"Sister Mingyue, is something wrong? I don't sense any danger. There hasn't been a single sound. Why did we stop?"
Thinking there was danger, Tian Chang paid close attention to the surrounding movements, but found nothing.
"It's precisely because it's too quiet that it's strange. We're already very close to Jiangcheng's urban area. A decrease in the number of animals and insects is normal.
But after walking for so long without encountering a single zombie, that's not normal?"
After hearing Mingyue's words, everyone realized she had a point.
Jiangcheng was a large city with a population of millions. Its surrounding suburbs were also densely populated, not to mention the floating population working in Jiangcheng.
They had probably walked more than ten kilometers. It was abnormal that not a single zombie had appeared in such a large area. There must be a trick to it.
"Ba Jiu, use your mental power to scout the surroundings and see if there's a zombie king.
I suspect a high-level zombie has appeared here, gathering all the low-level zombies in this area."
Mingyue pondered for a moment and thought of the most likely reason. If she were alone, she wouldn't be so cautious and hesitant.
Now that they had a team, as the captain, she had to be responsible for the lives of her teammates and couldn't let them be in danger.
"I don't detect any high-level zombies, but to our southeast, I've detected a powerful life force, a very high level, higher than mine. Ah!"
Ba Jiu closed his eyes and sent his mental power in all directions, then reported his findings to Mingyue.
However, before he could say a few words, a branch suddenly shot out from where he was standing, binding him, and then rapidly moving towards the southeast.
As a level seven fire-element ability zombie, Ba Jiu couldn't break free after being bound, which surprised everyone.
But now was not the time to ponder this. Everyone chased after Ba Jiu, using their abilities to attack the branch. Wind blades, daggers, and fireballs flew out.
However, these attacks were useless. Even Gong Que's bullets left no trace on the branch.
Seeing this, Mingyue drew a long sword from her spatial storage and threw it at the branch.
The sword crackled with lightning, emitting purple electricity. It was the divine weapon, Jing Lei, snatched from Qing Ying.
In Qing Ying's hands, due to her limited cultivation, Jing Lei was merely a tool for attracting lightning.
But in Mingyue's hands, Jing Lei displayed its full power, possessing its own lightning.
The branch was instantly severed. Dropping Ba Jiu and the severed part, it rapidly fled towards the southeast. Everyone rushed over to pull the vines off Ba Jiu.
"Oh no, Ba Jiu is poisoned. I can't cure this poison," Tian Chang said anxiously to Mingyue.
Seeing Ba Jiu lying on the ground with his eyes closed, everyone finally understood why Ba Jiu hadn't struggled earlier.
The moment the branch touched Ba Jiu's body, the thorns on it had injected venom into him, causing him to fall unconscious.
"I've never seen this kind of poison before. Ba Jiu's physique is special; he's not human. I don't dare to treat him rashly.
It seems we have to go and meet the main body of that branch. Only by finding it can we save Ba Jiu.
Watch your step. The main body of that branch must have developed extensive root systems and likely covered the entire forest.
Otherwise, that branch wouldn't have moved so fast. I suspect the missing zombies here are related to it."
When Mingyue saw the branch emerge from the ground earlier, she had figured it out.
The one who wanted to abduct Ba Jiu must be a giant plant, at least level eight, so she warned everyone to be careful.
Thus, Mingyue, holding Jing Lei, walked at the forefront. Ji Shiyou carried the unconscious Ba Jiu behind Mingyue, while Bu Zhi and Tian Chang protected him on either side.
Gong Que's earth-element ability was fully activated, constantly monitoring underground movements. Wen Qingtian covered the rear. The group pursued the direction the branch had fled.
After rushing for about two kilometers, they arrived at a valley. This place should have been a flower and bonsai planting base.
However, it no longer looked like its former self. Apart from a damaged plaque by the collapsed wall, the entire valley was occupied by a giant plant.
"What a huge Pothos!"
Wen Qingtian looked at the plant before him and, after a long time, recognized its species.
It wasn't that he didn't recognize Pothos. Pothos was a common ornamental plant in his office area, and he even had a few pots in his office.
This plant could absorb formaldehyde and, most importantly, was easy to care for and extremely vigorous.
But he had never seen a Pothos with branches over two meters in diameter, like a giant dragon.
Especially a Pothos that occupied the entire valley, with a total length of tens of thousands of meters, he had truly never seen anything like it.
Sensing the approach of strangers, the Pothos raised its branches like a python, as if it had gained intelligence.
Thousands of branches swayed in the air simultaneously, like a thousand snakes emerging from their holes, making one's scalp tingle.
As the Pothos' branches lifted, they revealed the covered factory buildings, flower fields, and office buildings. Its roots grew in one of the office buildings.
It seemed that when the apocalypse struck, it was just a potted plant in an office that had mutated for some unknown reason.
"Indeed, the nearby zombies were all captured by it and used as fertilizer. Otherwise, it wouldn't have evolved so quickly."
Its aerial roots were covered with shriveled zombies, like strings of locusts.
Seeing this, Mingyue confirmed her deduction. Judging by the number of zombies, there were probably close to a hundred thousand.
No wonder it had grown so robustly. If Ba Jiu had absorbed the energy of a hundred thousand zombies, he would probably have already been upgraded to a zombie king.
"Pothos is inherently poisonous, and its toxicity has intensified after mutation. It seems Ba Jiu was poisoned by the mutated Pothos, but how can he be cured?
If only it could talk, we could negotiate. Besides, it seems hostile towards us and is guarding against us."
Looking at the unconscious Ba Jiu and then at the dragon-like Pothos in the valley, Ji Shiyou frowned.
"There's no need to negotiate. This Pothos has reached level eight mutation and must have developed a core.
As long as we kill it and retrieve the core to be given to Ba Jiu, the poison can be cured.
You all stay here and remain vigilant. Don't let it ambush you. I'll go get the core."
After instructing everyone, Mingyue, holding Jing Lei, ascended into the air and flew above the valley.
She didn't know where the Pothos' core was, but for Ba Jiu, she didn't mind cutting this Pothos to pieces.
She stood in the air, swung the Jing Lei sword, and a lightning bolt as thick as a water bucket struck down at the Pothos in the valley, instantly severing a branch.
"Save me, and I can tell you where the mutated Pothos' core is."
Just as she was about to swing her second sword, Mingyue suddenly heard a man's voice from the valley, pleading for help.