160 Enchanted Forest Part 1
Cong Xia paused for a moment, smiling faintly, and asked, "What do you mean, Officer Li?"
Li Dao'ai replied, "I mean to praise your value."
Cong Xia understood that he was implying that he was "useful" to Yao Qianjiang. However, Li Dao'ai didn't seem like the type to talk behind someone's back, so he left it at that. As for Li Dao'ai's intentions in saying this, Cong Xia felt that he needed to think it over carefully.
Li Dao'ai's injuries weren't severe, just two cuts on his calf. However, they couldn't overlook any minor injuries. After Cong Xia treated Li Dao'ai's wounds, Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang checked them again before stopping. It seemed that Li Dao'ai held considerable authority among his subordinates, and Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang's protection and concern for him were definitely genuine.
After treating everyone's injuries, they dared not linger any longer and continued forward. Deng Xiao cried out, wanting to roast and eat the hog badger, but was eventually dragged away mercilessly by Zhuang Yao.
Cong Xia absorbed a lot of energy from the hog badgers. After healing everyone, his energy not only didn't decrease but actually increased. This showed how strong the energy of these hog badgers was. The more this happened, the more he worried about the dangers they would face in the next twenty-odd kilometers.
Al looked at the vast sea of forests and said, "I'll go ahead and scout the path. It's a bit unnerving to blindly move forward like this."
Zhao Zixiang said, "I'll go with you."
The two spread their wings and flew ahead. Even if they were bound to encounter attacks, at least they could have the chance to choose what they would encounter.
As San'er ran, he murmured to himself.
Deng Xiao asked, "What are you mumbling about?"
"I'm praying that we don't run into wild boars."
"Are wild boars really that formidable?"
"Very formidable. After evolution, the layer of skin on their bodies is tougher than yours. Wild boars love to roll in mud pits, which naturally produce a thick layer of grease on their bodies, covered by a 'armor' made of a mixture of pig hair and mud. Ordinary bullets just scratch them, and they are completely immune to knives and guns. Moreover, their temperaments are very strange. Once they set their sights on you, they won't stop until they ram you to death. They aren't afraid of dying at all. When I encountered several wild boars last time, they chased me all over the mountain. I was terrified."
Cheng Tianbi asked, "How do we avoid them?"
San'er replied, "Well, I'm sniffing the air along the way. Their smell is quite foul, so it's relatively easy to detect them. If we encounter wild boars, we'll take a detour."
At this moment, a rustling sound came from the radio, and Elle's voice approached. "We've run into trouble."
Zhuang Yao's voice turned serious, "What is it?"
"We encountered a group of mutated moths. We're leading them southeast, so you guys continue moving forward and don't deviate. Shen Changze is coming to support us."
Shen Changze flew up from Abu's back and warned, "Be careful, there's something happening through the radio." He then flew southeast.
Zhuang Yao recalibrated the route with a compass and commanded everyone to continue running forward.
The ground beneath their feet became increasingly moist, and the forest grew denser. Some trees had a diameter exceeding five meters, and the excessive evolution caused the distance between trees to narrow. Sometimes, Abu even had to detour to pass through the forest.
Zhuang Yao worried about the battle on the other side and asked after a while, "How's it going over there?"
The radio communication was turned on, and they heard a chaotic sound from the other end. Shen Changze urgently replied, "We can handle it. You guys hurry and move forward."
Suddenly, Li Dao'ai spoke up, "Something is rushing towards us from about five kilometers behind. It's moving at a speed of over 70 kilometers per hour, and the ground vibrations are intense. It's likely to be heavy."
Cheng Tianbi said solemnly, "Whatever it is, go at full speed!"
The group ran for about three to four kilometers when a gray, desolate forest suddenly appeared in front of them. Unlike the scenery they had seen all along the way, the trees here were not lush but dead and damaged. Decayed tree trunks lay scattered all over the place, and the most eerie thing was that these tree trunks were covered with clusters of white things. Upon closer inspection, these white things looked colorful and had translucent and lustrous petals, very beautiful. Some were as small as a human head, and the larger ones even exceeded the size of a car.
San'er shouted, "Stop!"
Cong Xia was puzzled and asked, "What are these things? They look so much like silver ear mushrooms."
San'er looked grave, "They are indeed silver ear mushrooms."
Huo Bai was curious and was about to take a closer look, but Zhuang Yao yelled, "Don't move! These silver ear mushrooms are not right. Look at the ground."
Everyone lowered their heads. Instead of the wild grass or green moss that should have grown on the ground, the fertile black soil that the people from Northeast China took pride in had turned somewhat reddish here. Not only that, the soil was constantly emitting small bubbles with a sizzling sound, as if it was breathing. The entire area emanated a pungent smell, and the immaculate white mushroom flowers clashed with the dark red soil beneath them.
Cong Xia asked, "San'er, what's going on?"
San'er anxiously replied, "I don't know. Last time I came here, there were no silver ear mushrooms. There used to be a wild boar's dung and bathing pool nearby, but that's three to four kilometers away…" He didn't finish his sentence as he suddenly turned around, and everyone else also turned their heads because the ground vibrations no longer required Li Dao'ai's evolved earth ability to sense; everyone felt the tremors caused by a large animal running.
San'er's expression changed, "Damn it, it's wild boars!"
Cong Xia felt a sense of unease. How could they be so unlucky? Wild boars were behind them, and they were facing a strange situation with the silver ear mushrooms and soil. Judging by the lifeless ground, they knew they couldn't step on it. However, taking a detour might already be too late.
Zhuang Yao grabbed a bag of food and threw it into the silver ear mushrooms from a distance. As soon as the canvas bag touched the dark red soil, it began to emit countless bubbles, as if the entire land had come alive, devouring the bag and its contents. It was like the bag and its contents were soaked in sulfuric acid, dissolving rapidly. In no time, the bag sank into the soil, disappearing without a trace.
Zhuang Yao decisively said, "It's a marshland, and it's corrosive. We need to take a detour."
The group started running northward, trying to bypass the area. They could see upright trees in the distance, a place that was likely not contaminated. However, the spread of this marshland was likely ongoing.
Cheng Tianbi said, "Could it be that we accidentally entered the territory of the wild boars? Otherwise, they wouldn't have chased us from several kilometers away."
Zhuang Yao replied, "It's very likely that this silver ear mushroom marshland was once the wild boars' dung pool. San'er said that the dung pool should be several kilometers away, but this marshland has spread so far. It's probably an extension of that dung pool. Animals have an instinct to protect their territory, and those wild boars might think we've invaded their territory."
Deng Xiao exclaimed angrily, "Who would be interested in their toilet place!"
Li Dao'ai looked back; they could already see the group of wild boars. There were at least forty of them. If they were charged by them, they would probably end up half crippled. He said solemnly, "I can change the soil composition of this marshland, but I can't maintain it for too long. There's no time to detour; we have to charge through. Even if we have to fight these wild boars, we can't do it near the marshland."
Zhuang Yao narrowed his eyes, calculating rapidly in his mind. "The area where the marshland hasn't spread to, about 1,660 meters away from us. Are you confident that you can create a path for us to walk in such a long distance?"
Li Dao'ai replied, "Is there a better way?"
Zhuang Yao looked back and said, "The collision with the wild boars will happen in 36 seconds. There's no better way."
"Then let's go!"
Zhuang Yao signaled to Cong Xia, who nodded lightly. He didn't need Zhuang Yao to say it; he would certainly continue to replenish Li Dao'ai's energy.
Li Dao'ai mounted on Huo Bai's back and shouted, "We'll go from here!"
Huo Bai fully trusted Li Dao'ai and leaped into the bubbling dark red marshland. When his claws touched the marsh, the soil under his feet was completely solid, and he didn't sink. However, everyone saw the fur around his paws instantly charred upon contact. Fortunately, his paw pads were thick enough to resist the corrosion, at least for now.
San'er followed closely behind Huo Bai, and Abu followed San'er. Their running formation formed a straight line, but it was very painful because their speeds were not consistent. In order to save Li Dao'ai's energy, they couldn't be too fast or too slow; they had to maintain a distance of no more than 50 meters from each other. This required them to synchronize their speeds, or else Abu might squash San'er.
After running about 200 meters into the marshland, even Abu and Huo Bai's paw pads began to break open due to the corrosion. San'er's hooves fared a little better, but he still felt a slight pain.
Just when they thought they had escaped the attack of the wild boar herd, they looked back and saw that the wild boars had jumped into the marshland without hesitation and were swimming towards them at a shocking speed.
Cong Xia was in disbelief, "How is this possible? Why didn't they sink in?"
Zhuang Yao said, "It seems this marshland is not deep."
"Damn, their skin is so thick! The corrosive nature of this soil is only slightly weaker than mine, and yet they haven't turned into roasted pigs?" Liu Fengyu watched as those three to four-meter-tall black-haired wild boars charged at them and felt a chill run down his spine.
Cheng Tianbi said, "Their thick skin, combined with the mud coating, is over ten centimeters thick. It's not that easy to corrode."
San'er sounded more relaxed, "It's okay; they're swimming so slowly. They can't catch up with us."
However, Cong Xia couldn't relax at all. Li Dao'ai's energy consumption was too rapid. They had only run about 500 meters, and his energy was almost depleted. He saw Li Dao'ai's pale face and decided to urgently inject energy into him like pouring water into a leaking bucket. At this critical moment, he didn't care if Li Dao'ai would notice. He just poured the energy into him, as he didn't want to see them all fall into this giant dung pool. That would be too disgusting a way to die.
Li Dao'ai was aware of the continuous influx of energy into his body. He glanced at Cong Xia in surprise, but quickly turned his head back. At this moment, he needed to concentrate on paving the way for everyone.
Suddenly, Huo Bai called out, "Watch out, there are more wild boars ahead!"
They looked ahead and indeed, a larger group of wild boars jumped into the marshland from the front. These wild boars were wrapped in a thick layer of dark red mud, indicating that this was their lair. They had become accustomed to rolling in the corrosive marshland and were no longer afraid of it.
Caught between the two groups of wild boars, Cheng Tianbi said solemnly, "The wild boars at the three o'clock direction are the fewest. We'll break through from there. Yanqiu, follow me." As he spoke, he took advantage of the wind and flew into the air. His arm was equipped with a silver-white wind cannon, and Tang Yanqiu spread his wings, holding an ancient bow, and flew towards the three o'clock direction.
Deng Xiao envied and said, "Brother Cheng can fly even without wings. That's so cool." As he spoke, he took the Gatling gun from his back. The machine gun was connected to a standard magazine with only 600 rounds of ammunition. The larger ammunition box was with Abu, but there was no time to retrieve it. He hoped that these 600 rounds would be enough to pave their way.
160 Enchanted Forest Part 1
Cong Xia paused for a moment, smiling faintly, and asked, "What do you mean, Officer Li?"
Li Dao'ai replied, "I mean to praise your value."
Cong Xia understood that he was implying that he was "useful" to Yao Qianjiang. However, Li Dao'ai didn't seem like the type to talk behind someone's back, so he left it at that. As for Li Dao'ai's intentions in saying this, Cong Xia felt that he needed to think it over carefully.
Li Dao'ai's injuries weren't severe, just two cuts on his calf. However, they couldn't overlook any minor injuries. After Cong Xia treated Li Dao'ai's wounds, Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang checked them again before stopping. It seemed that Li Dao'ai held considerable authority among his subordinates, and Huo Bai and Zhao Zixiang's protection and concern for him were definitely genuine.
After treating everyone's injuries, they dared not linger any longer and continued forward. Deng Xiao cried out, wanting to roast and eat the hog badger, but was eventually dragged away mercilessly by Zhuang Yao.
Cong Xia absorbed a lot of energy from the hog badgers. After healing everyone, his energy not only didn't decrease but actually increased. This showed how strong the energy of these hog badgers was. The more this happened, the more he worried about the dangers they would face in the next twenty-odd kilometers.
Al looked at the vast sea of forests and said, "I'll go ahead and scout the path. It's a bit unnerving to blindly move forward like this."
Zhao Zixiang said, "I'll go with you."
The two spread their wings and flew ahead. Even if they were bound to encounter attacks, at least they could have the chance to choose what they would encounter.
As San'er ran, he murmured to himself.
Deng Xiao asked, "What are you mumbling about?"
"I'm praying that we don't run into wild boars."
"Are wild boars really that formidable?"
"Very formidable. After evolution, the layer of skin on their bodies is tougher than yours. Wild boars love to roll in mud pits, which naturally produce a thick layer of grease on their bodies, covered by a 'armor' made of a mixture of pig hair and mud. Ordinary bullets just scratch them, and they are completely immune to knives and guns. Moreover, their temperaments are very strange. Once they set their sights on you, they won't stop until they ram you to death. They aren't afraid of dying at all. When I encountered several wild boars last time, they chased me all over the mountain. I was terrified."
Cheng Tianbi asked, "How do we avoid them?"
San'er replied, "Well, I'm sniffing the air along the way. Their smell is quite foul, so it's relatively easy to detect them. If we encounter wild boars, we'll take a detour."
At this moment, a rustling sound came from the radio, and Elle's voice approached. "We've run into trouble."
Zhuang Yao's voice turned serious, "What is it?"
"We encountered a group of mutated moths. We're leading them southeast, so you guys continue moving forward and don't deviate. Shen Changze is coming to support us."
Shen Changze flew up from Abu's back and warned, "Be careful, there's something happening through the radio." He then flew southeast.
Zhuang Yao recalibrated the route with a compass and commanded everyone to continue running forward.
The ground beneath their feet became increasingly moist, and the forest grew denser. Some trees had a diameter exceeding five meters, and the excessive evolution caused the distance between trees to narrow. Sometimes, Abu even had to detour to pass through the forest.
Zhuang Yao worried about the battle on the other side and asked after a while, "How's it going over there?"
The radio communication was turned on, and they heard a chaotic sound from the other end. Shen Changze urgently replied, "We can handle it. You guys hurry and move forward."
Suddenly, Li Dao'ai spoke up, "Something is rushing towards us from about five kilometers behind. It's moving at a speed of over 70 kilometers per hour, and the ground vibrations are intense. It's likely to be heavy."
Cheng Tianbi said solemnly, "Whatever it is, go at full speed!"
The group ran for about three to four kilometers when a gray, desolate forest suddenly appeared in front of them. Unlike the scenery they had seen all along the way, the trees here were not lush but dead and damaged. Decayed tree trunks lay scattered all over the place, and the most eerie thing was that these tree trunks were covered with clusters of white things. Upon closer inspection, these white things looked colorful and had translucent and lustrous petals, very beautiful. Some were as small as a human head, and the larger ones even exceeded the size of a car.
San'er shouted, "Stop!"
Cong Xia was puzzled and asked, "What are these things? They look so much like silver ear mushrooms."
San'er looked grave, "They are indeed silver ear mushrooms."
Huo Bai was curious and was about to take a closer look, but Zhuang Yao yelled, "Don't move! These silver ear mushrooms are not right. Look at the ground."
Everyone lowered their heads. Instead of the wild grass or green moss that should have grown on the ground, the fertile black soil that the people from Northeast China took pride in had turned somewhat reddish here. Not only that, the soil was constantly emitting small bubbles with a sizzling sound, as if it was breathing. The entire area emanated a pungent smell, and the immaculate white mushroom flowers clashed with the dark red soil beneath them.
Cong Xia asked, "San'er, what's going on?"
San'er anxiously replied, "I don't know. Last time I came here, there were no silver ear mushrooms. There used to be a wild boar's dung and bathing pool nearby, but that's three to four kilometers away…" He didn't finish his sentence as he suddenly turned around, and everyone else also turned their heads because the ground vibrations no longer required Li Dao'ai's evolved earth ability to sense; everyone felt the tremors caused by a large animal running.
San'er's expression changed, "Damn it, it's wild boars!"
Cong Xia felt a sense of unease. How could they be so unlucky? Wild boars were behind them, and they were facing a strange situation with the silver ear mushrooms and soil. Judging by the lifeless ground, they knew they couldn't step on it. However, taking a detour might already be too late.
Zhuang Yao grabbed a bag of food and threw it into the silver ear mushrooms from a distance. As soon as the canvas bag touched the dark red soil, it began to emit countless bubbles, as if the entire land had come alive, devouring the bag and its contents. It was like the bag and its contents were soaked in sulfuric acid, dissolving rapidly. In no time, the bag sank into the soil, disappearing without a trace.
Zhuang Yao decisively said, "It's a marshland, and it's corrosive. We need to take a detour."
The group started running northward, trying to bypass the area. They could see upright trees in the distance, a place that was likely not contaminated. However, the spread of this marshland was likely ongoing.
Cheng Tianbi said, "Could it be that we accidentally entered the territory of the wild boars? Otherwise, they wouldn't have chased us from several kilometers away."
Zhuang Yao replied, "It's very likely that this silver ear mushroom marshland was once the wild boars' dung pool. San'er said that the dung pool should be several kilometers away, but this marshland has spread so far. It's probably an extension of that dung pool. Animals have an instinct to protect their territory, and those wild boars might think we've invaded their territory."
Deng Xiao exclaimed angrily, "Who would be interested in their toilet place!"
Li Dao'ai looked back; they could already see the group of wild boars. There were at least forty of them. If they were charged by them, they would probably end up half crippled. He said solemnly, "I can change the soil composition of this marshland, but I can't maintain it for too long. There's no time to detour; we have to charge through. Even if we have to fight these wild boars, we can't do it near the marshland."
Zhuang Yao narrowed his eyes, calculating rapidly in his mind. "The area where the marshland hasn't spread to, about 1,660 meters away from us. Are you confident that you can create a path for us to walk in such a long distance?"
Li Dao'ai replied, "Is there a better way?"
Zhuang Yao looked back and said, "The collision with the wild boars will happen in 36 seconds. There's no better way."
"Then let's go!"
Zhuang Yao signaled to Cong Xia, who nodded lightly. He didn't need Zhuang Yao to say it; he would certainly continue to replenish Li Dao'ai's energy.
Li Dao'ai mounted on Huo Bai's back and shouted, "We'll go from here!"
Huo Bai fully trusted Li Dao'ai and leaped into the bubbling dark red marshland. When his claws touched the marsh, the soil under his feet was completely solid, and he didn't sink. However, everyone saw the fur around his paws instantly charred upon contact. Fortunately, his paw pads were thick enough to resist the corrosion, at least for now.
San'er followed closely behind Huo Bai, and Abu followed San'er. Their running formation formed a straight line, but it was very painful because their speeds were not consistent. In order to save Li Dao'ai's energy, they couldn't be too fast or too slow; they had to maintain a distance of no more than 50 meters from each other. This required them to synchronize their speeds, or else Abu might squash San'er.
After running about 200 meters into the marshland, even Abu and Huo Bai's paw pads began to break open due to the corrosion. San'er's hooves fared a little better, but he still felt a slight pain.
Just when they thought they had escaped the attack of the wild boar herd, they looked back and saw that the wild boars had jumped into the marshland without hesitation and were swimming towards them at a shocking speed.
Cong Xia was in disbelief, "How is this possible? Why didn't they sink in?"
Zhuang Yao said, "It seems this marshland is not deep."
"Damn, their skin is so thick! The corrosive nature of this soil is only slightly weaker than mine, and yet they haven't turned into roasted pigs?" Liu Fengyu watched as those three to four-meter-tall black-haired wild boars charged at them and felt a chill run down his spine.
Cheng Tianbi said, "Their thick skin, combined with the mud coating, is over ten centimeters thick. It's not that easy to corrode."
San'er sounded more relaxed, "It's okay; they're swimming so slowly. They can't catch up with us."
However, Cong Xia couldn't relax at all. Li Dao'ai's energy consumption was too rapid. They had only run about 500 meters, and his energy was almost depleted. He saw Li Dao'ai's pale face and decided to urgently inject energy into him like pouring water into a leaking bucket. At this critical moment, he didn't care if Li Dao'ai would notice. He just poured the energy into him, as he didn't want to see them all fall into this giant dung pool. That would be too disgusting a way to die.
Li Dao'ai was aware of the continuous influx of energy into his body. He glanced at Cong Xia in surprise, but quickly turned his head back. At this moment, he needed to concentrate on paving the way for everyone.
Suddenly, Huo Bai called out, "Watch out, there are more wild boars ahead!"
They looked ahead and indeed, a larger group of wild boars jumped into the marshland from the front. These wild boars were wrapped in a thick layer of dark red mud, indicating that this was their lair. They had become accustomed to rolling in the corrosive marshland and were no longer afraid of it.
Caught between the two groups of wild boars, Cheng Tianbi said solemnly, "The wild boars at the three o'clock direction are the fewest. We'll break through from there. Yanqiu, follow me." As he spoke, he took advantage of the wind and flew into the air. His arm was equipped with a silver-white wind cannon, and Tang Yanqiu spread his wings, holding an ancient bow, and flew towards the three o'clock direction.
Deng Xiao envied and said, "Brother Cheng can fly even without wings. That's so cool." As he spoke, he took the Gatling gun from his back. The machine gun was connected to a standard magazine with only 600 rounds of ammunition. The larger ammunition box was with Abu, but there was no time to retrieve it. He hoped that these 600 rounds would be enough to pave their way.
