'It's raining?'
Han Ning stared out the window at the drizzling curtain of rain, somewhat lost in thought.
This was the first time it had rained since they were transported to this harsh wasteland.
He walked to the windowsill and gazed at the blurry landscape in the distance, shrouded in a hazy white mist. A gust of fresh air washed over his face. He felt refreshed and subconsciously took a deep breath.
Suddenly, a faint stinging sensation came from his chest.
Icy raindrops slipped through the cracks in the windowsill and landed on his skin, bringing a faint chill.
Along with the stinging, there was also a paralyzing numbness, as if he had been shocked by electricity.
"These raindrops... are poisonous..."
Han Ning immediately held his breath and took a step back.
Even his enhanced Body showed mild symptoms. If this had happened to anyone else, their entire chest would probably have been paralyzed instantly.
It wasn't even noon yet, but beneath the thick, white curtain of rain, small black dots were already appearing in twos and threes, running in groups into the dormitory area.
These were the people who had gone out early in the morning for "two-on-one" training.
Han Ning saw more and more people gathering downstairs. A faint commotion could be heard through the closed windows.
'What's going on?'
The question had just popped into his head when he immediately thought of the paralyzing, poisonous raindrops.
Han Ning's brow furrowed slightly. He turned, picked up Yin Yi, who was playing with a basketball, and headed downstairs.
When Han Ning reached the first-floor lobby of Building B, about forty to fifty people had already gathered there.
Not far away, several young students lay on the floor, their eyes shut tight.
The dim candlelight illuminated their panicked faces. A large crowd surrounded the fallen students, frantic and at a complete loss for what to do.
"What happened?"
Han Ning squeezed through the crowd and casually asked a few familiar-looking students next to him.
"We're not sure. It seems like the rain is poisonous."
"They just got back from outside, covered in rainwater, and then they collapsed unconscious."
"Maybe they inhaled too much of the white fog."
Everyone chimed in, one after another, and pieced together what had happened.
Han Ning crouched down, cupped the chin of a student whose eyes were closed and whose face was ashen, and examined him closely.
Just as the others had said, the student's symptoms were identical to those from when they first arrived—the ones who had suffered from lung infections and paralysis after inhaling too much white fog. His face was blue-tinged, and his Body was paralyzed.
"A few of you, go get some dry towels and help wipe the rain off them."
Han Ning said to the onlookers, then gently patted Yin Yi's branches.
"Yin Yi, I'm counting on you. Purify the toxins in these six people's bodies."
Yin Yi inserted its branches under the skin of each of the six people, one after another.
A faint green light flickered.
In less than a few dozen seconds, the six people, who had been unable to speak due to lack of oxygen, gradually returned to normal.
COUGH, COUGH, COUGH.
They gasped for fresh air, alleviating the symptoms of oxygen deprivation.
Once their complexions returned to normal, one of the students pointed at the white, hazy fog outside and said in a frightened tone:
"It's not just the rain that's poisonous... the concentration of the white fog in the air has also increased significantly. We should all stick together. A single Silver Lotus Wood probably can't purify the increasingly dense fog."
"Han Ning, is Han Ning here?"
Just then, Teacher Zhou, wearing a white face mask and a Protective Suit, hurried through the thick white fog and into the lobby of Building B.
He scanned the room, saw Han Ning in the crowd, and quickly waved him over.
"You, come with me to Building A. And everyone else, please don't go back to your dorms. It's best if you all gather together. The concentration of the white fog in the air has increased. Only by grouping the Silver Lotus Woods together can we barely guarantee the oxygen supply in one area."
Teacher Zhou's words confirmed the students' suspicions.
Everyone rushed to the corners of the lobby to close any open windows. Then they placed all the Silver Lotus Woods together and sat around them in a circle, quietly waiting for the heavy rain to stop.
Meanwhile, Han Ning followed Teacher Zhou to the Building A area.
The situation here was even more severe.
On the floor and against the walls on both sides, no fewer than fifty people were either lying down or leaning. Every one of them had a blue-tinged face, their breathing short and rapid, their pupils dilated, like fish out of Water.
A girl in a Protective Suit was cradling a Silver Lotus Wood about thirty centimeters tall, squatting in front of a male student who was showing signs of oxygen deprivation.
At the girl's direction, the Silver Lotus Wood in her arms extended a branch, inserted it into the skin of the boy before her, and transferred a faint light—the exact same action Yin Yi used to perform Purification.
The school's Dr. Chen stood off to one side, directing healthy students to help wipe the water from those poisoned by the fog.
Dean Wu and several other teachers paced anxiously in the hallway, their expressions extremely grim.
"Han Ning, you're here. I heard from Tianhe that your Silver Lotus Wood has the ability to remove toxins. These are all students who were out training earlier and didn't make it back in time when the rain started. Please, help them." When Dean Wu saw Han Ning arrive, a hint of joy appeared on his worried, grim face.
"Leave it to me." Han Ning knew this was no time for idle talk. He and Yin Yi began to detoxify everyone.
Dean Wu watched Yin Yi's busy form and called Teacher Zhou over. "Have the students spare a few Soul Beast corpses. Han Ning and student Liu Susu are working so hard, we can't treat them poorly."
"Yes, I'll see to it right away." Teacher Zhou nodded.
Detoxifying nearly fifty people was no easy task.
BOOP...
Even Yin Yi, whose Power was considerably greater than the other Silver Lotus Woods, was so exhausted after removing the toxins from the last person that it collapsed into Han Ning's arms. Its two clusters of leaves swayed back and forth, looking somewhat limp.
"Han Ning, student Susu, thank you for your hard work. These are the Soul Beast corpses the students have provided for you two. Quick, have your Silver Lotus Woods absorb them to recover some Physical Strength."
Just then, Teacher Zhou dragged a large snakeskin bag over to Han Ning and said with a smile.
"Oh, we couldn't..."
The girl next to him was shy and was about to refuse, but then she heard Han Ning's voice: "Then we thank you all."
Yin Yi was half-dead from exhaustion. Since there was a reward, Han Ning naturally wasn't going to turn it down.
He opened the snakeskin bag and saw a pile of at least a dozen Demon Eye Frog, Iron-toothed Snake, or Monster Rat corpses inside.
"You're student Susu, right? You pick first. I'll take what's left." Han Ning offered the opening of the bag to Liu Susu beside him.
"Oh... okay." Seeing that Han Ning had accepted the Soul Beast corpses, Liu Susu didn't refuse any further. However, she picked through them carefully and only took out three Monster Rat corpses before handing the bag back to Han Ning.
"Is that all you're taking?"
"My Silver Lotus Wood only saved three people. Yours saved most of them. It used up the most Physical Strength, so give them to it." Liu Susu looked at the highly spiritual Yin Yi in Han Ning's arms and smiled sheepishly.
"Alright..."