Long Teng, completely bewildered by the driver's exclamation, smiled brightly, "We're from Star City!"
Bai Jiao chuckled, and the driver rolled his eyes, a look of 'are you kidding me?'
Xie Sen ignored them. He summoned watermelon vines, letting them bind him, and slowly moved toward the door.
Even with the vines' protection, he couldn't help but feel nervous.
For the first time, he thought he might be afraid of heights.
Long Teng reached out and grasped his arm. "Don't be afraid, it'll be down in a flash."
Xie Sen smiled at him, took a deep breath, and backed away, leaning forward. He placed his feet on the traction ladder and slowly moved his hands to either side. Once he was sure he was steady, he said to Long Teng, "That's enough."
Long Teng let go, and Xie Sen looked down at the ladder, slowly descending. The traction ladder shook with his movements, and he couldn't help but tremble. He glanced down, then quickly averted his gaze.
It was terrifying!
Going down so slowly like this was excruciating! He mentally instructed, "Hold me, slowly descend the ladder."
The vine pulled him a step further away. Feeling the pull, he released his grip. His hands and feet almost simultaneously left the ladder, bound by the vine, and he floated into the air.
The vine followed his command, slowly descending alongside the ladder.
He kept a close eye on the traction ladder in front of him, ensuring he could quickly grab it in case of an emergency.
After adjusting to the speed, he increased the vine's speed and quickly descended to the ground.
As he touched the ground, Maine grabbed him from behind. He held onto Maine's hand and breathed a sigh of relief. Being held by the vine was incredibly uncomfortable.
This was a good situation for him, descending at a slower speed than free fall, like someone slowly lowered from a tree.
Maine had been instantly pulled down by the vine before, and the strain must have been far more uncomfortable.
He glanced at Maine with concern, untied the watermelon vines from his body, and reached for Maine's zipper. "Were you injured just now? Let me check."
Maine grabbed his wrist and said, "I'm fine. Let them get down first."
Xie Sen glanced at him and ordered the watermelon vines to bind Bai Jiao.
The next moment, his communicator rang. Bai Jiao said, "I want to descend the same way you did. Climbing down is too exhausting, and the situation in the forest is uncertain. Let's conserve our energy."
Xie Sen thought it made sense and agreed, then reminded Bai Jiao, "Okay, I'll adjust the speed slowly. Let me know if you feel uncomfortable."
They stayed in touch throughout Bai Jiao's descent, Xie Sen commanding the vines to adjust their speed, and Bai Jiao landed smoothly.
Long Teng used the vines as usual for his descent. He kept asking for faster speed, but Xie Sen simply let him free fall to prevent injury. Only when he was almost on the ground did the vines lift him up to slow him down.
After landing, Long Teng excitedly jumped in front of Xie Sen. "That was fun!"
Xie Sen asked, "Are you hurt?" He couldn't help but look at Maine with concern. "Especially you. You were going too fast."
Maine shook his head, "I'm fine." Bai Jiao and Long Teng also said they were fine.
Maine opened his bracelet and pointed to the map. "This is the highest point nearby. We only have a weak signal. The rest of the area will probably have no signal at all." He paid the balance to the driver and marked their location.
He looked at his teammates sternly, "Let's go together. We must not get separated."
Xie Sen and the others nodded earnestly.
Maine asked Xie Sen, "Which way?"
Xie Sen called out to A'dan. A'dan sensed it for a moment and said excitedly, "Not far from here, northeast."
Xie Sen replied, "Northeast."
Maine pulled up a map and traced along the northeastern edge, looking at the cliff to the northeast. "Could it be below it?"
A'dan replied in Xie Sen's mind, "Within ten kilometers."
Xie Sen relayed his words, and Maine pondered for a moment, "Let's see if we can get down the cliff edge."
The group reached the cliff, which sloped almost vertically downward, its surface riddled with jutting rocks, making descent impossible.
Across the cliff lay the other half of the mountain, as if a single, unbroken mountain had suddenly split in the middle, forming a canyon.
A white mist hung over the canyon, obscuring the view below. All that could be heard were the chilling cries of birds and the ferocious roars of wild beasts.
Bai Jiao said, "It seems like a fight has broken out down there."
Maine nodded, surveying his surroundings. "It's so quiet up there. Since we landed, we haven't encountered any large beasts except the blackbird."
"They must be down there!" Long Teng exclaimed excitedly.
Xie Sen couldn't help but worry. "The beasts have their own territories, and it's strange that they're all gathered together."
Maine said, "Perhaps it's related to the mutation," and he opened his bracelet. "The detector map shows that the terrain is gradually decreasing to the east and west of us. We should go east first, then north at the lower ground."
Maine determined the route and led the way. Xie Sen and Bai Jiao walked in the middle, with Long Teng bringing up the rear.
Not long into the journey, Bai Jiao suddenly exclaimed with joy, "Wait a minute!"
He ran to the right side of the woods, squatted down, pulled a shovel from his backpack, dug up a plant, and walked back to his starting point, his eyes shining.
Long Teng leaned forward curiously. "What is this? Is it edible?"
Xie Sen looked at the plant's spherical red fruit and hesitated. "Is this... Panax notoginseng?"
Bai Jiao looked at him in surprise. "I've seen illustrations of Panax notoginseng in ancient herbal texts. How did you know about it?"
Xie Sen smiled. "I don't remember where I saw it, but it just looked familiar. I probably stumbled across it while watching a courseware slide!"
Bai Jiao, remembering that he was a botany student, suddenly realized, "That's right." He carefully placed the Panax notoginseng in his backpack. "That's fantastic! I hope we'll find other herbs."
The group continued on their way. Bai Jiao collected several more herbs along the way, all with red flowers and fruits.
Xie Sen suddenly remembered what A Dan had said: red energy corresponds to red plants. Could these herbs be related to red energy?
After walking smoothly for over an hour, Long Teng couldn't help but wonder, "Wasn't it said to be dangerous? Why can't I see anything except small insects?"
He had just finished when Maine suddenly stopped, turned on the audio and video feed from the detector, and turned up the volume.
Heavy footsteps approached from afar. Even just listening felt like the ground was shaking. A massive figure flashed across the screen, the footsteps receding.
Maine said, "It's a giant tiger beast."
Long Teng's eyes gleamed. "There really are high-level contracted beasts. I wonder if there are flying dragon beasts!"
Bai Jiao frowned. "There's no other movement. Not hunting, not avoiding danger. This speed is strange."
Xie Sen stared at the screen. "It's heading towards the canyon. There might be something there."
Maine nodded. "Let's keep going."
The four of them continued walking for over an hour, not far from the edge of the cliff. They still hadn't reached the lowest point, but the terrain had dropped considerably, and the cries of animals were becoming clearer.
They stopped to prepare for lunch.
Long Teng ran to the edge of the cliff and looked down. A moment later, he exclaimed, "I saw a huge bird!"
The next moment, a large, dark gray bird soared from below, shrieking, and lunged at Long Teng. Long Teng quickly dodged it, leaping to the side.
The bird passed him, its momentum driving it straight toward Xie Sen and the other two, who were cleaning up the lunch area.
Main's eyes were cold. He picked up a stick and lashed it out at the bird. The bird shrieked, flapped its wings, and dodged, hovering in mid-air, staring intently at them.
Xie Sen, startled, watched it warily.
Long Teng ran over to them and pointed at the bird: "It started it!"
Bai Jiao frowned. "This kind of bird doesn't usually attack humans. The color of its eyes is off. Normally, they should be light gray."
Xie Sen stared intently at the bird's eyes: "Now there's a tinge of red in the gray."
As he spoke, the bird suddenly swooped down towards Maine and Long Teng.
The two quickly drew their weapons from their backpacks and, the moment it approached, attacked simultaneously, striking at its wings and neck. The blades streaked with silvery-white light in the air, drawing red blood.
"Jiji!!!" The bird screamed in pain, flapping its wings violently, forcing the two to retreat. It took the opportunity to soar into the air, circled a few times, and then flew away unwillingly.
Long Teng pointed at the sky and chased after him: "Don't run if you dare!"
Xie Sen gave him an amused look and held out a watermelon: "Come and have some watermelon."
The barbecue took too long, so watermelon was just the right thing to eat to fill their stomachs and quench their thirst.
Long Teng stopped dead in his tracks and scurried over to Xie Sen's side, his eyes alight. "Is the flesh of the watermelon tastier than the rind?"
"Of course," Xie Sen said.
Long Teng swallowed, "I can't believe it." He lifted the round watermelon and opened his mouth to take a bite.
Maine grabbed the back of his collar and said coldly, "Put it down."
Xie Sen quickly took the watermelon, pulled out the fruit knife he had prepared, and cut it into four pieces, one for each person. "That's all we have. Once you eat it, there's nothing left."
Maine let go of Long Teng, and Long Teng quickly took his portion, sniffed it closely, and his face lit up. "It smells so good!" He took a bite, his eyes widening, gleaming brightly.
He said nothing, just continued to eat with big mouthfuls, his cheeks puffed out, making him look like a little squirrel against his baby face.
Bai Jiao also devoured the watermelon much faster than usual, only saying, "It's delicious," at the beginning.
Xie Sen looked at the two energy 1 notifications and curled his lips. It seemed the watermelon was really welcoming!
Maine sat down next to Xie Sen, quickly finishing his watermelon. He said to Xie Sen, "Lean on me and get some sleep. I'll call you when the meat's ready."
Xie Sen didn't act pretentiously. He knew a lack of rest would only lead to more trouble, so he simply leaned against Maine's back to rest.
Long Teng finished his watermelon, eyes sparkling, ready to speak to Xie Sen, but met Maine's warning gaze. He looked at Xie Sen, who had his eyes closed, covered his mouth, and blinked.
Maine, seeing that he understood, looked away.
Half an hour later, Maine woke Xie Sen. They finished their barbecue and prepared to continue their journey.
Maine squatted before Xie Sen. "You sleep for another half an hour. We don't know when you'll be able to rest after that."
Xie Sen hesitated, then put his arm around his neck and climbed onto his back, letting him carry him. He whispered, "Thank you. If you need anything, remember to call me."
His breath touched Maine's neck, and Maine's body stiffened for a moment before quickly regaining its composure. "Okay."
Long Teng couldn't help but ask, "Is Asen feeling unwell?"
Maine replied, "He needs regular rest."
A sudden realization dawned on Long Teng, and he smiled brightly, revealing his brilliant white teeth. "If you're tired, I can carry him. I'm not!"
Maine flatly replied, "No need."
An hour later, Maine finally woke Xie Sen. Xie Sen dismounted and looked around. The terrain was already very low. "Are we there yet?"
Maine's face was solemn as he opened the data the detector had recently transmitted.
Xie Sen looked over, only to see the screen filled with all sorts of birds and beasts, fighting in a heap. Countless animal carcasses lay scattered across the ground, the surface almost covered in blood.
He was stunned. He stared at the screen for a long time and found that it did not seem to be a melee. He tapped the screen and said, "Why do I feel that they are preventing them from entering?"
The beasts were divided into two parts, one trying to move forward, and the other preventing them from moving forward.
Bai Jiao said, "I think so too."
Maine pointed to the area on the screen where the beasts were fighting, "This is the entrance to the canyon. If we want to go in, we have to pass through here."
Xie Sen's scalp tingled, "It's too dangerous."
Even Long Teng, who always got excited when he heard about a fight, couldn't help but say, "We will definitely be eaten by them!"
Bai Jiao analyzed, "The distance is too far to have any empathy, and we can't be sure if they are all contracted beasts, but I can be sure that a few of them are, and they are all above level B. The giant tiger beast we saw before is also here, and they are all preventing the other part of the beasts from entering."
Maine was puzzled, "Contracted beasts and wild beasts have always lived in harmony, why would they fight?"
Bai Jiao shook his head, also puzzled.
Long Teng touched the back of his head, "Is there some treasure in there that they are afraid of being robbed?"