My Leadership Style

Almost the entire Exploration Team was poisoned, with the exception of Bai Ya.

Facing Huang Zao's angry rebuke, Bai Ya's face was filled with panic. He kept shaking his head, backing away step by step, and finally stumbled, falling onto the ground.

"It wasn't me, it really wasn't me," Bai Ya shouted, vehemently denying it.

Huang Zao approached him step by step, but suddenly collapsed onto the ground midway.

His face was a ghastly grey, his expression twisted, as if a patient had fallen into an ice hole and been submerged in bone-chilling ice water for a long time before being pulled out at the brink of death.

"Why are you the only one not poisoned?" Huang Zao lay on the ground, still staring at Bai Ya with unwillingness, squeezing out words through clenched teeth.

Lan Zao, who was nearby, suddenly gasped, "Ah! Could it be that the master of this Sea Island has acted? Besides poisoning all of us, they want to leave one person alive to go out and report the news. It's like a great pirate who, after plundering a ship, deliberately lets some people go to spread their infamous reputation."

Huang Zao still had some consciousness remaining and was very confused when he heard this. "Who? Does this Sea Island have a master?"

Previously, the results of Zhen Jin and the others' discussions in the tent had not been told to the others, and even Huang Zao was kept in the dark.

This was because the results of these discussions were mostly speculation, without direct evidence.

Speaking them out would also cause a great blow to the morale of the entire team, leading to worry, anxiety, and even emotional collapse.

Both Huang Zao and Lan Zao had fallen to the ground. In the entire team, only Zhen Jin was still barely standing, his body upright. Even so, the young man felt his body becoming increasingly cold, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Lan Zao, who was lying on the ground, struggled to stand up, but failed after several attempts. His gaze towards Bai Ya suddenly stopped, and he cried out, "I remember now, he didn't eat the mutton, not a single bite. The mutton is poisoned!"

"Poisoned mutton?" Zi Di was stunned when she heard this.

Before eating the mutton, she had clearly verified that it was non-toxic.

"Is it related to the amount? Did we get poisoned because we ate too much?" Zhen Jin frowned and asked.

Zi Di shook her head with a bitter smile. "I already verified such a simple possibility. But it's also possible that there's a certain toxin that I couldn't detect... Bai Ya, did you really not eat a single bite of mutton?"

Bai Ya nodded, stammering, "Yes, yes, my lord. I don't like eating mutton. I've been eating dry rations these past few days."

Bai Ya's behavior continuously reduced the suspicion on him. Zhen Jin then turned his gaze back to Zi Di.

If Bai Ya had malicious intentions, now would be his best opportunity to act.

Zhen Jin currently had almost no power to resist.

Thinking from another perspective, even if Bai Ya had malicious intentions, choosing to poison them at this time would be too foolish. Surviving in the wilderness, having teammates around could greatly increase one's survival probability. The risk of escaping alone was too high.

Zi Di had already fallen to the ground. Her eyes flickered with thought. "Lord Zhen Jin, please come over and use the dagger on me to cut a wound on my arm, okay?"

Zhen Jin nodded, reluctantly moved, and came to Zi Di's side, pulling the hilt of the dagger from her calf.

The sharp blade of the dagger lightly sliced across Zi Di's delicate and firm arm, creating a long, thin wound.

Looking at the wound, Zi Di's flesh and blood inside her body were already a ghastly grey.

Blood should have flowed out, but at this moment, only a little bit flowed out, and the blood temperature was low. The red blood was also mixed with some strange greyish-green.

Zhen Jin immediately thought of zombies. He felt a chill surge from the wound and couldn't help but murmur, "Is it Cold Poison after all?"

Zi Di frowned tightly.

The scene before her seemed like Cold Poison, yet it was also not quite right.

Vaguely, Zi Di thought of something, but she couldn't quite grasp the flash of inspiration that appeared in her mind.

"I don't have much time!"

Zi Di clearly felt her body becoming increasingly stiff and cold.

Soon, her heart would freeze because of this, completely stopping its beat.

Zi Di knew she had to make a decision quickly!

"My lord, red... White Mushroom Bottle Cap..." Zi Di pointed with her stiff fingers to the small leather pouch at her waist.

Zhen Jin immediately acted, opening the small leather pouch to reveal the densely packed, neatly arranged small bottles of potions inside.

There were three bottles of potion that matched Zi Di's description.

After quickly identifying them, Zhen Jin found that all three were the same.

He also knew that Zi Di had a good habit – Zi Di would try to use different specifications of bottles, stoppers, labels, and other elements for each type of potion to distinguish them uniformly.

Pushing aside the mushroom-like bottle cap, Zhen Jin brought the little finger-shaped glass bottle to Zi Di's lips.

Zi Di managed to open her mouth slightly, and Zhen Jin began to pour the thick red potion from the bottle.

After just a small sip, Zi Di suddenly rolled her eyes and completely fainted.

"..."

This sudden change caused everyone present who was still conscious to look stunned.

Zhen Jin's heart instantly sank to the bottom.

The only alchemist had fainted, what should they do now?

"Take off... the sheepskin... go back, go back..." Just then, Cang Xu's hoarse and weak voice came.

After using all his strength to say this sentence, he fainted again.

Huang Zao and Lan Zao were both very trusting of Cang Xu's words. Huang Zao couldn't move, but Lan Zao still retained some ability to act and immediately began to take off his sheepskin coat.

A few breaths after taking it off, Lan Zao felt a clear sensation.

"It's working! I feel my whole body starting to warm up again," Lan Zao whispered.

It was very strange.

The main function of the sheepskin coat was to keep warm. Earlier, near the snow peak, these newly made sheepskin coats had brought a feeling of happiness.

But now, after taking off the warm coat, their frozen and stiff bodies actually regained some vitality.

What was going on?

Zhen Jin didn't have time to think too much.

Although he didn't understand, he immediately ordered Bai Ya and also started to help the exploration team members who had fallen all over the ground to take off their sheepskin coats.

After these coats were removed, most of the members who had fallen to the ground but hadn't fainted actually had the strength to stand up!

Zi Di, Cang Xu, and others, however, were still in a coma, their eyes tightly closed.

"Carry them, we're heading back immediately!" Zhen Jin's attitude was firm, without hesitation.

Everyone who was conscious knew the urgency of the situation and dragged the unconscious members with all their might, returning the way they came.

Cang Xu, Zi Di, Huang Zao, and others were carried by the bone head goats.

The flock of goats that Zhen Jin had specifically ordered to be captured had suffered heavy casualties, with only the four strongest Bronze-level head goats remaining. The rest of the young lambs were all dead.

The further back they went, the better everyone felt, and their strength gradually returned to them.

Although the temperature in the air was getting lower and lower, everyone's torsos and limbs were no longer stiff and cold, but instead became warm.

Finally, when everyone returned to the location where they had previously hunted the goats, many had recovered completely.

Zi Di and Cang Xu also woke up.

Zi Di untied the bandage on her arm and examined the wound she had cut not long ago. She found that the originally bluish-gray wound had returned to the normal color of flesh and blood, and blood flowed out naturally, no longer like the terrifying zombie-like state from before.

It seemed as if everything that had happened before was just a nightmare.

However, the two corpses were still coldly reminding everyone that all of this had indeed happened.

Yes.

The Exploration Team had lost two people.

These two fell into a coma and never woke up during the return journey. Finally, when they returned to the original location, the breath of life completely dissipated.

"I understand, I understand why there are so many goats here. Because these are highly poisonous things! Whoever eats them will pay the price with their life!" Huang Zao's face showed a look of terror.

"This is a curse, a devil's curse!"

"We can only stay here. As long as we get a little further away from here, we will be poisoned again and die!"

Everyone was discussing amongst themselves, extremely panicked, looking at the goats grazing leisurely in the distance with fear.

The morale of the entire Exploration Team had plummeted severely.

"Silence! Calm down." At this moment, Zhen Jin stepped forward, looked around, and spoke in a low voice.

In these past few days, he had established enough prestige within the team. At his command, everyone obediently shut up, and there was no longer any sound of conversation.

Zhen Jin knew very well in his heart that simply suppressing them wouldn't work; he also had to alleviate and release the fear in everyone's hearts.

So, he continued to speak: "With me here, what are you panicking about?"

"Things are far from being irreversible. Don't forget, we still have Miss Zi Di. She is not only a mage, but also an extraordinary alchemist."

The fact that Zi Di had just drunk a potion but had knocked herself out on the spot seemed to have been forgotten by Zhen Jin.

However, there were quite a few people who had witnessed this scene at the time, and during the return journey, those who knew spread the word.

Can she really do it?

Zhen Jin naturally understood the hesitation in everyone's hearts. He smiled confidently: "Before, we didn't know the cause of the poisoning, so misdiagnosis was normal. Using potions has always been about treating the symptoms. Now that we know the root cause, it's completely different! How can a mere flock of goats tie our hands and feet? Everyone, I still need to lead you off this Sea Island. It's too early to give up now."

The bewildered and terrified expressions on everyone's faces began to change.

Zhen Jin had golden hair, fair skin, a high nose bridge, and eyes like morning stars. Just his appearance alone was outstandingly handsome.

He was still the sole heir of the Hundred Needles Family, a Temple Knight of the human race's strongest legion, and one of the contenders for the White Sand City Lord position.

Although at this moment, he was only wearing damaged chainmail, the spear on his back and the long saber at his waist were crudely made, these various difficulties only served to highlight the young man's tenacious and unyielding spirit.

He was like the rising sun at dawn, its light not dazzling, but bringing hope.

He was also like the flag fluttering in the wind atop a white castle under a blue sky; seeing such a flag would inevitably draw one in and lead one forward.

Zi Di and Cang Xu looked at Zhen Jin at this moment, speechless and somewhat lost in thought.

"My lord, with you here, there's nothing to be afraid of! You are a knight, a Temple Knight! This time, it was you who saved us!" Bai Ya shouted excitedly, breaking the silence.

"Master, my brothers and I will follow you to the death, no matter when or where, no matter if the sky falls and the earth collapses." Lan Zao also expressed his loyalty.

The crowd gradually became agitated.

"Lord Zhen Jin is absolutely right."

"Following Lord Zhen Jin, we will definitely be able to escape from here."

"That's right. I will entrust my life to you, my lord!"