After buying his subordinates enough time, Shen Feng prepared to leave, climbing towards the top of the cave.
Suddenly, Shen Feng felt the ground around him shake, so he quickly accelerated his climb, reaching the edge of the cave's ceiling. Outside was a steep slope; Shen Feng could have rolled down directly if he knew how.
However, at this moment, the ground cracked open, and a red glowing sphere suddenly appeared. Shen Feng recognized it as the energy source for the treants. He hadn't expected it to still be active even after the pipes had burst!
Shen Feng quickly dodged and activated his "Wind King Barrier," deciding to be cautious.
But then, Shen Feng was caught off guard and entangled by more than a dozen vines. The Wind King Barrier prevented the vines from reaching him, but at this moment, a spike suddenly emerged from the sphere, aiming straight for Shen Feng. With no other option, Shen Feng had to endure it.
However, Shen Feng heard a "crack" sound. The Wind King Barrier, struck by the spike, shattered instantly.
Shen Feng quickly brought his long sword in front of him, attempting to block the spike from the sphere. But he forgot that while his long sword couldn't pierce the treant's tumor, the tumor could be easily pierced by the spike. How could a mere long sword withstand such a sharp spike?
"Clang," the long sword snapped into two pieces. At this moment, Shen Feng had no protection in front of him.
"Swoosh," the spike pierced Shen Feng's chest and instantly injected scalding liquid. Shen Feng's chest cavity was immediately filled with this liquid, and he felt his blood boiling! This was truly a literal "hot-blooded" experience!
"Die!" Shen Feng, enraged, swung his broken sword at the red sphere. He expected the red sphere to be very hard, but the broken sword easily cut into it. Instantly, the scalding liquid flowed out of the sphere, covering the ground.
Shen Feng, barely holding himself up, cut through the surrounding vines. He felt his body growing hotter and increasingly uncontrollable, so he simply lay down on the ground and rolled down the steep slope, losing consciousness.
"I was careless. I didn't expect to be ambushed from underground," Shen Feng thought as he lost consciousness.
Liang Bingwen and the other thirty-one people emerged from the crack and waited at the foot of the mountain for Shen Feng's appearance. They knew that their commander's speed was the fastest among them all, so they were sure he would escape!
However, before long, they saw Shen Feng rolling down from a distant hillside. Upon seeing this, everyone panicked and rushed over, picking up Shen Feng. A closer look revealed a hole in Shen Feng's chest, but no blood was flowing out; instead, a red gelatinous substance was moving within it.
"What do we do now?" they looked at each other. Previously, their commander had always made the decisions. Now that he was unconscious, they didn't know what to do.
Liang Bingwen suddenly had a good idea and quickly said, "Let's split up. If we stay together, we'll be wiped out easily. Let's leave from all directions. The treants definitely won't be able to catch us. I'll carry the commander, and everyone else splits up! To avoid a total wipeout."
"Okay, let's do that. Everyone scatter!" Everyone thought this was a good plan and agreed, heading off in all directions.
However, in reality, the treants did not pursue them. The treants were busy rebuilding their lair. During the day, the top of the underground world had been blown apart, severely damaging many mutated plants. Without the pipelines, the treants would not receive energy replenishment for a while. If they went out to hunt animals now, the energy consumption would be enormous.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, everyone successfully escaped the mist. Liang Bingwen, carrying the unconscious Shen Feng, arrived at the hillside outside the mist. Yang Chang and Chu Chaoyan were stationed there with their people. Along the way, they encountered no treants, and everyone speculated that perhaps the treants were all busy rebuilding their homes because their lair had collapsed.
Chu Chaoyan was surprised to see Shen Feng again, only to find him unconscious. She quickly asked, "What happened to Shen Feng? Didn't you say you were going to blow up the enemy's lair? Did something go wrong?"
Liang Bingwen said helplessly, "It was going smoothly, but then the small mountain collapsed. While escaping, we encountered a scoundrel. The commander stayed behind to cover our retreat and was ambushed. Now he's burning up and unconscious. We don't know what to do."
Liang Bingwen quickly placed Shen Feng on the ground, intending to administer first aid. However, he then discovered that the wound on Shen Feng's chest had already healed. Liang Bingwen was astonished, saying, "Is the commander's recovery ability that strong? Why has the wound healed?"
Liang Bingwen remembered that he had clearly seen a gelatinous substance moving in Shen Feng's chest wound earlier, indicating something had been injected into him. Yet, the wound had now healed, which was very strange.
Chu Chaoyan quickly inquired about the details and learned that during their escape, Shen Feng had been pierced by a spike and injected with a scalding liquid. This liquid was originally injected into the treants' tumors, giving them the ability to move. However, when injected into a human, it seemed problematic.
"My body is so hot!" Chu Chaoyan touched Shen Feng's chest and found that his body temperature was at least fifty to sixty degrees Celsius. If a normal person's internal temperature were this high, they would already be dead, as their internal organs could not withstand such heat. Yet, Shen Feng was still alive.
"His forehead is also hot. His whole body is burning. Could this be evolution?" Yang Chang also came over and, after a careful examination, found that Shen Feng's entire body was hot. There was only one explanation for this situation: Shen Feng was evolving.
"Is that possible?" Chu Chaoyan disagreed. Why would the energy that treants used cause humans to evolve? Previously, Shen Feng's evolution had only been successful after drinking an evolution potion. But now, after being injected with scalding liquid, he was starting to evolve, which was almost unimaginable.
Yang Chang pointed at Shen Feng lying on the ground and said, "Look for yourself. Not only has the commander's wound healed rapidly, but his whole body is hot. Isn't this the scene that occurs during evolution? Besides, we don't have any means of first aid right now. Besides believing that the commander is evolving, what other options do we have?"
Chu Chaoyan was convinced by these words. Indeed, they currently had no means of first aid. Although some of them were medical students, they had no equipment, making first aid impossible. Therefore, the best course of action for now was to wait.
"Let's wait until morning. If Shen Feng doesn't wake up, we'll find a way to return to Luzhou!" Chu Chaoyan replied after some thought.
Yang Chang was immediately surprised and asked, "Didn't headquarters tell us to go to Rongcheng for rescue? How can we just leave?"
Chu Chaoyan said irritably, "We lack equipment and ammunition now. Should we charge in empty-handed? Or charge with cold weapons? If Shen Feng doesn't wake up, it means we've lost our commander. What's the point of going back?"
Yang Chang fell silent. The truth was, both the artillery vehicles and firearms had been lost in the mist. Without retrieving this equipment, it would be impossible to provide effective support to Rongcheng.
Chu Chaoyan quickly found a relatively clean spot for Shen Feng. There were no tents, so she could only spread some blankets on the ground for Shen Feng to lie on. She prayed that Shen Feng would wake up safely, otherwise, the more than two thousand people here would truly become a scattered mess.
Counting it up, only two and a half months had passed since the zombie outbreak. These soldiers were all temporarily recruited, and their training had not been long, at most only one or two weeks. Now, after a bitter defeat, it was already difficult for them to remain united.
Chu Chaoyan's biggest worry at this moment was Shen Feng having an accident. If Shen Feng had an accident, she could only lead the remaining people back to Luzhou. As for rescuing Rongcheng, it would be completely impossible.
Shen Feng had always been the soul of these soldiers in Luzhou. In their eyes, Shen Feng was the strongest person. Therefore, if Shen Feng died, his subordinates would also leave one by one, scattering like birds and beasts. The most loyal ones would at most return to Luzhou with everyone else.
Fortunately, after a whole night, Shen Feng's body temperature gradually returned to normal. By noon, he gradually woke up. The first thing Shen Feng did upon waking was to drink water. The events of the previous night were like a nightmare, constantly replaying in his mind. Shen Feng felt a burning sensation in his chest, so he wanted to drink water to alleviate it.
"I was too arrogant before, always thinking my speed was the fastest, always thinking my 'Wind King Barrier' could block all attacks, always thinking I could kill all enemies. That's why I was defeated head-on. From now on, I can't be so reckless!" Shen Feng muttered to himself after drinking water.
When Shen Feng woke up, everyone around him finally breathed a sigh of relief. They were all worried about Shen Feng's condition, and now he had woken up. It could truly be said that he was blessed with great fortune. As long as their commander was alive, they could continue to act under his leadership.
Chu Chaoyan stepped forward and asked, "How are you feeling?"
Hearing the question, Shen Feng finally remembered that a large amount of scalding liquid had been injected into his chest cavity the previous night. At that time, Shen Feng had almost couldn't hold on, feeling as if his heart and lungs were being cooked. Then he had lost consciousness. When he woke up, it was already daytime, and it seemed he had been brought outside the mist.
At this moment, Shen Feng began to examine his body and immediately felt a difference. Not only had his physical fitness improved significantly, but even his special ability had become stronger. He suddenly had a realization: "I am now a fourth-tier esper! My whole body feels different, and I seem to understand how to use my abilities better!"
Hearing this, Chu Chaoyan and Yang Chang finally understood. It turned out that Shen Feng had indeed been evolving last night. It was just that neither of them had expected that the substance inside the treants' heads could cause humans to evolve. In that case, mutated plants were still quite useful.
Shen Feng looked at the people around him. Many of them had lost their weapons, and their morale was particularly low. He immediately became unhappy. Standing on the hillside, he shouted, "What's wrong with all of you? It's just one defeat, why are you all dejected? I think your courage has been eaten by dogs! From now on, follow my lead, counterattack into the mist, and find your courage!"
Upon hearing this, Chu Chaoyan quickly tried to dissuade him, saying, "Shen Feng, we have less than two thousand people now, and there are at least seventy treants in the mist. You need to calm down."
At this moment, Chu Chaoyan suspected that Shen Feng's brain might have been damaged. He had been knocked unconscious last night, and after waking up, he wanted to lead an attack again. It was important to remember that, apart from artillery shells, treants were virtually indestructible. With seventy of them remaining, rushing in would be suicidal.
Yang Chang also stepped forward, thinking that Shen Feng had lost his composure. He quickly said, "Commander, don't be impulsive. Many of our soldiers have lost their rifles. How can we possibly fight if we charge in?"
Shen Feng, after being persuaded by Chu Chaoyan and Yang Chang, did not get angry because of their opposition. A smile appeared on his face, and he said, "Sometimes, once you retreat, you lose your courage. I am not being impulsive because I am not underestimating the treants. I have simply gained more powerful strength!"
After speaking, Shen Feng stood quietly on the hillside, took a deep breath, looked up at the blue sky, extended a finger, and shouted, "Wind, come!"
Instantly, the wind and clouds changed, and sand and stones flew around the hillside. A strong gust of wind blew from afar, kicking up sand and stones from the ground, and also blowing some dry grass and leaves into the sky. The strong wind blew from the north, all the way into the mist. The white fog that had been lingering in the forest began to dissipate under the force of the wind.