Reaching this place again should have been enough to make everyone cheer.
Reality said otherwise. They had slipped past the mutants, only to find the way blocked by walking mutant plants.
These plants strode across the forest floor on their own roots.
Their presence was fierce. They marched back and forth at the entrance and exit like patrols. The feeling was clear. If they spotted a human, they would strike at once. No one was exactly afraid, but nerves ran cold. A single cut from a plant could trigger madness. The mission was nearly done. No one wanted that to happen now.
Lan Jin muttered, "Is that green light targeting the mutant plants? Why did they stay quiet before, then pile up here right after the sweep?"
Lao Gao said, "Not necessarily. Back at the H City base, their forest had no green light. The plants still walked around freely. And those plants could leave the forest. Do the crew underwater even know what is happening up here?"
Captain Zhang said, "Of course they don't. For all we know, a batch of mutant plants already went down. Right now we need to figure out how to get out of here."
Lao Shi said, "And you cannot be injured on the way. If a plant cuts you, we will not have time to reach the base. If madness hits on the boat, that is immobility on one hand and a security risk on the other."
But still…
"With this many, how do we get through without a scratch?" Pei Xin said in a small voice. In truth, getting hurt in a situation like this was normal.
…
The group hid behind a large tree, mapping their next move, when Captain Zhang suddenly said, "My ability is back."
He closed his eyes and reached out with his senses. He said, "There are forty-three mutant plants. Two are standing at the forest entrance. They are not going out. It feels like an invisible barrier is holding them in. Those two keep probing it. Wait. This barrier feels like a ward that splits two scenes, reality and dream."
Thinking about it that way made sense.
Back when they destroyed the forest at the H City base, the ward there might have been broken first. That let the mutants and plants move out. The people up top then gave the order to burn it down. Here, the ward had not been damaged, so the plants could not leave. There was no need to destroy this place.
And destroying a forest like this was a long, heavy task. This forest might also be hiding something no one had uncovered yet.
Captain Zhang no longer cared about the secret. Even if it overturned what he once believed, he had no interest left.
All he wanted now was to shoulder the four hundred vials of who-knows-what vaccine and get out of this cursed place.
If there were only a bit over forty plants, Lan Jin felt she could handle it. "Plants are afraid of lightning. I zap them and we go. Why are you so tense?"
"Good point. Sister Lan, try it," Lao Gao said lightly. "Last time the mutant plants burned up after one good hit. Just control the voltage. If the fire is too big, how do we pass?"
Huang Jinghe added, "If the fire spreads, I douse it. If that fails, Ling Jiang freezes it. One way or another, we get through."
Lan Jin leaned out from cover and sent arcs straight down, striking every mutant plant within sight from above.
Tree met lightning. Fire bloomed at once. The plants could move on their own. After Lan Jin's strike, they paced frantically along the entrance, roots skittering faster and faster. The flames on their crowns only grew, yet none of them fell, and none of them left the gate.
Ling Jiang said, "What is going on? Why are they still holding the line like this?"
"They have not caught us yet. Why would they leave?" Lao Gao said, and tossed more fire onto the burning plants. The flames roared higher.
That extra blaze drew every plant's attention to their position.
Ling Jiang snapped, "Why add fuel? Let them burn slow. It is the same result."
"I was literally adding fuel," Lao Gao protested. "How was I supposed to know they were this sharp?" Ling Jiang did not stop to argue. She threw out sheets of ice, freezing the plants in place.
Layer by layer, stalk by stalk, she froze them solid and opened a narrow lane at the gate.
They moved carefully toward the exit, wary of anything small bursting out. Thankfully, nothing did.
But just as they stepped out of the forest, Lao Shi, who had somehow shifted to the rear of the line, slammed into the invisible ward and was kept inside.
Ling Jiang looked back, shocked. Ling Jiang said, "What are you doing? Come out, now."
Lao Shi was silent for a long moment. Then he said, "I can't. At the window earlier, the green light swept me."
Ling Jiang's voice rose. "We can deal with that later. Just come out first. We handle it together."
Lao Shi shook his head. He said, "There is no fixing it. I am like them now. I can't leave."
As soon as he finished, he pressed a palm against the empty air. Nothing was visible, but everyone could feel it. He was truly sealed inside. There was no way out.
Ling Jiang stepped forward, and a red gleam flashed through his eyes. That kind of red lived only in beasts. Was he already starting to change?
Perhaps sensing it, he covered both eyes with a hand as the light faded. He said evenly, "Go. Don't come back."
Lao Shi turned and walked away.