Chapter 88
Luo Yonghui certainly wants good things, but if the price is his teammates, he feels it's okay if he doesn't get them.
Jiang Zhi came to her senses.
She suppressed her excitement, knowing that now was not a good time to take risks.
Jiang Zhi didn't plan to go down until she figured out where all the mutated creatures in Shashi had gone.
She smiled and said, "Don't worry, Uncle Luo, I'm not a reckless person."
Looking at her like this, Luo Yonghui silently thought to himself: ...Why does this make me even more worried?
The two stayed in the pit for a while longer.
During this period, the ginger twigs were tested repeatedly, and the results were the same as before.
On several occasions, I could also hear a few "chirp chirp chirp" sounds.
It makes my mouth water.
Seeing that he had found nothing, Luo Yonghui said, "Let's go back."
Jiangzhi reluctantly followed and climbed up.
Rock climbing and tree climbing are completely different things, especially since the pit walls were mostly soft mud, making it easy to slip and fall. Climbing up was even more strenuous and took longer than coming down.
When the two returned to the ground, even with Jiang Zhi's mutated body, they felt somewhat overwhelmed.
She slumped against Ershun's soft body, and couldn't help but think, if only there were some kind of flying mutant creature that was as obedient as Ershun...
The moment the idea popped into my head, that inexplicable "chirp chirp chirp" sound started up again.
A serving of ginger.
She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt that the "chirping" sound in her head was becoming more and more frequent.
She couldn't help but ask, "Have you heard any strange noises?"
Everyone was stunned, held their breath and listened for a moment, then said, "No, Jiang girl, are you sure you heard correctly?"
Jiang Zhi pursed her lips. "I guess I misheard."
Chen Shaoting: "Have you been too tired these past two days? Take a half-hour nap when you get back to the camp."
Jiang Zhi responded.
She shook her head; ever since she entered Shashi, all sorts of messy things had happened.
We definitely need to get some rest to cope with these challenges.
Wu Bing squatted to one side, a cigarette dangling from his lips.
"So, boss, any new discoveries?"
Luo Yonghui shook his head: "It's similar to the footage we saw that day."
Chen Shaoting: "Old Wu and I just took a walk around the area, but we didn't see any mutated creatures."
Yan Liang said calmly, "Perhaps by nightfall, this deep pit will emerge and swallow all the living creatures in Shashi."
Everyone: ...
Hu Yang touched the goosebumps on his arm. "Brother Liang, this joke isn't funny at all!!"
Jiang Shu: ...So it was a joke after all...
Judging from Yan Liang's expression, Jiang Shu thought that the other party had discovered something and that's why he said that.
Since they hadn't found anything of value, Luo Yonghui didn't want to waste the precious search time, so he led his team to explore the nearby buildings.
Near the park where they were, there was a villa community with a distinctly old feel. Just by looking at the well-arranged European-style columns and carved wrought iron gates, you could tell that this was once a place where wealthy people lived, and you could probably find quite a few useful items there.
The group split up to search for what they wanted.
Jiang Shu and Jiang Zhi walked into a Chinese-style villa.
As soon as I stepped across the threshold, I was taken aback by the furniture inside the room—even after three years, the Chinese rosewood furniture still gleamed with a warm luster. Dust could not obscure the magnificence of these rosewood pieces. The intricate carvings were not gaudy, and one glance was enough to tell that they were very valuable.
"Wow, Ah Zhi, this place is really extravagant..." Jiang Shu couldn't help but exclaim, reaching out to gently touch the flower stand next to him. "Look at this wood, it's actually made of agarwood!"
Although Jiang Shan and Ye Qingyun's jobs were already among the best of the ordinary, with incomes far exceeding those of the average person, seeing such a luxurious display firsthand made them truly realize that the so-called "ceiling" is nothing compared to real wealth.
Jiang Zhi clasped her hands together and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry to the homeowner, but we really have no choice right now. We'll take your things for now as a temporary measure."
Jiang Shu followed suit, saying, "Yes, yes, if we run into each other again in the future, we'll definitely help if we can."
After they finished speaking, the two of them didn't waste any more time and started looting.
Jiang Zhi specifically chose furniture with aesthetic value.
This family clearly doesn't live here permanently; apart from the two maid's rooms which had a lot of clothes, the other rooms didn't have many clothes.
The cataclysm occurred during summer, so there were even fewer winter clothes available.
However, they were incredibly lucky. The lady of the house clearly spent her days "shopping spree." There were countless clothes in the master bedroom, and 80% of them still had their tags on, all neatly stored away in the closet.
What's most remarkable is that there's even a wardrobe full of winter clothes.
The down jackets inside are rare finds for the base's residents; even if they can't wear them, they can take them back, disassemble them, and make new coats.
Jiang Zhi didn't miss a single piece of those high-end women's clothes, happily storing them all into her spatial device.
Although there were fewer men's clothes than women's clothes, Jiang Zhi took them all.
There's no other way; the fabrics in our house are all coarse linen, and sometimes when they tear, we can't find any of the same color to mend them.
Now that they've run into each other, Jiangzhi certainly doesn't intend to let it go.
Unfortunately, the shoes didn't have their sizes, and most of them were leather shoes or high heels, which weren't very practical.
In addition, some kitchen utensils that were still in good working order and kept in the cabinet, such as air fryers, juicers, and pressure cookers, were all put away by Jiang Zhi.
Jiang Zhi didn't mind those cooking utensils and dishes that looked like they could still be used after washing.
In short, it's about living frugally.
She kept everything that was still usable.
The ginger tree is even more amazing.
They even took small items like spare flashlights and candles from the nanny's room.
At this moment, Jiang Zhi was very grateful that the spacecraft made by Grandpa Lin was large enough.
Although it consumes a lot of mental energy, compared to these resources, the regenerable mental energy is nothing.
Jiang Zhi guessed that the survival supplies they had scavenged on this trip were definitely more than those of Luo Yonghui and his group.
As Jiang Shu was preparing to leave, he found two charging hand warmers and several electric blankets in the guest room on the first floor.
This is a lifesaver for keeping warm this coming winter.
Jiang Shu was overjoyed. "A-Zhi, these two can be used by Grandpa and the others! As long as the base still has power, they can use them!"
Jiangzhi was also very happy.
Their family didn't have enough supplies for winter, so finding as much as they could now was a bonus.
After looting this house, Jiang Shu saw that the others hadn't finished yet, so he followed Jiang Zhi to the next house.
This house's interior design leans more towards a Scandinavian style.
Those sofas and cabinets that once looked luxurious now look dusty and drab.
This family clearly had a baby before, as they had many toys at home, including Lego blocks, remote-controlled bumper cars, children's scooters, and even a slide and swing.
If the children in the family saw this, they would be overjoyed.
Jiang Shu happily packed the dusty toys piled on the ground into a bag, saying, "Azhi, isn't Shashi really strange? Doesn't anyone come here to loot supplies?"
Jiang Zhi pursed her lips.
It's likely that during that great catastrophe, this bottomless sinkhole opened its gaping maw and silently swallowed many people who didn't have time to react.
It is estimated that most of the people in Shashi at that time did not even have time to take a step to escape before they were dragged into the cracked earth's core by this tumultuous tectonic movement, and their cries for help were drowned out by the roaring earthquake.
After she put the toys that Jiang Shu had put away into her spatial device, she felt a little pressure in her mental energy.
If her mental pool weren't so large, she really wouldn't have been able to take so many things with her.
Unfortunately, we couldn't find any milk powder, nor any other food. It's likely that later scouts took all the food with them.
As usual, the brother and sister collected everything they could.
After looting everything from the second villa, the other teammates came out as well.
Once everyone was present, Luo Yonghui said, "It's almost time to go back."
Seeing that they weren't carrying much, Jiang Shu asked, "Didn't you find anything good over there?"
Hu Yang only had a few men's winter clothes in his hands.
He was a little embarrassed, "I have spatulas and such at home, so I didn't bring them. As for furniture, I'm too lazy to bring it since I already have it at home."
The others clearly shared similar thoughts with him.
Chen Shaoting, on the other hand, carried out a classic standing clock that looked quite old.
The clock was carved with intricate patterns, and the warm, lustrous wood of it complemented her composed demeanor.
Surprisingly, Luo Yonghui found three limited-edition mountain bikes in the basement of the villa he was searching. Except for the flat tires, everything else was intact.
These mountain bikes, which were used to show off before the cataclysm, are actually inferior to ordinary bicycles nowadays because many of their parts are specially made and cannot be replaced once they break.
On the contrary, ordinary bicycles, even if something is broken, can be easily repaired and continued to be used.
But no matter what, it's still a bicycle.
Even when kept at the base, they are still in high demand.
Luo Yonghui patted the seat of one of the vehicles and asked, "So, what do you think? Do you want it?"
Chen Shaoting waved her hand dismissively, "I don't want it."
Wu Bing disliked it even more, saying, "A real man rides a Mercedes! What can this bicycle do?"
Yan Liang waved his hand, "Not interested."
Only Hu Yang said shyly, "Boss, I want one. Can I trade you a down jacket for it?"
Luo Yonghui laughed and said, "Why not?"
This is an unspoken rule within the team.
If other team members want something that an individual finds, they can exchange it for something else.
Jiang Zhiting liked this rule—a fair and transparent exchange that saved her from tangled favors and made her feel at ease.
Luo Yonghui took one of Hu Yang's down jackets and then turned to the brother and sister, asking, "How about it? Do you want it?"
Jiang Shu chuckled, "Uncle Luo, this is really embarrassing..."
This is a bicycle, after all.
Having this thing will make things much more convenient at the base.
Luo Yonghui didn't bother to say anything and simply pushed the car over, saying, "Alright, just give me whatever you want."
Jiang Zhi thought for a moment and handed him the electric blanket in her hand, "Uncle Luo, this is for you."
Luo Yonghui was immediately delighted when he saw it.
This thing consumes little electricity; although he doesn't need it, his family members can.
"This is good stuff, then I won't be polite."
After changing their things, the group tidied up and got into the car.
Seeing that the brother and sister hadn't brought back much, Wu Bing couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you two find anything usable?"
The brother and sister exchanged a glance.
Jiang Shu cleared his throat. "Oh, I forgot to tell you, we have our own spatial device..."
They hadn't originally intended to keep this from Luo Yonghui and the others, they just hadn't found the right time to tell them.
Since Wu Bing asked them about it, they simply confessed.
Wu Bing glanced at them for a few seconds.
He then turned and slammed his head against the steering wheel.
"Holy crap!!"
"You two siblings came to Versailles, didn't you?"
A spacecraft!
That's a spacecraft!!
He had previously vowed that if he could get a personal space device, he would propose to the person he loved.
As it turns out, he's been a member of the exploration team for so many years.
The only time you can touch a spacecraft is when you're on a mission.
Even someone of Professor Yang's caliber might not have their own spacecraft.
But what is this brat saying now?!
He actually said they have their own spacecraft!!!
Wu Bing strongly suspected that this guy was showing off on purpose.
The brother and sister were stunned by Wu Bing's exaggerated reaction.
Jiang Shu scratched the back of his head: "This...didn't Uncle Luo say that as long as we find the space ore, we can just find someone to help us make it? It's not that difficult, is it?"
Jiang Zhi: Her brother knows how Versailles is done.
"...Brother, please stop talking..."
If Wu Bing were to say that, he might start hitting someone.
Even Luo Yonghui couldn't stand it anymore: "You brat, what do you mean 'it's not that hard'? Do you know how hard it is to find space ore? Do you know how hard it is to find someone to help you make it? You just casually say it's not hard, it's only because you've run into us, if it were any other person you would have gotten a beating!"
Jiang Shu touched his nose and laughed.
There's nothing we can do; they were just lucky.
The group chatted all the way back to their camp.
As soon as the car stopped, Zou Minghua rushed over and asked impatiently, "How was it, Lao Luo? Did you find anything good?"
Luo Yonghui snorted, "Why don't you go find it yourselves?"
Zou Minghua pursed his lips but didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he hurriedly led his team off.
Their team drew second place. With Jiang Shu around, Zou Minghua was as nervous as if he had a rabbit in his heart, afraid that if he was a step behind, all the valuable items would be looted by Luo Yonghui's team. How could he not be anxious?
Gu Kaizhi merely glanced at them before lowering his head to continue with his own tasks.
Regardless of what the other teams did afterward, Jiang Zhi followed Chen Shaoting's advice and took a nap.
Unbeknownst to them, a chill was slowly and silently spreading from the direction of the Ancheng base.
Compared to the devastating force that swept through Ancheng base, this snowstorm is clearly much weaker.
The mutated creatures along the way had already diminished most of its power, leaving only a seemingly slow but stubborn momentum of advancement, gradually encroaching forward.
Wherever it went, whether it was grass, trees, rocks, or dust floating in the air, it was instantly covered by a layer of pale ice, and even the flowing wind seemed to freeze in place.
The mutated beasts were terrified and fled in all directions in a panic. Even the most ferocious ones tucked their tails between their legs and ran desperately in the opposite direction.
The mutated plants by the roadside reacted quickly, their leaves folding into a ball and their once-spreading stamens closing tightly.
All living things withdrew their sharpness under the intimidation of this natural force.
...
Jiangzhi had a dream that she hadn't had in a long time.
In her dream, a chubby, fat bird kept chirping at her.
The chirping of the ginger twigs was incredibly annoying.
It felt like a fire was burning under her heart.
It made her heart race.
Bang bang.
Bang bang bang.
Bang bang bang bang.
It's like a runaway car, where you can only watch helplessly as the front of the car crashes forward, and as the driver, you can't do anything about it.
Just when Jiangzhi felt she couldn't take it anymore—
She sat up abruptly and opened her eyes.
Looking at Hu Yang and Yan Liang, who were on duty at the window not far away, and then at her older brother who was sleeping soundly, Jiang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief—it was just a dream.
They are still in the abandoned hotel.
She slowly relaxed her tense body.
But as soon as I lay down, I found that my heart was still pounding.
No, that's not right!!
What is causing this intense unease?
Seeing that she was awake, Hu Yang whispered, "Sister Jiangzhi? Do you feel too cold? Do you want me to get you a blanket?"
Just half an hour ago, the temperature dropped six degrees Celsius without warning. This chill might not be much to mutants, but it would be enough to make an ordinary person shiver.
Jiang Zhi couldn't explain where this strong premonition came from, but she felt her heart pounding faster and faster, telling her directly—something big was about to happen!
She grabbed Hu Yang's hand. "Yangzi, go wake Uncle Luo, I have something to say—"
Jiang Zhi was interrupted halfway through her sentence by a voice that had been lurking in the hotel lobby.
Huang Xianming's blaring alarm suddenly rang out in the silent night: "Something's up! Everyone get up!!"
Jiang Zhi shuddered, and the words suddenly caught in her throat.
Almost simultaneously, the campfire in the room crackled and shot up half a foot high, the sparks scattered by the night wind.
"What's going on?" Someone quickly came out of the next room, but was interrupted by a series of hurried footsteps before he could finish speaking.
They were from Gu Kaizhi's team.
"Let's go downstairs first!"
Looking down from upstairs, Jiang Zhi could see Huang Xianming holding a searchlight, the beam sweeping rapidly through the darkness: "There's movement 2 kilometers to the northwest! Everyone, grab your weapons and be on alert!!"
Jiang Zhi grabbed the long knife beside her and stood up abruptly, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end—were these the people who made her feel so uneasy?
Besides the chill, the night wind carried a faint, earthy smell, the same smell as the sinkhole walls, which gradually pressed in with the wind.
Luo Yonghui and his group had already come to the window and used binoculars to observe the situation ahead after Huang Xianming spoke.
Yan Liang frowned and asked Jiang Shu, "What's the situation up ahead?"
Jiang Shu stared intently in the direction of the disturbance, “…Someone’s coming from ahead!”
"People?" Chen Shaoting asked. "How many?"
"A hundred or so..." Jiang Shu wasn't quite sure. "It's foggy, I can't see clearly, but it should be about that number."
Jiang Zhi's brow twitched—waste was rising?
She quickly asked, "Brother, is this fog the same as the fog at the bottom of the pit?"
Everyone was taken aback by her question.
Jiang Shu hesitated for a moment: "It seems to be the same..."
He glanced towards the sinkhole and was immediately horrified by what he saw.
"Ah Zhi, you guessed right!! This fog is spreading up from the sinkhole!!"
Upon hearing this, Luo Yonghui and the others exchanged glances instinctively, and they all saw seriousness in the team members' eyes.
Luo Yonghui: "Let's go downstairs!"
As the group went downstairs, they saw several soldiers helping Jiang Shan and a few professors get into a car.
The other soldiers gripped their weapons tightly, remaining vigilant at all times.
Huang Xianming stepped on the door sill of the military pickup truck, raised his hand, and fired a shot into the air with a "bang." The gunshot was particularly piercing in the tense atmosphere.
"Stop! If you don't stop, we'll open fire!"
The group of people who were rapidly approaching them in the distance suddenly waved, and the leader's hand suddenly produced a leaping fire dragon, drawing a bright arc in the twilight, as a striking greeting.
Huang Xianming was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.
"It's 'Fire Dragon' Tang Mao from the Southern Base!!"
"They seem to be in trouble. Quick, send two squads over to help!"
Luo Yonghui also seemed to know Tang Mao's name.
He put away his weapon and breathed a sigh of relief.
"People from the Southern Base have arrived."
Chen Shaoting frowned: "Did they walk here?"
Luo Yonghui: "It shouldn't be. I guess they encountered some trouble on the road and had to abandon the car."
Huang Xianming led a team to bring the people from the southern base over.
The hundred or so people looked much more disheveled than them, their protective uniforms were tattered, many of them had injuries, and the whole group exuded an undeniable sense of dejection.
"Old Yang!!"
A hurried shout pierced the air, and a figure of similar age to Professor Yang rushed out from the center of the Southern Base's ranks.
His excited and enthusiastic demeanor was just like that of someone who had been separated from their family for a long time.
"Oh dear, after this trip, I really thought... I really thought I would never see you again!" His voice was still catching his breath, his words filled with the relief and lingering fear of surviving a disaster.
Seeing how warmly the two were interacting, Jiang Shu couldn't help but ask, "Did they know each other before?"
Luo Yonghui laughed and said, "They not only know each other, but they used to work at the same research institute. That one is Professor Liang. He was sent to the south for research and study before the Great Cataclysm, but he never came back."
"So this time... we're going back to our Ancheng base?"
Luo Yonghui gave a wry smile. "It's not that easy. The Southern Base has even fewer talents than us. Professor Liang is now the top researcher there. They won't let him go."
As they were talking, Tang Mao, the "fire dragon," also came over.
The other person was actually a very young boy, who looked even younger than Jiang Zhi, but spoke with great maturity: "Sorry, sorry, I encountered some trouble on the way and was delayed a bit."
Huang Xianming and several professors were clearly acquainted with this group of people.
While the others rested, the two sides chatted familiarly, their words filled with the warmth of a long-awaited reunion.
Seeing that Jiang Zhi and her brother were looking over curiously, Hu Yang explained, "The base's upper management and these professors spent a lot of time and effort on developing this teleportation device, repeatedly communicating with people at the southern base, so they are very familiar with each other."
Jiang Zhi suddenly realized why Dong Mingyu from their convoy had gone to treat the wounded people at the southern base.
This can be considered a brother base.
While the personnel from both bases were reuniting, Luo Yonghui, still feeling uneasy, sent Wu Bing and a few others to scan the surrounding area to see if there were any threats.
When Jiang Zhi and the others arrived at the sinkhole, the fog there was much thicker than elsewhere, almost swallowing them whole.
Although the ginger tree's abilities are limited by the dense fog, it can still probe down to a depth of nearly one thousand meters.
"Ah Zhi, I didn't notice anything unusual. Are you just too nervous?"
Jiang Zhi didn't speak.
There were no unusual alerts on her dashboard.
Wu Bing: "Jiang girl, I think you were scared when you went down into the pit today?"
Jiang Zhi tugged at the corner of her lips.
If only it were that simple...
The group returned to the front of the hotel.
The people from both bases gathered together, and the joy of seeing their comrades eased the fatigue of the journey, and even lowered their guard against each other.
Wu Bing and Luo Yonghui nodded, indicating that they had not found anything unusual.
Luo Yonghui felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders.
He then huddled together with several leaders from the Southern Base, exchanging information about their respective situations in hushed tones.
According to Tang Mao, the people from the Southern Base chose a shorter route to reach Shashi on time, and they encountered a giant mutated banyan tree along the way.
They lost a third of their men to escape from the aerial roots of the mutated banyan tree, and two of their five vehicles were left behind.
The reason I didn't get a ride this time was because the car broke down in the suburbs of Shashi. In order to complete the mission as soon as possible, I had to rush to the meeting point first.
Professor Liang was an impatient person; after only a few words, he started clamoring to see the teleportation device in Professor Yang's hand.
The professors, who also wanted to give a demonstration, simply had their assistants bring it out.
This is the world's first item teleportation device, and many people present were seeing it for the first time.
Everyone was eager to crane their necks and get a closer look.
There was a metal cabinet about half a person's height, with a frosted glass door on the front, the edges of which were inlaid with a faint green light. On the top of the cabinet was a palm-sized control panel with only two buttons—"Deliver" and "Retrieve".
Several professors gathered around the devices, discussing them for a long time, occasionally gesturing to the equipment.
On the other side, captains like Huang Xianming and Luo Yonghui chatted with the people from the Southern Base about the mutated creatures they encountered on the way and the situation of both bases.
Jiang Shu listened with great interest.
Perhaps it was the emptiness of Shashi and the joy of meeting companions that made everyone lower their guard, and few people noticed that the fog overflowing from the sinkhole was becoming thicker and thicker, like an invisible giant veil, slowly spreading out and gradually enveloping everything around.
Their hotel was some distance from the sinkhole, but now, even the distant outlines seemed to be swallowed up by the thick fog.
Jiang Zhi was restless, and the feeling of unease grew stronger.
Er Shun, standing to the side, grew increasingly agitated, pacing back and forth, letting out low whimpers. Finally, he suddenly barked wildly in a certain direction: "Woof woof woof!!"
The people at the southern base were startled, their bodies tensed, and they drew their weapons.
He watched Ershun warily.
Luo Yonghui quickly said, "It's a misunderstanding, it's my own dog."
Upon hearing this, Tang Mao assumed Er Shun was Jiang Zhi's pet, and his eyes lit up as he looked at Jiang Zhi. "This is—your dog?!"
Jiangzhi didn't have time to pay attention to him.
The feeling of my heart pounding when I woke up came back to me.
Something is getting closer.
Each heartbeat felt like a heavy hammer pounding into her throat, making her eardrums buzz—Jiang Zhi clearly felt something approaching silently, as if the air itself was being suffocated by that invisible presence.
Jiang Zhi clenched her fists, her palms sweating, and stared at the swaying black shadow at the end of the headlight beam, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.
Sudden!
"Beep beep beep beep beep!!! Warning!! Warning!!! -- Beasts approaching! Beasts approaching!!!! Maximum level 7!!"
The piercing alarm was so sharp it almost shattered Jiang Zhi's mental pool!
She suddenly jumped up from her seat.
"Something's wrong!!!! Be on alert!!!"
The girl's voice was like a thunderclap, exploding in everyone's ears.
Her heart was pounding, but her voice was unusually calm: "Quick! 7 o'clock!! A large number of mutated beasts are approaching!! Only three kilometers away! They're moving very fast! We need to prepare immediately!!"
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