Chapter 1259: The Color-Changing Fire Phoenix

Compared to the back and limbs, the skin and muscles of an animal's belly are thinner and easier to be torn or pecked open, and the internal organs within the belly are the most nutrient-dense parts of an animal's body, most favored by carnivores. Therefore, dead or weakened large animals will have their bellies ripped open by predators or scavengers, who then peck or gnaw at the internal organs.

If this evolved wolf also died from poisoning, then the animals that pecked at its internal organs must all be poisoned, and the toxin is spreading rapidly!

Yan Yue, the disaster-mitigation assistant in charge of that area, rapidly tapped her keyboard and replied, "Huiyi Military's Sixth Squad, Captain Yao Shu, straight-line distance 3.2 kilometers."

Zhang San looked at Yang Jin and Zhang Jingwu, saw them both shake their heads at the same time, understood that Yao Shu's squad could not be trusted, and asked, "What mission is Yao Shu's squad currently executing?"

Yan Yue replied, "Sampling and disinfection mission. The next closest to Wolf Corpse Number Five is Shen Shuang's squad from Huiyi's Frost Squad, straight-line distance 4.1. Data shows that Shen Shuang's squad includes one Level-9 olfactory evolver."

Seeing Yang Jin nod, Zhang San ordered, "Immediately order Shen Shuang's squad to rush to the location of Wolf Corpse Number Five. First, confirm the species of animals that gnawed at the wolf corpse and report it. Then, seal all animal corpses visible to the naked eye within the sinkhole to prevent the toxin from spreading again. Finally, take soil and water samples and send them for testing. Complete the mission within forty minutes."

"Received."

"Designate the sinkhole as Restricted Zone Number Five. Order Huiyi Military's Sixth Squad to find any passages connecting the sinkhole to the outside world, report immediately upon discovery, and seal them off. Order Huiyi Health and the Disease Control Center to immediately mobilize SR-1 disinfectant and begin thorough decontamination of Restricted Zone Number Five within forty-five minutes."

"Received."

All five wolves from the intelligence Xia Qing provided had been found. Zhang San leaned back against the backrest of his moon chair and raised a hand to press his forehead.

The idol had overused his brain and was getting a headache again. Fan Xia Qing immediately took off her protective gloves, pulled a disinfectant wipe from the idol's desk to clean her hands, and only then pulled out a 250-milliliter transparent liquid bag filled with tea from the backpack she carried with her, opened the bag's mouth, and held it out in front of the idol.

This kind of liquid bag and its配套 insulated box are used by evolvers on outside missions to hold nutrient liquid. Xia Qing had asked Lord Huo Lei to make her an oversized insulated box that could fit three liquid bags. From then on, when she carried out missions in the Evolution Forest, she wouldn't need to take off her protective mask—she could drink cold water in summer and warm water in winter.

She had brought the insulated box and tea on today's mission to pitch this set of equipment to Lao Si, but she hadn't expected the consultation mission to turn into a disaster-mitigation mission, and the idol to serve as commander and come in person.

As a hardcore superfan of the Pit, Xia Qing naturally had to stuff the best food into her idol's mouth!

Xia Qing's series of actions left the people around her staring in bewilderment. Seeing Xin Yu also raised her head and glanced at Yang Jin, who stood beside Xia Qing with an obviously fluctuating magnetic field.

Zhang Jingwu, responsible for protecting Zhang San, instinctively raised his hand to block the unknown liquid in Xia Qing's hand, but upon seeing the big boss reach out, he slowly lowered it again.

Zhang San took the IV bag, pulled down the mask covering half his face and took a small sip first, then took a large sip before sealing the bag's mouth and placing it into the insulated box Xia Qing handed over. "This—"

Before Zhang San could finish speaking, disaster-mitigation assistant Tang Heng reported, "Commander, on October 24, Liehuo Mountain disaster-mitigation commander Wang Rujiang and Fiery Fire Squad captain Deng Yufeng have arrived at Huiyi Mountain Number Twenty-Six."

Wang Rujiang? Wang Wu?

When Xia Qing read the Liehuo Mountain disaster-mitigation report that morning, she had already guessed that Wang Rujiang was the Wang Wu the idol had mentioned twice before—the one who, like Li Si, had boarded the Liehuo pirate ship and couldn't get off.

Because Wang Rujiang was a plant genetics researcher, he had both the opportunity and the motive to secretly mix the genetically modified soybeans Liehuo had been cultivating into normal soybeans and deliver them to the Northern Zone One territory without anyone noticing.

Xia Qing now confirmed that Wang Rujiang was Wang Wu; otherwise, the idol wouldn't have transferred him to Huiyi Mountain Number Twenty-Six.

She hoped that after Wang Wu got off Liehuo's pirate ship, he could hand over evidence of Liehuo's crimes in developing genetic weapons.

Zhang San had Tang Heng pull up the personnel roster for Mountain Number Twenty-Six and asked, "Yang Jin, among these six tents, which tent contains the order-maintaining personnel with the highest combat power?"

According to Zhang San's orders, the assembly points in the Huiyi Evolution Forest were to have order maintained by personnel dispatched by Huiyi's officials, with personnel he sent over responsible for on-site supervision. If it was confirmed that disaster-mitigation personnel were not strictly executing orders, the supervisors should immediately report to the commander and, following the commander's orders, urge the disaster-mitigation personnel to speed up their work progress.

Yang Jin replied, "Tent Number Four has the highest, but they share the same pants with the Fiery Fire team members; next is Tent Number Two, their relationship with Fiery Fire isn't as close."

"Have those two enter Tent Number Four and contact me via video." After giving the order, Zhang San asked, "What's the name of the person in Tent Number Four?"

Yang Jin replied, "Zheng Zhenshan, a Level-4 speed evolver, a squad leader in the Ninth Squad of Huiyi's Combat Unit."

The Ninth Squad? The squad Luo Pei led when he was at Huiyi? Xin Yu, who was staring at the screen, didn't shift her gaze, yet accurately used her magnetic sense to capture the sharp magnetic field Yang Jin was emitting.

After Zhang San nodded, Xia Qing naturally picked up the idol's moon chair and turned the idol to face the laptop.

Everyone else stared in a daze; only Seeing Xin Yu, who had the IV bag of tea dangling from her mouth, wore a calm expression.

Zhang San also calmly gave the order, "Open the video call."

When the Fire Phoenix appeared on the screen, Xia Qing—who had stepped aside to exit the camera's field of view—froze.

When Xia Qing last saw the Fire Phoenix at the Ninth Center, her skin was still a flamboyant, eye-catching fiery red. Now the Fire Phoenix appearing on the screen had skin that was actually a dark red.

Xia Qing suspected it was a lighting issue inside Tent Number Four, but comparing the color of the protective mask Wang Rujiang wore beside the Fire Phoenix, Xia Qing confirmed this was the Fire Phoenix's true current skin color.

Even through the screen, Xia Qing could still see dark, heavy nerves and blood vessels, like tree roots, tightly embedded within the Fire Phoenix's skin, as if every root was twisting, convulsing, delivering an enormous visual impact.

It was as if the Fire Phoenix had accumulated an excess of toxins and fury within her body, and one tiny bit more stimulation would make her go "boom" and explode into a cloud of highly toxic blood mist, dragging the people beside her down to hell with her.

Therefore, the Fire Phoenix without her protective mask was more dangerous than when wearing it. Inside Tent Number Four at Huiyi Mountain Number Twenty-Six, apart from the Fire Phoenix's four bodyguards, everyone else stayed as far away from her as possible.

There was only one exception: the disaster-mitigation commander's special supervisor, wearing the Number Seven Territory Special Forces combat uniform and an all-black protective mask, standing in the tent like the Grim Reaper.

Alliance members including Luo Pei and Watching Huo Zhun had all changed into this kind of uniform and been dispatched by Zhang San to serve as supervisors. From this angle, Xia Qing couldn't tell whether the supervisor in Tent Number Four was her own ally.

The Fire Phoenix sat on a stool, revealing snow-white teeth that contrasted sharply with her skin color, her smile proper, her tone relaxed. But this expression appearing between her semi-transparent skin and her root-like nerves and blood vessels was inexplicably horrifying.

This... was no longer a normal human.

Was the Fire Phoenix's skin color and condition caused by losing that pack of药剂 in the Giant Tree Forest, or had she injected new toxins into her own blood again?