"It's the captain, it's the captain!"
Yang Ran spotted the black silhouette that had appeared to save Bai Xuewu and, after a brief pause, shouted out loud.
But Guan Tong seemed to have no intention of exchanging pleasantries. He appeared in an instant, then vanished the next, disappearing to an unknown location.
The support personnel who had been teleported in quickly rescued Bai Xuewu and retreated together to a safe position.
Zhang Minglu's questioning voice came through the communicator: "The captain? Yang Ran, which captain are you talking about?"
"It's..."
"It's Guan Tong," Bai Xuewu said. "He appeared just now and used his shadows to cut down a lot of plants and save me."
"Guan Tong! He's here?!"
"We didn't actually see him," one of the elite Ascendant support members reported. "We only found some leftover shadows."
Bai Xuewu looked deep into the valley and suddenly said, "I think he might have gone to check on the source of the mutation."
She was right.
When Guan Tong arrived at the valley, he saw Bai Xuewu piloting her mech and firing that plasma cannon at a distant direction.
Knowing her as he did, if she was willing to risk her life to fire that shot, she definitely had a target in mind.
So after casually saving her, he headed toward where that plasma cannon had been fired.
He hadn't gone far when he realized that this valley was actually connected to the one where he had originally placed his shelter. His end was the east side, and this was the west side.
As he approached the midpoint of the connecting area, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
A bizarre tree stood before him.
Guan Tong didn't know what species it had been before the mutation. Maybe it had been a giant banyan tree? Or perhaps a large camphor tree? But after the mutation, it no longer looked like a tree at all.
It looked more like a central organ.
That was right—if the plants covering the canyon bottom were seen as a green neural network, then this bizarre tree was undeniably the central core.
Its trunk was at least several dozen meters wide, and the bark didn't look like bark at all. It resembled a strange substance somewhere between wood and muscle, covered in vertical fissures.
Its crown was even more exaggerated, almost blotting out half the sky above the valley.
As Guan Tong had traveled here, he had initially thought that different trees' crowns had intertwined to form a canopy covering the sky. He had been completely wrong.
That entire vast stretch of sky was covered by the crown of this single tree.
Tens of thousands of vines hung down from the crown, varying in thickness. Some swayed like willow branches in the wind, while others plunged straight down like green stone pillars, reaching the ground.
But regardless of their thickness, all these vines were slightly curled, as if ready to snap out at any moment or slither across the ground to find nutrients for the bizarre tree.
"Back when Coal Ball got scared and ran straight into the shelter after the rules were released, could it have sensed that this level of mutated plant had appeared in the valley that same day..."
As Guan Tong thought this, his gaze fell on the center of the bizarre tree's trunk. There was a large hole there, its edges still bearing burn marks—likely left by Bai Xuewu's plasma cannon.
That cannon shot, while powerful, had only wounded the mutant giant tree, not destroyed it.
Now, the fissures beneath its bark were secreting a fluorescent green mucus that flowed toward the hole made by the plasma cannon, as if trying to repair the damage.
Guan Tong didn't keep observing. In just a few glances, he knew he had to get rid of this bizarre tree. If it kept growing, not only would the entire valley become its territory, but even nearby Pinglu City would fall into its clutches.
Even if the authorities had the strength to eliminate it, there could still be many casualties. It would be better for him to take care of it himself.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Guan Tong made his decision.
"Shadow Domain."
Countless shadows spread out from him in all directions, enveloping the bizarre tree's massive trunk entirely.
He didn't try to make the Shadow Domain cover the crown. The crown was simply too large—too large for the domain to contain.
But as long as he destroyed the trunk, the massive crown would become water without a source. Without the trunk to provide nutrients, it would only wither and die quickly.
The moment the Shadow Domain expanded, the bizarre tree began to shake wildly.
Those vines of all sizes, like its countless tentacles, lashed out frantically at everything around!
Guan Tong stood on his Shadow Pillar, knowing this would happen.
Even though he hadn't directly attacked the bizarre tree itself, once the Shadow Domain expanded and enveloped it, it would cut off one of its energy sources: sunlight.
Under these rules, mutated plants could obtain energy from other animals, but that didn't change the fact that sunlight remained their most important energy source.
It was like having your nose pinched. Even if you could still breathe through your mouth, it would be incredibly uncomfortable. Even if you couldn't see who was pinching your nose, you'd still swing your fists wildly.
Now, this monster was doing exactly that—swinging wildly. But Guan Tong, wrapped in his Shadow Battle Suit, was almost completely integrated with the Shadow Domain. The tree couldn't find its key target and could only attack blindly.
Guan Tong watched silently. When the Shadow Domain had expanded enough, he activated his Title Ability.
Nano Decomposition.
The moment he added the decomposition property of Mind Power, the Shadow Domain became a decomposition machine.
Everything within its range was rapidly broken down, including the bizarre tree itself.
The strange outer skin's toughness might have resisted blunt weapons or flames, but against the Nano Decomposition ability, it had no defense. One touch, and it crumbled.
After a moment, everything within the dark space except Guan Tong himself had been completely decomposed, leaving nothing behind.
He dismissed the Shadow Domain and looked at the empty space before him, once again marveling at the terrifying power of combining these two abilities.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Just then, thousands of sharp spikes suddenly shot up from the ground!
Guan Tong was surprised, but he reacted quickly, dodging them while manipulating his shadows to slice them all apart.
It hadn't been completely decomposed? There was still more underground?
Guan Tong had overlooked something. A tree existed not only above ground but also below—its root system.
And he remembered seeing in a documentary that some trees' root systems could be proportional to their crowns. Some special trees even had a 1:1 ratio: the crown's size equaled the root system's size.
Thinking of how the crown covered half the valley's sky, Guan Tong wondered—if this bizarre tree's underground root system was just as massive, then wouldn't that mean...
Before he could finish the thought, more spikes shot out from the ground, sealing off all his escape routes.
Since he couldn't dodge, he wouldn't try. Guan Tong manipulated his shadows to switch between Substantial and Ins substantial.
The shadows on the surface remained physical, turning into massive Shadow Blades that continuously slashed at the emerging spikes. Meanwhile, the insubstantial shadows burrowed underground, spreading out rapidly.
Once the insubstantial shadows had spread a certain distance, Guan Tong switched them back to substantial. Instantly, a series of cracking and shattering sounds erupted from underground—the sound of the bizarre tree's root system being burst apart by the shadows, segment by segment.
Guan Tong's expression was cold. His shadows could destroy even the "Bright Moon" from within, so a mutated tree's roots were nothing.
But to completely eradicate the roots, one inner explosion wasn't enough. He continued to manipulate his shadows to go deeper, all the way to the deepest point where the bizarre tree was rooted. The shadows burrowed into the roots and detonated again.
This time, he had hit the snake right at its seven inches. Countless plants that had been outside the Shadow Domain's range immediately wilted—those were all connected to the underground root system of the bizarre tree.
Guan Tong withdrew his shadows. Destroying such a bizarre tree didn't bring him much joy.
It wasn't that he was begrudging the Mind Power he had expended. Rather, he was thinking: if a valley in Pinglu could spawn such a bizarre tree, what about places with denser plant life?
Like the tropical rainforest outside Antu, or the primeval forests in other regions... Those places would only mutate into even more terrifying plants, wouldn't they?
"For this round of Doomsday Rules, rather than confronting it, perhaps the better strategy is to hide."
Guan Tong thought to himself that for most individuals and groups, taking refuge in places like the desert was the correct decision.
But from the perspective of national governments, with tens of millions or even more people to be relocated to desert regions in such a short time, there simply wasn't enough transport capacity or supplies.
Thus, confrontation became the only choice.
Only the Awakened Ones would survive until the end.
The Dialoguer's words echoed once again in Guan Tong's heart.
He didn't want to admit that thing was right, but the world was indeed moving in that direction. That was the most chilling reality of all.
...
On August 25th, several videos exploded across all major social media platforms worldwide.
The content documented a catastrophic disaster that had occurred in Hanlis.
Hanlis was one of the Human Consortium's Six Small Nations, ranking second-to-last in overall strength—only slightly stronger than the Sakura Prayer Country.
And although the Sakura Prayer Country was still listed among the Six Small Nations, its government had lost control domestically, so it couldn't really be considered a normal country. During Human Consortium meetings, the Sakura Prayer representatives barely ever spoke; they were just there to make up the numbers.
Therefore, the "Super City" project hadn't really included the people of Sakura Prayer. It was mainly focused on the five nations of Lury, Manchidon, Namelica, Heilanja, and Hanlis.
Although Hanlis was weak, it was still a normal country whose government departments could function. The flood of disaster videos immediately drew international attention.
In those videos, a large number of Hanlis citizens were showing similar symptoms: first, violent coughing up of blood, then death followed by "blooming."
That was right—many dead Hanlis citizens had flowers growing out of their nostrils and mouths!
According to official announcements from Hanlis, the number of people showing symptoms plus those already dead had reached one-tenth of the country's population.
Such a massive death toll, combined with such a horrific way to die, spread through the videos and immediately plunged people in other countries into extreme panic.
The Human Consortium and Hanlis's own authorities quickly investigated the cause and released a statement with accompanying images:
"...We have discovered a mutant flower in the primeval forest region of western Hanlis. After blooming, this flower releases spores measuring several microns in diameter, which are carried by seasonal winds into Hanlis's territory. Because the spores are extremely fine, once inhaled, they pass directly through the nasal cavity and throat into the respiratory tract. In the following hours, the spores absorb water and swell in the alveoli, extending pseudopods into the lung walls to compete with the host for moisture. After an incubation period of approximately five to six days, hosts who have inhaled the spores begin to cough up blood. Under the accelerated growth granted by the Doomsday Rules, the seedlings quickly germinate and seek a way out of the human body. By that point, the host is beyond recovery and rapidly deteriorates until death. This mutant flower is shown in the image below. Anyone who discovers it must immediately report it to the official authorities in their area. Additionally, if anyone experiences chest tightness or coughing, they must seek professional medical examination immediately. If caught early, there is still hope for medical intervention."
After the statement was released, people all over the world were gripped by fear and dread.
Most of those who had joked earlier about "eating canned plant food and having plants grow inside you" had been just kidding around. But now, half of that joke had become reality—plants really could grow inside the human body!
Suddenly, everyone felt at risk. Those living in shelters didn't need to worry, but those living in private homes all locked their doors and windows tight. If they coughed, they immediately contacted the relevant authorities to request a medical examination.
But Hanlis itself was thrown into chaos by this disaster, teetering on the brink of collapse. The other nations of the Human Consortium had to send rescue teams to help manage the situation.
This made many people worry: could the international order of the Human Consortium, consisting of the "Three Major Nations plus Six Small Nations" that had been stable for quite some time, be shaken by Hanlis's collapse? That would be terrible news for all of humanity.