Chapter 15 Yulin Zoological Park
Chapter 15 Yulin Zoological Park
The next day, early in the morning, Yu Qing and Yao Dan walked out of the tomb chamber hand in hand, ready to continue their journey to Weng Mountain, only to find that Daji and the other two had already disappeared.
"Weren't they put into hibernation? How could they be gone!"
Yao Dan said: "I could only keep them dormant for a few hours. They must have woken up at midnight and, out of anger, abandoned you and left!"
Yu Qing was half-convinced and said: "Then let's hurry up and catch up with them. We can fly, which is faster than traveling by road. We should be able to catch up by noon."
However, seeing Yao Dan's delighted expression, Yu Qing suddenly felt that things weren't so simple, and it didn't make logical sense, so he added:
"Let's wait a little longer. Maybe they went for a stroll nearby."
He looked around and thought it was unlikely that Daji and the others would just leave without a word.
Given Yan'er's temper, if they were truly angry and left, why would they take his helmet and other belongings? They would have surely thrown them on the ground.
Daji wasn't the type to admit defeat easily. If Furong had been truly loyal, even if forced to leave with the other two, she would have left some hint behind.
But the scene was too clean, too perfect. Most likely, in the middle of the night when he was deep asleep, Yaodan had played a trick—taking advantage of their dormant state to carry them away and hide them somewhere.
Carrying them to nearby locations risked easy discovery; hauling each of them too far away would take too much time, risking his own awakening and exposure.
Hence, Yu Qing deduced that Yaodan must have hidden them inside the tomb chamber.
But he couldn't expose Yaodan's lie. Her tears over fearing the discovery of Dr. Lu's cause of death showed she now had some sense of morality.
Directly proving her deceit might overwhelm her emotionally.
So he deliberately circled the coffin once, as if suddenly stumbling upon a revelation:
"Yao Dan, look, there are skid marks from the rollers on Daji and their boots here.
This proves they must have sneaked into the tomb chamber and hidden somewhere while we were at First Paradise yesterday!"
Yao Dan quickly responded, "Then let's go back and check!"
Sure enough, they found Daji and her companions in Dr. Lu's laboratory! They were still in hibernation.
Yu Qing, worried about Yao Dan's emotional stress, suggested: "These three dared to trick us - let's carry them out and play a trick on them too, what do you say?"
Yao Dan agreed and immediately took action.
Yu Qing had Yao Dan arrange Daji and the others in a position with their heads together and bottoms sticking up on the ground, then woke them up.
When Daji and the others awoke and saw their posture, they were completely confused. Yu Qing slapped Furong's bottom and said:
"What are you three searching for on the ground?"
Furong replied foolishly: "We weren't searching for anything."
Daji and the others were convinced it was Yaodan's doing, but didn't dare confront her, merely standing up with displeased expressions.
Yu Qing seized the opportunity to slip the zero-gravity backpack onto Daji, giving her a covert wink as he said, "Your punishment is carrying my new equipment!"
Daji clearly understood - this way Yaodan couldn't make her leave her beloved's side.
As for Yaodan herself, having made the mistake, she was lucky not to be exposed, let alone in any position to raise objections.
And so, Yu Qing finally got his team in order and could set off.
Though Yaodan wasn't wrong - the two of them could have flown ahead, but now with Daji and the others in tow, they had to travel by land, which was both slower and more dangerous.
According to Yaodan, this area had been completely uninhabited for decades.
Contrary to humanity's early pattern of constant territorial expansion, after 2B89 human settlements began shrinking dramatically, with inhabited areas covering less than 5% of Earth's land surface.
But Yuqing wasn't worried about the dangers on the road now. This was also a good opportunity to see with his own eyes what the Earth had become.
If they just flew past from above, they might miss a lot of firsthand information.
Without another word, Yaodan carried Yuqing on her back and walked ahead, while Daji and the others followed closely behind.
What annoyed Yaodan was that she and Yuqing could have flown, but now had to walk. Without sliding boots, she actually walked slower and with more effort than Daji's group.
Daji and the others deliberately set the pace, sometimes taking the lead, sometimes walking side by side.
In the end, Yaodan had to stop walking, let them go ahead for a while, then fly to catch up, stop again…
Whenever Yaodan was about to lose her temper, Yuqing would kiss her on the cheek, immediately calming her down.
After traveling like this all morning, Yaodan said:
"We can't keep following the road. Decades ago, a flood washed away several branching paths here.
So the road to Weng Mountain is hidden in the forested mountains on the right, with about 20 kilometers where the path isn't visible.
If you continue along this road, you'll return to the place you came from yesterday."
"Have you ever traveled through this forest?" Daji asked.
"No. It's dangerous even for us, let alone for the young master in his mortal flesh."
"Then you take the treasure and fly across this forest first, waiting for us on the other side," Furong said.
Yuqing firmly disagreed, saying, "You won't even be able to distinguish directions in the forest—who knows where you'll end up!"
Yaodan said, "I actually have an idea. Doesn't the young master also have a flying suit in his bag?
Furong and I will fly a few miles ahead and stop in the forest, with Furong staying there.
Then I'll bring Furong's flying suit back to pick up the young master and reunite with Furong.
Repeat the process twice more to bring Daji and Yan'er to join us.
This way, we can ensure the young master is always protected, and we won't get separated."
Daji suddenly asked: "How stupid. If you carry your beloved, can you still fly?"
Yaodan was momentarily speechless.
Yu Qing, afraid she might get angry, quickly said:
"If you carry me while flying, the speed would be slower, then you wouldn't be able to fly at the same speed as Furong. Might you get separated?"
"Furong could carry someone too…"
"My flight suit can't carry two people…"
Yaodan snorted and said: "I can carry two people, but their suits can only carry themselves.
Carrying two requires extra power, which their suits don't have."
Yu Qing hurriedly said: "Let's not argue. Yaodan is right, we'll do as she says."
Yaodan explained the flight suit's usage to them, then had Furong put it on and flew her to a landing spot ten miles away.
Not flying out of the forest in one go was originally Yaodan's safety precaution, fearing Yu Qing might be left unattended for too long out of sight.
She instructed Furong to return the flying suit and stand still, then went back to fetch Yuqing and entrusted him to Furong's care before finally going to retrieve Daji and the others.
However, during the return flight, Yaodan unexpectedly encountered a brilliantly colored large bird that panicked and flew past her.
It wasn't that she feared it, but rather that her identification system couldn't determine what kind of creature it was.
Worried that Yuqing might be harmed by the bird, Yaodan decided not to fetch Daji and the others immediately, instead hurrying back to check on Yuqing as a precaution.
When Yuqing saw only Yaodan returning, he anxiously asked: "Where's Daji? Did you lose her?"
Hearing this, Yaodan snorted and said: "How dare I lose your beloved! I just saw an unidentified large bird flying this way and feared it might harm you."
Yuqing quickly apologized with a smile: "My mistake, darling. I'm fine. Now hurry and fetch those two useless things."
Yaodan flew back angrily to pick up Daji, showing them a displeased expression upon arrival.
Originally she had no ill intentions, but now she couldn't help wanting to play a mean trick on them.
Meanwhile, Daji and Yan'er, having waited anxiously for so long, began entertaining their own little thoughts.
They both wanted to leave this place first, lest they be left alone in these gloomy woods later.
When Yaodan descended, they instinctively rushed forward to get the flying suit first.
Yaodan guessed they were both afraid of being left alone in the woods, and thus conceived her plan to tease them.
She gave the flying suit to Daji who was clearly walking behind, then flew forward with Daji.
But instead of rejoining Yuqing and the others, she deliberately stopped about a hundred meters away, leaving Daji all alone there.
Claiming she would go fetch Yan'er, Yaodan actually flew to a spot midway between Daji and Yan'er.
She leisurely enjoyed the scenery while perched on the treetop, leaving Daji and Yan'er anxiously waiting below.
Yu Qing and Furong stood there, growing increasingly worried as they waited in vain for Yaodan's group to arrive, unaware of what had happened.
Yu Qing paced back and forth restlessly, making Furong dizzy. She had no choice but to embrace him from behind and comfort him:
"They'll be fine. Let's just wait a little longer."
Yu Qing muttered, "They shouldn't be taking this long. Maybe we should sit down while we wait.
"Alright."
Noticing a stone between two large trees nearby, Furong sat down there while holding Yu Qing.
Sitting on Furong's lap, Yu Qing teased: "Honey, having a big butt sure has its advantages - look how stable and comfortable this is."
Before Furong could respond, the tree trunks on either side of the stone suddenly bent over like pincers, trapping them.
Before she could comprehend what was happening, countless tiny barbs extended from the tree trunk.
Furong was shocked because her database contained no record of such a plant.
She only knew that some rainforests had trees called strangler figs that would entangle and kill neighboring trees competing for sunlight.
These two trees were clearly trying to strangle them for fertilizer! Killer trees?
Furong struggled, but her buttocks were already firmly clamped.
Her arms clinging to Yuqing couldn't loosen either, and Yuqing couldn't break free either. Their heads were about to be crushed next.
In desperation, Furong cried out loudly.
Daji was actually only about a hundred meters away, just obscured by the trees from seeing them.
Hearing Furong's cries, she responded and rushed straight toward them.
By the time Daji rushed forward, Yu Qing was already gasping for breath. She lifted her foot and kicked at the tree, then used both hands to push the trunk apart with all her might.
At this moment, Yaodan, having had her fill of fun, came flying back and hurried over upon hearing the shouts.
Before landing, she activated her finger lasers, slicing the upper parts of the two tree trunks into several segments.
As the injured trees lost their strength, Furong and the others seized the chance to break free.
Yu Qing panted heavily, gradually recovering as Yaodan gathered around to support her.
It was only then that everyone noticed Furong had collapsed to the ground, unable to get up for quite some time.
Daji and the others helped Furong to her feet, but she could barely stand. One of her legs could no longer take steps, leaving her unable to walk independently.
Meanwhile, Yaodan was still venting her anger on those two trees, practically reducing them to splinters.
She kept shouting, "They actually went this far!"
Yu Qing took a step back in fright when he saw something resembling intestinal tracts inside the tree trunk Yao Dan had chopped, asking:
"What… what kind of monster is this?"
Yao Dan replied, "It should be one of those amphibious plant-animal hybrids Dr. Lu mentioned—a fabricated life form out of thin air."
"Who did this? What are they trying to accomplish?"
"A botanist-zoologist named Yu Lin. This was supposed to be the site of their proposed 'Yu Lin Flora-Fauna Open Park' back then.
The project was all the rage at the time, with people worldwide pouring money and resources into it.
Dr. Lu was one of its staunchest opponents, which is why he moved his lab here—to stop them."
"What was this Yu Lin after?"
"They had an ambitious plan: first, recreate every creature and plant described in the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*.
Simultaneously, they aimed to cross-graft species indiscriminately, breaking all reproductive barriers.
Yu Lin's ultimate goal was proving he could engineer any life form, while investors wanted to turn this into a freak-show tourist attraction."
"So, everything here could be a monster."
"You could say that. But I think their plan might not have gone smoothly—this place looks abandoned.
However, I just saw a bird, likely the legendary phoenix. It seems they actually succeeded in creating it."
Yu Qing hurriedly said, "No more talking, no more talking. Let's get out of here right away!"
"Furong can't walk anymore. What should we do?" Yan'er asked.
Yu Qing replied, "No matter what, we can't separate again. My dear, is there any better way?"
"Sometimes, but I'm afraid I can't hold on…"
"Then don't even consider it."
"Any other ideas? Fine, let's do this! Daji, my husband's safety will depend entirely on you later, I…"
Yu Qing said, "We can't take risks. Let's stick together and slowly make our way out of the woods. Yaodan will keep watch from the sky and guide our direction."
"No, that would be too slow. I'm afraid delays might bring trouble.
Daji, in a moment I'll shut down all my other functions and go into full-power boost flight. This way I can carry Furong on my back while holding Daji and Yan'er in my arms as we quickly fly through the forest.
My husband can follow alongside by holding onto my robe.
But I must mention one thing - after we exit the forest, I'll have to immediately enter a deep hibernation for two hours.
During the system-wide recalibration, I'll have no defensive capabilities whatsoever for the next 24 hours."
Daji said: "We'll protect you and our loved one."
Yaodan gave an affirmative sound, spread her flight suit, hoisted Furong onto her back, then tucked Daji under her left arm and Yan'er under her right. After standing still for a moment, she shouted:
"Husband, hold tight to my robe!"
Yu Qing also spread his flight suit and firmly grasped Yaodan's robe.
Yaodan soared into the air with Yu Qing following closely behind, the five of them flying toward the distant forest edge.
Mid-flight, Yu Qing glanced at Yaodan and noticed her face had turned dark. Startled, he asked: "What's wrong with you?"
Yao Dan hurriedly said: "Don't… look… it's too embarrassing."
As they flew like this, Yu Qing felt time was passing too slowly.
Finally seeing the end of the forest, Yao Dan suddenly accelerated. Just as they cleared the last few trees, she hastily descended toward a distant grassland.
But Yao Dan seemed to have discovered something again, abruptly pulling up and darting toward a more distant slope…
(End of Chapter) (Updating continuously...)