Chapter 62 (1/2)

”Sounds great.” Chang nodded, then he moved aside with Jing and Qing shui. Zhao quickly made a command to rest of the soldiers and then they went around the flower bush.

Although the captain was well equipped with the compa.s.s and a high powered flashlight and had Chang to walk with him, he still stayed closely to the edge of the flower bush. On one hand, he was worried about getting off track but was also concerned about the suspicious flowers. Zhao kept on coordinating their direction once in a while, the troop was slowed down significantly by this cautious adjustments.

”It is such a tremendous flower bush…if we keep our current pace, I don't think we can make it to Zhengzhou before sunset.” Chang was sweating out as he noticed how scrupulous Zhao became, ”We should go faster, Captain.”

”Indeed, I didn't expect the size of the flower bush to be this tremendous.” Zhao nodded as he re-calibrated the direction, the troop accelerated again.

At the same moment, a gentle breeze blew from the bush, the soft touch of the wind was fragrant with the unknown blossom.

”How aromatic!” The pleasant scent brought excitement to the troop, someone behind Chang marveled, ”I have never smelled something like this before, it is so sincere and calming like a perfectly mixed perfume. I'd say it outcompetes every flower before the red fog, not to mention its vivid and vibrant petals. If we ever had flowers like this before, It'd be the queen among all.”

”Unfortunately, the nice aroma could be deadly.” Qing shui showed impatient on his face, ”In any way, flower and its scent never had any artistic purposes in nature. The reason why flowers had scents before the red fog was to attract pollination, but now, this could be a trap for attracting prey.”

”Moreover, a flower is just a reproductive structure of a plant. I don't see the reason why humans appraise it be such a great deal.” Qing shui frowned.

”Ha ha ha.” Someone behind Qing shui was apparently entertained by Qing shui's lack of taste. The troop sped up again as they became more light-hearted.

After another half hour going around the flower bush, they finally got back on to the Zheng Kai Avenue.

It was truly a relief that they didn't encounter any strangers, they thought.

”Ah-----------” a heartrending cry pierced through the red fog.

It was an absurdly shrill scream as if a person's enjoyment was broken by a hard stab to the stomach, unexpectedly and painfully.

”What's wrong?” Zhao immediately turned around. The beam of light in his hand flashed right onto the screaming soldier.

”An attacker?” The face of the soldier became hideously disfigured, the artery on his neck bloated up and his face blushed. Apparently, he was undergoing great torture. His weapon dropped and his fingers became rigid and stiff like claws. His condition worsened at a rate that everyone could notice - a gradual development of convulsions.

The company around this soldier held up their rifles vigilantly, however, no matter how hard they tried, they saw no suspicious objects in the air or on the ground.

”Will it be something similar to the dodder?” Someone shouted.

”Possibly.” Some other soldiers kept the struggling soldier down and ripped open his s.h.i.+rt. Although his skin had turned red, his skin was still smooth without any obvious injury or infection.

”He looks like he was poisoned.” Came a woman's voice - It was Dr. Huang. She looked at the soldier from afar ”Looks like he got Dysautonomia; excessive sweating and sialorrhea…It must be some sort of neurotoxin.”