Chapter 287: The magical dancing plant, its limbs sway when startled!

“Look at the trees around here, and the moss and mushrooms on the ground. They look poisonous right away. Anything that can survive here, even if it’s not poisonous initially, would mutate after being here long enough,” Werner said as he surveyed the surroundings.

“Exactly,” added Captain Alfa. “The ground here is extremely uneven, and some trees have their roots almost completely buried. Everyone needs to be careful. Pay special attention to elevated spots, they could be false mounds created by piles of leaves.”

In jungles like this, the terrain was generally low. But in this area around the mountain, some parts were unexpectedly elevated, while others were unusually low. With the scattered leaves covering the ground, these false elevations could easily be misleading.

Such false highs weren’t necessarily dangerous, but they could startle people easily. 

If you were walking and suddenly sunk into one, it would make your heart race and trigger anxiety.

“Everyone, be cautious,” Marley said.

Just then, one of the elite program inspectors he was leading suddenly fell with a thud, face first into the ground. Luckily, the area was covered in leaves.

“This, this plant… it moves!” the fallen inspector shouted in horror.

He pointed at a tall green plant nearby. 

At first glance, the plant looked somewhat like a cornstalk you’d see on a farm. But instead of corn, its branches and leaves were unusually long and large.

At this moment, the rows of green plants suddenly swayed on their own, even though there was no wind.  Some of the leaves swayed wildly, like whips lashing through the air. 

This sight left everyone stunned.

Marley hurriedly helped the program inspector to his feet and stepped aside. He warily eyed the green plants in front of them.

“What the heck is this thing? How can it move by itself?” Hardy exclaimed in disbelief.

Alfa cautiously stepped forward to take a closer look. Seeing that the leaves were still green, he let out a sigh of relief.

“This must be the legendary dancing grass. When startled, it instinctively sways its branches. Good thing there aren’t any barbs on these leaves, or they could easily scratch the skin. At least this thing doesn’t eat people. Let’s get moving.”

With that, Alfa waved to the team to keep going.

The team followed closely, but their fear of the surrounding mountains grew stronger with every step.

“Damn, this is the first time I’ve ever seen dancing grass,” Hardy muttered, as they walked. His tone a mix of admiration and awe.

“China really is vast and full of wonders,” Alpha nodded in agreement. “It is the largest country in the world. The seasons here are distinct, and you can experience every kind of climate within its borders. Some of the strangest things can happen here. This country is rich in culture. There’s a lot we can study and learn from.”

Alfa had a very favorable impression of China.

He was a geographer by profession and had always been fascinated by China. A few years ago, he had come to China for a research expedition that lasted three years. Despite that, he had only visited a dozen cities, barely covering a third of the country.

This time, he saw the show as the perfect opportunity to revisit and deepen his understanding.

“Alright, let’s check out these red dots on the screen, one by one. The spots where four red dots are clustered together, those are must-check locations. The others, we’ll treat as less priority.”

Werner pointed to the screen of his mobile phone. 

Qian Guosen transmitted the feed to him. It was from a thermal detector that could sense life signs within a 10-kilometer radius.

On Wang Yun’s side, there were four people, so any group of four red dots would be their target, and they wouldn’t hesitate to head there directly.

The surrounding mountains were vast, and the group had just entered. As soon as they stepped in, it seemed like the forest swallowed them up, and they quickly disappeared from sight. However, not even half an hour had passed when Werner’s phone screen suddenly went black. He stopped in his tracks, puzzled.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t we moving?” Hardy asked.

Werner stood still, looking around cautiously. He turned his phone off and then back on, and it powered up just fine.

But there was no signal.

That meant Qian Guosen’s feed couldn’t be transmitted in real-time anymore.

“No signal, the screen’s gone.”

Werner looked at the group with a serious expression.

Everyone immediately took out their phones, and sure enough, they all showed–No Service. As if that wasn’t enough, when they tried the compass function, they realized the compasses weren’t responding either.

“You’ve got to be kidding me, this place is seriously creepy,” Hardy muttered under his breath.

The team members started getting more alert, their eyes scanning the surroundings.

“Captain, why do I feel like the fog around us is getting thicker?” Hardy’s man whispered, gripping his weapon tightly.

Hardy and the others quickly looked up, and everyone frowned.

“Yeah, the poison fog is definitely getting denser,” said Captain Marley.

“It’s probably because we’re in a low-lying area with no wind to disperse the fog. It’s just been gathering here over time. We better get out of here, fast,” Alfa said, already moving forward.

“But all our compasses are busted. How do we know which way to go?” Hardy called out from the back.

Werner gave him a light tug, his expression exasperated. “Don’t forget, Captain Alfa is a geographer.”

After Werner finished speaking, he followed Captain Alfa.

“Hey, even if technology fails, we still have our brains,” Hardy chuckled, patting his forehead before quickly following them.