Chapter 51: Zong

“You’re fucking crazy! Instead of attacking the mutated plants, you’re attacking me!”

Wu Feng shouted angrily, but he was covered in blood, and his face twisted into a dazed smile. “You got me trapped here, and now you want to run? Dream on!”

“If I get out, I can bring reinforcements!”

Du sneered, “Reinforcements for your liver and guts? I’ll kill you first!”

As soon as he finished, he nimbly dodged the vines and charged at Wu Feng, his blade flashing coldly, showing no mercy.

Wu Feng’s golden shield barely held for a second before a vine stabbed straight through his heart from behind.

With a muffled grunt, Wu Feng’s blood slowly seeped out along the vine, and he collapsed to the ground.

Du looked on coldly, unmoved.

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his soul. When he looked down, a gigantic flower sprang up and swallowed him whole.

“Third Brother!”

Yi kept dodging the attacking vines, but when he saw Du’s miserable end, he couldn’t help but cry out in fear.

But the next second—

He was flung out by a powerful force.

Jiao had been waiting in the depths of the forest for a long time. It opened its bloody maw, and Yi was swallowed whole in one gulp.

Sang Chu and Lu Jingwen walked out and saw the ground littered with corpses. Strange flowers were feasting on the remains, and Sang Chu shuddered involuntarily.

If his weapon worked in this world, these mutated plants would be nothing more than cannon fodder.

Lu Jingwen said, “These mutated plants are so dangerous. How did Xinshi manage to clear them out so thoroughly? They even managed to use the plants to make new materials?”

Lu Min suddenly thought of Yi and his abilities. “Could it be related to someone with psychic powers?”

They currently knew little about psychic abilities, but if Yi had them, then it was likely a psychic at work.

Sang Chu said, “It’s possible. Since my residence is so well-protected, I’m sure I’ll be safe. Everyone, focus on strengthening your psychic abilities!”

She suggested everyone focus on training their psychic powers, since psychic energy could enhance their abilities, and she had found it effective.

Yi asked, “What about me?”

Sang Chu replied, “Don’t worry, Yi-ge. Except for the underground city, there are no secrets at the base. Everyone, go back and rest for now. I have something to discuss with my new residence.”

Lu Jingwen said, “Take care of yourself. I’ll head back first.”

“Okay.”

After he left, Jiao came up to Sang Chu, looking at her expectantly.

“Take me to see Xixi first!”

Jiao nodded, letting Sang Chu climb onto its back.

When she tried to climb up, she almost slipped off its slippery scales.

“Slow down! You’re too slippery…”

Before Sang Chu could finish complaining, Jiao had already dashed off at lightning speed. Sang Chu had to cling tightly to a vine to keep from being thrown off.

“Slow down! Slow down!!!”

The wind howled past, blowing Sang Chu’s hair in all directions.

When Jiao finally stopped, Sang Chu’s eyes were blurry from the speed, and everything seemed to double.

“What… what is this place?!”

Sang Chu was stunned speechless by the scene before her.

Seeing her frightened expression, Jiao nudged her forward with its head.

Sang Chu stumbled forward, unable to tear her eyes away from the eerie sight before her, swallowing hard.

“You… you’re my new residence?”

“Mm.”

The voice was hoarse, like that of a ninety-year-old.

There was no light underground, except for the faint glow from Sang Chu’s wristband, barely illuminating the scene.

There was a bench, and a massive tree, with countless “people” growing out of it—men, women, elderly, and children.

Sang Chu didn’t even know how to describe them. If she had to pick one word: horrifying.

She’d seen all kinds of mutated creatures, but nothing as bizarre as this.

Sang Chu asked, “What do you want from me?”

As she spoke, a branch extended from the tree like an arm, gently pointing at Jiao. “I want what you have, what he has, that thing to eat!”

The voice shifted through many different tones—women, children, all mixed together. In the dim underground, it was bone-chilling.

Sang Chu clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. “I can give it to you, but you have to tell me—what are you?”

The tree’s many faces stared at Sang Chu, their gaze almost slicing her apart.

“I don’t know. When I woke up, I was already like this. My legs and branches grew deep underground. Only when I struggle to the surface and touch the moonlight can I survive. But if I have that thing from him, I can live even without the moonlight.”

That was why it wanted to cooperate with Sang Chu. All that talk about new weapons was nonsense. That thing could only help it send out a few mutated vines at most.

If Sang Chu knew that the “thing” it wanted was the core from that mutated tree earlier, she’d be shocked.

Sang Chu asked, “You want the jade stone?”

“I don’t know what it’s called. I only know that when the blood moon is transforming, at its strongest, it lets me break through the earth. But its power is fading. Your orange stone is similar. You need my help, and I need your jade.”

The blood moon’s power is fading?

She looked up—the red moon really was shifting.

Since the day the white moon was dyed red, it had hung in the sky without moving. But when the mutated plants appeared, she could clearly sense the blood moon’s position had shifted slightly.

She’d told Mu Xue about it, but Mu Xue hadn’t believed her.

But now, seeing it with her own eyes, she knew her feeling was right.

The blood moon really was changing, but so slowly it was imperceptible to the naked eye.

But the mutated plants could sense it, because they relied on the blood moon’s power to survive.

Sang Chu asked, “If the blood moon’s power fades, what will happen to you?”

The tree shook its head. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll weaken, or maybe I’ll die.”

Its eyes stared at Sang Chu, watching her every reaction. Jiao was watching too, as if waiting for her decision.

Sang Chu said, “I can give it to you, but I want the wooden core you produced earlier.”

“Deal.”

The tree handed over a crystal core glowing with green light. Sang Chu hesitated, then asked, “You’re not afraid of it at all. Why?”

The tree shook its head. “I don’t know. It’s just instinct.”

Sang Chu asked, “Are there many others like you?”

The tree replied, “I don’t know. I’ve never been outside. But this whole mountain is my territory. All the plants growing here are my kind. I have to keep splitting off vines and flowers to absorb the moonlight.”

Sang Chu suspected that the so-called “ticket holders” might be possessed by these trees. These trees could instantly control the plants in the area, invisible to ordinary people."

"Here is a fluent, natural English translation of the provided Chinese text:

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**Chapter 52: PuM Enters the Next World**

“Why are those people so afraid of you?”

“I don’t know. I usually don’t bother with others. I just want to absorb the power of the moonlight. But some people are attracted by the aura I carry. I’m not afraid of the tricks you use, but they can’t resist my power.”

It’s like a vine that can only be encountered by those with abilities; there’s no way to force it.

It seems this world is even more dangerous than people imagined. It doesn’t feel like the apocalypse anymore—more like a chaotic world filled with monsters and demons.

Thinking of this, Sang Chu couldn’t help but glance at Jiao. When Jiao noticed Sang Chu’s gaze, he lifted his head and puffed out his chest, looking quite proud!

Who knows what he’s so proud of.

Sang Chu said, “Alright, I understand. I can give you ‘moonstone jade’, but I need you to cover the entire mountain with your power!”

Jiao replied, “My current power can only cover the outside. I can’t cover the area where you plan to build the base.”

“That’s fine, even just the outside is good. We need to defend both above and below. Only this way can you keep outsiders from entering the base.”

Jiao suddenly said, “To show my sincerity in this cooperation, let me tell you something. I’m not afraid of most of your tricks, but I am afraid of those with mental abilities who can control others.”

Sang Chu asked, “What?”

Jiao explained, “I’m afraid of people with strong mental powers. That’s why I didn’t attack you before. Now that your mental power is stronger, I don’t dare to mess with you. That’s also why I want to make a deal with you.”

It’s afraid of mental abilities?

So, the high-level mental ability user that Rabbit mentioned might not be one of its kind.

This was what Sang Chu feared most.

If that’s the case, it means there are even more dangerous ability users in the apocalypse, and she doesn’t even know about them!

“I can give you the item, but only if you keep your promise. I’m the only one who has it right now. If anything happens to me or my family, you won’t get it either!”

Jiao said, “Don’t worry. As long as you keep your word, I’ll do my part!”

“Good.”

With the journey to the next world imminent, Sang Chu felt as if the existence of high-level mental ability users was a mountain pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe.

She casually tossed a small piece of moonstone jade, then collected all the wooden cores Jiao gave her. “I can give you a small piece each month. If you want more, you’ll have to trade wooden cores with me.”

“Deal.”

A single piece of moonstone jade was worth more to it than absorbing moonlight for a long time. It was satisfied!

...

With Jiao leading the way, they headed toward the underground city where Jiao resided, crossing mountain after mountain, until they were finally stopped by a massive stone wall.

“I can’t go past this place,” Jiao said in a low voice.

“Is there no one who can get through here?” Sang Chu asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s look around.”

“Alright.”

Sang Chu tossed him another piece of moonstone jade. Jiao swallowed it in one gulp, flicked his tail, and continued exploring.

They circled the area.

This huge stone wall seemed to divide the underground into separate worlds.

Jiao said that his power couldn’t cross this stone wall, and her base would be best built behind it.

“Let’s find a way out,” Sang Chu said.

Jiao nodded and turned back to look for an exit.

Back on the surface, while Jiao was moving, Sang Chu used her light ability to survey the terrain.

There were many mutated plants outside.

Inside, the fields had all been cleared, probably to prevent the mutated plants from escaping.

After entering the valley, there was no one in sight.

“Little sister!”

“Sang Sang!”

Sang Jingwen and Lu Minli were waiting at the entrance, looking up at her. After Sang Chu landed, she saw the robots had already finished building the dome.

Walking down into the valley, the original hollow had now been built up with an A-shaped structure.

Sang Jingwen said, “According to your plan, this A-shaped building is the breeding area. I’ll go down and take a look.”

“Okay.”

Following Sang Jingwen into the breeding area, Lu Minli said, “Jingwen just had the robots build a movable thunder defense shield. The whole valley is covered. Check with your light ability to see if there are any gaps so I can fix them.”

Although Sang Jingwen could use her own light ability to give orders to the robots, the final check was always left to Sang Chu.

Sang Chu nodded and checked the buildings and shield with her light ability. Lu Minli, Sang Jingwen, Lin Muxue, and Yi Ping had all checked in.

“I think this shield is pretty solid. Is it finished?” Sang Chu asked.

Sang Jingwen’s shield could cover the whole valley. Not a drop of rain or even a mosquito could get in.

“It’s done. I saw in the manual that this material can resist all kinds of attacks and is soundproof, so I built it. Just in case there’s acid rain, we’ll be safer.”

Acid rain—she hadn’t seen that in a long time and had almost forgotten about it.

“Brother, your idea is great. By the way, did you find the wood-type ability user?”

Lu Minli said, “We found one, but we still need to negotiate. The breeding area is just a cover, but it’s better to be careful.”

“Alright, I’ll leave things here to you. I’m taking Little Rabbit to buy tickets for interdimensional travel. The time flow in each world is different, so I can’t estimate how long I’ll be gone. Take care of yourself while I’m away.”

Sang Jingwen looked at Sang Chu with concern. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

“Brother, there might be even more dangerous ability users out there. While things are calm in New City, I want to check out other worlds. If I can find advanced weapons or something, I can use them to build up my base.”

Lu Minli said, “I agree with Sang Chu. Right now, Jiao is dead, and people know how strong Sang Chu is. My new home is also well hidden, so I’m safe for now. This is the best time to travel to other worlds. Just be careful.”

“I know. I’ll go find Little Rabbit, heal Auntie one more time, and then head out.”

Yi Ping was silent for a long time before saying, “Maybe... let her stay asleep.”

He was afraid that if she woke up, she’d be like his dad—gone in an instant.

He didn’t want to lose his mom after losing his dad.

He felt that as long as she didn’t wake up, nothing bad would happen.

Sang Jingwen gently patted his shoulder. “Actually, you don’t need to worry too much. If Little Sister isn’t here and Auntie’s power erupts again, I won’t be able to control it. But I can wake her up first. Otherwise, if she keeps sleeping, I can’t explain it to others.”

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