Chapter 32: Extreme Heat, Giant Mushrooms

This Weasel Crocodile was over a meter long and weighed more than a hundred kilograms.

The Pillbugs inside the cave provided it with ample food, and the clear pool water was the perfect environment for its rapid growth.

For it to grow so large and still be thriving, this pool must connect to an underground river.

If they could just kill the Weasel Crocodile, not only would the water source be safe, but the returning swarm of Pillbugs would also help conceal it, preventing anyone else from seizing it.

It was a godsend in a desperate situation.

The question was how to kill the Weasel Crocodile.

Qin Shen’s three potatoes wouldn’t hold out for much longer.

Time was tight before the Pillbugs returned.

Jiang Linhai said to Jiang Si, "Let’s use food to lure the Weasel Crocodile onto the bank, then shoot it. That way we avoid contaminating the water source."

Jiang Si nodded. "Alright, let’s give it a try."

Jiang Si took a piece of dried wild boar meat from her bag and tied it to a stick. "A Weasel Crocodile this big jumping, even on land, will be incredibly dangerous. Everyone, get behind me."

Lu Zhifeng volunteered, "Let me do it. Please, look after Niu Niu for me."

Jiang Si had saved his and Niu Niu’s lives; he couldn’t just stand by while she walked into danger.

Lu Zhifeng was resolute. Jiang Si nodded, taking Niu Niu from his arms and handing her to Shen Baoying. "Be careful, then."

The group retreated several dozen meters. Jiang Si raised her gun, getting ready, as Lu Zhifeng took a deep breath and slowly lowered the boar meat toward the surface of the water.

SPLASH—

A violent spray of water erupted as two giant Weasel Crocodiles opened their jaws full of sharp teeth, leaping up simultaneously to snatch the boar meat.

There wasn’t just one!

Lu Zhifeng jumped back in shock, nearly losing his footing.

He yanked the meat back and retreated hastily. The mouth of the pool was too small, and the two Weasel Crocodiles had unexpectedly gotten stuck.

They struggled frantically, neither willing to yield, and began to tear viciously at each other.

It was a collision of strength and slaughter, like prehistoric behemoths locked in combat.

Jiang Linhai frowned. "Sisi, should we shoot?"

Jiang Si nodded. "Yes. The Weasel Crocodiles’ backs are too tough. Aim for the eyes. We have to pierce the skull for a fatal blow."

Lu Zhifeng raised his gun. "Let me."

He had been a ranger for years and was an excellent shot.

Jiang Si said, "I’ll help. I’ll take this one, Uncle Lu, you take the other."

Lu Zhifeng wondered where Jiang Si got the confidence that she’d never miss. His eyes fell on Jiang Chengwu’s solemn face, but then he remembered her background as an extreme sports coach and figured it made sense.

Jiang Si and Lu Zhifeng both took aim at the Weasel Crocodiles’ eyes.

One second... two seconds... The instant one Weasel Crocodile bit down on the other—that was the moment.

BANG! BANG!

The gunshots erupted in the cave, deafeningly loud.

Niu Niu cautiously opened her eyes. The two Weasel Crocodiles weren’t moving.

Jiang Linhai and Jiang Chengwu stepped forward to drag the Weasel Crocodiles out.

Jiang Si held out a hand to stop them. "Wait. Weasel Crocodiles are surprisingly resilient."

She prodded one with a stick, and the dying Weasel Crocodile suddenly thrashed a few more times.

’Just as I thought. Not completely dead.’

Jiang Si raised her gun and fired twice more.

Qin Shen returned just in time for the heavy lifting, helping the others haul out the two Weasel Crocodiles.

Jiang Si raised a torch, carefully peering into the pool.

"There shouldn’t be any more Weasel Crocodiles, right?" Jiang Linhai asked.

"Hard to say."

"There are no more for now, but there’s no guarantee they haven’t already laid eggs in the water."

"In that case, we should stock up on as much water as we can now," Lu Zhifeng said.

Grandma looked at the slightly murky water and asked with concern, "Is this water still drinkable?"

Jiang Si, who had a water quality tester in her pocket dimension, replied, "It should be. We’ll boil it several times when we get back, and test it on a wild rabbit before we drink any."

Only after they had filled every container they had with water did they turn their attention to the Weasel Crocodiles on the ground.

"If we leave them here to rot, they’ll contaminate the water quality. Let’s carry them out," Jiang Si said. "Burying them would take too long. Their carcasses are poisonous—if they kill a few other predators, it’ll be safer for us the next time we come for water."

"Alright."

The group hauled the Weasel Crocodiles out of the cave. They estimated it was only three hours until dawn.

They had to get back as quickly as possible.

Lu Zhifeng was very familiar with the Longquan Nature Reserve Forest. Not long after leaving the cave, he got his bearings and told the group, "The path to the right is faster."

Everyone immediately looked at Qin Shen, their expressions asking the same question: was it dangerous?

After this ordeal, they had all come to trust his judgment.

Qin Shen nodded. "There’s uncertainty everywhere. Let’s go."

The direction was correct, but the environment had changed drastically because of the Scorching Sun.

If he hadn’t spotted a familiar mark on a rock, Lu Zhifeng would have started to doubt his own sense of direction.

Half an hour later, a forest of giant mushrooms of varying heights appeared before them.

The tallest were two or three meters high, while even the shortest were over a meter tall.

They were incredibly vibrant—red, yellow, and purple. The caps had multicolored patterns, and in the silent, fog-shrouded night, it felt as if they had walked into Alice’s Wonderland.

Lu Zhifeng turned to Qin Shen. "Have you ever seen mushrooms like this?"

Qin Shen shook his head. "They look poisonous. We should find a way around."

Just as they prepared to go around, the night sky shifted in an instant, and the heavens brightened without warning.

Everyone could feel the temperature rising sharply.

Jiang Linhai yelled, "This is bad! Find cover, now!"

There wasn’t so much as a hollow tree nearby. In the moment of crisis, Jiang Si was about to pull stone slabs from her pocket dimension for everyone to use as shields against the sun.

Just then, sunlight rained down, forming brilliant pillars of light. The trees shriveled, and their skin began to burn painfully, yet the giant mushrooms remained completely unchanged.

Jiang Si’s eyes lit up, and she reacted in a flash. "Quick! Get under the mushroom caps!"

The temperature was rising so fast that even without her order, everyone was already scrambling for cover under the mushrooms.

Jiang Si and Qin Shen dove under the same mushroom cap at the same time, just as the pillar of light intensified.

They both gripped the mushroom stalk, pressed extremely close to each other. So close, in fact, that she could have counted every single one of his long, thick eyelashes.

’It was awkward, but they couldn’t let go.’

After standing nervously under the mushrooms for a while with nothing happening, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Jiang Linhai said happily, "These mushrooms aren’t affected by the sun’s corrosion! If we cut the caps off and use them as umbrellas, could we move around and get water during the day?"

Lu Zhifeng’s eyes lit up. "Great idea! That would be much safer than going out at night."

Everyone looked over at Jiang Si and Qin Shen, only to realize how intimately they were positioned.

Jiang Linhai’s eyes went wide. He hastily hacked off the mushroom cap above his head and, as if fending off a thief, used it to separate Jiang Si and Qin Shen.

Jiang Si’s mouth twitched in resignation. ’The guy hasn’t shown the slightest bit of interest in me, you know.’

When Lu Zhifeng moved to imitate him and cut down another mushroom, Jiang Linhai suddenly shouted for everyone to stop.

"Don’t cut it! It’s poisonous!"

Jiang Si’s heart leaped. She looked at Jiang Linhai and saw that his hands had suddenly swollen up like big, shiny carrots.

’But she and Qin Shen had both touched the mushroom and were fine.’