Chapter 37

The women's outdoor club had originally been founded to bring together girls who loved the outdoors but worried about their safety.

Their goal was to enjoy hiking in this southwestern city, where the primitive ecosystem was exceptionally well preserved. Though the dozen-plus members came from all over the world—some were minors of sixteen or seventeen, others aunties in their fifties or sixties—they quickly bonded and became familiar with one another.

When the disaster struck, they immediately suspended their hiking plans. To ensure everyone's safety, Zhang Haizhi, a local who also served as the organizer, immediately set up their refuge in a corner of this remote Ecological Wetland Park.

After learning the stakes, all members of the outdoor survival group swung into action. Those with savings bought equipment and supplies; those with connections contacted members' families to report their safety; those with strength helped pitch tents and haul supplies.

From start to finish, they never asked a single man—or anyone at all—for help. This wasn't some creed they held; it was because they always believed in the professionalism of their outdoor club. Compared to relying on others, they could survive better on their own.

"Shi Jie, you're young," said Aunt Huang, who was in her fifties. "You think we need them to get through this disaster? They're actually the real source of risk. That day at the supermarket, they even wanted me, the oldest one here, to go scout ahead. That shows you what kind of people they are!"

"That's because you're old and can't play cute..." a woman beside Shi Jie muttered. "Besides, we're almost out of food. If no one scouts, what do we do? If you don't want to go... next time we'll help persuade them, okay?"

"You're full of crap!" The girl close to Aunt Huang flared up. "Who needs you to persuade anyone? As if you're so useful? Did you have anything to do with pitching these tents or hauling the supplies back?!"

"What do you mean, nothing to do with me?" The woman craned her neck stubbornly. "I'm leaving, and I'm taking my stuff with me!"

"Then get lost!" someone roared. "Without Aunt Huang, you think they'd go on their own? Next time, you go scout the supermarket alone, and see if you still speak up for them!"

Seeing the two sides growing hotter and hotter, on the verge of turning physical, Zhang Haizhi stepped between them and stared sternly at Shi Jie. "Tell me honestly—did you tell them our exact location?"

Facing the group leader, Shi Jie felt a twinge of guilt. "Just a little... it was near the Wetland Experience Hall... I mean, I don't really know the exact spot here anyway."

Figuring out the exact location of a massive ecological park was no easy task unless you were a local who frequented it or a park staff member.

"Fine," Zhang Haizhi said, giving a signal to those nearby. "Tie them up. From now on, just give them food and nothing else."

Before Shi Jie's incredulous eyes, several people lunged at her and bound her together. She struggled desperately, but her opponents were all outdoor enthusiasts—combined, their strength was immense, and her resistance was futile.

Zhang Haizhi sighed. "Don't blame me. I'm doing this for everyone's safety. You can harm yourself if you want, but you can't harm everyone else. Don't worry—once I'm sure those people have gone far away, I'll let you go."

"You're full of—" The person beside Shi Jie was about to curse when her mouth was gagged.

"Keep a low profile lately. Don't let them find us."

.

Lin Tu drove for a full two hours before finally reaching the vicinity of the Ecological Wetland Park.

The wetland park was enormous, containing six distinct zones. The wetland lakes near the Wetland Experience Hall were by far the most numerous. Lin Tu drove the bus straight toward the entrance.

The Wetland Experience Hall's entrance faced inward, with only pedestrian walkways. Lin Tu parked the bus at the visitor center outside the entrance, loaded the empty cages into the Single-Use Backpack, and got out with Yuan Que.

The wetland park had extremely dense vegetation. The Biosafety Prevention and Control Command had only cleared the larger plants back then; the smaller ones had been left untouched due to time constraints.

Fortunately, the soil here was fairly moist, and the degree of plant mutation wasn't very high.

"Oh?" Lin Tu's eyes lit up as she spotted a squirming centipede grass not far from her.

Under Yuan Que's shocked gaze, Lin Tu immediately pulled a large plastic storage barrel from the Single-Use Backpack—one she'd taken from the lab—set it on the ground, and used plastic tongs to grab the frantically struggling centipede grass, stuffing it into the barrel.

The mutated centipede grass was enormous; one barrel couldn't possibly hold it, especially since it kept struggling. Lin Tu wrestled with it, snapping and cramming it inside.

"What are you..." Before Yuan Que could finish, he saw Lin Tu pull out a large knife and, working with the tongs, chop the centipede grass into pieces in a few swift moves. The once-fearsome centipede grass instantly became a pitiful sight in the barrel, motionless, clearly devoid of life.

"The research says the mashed juice of centipede grass can remove heavy metals from plants," Lin Tu said. "Better to stock up on some."

The sight was rather horrifying; Yuan Que's face went pale, but he quickly picked up the plastic tongs from the ground.

A moment later, while Lin Tu was pondering how to crush the centipede grass in the barrel even finer to extract more juice, a struggling centipede grass reached out from the side. Lin Tu turned to see Yuan Que holding the plastic tongs with both hands.

He was clearly afraid of the thing in his grip—his knuckles were white, and the tendons in his hands even trembled slightly—but for some reason, he held the centipede grass up to Lin Tu like an offering.

"There's a lot more nearby, plus vetiver grass and amaranth. I'll go catch some more for you, sister."

His eyes were bright, and Lin Tu found herself unable to refuse. "Thank you," she said.

The two continued forward, catching as they went. In their quest to capture mutated water hyacinths, they even strayed off the artificial walkway, deliberately venturing into plant-dense areas. Lin Tu's Single-Use Backpack quickly filled with various mutated plants.

Midway, they encountered a mutated moss and nearly fell into its trap. After a fierce struggle, they finally killed it.

However, even by dinner time, the two still hadn't encountered a single mutated water hyacinth—not even a normal water hyacinth, because many of the park's lakes had already dried up.

Lin Tu decided to head back and search deeper for water hyacinths the next day.

"Aunt Huang! Aunt Huang!" At that moment, a miserable sobbing sound came from not far away.

Lin Tu tilted her head slightly and walked over warily.

Drawing closer, she found two injured people who posed no threat.

Lying on the ground was an auntie in her fifties. Two buttons of her silk top had been torn off, and the fabric was stained with dried mud. Patches of black mottling spread across her pale skin.

Another woman in her twenties, crouched over her, wasn't in much better shape. Dark bruises ringed her cheekbones and eyes, and blood was still gushing from her nose.

"Sister Zhang! Sister Zhang!" she shouted again. "Come quick! Aunt Huang was fed mutated strawberries by them—she's dying!"

The moment Lin Tu heard this, a chill ran through her.

A few more women came running from a short distance away. The one in front practically slid on her knees to reach the woman who'd supposedly been fed the mutated strawberries, shoved two fingers down her throat, and frantically tried to force her to vomit. But judging by the woman's complexion, the mutated strawberry had already worked its way deep into her digestive system, perhaps spreading throughout her body—there was no way to make her throw it up now.

It was urgent, so Lin Tu stepped forward immediately.

"Who are you?" The women eyed her warily.

"She's dying." Lin Tu didn't answer, instead pointing at the woman on the ground.

Those words seemed to shatter the women's hopes. Despair and gritted-teeth hatred showed in their eyes.

"What do you want?" The woman who'd been trying to make the patient vomit looked up at Lin Tu, speaking coldly. "As you can see, we've just been robbed, and our companion is dying because of it. We have nothing. If you have nothing else to do, you can leave."

Lin Tu paid no mind to her attitude. After a moment's thought, she said, "Since she's going to die anyway, do you want to try my method? Maybe it can save her."

Save her?

The women immediately stared at Lin Tu in disbelief, then turned to skepticism.

"The materials I saw at the Plant Research Institute in the city center said that the mashed juice of centipede grass can remove heavy metals from mutated plants, making them edible," Lin Tu said. "I don't know if it can still neutralize the poison after it's already been eaten, but I think it's worth a try."

"The Plant Research Institute of Yun City Academy?" Zhang Haizhi asked, uncertain.

Lin Tu nodded.

The women exchanged glances. Though they didn't think Lin Tu would lie about something like this, they had doubts about her identity, and her method sounded rather bizarre.

"If we don't act now, she'll die."

As she spoke, Lin Tu reached behind her, pretending to retrieve something from behind the small hill but actually pulling the big barrel filled with centipede grass she'd collected earlier from the Single-Use Backpack. The Single-Use Backpack could only store dead things, but due to the centipede grass's vigorous vitality, even in death it continued to twitch and writhe.

The women stared at the dense mass of squirming centipede grass in the transparent barrel, and for a moment, they all felt a wave of horror, goosebumps rising on their skin.

"You caught all this?"

Lin Tu nodded.

Zhang Haizhi recalled Lin Tu saying this was for saving someone, and she shook off her goosebumps. She knew about centipede grass too—because of its enormous size and danger, she'd deliberately avoid it. The fact that Lin Tu had gone out of her way to catch a full barrel of it at least made her words somewhat credible.

Besides... Zhang Haizhi surreptitiously sized up Lin Tu, dressed in casual wear. She looked far too clean, not like an ordinary person.

"Go ahead." Zhang Haizhi stepped aside, placing all her hopes on Lin Tu.

"Sister Zhang..." The others looked disgusted at the barrel of centipede grass, growing anxious.

"Let her do it."

The moment Zhang Haizhi finished speaking, Lin Tu carried the barrel over to Aunt Huang. She drew her knife, casually stabbed it into the barrel and stirred, feeling she'd squeezed out a bit more juice, and shook the barrel with satisfaction.

Yuan Que skillfully pried open Aunt Huang's mouth, and Lin Tu tipped the barrel, pouring the dark, murky juice into those already-blackened lips.

"Can this really work..." someone murmured.

The woman on the ground kept her eyes shut, still suspended between life and death.