When the others heard that Lan Jin and the team had been to the dense forest before and might know it well, those who did not know the details asked at once, "What mission did you run in the forest last time? What dangers did you face during the mission? Did you run into anything like today?"
Lan Jin hesitated. Lan Jin did not know whether the specifics could be shared, so Lan Jin asked, "Are we even allowed to talk about this? If we say it out loud, will we be punished when we get back?"
The team member Captain Zhang had left with them replied, "No. After every mission, someone records the full process. Our own base keeps the file, and copies are sent to leaders of other military backed bases. If a mission is classified, we are warned never to mention it. It has been a long time and no one has told us to keep quiet, so we should be allowed to talk."
As people with military backgrounds, everyone understood. That meant the last operation could be discussed.
However, that team member had been ordered down the mountain early last time and did not know what happened afterward. Captain Zhang had not gone into detail later. They had lost too many brothers, and no one found the heart to ask. Thinking about it now, they truly did not know what had taken place in the forest.
Even so, though the past was painful, curiosity about the forest outweighed the grief.
Shen Zhiyan asked at once, "On your last trip into the forest, did you also run into so many messed up mutant creatures?"
Lan Jin thought for a while. "On our way to the forest last time, we ran into a lot of mutant creatures. But once we were inside the forest, the things that attacked us were mostly mutant plants."
Speaking of plants, Lan Jin added a warning. "Captain Zhang and many team members only awakened abilities after being injured by mutant plants. Inside this forest, we should not only guard against mutant creatures. Those plants are just as deadly."
Ling Jiang said, "You do not know. Our mission last time was to blow up the forest. We had almost finished when the mutant plants pulled themselves up from the soil and chased us, herding us all the way to the edge of the forest. They even tried to follow us down the mountain."
The idea of plants giving chase drew everyone's full attention.
Shen Zhiyan pressed, "Mutant plants ran out of the ground? How do plants run? How did they keep up with you?"
Ling Jiang said, "They ran on their own roots and rhizomes. We were too close. Lao Gao did not stop to calculate and hit the detonator button. Lao Gao almost blew us to pieces. Luckily, Lao Gao pressed it in time. Most of the plants were destroyed along with the forest. A few still made it down the mountain. The blast wave slammed us and we lay there for a long while. When we finally got up to give chase, there was no catching them."
The team member Captain Zhang had left behind said, "You still made it back in time. A little later and we might all be dead."
Ling Jiang said, "You remember that very steep slope on the way down the mountain? If we had climbed down honestly from there, you would have been done for. Lan Jin had a flash of inspiration and told me to use my ice ability to freeze a slide. I froze the slide almost to the foot of the mountain. That cut the distance and let us make it back in time."
The team member had not known this part. Thinking about it now, it sounded both dangerous and a little exciting.
Lan Jin explained, "The four of us are from J City. Before we went to the H City base, we stayed three days at the J City base. From J City to the H City base, we did not see a single mutant creature on the way. But the moment we reached the H City base gate, on that very day, we saw a huge horde of mutant creatures. After that, the attacks just kept coming. I felt like the world was collapsing. It was nothing like anything I had seen before."
There were mutant rabbits and mutant snakes and many other mutant animals. "But as for mutant creatures with human faces, before we set out, we had only seen one human faced rabbit, and that was the one we all saw together before we left the base."
In this forest, there were far too many human faced mutants. A single glance at a mutant creature raised goosebumps all over Lan Jin.
This forest was also much larger. Last time's forest had not required walking this far.
Even so, did other bases not have such mutants nearby?
Shen Zhiyan said, "No. The R City base is also built on a mountain, but the place used to be a scenic area. Mutant creatures rarely come close. When we went to the H City base for special training, we were terrified. Why were there so many constant attacks? I kept worrying some mutant creature would slip inside by mistake. What would the people living there do?"
Fortunately, the base defenses were solid. That never happened. Because people in the H City base saw mutant creatures so often, ordinary residents there stayed calmer than those in many other bases.
It all added up to experience.
Because of that experience, Captain Zhang was determined to keep the four strong ability users at the H City base. Captain Zhang had no choice. When the H City base was first built, the location chosen had not been ideal.
…
After that topic, Lan Jin thought of another question. Lan Jin asked Shen Zhiyan, "How long did it take you to travel from the R City base to the H City base?"
Shen Zhiyan replied, "We came by ship. With a steady run, about five days. If we switched to driving, it would still be roughly five to seven days. The ship is huge and cannot pass certain points easily. It has to detour. Even setting the flooding aside, driving is not easy now. During the great earthquake, some stretches of road were completely destroyed. Because the base had to be built, those stretches never got proper repairs. They could handle temporary traffic back then. After being underwater for so long, they are probably not usable at all."
So the best plan was to reach any place they wanted to go before the floodwater evaporated. Once the water was gone, the roads would be back, but the roads would be broken.
Of course, full evaporation would still take a very long time. Even with temperatures over seventy degrees and endless daylight, there were waters as deep as a dozen stories. They would not vanish in a short span.
That was the plan in theory. Reality did not follow the plan.
===
Just a quick personal note about After Killing Dao Partner, the Villainess Becomes the Demon Ancestor (✧ω✧)
I've translated all the chapters so far, and honestly? I'm really impressed. This novel is not your typical xianxia—schemes and plots are at the heart of the story. From the early chapters, you'll see layers upon layers of intrigue, and even beyond chapter 100, the scheming stays intense. You can't just skip to the fight scenes—the story lives in the tension, the planning, the clever maneuvers. It's almost like Gōngdòu (宫斗) but in a xianxia world, which is super rare and exciting to see.
Yun Qingyue, the protagonist, is sharp, ruthless, and not a saint. Watching her navigate the schemes, outwit her enemies, and crush anyone in her way is strangely satisfying. And when the fights do happen? They're well-written and complement the intrigue rather than overshadow it.
Personally, I also really enjoy the author's distinctive style. Translating it gave me this unique feeling that I haven't experienced in other novels—it's clever, tense, and full of character.
So yeah… if you want a xianxia that's more than just cultivation and fights, one that's full of clever schemes, morally gray characters, and surprises, I'd definitely recommend giving this a shot. It's one of those novels that keeps you thinking and entertained at the same time (≧▽≦)