DipNovel Chapter 60: The Reunion of Three Provinces
Chapter 60: The Reunion of Three Provinces
"Let's go." He led the way, leaving behind two men exchanging glances, their eyes filled with curiosity and gossip.
The rest of the journey was much quieter. Hei Xiazi occasionally stole glances at Qin Yuan's hands, while Xie Yuchen seemed lost in thought.
After walking for about half a day, some inconspicuous carvings began to appear on some large rocks and tree trunks ahead, presumably the secret codes used by Wu Sansheng. Black Bear perked up: "We're here! Third Master is just ahead!"
Sure enough, after passing through a jungle, the view suddenly opened up, with several tents pitched there, a campfire burning, and a dozen or so figures moving about.
Upon seeing the three of them appear, there was a commotion in the camp. After a while, a person came out, who seemed to be the leader of the Wusansheng Employment Team.
"Hey, Mr. Black! You've finally arrived! And who are these two?" Mop smiled insincerely, his gaze lingering for a few seconds, especially on Qin Yuan's unusual fingernails and Xie Yuchen's striking white clothes.
One of his cocky underlings, probably seeing Qin Yuan's youth or perhaps used to being arrogant, wanted to intimidate the newcomer. He muttered smugly, "The guys Blackie brings are getting weirder and weirder. There's even a sissy among them..."
Before he finished speaking, the smile on Black Bear's face vanished instantly. No one saw how he moved; they only saw a black shadow flash by. The next second, the jerk was lifted up by the neck with one hand and pinned to a tree, his feet off the ground, his face flushed red, struggling in vain.
Black Bear still had a smile on his face, but although it was bright, it was devoid of warmth: "Kid, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. You think you can gossip about Master Hua and Master Qin? Hmm?"
Mop's face changed drastically, and he hurriedly stepped forward: "Boss Hei! Boss Hei, calm down! The kid doesn't know any better! He's talking nonsense!" He glared fiercely at the underling whose eyes were almost rolling back, "Apologize to Boss Hei and these two friends!"
Black Bear didn't let go immediately. Instead, he pulled the underling forward, patted Mop's face, and said softly, "This time, I'm giving Third Master face. You, watch your man and your mouth. If I hear anything I shouldn't hear again..." He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear.
Just then, a slightly hoarse voice came from the largest tent: "Blind man, come in when you get here, don't scare the children outside."
There are no three provinces.
Black Bear snorted and released his grip. The henchman collapsed to the ground, panting heavily, his eyes filled with terror as he looked at Black Bear. Mop quickly had someone drag him away, while he himself, with a forced smile, led the three towards the tent.
Qin Yuan and Xie Yuchen remained silent throughout, as if the conflict had nothing to do with them.
Inside the tent, Wu Sansheng looked much older and more haggard than when they last met, with deep bags under his eyes, but his gaze was still sharp. He saw Qin Yuan and Xie Yuchen, his gaze slightly narrowing, lingering for a moment on Qin Yuan's hand, but he didn't ask any questions, simply nodding: "It's good you're here. Sit down, have something to eat, and rest. This place isn't safe tonight."
After a simple meal of dry rations and arrangements for the night watch, everyone took the opportunity to rest and recover their strength. Qin Yuan leaned against the tent, closing his eyes to rest.
In the dead of night, all was quiet except for the sound of the wind and the chirping of unknown insects in the distance.
Suddenly, a system alarm blared in Qin Yuan's mind!
[WARNING! A large number of alien energy carriers have been detected rapidly approaching!]
Qin Yuan snapped his eyes open, the system's urgent alarm still echoing in his mind. Almost simultaneously, a guard on night watch outside the camp let out a distorted cry of alarm: "Snakes! So many snakes!"
"Cluck cluck... snake... cluck cluck... so many... snakes"
An extremely eerie sound began to rise from all directions, starting sparsely but quickly becoming a continuous chorus, sounding particularly chilling in the silent night! It wasn't the sound of wind, nor the chirping of insects; it was a snake imitating a human voice!
The tent flap was flung open, and Wu Sansheng rushed out, his face ashen, a loaded pistol clutched in his hand. In the firelight, countless brightly colored, strange snakes with crimson crests on their heads had appeared out of nowhere at the edge of the camp.
They held their heads high, constantly flicking their tongues, their cold, vertical pupils reflecting the firelight, and the strange human voices were coming from them.
"Wild chicken necks! Damn it, how come there are so many!" Mop was so scared that his voice became shrill, and his men were in complete chaos. Some wanted to grab their guns, while others wanted to run away.
"Don't panic! Use fire! These things are afraid of fire!" Black Bear had already grabbed a burning log from the fire and was waving it to drive away the approaching snakes. Xie Yuchen pulled out several small cloth bags from somewhere and quickly distributed them to those who were nearby: "Realgar powder! Sprinkle it around!"
Qin Yuan also stood up, but he didn't immediately join the snake-driving effort. His gaze, behind his sunglasses, quickly swept over the surging swarm of snakes, as he thought about what the system had just said about the alien energy carrier.
Just then, the system notification sounded again, but it was different from the emergency alarm:
Side Quest 2: Clean Up the Biological Lab (Activated)
(To explain, the quest wasn't activated when I encountered the tree python before because giant pythons could indeed exist in reality, but a talking pheasant neck and a snake mother like that are definitely not scientifically possible, so the quest is activated here.)
The Queen Mother of the West is truly a dedicated and mad scientist. Not only did she successfully perform genetic modification thousands of years ago, but she also created a food chain. Qin Yuan sneered inwardly.
But now is clearly not the time.
The snakes were incredibly numerous. The firelight and realgar powder could only temporarily repel them; more snakes kept pouring out of the grass, emitting chilling hissing sounds, and forming a pincer movement. Casualties had already begun to occur among the ordinary men in the camp, and screams of agony filled the air.
Wu Sansheng made a decisive decision, roaring, "Abandon the camp! Take only the necessary weapons, food, and signal flares; leave everything else behind and retreat!"
In the current situation, who cares about side quests? Qin Yuan quickly made a decision and retreated with the main force. The snake's lair was there; it hadn't moved in all these years. The most urgent task was to preserve their strength and obtain the most crucial database module for the main quest.
If we get that, these snakes that mutate by energy radiation might just decline on their own. Even if they're alright, we can deal with them later after we've finished our business.
"Go!" Qin Yuan shouted in a low voice, no longer hesitating. He moved extremely quickly, not bothering to grab the heavy supplies, but relying on the space he had, he only grabbed a light backpack as cover.
He casually grabbed a burning tent cloth from the ground and waved it like a torch, scaring away several venomous snakes that pounced from the side. His black fingernails gleamed coldly in the firelight, and while others were distracted, he casually sliced several crested snakes that tried to sneak up on him into pieces.
Hei Xiazi and Xie Yuchen quickly abandoned most of their luggage, carrying only weapons and a few necessities, and followed Wu Sansheng westward.
The mop-wielding group was terrified and scrambled to keep up. Every now and then, someone would fall behind and get entangled by the snakes, letting out a piercing scream before being dragged into the darkness.
The group broke through the encirclement in a disheveled state. Wu Sansheng counted the number of people, and his face became even more grim. The original group of more than thirty people was now reduced to only a dozen or so, all of them wounded and still in shock.
"Take a headcount of the wounded, give them basic first aid, and I have antivenom for those bitten. Rest here for half an hour, then continue onward. We can't stay here any longer," Wu Sansheng ordered in a low voice, leaning wearily against the ground.
Qin Yuan found a corner to sit down, unscrewed the kettle, took a sip, and felt the icy water slide down his throat.
Side quests... Biological lab... Once I get the database core, I'll have some free time to properly deal with these little pets left behind by the Queen Mother of the West.