Cutting-Edge Technology R&D Center

Chapter 11: Rescue

“Uncle and Auntie, take your time. Just follow this path to the mountaintop. I’ll head up first.” After emerging from the woods, Lan Wei glanced at Mr. Zhang and the other three, who were breathing heavily, and said apologetically. The terror posed by the Green Slender King Snake was far beyond that of an ordinary Green Slender Snake; if they missed the optimal window for treatment, the consequences could be fatal. At the foot of Caoshan, the path was easier to navigate than the forest trails and posed far fewer dangers. “All right, you go ahead,” Mr. Zhang nodded. “Be careful of snakes,” Lan Wei said before immediately dashing off. She nimbly scrambled up the mountain. Although her physical fitness didn’t match Wang Hao’s, she had, after all, grown up in the mountains and had done plenty of farm work, so she was naturally in good shape. She raced toward the summit of Caoshan—so named because it was entirely covered in short grass—and her appearance immediately caught the attention of Wang Hao’s classmates. “A few more people have shown up…” “This guy runs a lot slower than Wang Hao.” “Maybe it’s because Wang Hao’s physical fitness is just too incredible…” Wang Hao’s classmates began to murmur among themselves. Wang Hao’s terrifying speed had truly astonished them; they never would have imagined that, without those explosive muscles, he could still run so incredibly fast. “Ma Ye is okay…” Watching Lan Wei approach, Wang Hao let out a sigh of relief. Even the most skilled cook can’t make a meal without rice—at that moment, he had nothing to offer. He could only suppress the spread of the toxin in Ma Ye’s body; he lacked the ability to cure or eliminate it entirely. His medical skill was currently only at Level 4. He’d bought a few medical books out of curiosity and read them for a few days. Although Level 4 might not seem very high, it meant he was on par with someone who’d dedicated several years to the study of medicine. Since the books he’d read back then were all on traditional Chinese medicine—mostly focusing on herbal identification—he’d developed a certain level of expertise in the use of medicinal herbs. Dealing with the venom of the Green Slender Snake wouldn’t be difficult, provided he had the necessary herbs on hand. Now, in order to save the victim, he asked Lan Wei to go fetch some herbs first. Lanjia Village was surrounded by mountains, and the path out of the mountains was rugged. Only someone with exceptionally exceptional physical fitness, like Wang Hao, could make it from the outside world to Lanjia Village in half an hour. For others trying to reach Caoshan—which was even closer to the village than Lanjia Village—it would likely take at least three hours, factoring in rest breaks. The mountains are teeming with snakes; while there are no wild beasts like tigers, wild boars are a common sight. The living conditions are far from ideal—one might even call them harsh—and there is still no electricity here. After climbing the mountain, Lan Wei glanced around and immediately spotted Wang Hao, then hurried over to him. “Teacher, medicinal herbs.” Lantian handed over a large handful of herbs he’d gathered. He’d been in a hurry on the way here, knowing that treatment for the Green Slender Snake’s venom couldn’t wait; he’d simply taken a portion of every usable herb he could find. “I remember you had a knife on your keychain?” Wang Hao nodded as he took the herbs. After selecting a few, he immediately crushed them and applied the paste to Ma Ye’s back. “Wang Hao, does this mean I’m going to make it?” A fierce will to survive flashed in Ma Ye’s eyes. His entire body had gone numb, and he felt as though he’d lost control of it, but as soon as Wang Hao applied the herbs to his back, he suddenly began to feel some pain. “You’ll be fine in a moment.” Wang Hao actually admired Ma Ye a bit; facing life and death, he was still able to maintain such composure—which was quite impressive for an eighteen-year-old. Ma Ye looked somewhat exhausted, but as if Wang Hao’s words had a powerful calming effect, his expression gradually grew serene. “Wang Hao, how is Ma Ye doing?” Ma Ling asked with concern. She and Ma Ye got along well—they shared the same surname, were from the same village, and had a good relationship, so she naturally cared deeply about him. “It’s the venom of the Green Slender King Snake. Thankfully, we got here in time; otherwise, it’s hard to say what would’ve happened,” Wang Hao said with a soft sigh as he rubbed the medicinal herbs onto Ma Ye’s back. After that, Wang Hao said nothing more. Instead, he took the keychain from Lan Wei’s hand—which had an ordinary folding knife attached to it—stopped what he was doing, picked up the folding knife, glanced at the Green Slender King Snake that Fang Bing had brought back, and took it from him. Wang Hao made a light cut along the snake’s belly with the folding knife, and blood immediately began to flow. “Ah…” Ma Ling had been about to speak again, but as she watched Wang Hao—his expression calm and unflinching—extract a blood-soaked object from the Green Slender King Snake’s carcass She immediately let out a shriek, causing the other female students’ faces to turn pale as well; they couldn’t help but cry out in shock. Even the male students, watching Wang Hao’s composed and unconcerned expression, felt as though—despite having been in the same class for three years—this was the first day they’d ever really met him. Teacher Zhou’s face was slightly pale, but her reaction stemmed more from curiosity—curiosity about Wang Hao’s deft technique. That blood-soaked organ was none other than the gallbladder of the Green-Slender King Snake. She was indeed taken aback by Wang Hao’s calm demeanor, but even more so by his skillful handling of the situation. “Where’s the water? Go rinse this off,” Wang Hao said calmly to Fang Bing, still holding the gallbladder of the Green-Slender King Snake. “Hao Ge, you’re making me do such a gross job again.” Fang Bing cast a disdainful glance at the blood-soaked snake gallbladder, but still took it and went to find water to rinse it off. When the other students saw Fang Bing walk out, they all scattered as if he were a flood or a ferocious beast. Fang Bing shot them a speechless glance, shook his head with a wry smile. This wasn’t the first time he’d done this kind of work, so his expression remained largely unchanged. He walked over to the barbecue grill and simply rinsed it off with water. “Hao Ge, here you go.” Fang Bing brought over the cleaned snake gallbladder and handed it to Wang Hao. Wang Hao nodded and took it, then walked over to Ma Ye’s side, sat down, and said softly to her “Take these herbs; they’ll neutralize the poison,” Wang Hao said softly. But Ma Ye’s face twisted in distaste as he looked at the herbs in Wang Hao’s hand—which Wang Hao had already crushed to pieces. However, after thinking it over and feeling the sensation slowly returning to his body, he still trusted Wang Hao’s words and slowly opened his mouth. Ma Ye’s face suddenly contorted. The taste of swallowing the herbs raw was awful; the pungent flavor made him feel as if he’d never have an appetite again. But Wang Hao’s next words caused his expression to contort even further. “Here… eat this too… and the poison will be neutralized.” Wang Hao produced the snake gall that Fang Bing had washed earlier. “Is there any way I can avoid eating this…?” Ma Ye’s expression changed drastically as he said timidly. “Those were just the catalysts; this is the main ingredient. If you don’t eat it, your poison won’t be neutralized—it’ll keep spreading, and I won’t be able to control it,” Wang Hao said calmly. “I’ll eat it…” Ma Ye gritted his teeth and said.