novelraw Chapter 251 - 242: Not Yet Time to Be Desperate
Chapter 251 - 242: Not Yet Time to Be Desperate
The rain outside grew heavier and heavier.
The chicken soup in several large pots was already at a rolling boil. Seeing that the time was right, Wei Heng had everyone toss the cleaned and torn mushrooms into the pots. He then took half a pot of the chicken soup, rinsed some rice to add to it, and took out a few red dates...
Soon, the sweet aroma of shredded chicken porridge filled the entire camp.
Liu Hao and the others struggled to tear their eyes away, turning their attention to the large pot in front of them.
Ouyang had already announced that the red dates were limited and reserved for the women to replenish their strength. As for the men, well, eating meat was good enough for them.
Before, the group of men hadn’t seen any problem with this.
But now... Mr. Wei’s cooking was just too good. That shredded chicken porridge smelled incredible!
There wasn’t much porridge, but luckily, there weren’t many women in the convoy either.
After happily downing two bowls, Qi Xiang was just starting to feel satisfied when she paused mid-stomach-rub.
She walked over to Ouyang and whispered a few words.
Ouyang nodded.
Because of the rain, the Guard Team and the research institute staff, who had previously camped farther away, had now moved their encampments closer to the Special Service Team.
The three groups formed a triangle, appearing to be a single unit but in reality remaining clearly distinct.
On this rainy night, the rich aroma of chicken soup enveloped the entire camp.
He Yue and Xu Hai huddled together, staring at the large pot of chicken soup the Special Service Team had just delivered. They were practically drooling but hesitated to start eating.
Would the group across the way really be kind enough to send them something warm? Xu Hai didn’t buy it, and even He Yue found it hard to believe.
But the soup smelled just too damn good.
It was truly irresistible.
He Yue thought for a moment, grabbed a bowl from the side, and was about to lift the pot lid when Xu Hai clamped down on his hand. "What are you doing?"
His craving already unbearable, He Yue shook off Xu Hai’s hand and lifted the lid. "What’s there to be afraid of? You think they’d dare to poison us so openly?"
He didn’t bother with a ladle, scooping up a portion directly with his large bowl. He narrowed his eyes, blew on it lightly, and was just about to drink when Xu Hai stopped him again.
"How about we send it over to our side for analysis first?" Xu Hai suggested with a frown, his expression grim.
Just then, Ye Nan emerged from a resting tent and dropped two cold words: "Not poisoned."
After downing a bowl of chicken soup, He Yue shot his men a meaningful look...
Because of the heavy rain, the temperature was dropping especially fast that night.
Even after drinking the nourishing chicken soup, Qi Xiang still felt a bit cold and deftly squeezed in next to Gu Xi.
Wei Heng and Shen Yue were squatting to one side, occasionally tossing firewood into the fire. The Qin Family sisters hadn’t returned since delivering the chicken soup to the research team...
The bonfire drove away the surrounding chill. Qi Xiang yawned lazily. Full and satisfied, her eyelids began to feel heavy.
She leaned on Gu Xi’s shoulder and mumbled, "Those guys across the way really got off easy. What a waste of such a good pot of soup..." ’There were several chicken necks in there, too.’
Gu Xi: "..." ’Didn’t Ouyang secretly fish out those chicken necks before the soup was sent over?’
Shen Yue also thought it was a bit of a waste.
However, if one pot of soup could sow discord between those two annoying groups on the other side, sacrificing a pot that didn’t even have bones and had been secretly watered down with several large ladles of water by Wei Heng... well, maybe it wasn’t such a bad trade.
The group discussed their future route for a bit longer, then split up to get some rest.
As she passed the command vehicle, Gu Xi saw several Special Service Team members in raincoats hurrying back from their patrol to change shifts. Ye Junhan was among them.
Gu Xi’s steps faltered slightly. Qi Xiang glanced at Ye Junhan, then back at Gu Xi, a thoughtful expression on her face.
She yawned, said a quick word to Gu Xi, and left ahead of her.
Over there, Zhao Qingxiao quickly handed a steaming bowl of chicken soup to Ye Junhan. Ye Junhan took it, exchanged a few words with him, and then walked over to Gu Xi.
"Something wrong?" Ye Junhan’s gaze fell on Gu Xi, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.
Water dripped steadily from the hem of his raincoat, making him seem even colder in the rainy night.
Ye Junhan was too tall.
Gu Xi wasn’t used to tilting her head up to look at people. She took a small step back and looked at Ye Junhan. "Did you find anything?"
She knew he had gone to the part of the forest where they had picked mushrooms earlier.
Ye Junhan stared at her for a long time while drinking his soup before finally speaking. "The large tree where Liu Hao found the Lingzhi before... it’s completely withered and died."
Seeing that Gu Xi wasn’t surprised, he asked, "What was it?"
Gu Xi thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "It was probably that thing from under the cliff..."
Before she could finish her sentence, the entire ground suddenly began to shake violently.
An earthquake.
It had struck without any warning.
Fortunately, both Ye Junhan and Gu Xi reacted extremely quickly.
Gu Xi narrowed her eyes, trying her best to control the cracking earth beneath her feet and quiet the plants that were attempting to burst through the surface.
Ye Junhan, meanwhile, quickly organized the convoy for evacuation...
Qi Xiang was lucky. She was just about to enter her tent to rest when the earthquake started. She was completely unharmed, but the large tent next to hers still held several women from the research team...
Just as the tent was about to collapse, Qi Xiang stomped her foot, ready to run and help. But then she saw the Qin Family sisters, each dragging several pale-faced researchers, rushing toward her.
"Get in the car!" Shen Yue and Wei Heng had each driven a vehicle over, stopping in front of the group.
As Liu Jia was pushed into the vehicle, she glanced back, clearly wanting to retrieve her cases. A lot of instruments and equipment were packed inside them.
Seeing this, Gu Xi turned and ran back, quickly emerging with a huge case in each hand.
Qi Xiang, already in the vehicle, quickly took the cases. Just as she reached out to pull Gu Xi aboard, the ground began to shake violently again.
The tremors were even more intense than before.
In the face of nature’s whims, even humanity’s most powerful ability users seemed small and helpless.
Fissures split open uncontrollably, forcing Shen Yue’s and Wei Heng’s SUVs to slide to one side.
Gu Xi knelt on one knee in the rain-soaked dirt. The tarp covering the camp had long since been torn away by the shaking, and her clothes were drenched. She lowered her gaze to the chasm that had suddenly appeared before her—over ten meters wide and bottomless—a strange light flashing in her eyes.
Just then.
"Careful."
Amidst the violent shaking, an arm wrapped around Gu Xi’s waist and pulled her into a roll, narrowly avoiding another fissure that was intersecting their path.
Her face was buried in Ye Junhan’s wet raincoat, her vision blurred and hazy with moisture.
Gu Xi frowned, trying to pull away. She had to use her Earth Ability to stabilize the area, or the entire convoy could be buried here.
But Ye Junhan held her waist tight, slowly shaking his head at her. Li Ming had said Gu Xi’s ability hadn’t fully recovered to its peak state. Trying to stabilize such a large area in an earthquake of this magnitude would drain all her power.
Once her power was exhausted... He couldn’t accept the consequences.
Just then, another tremor shook the mountains, and Gu Xi slammed into Ye Junhan’s chest again.
A small green sprout had already shot out from her fingertips, but Ye Junhan caught her hand in a firm grip.
"It’s not time to risk everything yet," Ye Junhan said, his face cold as he pulled her along, continuously dodging the cracking ground around them.
Gu Xi followed behind him, looking down at their clasped hands, feeling a momentary sense of bewilderment.
Amidst the violent shaking, Zhao Qingxiao managed to bring the car to a precarious stop in front of them. Ye Junhan pulled open the door and pushed Gu Xi inside.
Only after confirming that all his people were in the vehicles did Ye Junhan get into the front passenger seat. "Go!"
The entire valley began to collapse. With their headlights cutting through the rainy night, several SUVs tore across the muddy ground, dodging falling boulders and dirt as they sped out of the valley.