novelraw Chapter 283 - 270: Gu Xi
Chapter 283 - 270: Gu Xi
In the rainforest, Gu Xi moved like a phantom, darting swiftly in the direction of the scent.
Half an hour later, she came to a sudden halt.
"Come out."
The forest was silent, shrouded in a fine, misty rain.
A slender figure emerged from the rainforest.
"Why is it you?" Gu Xi frowned slightly at the person before her.
Zhou Jing swallowed the pill in her mouth and gave her a deep look. "Follow me."
With that, she turned and walked toward the depths of the forest, only to stop abruptly after a few steps. "Gu Xi, you shouldn’t have come."
Gu Xi’s frown deepened. "Did your people create that thing? And that team near the crooked-neck tree below the cliff—were they yours, too?"
Zhou Jing didn’t answer. After a moment of silence, she said, "If you leave now, you can still make it out."
Gu Xi had long suspected that the creature below the cliff that tried to hide her Xidao was man-made. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that it had targeted the exact crooked-neck tree where she had hidden her blade.
Now, Zhou Jing’s attitude all but confirmed it.
However, nature’s evolution hardly follows the will of man. After devouring the energy of that crooked-neck tree and evolving, the creature was likely out of control now.
Otherwise, the people behind Zhou Jing wouldn’t have gone to such great lengths to lure her here.
’But it’s not like I’m the captain of the cleanup crew. Why does everyone always expect me to fix their messes the moment trouble starts?’
’Yes, I played the apocalypse hero once, but I never intended to make a career out of it.’
Gu Xi lowered her gaze, nonchalantly fiddling with the small green sprout on her fingertip.
...
Meanwhile, led by the Mutated Rat King, Wei Heng, Qi Xiang, and the others hurried through the dense, rain-soaked forest.
Gu Xi was too fast, and the path was treacherous. To keep up with her, the group had no choice but to push themselves to their limits.
This was especially hard on Qi Xiang. While her constitution was decent, her Combat Power was the lowest in the group. She also had the least experience with cross-country travel, and her ability was useless for moving faster. She was quickly starting to fall behind.
Left with no other choice, Wei Heng had the Qin Family sisters support her from either side, making for a rather pathetic sight.
As the group weaved quickly through the misty mountain forest, Qi Xiang began to feel dizzy and nauseous. However, with the gas mask on her head, she couldn’t actually vomit.
Wei Heng glanced back and saw her discomfort. He frowned and said, "Why don’t we have Zhang Wen and Zhao Li take you back to camp? Qin Shi and I will continue after Gu Xi..."
"No need." Qi Xiang waved a weak hand, her eyes on the Mutated Rat King leading the way. "I have to stay and watch it."
She had a gut feeling. Even though Gu Xi had left an ability imprint on it, without her own ability’s influence, Wei Heng and the others probably wouldn’t be able to control the Mutated Rat King.
And as everyone knew, mutated rats were the most cunning of creatures.
Especially this one, which was practically sentient.
The mutated rat led them deeper and deeper into the high mountain jungle. They were surrounded by towering mutant plants, and the path grew increasingly difficult. Even with Wei Heng’s Earth Ability and Qin Yi’s Wood Element ability clearing the way, the group’s pace slowed considerably.
Qi Xiang’s head was spinning, but she gritted her teeth and bore it in silence.
Suddenly, she stopped, shaking off Qin Yi’s supporting hand. She pulled the Triangular Military Knife from her waist, unsheathed it, and gripped the handle tightly, her eyes fixed on the Mutated Rat King at the front.
Qin Yi froze for a second before quickly realizing what was happening.
At the same time, Qin Shi had already drawn her Superpower Gun, strode forward, and pressed its muzzle against the Mutated Rat King’s head.
"Freeze."
"SQUEAK!" ’Damn it! Pointing a gun at me again? You really think I’m a pushover?’
The Mutated Rat King spun around angrily, but its beady red eyes landed on the Triangular Military Knife in Qi Xiang’s hand—the one weapon that should have been the least threatening to it.
In the fine mist, the blade seemed to reflect a faint green light.
Bringing up the rear, Zhang Wen and Zhao Li exchanged a glance. Zhao Li stayed put on guard while Zhang Wen strode over to Qi Xiang’s side and asked in a low voice, "Is something wrong with this thing? Is the direction wrong?"
Qi Xiang slowly shook her head. "The direction should be fine," she said, going by her gut. ’The problem is this rat.’
Zhang Wen didn’t understand.
Qi Xiang took the initiative to explain. "That smell in the air... we felt uncomfortable after just a whiff of it. But look at it..."
Zhang Wen followed her gaze. The Mutated Rat King was staring at the knife in Qi Xiang’s hand with its shifty eyes... looking as energetic as ever.
It suddenly dawned on Zhang Wen: the cunning creature wasn’t wearing a gas mask.
’So how is it still so lively?’
"Maybe the little guy is naturally immune to certain smells?" Qin Yi guessed from the side.
Qi Xiang didn’t speak. Gripping the military knife, she advanced step by step.
Zhang Wen felt something was off. ’In a situation like this, what’s the use of a non-combat ability user like you going forward with a knife?’
But Qi Xiang was obviously no fool, and she wouldn’t do something pointless.
Zhang Wen’s gaze fell back to the knife in her hand. Just as he was about to get a closer look, Wei Heng, who was at the very front, suddenly took two steps forward, on full alert, his ability ready to be unleashed.
Zhang Wen instinctively tightened his grip on his weapon and looked up. "Mr. Wei... Miss Gu!"
Gu Xi emerged from the woods ahead, frowning slightly at the group. "Why did you follow me?"
Wei Heng secretly breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward. "We were worried..."
He was halfway through his sentence when his peripheral vision caught sight of the small green sprout on Gu Xi’s fingertip. He paused for a fraction of a second, then nonchalantly continued, "...so we followed you to see what was going on. How is it? Have you found Mr. Ye and his team?"
The little green sprout looked the same as always—limp like a bean sprout, its two tender leaves at the top drooping. The tiny thing was wrapped around Gu Xi’s fingertip, spinning in circles.
Wei Heng had seen this scene on Gu Xi many times and was very familiar with it.
This time was just like all the others; it looked no different from before.
But Wei Heng couldn’t shake the feeling that something was different.
Gu Xi walked over, her expression calm. "Not yet. I met a friend over here, and my spiritual power suddenly sensed you all..."
Nearby, when the Mutated Rat King saw Gu Xi suddenly appear, its beady red eyes widened involuntarily before its eyelids quickly drooped.
Qi Xiang’s attention had been fixed on the rat, so she was the first to notice its strange reaction. Her gaze shifted from the Mutated Rat King to the Gu Xi opposite them, and then she subtly tugged on Zhang Wen’s sleeve.
Zhang Wen, not understanding, rotated his wrist and looked over, his eyes asking: ’What’s wrong?’
Qi Xiang suddenly called out to the front, "Gu Xi."
Gu Xi looked up. Zhang Wen suddenly had an idea and was about to step forward when Qi Xiang stomped hard on his foot.
Zhang Wen: "...?"
Meanwhile, Qi Xiang, acting as if she hadn’t just stepped on him, walked up to Gu Xi with a pained expression and held up her knife. "The knife you gave me... it doesn’t seem to be working anymore..."
Gu Xi frowned at the knife in her hand, confused. "This knife..."
Qi Xiang twirled the military knife and then jutted her chin toward the Mutated Rat King. "Didn’t you say you attached a sliver of your ability to this knife to intimidate this thing? But look..."
The mutated rat: "...SQUEAK?" ’What the hell are you talking about?’
’When was I disobedient?’
’Don’t you dare tattle on me!’