Chapter 325 | Chapter 326 | Chapter 327
Chapter 325: Explorers’ Discussion
The mud by the pond turned out to be quite useful.
Once the fire was lit inside the oven to dry it out, Zhou Qian couldn’t resist glancing at his legs and feet caked in mud—and the climbing vines he’d dragged through it. In for a penny, in for a pound, he went ahead and caught two big fish as well!
The two mutated carp were ferocious. Their powerful whiskers lashed against his calves, and even with his toughened body, Zhou Qian couldn’t help but wince in pain. Luckily, his other leg didn’t feel much, so after some effort, he still managed to catch both fish.
Huai Yu was busy stirring a whole pot of chestnuts, panting as she worked. Beside her, a plastic sheet held a small mountain of drying chestnuts. She sighed.
“Brother Zhou Qian, why don’t you have any sense of priorities? Who has time to eat fish right now!”
But when she looked at the two large carp, she frowned again.
“Why are they so big? The meat must be coarse, right? And this pond isn’t that big—they probably taste muddy. Not very good.”
Still, since they were already caught—and Zhou Qian was poking at their mouths and gills with a stick (their mouths full of jagged little teeth, no way he’d use his fingers)—and the fish were still flapping, Huai Yu couldn’t help reaching out to purify them.
It took more effort than she expected. Clearly, for these fish to survive in a rest-area pond, their mutation levels had never dropped below 20.
By the time she finished purifying them, Zhou Qian had already expertly gutted the fish, carefully avoiding the gall bladder, and was now scraping off the scales.
Meanwhile, Huai Yu had already boiled a large batch of chestnuts that morning. Once she finished this entire sack, the oven should be mostly dry, and she could put the chestnuts in to bake and reduce moisture.
Dry them thoroughly.
That way, even though roasted chestnuts would be a bit hard, they wouldn’t spoil easily—perfect for carrying on their journey.
But…
The oven had already been drying over fire for quite a while. Was it ready yet?
Huai Yu pondered, then took out a large baking tray, added seasoning, and thoroughly marinated the two big carp—planning to test the oven soon.
After a moment’s thought, she also dug out some dry flatbread. When she boiled the next batch of chestnuts, she could steam the bread to soften it and eat it with the grilled fish.
The two of them bustled about in the rest area, each busy with their own tasks.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the wilderness, countless explorer teams had gathered at the entrance, waiting eagerly for the arrival of the garrison forces.
The “Bai Zhao Subsidy” expedition team was among them.
Shen Xing had just finished a phone call and returned when Zhao Feiyan asked,
“Still your three younger brothers?”
“Yeah.” Shen Xing smiled brightly. “Fenda’s been doing well lately, and his abilities have improved a lot. This winter, he’ll join the internship expedition into the wilderness. He should perform pretty well.”
Military academy field expeditions usually stayed within the city’s jurisdiction and didn’t go very deep. For Fenda, who had already traveled back and forth through the wilderness many times, it wasn’t particularly difficult.
Qixi and Xuebao were a different story. Their abilities weren’t bad, and their combat performance was decent, but their academic scores were terrible. They still had to retake finals—no chance of entering the wilderness again.
But as a guardian, Shen Xing didn’t want to complain about the kids’ grades—after all, Zhao Feiyan didn’t raise children. They wouldn’t have much in common.
So she changed the subject.
“This time, the garrison’s arrangements came way too fast. Everyone’s in chaos. To meet the schedule, supplies aren’t even fully prepared yet.”
Even their own team still had members running around other teams, trading supplies back and forth.
The plan had changed too suddenly. They didn’t have the logistical capacity of official forces—resources had to be cobbled together through money or exchanges. Just assembling enough people to enter the wilderness was already pushing themselves to the limit for extra points.
Zhao Feiyan sighed.
“If I’d known, I would’ve bought more produce from your sister last time—fresh or dried, anything!”
They’d only received notice three days ago, and by then Shen Xing already knew Huai Yu had left for the wilderness.
Frowning, Zhao Feiyan said,
“I don’t even know if it’s worth joining the rush this time. So many teams are underprepared. Once we’re in the wilderness, we’ll probably have to rely on what we find—sounds like trouble.”
Wilderness plants weren’t edible just because they looked edible. And with so many teams crowding in along the same route, the target was simply too large.
But…
“You can’t say that,” someone else in the team spoke up. “Fortune favors the bold. With our limited abilities, we wouldn’t dare go beyond Zone 6 on our own.”
“But as long as we keep a safe distance from the garrison and don’t interfere, we might even be able to follow them into Zone 8!”
Their team was already one of the largest in Flower City, yet even they had only reached Zone 6. Other teams were no better. Now that a brand-new map lay ahead, with new resources and species waiting—how could anyone not grit their teeth and hold on for the opportunity?
“Still, the officials are really shady this time!” someone grumbled angrily.
“Wasn’t it always like this before? Why keep everything so secret this year, only releasing info three days before departure?”
“Exactly! And the intel is so unreliable. I spent over 500 points to get information, and just one day later I heard the route had changed again!”
The person who sold the intel looked a bit embarrassed—they had gotten it secondhand too—so they didn’t refund the points, only gave a slight discount, returning 300 points.
So frustrating!
Someone muttered, “Just because a garrison officer is coming, they think they’re so important… playing us like fools.”
“I thought this year’s commander in Flower City would be reliable. Didn’t expect him to be such a trickster…”
“Hey, you can’t put it that way!” someone interjected. “The garrison officer’s authority was suddenly split among five commanders, and those commanders were reassigned all over the country. What’s that saying? ‘No experience in local governance, no qualification for higher office.’ It’s obvious they’re being trained for future promotions.”
“In that situation, of course the garrison officer would be anxious. The route change might not even be misinformation—it could just be higher-ups fighting for power.”
That explanation sounded reasonable, and more people gathered around to listen.
Someone else added, “What exactly do these commanders even do? They’re not well-known. I still think General Wu should be the garrison officer—he’s from Flower City, after all.”
“Yeah, exactly! Since he’s local, if there are good policies, wouldn’t Flower City get them first?”
“What do you mean ‘get them first’? That’s called pilot implementation.”
“I don’t know… I don’t think General Wu is that great. He’s been in office for over half a year now—what policies has he even introduced?”
“Leaders need time to discuss things! They can’t just spit out policies instantly. But my idol is General Lin! Back then, he led the rescue team that saved my mom. I’ll never follow anyone else!”
“Oh, give me a break. We’re just explorers. Whether you admire them or not, they don’t have time to care!”
Chapter 326: The Garrison Sets Out
The explorers waited eagerly.
Then suddenly, word came rushing from the front—“They’re here, they’re here!”
Everyone instantly snapped to attention.
“Quick, quick! Get in the cars!”
“Where’s the stuff? Don’t forget the supplies!”
“Second Brother, what are you dawdling for? Move up front!”
“Hey you! Drive the car over—go! go! Who cares about a scratch? Squeeze to the front!”
“Hey, hey, our deal’s not finished yet—don’t run off!”
The roadside fell into chaos.
At that moment, a white vehicle coated with fluorescent sand appeared ahead. A golden emblem gleamed brightly, and the front, sides, undercarriage, and roof were all loaded with an array of weapons and detection equipment.
“Damn, official vehicles really look cool!”
“I heard they’ve got signal boosters on board—can still communicate inside the wilderness… unlike us, where our devices basically die as soon as we go in.”
“More than that—see those tires? I heard alloy saw blades can extend out. If plants block the road, they just grind straight through!”
“Of course. Plants grow so fast in the wilderness that roads get blocked every few days. That’s why they have to clear them regularly…”
“Tsk! I heard even the defense forces have a few of these.”
“Not the same—the defense forces’ versions have mutation energy alarms installed. The garrison clears paths; they maintain them…”
The crowd buzzed with chatter, but no one dared say anything inappropriate—like commenting on the new garrison commander’s ostentatious style. After all, they were all ability users, sharp-eyed and sharp-eared.
After their admiration for the official equipment subsided, things gradually calmed down.
Wu Yue wasn’t oblivious to reality. Seeing the bustling crowd, he knew the explorers intended to trail behind them and pick up whatever scraps they could.
But…
“With so many people, Commander Bai, if we don’t set restrictions, it’ll affect our mission.”
Bai Yu replied calmly, “Understood. I’ll arrange something shortly.”
Of course, she had no intention of actually issuing strict orders—but openly contradicting a superior wasn’t wise either. Agree first, deal with it later.
After all, any explorer who had survived this long knew the boundaries. Those who didn’t… were already dead.
Besides, they weren’t fools. They usually kept at least two zones’ distance from the garrison, and the closer it got to active exploration areas, the fewer followers there would be. Whether a garrison commander came or not, explorers had to enter the wilderness to make a living—this was the same everywhere.
Wu Yue didn’t press further. The route had changed several times already, and he had his own thoughts brewing. Noticing the general dissatisfaction, he wisely dropped the matter.
Soon, after a brief ceremony, the garrison officially entered the wilderness.
The convoy moved forward smoothly, quickly reaching the first checkpoint zone. Staff were already on standby and immediately opened all access routes.
But…
After the large force entered, someone frowned.
“Wasn’t the earlier notice saying we were heading to C9?” He had even warned a young girl about it.
This route didn’t go directly to C9. Could it be that the garrison planned to sweep the entire area?
The supervisor shook his head. “I heard the route was changed.”
The staff member’s expression stiffened. The handful of sunflower seeds still in his pocket—ones he’d been reluctant to finish—suddenly felt heavy.
The roadway in Zone 1 was wide enough for four vehicles to drive side by side. Now, the vehicles at the front deployed alloy saw blades from beneath their chassis, sweeping along both edges of the road.
Wherever they passed, shrubs and small trees fell in droves.
When the explorers followed behind, the large convoy might not care about these scraps, but smaller teams could rummage through them for useful materials, then push the leftover debris deeper into the wilderness.
A natural synergy formed between the two.
The further they advanced, the narrower the road became. By Zone 2, it had shrunk to a standard four-lane width.
Inside the vehicle, Wu Yue listened as Bai Yu issued instructions:
“Increase speed. Do not stop at rest areas. Ideally, we’ll camp at the edge of Zone 3 tonight…”
Wu Yue smiled.
“Commander Bai, that’s not very considerate. We’d only reach the edge of Zone 3 late at night. Didn’t we say everyone’s been working hard on continuous deployment? I think the central camp in Zone 3 is enough—no need to rush.”
Though he also wanted quick results, Wu Yue had developed some political awareness—he was the garrison commander. If forced marches exhausted the troops, wouldn’t they blame him as the highest authority?
Bai Yu: “……”
A little political awareness—but not much. Honestly, it might have been better if he had none.
At this moment, she should have politely said something like “You’re very considerate.”
But commanders might change—her soldiers would not. She would always be responsible for them.
So she smiled and said, “General Wu is right. However, I was considering that there’s a large lake at the edge of Zone 3, which would provide a convenient water source for such a large group.”
“Of course, we’ve brought water supplies, and water-type ability users are on standby. Missing it temporarily wouldn’t be a major issue. After all, sufficient rest is also important.”
Wu Yue fell silent for a moment.
They had water, yes—but water-type ability users were also key combat assets. In explorer teams, they might double as water providers, but in the garrison, their roles were strictly managed to preserve combat strength.
Eventually, Wu Yue laughed.
“Commander Bai, your stance isn’t firm enough. This operation is your domain—naturally, we’ll follow your lead.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve been in Flower City. My route preparations weren’t thorough enough.”
He admitted it openly.
Bai Yu smiled, calm and composed.
Still, she sensed something off. Wu Yue had always seemed rather average in intellect and usually stayed quiet. But this time, he seemed unusually eager.
And when people grew impatient, they tended to reveal more flaws.
She glanced at the others in the vehicle, who were all focused on their detection screens as if they’d heard nothing, and her smile deepened.
At that moment, the detection team issued a warning—
“We’ve entered the territory of the gray magpies!”
Bai Yu’s expression sharpened.
“All departments, attention—prepare deployment!”
Logistics had already prepared the items. Windows along both sides of the vehicles opened, passing out boxes one by one.
Wu Yue looked at the display screen, curious.
“What are those?”
Bai Yu explained, “A bit of everything—glass marbles, acrylic reflective beads, zircon stones, crystals, fragments of mirrors…”
“This area is jointly occupied by gray magpies and crows. They’ve been here for years, coexisting with the ecosystem and even helping fend off newly emerged aggressive mutated creatures.”
“For situations like this, we maintain a cooperative approach. They like shiny objects. The more people we bring, the more we give—once satisfied, they leave us alone.”
Just as she finished speaking—
A sudden barrage of sharp impacts rattled against the windows.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Chapter 327: Toll Fee
This flock of gray magpies and crows worked as a team—the crows handled reconnaissance, while the gray magpies… handled extortion—well, communication with humans.
Individually, their combat ability wasn’t strong, but they were petty and vengeful. Unless the entire flock was wiped out, they would keep following, harassing endlessly—“when the enemy tires, we harass; when the enemy retreats, we advance.” It was incredibly annoying.
So when the gray magpies perched on the car roofs, flicking their gray-blue tails and rummaging through the toll boxes, no one thought of attacking. After all, gray magpies were considered beneficial birds in the forest—they were omnivorous and ate insects. People would rather deal with mutated birds than mutated insects.
But unexpectedly, the flock chattered noisily as they tore through the contents of the boxes, scattering everything—glass marbles, zircon stones, mirror fragments—across the road. Not a single gray magpie seemed satisfied.
Inside the vehicle, the observers stared at the monitors in surprise.
“They don’t like any of the items we prepared?”
Bai Yu frowned.
At that moment, another group of gray magpies stretched out their long beaks and slammed into the windows again, clearly dissatisfied with the toll!
The windows were specially reinforced and wouldn’t break easily, but if this continued, the magpies would hold a grudge. Bai Yu made a swift decision.
“They’ve already searched through everything—we must have prepared the wrong items. Pull it back and switch to the second batch immediately!”
The roof boxes retracted and were replaced with another set—this time filled with artificial pearls, crystals, and similar items.
The gray magpies quieted briefly, then began rummaging again. Everyone watched the screens closely.
The birds chirped and squabbled, yet none of them took a single item…
Here they came again!
Another round of rapid bang bang bang strikes against the windows made several team leaders frown.
“What exactly do they want?”
Wu Yue also frowned.
“It seems that paying tolls every time we enter and leave the wilderness has spoiled these birds—”
Before he could finish, Bai Yu removed a gold pendant from her uniform.
“Try this.”
Wu Yue added, “If they choose that, then we’ll have to consider eliminating them. Ordinary civilians wouldn’t be able to afford such a toll.”
Bai Yu nodded.
“Even if their intelligence has improved, precious metals have no inherent value to them. If they take it, I’d suspect they’ve developed a need to cooperate with humans—because only humans care about material value.”
But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
The lone gold pendant lay among the glass beads, ignored just like everything else.
“So what do they want?”
The vehicles at the front were blocked by the birds. If they forced their way through, the flock would follow all the way to the central zone, even interfering during combat with other mutated creatures…
After a moment’s thought, Bai Yu said, “Stop the vehicles.”
“Our cars are coated with luminescent sand that reflects sunlight brilliantly. Maybe that’s what they’re interested in—have someone step out in uniform and observe.”
Moments later, a soldier stood outside the vehicle, looking rather helpless—aside from a few splatters of bird droppings on his head and uniform, there was nothing to show.
“So what exactly do they want?” The frustration grew.
Wu Yue, seated in the car, frowned deeply and raised his hand.
“In the wilderness, hesitation is not an option. Commander Bai, have them stand aside—”
As his hand moved, an invisible wave of power surged outward. Branches along both sides of the road rustled violently, leaves trembling as if ready to strike.
Bai Yu’s expression changed sharply.
“That’s not allowed!”
She immediately raised her own hand. Vines hanging from the trees began to writhe like serpents, weaving together, intertwining, twisting—
In an instant, they formed a fine mesh net in midair, blocking the razor-sharp leaves poised on the branches.
Wu Yue’s gaze turned cold.
“Commander Bai, are you stopping me?”
“General Wu!” Bai Yu said firmly. “This is not our target area—it’s just the outermost wilderness zone! Our forces are well-equipped and can move freely. Even if the gray magpies surround us, they can’t truly harm us.”
“But others can’t do the same.”
“Our directive for the wilderness is always ‘orderly exploration.’ We must maintain not only our own order, but also the natural order of the forest.”
“If we kill these magpies, their vengeful nature means that unless we wipe them out completely, they will never cooperate with humans again. Future explorers will no longer be able to enter this zone!”
“This is one of the richest and safest areas—right at the entrance of the wilderness!”
Wu Yue could destroy them all—but Bai Yu, as the commander of Flower City, had to consider the stability of local explorers and overall livelihoods.
Moreover, this was clearly a safe zone.
A previously explored, stable area—how could they launch such a massacre here?
Wu Yue’s brows knitted tightly. His breathing grew heavier. The mounting debts pressing on him grew larger each day. If he could, he would have rushed straight into the unexplored central zone in a single day.
Even his earlier suggestion to avoid night travel had been for the sake of departing earlier the next morning.
But in the end, the leaves on the branches slowly lowered and fell. In that moment, autumn seemed to arrive early in the wilderness.
Sensing the surge of power, the gray magpies and crows hovering in the air grew tense. They chattered among themselves, then continued rummaging irritably through the boxes—still unable to find what they wanted.
Bai Yu had just expended a large amount of energy to counter Wu Yue. Her expression remained tense.
“Scouts, prepare defenses. Head directly to the magpies’ nesting area—command center, provide coordinates.”
At once, a fully equipped scout disembarked from the front vehicle, riding a lightweight jungle bike. A camera was mounted on his shoulder, transmitting live footage.
This truly was the outermost—and safest—zone of the wilderness. Dense vegetation thrived everywhere. Rabbits and pheasants could be spotted in the undergrowth. Occasionally, mutated hedgehogs curled up, their steel-like spines piercing nearby jackals and leaving them bleeding.
High in the trees, a crow watched silently, clearly wary of the scout’s solitary approach.
Further ahead, large patches of mutated honeysuckle released a strong fragrance—this was a sustainable harvesting area. Deeper in, even more wild medicinal plants grew, their properties enhanced by mutation, making them highly sought after by smaller teams.
The scout moved swiftly, and the camera view darted through the forest. The closer he got, the more gray magpies and crows gathered on either side, pacing and watching.
Everyone held their breath, trying to spot what was different this time—
Until the vehicle rounded a bend ahead.
In that instant, everyone froze, breath caught in their throats.
