After making preparations, Sang Luoluo pulled Qi Feng and flew downwards. They slowly passed through the leaves and saw that below were still rocks with very little soil, but this was not deterred by the unidentifiable vines growing on the ground.
Sang Luoluo muttered to herself, "The mutated plants here are incredibly resilient; they can even grow this big from a crack in the rock."
Qi Feng fired immediately. There were two mutated monkeys in the grass in the distance, but they were well hidden and clearly intended to pounce on them.
Sang Luoluo spread her senses and discovered that there were still quite a few mutated animals in the nearby grass. Many of them were mutated insects hiding in the crevices of rocks. They crawled very fast, with hard shells, and darted around everywhere.
Sang Luoluo continued to fly down over the rocks with Qi Feng, directly exposing themselves in mid-air. From above, Qi Xue and the others could clearly see the shadows of Sang Luoluo and Qi Feng.
They can provide support with firepower at any time.
The two people were exposed in the air, which quickly attracted mutated birds circling overhead. Three or five of them swooped down together, seeing who could grab the first piece.
Qi Xue began firing from a distance, killing two of them.
He Fei also took down one, but their attack was short-lived. Soon, other mutated birds targeted them and flew in from other places to attack them.
Sang Luoluo noticed the situation and immediately set up her Crystal Core to attack the mutated birds overhead, while she and Qi Feng sped up to fly to the vicinity of the giant meteorite.
The meteorite's energy was too high, so Qi Feng couldn't get too close. Sang Luoluo had to go alone, leaving Qi Feng to meet her there.
Sang Luoluo flew to the meteorite and saw Qi Feng already firing at the mutated bird in the air.
Using her Mental Power, Sang Luoluo pulled the giant Meteorite Crystal Core in front of her into space, creating a huge crater on the ground. She quickly returned along the original path, grabbed Qi Feng, and immediately headed upwards to meet up with Qi Xue and the others.
The Crystal Core mounted overhead fired at the mutated birds in the distance, the dense firepower instantly killing them.
Sang Luoluo landed steadily. "Success."
Qi Xue said, "There are so many mutated birds here, it feels like we've entered a bird's nest. We've already taken down more than a dozen in just a short time."
"I know there are a few here, and they probably have quite a few competitive cores inside them," Li Jiu said.
Sang Luoluo retrieved the corpse in the direction he pointed out. She could pull it into the space from a distance using her Mental Power. In fact, even without his reminder, Sang Luoluo could sense the nearby mutated bird corpses using her Mental Power.
The remaining corpses had already rolled down the hillside; they were too far away for Sang Luoluo to keep.
They were in a hurry and hoped to reach the next giant Meteorite Crystal Core before evening.
They were walking up the mountain, and who knows, they might encounter a rock containing Crystal Core. There was really a lot of radiation energy everywhere here, and Sang Luoluo almost didn't want to leave.
On the way to the next giant Meteorite Crystal Core alone, Sang Luoluo collected no fewer than several hundred Meteorite Crystal Core of various sizes. Although they were not large, the energy inside them was very concentrated.
Before evening, they found a giant Meteorite Crystal Core in a pool of water, but the energy in this place was not that great, and it was fine for others to get within a few dozen meters.
Sang Luoluo successfully retrieved the items; in a short time, she had already acquired three giant Meteorite Crystal Core. Her haul was very rich, but there were still several areas in the mountains with very high radiation levels.
I can only go tomorrow.
It's not easy to traverse mountains and valleys in such a place, so you must make sure you're well-rested at night.
Tonight's rest is the same as last night. Some giant trees are placed outside the armored vehicle for cover. Of course, they are currently in the mountains, and if they encounter suitable giant trees along the way, they will actively cut them down. Sang Luoluo simply puts them into her spatial storage, knowing they might need them sometime.
Very convenient.
Sang Luoluo collected some unfamiliar fruits, but this time she dared not eat them indiscriminately. These were fruits not recorded at the base, probably new varieties that had mutated. She decided to wait for the base's laboratory to test them before trying them.
That evening, Sang Luoluo's watch sent out many messages.
The teammates received it too.
As for Li Jiu, he joined them temporarily, and the mutated animals he killed didn't count as achievements, but it didn't have much impact.
Their team is ranked first in the standings, with a significant lead over second place.
Some of their kill footage was also uploaded to the base's official website via the wristband. Now is the time to start recalling the various teams.
After the competition ends, ordinary people in the base can come out to collect resources. The outer perimeter of the dense forest has been mostly cleared of mutated animals, and many people can go to test for edible mutated plants that can serve as some food.
Their team ranked first, so in addition to the official points reward, they would also receive some supplies, food, and other necessities, which were in high demand. They could collect these when their team returned to base.
But none of that matters right now. Sang Tong sent her a few messages, asking when she was going back, as there were some things at the base that he wanted her help with.
Sang Luoluo only replied with one message: "As soon as possible."
Sang Luoluo slept quite soundly through the night, holding a mutated orchid in her arms. She slept very well, and when she woke up in the morning, she immediately checked her space and found that the seed she had planted earlier had sprouted and grown two leaves.
Seeing this, Sang Luoluo watered it with some Spirit Spring Water. She could see that the little seedling was very happy and liked the Spirit Spring Water. She could even see that it was slowly growing, growing visibly. She dared not be careless. She remembered that this vine was somewhat aware of itself and would actively twine around the car and grow everywhere.
She was afraid it would affect the other crops in the space, so she deliberately planted it a little further away to make it more controllable.
The mutated wild orchids near the house were quite well-behaved. After occupying a portion of the land, they stopped expanding outwards, seemingly sensing Sang Luoluo's will and daring not to continue growing, otherwise the excess parts would have to be cut off.
Not knowing how the vine was doing, Sang Luoluo was very wary and surrounded it, ready to cut it down immediately if things didn't look good.
Fortunately, everything seems to be normal for now.
Qi Xue and the others were overjoyed.
"Our team is ranked first, so doesn't that mean we'll have a much more secure position at the base from now on?"
"No other team has ventured this far into the region like us, reaped such rewards, and accumulated a significant lead in points over the second-place team."
Qi Feng said, "Don't be too ostentatious. It's good for us, but if we make too much of a fuss, it might not be a good thing in front of the other families."
He had learned his lesson before, and the experience he had at Base 71 was still fresh in his mind.
Lei Qi said, "Boss, I was just saying. Anyway, we've already done what the base chief asked. Well, we should be rewarded eventually, with food, drinks, and supplies. We should be able to exchange them for quite a bit."
Upon hearing this, Sang Luoluo said, "After we get back this time, everyone should take a few days to rest."
Early in the morning, everyone got up chattering away, ate and drank their fill, and went out to continue searching for high-radiation areas and the giant Crystal Core.
After a day's work, they actually found two, Sang Luoluo was overjoyed.
There are five in total now, and we've pretty much covered this mountain area.
It's time to go back.
Sang Luoluo said, "I can still store some things in my space. Why don't we head back and look for the roots and stems of some valuable mutated plants, and bring them back with us? We can exchange them for some other supplies."
The others had no objections, of course; they had already walked the route they came by, so going back would be relatively easier.
Li Jiu has really learned a lot these past few days. Although he is not very capable, he knows how to read the room. After all, he used to work in the service industry and has done countless jobs.
He was exceptionally attentive to Sang Luoluo, wanting only to stay and eat delicious, radiation-free food every day.
Seeing him busy, Sang Luoluo said, " Li Jiu, you don't need to be too nervous. Just do what you're supposed to do. You've been behaving very well these past few days."
Li Jiu was still a little worried and said, "It's a pity that my abilities are too poor, not as good as everyone else's. But I will work hard in the future. After we go back this time, Boss Sang, do you think I can do some other things? I don't care what kind of work I do, as long as I can eat, I will definitely do my best."
Upon hearing this, Sang Luoluo said, "We'll discuss this when we get back. I'll definitely call you immediately if there's any work. Don't worry, we've become friends, I won't forget you."
Li Jiu was sincerely grateful. "Thank you, Boss Sang."
After leaving the mountain, they stepped back into the dense forest.
Chapter 250 Taking stock, Li Jiu walked towards home with mixed feelings...
The competition is over now, Sang Luoluo still has some space left to store things. Why not take this opportunity to go back and bring back some valuable items from the dense forest? She can exchange them for supplies later, which is better than going back empty-handed.
Passing by a grove of trees, where the trees grew enormous and exhibited limited mutations, He Fei immediately recognized their value.
" Boss Sang, the base likes to use this kind of wood to build houses. The mutated wood is stronger and safer, and you don't have to worry about it suddenly mutating. We can take some back. The transportation cost of this stuff is very high, but it can sell for a high price at the base. We can make a lot of money on one trip."