Chapter 3

The hygiene conditions of the village restaurant were somewhat poor, but the flavors were unique, and almost all the dishes served were game. There were clear-stewed wild rabbits, bamboo shoot snake soup, chicken thread with black fungus, and braised frogs.

These were all the usual catches of the villagers. Game that was hard to come by in ordinary times was now abundant.

However, the atmosphere during the meal was somewhat somber. After a few casual chats, the group lost interest. After about ten minutes, Captain Chen put down his chopsticks, scattered a round of cigarettes, and started smoking alone.

Luo Yuan borrowed Captain Chen's lighter and lit a cigarette. He usually didn't smoke, but sometimes when he faced work pressure or felt down, he would still have a cigarette.

After finishing a cigarette, Captain Chen stood up and said, "Let's go!"

The group stood up and headed towards the foot of the mountain.

Luo Yuan lagged behind, occasionally swinging his machete in the air.

Zhao Qiang looked back and sneered, "Why are you so energetic? There will definitely be plenty of grass on the mountain for you to cut!"

Luo Yuan didn't mind, "I often exercise, so I have good stamina. I'll take the lead, and you just need to help me keep an eye out!"

Luo Yuan wasn't overly energetic or overly excited; he was thinking about using this opportunity to practice a knife skill. This mission was clearly going to be dangerous, and his four points in unarmed combat were not very useful in the mountains, far less practical than a knife.

However, developing a new skill was very difficult. It wasn't as simple as having a knife and swinging it a few times to gain a new skill. You needed at least a basic grasp, which required a lot of practice. For example, Luo Yuan's driving skill was obtained when he got his driver's license, but he only had a pitiful one point, indicating the difficulty involved.

"Alright, no problem! It looks like we'll all be relying on you!" Zhao Qiang grinned.

A young female police officer couldn't stand it anymore, "Zhao Qiang, don't bully people."

She then turned to Luo Yuan, "Luo, don't overdo it. We can take turns leading the way."

"No problem, I can handle it!" Luo Yuan smiled nonchalantly.

"Huang Jia Hui, why are you blaming me? He said it himself." Zhao Qiang said in a strange tone, "Ah, pretty boys are always popular!"

The female police officer named Huang Jia Hui glared at him and didn't say anything more.

"Brother Qiang, Sister Hui! Only Luo and I are relatively young. We can take the lead together." Wang Fei said. He hadn't secured a formal position yet, and this was a good time to show his worth.

"Alright, then Wang and Luo will take the lead. The rest of us will keep watch and ensure safety." Captain Chen concluded.

The group passed through the village. The cement road ended not far ahead, replaced by a two-meter-wide dirt path overgrown with weeds, almost completely covered. If not for the frequent use by villagers, it might have already merged with the surrounding fields, making it hard to find.

Stepping on the grass, the ground felt soft and spongy, but it wasn't difficult to walk on.

Occasionally, there were rustling sounds from the grass, making everyone jump in fear, unsure if it was a rat, a snake, or some other creature.

"Slap!" Zhao Qiang, walking at the back, suddenly slapped himself. Looking at his hand, he saw a pool of blood from a mosquito he had squashed.

"Damn, such a big mosquito!" He scratched his face, which was itchy, and cursed.

"Since we're near the mountains, the mosquitoes are more venomous. Everyone be careful," Captain Chen warned.

At that moment, a few meters ahead of Luo Yuan, there was a sudden commotion. The grass rustled, and something shot away like an arrow, leaving a long green trail that lingered. The dense grass made it impossible to see what it was.

Startled, Huang Jia Hui gasped, patting her chest, "Scared me to death! What kind of animal was that?"

"Maybe a field mouse!" Wang Fei said uncertainly. He was walking behind Luo Yuan and had also been startled, but he didn't scream.

"A field mouse? There's no way it was that big. It must have been a weasel. It really scared me," Huang Jia Hui said, still shaken.

Luo Yuan, walking at the front, only saw a vague shape. He wasn't sure what it was, but it definitely wasn't a weasel, as weasels aren't green. He didn't say anything to avoid increasing everyone's fear.

He took a deep breath, gripped the handle of his machete tightly, and continued to cut through the grass, carefully feeling the sensation of using the knife. The strange animal that had darted out made him uneasy.

"Over the past few months, plants have been growing in strange ways. What about animals?"

Plants form the base of the ecological pyramid. If the base changes, the entire ecosystem will undergo drastic changes. Perhaps the changes aren't yet obvious or widespread, but some extremely special individuals might already be changing.

He suddenly thought of the canceled mission and felt a chill run down his spine.

Previously, he had speculated that Qimei Foreign Trade might go bankrupt within half a year, but he hadn't given it much thought. There are many reasons a company can go bankrupt, such as insufficient funds, financial issues, or offending certain powers. But now, connecting everything he had seen and thought about, he vaguely reached a shocking and unbelievable conclusion: "Trade disruption."

The land is changing, and the sea cannot remain unchanged. If maritime transport becomes problematic, countless companies will go bankrupt, and many people will lose their jobs.

It seems that the world is undergoing some drastic changes. Before, Luo Yuan lived in the city, and the media had led him to notice these changes without causing alarm. If not for this trip to the countryside, he would still be oblivious.

"No wonder the price of rice has skyrocketed in the second half of the year, and the bank interest rates have risen several times. After this mission, I should make some preparations," Luo Yuan thought to himself.

Soon, the group reached the foot of the mountain, where a path covered with thorns and grass was barely visible.

Luo Yuan noticed a red, swollen lump on Zhao Qiang's face, about the size of a baby's fist, deforming his face. He scratched it occasionally and asked, "Brother Qiang, what happened to your face?"

"Got bitten by a mosquito, it itches like crazy!" Zhao Qiang checked his gun, scratched his face a few more times, and said irritably.

"Ah! The mosquitoes in the mountains are so venomous! I should have taken a day off today. If I get bitten, I won't have the face to see anyone," Huang Jia Hui said, looking over in surprise.

Wang Fei wanted to laugh but didn't dare. He managed to say, "Maybe Brother Qiang is allergic. I have a classmate who gets huge lumps from mosquito bites."

"Get lost, you're the one who's allergic. Who brought any mosquito repellent or menthol oil?" Zhao Qiang said, clearly annoyed.

Luo Yuan had also thought it might be an allergic reaction, but from Zhao Qiang's description, it clearly wasn't. He was secretly alarmed: "It seems animals are indeed mutating. Otherwise, how could a mountain mosquito be so venomous?"

"Use saliva, it's readily available," Captain Chen said, looking at Zhao Qiang's deformed face with a hint of satisfaction. Zhao Qiang was a troublemaker in the station, often disobedient and very talkative. He had long been annoyed by him. "Just bear with it. Let's go into the mountains. Luo, you lead the way."

Luo Yuan reined in his thoughts and carefully walked up the mountain with his machete.