Chapter 671: A mutated plant
The aircraft soared high into the sky, gliding smoothly.
Ethan quickly realized just how fast it wasâeasily twice the speed of the flyers developed by Genesis Biotech. It streaked through the air like a flash of light, racing toward the designated coordinates.
As it flew over the open plains, he noticed the vegetation below growing denser and more vibrant the farther they went. The soil clearly had more nutrients here.
According to Hank, the center of this continent was rich in resources.
Soon, the landscape began to shift. Zombies started appearing in the wildâmasses of them, swarming in tight clusters, aimlessly wandering.
From above, they looked like countless tiny black dots, like ants crawling across the earth. It was impossible to tell where they were headed.
About ten minutes later, a patch of green appeared on the horizon. A forestâthick, lush, and dark. The trees were so densely packed and deep green they almost looked black.
âSo this is where the distress signal came from?â Ethan narrowed his eyes.
According to the survivors, this place used to be a zombie nest. Then, overnight, it transformed into a forest. No one could explain how. It was bizarre, to say the least.
The aircraft began to descend, heading straight for the forest canopy.
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Deep within the dense forest, a small group of humans huddled together.
The trees around them were draped with zombie corpsesâdozens, maybe hundredsâhanging like grotesque ornaments. Rotting faces stared blankly in every direction.
The humans were on their knees, trembling, their faces pale with fear. Their voices cracked with desperation.
âI brought you more humans! Please, Iâm begging youâdonât kill me!â
âLord Tree, we truly submit to you. Please, spare me!â
âAs long as weâre alive, we can keep bringing you fresh blood and fleshâŠâ
They pressed their palms together, praying with frantic devotion.
But the object of their worship wasnât a god. It was a tree.
A massive, gnarled treeâso thick it would take three people to wrap their arms around it. Its roots twisted and coiled like veins, snaking across the ground.
Dozens of zombie corpses hung from its branches, their blackened blood dripping down onto the roots, where it was absorbed into the treeâs bark like water into soil.
The whole scene was nightmarish.
There were four of themâthree men and one woman. None dared to lift their heads. They couldnât even look at the thing.
They were mercenaries from the human settlement on the other side of the continentâTerran Reach. Hired to hunt zombies, theyâd tracked a small nest and were about to take down the Zombie King when this⊠thing appeared.
The tree had wiped out the entire nest in an instant. By the next morning, a forest had grown in its place, trapping them inside.
And the treeâsomehowâwas sentient. It had spoken to them, demanded they bring it fresh meat. If they failed, it would hang them from its branches like the others.
Faced with that kind of threat, they had no choice but to obey.
Theyâd come to hunt zombies. Now they were prisoners. Just goes to showâyou never really know who the prey is until itâs too late.
Suddenly, a low rumble echoed through the forest, growing louder by the second.
âTheyâre hereâŠâ one of them muttered.
All four looked up, peering through the gaps in the canopy. A sleek aircraft was descending fast.
It bore a blue insigniaâa tower-like structure in the center.
They recognized it instantly. It was human tech.
âThatâs a Blueprint Academy ship!â the woman blurted out.
âWait⊠are those students?â the younger man beside her clenched his jaw, his brow furrowed deep with worry.
A wave of guilt hit him like a punch to the gut.
They were about to betray someone who had come to help them. Someone who didnât even know what they were walking into.
And worseâit wasnât just anyone. It was a student. A kid who hadnât even graduated yet.
The guilt twisted deeper.
âDonât think about it,â the woman said through gritted teeth, trying to reassure himâor maybe herself. âWe didnât have a choice.â
The aircraftâs engines powered down, and it touched down smoothly in a small clearing.
With a mechanical hiss, the hatch slid open.
Ethan stepped out.
The moment the door opened, the stench hit himârot, blood, decay. It was thick in the air. But to someone used to the scent of zombies, it wasnât unbearable.
Not far ahead, four humans stood frozen. Behind them loomed the grotesque tree, its branches heavy with corpses.
âYoâŠâ
Ethan raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.
But it didnât take long for him to piece it togetherâjust as heâd suspected.
A mutated plant.
That towering tree, covered in dangling corpses, wasnât natural. It had mutatedâclearly.
The four people across from him were watching him just as closely.
One of the young men looked especially guilty.
âIâm sorry⊠I really am. We didnât have a choice.â
Ethanâs voice was calm, but sharp. âI came here to help you. And you lied to me?â
The young man flinched, guilt washing over him even harder. âI didnât want to. We just⊠we just wanted to survive. Lying to you was the only way.â
The woman beside him clenched her jaw, her expression hardening. âSorry, but this is the apocalypse. Only the strong survive. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselfâfor being too soft. That kind of bleeding heart crap will get you killed sooner or later. Might as well die nowâfor us.â
âToo soft?â Ethan muttered under his breath, not buying it.
So what if Iâm kind? Since when was that a crime?
It was that kindnessâdoing the right thing, again and againâthat got him this far.
âYouâve done wellâŠâ
A low, buzzing voice echoed from behind them.
The twisted, grotesque tree was speaking. It sounded pleased.
Its massive trunk creaked and groaned like it was waking up. Branches began to sway, and the corpses hanging from them rocked back and forth like grotesque wind chimes.
Then, without warning, the thick branches shot out in every directionâlike a swarm of tentaclesâlunging straight for Ethan.
In an instant, he was surrounded. There was nowhere to run. The forest itself had turned into a trap.
The four mercenaries stood frozen, watching in horror. Their guilt hit a breaking point.
âIâm so sorryâŠâ the young man whispered, barely audible.
But what happened next left them all speechless.
Ethan didnât move an inch.
A pulse of dark energy exploded from his bodyâDomain of the Deadâspreading outward like a shockwave.
The power tore through the air, unstoppable.
Every branch that had reached for him froze mid-airâthen shattered into splinters, disintegrating into dust.
Nearby trees cracked and split apart, their trunks crumbling like dry clay, dissolving into powder.
The sheer force of itâthe overwhelming pressureâradiated from him like a storm.
SSS-class Zombie King.
The raw, terrifying aura of a top-tier undead.
The humans felt it instantly. Their hearts pounded. Their instincts screamed. It was like staring down a predator at the top of the food chain. Their very DNA recoiled in fear. Even their souls trembled.
âWhat the hellâŠâ
BOOM!
With a thunderous crash, the monstrous tree exploded, fragments flying in every direction.
And from the wreckage, Ethan walked outâcalm, steady, untouched.
âI came here to free you,â he said, voice low but clear. âAnd this is how you repay me? You all might want to try being decent people for onceâŠâ
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