Meanwhile, on the other side of the temporary encampment, the Special Service Team held an impromptu combat meeting.

Ye Junhan had Yang Liu and Feng Xiao set up a temporary local area network. He also sent men to install several surveillance cameras along the giant, creeping vine to monitor the nearby waters.

As for the areas beyond the vine, there was nothing they could do for now.

The mud in the swamp here was too deep for anyone to cross. They had already tried; even high-level ability users like them would find it difficult to escape once they were trapped in the mire.

Worse, if there was no one nearby to help, anyone stuck in the swamp for too long would likely end up as fertilizer for the mutant plants!

While installing the cameras along the vine, Feng Xiao and the others discovered many mutant animals hiding among the aquatic plants. These creatures were nearly at the peak of their evolution, and their auras were incredibly dangerous.

But strangely, although the mutant animals had clearly spotted them, they didn’t initiate any attacks.

It was just... very abnormal.

And this strange anomaly made everyone subconsciously raise their guard.

Just then, as if sensing something, Ye Junhan suddenly looked up in the direction of Gu Xi and Shen Yue. The hand resting on his waist instinctively tightened its grip.

But he quickly averted his gaze as if nothing had happened and went back to staring at the map in front of him. Nearby, Liu Hao and the others exchanged a knowing look before they started winking and making faces.

Just then.

"Ahem." Lin Yuan suddenly let out a loud cough.

Liu Hao and the others sensed something was wrong. Looking up, they saw their captain staring coldly at them.

Startled, the men quickly lowered their eyes, feigning a serious discussion about official business.

"Continue," Ye Junhan said, looking at the group.

After the cameras were installed, Yang Liu began calibrating the equipment, submerging the lenses of several cameras along the vine into the water to observe the activity below the surface.

Soon, he discovered something unusual.

"Captain."

Ye Junhan walked over and saw the roots of a mutant plant piercing through the abdomen of a mutant sharp-beaked rhino. But the rhino was clearly still alive; it even lifted its eyes to glance at the camera as the lens turned toward it.

"Do you think the reason these mutant animals haven’t attacked us, even though they’ve seen us, is because they’re all pinned in place by the plant roots?"

Yang Liu’s theory was horrifying. Even the valiant and battle-hardened members of the Special Service Team felt goosebumps prickle their skin.

"This is too damn scary," Liu Hao said, rubbing the back of his hands.

Ye Junhan stared at the surveillance feed for a while with a slight frown. He told Yang Liu to keep adjusting the cameras to check if there were other similar situations nearby and then rearranged the guard duty roster.

Just then, Gu Xi and Shen Yue walked over.

Ye Junhan opened a Light Screen and played the recently recorded surveillance footage for them. "What do you two make of this?"

Shen Yue raised an eyebrow. "Is this symbiosis?" ’But this kind of symbiosis is a bit too terrifying,’ he thought.

"The concentration of miasma in the forest is steadily decreasing," Ye Junhan said suddenly, looking up at Gu Xi.

Gu Xi kept her head down, watching the surveillance footage without a word.

Shen Yue, however, gave her a thoughtful glance before shifting his gaze to Ye Junhan. "Can we talk?"

Ye Junhan nodded.

After the two left, Gu Xi remained seated before the monitoring station, watching the Light Screen. ’This strange symbiosis is probably related to that thing at the bottom of the swamp.’

’Unfortunately, my spiritual power can’t reach far enough to investigate it yet.’

Just then, a thought struck Gu Xi. ’My spiritual power can’t penetrate that obstructive force to ’see’ what’s at the bottom of the swamp... but what about technology?’

’I remember Feng Xiao is an expert at building robots.’

Gu Xi considered for a moment, then pulled a can of braised pork from her storage space... In the past, Li Ming had taught her a lot about social etiquette. Although she rarely had to use it, Gu Xi still remembered it all.

For example, you can’t be tough on someone after accepting their gifts.

And another example: the saying "deferential treatment implies a hidden request," when reversed, means that if you want to ask for a favor, you must show the right attitude.

Gu Xi deeply agreed.

She found Feng Xiao, can of meat in hand, and briefly explained her idea.

Feng Xiao fought the urge to drool, with great difficulty tearing his eyes away from the can of braised pork... Pre-apocalypse canned meat was a luxury that money couldn’t buy these days.

’I wonder how good it tastes?’

He eagerly slapped his chest and assured Gu Xi, "No problem, Miss Gu! Just leave it to me." A few small robots that could work underwater and burrow through mud? He could totally do that.

Gu Xi thanked him sincerely. After a moment’s thought, she pulled out a vacuum-sealed bag of braised chicken legs from her storage space and handed it over as well.

Feng Xiao joyfully hugged the chicken legs and canned meat, nodding his head like a pestle grinding garlic. "Miss Gu, give me three days—no, just two! In two days, I’ll definitely whip up some beautiful robots for you."

Gu Xi: "..."’They don’t have to be beautiful, just practical.’

Not far away, Liu Hao and a few others huddled together. After exchanging a look, they waited furtively to the side. As soon as Gu Xi left, the group instantly pounced, throwing their arms around Feng Xiao’s shoulders and pushing him into a corner.

Feng Xiao had just started to resist when a hand clamped over his mouth.

Ten minutes later, he took a vicious bite of the half-eaten chicken leg remaining in his hand. ’Those animals! Give me back my can!’

...

The team set up a temporary camp at the edge of the swamp.

The mutant animals, which looked incredibly dangerous and were in fact highly aggressive, remained half-hidden in the surrounding aquatic plants, not moving a muscle or even sparing them a glance.

Although the mutant animals hadn’t attacked them, Ye Junhan was still uneasy and set up an electric fence around the camp.

Qi Xiang thought for a moment, then found Gu Xi. She suggested sending the Mutated Rat King out to "build a rapport" with the other mutant animals—to conduct a bit of animal diplomacy, so to speak.

Mutated Rat King: "..." ’Heh, this woman has good judgment, knowing that I, your old man, am an expert at diplomacy. But I don’t work for free.’

The Mutated Rat King’s shifty eyes darted back and forth as it tried to hint to Gu Xi with its gaze... ’I can work, but I’ll need some Crystal Cores.’

Sprouty was having none of it and shot out abruptly.

—How dare you try to steal my snacks?

Mutated Rat King: "..."

The rat felt wronged, but the rat said nothing. It only gave Gu Xi a pathetic look before scurrying dejectedly out through Ye Junhan’s electric fence, quickly disappearing into the misty depths of the miasma-filled swamp.

Liu Hao, who happened to be passing by, witnessed this scene and couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, "Heh, not only has that thing become sentient, it’s a total drama queen~" ’How rare.’

’Then again, the apocalypse has already happened and humans have superpowers, so is anything really impossible?’

Liu Hao just shook his head with a sigh and then trotted off happily to find Ouyang.

...He couldn’t trust anyone else with the can he’d worked so hard to snatch.