Chapter 45
Jiang Zhi was taken aback: "You put it away?"
"Here!" He held up a square iron box about the size of a fist. "It's inside."
Jiang Shu was a little confused: "You guys are kidding, right?"
Hu Yang said with a smile, "I'm not joking. It's also made of special minerals, similar to the mustard seed space in novels."
Jiang Zhi's heart was beating a little fast.
I never imagined that the base would actually develop something like this!
"Uncle, can I take a look?"
The man with the buzz cut looked at Luo Yonghui, and only handed the ginger branch to him after the other man nodded.
Jiang Shu couldn't help but go over and take a look.
The square iron box felt heavy in my hand; it was solid.
There is a black button on the front, which should be used as a switch.
There's nothing particularly special about it.
Jiangzhi looked at it for a long time before reluctantly returning it.
"Uncle Luo, how many points does this cost?"
The man with the buzz cut, Wu Bing, laughed heartily, "Little girl, this thing is called a space device. Even if you have points, you can't buy it. The base has a fixed number of them. We only have the right to use them. We have to hand them over when we return to the base."
Jiang Shu was also drooling over the spacecraft.
If only they had a spacecraft, it would save them so much trouble when they came out to collect data.
But for now, it's just a thought.
He asked curiously, "Was this also a technology developed by the base itself?"
Luo Yonghui admired the courage of the two young men and, upon hearing this, did not hesitate to say more.
"This is technology from the capital base, which we learned at great cost in terms of manpower and resources."
As soon as Jiang Zhi heard this, she knew it was hopeless.
Such a scarce resource should never be available to ordinary people like them.
But I still asked, "What is it made of?"
Luo Yonghui: "It's a stone with the ability to fold space. If you happen to come across it, you might be able to apply to the base to make you a space device."
Luo Yonghui made that last sentence entirely as a joke.
Jiang Zhi, however, kept it in mind.
Perhaps seeing how indulgent Luo Yonghui was towards the brother and sister, team member Yan Liang asked curiously, "Boss, who are these two kids? What are they doing here?"
"It's a friend's child." Luo Yonghui didn't say much more. "Get ready, we're heading to the Cloud Nest Giant Tree."
The team members were taken aback. "Boss, didn't you say you weren't ready and weren't going?"
Luo Yonghui smiled and pointed at Jiang Shu, "This young man has good eyesight and can be of help."
Wu Bing exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, I didn't realize you were such a handsome young man! What's your name?"
Jiang Shu shyly introduced himself and Jiang Zhi.
Hu Yang was also surprised, but then he thought about it and realized that the Jiang family was indeed lucky.
Putting everything else aside, the probability of gaining superpowers by consuming special items is about the same as winning the lottery.
Hu Yang said with a smile, "With Brother Big Tree here, things will be much easier this time."
Hu Yang is even younger than Jiang Zhi. If it weren't for his height of 1.9 meters, people would believe he was only fifteen or sixteen years old, given his baby face.
Fearing he might delay them, Jiang Shu quickly issued a disclaimer: "Let me make this clear first, my abilities won't last long. If I'm not of any help, you can't blame me..."
Upon hearing this, Luo Yonghui nodded to Hu Yang.
Hu Yang then took out a chocolate-like object from the bag and handed it over.
Jiang Shu was confused: "For me?"
Hu Yang said with a smile, "When I feel tired later, I'll eat one; it will quickly replenish my energy."
Jiang Shu exclaimed, "Wow! What wonderful thing is this?"
He was about to break off a piece and put it in his mouth when Hu Yang stopped him, saying, "You still have energy left, don't waste it."
Hu Yang: "This is a Suyuan malt cake, one piece can completely restore the mental power of a level 1 mutant."
Jiang Zhi's eyes lit up when she heard this.
He immediately fixed his gaze on the dark, round pancake in Jiang Shu's hand.
Such a small piece contains such a great deal of energy.
It's important to know that even a palm-sized piece of the low-toxin food they usually consume can only restore one-tenth of their mental strength.
Jiang Shu said, "Isn't that a faster recovery than food with low levels of toxins?"
Wu Bing laughed, "Of course, do you know how many kilograms of low-toxicity food were used to make such a small piece of cake?"
Jiang Zhi asked curiously, "How much?"
"At least 3 jin (1.5 catties)."
Jiang Shu gasped.
This stuff is truly special for mutants; they're incredibly extravagant!
Jiangzhi asked, "Can we buy them?"
Hu Yang shook his head, "This is for the mutants on the front lines. Everyone has a fixed share, and your share still belongs to the team leader."
Jiang Shu was a little disappointed, so he gave half of the palm-sized malt cake to Jiang Zhi.
Wu Bing hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Jiang Zhi knew exactly what the other person wanted to say.
I guess he felt that as an ordinary person, it would be a waste for him to eat it.
She doesn't care about any of that.
Anyway, once it's given to them, it's theirs.
While the others weren't looking, Jiangzhi secretly tasted a little. It had a strong malt flavor, wasn't sweet, and the texture wasn't very good.
After the biscuit melted on her tongue, Jiangzhi felt a warm current and then felt refreshed.
The effect...
It's much better than the dried earthworms they have.
Jiang Zhi suddenly felt a little envious.
This effect is much faster than their recovery from consuming food with low levels of toxins.
She couldn't help but ask again, "Uncle Luo, is it really impossible to buy any?"
Luo Yonghui laughed heartily, "Not exactly. Mutants can apply to purchase additional items, but the price isn't cheap."
"How many?"
"1500 points per piece."
Jiang Zhi's face darkened.
—Forget it, she doesn't deserve it.
Seeing Jiang Zhi's rapidly changing expression, the others couldn't help but laugh.
Luo Yonghui: "Alright, alright, it's getting late. Let's hurry up and finish this so we can go home early."
Jiang Zhi suddenly remembered that there was a seven-colored clue point over there.
"Wait me a moment."
After saying that, Jiang Zhi quickly ran to the location on the dashboard.
She looked around and found nothing but wild boar droppings.
Jiangzhi picked up a twig from the ground, pinched her nose, and rummaged through the feces.
The mutants all had good eyesight, and they were speechless at Jiang Zhi's actions.
Wu Bing asked Jiang Shu, "Your sister actually likes shoveling manure?"
Jiang Shugan laughed and made up a story: "We used to shovel manure, and the manure can mask our smell..."
The team's only female mutant asked suspiciously, "Why aren't you going?"
Jiang Shu retorted confidently, "With you protecting me, why would I need to go anywhere?!"
That statement was eight parts truth and two parts falsehood, and several people believed it.
Before long, Jiangzhi found a fist-sized stone in the feces.
Jiang Zhi's eyes lit up—that's it!
She quickly put it in a bag and put it in her pocket.
"Alright! Let's go!"
*
On the other end.
Ye Qingyun and the others breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving the call.
Wu Xiu said worriedly, "What a coincidence that these two children actually ran into those mutants?"
Yuan Ying: "Could it be that they're after their superpowers?"
Several elders were worried, and Jiang Wen, who was helping to cover for them, broke out in a cold sweat.
Jiang Hai frowned: "Awen, didn't you just say they were still in the cotton field? How come Captain Luo called so soon? What's going on?"
Jiang Wen never expected things to turn out this way.
Seeing that he could no longer hide it, Jiang Wen had no choice but to sacrifice himself for his friend: "Actually..."
*
Luo Yonghui's team's car was not far away; it was the SUV that Jiang Zhi and her team had sold.
Although the renovation was so fast that the original appearance was no longer visible, Jiang Shu recognized it at a glance.
I immediately felt a sense of warmth and familiarity.
The group consisted of seven people, including the brother and sister. Apart from the driver and the passenger in the front seat, there were five more crammed into the back.
Sitting next to Jiang Zhi was Chen Shaoting, a female mutant in her thirties.
She was very curious about the brother and sister: "I heard you survived outside for 3 years before? You two are amazing. What methods did you use to avoid being discovered by those mutated beasts?"
Clearly, the story of their family of four has also spread within this group.
Jiang Zhigan laughed, "We were lucky. The base was underground, and we would go out every day to find the droppings of large mutated beasts and pile them up at the entrance to cover up the smell, which is why we were never discovered by those mutated creatures."
Chen Shaoting smiled, but it was unclear whether she believed it or not.
After a while, she asked again, "What did you pick up just now?"
Jiang Zhi grinned, "A dung stone, for self-defense."
The car fell silent.
Chen Shaoting's face stiffened, and she subconsciously squeezed to the side to avoid touching the things in Jiang Zhi's pocket.
Jiang Zhi curved her lips into a smile, seemingly indicating that she had been rejected.
The good thing is, no one asked anymore.
The car started quickly.
The driver was a burly man named Wu Bing.
Chen Shaoting kindly reminded them: "You all better hold on tight—"
As soon as she finished speaking, the car shot off with a "whoosh".
Jiang Shu felt that this speed was almost comparable to that of a rocket.
Although both siblings knew that the roads in the wild were difficult to travel, the road conditions still made them feel extremely uncomfortable.
The road beneath the car looked like it had been bombed, with large potholes following small ones. When the car started moving, it was like riding a crazy roller coaster, sometimes tossed high into the air, sometimes slamming down hard. With each jolt, the car creaked and groaned, and the person inside couldn't even sit still for a moment. Their internal organs were shaking violently, and their head kept hitting the roof with a "bang." By the end of the ride, their whole body ached as if it were falling apart.
About half an hour later, the group finally arrived at their destination.
As soon as he got out of the car, Jiang Shu couldn't help but vomit.
Wu Bing lit a cigarette and chuckled.
"Not bad, it's your first time riding in my car and you didn't get dizzy, not bad at all."
Luo Yonghui glanced at Jiang Zhi, whose expression remained unchanged, and said, "Not bad."
Compared to Jiang Shu, who was vomiting uncontrollably, Jiang Zhi remained calm.
Luo Yonghui smiled and said, "Interesting."
Wu Bing's driving skills were so good that even the greenhorn Hu Yang couldn't keep up, but this girl didn't even turn pale.
Jiang Zhi had no time to pay attention to her brother; she was stunned by the scene before her.
—Before me stands a towering tree.
The tree canopy reaches straight into the clouds.
Looking up, you can only see the tree trunk; the massive canopy blocks out the sun.
The ground was twisted and crooked by the crisscrossing tree roots.
The trunk was as rough as an old tree bark covering a city wall; even a dozen strong men holding hands couldn't encircle it. It kept reaching towards the sky, its branches stretching out in all directions as if trying to tear a hole in the sky.
The wild grass under the trees either lies flat on the ground, shrouded in darkness year-round, and withered; or it grows crookedly, following the domineering tree roots. Even the wildflowers have lost their former vibrancy, with only a few scattered blooms swaying listlessly in the dense, sun-blocking shadows.
To put it simply—
The tree is about the same size and height as the former landmark building with more than 100 floors.
Jiang Shu had barely recovered when her face turned pale again upon seeing the tree. "Uncle Luo, you mean the bird eggs you mentioned, not the ones on this tree?"
Luo Yonghui gave him a look that said, "What do you think?"
Jiang Shu couldn't help but use his power to look up. The treetop was hidden in the clouds, but he could vaguely make out a huge bird's nest, which was firmly perched among the branches.
The more they looked at it, the more bitter they felt—how could Luo Yonghui and his group actually want to take something from such a colossal object?
Is this some kind of death wish?!
Jiang Zhi: "Uncle Luo, are we going upstairs later?"
Wu Bing crossed his arms and asked, "Yeah, scared?"
Jiang Zhi tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Isn't that obvious?
Although she has a little cheat code, she's not so confident that she's invincible.
She is currently just a mutant who has not yet fully evolved.
Actually, Jiang Zhi is underestimating herself.
In fact, Jiang Zhi's mental strength is probably only comparable to Captain Luo's.
Perhaps because she has a dashboard in her mind, long-term use is equivalent to repeatedly training her mental strength, so the coverage and application of her mental strength are top-notch.
But you can't tell the difference without comparing them.
Luo Yonghui: "You and Hu Yang will stay downstairs, we'll go up."
Before Jiang Zhi could say anything, Jiang Shu objected immediately, "No way! My sister and I can't be separated! If she doesn't go, I won't go either!"
Luo Yonghui's expression softened, thinking that Jiang Shu was afraid that Hu Yang wouldn't be able to protect Jiang Zhi alone down there—unexpectedly, the two siblings had a pretty good relationship.
Jiang Shu certainly couldn't say that he felt insecure without Jiang Zhi's support.
"Alright, let's go together then, but Jiangzhi, you have to stay close to us."
Jiang Zhi replied, "Okay."
Jiang Shu breathed a sigh of relief, finally having the energy to ask, "What kind of tree is this? How did it grow so big?"
“An oak tree,” Chen Shaoting said. “This used to be a national park, so there should be a very dense forest here. But this tree, for some reason, seems to have grown like this overnight.”
"It probably ate all the nutrients from the other animals of its kind, which is why it grew so big."
Jiang Shu murmured, "No wonder I see other trees nearby."
Wu Bing asked Jiang Shu, "Kid, what's the maximum distance you can see?"
Jiang Shu glanced at Jiang Zhi and said conservatively, "About a thousand meters or so..."
Everyone was stunned.
Wu Bing even exaggeratedly picked at his ear, asking, "How much?"
Jiang Shu glanced nervously at Jiang Zhi again, "Twelve or thirteen?"
Is it closer or farther away?
But Jiang Zhi pretended not to see it and didn't give any hint.
Wu Bing stroked his chin and looked the man up and down, then clapped his hands and said, "Not bad, kid! You can see farther than that archer from the next team! It's just that your body is too weak. You need to work out more and catch up with your body, otherwise your genes might collapse."
Jiang Shu breathed a sigh of relief.
He hasn't told the truth yet.
In fact, he can now see a distance of more than 1,700 or 1,800 meters.
But upon hearing Wu Bing's next words, Jiang Shu quickly asked, "Is there any way to alleviate this situation?"
Wu Bing shrugged. "There's no good solution. The base is also researching it."
At this point, Jiang Zhi interjected, "What symptoms would occur if the genes collapsed?"
"Before the breakdown, there will be a feeling of swelling in the body, chest tightness, palpitations, forgetfulness... all sorts of things, just general discomfort."
Jiang Zhi felt slightly relieved.
So far, neither she nor her brother has experienced any discomfort.
Moreover, according to her speculation...
As long as one's mental strength is strong enough, even if one's physical body is weak, there is no need to worry about genetic collapse.
Seeing that the siblings didn't care, Luo Yonghui reminded Jiang Shu, "Take some time to have your dad take you for a checkup to assess your physical condition and the level of your superpower. If there's a big difference between the two, it could be very dangerous."
Jiang Shu knew about this, and he simply said "Oh".
Since he wasn't feeling unwell, Jiang Shu didn't take it seriously at all.
Seeing this, Luo Yonghui changed the subject, "According to the intelligence we gathered before, our target is below the tree canopy, about 2,000 meters above the ground, and we need to climb more than 1,000 meters up."
"Jiang Shu, just listen to the instructions. All you need to do is check the situation in the bird's nest and tell us."
Jiang Shu swallowed nervously. "Okay."
As they spoke, Wu Jun and his companions began preparing their climbing equipment.
Main rope, harness, carabiner, pitons, hangers, belay devices...
Luo Yonghui tossed a set to each of them, asking, "Do you know how to use it?"
Jiang Shu's eyes lit up: "You guys have all of this! That's awesome!!"
Jiang Shu used to love tinkering with all sorts of things, and he even did rock climbing for a while, so he's quite familiar with those things.
Some of them are even brand names.
Jiang Shu quickly got ready and felt eager to try it out.
Seeing Jiang Shu's actions, Wu Bing laughed and said, "I didn't expect you to be an expert as well."
Jiang Shu patted his chest. "That's right. In the past, I would have been a runner-up in rock climbing."
Everyone laughed.
Luo Yonghui said with a hint of deeper meaning, "If you join the exploration team, the training will be much easier."
The ginger tree was shaking like a rattle drum.
"No, no, no, I won't join the exploration team. My whole family depends on me!"
Luo Yonghui laughed upon hearing this and said nothing more.
Jiangzhi, standing next to Jiangshu, put on her gear just like Jiangshu had.
Luo Yonghui tossed a thick iron chain to the two men, saying, "Fasten this. You two will follow behind me, and Lao Wu will bring up the rear."
The other end of the chain was fastened around Luo Yonghui's waist.
The others all gave an "OK" sign.
Luo Yonghui took the lead. He quickly fastened his safety belt, wrapped the main rope around the carabiner around his waist a few times, tightened the laces of his climbing shoes, and then, with a burst of speed, leaped up the tree.
If Jiang Zhi and her brother hadn't been watching closely, they almost wouldn't have seen each other's movements.
Luo Yonghui nailed a rock nail into the tree trunk every meter so that people behind could climb up smoothly.
It stopped about ten meters above the ground shortly afterward.
He looked down at the crowd and said, "Come on up."
Jiang Shu was thrilled. Luo Yonghui's move was similar to that of the masters of lightness skill in old martial arts TV dramas.
He spat twice into his palms, rubbed them together, and then hugged the tree trunk, feeling his feet firmly on the rough bark.
But after climbing two meters, Jiang Shu realized that this tree was much harder to climb than the rocks.
He had no choice but to slow down and move upwards little by little.
Wu Bing, who was holding the rope under the tree, became anxious upon seeing this: "Jiang Shu, hurry up! At this speed, you won't be able to climb up before dark!"
Jiang Shu looked miserable. "I've already done it very quickly."
Wu Bing twitched the corner of his mouth.
Jiang Zhi wasn't idle either. He held a few rock plugs in his hand and, when the opportunity arose, handed them to Jiang Shu on the tree so that he could stuff them into the crevices of the tree for extra safety.
Jiang Zhi was stronger than her brother, and with Luo Yonghui having embedded a lot of rock spikes in front of her, the climb went relatively smoothly.
Upon seeing this, Wu Bing couldn't help but complain again: "Jiang Shu, with your small frame, even your sister is stronger than you."
Jiang Shu had no words to express his bitterness—of course, his sister is far more capable than him!! It's just that you idiots haven't noticed yet!
Fortunately, the brother and sister got used to it and their speed increased.
The bark of this towering tree is as rough as sandpaper, with crisscrossing grooves and thick layers of black mud and decaying leaves.
The tree was ridiculously large and ridiculously tall. The group climbed for half an hour but still couldn't see the canopy clearly.
Using its "clairvoyance," Jiang Shu discovered that all he could see was a dense mass of dark bark.
"Uncle Luo, how much longer? My hands are getting tired." Jiang Shu said, breathless.
Luo Yonghui looked down and saw that Jiang Shu looked exhausted. He knew that the other man had indeed reached his limit, so he said, "Take a break."
Wu Bing stopped at the feet of the brother and sister, took out the gourd tucked in his waistband, took a sip of water, and teased, "Kid, your little body isn't up to par. You've only climbed a little over four hundred meters."
They had a safety rope fastened around their waists.
At such a height, the wind could make even a grown man like Jiang Shu, who weighs over 70 kilograms, sway a bit.
Jiang Shu snorted, "There's nothing I can do about it. All the food I've eaten over the years has grown into my brain."
He dared not look down at all, fearing that his acrophobia would kick in and his legs would give way, costing him his life.
Chen Shaoting was amused by his appearance.
At this moment, a mutated insect, entirely blue and as long as a forearm, suddenly emerged from the tree bark to Wu Bing's left.
The two slender tentacles thrashed wildly, and the eye covering on the triangular head gleamed with a cold light.
Hu Yang, who was right behind him, exclaimed in surprise, "Soldier, it's a pine caterpillar!!"
As soon as Hu Yang finished speaking, Wu Bing tiptoed and sprang forward, avoiding the fatal blow from the mutated pine caterpillar.
Wu Bing's body was floating in the air.
Fortunately, the safety rope was sturdy and the rock bolts were driven deep enough that Wu Bing didn't fall.
He drew his broadsword from his waist and swung it at the pine caterpillar, but for some reason, the caterpillar seemed to have encountered something it was afraid of and abruptly shrank back into the tree trunk.
Wu Bing was annoyed. He patted the crack where the pine caterpillar had crawled out, trying to force the mutated caterpillar out, but the piece of bark remained motionless for a long time.
"Those pine caterpillars again!"
Luo Yonghui frowned. "Everyone, be careful, we're about to enter the territory of these pine caterpillars. Watch out for their sneak attacks."
Seeing that even such a powerful group of people couldn't handle these caterpillars, Jiang Zhi became curious: "What kind of attack methods do these pine caterpillars have?"
Hu Yang cautiously climbed up to the same level as the brother and sister.
Hearing this, he said with lingering fear, "These mutated pine caterpillars have hairs that are like needles and are poisonous. You can't touch them. Most importantly, they will automatically launch their hairs when they get close to a heat source. If you're not careful, they can prick you up like a beehive."
They encountered these pine caterpillars twice during their previous visits to explore the area.
Each time, they managed to dodge in a very awkward manner.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu involuntarily shuddered; it really was quite ruthless.
He looked at the tree bark; in some places, it was riddled with tiny holes from insects, and the smell of decay filled his nostrils.
The larger holes were probably made by pine caterpillars to bore the woodworms.
Chen Shaoting said, "Boss, let's not rest. These pine caterpillars are hard to deal with."
Luo Yonghui nodded, "Let's leave this area first."
The group had no choice but to continue climbing.
But the pine caterpillars have a wide range of territory; even after climbing more than ten meters up, you can still see holes of different sizes on the bark.
Wu Bing: "Wait a minute, why didn't these pine caterpillars attack us this time? Are they saving up for something big?"
Chen Shaoting also found it a bit strange.
She observed that these pine caterpillars would try to peek out, but seemed to be frightened by something and dared not move forward.
What are they afraid of?
The ginger tree was exhausted, and coupled with the lack of oxygen at high altitude, its face turned deathly pale. In the end, it simply gave up and stopped to rest.
After catching his breath, he said, "I guess they're afraid of my stick."
This was ambiguous, and Hu Yang gave him an awkward look.
Wu Bing didn't think too much about it and asked casually, "What stick?"
Jiang Shu nodded his chin towards his waist. "This one."
Hu Yang: "Hey, Jiang Shu, we have ladies here, so don't be so outspoken..."
Jiang Shu looked completely bewildered: "What? I meant my bone stick!"
He pulled his hand out and patted it, and the poplar tree climbing on the right side of the ginger tree then noticed a stick on the other side that he couldn't see.
She blushed involuntarily.
"I misunderstood..."
Wu Bing laughed without any restraint, "Yangzi, shouldn't you find a girlfriend?"
Chen Shaoting rolled her eyes at them, "There are young girls here, so watch your mouth."
Jiang Zhi remained calm and composed.
She pretended not to hear what the fool said.
Yan Liang, who had been mostly silent, suddenly spoke up: "What kind of stick is this?"
Luo Yonghui glanced down at the bone staff at Jiang Shu's waist and remembered: "Isn't that the one your dad took before?"
This is the stick that Jiang Shan brought when he took them to the wilderness to retrieve the off-road vehicle.
After Luo Yonghui mentioned it, the others also remembered it.
That time, it just so happened that they went together.
Wu Bing: "So it's that stick that repels insects, the ginger tree! You're amazing, where did you get such a good thing?"
Jiang Shu chuckled: "I bought it at a bargain price from the base store."
Even Luo Yonghui was stunned by these words.
Such a rare and priceless item actually came from the base shop?!
Wu Bing was shocked: "Holy crap! What kind of luck do you have?! You managed to snag this?!"
Hu Yang: "It was actually bought from the base store?!"
Jiang Shu asked smugly, "Guess how much we spent?"
Chen Shaoting's attention lingered for a moment on the "we" in Jiang Shu's words, and she asked, "How much did it cost?"
Hu Yang: "It must have to be at least several hundred points, right?"
Jiang Shu grinned smugly: "50 points! Didn't expect that, did you?"
Wu Bing gasped, "50!!"
Jiang Shu looked at the shocked expressions on everyone's faces with satisfaction. "Yes, what do you think? Pretty good value for money, right?"
It's not just good, it's practically free!
While the group chatted, Jiang Zhi kept her eyes glued to the dashboard in her mind.
The closer you get to the tree canopy, the more lush the branches and leaves gradually come into view.
The branches stretched freely in the air, layer upon layer, intertwining. Some of the thicker branches sprawled out to the side, so dense that it was almost suffocating. Sunlight struggled to penetrate the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled spots of light.
Birds occasionally fly by at higher altitudes, their cries instantly swallowed by the wind.
Looking into the distance, the sea of clouds surges and rolls between the valleys, partially obscuring the rolling green hills.
The view from this high altitude is so magnificent that it makes your legs weak.
Looking down, everything on the ground looked like an ant.
Many mutated organisms exist in the dashboard, bark, and even trunk of the ginger tree.
There are both green and red dots.
It's unknown how many mutated creatures this tree has nurtured.
Just then, a danger warning signal suddenly appeared in Jiang Zhi's mind—
"Warning! Warning! A level 6 giant mutated creature has been detected within the scan range. Please take precautions! Please take precautions!"
Jiang Zhixin's heart tightened, and when she looked up, she saw a group of small black dots flying in from the horizon.
The distance was still too far for Jiang Zhi to make out clearly.
Jiang Zhi stared intently at the direction of the black dot, and when she noticed that the black dot was getting bigger and bigger, her expression changed—only a mutated bird could move freely in the air!
Seeing the black dot growing larger, Jiang Zhi disregarded everything else and hurriedly said to Luo Yonghui, "Uncle Luo! A mutated bird is flying this way! Is there anything we can use to hide ourselves?!"
Luo Yonghui's expression changed.
That's when I noticed the black dot diagonally above.
He shouted, "Populus euphratica! Unleash your power!!"
Hu Yang panicked and hurriedly activated his ability.
A moment later, a layer of cocoon-like white silk threads spread out from the poplar tree until it covered everyone.
Jiang Zhi felt as if her body was enveloped by something.
Jiang Shu: "What is this?"
Wu Bing: "I'll tell you once you join our team."
Jiang Shu pursed his lips.
Chen Shaoting then said alertly, "Don't speak."
Everyone immediately fell silent.
Their view was blocked by the white silk threads, but the ginger tree remained unaffected.
He looked out and saw a flock of mutated birds returning to their nests in the distance.
Jiang Shu's expression changed drastically.
These birds come in all shapes and sizes, from gray sparrows to magpies with long tails, and they are all quite large.
All at once, these mutated birds flew towards them, and the wind created by the flapping wings of hundreds of mutated birds almost made everyone lose their balance.
Fortunately, when Luo Yonghui inserted the pitons earlier, they were driven in very deep and did not come out.
The white cocoon of the poplar tree only serves to shield its aura; if anything unexpected happens, the mutated birds will still notice it.
Fortunately, these mutated birds were just passing by, and after getting close to the tree trunk, they rushed directly to the tree crown.
During this time, no one dared to move.
After an unknown amount of time, Chen Shaoting suddenly spoke up: "Xiao Yang, we can leave now."
The white cocoon of the poplar tree has been impacted, and in order to maintain it, it has already exhausted all its strength, and is now almost completely exhausted.
Upon hearing Chen Shaoting's words, Hu Yang withdrew the white cocoon, his hand went limp, and his body involuntarily fell backward.
Jiang Zhi quickly grabbed Hu Yang, preventing him from falling behind.
Wu Bing lightly touched the ground with his toes and quickly climbed up to take the poplar from Jiang Zhi's hands.
Then he took out a Suyuan biscuit from his pocket and stuffed it into his mouth, "Yangzi, are you alright?"
Hu Yang swallowed the biscuit, and his complexion immediately improved. "I'm fine, just a little tired."
Yan Liang: "These birds have returned to their nests, is it still necessary to go up?"
Jiang Zhi also secretly thought that she was having bad luck.
Unexpectedly, this mutated bird returned at this exact moment, of all times.
Luo Yonghui did not answer, but instead asked Jiang Shu, "What's the situation up there now?"
Jiang Shu glanced at it, somewhat embarrassed, "It's still too far away, I can't see it."
Luo Yonghui looked at Jiang Zhi.
Jiang Zhi looked completely innocent, as if to say, "I don't know anything."
Luo Yonghui raised an eyebrow, but ultimately said nothing.
He was certain that this girl was extraordinary, not only because Jiang Zhi had just discovered the danger, but also because Jiang Zhi had caught Hu Yang when he fell.
He still remembered Hu Yang's information when he joined the team. This girl could grab a man who weighed 76 kilograms with one hand.
He wouldn't believe it if I said there wasn't anything else.
"Let's go up and take another look. Since we're already here, we should at least get some useful information."
No one objected.
Luo Yonghui instructed Wu Bing, "Old Wu, take Yangzi down first."
It's clear that the poplar trees can no longer climb higher.
"Alright!" Wu Bing responded, quickly tied Hu Yang to his back, said goodbye to the others, and then lowered down using the safety rope.
The group carefully climbed up nearly 500 meters.
Jiang Shu felt dizzy and lightheaded.
Being in a high position made his brain lack oxygen.
Jiang Zhi frowned: "Brother, did you see that?"
Jiang Shu roused himself and looked up again. "I see it! I see it!"
In the tree canopy, on countless branches, bird nests are clustered together, like large knots hanging from the branches.
Jiang Hai immediately noticed several giant bird nests scattered among the huge branches near the tree trunk, the largest of which was the size of a house. Looking up from below, it looked like a small wooden house "growing" directly from the tree.
Inside the nest, bird feathers were haphazardly stuffed in like wads of old cotton, their downy feathers dancing lightly in the wind. Eggs, some white, some green, with irregular spots, were scattered here and there, peeking out from among the tangled feathers. Further on, there were stones and fruits that the ginger tree couldn't identify, probably collected by the mutated bird from all over, some even filling the nest to the brim.
Luo Yonghui asked, "What did you see?"
Jiang Shu told the truth.
Luo Yonghui: "We found a red bird's nest and examined its condition."
Jiang Shu's lips had turned somewhat purple, a sign of oxygen deficiency.
Just as Jiangzhi was about to blow a bubble for him, Luo Yonghui gave him a bead.
"Holding it in your mouth."
Jiang Shu obediently put it in his mouth, and after a while, he felt his head lighten.
"Wow, Uncle Luo, what is this thing? It's amazing! I actually feel like I can breathe much easier!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhi immediately looked at Luo Yonghui with longing eyes.
Luo Yonghui: ...
He chuckled and scolded, "You little brat, do you still need that?"
Jiang Zhi said matter-of-factly, "Of course we need it. I haven't said anything so as not to waste oxygen!"
Helpless, Luo Yonghui could only toss her a bead as well.
"This is an anti-itch candy made from a certain plant, which can last for an hour."
The ginger twig's body is much stronger than the ginger tree's, so it was not affected by the lack of oxygen at high altitudes.
She held the itch-inducing candy in her mouth, but Jiang Zhi didn't feel much of a sensation.
She never imagined that the base could use mutated organisms to research so many useful things.
No wonder they were able to build such a large base in such a short time.
Jiang Zhi was somewhat tempted.
"Uncle Luo, are these things really not for sale to the public?"
"Sell it, of course we'll sell it!" Luo Yonghui said with a smile. "It's just that the cost is 50% higher for non-internal staff."
"So, what do you think? Do you want to join us?"
Jiang Zhi:......
Jiang Shu snorted: "50%!! Why don't you just rob me!"
Luo Yonghui shrugged. "It's not like I set the prices. You can buy them cheaply just by joining, and some are even free."
Jiang Zhi was slightly tempted.
But it's just a little bit.
She quickly put that moment of hesitation behind her.
Jiang Shu: "Uncle Luo, don't try to persuade me. I used to be a veteran, and my will is unwavering."
Luo Yonghui didn't mind being rejected repeatedly; he just thought the brother and sister were interesting.
After pausing for a while, Jiang Shu continued to use his abilities to look upwards and quickly found the red bird's nest that Luo Yonghui had mentioned.
"Found it!" Jiang Shu stared intently for a moment, then exclaimed, "Uncle Luo, there's no bird!"
Luo Yonghui: ...Young man, you're likely to get beaten up for saying that.
He looked at Chen Shaoting and said, "Let's go, let's hurry."
He then said to Yan Liang, "You stay here and protect them. We'll be back soon."
Before Yan Liang could reply, Jiang Zhi said, "Uncle Luo, let's go up too."
“No way,” Luo Yonghui refused without hesitation, “You’ll be a hindrance.”
Jiang Zhi said anxiously, "We will protect ourselves."
Luo Yonghui looked at her with an expression that seemed to say, "You're not pretending anymore?"
Jiang Zhi chuckled, "Uncle Luo, take us with you. Maybe my brother can help us out."
Luo Yonghui considered for a second and agreed: "When you go up there, you must follow instructions and are not allowed to act on your own."
Jiang Shu nodded firmly, "Uncle Luo, I will keep a close eye on Azhi!"
Luo Yonghui chuckled.
Who's watching whom, anyway?
Luo Yonghui's agreement was not because he was soft-hearted.
Rather, he also wanted to see what other skills the brother and sister had.
This time, Luo Yonghui didn't hold back. He and Yan Liang each grabbed one of the siblings and quickly climbed up.
The hiking gloves on the men's hands had three barbs extending from the knuckles, with an arc similar to that of a sickle, which could be inserted into the tree trunk to secure them firmly.
Compared to before, the speed at which the group was climbing now was like heaven and earth.
They were getting closer and closer to the treetop.
"Warning! Warning! More than 10 giant mutated creatures are in the scanning area. Please leave immediately! Please leave immediately!"
Warnings kept ringing in Jiang Zhi's mind.
She was being pulled along by Luo Yonghui, and seeing that the others looked normal, she felt a slight sense of relief.
Judging from Luo Yonghui's expression, the current situation is within the other party's expectations.
Soon, the five of them arrived at the nearest branch. Up close, the enormous branches, the canopy, and the countless mutated creatures were even more awe-inspiring.
Jiang Shu involuntarily held his breath, fearing that he would be targeted by these mutated creatures.
When they were about 100 meters away from the bird's nest cluster, the three of them slowed down their climbing speed.
I don't know if it's because of this mutated oak tree.
The mutant birds that nest in trees are not only diverse in species, but also larger in size than the average bird.
To these mutated birds, they were no different from insects.
Luo Yonghui sprayed the brother and sister with a spray whose purpose was unknown.
It doesn't have a pungent smell; it has a faint grassy scent.
Jiang Zhi guessed it must be some kind of flavor that could avoid attracting the attention of mutated creatures.
Sure enough, as the group continued climbing, the mutated birds on the branches did not react.
Their target this time is at the very bottom, where the branches fork.
Stepping on it, Jiang Zhi's feet touched the ground, and she finally felt a sense of security.
The branches underfoot are so large that it feels like walking on solid ground, more than ten meters wide, and a small car can drive on them without any problem.
It was noon, and the scorching sunlight filtered down in dappled spots, making people feel extremely hot.
Not far away, you can see a few sparrows chirping and hopping around on the branches before fluttering away.
The brother and sister felt as if they were in a dream when they saw this scene.
It's hard to imagine that their original world has become such a magical place.
At that moment, a hundred meters above them, on the tangled branches, several large squirrels, almost as tall as a person, with their fluffy tails, were leaping and bounding about, moving as fast as the wind.
The one that was closest sniffed, then suddenly stopped, as if it had smelled something different.
Realizing they were being targeted by the mutated squirrel, the group immediately held their breath and dared not move.
The squirrel stared at them for a while, then scurried down the tree trunk and scooped out a pine cone from a hole. It crunched on the cone, crunching away as crunching bits of pine cone fell to the ground, its beady black eyes still fixed on the group.
Suddenly a loud noise came from not far away. The mutated squirrel pricked up its ears, stood up straight and looked in the direction of the sound. A moment later, it darted away along the branches and disappeared into the dense foliage.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com