NOVPUB
Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Mental Illusion
Being able to use spiritual power to interfere and construct an illusory world was not something Han Jiaojiao believed a Mutant Plant could do.
Even if a plant mutated, its essence was still that of a plant; it had no brain, nor the capacity for thought, and it would act on instinct to attack any living beings within range to absorb nutrients.
What’s more, the tree they had just burned into ash should have caused any illusions to disappear as well, if they were indeed illusions.
Han Jiaojiao felt that there must be some other creature controlling this place... This creature could be human, or it could be an animal... What was certain was that it possessed strong spiritual power, far surpassing that of her brother; otherwise, with her brother’s spiritual power, he should have noticed something odd about this place.
This place was too clean.
No Alien Species, no Mutant Beasts, not even a single ordinary bird or animal had been seen.
Han Jiaojiao asked them to continue moving forward.
She remembered that when she was trapped in the illusion, the scene within the illusion was fixed; no matter how long she walked, the scene wouldn’t change.
That meant the illusion’s variations were very limited, and so was its range. In order to bewilder people and keep them within the illusion, it greatly reduced their sense of direction and perception of distance, even dulling their sensitivity to time, leading them to endlessly repeat their path and constantly return to the starting point.
Everyone looked at each other, somewhat skeptical.
Hong Yun, however, thought this method was simple but very effective, and she immediately gave the order to move forward.
They passed the camp and continued forward when the surrounding scenery indeed began to take on an eerie aspect...
The highway that should have been there had vanished, replaced by the forest where they had burnt the Mutant Tree just before. Continuing further, they once again came upon the camp...
"It seems we’re trapped here," Hong Yun’s heart sank. She wasn’t new to leading missions, but this was the first time she had encountered such a bizarre and strange situation.
"Damn it!" Yan Xiao plopped onto the ground, exhausted. After a night of fighting, his Ability had been severely depleted, and now after several rounds, his physical strength was beginning to falter.
"...What’s going on?" Bai Kairui couldn’t help muttering, sitting down like Yan Xiao.
Han Yi asked Han Jiaojiao, "Was it like this when you were trapped last night?"
Han Jiaojiao nodded, "Yeah... I walked for a long time, always repeating the same paths. If it’s like this now, something doesn’t want us to leave."
Hong Yun’s complexion was grim as she said, "It seems that the people who disappeared were trapped just like this."
Han Yi scanned the crowd and, seeing everyone was weary in body and mind, narrowed his deep-set eyes and said, "Let’s all sit down and rest. Before we figure out a way to leave, we should conserve our strength."
Being anxious now was of no use.
More than twenty people sat down together.
Han Jiaojiao also sat next to Han Yi. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered softly, "Brother, is the ring also useless?"
Han Yi didn’t speak for a while. His eyes half-closed, he seemed lost in thought. After a moment, he replied, "Don’t worry, your brother will take you out of here."
Han Jiaojiao was briefly startled, then felt a small sweetness slowly ripple through her heart. Of course, she believed in her brother; she always had.
After counting the numbers, Hong Yun came over and said to Han Yi, "This illusion seems to be aimed at wearing down our strength and will. It seems we need to think of a way to leave quickly."
Han Jiaojiao nodded and said, "We must leave as quickly as possible. Time inside the illusion does not flow at the same pace as the outside world. We’ll soon feel tired, feel hungry. We can’t drag it out too long..."
Han Yi opened his eyes and said to Hong Yun, "This is a psychic barrier. If I unleash my spiritual power at full strength, even if I cannot destroy it, I should at least be able to inflict some damage on it. But then, if any unexpected situations arise, it will be up to you and your people to take care of them."
Han Yi had always held back, unable to deploy his full capabilities for fear of any unforeseen incidents.
But the psychic barrier was too strong now. When Han Yi’s spiritual power probed around, it was met with endless depth, unable to touch the edges. He had no choice but to make a final attempt without reservations.
Indeed, they could not afford to stay here much longer.
Hong Yun understood the urgency of the situation, she nodded, beckoning the remaining people to gather around, forming a protective circle around Han Yi and Han Jiaojiao.
Han Yi and Han Jiaojiao joined hands, their spiritual power surged like a tumultuous wave, expanding in all directions—
The scenery around them shook violently!
It was like a fiercely quivering lake surface, the reflected scenery shattering upon the trembling water.
The same daylight, the same forest, but unlike before, their surroundings were now crowded with countless macaques!
Brown-gray fur, ferocious white fangs. - Uncountable macaques encircled them, some perched on trees, some underneath, some even squatting right at their feet!
They sat like specters, their pairs of eyes intently watching them, emitting a bizarre, ghastly blue glow.
Han Jiaojiao felt a huge shock in her heart and immediately shouted, "Don’t look into their eyes!"
But she was too late!
—With a loud bang! A soldier actually fired a shot at himself!
Hong Yun glared in anger, her hands quickly transforming into silver swords over a meter long and slashing through the horde of monkeys charging towards her!
Whish!
A row of bloody monkey heads was neatly sliced off!
The monkey horde instantly descended into chaos, fleeing to the trees; the surroundings became clearer as they scattered, evidently they could no longer afford to maintain the illusions while escaping!
The people immediately fired their guns, and those without bullets drew their knives to chase the monkeys. In an instant, the scene erupted into chaos, a bloody slaughter!
These monkeys evidently had little self-defense ability, their bodies as fragile as ordinary monkeys except for their superior spiritual power.
Blood stained the ground. A Superpower User with strength ability snapped a tree in half; several macaques leapt down from the branches, and with them, also fell several corpses with raw bones and torn, mutilated clothes, which shocked everyone who saw it!
These monkeys were man-eaters!
Han Yi felt an unbearable loathing within!
If he hadn’t found Han Jiaojiao in time, if she hadn’t escaped the illusions, he couldn’t bear to imagine the consequences!
His spiritual power, like an invisible giant hand, squeezed the fleeing monkeys in mid-air, gradually applying pressure until they could no longer struggle, until their bodies were twisted! Until they suffocated!
Crack! They were cruelly crushed in midair by invisible forces!
Blood burst forth! A complete mess!
All present were shocked by the scene before their eyes!
To them, it appeared as though the monkeys had spontaneously exploded in midair!
While everyone was momentarily stunned, an even larger monkey leaped down from the tree! With a thick mane around its neck and a menacing appearance, it was unmistakably the king of the monkey horde!
The Monkey King, having realized that Han Yi had disrupted the illusion it had created, let out a strange, furious roar and charged towards Han Yi with a ferocious bent!
Everyone tried to stop it, but those where the Monkey King passed seemed to be affected by an invisible disturbance, their movements all momentarily stalled! Even Hong Yun, as if suddenly blinded, planted her silver metal sword directly into the soil an inch short of the mark!
Han Yi, occupied with killing the other monkeys, had no time to be distracted.
Han Jiaojiao saw the Monkey King about to pounce and burst out in a sudden explosion of action! Swiftly drawing the dagger from Han Yi’s waist, she spun beautifully out of Han Yi’s embrace, and at the moment when the Monkey King lunged with its gaping maw, she thrust the dagger deeply into its throat!
