The overweight Su Qinghe made the mountain path far more difficult. Just the walk itself had taken two whole hours. When they finally reached the entrance of the dense forest, the expression on Ling Jiang's face carried such emotion that it made Lan Jin laugh aloud.
But in truth, this moment of relaxation was only possible because they had not yet stepped inside. Once they entered, everyone would have to remain on guard until they came back out. By then, who could still find the mood to laugh?
Before going in, they still had to check first.
Ling Jiang slowly stretched her head into the entrance, cautiously peeking in. She observed the flowers that spewed pollen, checking their current state.
Finding that the flowers were still sealed under ice, the six of them felt reassured and boldly walked inside.
They had not gone far before everyone's attention shifted to the remains of the giant serpent they had blown apart yesterday. The pieces of its body lay on the ground. Lan Jin grimaced with disgust and muttered, "We are just going to leave this big snake here? No one's going to deal with it?"
Lao Gao glanced at her, grinning. "Who's going to deal with it? Why not drag it down and eat it? Meat from such a big snake shouldn't be poisonous."
It was obvious he was only joking. Lao Gao then added, "This whole place is going to be blasted to bits anyway. Sister Lan, just bear with it. We probably won't come back here again."
"I know, I was just saying."
Unexpectedly, while Lan Jin was only complaining, Su Qinghe suddenly retched so hard it looked like she might vomit. "Urgh! How can you not feel sick? You're even joking here?"
Huang Jinghe replied flatly, "What's there to be sick about? This is the thing we killed yesterday. If you don't listen, your ending won't be any different from its."
Su Qinghe shut her mouth. The nausea that had risen was forcibly held back, and she silently followed behind them.
…
Today's route was naturally different from yesterday's. Yesterday they had entered this forest mainly to search for missing teammates, so the paths they followed were based on the distress signal's range. Today, they were heading directly toward the area near the serpent's tail.
That was because the path pointed out by the serpent's tail was the shortest route leading to the back of the lake. Entering from here was the quickest way.
To be fair, the base's reconnaissance was done quite well. Having a clear direction saved them a lot of wandering. But as they walked, Lan Jin noticed something odd. "I didn't think too much yesterday. But now, coming back today, something feels wrong."
Brother Zhang looked puzzled. "What's wrong? Tell us."
"This dense forest used to be a lake. So there should not be any natural paths running through it, right? Otherwise, they would not have built a wooden bridge outside." Lan Jin paused, then continued, "So where did all these paths we are walking on come from?"
Not just the path they were on now, even the ones from yesterday were the same. All throughout the lakebed, narrow earthen trails about twenty centimeters wide stretched out, tightly connected to the terrain, leading everywhere like a web.
The trails were so thin they could only allow one person to walk at a time. Other than the bare soil itself, not a single blade of grass grew upon them.
But on both sides of each trail, there were two perfectly clear dividing lines. Beyond the dirt, every patch of ground was crowded with plants. Even without close observation, anyone paying attention would notice this strangeness.
Of course, what Lan Jin meant by "perfectly divided" was only in the roots and stems. The plants above ground still swayed and bent freely.
Lan Jin was not the only one to notice. The base had already been aware of this detail, but after several studies they never figured out the reason. Or perhaps they did but had not shared the answer with someone of Brother Zhang's level. Either way, Brother Zhang truly could not answer her.
Brother Zhang said, "Your eye for details really is different from others."
"To notice details is to find a chance at survival." Lan Jin spoke from her heart. "Details matter."
…
Since there was no answer, they did not dwell on it further. After all, walking here was dangerous enough.
But just as they passed the serpent's tail and were about to go deeper into the forest, Su Qinghe suddenly threw a fit. She flatly refused to move forward, plopping down on the ground. No matter how Huang Jinghe or Lao Gao tried to drag her, she wailed and fought, refusing to advance.
Such behavior would raise suspicion from anyone.
Brother Zhang looked at Su Qinghe sprawled on the ground and sighed. "Look at your age. Even if you want to throw a tantrum, shouldn't you consider how ridiculous it looks? Kids can do this. But at your age, doesn't it feel completely out of place?"
It was indeed absurd. Saying it out loud only made it funnier. The only ones amused were Lan Jin and the others. Su Qinghe, still on the ground, nearly spat blood when she heard it.
Rolling her eyes, Su Qinghe declared, "I'm not going in! If you want to die, go ahead yourselves. I don't want to die here."
Die?
Ling Jiang narrowed her eyes, her voice sharp. "Why does going in mean certain death? If you don't explain clearly, I'll throw you in myself and see how you die. Then I'll decide if I should go in after."
Ling Jiang had never been someone to provoke. Compared to Lan Jin's cold ruthlessness, Ling Jiang was far more dangerous. Since Su Qinghe had already said such a thing, if she could not explain, then surely she should be the first to "feed" whatever danger she spoke of.
Su Qinghe looked around at Ling Jiang and then the other five, realizing they were exactly the type to follow through with such threats. Reluctantly, she admitted, "There isn't just one first tier beast here. Yesterday's explosions already drew their attention. Don't go deeper. You want to die, that's your choice, but I won't die with you."
Another first tier beast? That was indeed something to be wary of.
But Brother Zhang asked, "Where's your evidence?"
Yes. Without proof, this could simply be a ploy.
Su Qinghe raised her head and exclaimed in disbelief, "Wasn't yesterday's giant snake the best proof?"
"The giant snake was the giant snake. Are you saying this other first tier beast is also a giant snake?"
That could hardly be considered proof.
Lan Jin added, "Since you've said this much, don't keep hiding things. Let's be honest. If we hadn't seen the shed skin yesterday, we wouldn't have believed even one first tier beast was here. Now you say there are two. If that is true, then how do you know? Did your whole squad receive that information beforehand, or was it only you, and you lured us all here?"