Chapter 2325: Mutation and Clues
Jiang Qiao flipped out another document. "Since ancient times, our country has had the saying that snakes transform into flood dragons, and flood dragons transform into true dragons. In the past, it sounded like legend, but now it has become reality. So far, we have discovered twenty-three locations across the country with different species and sizes of snake mutations. Their mutation tendency is mostly to grow horns and claws. At first glance, it looks somewhat like atavism, but there are still differences from homologous lizards. Among these mutated snakes, only one python has gained the ability to briefly soar into the air."
She played the footage captured at the time. On the churning water surface, rain poured down in torrents. Several tornadoes connected the clouds and the water, making it momentarily impossible to tell whether the lake water was rising upward or the rain was falling downward. But in the pitch-black clouds, a not-too-thick shadow writhed and twisted. It lurked in the rain for only a few seconds before suddenly plummeting, revealing its true form.
It was a black python, not small in size. Its skull bulged outward, two thin horns broke through the skin, whiskers grew beneath its mouth, its scales shimmered with an eerie light, and when it struggled, its roar sounded like a bell, bearing a considerable resemblance to the legendary dragon's posture.
"Do you suspect that what's under Hidden Immortal Lake is a mutated snake?" Jiang Qiao pondered. "It's not impossible. It's said that flood dragons have also appeared at sea, dozens of times the size of this one in the lake. But it appears and disappears unpredictably, and mostly moves around in areas where storms frequently occur. Our equipment has never truly captured it."
"Just one mutated snake is nothing," Xu Huo said. "Even if its evolution is strong enough, it's not difficult to handle."
For an evolved species with higher intelligence, as long as it was smart enough, it should know to hide and not come out to harm people. If it only acted on instinct, no matter how many there were, they could all be killed.
Xu Huo focused his attention on the folded space.
Seeing him silently reading the documents, Jiang Qiao, in case he needed to ask anything, didn't go far. She poured him a glass of water and sat back down to wait.
Regarding the folded space, the information the military had investigated was simply too vague. Of course, this couldn't be blamed on them, because the documents clearly stated that once inside, instruments were basically interfered with and rendered useless. Even lighting props couldn't see more than three to five meters ahead. And it wasn't a case where the light couldn't travel far; the light was directly cut off at the waist, as if the space had a fault.
With eyes unable to see and senses restricted, the information they could gather was very limited.
The only thing that was certain was that the range of the folded space wouldn't be small.
This meant that the originally limited ruins space had become almost infinite.
Seeing him close the documents and put them back on the table, Jiang Qiao couldn't help asking, "Any clues?"
"It's good that this folded space appeared under the lake," Xu Huo said. "If it were on the surface, it would be hard to say whether it was an opportunity or a disaster."
Jiang Qiao couldn't help but sigh upon hearing this. "The situation in the Black Desert is about the same."
"Have all the wounded been sent away?" Xu Huo asked again.
"Not yet. They have to undergo strict quarantine checks before they can leave." Jiang Qiao stood up to lead the way. "A batch is allowed to move freely today."
Xu Huo followed her to a nearby underground facility that had been set up. Shangguan Jing also came along. The mental state of those wounded was relatively good. They had already accepted the fact that they had lost an arm or a foot, and some had even been fitted with mechanical prosthetics.
When the three of them walked over, everyone in the room stood up.
"1A Squad, step forward!" Shangguan Jing ordered.
Immediately, five people came out and quickly lined up in front of them. At a signal, they took off their coats and mechanical arms.
Xu Huo scanned their arms one by one. The broken ends had been treated, and the outer skin had neatly wrapped the bone, but some dry, cracked grooves could still be seen.
"These won't heal?" he asked.
"They're like calluses or dead skin growing on the skin," Shangguan Jing said. "It's fine to peel them off."
With that, he signaled the squad members to do it themselves.
The player at the front didn't hesitate. He directly tore off a piece of skin from the broken end. However, that piece of flesh was like sun-dried mud, already starting to crumble as it was pulled.
Too much time had passed. Xu Huo could no longer see anything else on it. It was just an ordinary wound.
"What did you feel when you were injured?" he asked the first person. "Besides pain, the environment, the air, the airflow, the light, the smell, the fluctuation of power—any subtle detail is fine."
"The pain wasn't obvious. When I suddenly lost my arm, my attention was all on my hand. When I groped for it, I only grabbed a crushed hand like a rock. I didn't notice any change in the environment. Even if there was, something that could be overlooked should be an extremely subtle change. With my level of evolution, I'm afraid I wouldn't notice it," the other party replied.
Xu Huo didn't care about his attitude. He just pressed further. "Didn't you smell any particular odor? Some folded spaces don't have water. You entered wearing props and instruments. Even if they provided some protection, there would still be air exchange when attacked. Did the smell of the folded space have no change at all compared to the ruins?"
Although players couldn't breathe freely underwater yet, the instruments and equipment brought down could accurately analyze the composition of the ruins. The instruments inside the folded space had failed, but people's noses could still be used.
"No!" the other party said decisively. "Neither I nor my teammates smelled anything. I hope Mr. Xu can have more success!"
Xu Huo stopped, ignoring this person's sarcastic tone. Instead, he turned to Shangguan Jing and Jiang Qiao and said, "It seems you haven't reached a consensus yet. In that case, I'll come back later."
He didn't specify what "come back later" meant. He just turned and walked out.
Jiang Qiao took two steps after him. Seeing that she couldn't persuade him to stay, she quickly arranged for her assistant to follow him, then turned back to argue with Shangguan Jing.
The room was made of special materials. Once the door closed, no sound could be heard. Xu Huo also had no desire to eavesdrop, so after coming out, he really did leave.
"Mr. Xu! Mr. Xu!" The assistant quickly caught up with him. "Please don't be angry. The military has suffered heavy losses, so they're a bit emotional. It's not directed at you. They're like this with us in the Special Defense Department too!"
The military had invested a lot and lost many people. They had done the preliminary work. Now someone had popped up to pick the fruit on their foundation, and that fruit was highly unlikely to be shared with the military, so of course some people were unwilling.
This was only human nature, after all, Xu Huo wasn't part of the military.
But whether going down would yield something more useful was a question no one could predict. Xu Huo was largely there to join in the fun. It wasn't the first time he had suffered losses in unknown territory, so there was no need to be stubborn.
Of course, if there was something in the folded space that could provoke the Water Cube into action, he would be very happy.