The Meadow Layer

This commission is very high, and the mercenary group has its own rules: even if you die on the road, your commission will still be paid. Before carrying out a mission, the mercenary signing the contract must write down the name of a family member. After the mission is successfully completed, the mercenary group leader will deliver the deceased's share of the money to the family. Mercenary groups are ruthless, cold-blooded, and selfish, but when it comes to money, they are very clear about it. No one can embezzle. Because of this rule, it is not common for mercenaries to kill each other.

"But isn't that too cold-blooded..." Ai Jiangtu said, looking at the person who had been abandoned, with a slightly conflicted expression.

Zhao Manyan then spoke up, "However, if we bring these patients along, our journey won't be easy from here on out. Besides, there are several now, and no one knows if there will be more along the way... once we reach our destination."

The entire mercenary group consisted of over a hundred people; leading them wasn't actually that difficult.

But even the deputy commanders chose to abandon them. So what happened after they took over one or two?

"We are not mercenaries after all. I can't just watch these people fend for themselves here..." Nan Jue said at this moment.

"What if some of us also get these symptoms? Kuma may be a bit ruthless, but what if this isn't just a local reaction, but an infection? And you need to understand one thing: there's still a long road ahead..." Tang Miao continued.

"This..."

The group was momentarily speechless.

If someone in their group is in this situation, they certainly won't be abandoned. But if these abandoned mercenaries are taken along, things will get complicated.

"Let's go, let's keep going." With that, Tang Miao walked forward.

Mu Ningxue and the others hesitated for a moment. Although they felt they couldn't do it, just as Tang Miao said, the road ahead was still long, and if they were rational, they really couldn't lead these people forward.

Three hours later...

The group continued onward. It must be said that the oxygen was indeed quite thin in the rift valley. The plants there were shade-loving and did not receive sunlight. Without sunlight, plants could not purify the air, and everyone felt a sense of stuffiness and difficulty breathing.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

"Huff... huff... huff..."

On its journey, Guan Yu made a few sounds as if something was sticking to its nose.

After his breathing became heavier, Jiang Shaoxu kept observing him and gradually noticed that Guan Yu's face was turning pale. Jiang Shaoxu then asked, "Guan Yu, do you have a cold?"

"I don't know, suddenly I have a lot of snot." Guan Yu realized that her nose was blocked, so she breathed through her mouth.

"You didn't react like them, did you?" Jiang Shaoxu asked again.

"I... I'm a little out of breath, so tired, it's so hard to breathe." Guan Yu's steps were a little unsteady. He sat down on the moss next to him, and his chest heaved up and down.

"I'm not feeling too well either," Ai Jiangtu said.

"Me too," Ling Ling said weakly.

Upon seeing the three of them, Nan Jue immediately realized something...

"They might have won the lottery here too," Tang Miao said before Nan Jue could speak.

Upon hearing this, Ai Jiangtu and Ling Ling were alright, but Guan Yu looked at Tang Miao with some anxiety. "Will you abandon me?"

"Although I don't like the look of you, we've been through thick and thin together, so don't worry, I won't leave you here to fend for yourself," Tang Miao replied.

Guan Yu still remembered what had happened before very clearly... To be honest, given his lukewarm relationship with Tang Miao, he was genuinely afraid of being left here to fend for himself.

That would mean there was virtually no chance of survival...

Guan Yu was clearly overthinking things. Although he didn't like meddling in other people's business, how could he, as a fellow National Team, really ignore it?

"I'll go check on their situation ahead," Nan Jue said.

Tang Miao then summoned a silver-armored Silver Armored Rhinoceros from the Summoning Plane, and left Ai Jiangtu, Guan Yu, and Ling Ling on it.

"We didn't bring those mercenaries with us before, which means these aren't symptoms of contagion. I think it's probably related to the environment here," Jiang Yu said, walking over to the three of them.

Tang Miao nodded, then said, "You'll know when Nan Jue gets back."

He did have a vague recollection of something, something about needing to be found to heal them? He had indeed been to the Tianshan several times, but he had never encountered anything like this before. He had completely overlooked this possibility...

At this moment, Nan Jue also returned, and it seemed that the number of sick soldiers in the mercenary group had increased by another twenty or thirty!

This time, Kuma did not choose to abandon them.

After all, she would still need these mercenaries for the journey ahead.

Then, the mercenary group's doctor gave a plant name called "Mountain Frost Lotus," which was said to be able to cure difficult and complicated diseases.

Moreover, the mercenary group had done their homework. Then, someone familiar with the plant led everyone to search for it. With Tang Miao's explosive combat power, finding these plants was naturally not difficult, and after returning, most of the mercenaries had fully recovered.

It was at this moment that Tang Miao realized this thing wasn't so simple to use to save people! With the clues Ling Ling provided, he finally found the real solution. Just as Ai Jiangtu, Ling Ling, and Guan Yu recovered, several members of the mercenary group perished...

Fortunately, he informed Kuma in time, which saved many people.

Even so, the mercenary group, including previous casualties and those abandoned, suffered a total loss of over twenty people...

After the crisis passed, the group continued on their journey.

This meadow layer is even more Demon Beast and monsters of all kinds. Besides being wary of those beasts and monsters, one must also be extra careful of the Plant Creature!

Plant Creature are rare and the hardest to guard against. Once you encounter a ferocious beast, it can devour you without spitting out the bones.

Fortunately, the Mountain Frost Lotus taught the Mailong Mercenary Group a lesson, and from then on, everyone would unconsciously become wary whenever they saw any dazzling Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure on their journey.

This vigilance saved many lives in the mercenary group. People die for wealth, birds die for food; indeed, there were many rare and hard-to-find treasures along the way. However, in an ecosystem like the Tianshan, any rare treasure comes with danger—either it possesses deadly rules or some Demon Beast lurks nearby. The members of the Mailong Mercenary Group were extremely cautious, barely surviving. But other hunter groups, mercenary groups, and mage organizations were not so lucky...