Chapter 159: Wasteland Dream
By night, the familiar sense of drowsiness surged, and Huai Yu sighed, losing confidence in the ginseng she had nurtured.
It made sense.
It seemed like ginseng used to take many years to produce good results, decades or even centuries. But now, in just one or two hours, she was rushing its growth, almost like applying growth agents to fruit!
That’s why the fat ginseng grew plump and fresh but wasn’t effective at all.
But it couldn’t be wasted. She looked at the two large water jugs in the corner and decided she would go to the city tomorrow.
She couldn’t eat all the peaches by herself. If she didn’t sell them, they would go to waste! She was now earning two, and she had to take responsibility for supporting her family!
With that thought, Huai Yu hurriedly lay down to rest—early to bed and early to rise, to build up strength. It’d be great if she could be as strong as Chen Xing, able to punch Uncle Zaoziyu in the face and make it swell…
Full of anticipation for the future, she drifted off to sleep, but the night was restless. Familiar voices crying, jarring images flickering, and some gnashing hatred echoed in her ears.
Meanwhile, the house was filled with the fragrance of flowers, and outside, the Rose Corridor’s branches swayed, scattering petals all over the ground.
At the same time.
On the outskirts of the wasteland, towering trees clawed at the night sky, grotesque and fearsome.
Mutated animals hid in tree hollows, behind bushes, or underground, their eyes flashing with cold light.
Insects, vibrant and scarlet, were everywhere. Even in the dead of night, their rustling movements were audible, crawling in swarms.
Even the smallest ants might carry deadly toxins.
And this was just the edge of the wasteland.
Experienced explorers slowed down upon entering this region, carefully choosing smooth, open paths. They heightened their vigilance, ensuring that these creatures had no chance to strike.
But at this moment, Chen Xing couldn’t afford to check her surroundings.
She gripped the steering wheel with one hand, reaching out of the window. A thin earthen wall rose from the ground, blocking a sudden vine attack.
The wall was so thin it seemed ready to collapse at a touch, but it successfully cleared the vine.
Yet, as they turned the corner, a swarm of mutated flying ants charged straight into the shattered passenger window. Chen Xing gritted her teeth, using gravel to seal them outside. The car sped forward, managing to shake off the swarm.
Chen Xing released her hand, and the sand scattered in the passenger seat, falling onto the already wilting rose flowers that had been placed there since their trip to the wasteland.
When they had first received the roses from Huai Yu, the entire team held onto the flower vase unwilling to let it go. After all, the flowers from the Rose Corridor were quite rare!
They had brought them along during the trip to the wasteland, hoping that, just as the strong animals’ excrement could deter other creatures, the roses might have a similar effect, deterring surrounding creatures.
But now, no one had the energy to care about the roses.
Chen Xing’s palm weakly clutched the steering wheel, her body exhausted and trembling.
She glanced at the rearview mirror and saw that the faces of the team members were gaunt, their eyes bloodshot, their lips pale—their abilities had been drained, and they had overused their powers.
Not only her, but everyone in the team was on their last legs.
The car, which had just been repaired, was now in tatters. The rear windows were shattered, the passenger window had a large hole, and the specially made tires had been worn flat by the rough terrain. It felt like they could break off at any moment.
In the back seat, two young boys were curled up in exhaustion, one holding onto another who had dark lips, on the verge of life or death.
In the weak light of the car’s headlights, the orange-colored wax on the boy’s head seemed to change color with the light, casting a faint blue hue on his pale face. Every time Chen Xing looked up at the rearview mirror, it sent a chill down her spine.
“Don’t sleep!” she shouted, waking up her two exhausted teammates. Instinctively, they shook the boy in their arms.
“Fenda! Don’t sleep, don’t sleep, please don’t sleep!”
“Hold on! Once the anesthetic toxin takes over, it will spread faster when asleep…”
But the boy’s body swayed, and soon his arm drooped, his breathing weakening.
The other young boy gritted his teeth, pulled out a bottle of medicine from his pocket, hesitated for a moment, then swallowed it down—his face contorted with nausea as he forced it down his throat.
After a while, he seemed to regain some clarity, raising his hand. A faint green light poured from his palm, desperately trying to spread over Fenda’s unconscious head.
“Sister Xing…” he said weakly. “This medicine won’t last long, the poison is too strong. I can only delay it…”
“I know,” Chen Xing replied calmly, as if she had everything under control.
But they all knew that if they didn’t survive this, they would die.
All of this was because she hadn’t listened to the advice. Because she had powers and agility, she had developed an arrogant mindset—believing that the strong could control the weak and useless.
But in reality, Huai Yu was right: once you made a move, you had to make sure there were no future repercussions!
Severe pain rolled through her chest like crashing waves, and Chen Xing’s eyes stung. She slammed her foot on the gas pedal, the car’s engine groaning under the strain, but it still fought through the brushy slope.
Then, it sputtered and died.
Looking at the fuel gauge, she saw it was nearly empty.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to remain calm. “This is a rest zone. Other teams should have just left. They’ve cleared the area, so we should be safe for now.”
“We’ll wait here for a while and see if any other teams come by for fuel.”
There was no response from the back seat.
One of them continued gritting his teeth, trying to keep Fenda alive.
The other was again wrapping his torso, blood soaking the bandage as he bit down in pain.
Chen Xing got out of the car to survey the surroundings. At that moment, a sharp pain shot through her body.
After overusing her abilities, this was the sensation. Today, she had used two potent medications, and now she couldn’t summon any power.
At this point, if another team saw their weakness, it could mean life or death.
But if no one came to this rest zone, it would mean they would be stranded without a car.
The wasteland was vast, and even the outskirts required days of driving. Without a car, they wouldn’t just be stranded on the long road—they would be helpless against the mutated creatures surrounding them.
