Chapter 570: Medicine
But when faced with Qi Junyi's question, that person shook his head in pain.
This is the real problem.
Even though they have already trained the Church's top reconnaissance personnel, they still couldn't discover what exactly brought them death.
The only information they could obtain is probably that the enemy is still those mushrooms.
Mushrooms......
Heh, it's this strange aberrant plant that caused their death.
"Because of this."
A steady, monotone voice suddenly rang out, startling Qi Junyi; as he was about to stand, he saw a Medicine Bottle swaying in front of him.
The Medicine Bottle contained several very fine mycelial threads; because someone had carelessly tossed them in, they were relatively conspicuous, though under normal conditions the naked eye would hardly spot them.
"Found on the ground, stepping on and breaking any inconspicuous tiny mycelial thread could trigger an attack from the entire fungal network."
Ying Duo casually tossed the Medicine Bottle to Qi Junyi, who glanced at the bottle in his hand, then looked up, his gaze landing on Ying Duo.
Shen Zexi had told him that Ying Duo went ahead on another path to scout the situation; although they didn't know how they managed to contact each other here where communicators were inoperable, Ying Duo didn't seem as calm and indifferent as he appeared.
The cuffs of his hoodie showed obvious tears, and one of the cat ears on his cat‑ear hoodie was ripped, yet there were no visible wounds on his body.
Qi Junyi handed the holy water at hand to Ying Duo, who, without hesitation, first used Recon to examine it and then decisively swallowed it in one gulp.
Skipping all meaningless small talk and mockery, Qi Junyi is not Chi Jinan, so there's no lingering conflict with Ying Duo; moreover, in a place like this, they are desperate souls who must rely on each other to survive.
"By your logic, aren't we caught between a rock and a hard place?"
If they retreat, the Ying Guang Lu spores outside have completely blocked the rear exit; if they advance, a careless step breaking any mycelium could trap them like a turtle in a jar.
"You're overthinking it; we have only one way forward."
Ying Duo responded coldly, his golden eyes flashing at Qi Junyi as if mocking, "At a time like this, you actually think we still have a way out?"
"Just take the route they just scouted; the fungal colony suffered some damage from flame, and the spot where they triggered the mycelium can now be identified once its presence is known."
Just now, on the way back, Ying Duo and Xi Ren Sheng accidentally fell into the path of those mycelial threads.
Xi Ren Sheng's right shoulder was pierced straight through, but fortunately Ying Duo had hemostatic medicine on hand, turning Xi Ren Sheng into a playing card that temporarily evaded into system space; Ying Duo then digitally penetrated the fungal encirclement and escaped successfully.
But...
Xi Ren Sheng encountered a mishap.
After hearing Ying Duo's words, Qi Junyi felt the need to discuss the situation with the others, and it was the one‑armed scout who stepped forward resolutely, saying he could still go on.
His scouting experience and his flame aberrant art are exactly why the other two ultimately gave the sole chance of survival to him.
Instead, Su Jingming stood beside Ying Duo watching for a long time; he had previously been active in the Slum and knew little about matters in Tianmian City.
As a result, when he brought back his old comrade that day, he learned that Su Jingchuan had almost taken his old partner for a "widow" and had already secured a replacement.
Although he knows his younger brother is still resentful about being unable to inherit his gun technique, some things truly cannot be passed down!
Keeping memories of people is stronger than this.
Fortunately, Ying Duo is unreliable; otherwise he really would have taken it.
This was Su Jingming's first formal meeting with Ying Duo, and at first glance he noticed Ying Duo's hand, furrowing his brow slightly.
Logically, a frequent gun user would have some calluses on their hands, but Ying Duo's hands were clean, showing no trace at all.
"Anyway, let's rest here for a while, recuperate before setting out again."
Su Jingming watched Ying Duo return to their youthful circle and said to the Qi Junyi beside him,
"Indeed, after a long journey of fatigue, we now encounter such a bizarre thing."
Qi Junyi massaged his temples in a headache; even now, the scorching gaze that has always watched them hasn't moved.
"Why don't you learn from Chi Jinan? Put an end to old grudges as well?"
Qi Junyi could never have imagined that one day he would say something urging others to learn from Chi Jinan.
Indeed, when you live long enough, you can run into anything.
Su Jingming, hearing that, exhaled softly, his gaze slowly shifting toward Sha Yu Feng.
"Indeed, some things... also need to be clarified."
The story's starting point, the characters' stature, the plot's twists—all affect each person's view of the tale.
Su Jingming himself was originally from the Church, but later, out of necessity, he "defected" to the Undercurrent.
From the beginning, Sha Yu Feng singled out Su Jingming, disliking him everywhere.
Perhaps it was because the weapons happened to clash, or because a fine gun originally prepared for Sha Ling Feng was given by the "boss" trying to keep his subordinates in check to Su Jingming; the two have long harbored a grudge.
Sha Yu Feng has mentioned to Lingxiao more than once, telling her that sooner or later the dog will bite its master, yet it was they who first emptied the Undercurrent.
——————————————
"How is his condition?"
When Ying Duo came back, Xie Jingyan was crouched beside Xi Ren Sheng, who was also enjoying a privilege that countless people in Heavenly Dome City dream of, resting his head on the idol's thigh.
"There is some danger, but fortunately it was discovered in time; let's pour more holy water and see how it goes."
Xie Jingyan shook her head; she had already been helping to isolate the parts of Xi Ren Sheng's body contaminated by the mutation, but after all, Xi Ren Sheng had directly ingested the mutation...
"Could you conveniently show me the medicine?"
Meng Kexin reached out to Ying Duo, who without hesitation handed the medicine from his backpack to Meng Kexin.
It was a bottle of red medicine; the bottle was a rhombus‑shaped flask specially commissioned by Fang Zhiyan, and its design looked quite unique.
Previously, Ying Duo had been drinking it for a long time without issue, and when he first obtained it, each batch had been examined with Recon; Fang Zhiyan had not tampered with the medicine.
But just now, when Xi Ren Sheng was injured, Ying Duo gave him the red medicine to pour down, and Xi Ren Sheng's body immediately showed an adverse reaction.
Ying Duo then took out another dose, placed it in his hand for Recon, and discovered a highly concentrated mutation inside.
End of Chapter