my brother and the others. We can manage things here."
Wu Xiu was a little embarrassed, "I was just worried that when they woke up, they would feel uneasy seeing themselves in an unfamiliar environment."
Yuan Ying also smiled and said, "That makes sense. Sister-in-law, you should go in and keep an eye on things."
Wu Xiu no longer refused. Jiang Hai and his son had been unconscious for a day and a night. Even if she trusted Jiang Zhi, she was still uneasy.
"Alright, I won't stand on ceremony with you then."
As Wu Xiu spoke, she stood up and walked into the tent.
At this moment, Jiang Hai and his son were lying quietly in bed.
Wu Xiu found a low stool and sat down to the side.
Seeing the father and son's faces, which were noticeably rosier, she felt a pang of sadness and couldn't help but mutter to herself, "When are you two going to wake up? Ah Zhi has fed you such precious things, why aren't you awake yet? Are you deliberately torturing us...?"
"You guys are so lazy! You've been doing all the housework for so long—you don't know how to be considerate at all..."
She murmured to herself for a while, and seeing that the father and son still didn't react, she sighed and was about to get up and leave when she saw Jiang Jun's eyelids twitch.
Wu Xiu paused.
She held her breath and stared intently at it.
But after a while, Jiang Jun remained unchanged.
Wu Xiu gave a wry smile: "It really was just an illusion."
She turned and lifted the curtain, only to hear a long-lost voice: "—Mom?"
Wu Xiu shook her body.
She didn't even dare to turn around and look.
I'm afraid it's just another illusion I'm having.
"--mom."
The voice rang out again.
Wu Xiu suddenly began to tremble uncontrollably, and tears streamed down her face.
She slowly turned around.
Then I saw that mouth, so similar to mine, was slightly curving upwards towards me.
Wu Xiu covered her mouth, unable to hold back any longer, and stumbled forward, crying out, "Ah Jun!! Damn it, Ah Jun!"
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