dmims Page 88
Page 88
He stopped on a section of a truck that was half-submerged in water and pulled a glass bottle about the size of a thumb from his pocket.
A few drops of dark red, viscous liquid settled at the bottom of the bottle.
These are the few drops of blood that Lei Gang left behind before setting off, as requested by Boss Sun.
Not only Lei Gang, but every important member should stay.
They were said to have disappeared, but traces of them could still be found through blood.
Xiao Li unscrewed the bottle cap and carefully brought the bottle opening close to his nose.
Instead of pouring out the blood directly, he used his fingertip to dab a little and gently applied it to his philtrum.
"Hiss..." He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and was savoring something.
The next second, he suddenly opened his eyes, a strange red light flashing deep in his pupils.
In my field of vision, the world seemed to be veiled by a faint blood-red filter.
In that endless gloom and rain, a faint line of blood stretched out from before our eyes, piercing through the heavy rain and pointing south.
"Found it!" Xiao Li perked up and followed the invisible bloodline, wading forward.
He tracked the debris with incredible speed, maneuvering swiftly through the litter.
The further south you go, the deeper the water becomes.
Following the blood trail, Xiao Li arrived at a body of water.
"A boat? Hmm? That's our assault boat."
He hid behind a billboard, watching the dozen or so boats of various sizes on the distant water, as well as the speedboats surrounding them.
The bloodline didn't disappear; instead, it curved and pointed eastward.
Xiao Li looked around, memorized the landmarks near the ship, and continued to follow the bloodline.
The blood trail cut through collapsed buildings, around floating car wrecks, and finally pointed to an area surrounded by high walls.
At this point, the bloodline completely disappeared and no longer pointed in any other direction.
Xiao Li lay in wait on a high floor of a half-submerged office building, peering out through a broken window.
Inside the walled compound, several relatively intact high-rise buildings can be vaguely seen, one of which is the most conspicuous, with some traces of artificial reinforcement still visible at its entrance.
Outside the wall, the murky water had reached almost two-thirds of the wall's height. Some makeshift sentry posts, connected by ropes and pontoons, floated on the surface, and one could vaguely see people on guard and patrolling them.
His gaze shifted to the entrance of the wall.
There was a landscape stone there, its surface somewhat blurred by the rain.
Even through the rain, he could make out the large characters carved on it.
"Biyun Resort..."
He carefully observed the defensive setup around the resort, the number and status of the patrol personnel, and the occasional shadowy figures moving behind the windows of the buildings.
"A gathering place for awakened individuals, and it looks quite large. Captain Lei Gang may very well have met his end here."
After silently noting down all the details, Xiao Li quietly left the building and quickly walked away along the way he came.
……
"...Boss, that's it."
In the dimly lit room, Xiao Li told the man in front of him everything he had seen.
"The Awakened Ones of Biyun Resort..."
"They were able to kill 40 of us; they're not weak."
Sun Wuyan suddenly stood up and disappeared from the room, leaving behind only one sentence.
"Go and call Ah Zheng and his men over."
A moment later, his figure reappeared in the room.
There were three more people in front of him than before.
Sun Wuyan glanced at the group of people and took out a small, cylindrical stainless steel bottle, about the size of a thumb, from his pocket.
"This is the blood of the Black Serpent King that I obtained from Colonel Zhao."
"As long as the Black Serpent King's blood is smeared on their ships, the Black Serpent monsters within a 10-kilometer radius of the gathering area will pounce on them like sharks smelling blood."
He handed the container to one of them, his tone leaving no room for argument:
“Ah Zheng, you personally lead the team to Biyun Resort and smear snake blood on their boats and accommodations.”
"Remember, don't reveal your whereabouts. Those bastards could kill Lei Gang, and they can kill you too."
The man called A-Zheng took the metal bottle and nodded: "Understood, boss!"
Chapter 97 Silent and Unnoticed
The next morning.
The cultivation area on the fifth floor of Biyun Resort.
"Boss, my suggestion is that we first accelerate the overall cultivation of the plants."
Professor Ye had heavy sandbags strapped to his arms and legs, and he held a metal hand gripper in each hand, pressing it down with a "click, click" sound every now and then, just like a fitness fanatic.
He shared his thoughts with Han Ning, who was standing beside him:
"Then, based on their respective characteristics, targeted mutation guidance is carried out."
"For example, for squirting cucumbers, we need to focus on stimulating their fruit enlargement and squirting structure; for Venus flytraps, we need to strengthen the closing speed and force of their traps; for vines, we need to promote their fiber toughness and growth rate... just like doing a fine renovation on different rooms of a house."
"Understood." Han Ning nodded.
"Then let's begin." Professor Ye smiled slightly, observing Han Ning release his skills while doing strength training on the spot.
Since he needed to adapt to his rapidly increasing strength, Professor Ye went to the resort's gym yesterday after returning home and got a set of strength training equipment.
Han Ning stood in the center of the cultivation area, with his arms outstretched and palms down.
Emerald green light emanated from his palm, covering the experimental plants designated by Professor Ye.
The light seeps into the leaves, stems, and soil, and the plant becomes greener and more vibrant at a visible speed.
[Nature's Blessing (Beginner) Proficiency +1, Current 67/200]
[Nature's Blessing (Beginner) Proficiency +1, Current 68/200]
……
After releasing Nature's Blessing several times in succession, Han Ning switched skills.
[Rapid Growth (Intermediate) Proficiency +1, currently 193/200]
The seedlings began to tremble slightly, their leaves unfurled, their stems grew taller, and a tiny flower bud even sprouted at the top.
Once, twice, three times...
Han Ning continues to unleash rapid growth.
He felt he was gaining more and more control over this life-giving energy, as if he could adjust the intensity of its effect on different parts of the plant.
...
[Rapid Growth (Intermediate) Proficiency +1, currently 200/200]
[Rapid Growth (Advanced), Current 0/500]
"Om~"
The green halo surrounding the squirting cucumber seedlings brightened, forming a rotating emerald vortex.
At the center of the vortex, the growth rate of the squirting cucumber seedling suddenly accelerated.
Leaves unfurl, stems elongate, new buds sprout... a growth process that would normally take weeks is accelerated to completion in just over ten seconds.
As the halo faded, a squirting cucumber plant, about 20 centimeters tall, with tender green leaves and tiny flower buds at its tip, stood before me.
I planted the seeds just yesterday, and today they look like they've been growing naturally for half a month.
Seeing this, Professor Ye's hand gripper snapped open with a "click," slightly deforming as he spoke with surprise:
"The growth rate has increased again?"
"Hmm, it feels like it's accelerated by at least 100%, that's quite a lot." Han Ning sensed the speed of the plant's changes.
Next up is the Venus flytrap.
Under the influence of advanced rapid growth.
The seedlings swell and expand at a rate visible to the naked eye.
The slender petioles became thicker, and the tiny traps at the base rapidly enlarged and thickened as if inflated.
The fine cilia along the edges hardened and elongated, turning into a ring of sharp spikes that gleamed with a cold light.
The tender green walls deepened in color, revealing a tough, dark red hue, with a texture resembling muscle fibers even faintly visible on the surface.
A dozen seconds later, the halo dissipated, revealing a Venus flytrap, nearly the size of an adult's palm, with sharp, needle-like teeth along its edges, looking rather menacing.
[Rapid Growth (Advanced) Proficiency +1, current 1/500]
Finally, there's the Vajra vine.
Influenced by the rapidly growing light, the soil surface trembled and then broke apart.
Several dark brown vines sprouted out, slowly growing outwards and gradually climbing onto the pre-erected simple metal frame.
The surface of the vine is covered with countless sharp thorns.
[Rapid Growth (Advanced) Proficiency +1, current 2/500]
"Boss, please don't use this acceleration ability on them anymore. The plants have grown to a similar size and can be targeted for mutation," Professor Ye hurriedly said.
"Understood." Han Ning nodded.
It seems that from now on, we can only use ordinary crops to improve the proficiency of rapid growth.
……