When Mi Tang heard the animal howls, he quickly finished his bowl of soup on the way back, taking only a few mouthfuls before rushing to the reclamation team.
Most members of the reclamation team were ordinary people with little ability to protect themselves in the wasteland. As their supervisor, he also bore partial responsibility for their safety.
The group hadn’t gone to sleep yet—half because today’s harvest of purified plants had earned them a decent amount, and half because Mi Tang hadn’t returned, so no one dared to fully rest.
Later, the intermittent howls from Mount No. 1 made everyone even more anxious, fearing the animals might rush down and devour them.
Only when Mi Tang returned and entered Tent 4 did everyone finally breathe a sigh of relief.
They lay down in their clothes, ready to flee at any moment.
By midnight, when the noises on Mount No. 1 finally stopped, they fully relaxed and fell asleep.
Meanwhile, Gu Xiaomai knew nothing of this.
After striking a deal with Liu Ju and the others and secretly applying medicine to her bruises using what Jiang Chen’an had given her, she quickly fell asleep.
Liu Ju and the others, hearing the men outside joking and the constant beast howls, were surprised she didn’t wake at all.
All they could say was: her nerves are really something.
But Gu Xiaomai wasn’t actually carefree—she had woken up too early that morning, her body hadn’t fully recovered, and after continuous overexertion, it had simply forced itself into deep rest the moment she lay down.
When she opened her eyes again, the sun had already risen above the horizon, shining brightly.
Next to them, soldiers of the E4 camp were already doing morning training, shouting loudly.
“Pa— pa— pa—”
The rhythmic cracking sounds echoed as well.
She used to not know what that sound was, but after seeing Jiang Chen’an’s whip yesterday, she realized it was likely the sound of it cutting through the air.
Everything seemed normal—but she noticed something different about herself this morning.
After resting, her energy and strength hadn’t fully recovered. Not exactly “not recovered,” but more like the “blood pool” inside her hadn’t refilled.
It was different from how she usually felt after waking.
However, her external injuries had already scabbed over.
She couldn’t tell whether the strange condition had disappeared—or was still there.
Should she go see a doctor at the camp?
She hesitated.
But first, she decided to wash the medicinal roots she dug up yesterday.
She took the bag containing the three kinds of medicinal roots and left the tent. She first practiced her usual Tai Chi, then headed toward the river.
As she got closer, the “pa— pa—” sounds grew louder.
Soon she saw Jiang Chen’an on the riverbank, continuously swinging his whip.
Each strike layered afterimages upon afterimages—like a charging army rushing across the battlefield, breathtaking and powerful.
Wow… how long does someone have to train to achieve that?
When he finished, she immediately put down her bag and clapped enthusiastically.
“Brother Chen! Your whip skills are amazing! So cool!”
Being looked at with sparkling admiration made Jiang Chen’an slightly uncomfortable. Ever since his parents died, no one had praised him so directly.
“What are you doing here? Need help?” he asked, noticing the bag at her feet.
He wrapped the whip back around his waist and walked over.
As he lifted his clothes slightly, she caught a glimpse of his abs.
So this kid really trains a lot… even has abs.
“I want to wash the soil off the roots I dug up yesterday,” she said.
Jiang Chen’an bent down to pick up the bag—and accidentally pulled up a blade of grass.
They walked to the river and found a stable spot.
Then she saw Jiang Chen’an turn the grass upside down and dip it into the water, holding it still without moving.
Curious, she asked, “What are you doing?”
“This water in the wasteland isn’t safe,” he said.
“You mean there might be mutated creatures in it? What does that have to do with grass?”
“It’s not just that. It might also be corrosive.”
“Oh—I get it. You’re testing the water with the grass. Smart.”
While waiting, Gu Xiaomai got bored and twisted a bunch of grass into two simple brushes.
When the grass still showed no reaction, they began washing the roots.
Carefully, they avoided putting their hands directly into the river, using the homemade grass brushes dipped in water to clean them bit by bit.
At one point, her brush slipped into the river. She quickly grabbed it back before it was swept away.
By midday, people in the camps began waking up.
Without Mi Tang, no one knew the day’s plan, so they gathered outside, talking about the howling beasts from Mount No. 1 the night before.
Yu Mi was already up, chewing on a nutrient pack while listening to everyone’s theories.
Meanwhile at the river, Gu Xiaomai and Jiang Chen’an had finished washing all the roots and were preparing to head back.
Thinking about her lack of common sense, Jiang Chen’an reminded her:
“If you want to eat these roots, you should probably rinse them again in drinking wa—”
Before he could finish, she suddenly screamed.
“Aah—something is pulling me!”
Jiang Chen’an snapped his head around.
He saw her lying on the ground, her legs already sliding into the river.
His heartbeat spiked instantly. Without hesitation, he dropped the bag and rushed forward.
One hand clamped tightly around her arm like iron tongs, stopping her from being dragged further.
The other hand whipped out his long whip.
The whip struck like a dragon, tearing through the air and hitting the massive mutated catfish emerging from the water.
The catfish shrieked, its tentacle loosening slightly around her leg.
Jiang Chen’an seized the moment and struck again, activating the mechanism in the whip’s handle.
The whiphead detached and shot forward, embedded with purple-gold metal threads, wrapping precisely around the creature.
A locking mechanism clicked into place, securing it tightly.
He tried to pull the monster out of the water—but it was too strong, dragging them forward instead.
“Bro—pull harder!” Gu Xiaomai screamed, clawing at the ground with all her strength to stop them from sliding.
But both of them were being dragged closer and closer to the river…