Liang Yuan could imagine, after countless trials and tribulations, this girl gradually grew into a mature and steady superpower user.
Unfortunately, she never found her Brother Xiangyang. Just as she reached Yangshan, she met her death.
Liang Yuan sighed, put away the notebook, and asked, "Is there anything in her bag that can confirm her identity?"
Zhao Kai rummaged through the backpack and suddenly found a photo sealed with tape in its inner pocket.
The photo showed a family of three: a middle-aged couple and a girl with a sunny smile, making a peace sign with her right hand.
The girl looked quite beautiful, about eighteen or nineteen years old, around Dong Yan’s age.
Zhao Kai flipped the photo; the back was blank.
Liang Yuan took the photo and said, "If we have a chance to go to Meishan, we can ask around. If her Brother Xiangyang went looking for her there, give this to him."
Zhao Kai nodded, thinking of the figure in his heart, his expression turned melancholic. He placed the photo inside the notebook and then tucked it into his chest.
Even though he and Liu Feifei were now together, sometimes late at night, Xiaoman’s image and smile would still creep into his dreams.
Liang Yuan seemed to see through his thoughts, gently patting his shoulder: "It’s all in the past. Life goes on, and we must look forward."
Zhao Kai forced a smile and responded with a nod.
Seeing this, Liang Yuan could only sigh.
Some things can’t be soothed by others’ comfort; they need time to heal slowly.
At least Zhao Kai now was much more cheerful than when he first met him.
Liu Feifei’s appearance was like a spiritual medicine healing his inner wounds.
But the old scars were still visible at times.
The three continued their journey. Before long, they heard the sound of flowing water and strange frog croaks.
The trio immediately slowed their steps, clearly sensing the presence of several mutant creatures around them.
Liang Yuan spread out his spiritual power, reflecting everything within a fifty-meter radius in his mind.
"Twelve mutant frogs, one mutant venomous snake, and three mutant lizards."
Liang Yuan instantly located the positions of the surrounding mutants, his eyes showing a serious expression.
The density of the mutant creatures here exceeded his expectations.
Within just fifty meters, there were actually sixteen hidden mutant creatures.
Suddenly, Ding Yan let out a surprised sound and pointed to a fallen tree not far away: "Look over there."
Liang Yuan turned his head to see that the fallen tree had withered, but mushrooms the size of grinding stones had grown out of its trunk.
"Is it reishi?" Zhao Kai couldn’t help exclaiming.
Ding Yan shook her head: "No, reishi is dry and doesn’t look like this. It should be some kind of mushroom. I don’t know if it’s edible."
Liang Yuan asked, "Didn’t you encounter any mushrooms during your previous patrols?"
Ding Yan replied, "Yes, quite a few, but most of them were poisonous. We usually bring them back for Dr. Yang and the others to identify. So far, we’ve only found three types that are edible."
"Among these three, only two can be eaten directly. The other one needs to be boiled in water for over twenty minutes before it’s consumable."
"They’ve all been handed over to Song Wen for cultivation at the plantation. Granny Li and Song Wen confirmed that this type of mutant plant proliferates rapidly and yields a lot, with minimal environmental requirements. It can be cultivated as a primary vegetable."
Zhao Kai immediately said, "This is the first time I’ve seen such a large mushroom. I’ll go pick it and bring it back for Dr. Yang and the others to study."
With that, he was about to walk over to pick the large mushroom.
Liang Yuan grabbed him: "Wait, there’s something below."
Zhao Kai was startled and quickly stopped: "Something below?"
"Freeze the ground beneath it, and you’ll see." Liang Yuan reminded.
Zhao Kai immediately pressed his hand to the ground, and a large amount of frost quickly spread out.
Soon the frost froze the moisture in the soil, rapidly lowering the temperature.
Under the large mushroom, there was a sudden shift, followed by a snake with markings similar in color to the mushroom slithering out from under the wood.
Its body wasn’t thick, only the size of an adult’s arm, but its entire body was the color of dried bark, its scales densely packed and looking extremely eerie.
At this moment, it raised its head, flicking its tongue, and stared in their direction!
"As expected, there’s something fishy!"
Zhao Kai’s expression changed, and he immediately intensified the freezing.
The snake, sensing danger, immediately twisted its body, quickly coiling back up into the tree.
Seeing this, Zhao Kai waved his hand, and shot out several ice cones!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three ice cones, like three flying sabers, shot accurately toward the venomous snake.
However, the snake’s scales vibrated, creating three crisp sounds as the ice cones shattered. It was unharmed!
But Zhao Kai’s attack had instantly angered it.
In the next moment, it suddenly sprang up and disappeared from the tree!
Swish!
A gray blur flashed in the air, almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
Zhao Kai felt a gust of wind rushing at him, and instinctively ducked and dodged.
With a thud, the snake’s tail struck his body.
Zhao Kai grunted, staggering from the impact, a large swipe wound appearing on his shoulder!
"Damn, it’s fast!"
Zhao Kai was shocked, quickly activating his superpower, covering his body with a layer of ice armor!
Seeing this, Liang Yuan couldn’t help but be surprised.
It seemed that Zhao Kai had made considerable progress during this time, developing new control and innovation over his frost superpower.