Chapter 29 Chapter 29 (1/2)

Chaos

Chapter 29

It got darker and darker.

Slowly, even the scattered wreckage on the sides could no longer be seen using the glowing light from the flowers.

The two walked through this darkness. They could only feel the presence of each other through Shen Mian in their hands and the faint lights coming from the flowers they had picked.

In this kind of darkness that seemed to stretch on endlessly, it easily made people wonder if they were still alive.

There were no markers in any direction, let alone traces of other living beings. It was as if there was only the two of them left in this world.

After walking for about an hour, they were still in darkness a second ago but the moment they took another step, bright light suddenly filled their eyes.

With that step, it was like they had suddenly stepped into another world.

The blinding light made the two cover their eyes. After adapting to the brightness, the two of them were stunned by the scene in front of them.

They had stepped into a tropical rainforest.

The fresh scent of grass, earth and water filled their noses and lungs.

Dense vegetation filled their entire field of vision. Trees tens of metres high grew in the lake, their roots intricately spreading out like a huge network of veins. All of it could clearly be seen through the surface of the water. There was no fish in the water, nor any traces of other microorganisms. The water was incredibly clear.

Plants resembling plantains were dotted among them. Their thick leaves were moist, and it looked like water droplets would soon drip down from it. Water plants were overgrown across the centre and edges of the lake, thick vines were entwined among the trees and flowers of various colours could be seen everywhere.

But what made them more speechless was that if they looked up along those trees, they would see that there was no end in sight. The world above them was like a reflection, perfectly reproducing the scene on the ground below.

There was no sky here.

Above their heads was a rainforest that hung upside down. It was exactly the same as the one on the ground, with the same greenery and same luxuriant vegetation.

Ji Yushi suspected that this was actually some kind of illusion.

They walked for a while. Ji Yushi reached out and touched the leaf of a plant. The sensation was slightly cool. He knitted his brows, “It’s all real.”

The temperature and humidity here was high. The two had already taken off and put away their protective suits.

Song Qinglan’s sensitivity to the environment was far beyond ordinary people, but he didn’t sense any danger here. He stood behind a purple and white flower of an unknown name with his black combat uniform perfectly fitted to his body. Because of his long legs, he looked like a model doing a photoshoot, “Advisor Ji, have you noticed that it is too quiet here?”

There was no hustle and bustle one would normally hear in a rainforest. There were no sounds of animals or birds, or water or wind.

Except for the plantations that thrived abundantly, not even a moth was in sight.

“It’s very strange.” Ji Yushi nodded and then looked into the distance, “Cap Song, should we continue moving forward?”

If they didn’t move forward, they could only go back.

Both were very clear about what the situation was like in the direction they had come from.

“If we want to find out what’s going on here, I think we should go forward.” Song Qinglan held Shen Mian, “What do you think?”

Ji Yushi let go of the leaf in his hand, “I think so too.”

Sogn Qinglan reminded, “But if we continue onwards, we may encounter danger. There are only the two of us.”

Ji Yushi said, “Then we can only go back and make Big Beard our companion.”

Song Qinglan hooked up the corners of his lips and used his gun to push away the plants blocking his path, “Alright, then let’s continue on.”

Ji Yushi didn’t have a weapon on him, and everything here was unknown.

Song Qinglan very naturally walked at the forefront. Ji Yushi had no objections.

The rainforest was hot and humid. As if it had just rained, water droplets still hung from the grass and leaves.

But after a few minutes of walking, their hair and body were wet. Ji Yushi’s complexion was cold and pale. Water droplets slid down his hair to his face and neck. His eyes however were still particularly vivid under all the greenery.

Song Qinglan however felt that if Ji Yushi continued like this, he would get sick again.

Reaching towards a plant with thick round leaves, Song Qinglan used his tall height to easily pull off a leaf the size of a water basin, “Here, shield yourself.”

Ji Yushi received it and held it like an umbrella, “Thank you.”

He had nothing against using it but he teased Song Qinglan, “Cap Song is so considerate, I almost thought I was a woman.”

Song Qinglan still needed to hold the gun with his hands, and he was responsible for opening up a path for them, so he didn’t have time to ‘hold an umbrella’. He casually replied, “I didn’t say that.”

They walked into the depths of the rainforest.

The trees here were even bigger, with trunks requiring four or five people to completely encircle. As a result, the gaps between the trees also increased. Many smaller plants grew on these trees and fruits hung from it. They looked round and alluring, like dragonfruit, but no one dared to rashly give it a try.

The further they went, the larger the plantation in the rainforest became. It eventually became even larger than what they could picture.

They passed a huge colony of fungi.

Light blue, red, white and yellow. All sorts of huge mushrooms grew in the rainforest like individual small houses.

Ji Yushi stood under the cover of a mushroom and observed, “These mushrooms should not be of the same species. The largest mushroom I have ever seen is the Porcini which can grow up to 50cm in diameter or the Armillaria fungus which can spread underneath for a distance of up to 2000 acres. Fungus grows on the roots of trees and would continue to secrete enzymes to break down the roots but despite so many mushroom here growing to this size, the trees growth doesn’t seem to be affected…..”

“I didn’t expect you to even know about mushrooms.” Song Qinglan asked, “Advisor Ji, is there anything you don’t know?”

The long journey was too boring. The two continued to move forward.

Ji Yushi said, “I actually saw it in the museum.”

Song Qinglan asked, “There is a museum specifically about mushrooms?”

“It’s just one of the popular science exhibitions.” Ji Yushi said, “I was only five at the time and found it interesting.”

People with hyperthymesia rarely found something they remembered very interesting. This was Song Qinglan’s first time in a long time hearing Ji Yushi mention a relaxing memory.

Song Qinglan turned and asked, “You could remember everything from such a young age?”

“No, this illness wasn’t from birth.” Ji Yushi told him, “I only suddenly found that I could remember everything that has happened one day a long time later. Including all the experiences I have had and all the details, I could remember it very clearly and I was unable to forget it.”

Not from birth?

Song Qinglan guessed that something must have happened during that time.

Ji Yushi no longer continued talking about this and the two were not familiar enough to have conversations like this, so the topic ended here.

They walked past a huge group of fungi.

They then passed a small stream and finally found something by the stream.

Some tools and packages where scattered there and there was also a rusty kettle. It looked like someone had stayed here.

Ji Yushi opened those packages and saw that there were also some daily necessities inside, including mouldy batteries and a water damaged communicator, all of which could no longer be used. Ji Yushi also found a compass inside. In their era, these things all belonged to a time a dozen or so years in the past. The compass however appeared to be in good condition. The N/S English letters on the dial were still clear but it was a pity that the pointer spun around aimlessly so it was completely useless.

“Advisor Ji.”