ALL NOVEL Chapter 40 - Ginseng (Part 1)
The viewers in the livestream thought that Mai Dongzi seemed to be struggling, but she didn’t feel that way at all.
After all, she possessed the strength of a Level 5 martial artist. Even without using her psychic abilities to assist in combat, there was no way she would have trouble dealing with just two mutant leopards.
Initially, because she wasn’t sure of the strength of the Level 3 mutant leopards, she adopted a conservative strategy, responding defensively.
When the Level 2 mutant leopards appeared, Mai Dongzi had already figured out the capabilities of the Level 3 leopards. As for the Level 2 leopards, it only took her a few exchanges to understand them.
She quickly changed her battle strategy, shifting from passive defense to active offense.
Although the mutant leopards were more agile and faster than the mutant boars, Mai Dongzi found them easier to deal with. This was because the leopards’ fur wasn’t as thick as the boars’, and her dagger could inflict significant damage on them.
As a result, even while dealing with two mutant leopards simultaneously, after unleashing her full potential, Mai Dongzi managed to kill both within five minutes.
Of course, the downside of such a swift victory was that, if it hadn’t been for the high-quality special combat suit she was wearing, she would likely have ended up with numerous bloody scratches.
Yesterday, she couldn’t find a suitable cave to set up camp, but after killing the two mutant leopards, she had secured one. However, the cave was dirty and foul-smelling, typical of a wild animal’s den, so she wasn’t interested in staying there. Still, if for some reason her treehouse became uninhabitable, this cave could serve as a backup shelter.
Mai Dongzi partially sealed the entrance with stones, leaving two small ventilation openings about half a meter in diameter. This would prevent new mutant beasts from taking over the space while keeping the air inside fresh.
She also encouraged some plants to grow over the entrance, a precaution against other adventurers.
On the thirteenth day of the survival game’s broadcast, Mai Dongzi spent the morning hunting a Level 3 mutant beast and, incidentally, a Level 2 one as well, which left her quite satisfied.
After several days of consumption, the Level 3 mutant beast meat soup stored in her space backpack and space buckle was nearly depleted, so she decided to cook some mutant boar meat.
The mutant leopard’s cave was located on a small cliff, only about a hundred meters high, but still enough to overlook the surrounding forest.
Mai Dongzi climbed to the top of the cliff. After scanning the area and confirming there were no mutant beasts nearby, she lit a fire and prepared the mutant boar she had hunted the day before, cooking a large pot of meat soup.
After eating, drinking, and resting for half an hour, Mai Dongzi prepared to set out again, aiming to hunt another target, a Level 3 mutant beast she had “scouted” the previous night.
However, as she descended from the cliff, she suddenly spotted a familiar-looking red berry among the layers of brown and black fallen leaves at the base.
Information about the red berries from her past life immediately surged into her mind.
Mai Dongzi’s eyes widened in surprise. Could this be… ginseng?
Mai Dongzi wanted to harvest the ginseng simply because, from her past life’s memories, she knew it was a valuable medicinal herb.
Before proceeding, she didn’t forget to use her psychic power to scan the surroundings. Since she needed to crouch down to dig, she even checked beneath the fallen leaves. What she found gave her a fright.
Near the ginseng was a late-stage Level 4 mutant centipede lying in ambush.
This mutant centipede was as thick as Mai Dongzi’s arm, with a black-purple shell that looked ominously poisonous.
Centipedes were already highly venomous before mutating; after mutation, the potency of their venom, especially at this late stage of Level 4, was beyond Mai Dongzi’s estimation.
Mai Dongzi knew better than to be reckless, as her dagger was too short.
However, she didn’t want to give up on that ginseng. She had never seen a mutated ginseng before.
Mai Dongzi “glanced” at the livestream orb using her psychic power. Although the orb had been following her during the day, it couldn’t capture the mutant centipede hiding beneath the leaves.
As she moved toward the ginseng, she used her psychic power like a rope to bind the mutant centipede, twisting it forcefully as if wringing a cloth.
The centipede’s shell was extremely tough, and Mai Dongzi wasn’t sure if her dagger could pierce through it.
Moreover, since arthropods don’t have brains in the same way as other creatures, she couldn’t attack its mind directly with her psychic power.
But as an arthropod, even mutated, its joints were still likely to be its weak points.
Mai Dongzi’s assumption was correct. When she twisted the centipede’s body forcefully in both directions with her psychic power, it immediately snapped in the middle.
However, the mutant centipede didn’t die instantly. The front half of its body struggled violently, and although it couldn’t find the enemy that attacked it, it sprayed venom all around.
The venom was indeed terrifying. It was so potent that it corroded the surrounding leaves and even emitted smoke, catching the attention of the livestream orb.
Under these circumstances, Mai Dongzi refrained from using more psychic power. Initially, she considered finishing off the centipede with a throwing knife, but then she remembered how dangerous the venom was—more corrosive than concentrated sulfuric acid. She didn’t dare use her dagger, as she often used it to prepare food.
At that moment, she recalled the long, sharp tusks from the mutant boar she had killed the previous day and decided to use them. She took one out and hurled it at the mutant centipede’s head.
Mai Dongzi put all her strength into the throw, and with the tusk’s weight, it didn’t pierce through the centipede’s head but did drive it deep into the ground.
The centipede had already been split in two by Mai Dongzi’s psychic power, and after this heavy blow, it finally stopped moving.
Mai Dongzi didn’t approach immediately. She waited until she was sure the mutant centipede was truly dead before pulling out the tusk.
To her surprise, the venom had even discolored the mutant boar’s tusk.
After some thought, she took out a ceramic bowl, lifted the centipede with the tusk, and placed it inside the bowl, then stored it in her space buckle.
Such a highly toxic item could prove useful in certain situations, so she wasn’t going to waste it.
Once Mai Dongzi confirmed that there was no danger around her, she crouched down and began digging out the soil around the ginseng with her dagger.
As soon as she started digging, she noticed something unusual and sped up her movements.
The mutated ginseng turned out to be unexpectedly large. Even with her psychic power assisting, it took considerable effort to dig it out without damaging the roots.
After estimating its weight by hefting it in her hand, Mai Dongzi quickly stored the ginseng in her space buckle and continued on her way as if nothing had happened.
No one could tell from her calm exterior how excited she was inside.
The viewers in the livestream room, who had just seen her casually store that plant away, were overwhelmed with curiosity, sensing that something was off.
As a result, the survival game’s production team received another wave of inquiries.
But no one knew what that root plant was or what it could do.