Sang Yunpu stroked her head. "What could happen to me at home? I have food and drink. You must take good care of yourself out there."
Sang Luoluo repeatedly promised that she would protect herself outside and told Sang Yunpu not to see her off any farther. Getting around in his wheelchair was inconvenient, so she went to the Guard's assembly point alone.
Dr. Wang was there too, but he would not be joining the mission this time. He merely gave Sang Luoluo a list. If they encountered any of the mutant plants or animals on it, it would be best to bring them all back.
Assistant Jian Cheng would also be joining this mission. He knew more about experimental specimens and what the laboratory currently needed. Sang Luoluo's role was simply to follow along and store things.
Young Master Yan's S16 Squad would lead the escort this time. Sang Luoluo had seen Yan Lang before, but they had never spoken. Now she spotted a familiar face in the group: Lei Qi. From the look of things, he had been temporarily transferred over.
The S16 Squad had thirty members. With her and Jian Cheng, there were thirty-two of them in total, filling four vehicles.
The supplies, weapons, and equipment they were bringing were all packed together for Sang Luoluo to store. Her spatial ability had its drawbacks, which the base had also studied. Everyone carried a backpack, so they would not be left without survival supplies if they became separated from Sang Luoluo or something happened to her along the way.
Simply put, she stored the heavy things that were difficult to carry, while they carried their own food and water.
Sang Luoluo had no objections. In any case, she tossed her own backpack straight into her space. Having her hands free was very comfortable.
Sang Luoluo and Jian Cheng boarded first and stayed near the front of the compartment. Members of the S16 Guard squad climbed aboard one after another, with eight people to a vehicle.
Seeing this, Lei Qi boarded the same vehicle. He was surprised to discover that the person they were protecting on this mission was Sang Luoluo. It had only been a few days. How had she already become involved with the base laboratory?
"What a coincidence." Sang Luoluo smiled at him in greeting.
He had saved her life, after all. Sang Luoluo had always remembered that.
Seeing that Sang Luoluo was not distant at all, Lei Qi felt some of his resentment over being inexplicably assigned to the S16 Squad fade. He asked quietly, "Yeah, what a coincidence. How did you end up at the laboratory?"
Sang Luoluo's work was confidential, so she could only offer a brief explanation. "My evolved ability is useful to the laboratory, so Dr. Wang invited me to work there."
Lei Qi immediately felt envious. They were both evolved humans, but the benefits offered by the base laboratory and the base Guard were on entirely different levels.
Lei Qi took out a bottle of nutrient solution and held it between his teeth. "That's great. The laboratory treats its people much better than the Guard does. You're pretty lucky."
Seeing him like this, Sang Luoluo took out two warm eggs and quietly slipped him one.
Sang Luoluo popped her peeled egg into her mouth in one bite.
Lei Qi's eyes widened when he saw the peeled egg in his hand. Not daring to exclaim aloud, he could only lean closer and whisper, "You're treating me to something this expensive?"
Sang Luoluo nodded and whispered, "Lei, please look after me on this mission."
Lei Qi popped it into his mouth in one bite. The fragrant flavor of egg burst across his tongue, nothing like nutrient solution. Food's own flavor was actually this enticing. After finishing it, he mumbled, "Don't worry. With me around, I'll definitely keep you safe."
He could not have been more envious. How many days had it been? Sang Luoluo was already eating eggs.
The others in the truck were either dozing or sipping nutrient solution for breakfast. Sang Luoluo quietly drank a bottle of milk, then leaned against a cushion to catch up on sleep.
After more than two hours of jolting along, it was past eight, and the sun was already high. Sang Luoluo changed into the Guard's isolation suit and, fully covered, followed them out with a laser gun in hand.
Seeing her follow Lei Qi, Jian Cheng caught up and walked beside her. "Don't go too far from me. Neither of us reacts as quickly as they do or has as much experience. We should stay at the back. They'll protect us if anything happens."
Sang Luoluo nodded and followed him.
Their destination this time was Zone 33C. The experimental materials from here had not been updated in a long time. After so long, the ecology of this area had undergone new changes, and danger lurked everywhere.
They left the trucks outside. Captain Yan Lang did not trust Sang Luoluo's space and did not want her to store the trucks.
Sang Luoluo did not mind. Looking down, she saw a private message from Lei Qi.
Lei Qi: [That's just how he is. He thinks he's amazing, looks down on the other Guard squads, and never shows our captain any respect. But whenever a mission turns out harder than expected, isn't it always our captain cleaning up his mess? He just relies on having a powerful father.]
Lei Qi: [Sang Luoluo, keep this in mind. There are lots of evolved humans in the S16 Squad. Three are strength types, brothers named Li Zhang, Li Wei, and Li Tai. One has evolved hearing and can hear movement more than thirty meters away. She's very capable too. Her name is Zhang Yunyun. There's also a sonic attacker whose high notes can affect certain mutant animals. His name is An Ping.]
Sang Luoluo: [OK]
As soon as they entered Zone 33C, Sang Luoluo witnessed how formidable an evolved hearing ability was. Walking at the front, Zhang Yunyun suddenly warned, "There are a dozen or so mutant animals passing up ahead. From the sound of them, they seem to be mutant rats."
"There are flying insects nearby too. Lots and lots."
Yan Lang ordered them to release a flying probe to scout ahead.
The mutant plants here had grown unusually tall. Everything Sang Luoluo saw had once been a common plant, but they had changed so much now. Some had even mutated in appearance, making their species impossible to identify.
The squad members went ahead to scout. Someone stepped on a broken branch on the ground, making a noise that disturbed the nearby flying insects. Sensing the humans, the mutant insects all flew toward them.
"Get down," Jian Cheng warned.
Sang Luoluo hurriedly obeyed. Holding her laser weapon, she fired several shots at the flying insects in the distance and managed to hit a few.
The S16 Squad unleashed concentrated fire on the insects. Before long, the ground was covered in their corpses.
Sang Luoluo walked over and discovered Crystal Cores inside several of them. That familiar pull returned.
"Should we collect a few insect corpses?" she suggested.
Jian Cheng nodded, only agreeing after confirming that the insects posed no threat to him or Sang Luoluo.
Sang Luoluo walked over and, guided by her senses, gathered more than twenty corpses. She moved quickly, each corpse disappearing the instant she touched it.
As Sang Luoluo followed the group forward, she immersed her consciousness in her space. Using a chainsaw, she cut open the three insects that exerted that pull, removed the Crystal Cores inside, and tossed them into her space. The nearly twenty untouched corpses remaining would definitely be enough for the laboratory's research.
Unfortunately, her space showed no reaction after she tossed in the three Crystal Cores. Perhaps they contained too little energy.
They had not walked far before encountering mutant rats after all. The rats had no Crystal Cores in their bodies, but Sang Luoluo discovered some in a rat burrow three meters underground.
A whole pile, to be precise.
Sang Luoluo could not bring herself to keep walking.
They were simply too enticing.
How could I get those Crystal Cores without alerting them?
Yan Lang and his people were busy fighting the mutant rats. Not only were the rats enormous now, but they had become faster, attacked people, and had sharper teeth. They also carried viruses and reproduced quickly. Finding a few now meant there were already many mutant rat nests nearby. With so many rats, there would also be mutant snakes and mutant eagles in the area.
Whether they encountered them would depend on their luck.
"Everyone, follow me and wipe out the mutant rats," Yan Lang said. "You two, don't wander off."
Sang Luoluo saw that Jian Cheng was scanning data on the surrounding mutant plants with his wristwatch. As long as she did not wander off, he left her alone.
Sang Luoluo thought it over. Digging with a shovel was not very practical, and the garage had not been unlocked yet. If only she had an excavator right now. Heavy armor would work too. Unfortunately, neither she nor Jian Cheng had been issued heavy armor this time, so she could not use that either.
With no other option, Sang Luoluo could only mark the location on her wristwatch. Three meters was too deep. She would have to wait until she had time to come back and dig.
She could only look around nearby for other Crystal Cores.
Yan Lang and his people fought for two hours, killing dozens of mutant rats. During that time, Jian Cheng collected specimens of the nearby mutant plants, along with two mutant rat corpses. He sealed them up and had Sang Luoluo store them.
The group took a brief ten-minute rest. Everyone had some nutrient solution and water, then continued onward.
Ahead stretched eggplants as far as the eye could see, interspersed with unidentified weeds. The eggplants had grown as tall as trees, and their fruit had changed drastically too, each one as large as a punching bag.
Some of the eggplants were overripe and rotten, attracting swarms of mutant flying insects and giving off a foul stench.
Very few of the eggplants here were edible. As they passed, everyone checked them with their wristwatches to see whether they could be eaten, unwilling to pass them up.
Jian Cheng collected some specimens of the eggplant trees and their fruit, sealed them up, and had Sang Luoluo bring them back.
Watching Jian Cheng go to all that trouble collecting them bit by bit, Sang Luoluo suggested, "Why not cut down the whole plant and take it all back?"
Jian Cheng said, "That works too. But isn't your space limited?"
Sang Luoluo shook her head. "This is hardly anything. I can stagger them and fit plenty inside. Besides, wouldn't intact plants be more valuable for your research? We can take them back first and worry about whether they're useful later."
"Snake!!!"
Zhang Yunyun heard a snake slithering nearby, along with the sound of its tongue flicking, and immediately called out a warning.