The Price Was Too High

The result nearly sent her to her grave.

A powerful stench rushed into her nostrils, bringing tears to her eyes in an instant.

"Urgh!!!!"

Even someone like her, who had seen plenty of major situations, couldn't endure a smell this foul.

Gagging as she rapidly retreated, she put as much distance as possible between herself and the mutated fungus.

Jiang You wiped the corners of her eyes and swallowed hard, afraid she might throw up.

What kind of mushroom is this?!

This thing probably relied on its stench to drive away natural enemies!

She steadied herself against a bamboo stalk and calmed down.

Then she put her gas mask back on and took several breaths through it before finally feeling better.

Fang Mu had already retreated far, far away. Standing at the end of the path outside the bamboo grove, he looked at her with undisguised admiration.

Good grief, this is practically a biological weapon!

If she brought one of these things home to raise, Jiang You felt she wouldn't survive three days.

Picturing the entire building shrouded in its stench, she silently gave up on the thing.

Although it was indeed a mutated plant, that smell... Forget it. She wasn't worthy of it!

She'd leave it for someone else who was fated to have it.

Jiang You turned and left, abandoning this unique mutated plant.

If she kept this thing, it might pickle her alive.

Seeing her emerge from the grove, Fang Mu hurriedly asked,

"How was it? This fungus is a mutated plant, right?"

Jiang You nodded. "It is."

"Then you don't want it?"

Jiang You said, "I can't afford it."

Fang Mu said, "Then what about the guide fee we agreed on? Are you still giving it to me?"

"...Yes."

Jiang You wasn't someone who went back on her word. They had agreed that if Fang Mu led her to a mutated plant, she would pay him a guide fee.

Now that they had found one, it was her choice not to take it.

It had nothing to do with him.

Jiang You took two packets of instant noodles from her space and handed them to Fang Mu. "Here."

Fang Mu happily accepted the instant noodles Jiang You gave him, then pulled the leaves stuffed in his nostrils out.

He pressed his face against the packets and took a deep breath.

Although he couldn't smell anything, the crackling sound still made him feel deeply satisfied.

Saliva kept welling up in his mouth, and Fang Mu swallowed.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he looked at the two packets in his hands: one braised beef noodle flavor and one pickled cabbage flavor.

"You showed me a packet of braised beef noodles and a packet of peppery beef noodles earlier."

"What about it?"

"Can I exchange them for the original combination?" he asked hesitantly, handing the pickled cabbage noodles back to Jiang You.

Jiang You raised an eyebrow. "What, are you afraid of the stinky-feet smell? No matter what, it's still better than the mutated carp in the lake that grew up eating human flesh and zombie meat, right?"

He hurriedly waved his hands and explained,

"One packet of beef flavor and one packet of pickled cabbage flavor would be hard to divide when I got home. But two packets of beef flavor would be no problem. Heh heh."

He scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

"You really thought this through." Jiang You smiled and took out another packet to exchange with him.

Fang Mu grinned and transferred the instant noodles into the backpack on his back.

He was incredibly satisfied. All he had done was guide her, and he had gotten two packets of noodles.

He could practically guide people like this every day!

Thinking of how Jiang You was returning empty-handed, he felt a little guilty about the two packets of instant noodles. Thus, he said,

"Don't let the smell put you off. It can keep away both insects and zombies. To be honest, if it weren't so overpowering that we couldn't stand it, we'd want to live in this bamboo grove. It's pretty safe here."

"Then why don't you live here?"

"We tried. After staying inside for too long, we got dizzy and saw stars, and we really wanted to throw up. We even vomited up bile. We might not get killed by zombies, but we'd probably throw ourselves to death first."

He shook his head regretfully.

Then he remembered that Jiang You could carry a great many things with her wherever she went, and the envy in his eyes grew even stronger.

"Jiang You, you're a Space ability user. Do you want to join us? Lakeheart Park is huge, and there's no shortage of water. When we're hungry, we can even eat fish.

"If you join us, searching for supplies outside will be much more convenient."

He was straightforward and openly stated what he was thinking.

"With you around, it would be like having a mobile warehouse!

"If you join us, we'll definitely give you the best treatment! There aren't many of us right now—my parents, my girlfriend, Song Cheng, a few other brothers, and some neighbors.

"There are a little over twenty of us in total. Apart from a few children, everyone works hard. No one sits around eating for free!

"We also have several brothers and sisters who are very skilled fighters!

"You definitely wouldn't lose out by joining us."

He genuinely hoped Jiang You would join them. After all, if their group had a space ability user, everything would become much more convenient.

In the past, they had risked their lives every time they went out to gather supplies, but they could only bring back a limited amount.

Carrying too many supplies affected their movement and combat ability.

Carrying too few made every dangerous trip seem hardly worthwhile.

After all, they weren't guaranteed to make it back every time they went out.

But if they had a space ability user, they could bring back a great deal more supplies.

Fang Mu's gaze was extremely earnest.

Jiang You shook her head. "Thanks for asking, but I'm used to being alone."

Fang Mu sighed in disappointment. Although he had long expected her not to agree,

being truly rejected still left him feeling somewhat dejected.

But after thinking about it, he felt it was only natural.

She had weapons and space, so she could live very well on her own.

If she really joined them, she might instead feel that they were holding her back...

The two of them reached the tree where Da Zhuang had been sprawled. Jiang You looked up and called, "Da Zhuang, we're leaving."

Hearing her voice, the ball of fur on the tree jolted.

When he saw them return, Da Zhuang leaped down from the tree and landed steadily beside Jiang You's feet. Then he followed her obediently, step by step.

But when he turned to look at Fang Mu, his expression became terrifyingly fierce.

Fang Mu began to wonder whether this cat had taken a dislike to him.

How could he change his attitude faster than turning a page?!