Chapter 12: Something Is Pulling Me

Upon hearing the animal howls, Mi Tang finished his soup in a few quick gulps and hurried back to the reclamation team.

The reclamation team was composed mostly of ordinary people with little ability to defend themselves in the wasteland. Mi Tang was not only their manager but also responsible for their safety to a certain extent.

The team members hadn’t fallen asleep yet. Partly because they had made a good profit finding medicinal plants today, and partly because Mi Tang hadn’t returned, so no one felt truly at ease. Later, when they heard the animal howls echoing from Mountain No. 1, they became even more terrified, fearing that the beasts might charge down the mountain and devour them.

It wasn't until they heard Mi Tang return and enter Tent No. 4 that they finally sighed in relief. Even then, they slept in their clothes, ready to bolt at a moment's notice. By midnight, when the commotion on Mountain No. 1 finally ceased, they were able to drift off to sleep.

Gu Xiaomai was completely unaware of all this. After finalizing her trade with Liu Ju and the others, she applied the medicine Jiang Chen'an had given her to her abrasions in the dark and fell fast asleep. Seeing her remain soundly asleep despite the men’s chatter outside and the persistent beast roars, the women didn't know what to say, eventually deciding that she was remarkably thick-skinned.

In truth, Gu Xiaomai wasn't indifferent; she had simply risen too early, her body hadn't fully recovered, and the excessive labor had conditioned her to fall into a deep, restorative slumber the moment her head hit the bed.

When Gu Xiaomai opened her eyes again, the sun had already crested the horizon, beginning to cast its light and heat. The soldiers in the adjacent E4 camp had started their daily training, their chants ringing out loudly, accompanied by the rhythmic "snap-snap" of equipment. Gu Xiaomai had previously been puzzled by that sound, but after seeing Jiang Chen'an’s whip yesterday, she realized it was likely the sound of the air being cut by his practice.

Everything seemed normal to Gu Xiaomai, yet upon waking, she felt a subtle difference. Her energy and stamina hadn't fully recovered after the night’s rest—or rather, it wasn't that they hadn't recovered, but that the "blood pool" in her body hadn't reached full capacity. It was a stark contrast to how she felt on previous mornings. However, the abrasions on her body had scabbed over, leaving her unsure whether her strange physical condition had vanished or not. Should she find a medic in the camp? She hesitated, deciding instead to wash the medicinal herbs she had dug up yesterday.

She carried the bag of roots out of the tent, practiced her Tai Chi in the usual spot, and then headed toward the river she had seen the day before. The closer she got, the louder the "snap-snap" became. She soon spotted Jiang Chen'an on the riverbank, cracking his whip. With every swing, the whip’s shadow seemed to multiply, creating an effect like the thundering of thousands of horses—truly breathtaking.

*Goodness, how long must he have practiced to achieve that?*

Seeing him finish, Gu Xiaomai immediately put down her bag and clapped. "Brother Chen, your whip work is amazing! That’s incredible!"

Jiang Chen'an, met with Gu Xiaomai’s starry-eyed gaze, felt a momentary sense of awkwardness; no one had praised him so directly since his parents passed away.

"What are you doing here? Need help?" Jiang Chen'an asked, noticing the bag at her feet. As he coiled the whip around his waist, his shirt shifted, and Gu Xiaomai caught a glimpse of his abdominal muscles. *This kid clearly trains hard!*

"I want to wash the dirt off the roots I dug up yesterday."

Jiang Chen'an bent down to pick up the bag, pausing to pull up a weed. They walked to the river, found a stable spot, and Gu Xiaomai watched as he dipped the weed head-first into the water and held it there, perfectly still.

Curious, she looked from the weed to the river. "What are you doing?"

Jiang Chen'an looked at her. He had realized by now that she lacked basic common sense. "The water in the wasteland isn't safe."

"You mean there are corrupted creatures in there?" Gu Xiaomai asked, puzzled. "But what does that have to do with the grass?"

"It’s not just that. It could be corrosive."

"Oh—I see. You’re using the grass to test if the river water is corrosive. Smart!" Gu Xiaomai patted his shoulder, smiling in praise. She felt a surge of relief—thankfully, despite her curiosity, she hadn't approached the water alone. If she hadn't met Jiang Chen'an, who knows what might have happened?

While they waited, Gu Xiaomai gathered some weed stalks and fashioned them into two small brushes. Seeing that the weed showed no signs of damage, they began to clean the roots.

Both were cautious, avoiding direct contact with the water and using the small brushes to clean the roots bit by bit. Toward the end, Gu Xiaomai’s grip weakened, and her brush fell into the river; had she not lunged for it quickly, it would have been swept away.

The sun climbed higher, and the camp began to stir. With Mi Tang nowhere to be found and no clear instructions for the day, the others gathered outside to discuss the animal howls from Mountain No. 1. Corn was already awake, chewing on a nutrient pack while listening to the wild speculations.

Down by the river, Gu Xiaomai and Jiang Chen'an finished cleaning the roots and prepared to leave. Mindful of her lack of common sense, Jiang Chen'an warned, "If you plan on consuming these, you should rinse them in filtered drinking water once we get back..."

Before he could finish, a scream from Gu Xiaomai cut him off.

"Ah! Something is pulling me!" she cried in terror.

Jiang Chen'an whipped his head around to see Gu Xiaomai prone on the ground, her legs already sliding into the river. His heart hammered in his chest. Without a second’s hesitation, he dropped the bag and lunged forward.

One hand clamped onto her arm like an iron vice to prevent her from being dragged further. With his other hand, he snapped his whip. The lash whistled through the air like a dragon, striking the giant catfish that had emerged from the depths to snatch her.

The catfish shrieked, a sharp, grating sound, and its tentacle—which had been wrapped around Gu Xiaomai’s ankle—loosened slightly. Jiang Chen'an seized the chance, pulling his whip back and triggering the mechanism on the handle. The catfish tried to block with another tentacle, but the whip, infused with purple-gold metallic filaments, acted as if it had a life of its own. The tip bypassed the tentacle, wrapping precisely around the beast.

The whip’s intricate locking mechanism engaged, securing the tip firmly. Jiang Chen'an tried to use the whip’s leverage to drag the catfish out of the water, but his strength wasn't enough; instead, he felt himself being dragged forward toward the river.

"Big Brother, pull harder!" Gu Xiaomai screamed, her hands clawing desperately at the earth, trying to anchor them both as they slid relentlessly toward the water.