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Chapter 108: Chapter 108 Can’t Get Out
Han Yi held her tight, his entire body tensed to the extreme.
A murderous and ruthless coldness shone in his black eyes as he gave the chilling command, "Yan Xiao, burn it for me!"
At this moment, Yan Xiao was drenched in sweat. He called over several Fire Type Superpower Users, and together they unleashed their power. Flames enveloped the towering tree like a giant dragon!
Han Yi, holding Han Jiaojiao, timely retreated backward. Hong Yun retracted her metallic swords and also moved out of the vine’s attack radius. All around them, people were crazily firing sniper rifles, and Han Jiaojiao’s ears rang with the roar, feeling as if the whole world was trembling.
Gunsmoke billowed as the massive vines struggled ceaselessly in the fierce blaze! It was simply too large, its countless branches piercing the soil in an attempt to avoid the scorching flames and the onslaught of bullets—
Han Yi wove a protective barrier with his spiritual power, shielding himself and Han Jiaojiao within it, his face grim as he stared at the smoke-filled area ahead.
Countless branches tumbled beneath the surface, their flames and ammunition blocked by the thick dirt upheaved by the vines, their power suddenly diminished. — Both sides seemed engaged in an unending tug-of-war, attack and defense with no clear winner emerging!
After all, it was immobile. Even though its branches and vines could extend to extremely far places, its roots remained stationary, deeply entrenched in the ground.
As time passed, there were fewer and fewer branches and vines, and the tree’s main trunk was gradually burned into a short, scorched black stump.
The gunsmoke began to subside, and several Fire Type Superpower Users were successively depleted of their strength, all pale-faced and soaked in sweat, among them Yan Xiao was most severe, as he was the main force and had expended the most energy. At the moment, he wanted water, and even opening a bottle cap, such a simple act, was beyond him.
Everyone looked exhausted. Han Jiaojiao stood by Han Yi’s side, scanning the surroundings, and noticed the number of people had decreased significantly.
A soldier approached and reported to Hong Yun, "Vice-captain, we don’t have much ammunition left!"
Hong Yun’s brow furrowed slightly as she ordered, "Count the ammunition and redistribute it."
"Yes!"
Hong Yun exhaled, wiping the sweat from her forehead, and walked over. She sized up Han Jiaojiao from head to toe, relieved to see that Han Jiaojiao was unharmed, but then turned to Han Yi saying, "The fire died out underground. How do we deal with the part beneath the surface?"
Han Yi’s expression was dark as he held Han Jiaojiao’s waist tightly, looking at the charred tree stump not far away, he said coldly, "Dig. Find some people to dig it out."
No one could guarantee whether the Mutant Tree’s root system had truly died. Would it sprout again? Would it grow back?
Hong Yun also believed that removing the roots was the best choice.
People were quickly assigned to the task, and several soldiers began to dig around the charred stump with military shovels.
Han Jiaojiao looked for familiar faces in the crowd. She saw Yan Xiao, Bai Kairui, Xiao Jian, and the dark-skinned Uncle Zhu all safe and sound, which put her at ease.
She then examined their surroundings which resembled the forest from her illusion, yet it seemed somewhat different. Leaning into Han Yi’s embrace, she asked, "Brother, where are we now?"
"Don’t worry, we’re only a few hundred meters from the camp. We’ll be able to go back soon," Han Yi comforted her in a low voice.
In reality, she was no longer afraid. With her brother by her side, she truly feared nothing.
It was just very strange for her. When had they inadvertently traveled so far from the camp?... And when had it become daylight? She remembered being trapped in the illusion for just over an hour...
All of this was beyond comprehension.
However, now that the tree had been burned to death, things should be fine.
The tree’s roots lay buried far deep, and Strength Type and Earth Type Superpower Users worked together to dig out the root system. As expected, many still-squirming offshoots were revealed and they were eventually consumed by a roaring fire until nothing was left.
Seeing the massive root system turned to ashes before them, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Hong Yun rechecked the number of people, preparing to return to the campsite.
They had been out all night, and everyone was in a sorry state. Last night, it wasn’t just Han Jiaojiao who went missing; from the research team to patrolling soldiers, there were quite a few disappearances. Mental Search didn’t turn up a single clue; there were neither Alien Species nor even a trace of Mutant Beasts nearby.
Han Yi sensed there was something strange about this forest, so Hong Yun left a portion of the people to protect the campsite, while the others followed her and Han Yi to search through the night.
They wandered around in the forest for a long time before finding the Mutant Tree, not knowing what kind of illusions it used. It was such a huge colossus, yet it could make people see it without actually seeing it.
The tree had killed quite a few of their people, and bullets seemed to have little effect on it. Luckily, this kind of Mutant Plant was particularly afraid of fire, but as a result, Fire Type Superpower Users’ exhaustion became especially severe.
Hong Yun possessed a Transformation System Metal Ability; her limbs could transform into various metal shapes like swords and halberds, sharp and hard. She chopped off many branches of the tree, but other than that, other abilities inflicted minimal damage, and they had to rely on bullets for attack, which eventually led to an almost complete depletion of ammunition.
And in the end, they only found Han Jiaojiao.
The others who went missing still left no trace.
—After dealing with the roots of the Mutant Tree, Han Yi and Hong Yun led their troops back to the campsite, only to find it completely deserted.
Everyone was shocked!
Where was the research team? What about the remaining soldiers?
The campfire had already died out; the entire campsite was eerily silent, with only the piercing sunlight enveloping everything before them.
Hong Yun waved her hand and said, "Look around."
Jiaojiao was feeling somewhat bewildered. Hearing Hong Yun’s voice, she suddenly shuddered and hurriedly said, "Sister Hong! Wait a moment!"
Han Yi frowned slightly, looking at Han Jiaojiao with a worried expression.
The few soldiers also paused in their steps, looking somewhat puzzled.
Han Jiaojiao calmed her mind and looked at Han Yi, "Brother, how long... have you been searching here?"
Although puzzled, Han Yi still looked down at his wristwatch and said, "It’s 6:30 in the morning now, about five hours or so."
Han Jiaojiao nervously clutched the corner of Han Yi’s shirt and hesitated before saying, "...But I felt like only an hour had passed."
She looked at Hong Yun and explained, "I realized it was already daylight when I saw you all. Just now, I kept going in circles, as if I couldn’t find my way out, so... I think what we see might not necessarily be real."
"But that tree is already dead. It shouldn’t be producing illusions anymore," someone in the crowd said uncertainly.
Han Yi’s eyes swept over them coldly and said, "If there are no illusions, then where did everyone in the campsite go? It’s only a few hundred meters away. So many people shouldn’t just vanish into thin air, especially with the tents and vehicles still here."
As Han Yi finished speaking, everyone exchanged glances with each other.
Hong Yun’s expression became grave as she slowly said, "That’s right, the vehicles are still here. They couldn’t have gone far, don’t forget that among them are patients."
Hearing this, Yan Xiao became anxious and exclaimed, "Could it be that the Mutant Tree we just burned was fake? Or could there be... another Mutant Tree?"
Han Jiaojiao thought for a moment and cautiously said, "If we are in an illusion, then the campsite we see now is probably not the real campsite. It’s best for everyone not to split up to avoid any danger."
"No way, if this is an illusion, it’s too realistic!" Yan Xiao found this hard to believe, getting more and more confused as he said, "Moreover, it’s not just one person; to simultaneously deceive so many people would be too formidable."
Han Jiaojiao looked at everyone, holding Han Yi’s hand on one side and said, "I have a way to verify whether this is an illusion or not."
