Chapter 71 - 66: Magical Creatures

Chapter 71: Chapter 66: Magical Creatures

Ning He walked in the middle, with Johnny in front and Wild Wolf bringing up the rear. The three of them quickly entered the depths of the forest.

"...Step in my footprints. Don’t touch anything carelessly, and don’t shout. Although most wild beasts are in a state of light hibernation, they will come out to hunt if they get desperate enough from hunger."

As Johnny cleared the path ahead, he lowered his voice to brief Ning He on the precautions.

"Understood. Don’t worry."

Ning He was here to let her system collect information on mutated species from close range, not to seek death. She took Johnny’s warnings to heart, acting with extra caution and making sure every step she took landed right in the large footprints Johnny left in the snow.

The trees in the dense forest grew thick and lush. The system’s mechanical voice soon popped up, successfully collecting information on several types of plants in quick succession.

Even though most of the shrubs and weeds were buried beneath the white snow, as long as they were within the system’s scanning range, they could be recorded. The process was quite effortless.

However, the number of species within a small area was limited, and the system’s notification chimes soon ceased. Ning He did a rough count; it had only recorded seven or eight species. By now, they had walked about two kilometers. A little further, and they would reach the three-kilometer limit.

"Let’s walk over this way and take a look."

Ning He pointed to her left, where the forest seemed even denser.

Johnny and Wild Wolf had no objections. They changed direction and continued onward.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Ning He would stop after walking a certain distance, pretending to admire the scenery. Sometimes she would even pack a couple of snowballs, have Johnny point out a direction, and throw them, or she would build a tiny snowman on a thick branch. She seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Aside from completing her previously collected species catalog and claiming the experience and rewards, they also came across a pond and a stream along the way, allowing her to unexpectedly gather a few new species. Ning He was very satisfied with this haul. With half an hour left, they began their journey back.

"Sorry for troubling you guys today," Ning He said.

Johnny turned his head and grinned at her. "We’re all on the same side, so don’t mention it. Just make us something delicious next time, and we’ll call it even. Wild Wolf, wouldn’t you agree?"

Whether it was the soup dumplings, the salt and pepper fish scales and bones, or the spicy hotpot where he even drank every last drop of the broth, he hadn’t had enough of any of it.

Wild Wolf, who was walking in the back, glanced at Ning He. Recalling the piping hot, incredibly fragrant, spicy, savory, and thoroughly satisfying lunch they had just eaten, he gave a rare "Mhm" of agreement.

Ning He laughed. "No problem. Next time I’ll definitely make more to ensure everyone gets a share."

"That’s great! It’s a deal then!"

Johnny beamed with joy, leading the way with even more enthusiasm.

Everywhere in the forest looked roughly the same. On her own, Ning He couldn’t distinguish directions at all, but Johnny, holding a GPS navigator, was intimately familiar with the route. If there was ever any rustling in the surroundings, he could quickly spot it and judge whether they needed to make a detour.

’Even though this guy can be a bit goofy when it comes to food, he really isn’t bad at his job. No wonder Macken values him so highly.’

"This isn’t right. We were clearly just here. What’s going on?"

After walking back for a while, Johnny suddenly stopped in his tracks. His sharp gaze swept over their surroundings, his brows furrowing tightly.

Ning He also stopped, a bit slow to process what was happening.

"We definitely have," Wild Wolf’s voice came from behind, laced with solemnity.

"Crap, the navigator is malfunctioning!" Johnny’s expression suddenly changed. He repeatedly reset and turned the device in his hands on and off, but it still displayed an error.

Without the navigator, even Johnny would get lost in this dense forest.

"Contact the boss! Our current location shouldn’t be more than three kilometers away from the base. The wireless communicator should be able to reach him," Wild Wolf said calmly.

Johnny snapped to his senses and quickly pulled a palm-sized communicator from his backpack. The moment he turned it on, he heard a harsh burst of static.

"The signal is being jammed!" Johnny paled in alarm.

Cell phone signals were unstable within the dense forest outside the city. Apart from the Mecha Academy’s base, which had a specially equipped signal tower, it was nearly impossible to rely on cell phones for communication anywhere else. Because of this, Johnny and the others always carried a wireless communicator whenever they went on a mission.

’To think it’s actually being jammed!’

First the navigator had failed, and now the communicator was experiencing interference. No one would think this was a coincidence.

Ning He also realized something, her face turning slightly pale.

’Are we really going to die out here today?’

"Use a flare. We might be being stalked by something," Wild Wolf said in a deep voice.

Johnny gritted his back teeth and fished a flare out of his backpack. However, the moment he was about to ignite it, he hesitated.

The flare might provoke whatever was stalking them, not to mention there could be other dangerous animals sleeping in the forest. It was a highly risky decision.

"Don’t move!"

A voice came from above. The three of them looked up simultaneously but found nothing.

"Who is it? Why are you targeting us?" Johnny’s face darkened as he scanned their surroundings. A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes as he prepared to lock onto a target and land a fatal strike at a moment’s notice.

"I’m Leo. There’s a stealth tracking drone right above your heads, and I’m talking to you through it. Listen closely. You are indeed being watched by something, but it won’t attack on its own initiative just yet. Do exactly as I say and get out of there."

Hearing the name "Leo," a fleeting look of astonishment crossed Johnny’s face before his expression became highly unnatural.

"Why... why are you saving us?"

The voice above paused for a second. "That’s not important. If you want to live, do as I say."

Johnny struggled internally for a few seconds before finally gritting his teeth. "Tell me."

"Throw out everything you have on you, except for your clothes. Make sure you scatter them out, the further the better. Rest assured, there are no other dangers in this area besides that thing."

Johnny complied. The water and equipment carried by Wild Wolf and Ning He were also taken by him and thrown in different directions.

"Now, get down on the ground and crawl toward your front right. I’ll notify Macken to come receive you. Remember, do not stand up."

Johnny turned around, handed a heavy-duty nylon rope to Ning He and Wild Wolf, and made a gesture for them to get down. Then, he flattened himself against the snowy ground, the thick layer of snow almost burying him entirely.

Realizing Leo’s intent behind this instruction, Ning He immediately laid down as well, burying herself beneath the snow.

The ground was damp, cold, and hard. Fortunately, she was wearing a thick winter coat, so she wouldn’t freeze to death anytime soon. However, the mechanical exoskeleton on her leg was rendered useless in this posture. Even with Johnny pulling the rope from the front to lend her some leverage, she was still very slow, visibly dragging down the trio’s overall speed.

Ning He bit her lip tightly and pushed off with her left leg. Despite the piercing pain, she couldn’t afford to care about it right now.

Inside the base’s control room, Leo ended his conversation with Macken. He guided the tracking drone back to the trio’s position and noticed that they were already escaping the danger zone at the pace he had envisioned. His expression relaxed.

"Keep monitoring them. I’m heading out for a bit."

After crawling for about a kilometer, Ning He, Johnny, and the others ran into Macken, who had come to receive them. They were finally out of danger.

Macken didn’t ask many questions. After bringing them back, they quickly changed clothes, drank hot water, and warmed back up.

While fleeing for her life, she hadn’t paid it much mind, but now that she could finally relax, Ning He realized she was shivering uncontrollably from the cold. Bundled up in a thick sleeping bag that Macken had someone bring her, she slowly recovered her strength as she basked in the warmth.

Jia Mei and the others didn’t seem to have noticed the anomaly over by the convoy. Some were still playing in the snow, while others were resting in the large tent.

After listening to Johnny recount the whole ordeal, Macken remained silent for a long time.

"It’s been twenty years, and it has appeared once again."