Chapter 112
Jiang Zhi smiled slightly, "Professor Shen, please let me finish explaining the second thing before deciding whether to make the change or not."
Then, Jiang Zhi told him everything about the vines.
It clearly explained how the vines grew wildly, how they drained the soil of nutrients, how the testing instrument couldn't detect any reaction, and how it pushed the lichen aside this morning.
Of course, the connection between the seed and the other dimension of the grassland is omitted.
“It’s growing rather fast, so before I figure out what it is, I’d like to trade you some nerve plant seeds.”
Nerve grass is a mutated plant cultivated by the Ancheng base itself, specifically used to reinforce city walls and enhance defense.
Once mature, this grass forms a dense, filamentous web with very small meshes, capable of blocking most larger mutated creatures. Moreover, its web is much stronger than ordinary thread and is not easily broken.
Without any care, it can burrow into the cracks of the city wall bricks on its own, and its roots can firmly penetrate the soil and stones, holding on very firmly.
Jiang Zhi had heard before that many high-ranking leaders in Zone B had this kind of nerve plant planted outside their homes, specifically for protection.
Now that the seeds have grown to their current state, Jiang Zhi felt that some protective measures still needed to be taken, which is why she thought of replacing them with teosinte fungus.
Professor Shen frowned upon hearing this. "I can give you the nerve plant, that's a small matter, but that vine you mentioned... something sounds off to me."
He turned around and went back to the bookshelf, taking out a few booklets. He seemed to be looking through the mutated creatures he had compiled. After a moment, he said, "I don't have any information on similar plants either."
He looked at Jiang Zhi: "I've studied so many mutated plants over the years, and I've never heard of one with its own consciousness. This thing sounds extraordinary! Where did you get this seed?"
Jiang Zhi didn't hide anything: "It's in the sinkhole in Shashi."
Upon hearing this, Professor Shen looked sharply at Jiang Zhi, trying to discern something from her expression, but seeing her calm demeanor, he realized he was overthinking things.
He thought for a moment, and finally said:
"Comrade Xiao Jiang, would it be convenient for you to take me to see this place?"
Jiang Zhi had originally wanted to invite Professor Shen to take a look, and this was exactly what she wanted.
She smiled and said, "I couldn't ask for more."
After Professor Shen instructed his assistant to put away the bag of fleshy fungus and to take good care of it, he planned to go to the Jiang family with Jiang Zhi.
Upon hearing this, the assistant realized that the old lady was going to a self-built housing area, which was quite far away and freezing cold. What if she fell and got hurt? He immediately turned around and went to arrange a car.
Upon hearing that a car was being dispatched, Jiang Zhi immediately said, "Then I'll call my dad to come along."
Professor Shen smiled and said, "The roads are slippery on snowy days, so it's safer to walk together."
Unfortunately, when Jiang Zhi went over to ask, she learned that Jiang Shan had entered the lab half an hour earlier and was busy with something.
Jiang Zhi felt a little disappointed. She decided not to wait any longer and, along with her assistant who was already waiting outside, boarded the sightseeing bus with Professor Shen.
This sightseeing bus was specially arranged by the research institute for the retired professors, in case something went wrong on their way to and from the institute.
Now, Jiangzhi is getting a piece of the action and can ride in this special car too.
Along the way, Jiang Zhi didn't miss the opportunity to communicate with the expert on mutated creatures, and took every opportunity to ask a lot of questions about high-level mutated creatures.
Judging from Professor Shen's answer, he didn't know much about level 9 mutated creatures.
On several occasions, when Jiang Zhi posed slightly deeper questions, Professor Shen would simply ponder and shake his head, admitting that he himself was unsure.
However, Professor Shen's summary and research on the mutated biological system far exceeded Jiang Zhi's imagination.
Her eyes lit up as she listened to the clear classifications and interconnected evolutionary patterns. Jiang Zhi, like a curious child, bombarded her with questions, from the habits of mutated organisms to their adaptability to the environment, as if she wanted to pour out all her doubts.
Even after returning to the front of the Jiang family's house, Jiang Zhi was still somewhat reluctant to leave.
Jiang Zhi was about to call her family out to meet Professor Shen.
As soon as Professor Shen saw the vines sticking out of the tent next to the Jiang family's house, his feet seemed to have springs in them, and he pushed open the car door and strode over.
Jiangzhi looked over as well and saw that the vines that had only climbed to the top of the tent before they left had grown much faster in just over an hour. The emerald green new branches were even swaying slightly in the wind, as if they were stretching out silently.
Her heart skipped a beat, and the words she was about to say were choked back by this turn of events. She quickly pushed open the car door and chased after him, reaching Professor Shen's side in a few strides.
Professor Shen stared blankly at the vines: "Is that the mutated plant you were talking about?"
Jiang Zhi nodded, about to say a few words, but in the blink of an eye, the leaves on the vine had grown even larger.
Jiang Zhi's gaze was fixed on the part where the vines were growing wildly, her voice carrying a hint of seriousness: "Yes, Professor Shen, the growth rate of this plant... is probably even faster than I just said."
Professor Shen obviously saw it too.
His face showed an expression that was hard to tell whether it was excitement or nervousness; his lips were slightly pursed, and his breathing was more rapid than usual.
“I see it… the vines at the top have grown at least a foot longer than when we parked. That’s… too fast.” At this point, Professor Shen urged Jiang Zhi, “Quick, open this tent and let me go in and take a look.”
He then went over, untied the bell, and lifted the tent flap. Professor Shen almost immediately bent down and crawled into the tent.
However, the next second, he stopped in his tracks.
The view inside the tent was even more amazing than what you could see from the outside.
Several main vines, each as thick as a waist, intertwined and climbed upwards, making the whole plant appear larger than the one Jiangzhi had seen before leaving home.
Professor Shen's gaze was firmly drawn to the thick, waist-like main vines. He subconsciously took two steps forward and then reached out to touch them.
As a result, the vine clumsily moved back half an inch, avoiding his hand.
Professor Shen paused for a moment, then tried to touch the main vines from a few different angles, but as soon as he reached out, the vines seemed to have eyes and gently swayed away.
After several unsuccessful attempts, the vine seemed to throw a tantrum, branching out a thin tendril that deftly wrapped around Professor Shen's wrist. The force wasn't strong, but it clearly conveyed the message, "Don't touch me again." Professor Shen was taken aback by this somewhat embarrassed and annoyed gesture, but didn't persist.
The assistant standing next to him looked on nervously.
"Professor Shen, what do you want to do? Let me do it."
Jiang Zhi watched from the side, afraid that the unpredictable vine would cause any more trouble, so she quickly reached out to pull the thin vine off Professor Chen's hand.
To her surprise, the moment her fingertips touched the slender vine, the previously "fierce" vine seemed to instantly let down its guard, gently rubbing against her palm, soft and fluffy, as if it were being affectionate.
Jiang Zhi:......
I suddenly feel a little ashamed.
Professor Shen looked on with great interest.
The vine clearly had its own consciousness. He waved to his assistant, "It's alright."
He strolled slowly around the vine, his gaze sweeping over every inch of the intertwined patterns, every unfurled giant leaf, and even the tiny tendrils that emerged from the gaps in the main vine.
After looking around, Professor Shen concluded, "It doesn't seem like anything special..."
The vine seemed to understand what he was saying.
The tenderest bud at the very top suddenly snapped up and trembled slightly in Professor Shen's direction, as if in protest.
In this way, she's even more humane than Ershun.
Jiang Zhi couldn't help but ask, "Professor Shen, how is it? Can you see anything?"
Professor Shen did not answer her question immediately.
Instead, they took out a high-end testing instrument and examined the vines.
"drop--"
There are still no follow-up messages.
Professor Shen gave a strange look.
Jiang Zhixin's heart tightened upon seeing this, "Professor Shen...?"
Professor Shen waved his hand, put away the detector, wiped his face, and after a moment of silence said, "The detector can't detect this kind of thing. In all these years, we've only encountered it once."
Jiang Zhi perked up upon hearing this.
What's going on?
“When we went to the giant oak tree in the cloud nest for an on-site inspection, we used an advanced testing instrument to test that oak tree, and the result was the same as before.”
"We've discussed this issue many times, and the final conclusion is that the tree is currently beyond our understanding; it's something outside our comprehension. As for other specific details, I can't give any more answers; we need to conduct some further biological experiments."
Jiang Zhi's heart sank.
If that's the case, does it mean that this seed is truly the same as that giant cloud-nest tree?
And this rapidly growing vine in front of us will eventually grow to the size of the Cloud Nest Giant Tree.
If that's the case, the entire self-built housing area will likely be affected...
Jiang Zhi: "Professor Shen, do you have any good suggestions?"
Professor Shen wiped his face. "This thing grows too fast and isn't really suitable for planting on your land. If you don't mind, you can temporarily transplant it to Collection Area 1. I'll need to observe it for a while before I can give you an answer."
Jiang Zhi frowned.
Transplant to the collection area...?
She hesitated.
Professor Shen noticed her hesitation and said, "Comrade Xiao Jiang, what are your thoughts? You can share them, and we can discuss them together."
At this point, Jiang Zhi could only tell the truth, "Actually, my mental pool is connected to this vine, and I'm afraid that it will be affected..."
Upon hearing this, Professor Shen knew that this matter could not be taken lightly, so he said, "Don't worry, we will also find someone to guard this vine and won't let any unauthorized people touch it. You don't need to worry about that."
He joked, "Besides, seeing how it only gets close to you, no one else would dare to have any ideas!"
That's how it was settled.
Even though Jiang Zhi still had some lingering worries, she had no other choice.
—This vine is growing way too fast. If it keeps going like this, she's afraid her house will be destroyed.
After agreeing that Professor Shen would bring someone to perform the transplant the next day, Professor Shen hurriedly left with his assistant, seemingly to go back and research information about the vine.
After everyone left, Jiang Zhi realized that the other party hadn't given her the seeds of the nerve plant she wanted!
Jiang Zhi looked somewhat helpless.
Never mind, let's talk about it tomorrow.
When she got home, Jiangzhi told her about transplanting the vines.
Upon hearing this, everyone's faces showed a hint of reluctance—after all, they had watched it grow from a seed, but seeing how the vines were growing, they understood that there was nothing they could do.
Grandma Jiang sighed, "Let's move it. We can't let it break the house."
Although everyone felt regret, no one objected.
While the Jiang family was discussing the vines, Jiang Shu and Jiang Wen had already run to the low-rent housing area.
The two navigated the narrow alleys with practiced ease and soon arrived at Jiang Wang's house.
When the two brothers arrived, Jiang Wang was sitting on the threshold, slowly weaving a straw rope with his only left hand.
"Uncle Wang!"
Hearing the shouts, Jiang Wang looked up and saw Jiang Shu and Jiang Wen. He stood up excitedly.
"Big Tree, Awen! You're here? Come in and sit down."
The two brothers exchanged a glance, then followed him inside without any ceremony.
Inside the house, steam rose from the iron pot burning over the fire, emitting a faint aroma of food.
Seeing that the bed was empty, Jiang Shu asked curiously, "Uncle Wang, why don't I see Grandpa Dafa?"
Jiang Wang dragged two small stools out of the house, wiped the dust off them with his sleeve, and smiled on his dark face: "He took the children upstairs to warm themselves by the fire next door."
It was cold, so the family and a few other families in the building who knew each other made a deal to take turns lighting a fire for warmth. Whoever lit a fire that day, everyone in the building would gather around that household to warm themselves, which would save a lot of firewood.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu didn't ask any further questions.
"Uncle Wang, I've come today to ask for your help."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Wang quickly replied, "What kind of help do you need? Just tell me."
"I... I haven't thanked you and Azhi yet. We've only been able to have a decent meal these past few days..." It's clear that Jiang Wang isn't good with words; his face turns red as he tries to say a few words.
To avoid an awkward situation, Jiang Shu quickly smiled and said, "We were all from the same village before, and we didn't help much, so please don't take it to heart, Uncle Wang."
How could it not have helped much!
After the cold wave, food becomes extremely precious; even a pound of grain could be a lifesaver.
The food the siblings brought yesterday is enough for their family to live frugally for more than a month. With this buffer period, they can go out and collect some food when the weather is a little better, and stock up on some so they can catch their breath.
It can be said that the grain sent by the brother and sister was no different from life-saving grain.
Jiang Wang had a lot to say, but he couldn't utter a single word.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "Big Tree, I'm not good with words, and I don't know how to say nice things. But you two siblings... have helped us a lot... I'm willing to do anything you need me to do!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shu couldn't help but show a wry smile, but a warmth welled up in his heart for this simple and honest old man. His stubborn insistence on remembering this small favor made Jiang Shu feel a little guilty.
"Uncle Wang, it's nothing serious. The base is organizing us locals to go to the docks in the next city to fish for seafood the day after tomorrow. We know nothing about this, so we'd like you to teach us."
Jiang Wen added from the side, "Uncle Wang, could you please tell us what we need to prepare for ice fishing and such?"
Jiang Wang also knew about this, but unfortunately his family couldn't get a spot in the first batch.
Jiang Wang was very happy to be able to help Jiang Shu and the others, and he blurted out his answer without thinking.
"For ice fishing, you need to find a sturdy bluestone slab, carve it into a piece about the width of your palm, and tie it to the end of a long wooden pole to use as a chisel—enough to make holes in the ice. The fishing line should be made of tightly twisted hemp rope, with a sharpened thin wire attached to the end as a hook, and some food on it—meat is best, it works better than anything else. Oh, and you also need to prepare a bamboo basket, lined with a layer of old cotton wool, to keep the fish fresh after they bite..."
When it comes to the ins and outs of fishing, Jiang Wang seems like a different person. His previously dull eyes light up, and he becomes more talkative. He gestures with his left hand, explaining everything from the angle of breaking the ice to the depth of bait placement, from observing the water flow to identifying fish schools to the force required to hook the fish. He speaks with such expertise that he seems like a seasoned veteran who has been working with water for many years.
After he finished recounting all the details he could think of, Jiang Shu and Jiang Wen were both a little stunned. They looked at each other, their minds buzzing.
—Why does it sound like fishing is more complicated than working in the fields? Just remembering all those intricacies is enough to keep you busy.
Especially ginger trees.
He used to be a seasoned angler, though he might only catch fish once a year, so he shouldn't have to accept this so hard.
Jiang Wang thought he hadn't explained it clearly, so he even took them to the No. 3 collection area to practice.
As a result, the two brothers returned home looking disheveled after a long day.
When Ye Qingyun asked about it, the two brothers were too embarrassed to say that they had mastered it, and only said that they still needed to learn more.
This day was exceptionally long and unbearable for both the ginger twig and the ginger tree.
That night, Jiangzhi had another dream.
I dreamt that the thick vines climbed higher and higher, their branches and leaves spreading out like a waterfall, eventually growing into the shape of the giant vine from "Jack and the Beanstalk," towering majestically into the sky, its scale and grandeur comparable to the giant tree of the Cloud Nest.
Just as Jiang Zhi was in shock, the scene in her dream suddenly changed.
The ground beneath my feet began to shake violently.
Jiang Zhi looked down and saw the map of Blue Star shattered before her eyes. The tectonic plates seemed to be torn apart by an invisible hand, with sparks flying at the edges and seawater pouring into the cracked ravines.
The Ancheng base, located in the An Triangle, is shaking violently due to a piece of detached earth's crust.
Immediately afterwards, towering waves surged up from the distant sea, like a giant gray-black wall, roaring and crashing down, leaving houses in ruins and lives in ruins.
Jiangzhi struggled desperately in this overwhelming despair, but there was nothing she could do.
Just as the tsunami was about to completely engulf this land, a vine suddenly sprang up from the ground!
The roots, like countless thick iron chains, pierced deep into the earth's crust, and the stems grew wildly at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, instantly breaking through the clouds.
Even more astonishingly, its massive branches spread out like a giant umbrella, steadily supporting the entire Anshan Triangle, carrying this land, its houses, and its struggling people, slowly lifting them off the cracked ground and rising into the vast sky.
This scene is too real.
Jiang Zhi felt so real that her whole body stiffened and she couldn't even breathe properly.
The tremors of the earthquake and the sound of the waves in my dream still seem to linger on my body, making it hard to tell whether I was awake or asleep.
In her panic, Jiangzhi tried to sink into the mental pool and contact the seed, and immediately received a strong message from it.
The discomfort of being tightly wrapped up, or struggling in a crowded crevice, was directly conveyed to Jiang Zhi.
"squeeze……"
Jiang Zhi: ...Is it because they think their land is too small?
The thought had barely crossed her mind when the feeling of "squeezing" still lingered in her mind, keeping her awake for the rest of the night as she kept thinking about the vines.
Finally, as dawn broke and a sliver of light shone through the window, Jiang Zhi jumped up and, without even bothering to put on her shoes, shuffled outside.
When Jiang Zhi saw the scene outside, her expression changed immediately.
—It's only been one night.
The vines are over ten meters tall, taking up half of a fifty-square-meter area.
The tents that were originally used to shield people from the wind and snow and from the view of others were blown away by it.
The earthen walls of their house showed faint signs of being squeezed.
At this moment, Jiang Shu and his family were also drawn out by the commotion outside. When they saw the state of the vines, they were all speechless with shock.
Ye Qingyun frowned deeply: "This tent... it was fine yesterday, and now it's been torn to the side?" She looked at the base of the earthen wall, which was being deformed by the vines, and said in a strained voice, "If it keeps growing like this, I'm afraid our wall won't be able to hold up."
Ginger Tree: "My goodness, is this the seed we planted before? It's grown way too fast!"
Jiang Shan's expression was grave. "This thing is growing too fast. This can't go on. Da Shu, you should ride your bike to Professor Shen right now and have him bring people to move these vines away as soon as possible."
Jiang Shuben wanted to think more about the current situation, but upon hearing this, he couldn't care less about anything else. He responded and immediately went to find someone.
As soon as it was light, when everyone around them got up, they saw the vines leaning against their house and all rushed out of their homes.
As more and more people gathered, just as Jiang Zhi was having a headache, she finally heard the sound of a military pickup truck engine.
Professor Shen arrived with about a dozen research staff members in overalls. The truck bed was loaded with shovels, picks, ropes, and several rolls of thick canvas.
Professor Shen's expression turned serious when he saw the vines that had grown seven or eight meters tall overnight.
Professor Shen pushed up his glasses, circled the vine twice, and frowned. "I was careless. I didn't expect it to grow so tall in just one night... The roots must be deep. Clear the surrounding soil first, and be careful not to damage the main root."
Professor Shen said the last sentence to several people at the research institute.
Upon hearing this, several researchers immediately picked up shovels and began digging outwards from the base of the vines.
The frozen soil was as hard as iron; when they shoveled it, they only left a white mark. They had to use pickaxes to loosen it first, and then dig the soil away little by little.
Jiang He and Jiang Shan and a few others also stepped forward to lend a hand, helping to clear away the clods of soil that had been dug out.
This time, the vines were surprisingly well-behaved and didn't cause any trouble, probably because they were feeling uncomfortable being confined in this field.
The main stem of the vine is now as thick as a washbasin, with three to five vines intertwined and tightly stuck together.
A researcher tied a hemp rope three times half a meter above the ground and then wrapped the rope around the hook in the back of the pickup truck. "It needs to be secured first, so it doesn't fall apart when we move it."
As the pickaxe rose and fell, more and more soil was cleared away, and the exposed main stem grew longer and longer, twisting and turning like an old tree root, covered with moist black mud, tightly bound together. They dug nearly two meters deeper, but still could not see the end.
Professor Shen suddenly shouted, "Wait!"
He crouched down and pointed to a hard object that the pickaxe had hit—it wasn't a stone, but a fleshy root thicker than the main stem.
"Measure the depth." He handed a long probe to the research staff who were digging.
The young man inserted the probe into the soil beside him, and it went in for nearly ten meters before encountering an obstacle.
Professor Shen gasped: "Good heavens, it looks scary that it grows more than ten meters above ground, but the real thing is hidden underground. The main root is probably seventeen or eighteen meters underground, growing even faster than the part above ground."
He patted the dirt off his hands. "Looks like we'll have to call in an excavator. We can't dig this out by manpower alone."
Professor Shen then sent people to seek support.
The excavator roared over, its iron arm repeatedly plunging into the frozen soil. With tremendous effort, it finally managed to dig out the entire root system, which was seventeen or eighteen meters long.
Jiang Zhi felt the squeezing sensation in her mental pool ease, and her whole body relaxed.
Then, the excavator used steel cables to secure it and hoisted it onto the truck. The truck bed was so heavy that it almost dragged the vine away.
Professor Shen watched as the vines were removed, then turned to Jiang Zhi and instructed her, "Comrade Jiang, I've already reported this to my superiors, so you don't need to worry about the rest. Just be aware that this thing is extremely resilient. Keep an eye on the remaining root fragments in the yard and see if any new shoots sprout. If you see any signs of this, call me immediately. Don't touch anything yourself."
Jiang Zhi responded.
I don't know why.
She suddenly remembered her dream from last night.
That despair sent a chill down her spine.
She wiped her face, realizing she was overthinking things.
—It's just a dream, how could it possibly come true?
But what if it's true?
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