Chapter 95 ForgetSorrow Heartbreak Herb Naming Rights

Chapter 95: Naming Rights for the ForgetSorrow Heartbreak Herb

The ride was rough as Di Shensi scanned the horizon with binoculars.

Yu Xing, who had initially felt nauseous, had mostly recovered—perhaps she had regained her Earth-vehicle riding experience and gradually adapted to the bumpy ride.

As her body adjusted, her curiosity about the outside world grew.

Next to her, Zhao Lan and Da Ya were pale but alert, their eyes wide open. Only Miao Yuanjin leaned against the car door with her eyes tightly shut, clearly miserable.

Di Shensi didn't say anything else—perhaps he hadn’t noticed. Somewhat relieved, Yu Xing turned her gaze out the window.

The sky was blue, streaked with white clouds, and hardly any birds flew over the convoy. To prevent attacks from bird-borne contaminants, each vehicle was equipped with deterrent frequencies on its roof. Birds were highly sensitive to these waves and would avoid the convoy upon detecting them.

Yu Xing glanced back. Behind them, the convoy stretched far, and any sign of City 24 had long disappeared. They had been traveling for quite some time.

Suddenly, Di Shensi pressed a button on his communicator and spoke into his wrist, "Stop. All vehicles hold position."

Following his order, Shen Tanrong was the first to stop the car, and the rest of the convoy did the same.

Yu Xing rubbed her eyes and looked out the window, asking, "Trouble? Is there danger?"

Di Shensi didn’t answer. He opened the door and got out, crouching down to examine the ground.

Zhao Lan, also peering outside, rasped, "The vegetation ahead looks different."

At Zhao Lan's words, Yu Xing focused on the surrounding plants. Not that she'd missed it before—it was just that they had encountered very few tall plants along the way. The ground had been patchy grass and exposed soil, strewn with rocks.

Now, thanks to Zhao Lan’s remark, Yu Xing noticed that the plants ahead were indeed different.

Though there were still no tall plants, the grass was denser, covering the ground in a lush green carpet dotted with tiny blue flowers.

The view was actually pretty. If this were Earth, people would surely come here for camping during holidays.

Yu Xing had to give him credit. After such a long and monotonous journey, he still noticed the subtle change in the vegetation ahead.

After thinking it over, she also got out of the car. Di Shensi had been crouching for a while—had he discovered something?

Outside, the air felt thick with oxygen, perking her up immediately the moment she stepped out. She walked over to Di Shensi and crouched beside him to examine the plants.

The leaves were a bright green, dotted with tiny blue flowers no bigger than rice grains.

"Something wrong?" Yu Xing asked.

Di Shensi pulled a knife about ten centimeters long from his boot. He lightly prodded the grass and flowers with the blade. After a pause, seeing no reaction from the plants, he turned the blade and sliced off a flower and two blades of grass.

Still, there was no reaction. Di Shensi stood up and gave the blade a shake.

Was he testing whether the plants were dangerous? Yu Xing thought to herself—if they had to stop and examine every new plant they encountered, how would they ever make progress?

Noticing Yu Xing’s blank look, Di Shensi suddenly flipped something her way.

Yu Xing snatched it on reflex—it was a camera.

"Take photos," Di Shensi said, arms akimbo as he surveyed the area ahead. "Then record the plant’s name, characteristics, and dimensions. Add that it showed no reaction to touch or breakage—initial rating: safe."

Yu Xing, holding the camera: "..."

If she hadn’t gotten out of the car, who would have been stuck with this task?

She twitched as she took some shots of the grass and flowers. Casually, she asked, "What’s the name of this plant?"

"Beats me," Di Shensi replied matter-of-factly, still scanning the horizon.

Yu Xing: "..."

"Didn’t you just tell me to record the plant’s name?" Yu Xing felt he was being completely ridiculous. "I don’t know it either—why can’t you just tell me?!"

She was getting mad. If not for the dangers lurking beyond the walls, she might've ripped off her gloves and given Di Shensi a "loving" slap.

Perhaps sensing her anger, Di Shensi finally said slowly, "I don’t know either."

Yu Xing: "?"

"It’s a newly discovered plant," Di Shensi said, spinning the knife in his right hand. "According to Federation regulations, whoever discovers a new species gets to name it."

"Ah?" Yu Xing was first surprised, then psyched. Naming a new species—on Earth, that wasn’t something just anyone could do.

She got excited, but she hesitated, not wanting to overstep. Playing humble, she said, "Should I name it? But I wasn’t the first to discover it—don’t you want to?"

Di Shensi, ignoring her fake modesty, kept his gaze fixed ahead and said deadpan, "I’ve named at least a hundred species, if not dozens. I’m sick of it."

His words made things clear. Yu Xing pressed the recording function on her communicator and began documenting the plant.

Di Shensi carefully walked a circle around the grassy patch. It seemed safe for now, so he decided the convoy could pass through. He turned to head back and notify the others to resume the journey.

As he turned, he caught Yu Xing busily taking notes. He glanced sideways to check her notes.

And then he saw what she had written:

"Name: ForgetSorrow Heartbreak Herb.

Characteristics: Blue flowers, grain-sized..."

Di Shensi: "..."

He couldn’t help but stare at Yu Xing for a long moment. When she finally looked up and noticed his unblinking gaze, she remained completely unbothered. "Can we go back now?" she asked calmly.

Di Shensi: "...Yes."

Even after getting back into the car, Di Shensi’s mind was still filled with the name "ForgetSorrow Heartbreak Herb." It had a weird, catchy ring to it.

Yu Xing, meanwhile, had found a new joy in working beyond the walls—naming newly discovered species was seriously awesome.

Bubbling over with excitement, she shared with her friends, "Did you know? If we discover a new species, we get to name it! I just named a type of grass!"

Listening to Yu Xing’s enthusiastic voice from the backseat, Di Shensi felt equal parts annoyed and dismissive. Was this really worth getting so excited about? Who would even care?

The next second, he saw in the rearview mirror that the three previously listless girls had suddenly perked up. Even Miao Yuanjin, who had been too miserable to keep her eyes open, sat up straight and leaned in. "Really? What kind of grass? What name did you give it? Show me!"

Yu Xing proudly pulled up the record for them to see.

The moment they read the name, they gasped. "ForgetSorrow Heartbreak Herb? Wow, that’s such a cool name!"

"Xingxing! Xingxing!" Da Ya grabbed Yu Xing’s hands. "Next time we find a new species, let me name it, okay? Please! I really want to name one!"

"Sure, sure," Yu Xing agreed readily. After all, Di Shensi had already handed the recording task to her—and since he claimed to be "sick of it," that meant she could let anyone name the discoveries.

The convoy started moving again and drove into the area blanketed with small blue flowers.

The ForgetSorrow Heartbreak Herb was delicate. As the vehicles rolled over them, the tires immediately crushed countless plants—some crushed into the mud, others clinging to the wheels.

After excitedly debating names for any new species they might encounter, Yu Xing and her three companions were jolted by a sudden violent shake of the vehicle, as if they had run over a rock.

Yu Xing nearly slammed her head into the front seat. She steadied herself and glanced ahead, noticing the car wasn’t moving in a straight line.

She asked, "Commander Di, where are we heading?"

Shen Tanrong, who was driving, sounded genuinely surprised. "You didn’t know? We’re going to City Twenty-Five."

No sooner had he spoken than he felt an icy glare from the passenger seat. Shen Tanrong immediately shut his mouth and focused on driving.

City Twenty-Five?!

Yu Xing’s eyes lit up. She had been looking for a chance to go there, and now their destination turned out to be City Twenty-Five.

For Zhao Lan and Da Ya, this came as a shock. Zhao Lan leaned forward and asked, "Why City Twenty-Five? Didn't it fall?"

Di Shensi frowned and was about to speak when the vehicle shook violently again—even more intensely than before. He nearly bit his tongue and shot Shen Tanrong an irritated look before scanning the terrain. A sea of ForgetSorrow Heartbreak Herb stretched as far as the eye could see.

His face clouded. With the ground completely covered by the plants, any rocks beneath were completely hidden.

Just as he was about to tell Shen Tanrong to slow down, the car lurched violently once more—this time tilting dangerously, almost flipping over.

The four in the backseat, not wearing seatbelts, were thrown to one side, nearly becoming a human pile.

It appeared they'd hit a large rock, but Di Shensi clearly remembered seeing no visible obstructions ahead. How could they have struck something so big?

His brow furrowed deeply as he automatically reached for his dagger again. But the moment the blade left its sheath, his expression changed drastically. He hit the comms and barked, "Stop the vehicle! Everyone out—now!"

Without waiting for the vehicle to halt, he kicked the door open and leaped out. The other five, startled, scrambled to follow.

Once outside, they finally understood the cause of the violent shaking.

Unnoticed by any of them, their vehicle’s wheels had become completely overgrown with ForgetSorrow Heartbreak Herb—some even blooming with tiny blue flowers.

Di Shensi dropped his dagger. As it clattered to the ground, Yu Xing clearly saw a pale green shoot sprouting from the blade, topped with a tiny green bud yet to bloom.

The others who had exited the vehicle were just as shocked.

Trained in silence protocols beyond the walls, they stood frozen, unsure how to react. Someone rushed toward Di Shensi.

Di Shensi spun around and snapped, "Freeze!"

The group instantly stilled, like statues, holding their positions rigidly.

Di Shensi glanced down at his feet, then at Miao Yuanjin. As the ForgetSorrow Heartbreak Herb continued spreading across the vehicle, he cautiously lifted his foot—only to hear a scream behind him.

"AHHH!!!"

A heavyset man, easily two hundred pounds, stood trembling, his face sweat-drenched and contorted in pain.

"My foot…" His voice quivered with pain. "It hurts!"

Everyone turned to look. His foot was now covered in thick patches of ForgetSorrow Heartbreak Herb.

Unable to endure the pain, the man staggered backward. Di Shensi yelled, "Don’t fall!"

But it was beyond his control. The man collapsed with a thud.

Someone nearby moved to help, but Di Shensi roared again, "Nobody move!"

He then stepped forward cautiously, his movements light, until he reached the writhing man. Only then did he relax slightly. "This plant spreads through its sap. Wherever the sap touches, the herb grows. As long as you step lightly and don’t crush the plants to release their juices, you’ll be fine."

Having deduced the plant’s mechanism, Di Shensi began explaining.

By now, the fallen man’s entire body was sprouting ForgetSorrow Heartbreak Herb. Di Shensi motioned to Miao Yuanjin. "Come here. Step lightly."