NOVPUB
Chapter 172: Chapter 172: A New Mutation
Han Jiaojiao had learned how to bandage wounds in the Special Training Team in her previous life, as injuries were common during outdoor missions, and sometimes one had to handle their wounds alone.
After Yan Xiao was taken care of by Hao Boming, Han Jiaojiao and Yu Wanxi began to help clean the wounds of Xiao Jian and Cheng Cheng. Xiao Jian’s wounds weren’t serious, relatively shallow, but Cheng Cheng had two gory slashes on his back that were frighteningly open and raw. Using the pretense of cleaning their wounds, Han Jiaojiao covertly used her Ability to help heal them both.
All the injured were shirtless in the room, and Han Yi couldn’t stand it any longer. Frowning, he called Han Jiaojiao out.
Han Jiaojiao didn’t make a fuss and came out directly. Her Ability at present was just icing on the cake, not yet immediately impactful. Moreover, everyone’s conditions had stabilized, so there was no need for her to take the risk of possibly exposing her Ability.
Not long after Han Jiaojiao came out, the bandaged Xiao Jian also stepped out. His injuries were the lightest, but his Ability and physical strength were severely overdrawn. Now, after resting for a while, his complexion had already improved significantly. Lu Changyuan poured him a cup of hot water and told him to sit down and rest.
"What happened to you guys this time?" Lu Changyuan asked him.
Their twice weekly missions were very regular, always in groups of four to five people, and incidents were rare—even minor skin injuries hardly occurred. Seeing four bloody individuals return this time was unprecedented.
Moreover, Yan Xiao was among those leading the team today. His Ability could be considered the second strongest in this facility after Han Yi. Even in the entirety of Beicheng Base, he would be ranked in the top ten. Yet, he ended up so badly injured—it was unimaginable.
"Today... just like usual, we took on the standard mission of collecting supplies," Xiao Jian began, speaking slowly. "There’s a farm about half an hour’s drive from the development zone; you know it, Lu Bro, that North Suburban Farm. Most of the base’s fruit and vegetables are gathered from there. Even without anyone taking care of it, as long as the water in the irrigation channels flows, some fruit trees will continue to blossom and bear fruit. I heard the base is planning to clear out the North Suburban Farm soon and bring it under the base’s jurisdiction, so we thought we’d try our luck before the base made their move, to see if we could salvage anything useful."
"There are some Mutant Beasts near the farm, not difficult to deal with, Yan Xiao burned several mutated cattle by himself. After entering the farm, we realized it was quite large. We walked around for half a day without finding the orchard, but instead, we discovered two empty vehicles, probably left by those who came to collect supplies. The vehicles were not taken away, which meant something must have happened to the people. There was definitely danger in the farm, so we thought it best to return; no need to risk our lives over a few fruits..."
Xiao Jian paused here, as if recalling some unpleasant memories, his face turning ugly. He lifted the cup and guzzled a full cup of water, then put down the cup and continued: "When we were passing through a field... we heard someone snoring."
Snoring?
Everyone looked at one another, a bit doubtful that they might have misheard.
However, Xiao Jian’s tone was certain, "The irrigation channel there had been dug up, and the water from Huaihe River overflowed, flooding the area, turning that patch of land into a muddy pond. The snoring was coming from inside the mud. Looking further, we saw a woman lying in the mud pit as if she was sleeping, covered in clumps of mud. If not for the snoring, we wouldn’t have found her at all."
"Why would she sleep in the mud?" Zhu Changfu asked incredulously, "Could it be to avoid Mutant Beasts? Err... can the mud mask her scent?"
Xiao Jian said with a dark face: "Yeah, why sleep in the mud... When we saw her lying in the mud like that, she seemed rather pitiful. We thought about bringing her back to the base, and even if she didn’t want to come with us, we could wake her up and at least ask about the situation on the farm. We called out a few times, but there was no response; the snoring stopped, but she didn’t move. We thought maybe she was stuck in the mud and couldn’t move. Yan Xiao and Zhao Wei went over to help..."
"Never would have expected that thing wasn’t a person at all!" Xiao Jian suddenly became agitated, cursing angrily, "It was a mutated pig! Damn it all! Yan Xiao and Zhao Wei were caught off guard right then! Cheng Cheng and I wanted to go help, but in the muddy marsh, it was hard to move fast!"
"How could you mistake a pig for a person?!" Heizi couldn’t help but say.
Xiao Jian abruptly turned to look at Heizi, his anger far from subsided: "Who the hell would have known that thing had a human face?!"
Everyone was shocked.
With a solemn face, Han Yi fell silent for a moment before asking, "Is it stronger compared to ordinary Mutant Beasts?"
Grinding his teeth, Xiao Jian said: "Han Bro, if it hadn’t been stuck in the muddy marsh, I would have a hundred ways to kill it!"
... So, in other words, it wasn’t much different from an ordinary Mutant Beast. This time they were injured mainly because they were caught off guard and panicked, coupled with the unfavorable terrain.
Lu Changyuan comforted him, "Alright, calm down, be careful not to burst the wounds that have been bandaged."
Xiao Jian lowered his head, his eyes slightly red, and said fiercely, "... I just can’t accept it!" Because of a moment’s inattention, two of his brothers almost lost their lives. And what’s more, their opponent was actually a pig.
How ironic it was to be driven to such a sorry state by a pig?!
"There will be a chance for revenge," Lu Changyuan gently patted Xiao Jian’s shoulder, "Go upstairs and rest for now, the most important thing is to heal as quickly as possible."
Xiao Jian took a deep breath, nodded silently, and went upstairs to rest.
Lu Changyuan looked at Han Yi, "This matter is quite strange; when Cheng Cheng comes out later, should we ask again?"
Han Yi shook his head, "Xiao Jian would never exaggerate. There’s another thing that concerns me more."
"Hmm?"
"Since when did hospitals start treating only patients with orange cards?" Han Yi asked.
Everyone looked at each other in dismay.
In the past, hospitals treated ordinary residents with green cards, but registration was quite troublesome because patients with orange cards and above had priority, so it was very difficult to get an appointment. And they, as a group, didn’t go to the hospital every day, so they were not aware of when the hospital had changed its rules.
"Zhu Changfu kept emphasizing that he would be disciplined by the base," Lu Changyuan said with a cold laugh, "I’m afraid Ji Huajun is up to something, first bringing up military conscription and then pulling such a move, forcing people to submit whether they want to or not."
Zhu Changfu swore under his breath, "Are they saying that if we don’t enlist, we won’t get treated? They want us to just wait to die?"
There was no expression on Han Yi’s face, just the corners of his mouth curled up in a faint sneer, "They don’t want us to wait to die, they want us to go begging to them."
"It seems Ji Huajun is determined to suppress us," Lu Changyuan said with a bitter laugh.
All were filled with righteous indignation, and several spoke up one after another, "What nonsense! We’d rather not stay here if it comes to it!"
"Exactly! There’s not only one well-developed base among the big four; we can go to Lingchuan Base!"
"To the south, there’s also Yunan Base and Chujiang Base, both of which are well developed."
"I’ve heard that several private bases are also running quite successfully."
Han Yi tapped his finger lightly on the coffee table, causing everyone to fall silent.
Once everyone calmed down, Han Yi slowly said, "If we’re not strong enough by ourselves, no matter which base we go to, the outcome will be the same."
The group fell silent.
