Chapter 307: Chapter 196: Dragon Country’s Officials Are Shaken! Is Ning An a Daoist Master or an Evil Cultivator?

After sending Elder Shi off, Ning An let out a long sigh of relief.

He observed the surrounding environment; the Spiritual Qi was thin, but compared to the bustling city, it was immensely rich.

The vegetation around him surged upward crazily, the vibrant colors were fearsome, as if they had broken free from natural constraints.

The workers who arrived first didn’t care about these changes in the vegetation; their faces twisted as they revved up the roaring chainsaws and got to work.

If mutation occurs, it’s merely a matter of whether they can hold on for a few more seconds.

Everything was built according to the standards of a military base camp, with the outer circle belonging to passers-by, the inner circle to scientific personnel, and the core naturally belonging to those expensive instruments.

Army green trucks rolled in like an assembly line, continuously delivering supplies. The whole base felt like the great reclamation of the northwest from earlier years, with hundreds of people shouting slogans and working vigorously.

Ning An looked around, simply feeling that the human atmosphere was continuously rising.

"Ah! What the hell is this thing!"

Just as Ning An was in a daze, suddenly a curious and painful scream came from the perimeter.

Rushing over, Ning An saw it was a burly man wielding a chainsaw ferociously against a tree. He was bold, acting as the pioneer among everyone.

Such a huge commotion naturally disturbed nearby animals, most of which were crazily fleeing further away.

But the man was truly unlucky; he blocked the path of a grass snake. The snake couldn’t evade him and directly bit his leg.

This snake was non-venomous, mainly feeding on birds and mice, with a prominent white stripe on its back and black spots on its sides. It doesn’t grow large; getting to a meter long is considered big.

These snakes love sneaking into farmyards, devouring chicks and stealing eggs, akin to being a weasel’s good brother.

Yet the grass snake before them was over two meters long at first glance, its scales as dark as ink, and its head was larger by a margin. Even Darwin would scream in agony at the notion of biology being nonexistent, revising the theory of evolution overnight.

Quick on their feet, comrades swiftly severed the snake’s body.

A snake’s vitality is usually tenacious; this mutated one was incredible, with its rear half still writhing and twitching, seeming completely oblivious to its imminent death.

Whereas the head, even when detached while biting a soldier, still had lively eyes, as if its brain remained unaffected.

Fortunately, although the snake appeared horrific, it was non-venomous. However, given its mutation, it was best not to assume, so they hastily bandaged the soldier and sent him down the mountain urgently.

Elder Shi, drawn by the commotion, saw the wriggling grass snake on the ground, his eyes shining.

"What are you standing around for, hurry and send it to the lab while it’s still breathing!"

The soldiers wore grave expressions, while the scientists’ eyes shone eagerly, almost ready to dissect it immediately.

...

Aside from this small incident, other work at the base progressed smoothly.

Perhaps Dragon Country’s scientists were madmen reborn, for after discovering the mutated grass snake, they incessantly buzzed about reclamation.

They even considered wielding chainsaws themselves; after all, they viewed the soldiers as brute strength incarnate, unable to discover these wonderful creatures.

In response, Dragon Country hurriedly sent a batch of soft armor overnight, woven and twisted from wire, matching special protective suits to prevent bites from small creatures.

Donning the soft armor, the scientists took on the charge willingly, wielding chainsaws themselves, even feeling that efficiency was too slow, negotiating with the big shots to launch attacks proactively.

Of course, the soldiers wouldn’t agree to let these valuable talents do such tasks, but faced with fervent gazes, they settled on a compromise.

The scientists designated several reclamation spots, with Ning An deciding on a final target.

Though scientists could go along, they couldn’t lead the charge, simply waiting behind the ranks to collect corpses.

Not only armed with firepower, did soldiers ensure operational success, but they also invited Ning An to join the exploratory team.

This reclamation spot wasn’t randomly chosen by Ning An; without the Dragon-Seeking Ruler, he sensed the Spiritual Qi fluctuations there.

Intending to investigate it himself, both sides agreed; they ventured directly toward this location.

Just upon stepping into this territory, they witnessed equally mutated, roughly three-meter-long cobras charging at them frenziedly, like a black tide surging across the ground.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The nearby soldiers were prepared, raising assault rifles and firing away. Instantly, blood splattered everywhere, surrounding the area in crimson.

Yet these cobras, seemingly with heightened ferocity post-mutation, fearlessly swarmed forward, with more emerging from a cavern, appearing endless.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Now the soldiers dared not risk negligence, hurling hand grenades into the snake swarm.

The effect was significant, with patches blown clear among the black tide.

Yet even before soldiers could rejoice, innumerable cobras continued emerging from the cavern, charging relentlessly.

This was absurd; could they resort to grenades and mortars? Surely the area could be cleaned, but this peculiar territory would also be destroyed, nullifying the reclamation’s purpose.