Daily Life in the Countryside After Being Reborn

Chapter 877: Chapter 26: Taking the Unconventional Path

When Quinn and the others arrived at the river where the Wide-mouthed Crocodiles were kept, the riverside was a scene of tranquility.

A few crocodiles floated on the water’s surface, angrily voicing their discontent at Quinn, the inadequate feeder, sending out an incorrect signal.

"How come they’re gone? Don’t tell me they ended up without any remains," Quinn joked, earning a furious glare from Yiyi.

"Maybe they’ve already crossed the river," Locke observed, noting that there was no trace of blood or signs of a struggle on the river’s surface.

The group of crocodiles was still in a state of hunger; Quinn feared he would have to feed them soon.

Yiyi’s expression wasn’t much better; she had followed Quinn and the others along the way. Despite having someone lead, she encountered dangers the likes of which she’d never seen before.

Upon entering the depths of the Underground Biopark, there wasn’t an inch of soil unstained by blood.

The damp miasma was lethal, and those brightly colored flowers likely had consumed a lot of flesh.

Just as they were about to reach the riverbank, Yiyi saw a row of flowers with buds the size of human heads.

As Locke and the others passed the plants, they carefully tossed out several bags of fresh blood.

Originally appearing as sickly and shriveled, the flower buds abruptly opened, greedily devouring the blood bags,

While the flower buds consumed the blood bags, Locke urged Yiyi to hurry through and advised her that if she ever saw such flowers during a mission, she should steer clear.

He complained about Quinn’s twisted sense of fun, mentioning how Quinn once requested a batch of death row inmates from the federal government, to leave them ten days in the Underground Biopark, a time more memorable than any execution.

Most died from the miasma in the forest or the jaws of the few crocodiles in the river. The remaining ones were devoured by the rows of Blood Corpse Flowers on the far bank.

The Blood Corpse Flowers hail from an ancient African rainforest, a carnivorous plant that emits a unique scent when they sense animals passing by. For a black bear, it could be the sweet smell of honey. For wild tigers, it could resemble fresh animal blood. Any scent could slow down passing beasts and humans by a few steps.

Within those few steps, the Blood Corpse Flower’s roots extend numerous thorny vines, trapping the beings and eventually dragging them to the flower buds, consuming them bit by bit.

"It can’t be that easy; I bet that little girl got so scared she went back," Quinn looked around nearby and was surprised to find footprints on the opposite bank, but then, no more signs of movement.

"Could she have burrowed underground?" Quinn muttered. In the dense forest, flight was difficult and forbidden. How did that little girl manage to cross the bank?

"Haha, I knew Xiao Xian wouldn’t be in trouble," Yiyi clapped her hands in appreciation, feeling relieved for Xiao Xian.

"Locke, tell me honestly, did you tell that little girl the secret to crossing the river?" Quinn’s bushy face suddenly leaned toward Locke, startling him.

In fact, there were three options or routes through the Underground Biopark. One was an aerial route, which, after Zhou Ziang’s forceful intrusion, was deemed a vulnerability and jointly sealed by Quinn and Aisha.

Another was the conventional route, crossing overland.

The last one, an emergency escape route, was known only to Locke, only to be used in dire emergencies.

"Even if I wanted to explain, she would need to find the route herself. It was her first time in the Underground Biopark; she’s clueless about its species, let alone finding such a hidden path," Locke complained. He wasn’t someone who casually opens doors for others.

"True, when you first told me about that route, it left me bewildered. I can’t believe a little kid could remember such a convoluted thing," Quinn acknowledged. In his life, he only truly recognized two geniuses. One was Locke, who could vividly remember any plant he had seen once. The other was Zhou Ziang, who could silently cram a whole computer’s worth of knowledge into his mind.