Jin Zijue had initially believed he could escape smoothly because the vines could not approach him. As long as he found an opportunity to leave, there would be no problem.
In an instant, Jin Zijue moved at high speed, passing through the encirclement of over twenty tree people. For him, escaping through the gaps between these tree people was quite simple.
However, just as Jin Zijue was feeling smug, a large hand suddenly emerged from the mist and slapped towards him. Jin Zijue raised his hands, electric arcs constantly flickering on his body. He hadn't expected danger within the mist. He had already escaped the encirclement, and the twenty-odd tree people hadn't stopped him, yet there was still hidden danger in the mist!
"Boom," Jin Zijue took the full force of the descending palm. He thought he could withstand the blow, but unexpectedly, the massive palm fell directly. The power on it was unstoppable. Under the immense force, it was like Mount Tai pressing down.
Trees naturally possessed excellent insulating properties, so the electric arcs on Jin Zijue's body could not exert their paralyzing effect. As for the recoil force, it was far from sufficient to repel the tree person's palm.
"Pfft..." Jin Zijue spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground, powerless. He could not withstand this palm strike.
"Swish, swish..." Many vines appeared from the mist. Jin Zijue had no strength to resist. The blow from the palm had rendered him unable to fight back. Severely injured, he was completely incapable of stopping the vines from binding him. He finally rolled his eyes and fell to the ground, captured by the vines.
Jin Zijue did not understand why there were so many tree people in the mist. He had only seen a dozen or so before, but now, the tree people in the mist seemed to be more numerous than he had imagined. With this regret, Jin Zijue lost consciousness.
At this moment, another row of tree people appeared in the mist. It turned out that in addition to the twenty tree people attacking earlier, there were over thirty more waiting behind. The number of tree people in this area had already reached over fifty. The remaining people, seeing Jin Zijue fall within the fire circle, became even more terrified. They hadn't expected tree people to be in the mist, so escape was impossible!
"Who will save us!" Wang Yusheng sighed to the sky, completely despairing. Even a third-tier ability user couldn't escape, so they had no chance at all.
...
Shen Feng returned to the elementary school in Fish Town in a disheveled state, covered in mud with his hair messy. Yang Chang and Chu Chaoyan saw this and both guessed that Shen Feng might have encountered an extremely perilous battle outside.
"City Lord, how are you? Are you injured?" Yang Chang quickly asked.
Shen Feng ignored Yang Chang's question and instead looked at the people in the elementary school, asking, "Where are Wang Yusheng and his group? Where did they go?"
Chu Chaoyan replied, "I heard this group found the enemy's stronghold, so they went to attack. I heard they were preparing for a carpet bombing!"
"It's them indeed!" Shen Feng became even angrier and asked, "Where is Guo Pinming? Why isn't he here either?"
Yang Chang quickly said, "You're talking about Guo Pinming. He was incited by Jin Zijue and Wang Yusheng. They said they were going to protect the artillery, so they set off together!"
"This guy, truly detestable. Didn't we agree to give them three days? They don't follow orders, what a bunch of scoundrels." Shen Feng couldn't help but curse. If Guo Pinming hadn't moved, the artillery would definitely not have dared to go out. Without protection, they would be basically useless. But Guo Pinming had set off, which led the artillery to recklessly leave.
However, Shen Feng then remembered that many tree people had rushed towards the road. Therefore, Jin Zijue's group would definitely not have a good time!
"Serves them right! Let them attract the firepower, I'll leave with my people now!" Shen Feng muttered.
Chu Chaoyan suddenly asked, "By the way, you're so disheveled, what exactly happened?"
Shen Feng said irritably, "What else could it be? Wasn't it being bombed by Wang Yusheng's group? I was observing the enemy situation when those guys started firing. If I hadn't run fast, I would have been blown to death in the bombing zone!"
Hearing this, Yang Chang and Chu Chaoyan were speechless. They hadn't expected Shen Feng to be so disheveled not from fighting enemies, but from being bombed by his own people.
Chu Chaoyan immediately said, "If that's the case, let's go find those people and get revenge. We must get an explanation. These guys are so dedicated to attacking friendly forces, but they're not effective against the enemy!"
Shen Feng said irritably, "What revenge? Take this opportunity, everyone follow me. Those tree people have all been drawn to the roadside, so the enemy has no time to catch us. We should escape now! Don't forget that Rongcheng is still in danger, we should hurry to Rongcheng to help."
Shen Feng didn't care about the infamy of abandoning his allies. Ultimately, the other party had bombed him first. It was not unreasonable for him to leave now.
Yang Chang hesitated and asked, "What about Guo Pinming? He has a thousand soldiers there. Are we just going to abandon them?"
Shen Feng obviously couldn't directly say they were abandoning them, so he chose a tactful answer: "We currently do not have the strength to rescue them, and Rongcheng is very dangerous and needs our help. We can only protect more people for now! For the sake of more lives, a few people must be rescued later."
Yang Chang and Chu Chaoyan quickly gathered their personnel. They took whatever supplies they could and abandoned what they couldn't. Two thousand people set off with Shen Feng, preparing to take a small path to leave the mist.
During this time, Shen Feng instructed his subordinates: "Try not to make any noise while walking. The tree people locate their targets by sound. Therefore, as long as we don't make any noise, theoretically, no tree people will discover us."
When Shen Feng returned, he had already roughly figured out the terrain. There were many forests near Fish Town, and there were small paths between the forests. These small paths were all-encompassing, and as long as they found the right direction, they would eventually be able to leave the mist without worrying about the danger posed by the tree people.
As the two thousand people walked, despite their caution, they inevitably made some noise. However, the tree people were currently encircling the artillery near the road, so Shen Feng and his group did not encounter any tree people as they advanced, nor did they encounter any vine attacks.
In response, everyone felt a glimmer of hope for leaving the mist. As long as they didn't encounter danger on the road, they would eventually be able to get out.
Shen Feng led his people northward. After walking for two kilometers, they were nearing the edge of the mist and could see the way out. Suddenly, Shen Feng heard a sound: "Dong dong..."
It was a very rhythmic sound, accompanied by a slight tremor of the ground.
Hearing this sound, Shen Feng quickly said in a low voice, "Pass it down, no moving, no making noise!"
This order was passed down one by one. Everyone immediately stopped in their tracks, not daring to move. They didn't want to be caught by the vines. The people who had been captured before had no news; they were probably dead. No one wanted to die, so they all played "Red Light, Green Light," standing frozen in place, with only their eyes moving, their bodies completely stiff.
"Dong dong..." The footsteps of the tree people were gradually approaching. Everyone still dared not move. Although the threat was right in front of them, as long as they made a sound, they would be captured. Therefore, even as the tree people continuously approached, everyone dared not move, fearing making even the slightest sound.
At this moment, the tree people gradually revealed their true appearance. It walked step by step, and with each step, the ground trembled. Many people couldn't help but swallow their saliva upon seeing this. In their eyes, what appeared before them was a complete monster. If it were to slap them, they would probably be swatted like a fly! 138 Reading Network
The tree person did not notice the people on the road but walked into the forest, seemingly moving aimlessly. The tree person had hundreds of vines on its body. As the tree person moved, these vines were dragged along with it. Soon, the tree person passed by the group and entered the forest.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the tree people only reacted to sound. In that case, as long as no sound was made, the tree people would eventually leave.
However, at this moment, a strange sound came: "Pfft—"
The sound was long and continuous, accompanied by a foul odor. Several people nearby quickly looked in the direction of the sound and found Cao Fulie standing there, his face flushed red. He had never imagined that farting would be so embarrassing and bring him danger! Now, being watched by dozens of people nearby, Cao Fulie felt shy.
"Damn it, I shouldn't have drunk cold water when I set off!" Cao Fulie said regretfully in his heart.
Suddenly, the tree person that had entered the forest moved. It stopped instantly, and then "Swish, swish, swish," a pile of vines crawled over, heading straight for Cao Fulie in the crowd.
Shen Feng shouted, "Everyone run together, run as far as you can!"
At this time, the white mist around them had become sparse, meaning everyone had reached the edge of the mist. If they ran a bit further, they would definitely be able to leave. Shen Feng couldn't care about anything else. Even if they lost a few hundred people, as long as others could escape together, it would be enough. Moreover, there was only one tree person here, and it could probably only capture a few dozen people.
As Shen Feng shouted, everyone dared not delay and began to sprint forward. They could bet that their current speed was definitely faster than during their physical education tests in school. Back then, it was just to get by, but now, it was for survival, and everyone unleashed their potential.
Cao Fulie, being an evolved person, was much faster than others. The moment he heard Shen Feng's command, he rushed out, far ahead of everyone else. Other unlucky people were accidentally caught by the vines and then dragged into the forest. For these scenes with multiple characters, the tree people often stood still and controlled the vines to catch people.
Shen Feng knew his own speed well; the vines couldn't catch him. So, Shen Feng held two long swords and covered the rear. For those caught by the vines, he would rush up and cut the vines, allowing many people to escape smoothly. Yang Chang was the first to lead his people out of the mist. A hundred meters away was the bright sunshine outside!
"Run quickly! Everyone gather behind me!" Yang Chang shouted loudly. After escaping the mist, the soldiers lay down, panting. Many, for the sake of easier escape, had even thrown away their rifles. This strategy was clearly effective because reducing their load allowed them to run faster.
Chu Chaoyan saw Shen Feng covering the rear and imitated him, cutting the vines that ensnared their companions one by one, not running out with them. However, at this moment, footsteps could be heard again, and another tree person approached. Chu Chaoyan was not paying attention and was accidentally caught by vines on her hands and feet, being dragged into the forest.
"Shen Feng, hurry and save me!" Chu Chaoyan shouted.
Seeing Chu Chaoyan being taken away, Shen Feng had no choice but to rush up, cut the vines that bound her, and stuffed the satellite phone into her arms, saying, "Wait for me outside. If necessary, go to Rongcheng for rescue. I will come back."
Chu Chaoyan did not dare to delay, took the satellite phone, and ran out. At this time, Shen Feng was entangled by vines and forcibly dragged to the side of the tree person. More than a dozen vines tightly bound Shen Feng. Shen Feng's hands clutched his long sword, but he couldn't exert any force, only to be bound to the tree person. At this moment, on this tree person, more than thirty people were already bound. Some of them had suffocated to death, while others were still struggling, but the more they struggled, the tighter the vines bound them.
Shen Feng gave up struggling, and the vines actually stopped tightening. At this moment, Shen Feng understood and quickly said, "Those who are caught, do not resist. Stay put and wait for an opportunity to counterattack."
Hearing Shen Feng's words, everyone immediately stopped moving. At this time, the vines indeed stopped tightening, and everyone was temporarily safe. However, no one knew where they would be taken in the end. What comforted them somewhat was that the City Lord had also been captured, which meant that perhaps the City Lord would have a chance to lead them to resist together.
The binding force of the vines was related to the intensity of struggle. The more violently one struggled, the tighter the vines would constrict until the prey was strangled to death, and only then would the vines stop constricting.
In just a moment, all two thousand-plus people had run. The tree people controlled their vines to track outside the mist, preparing to catch people outside the mist. However, as soon as these vines stretched out, they were exposed to sunlight, withered, and fell to the ground, completely unable to catch anyone.
Seeing this, Yang Chang finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed they had truly escaped. These tree people could not tolerate sunlight; otherwise, they would wither, so they could only operate within the white mist.
Chu Chaoyan looked at the satellite phone in her hand, her face full of worry. She said to Yang Chang, "Shen Feng asked us to wait for him outside just now. Should we do as he said?"
"Of course, just do as he says. Otherwise, look at Guo Pinming, who didn't follow orders. We don't know if he's alive or dead now," Yang Chang said matter-of-factly.
Suddenly, Chu Chaoyan saw Cao Fulie sitting beside her. She walked over and slapped him, scolding, "It's all your fault for messing up at the critical moment! If the City Lord doesn't come out, you'll have a lot to answer for!"
Cao Fulie dared not reply, only lowering his head to admit his mistake. He knew that the tree person had been alerted at that time because he had drunk cold water. If he had drunk hot water, there would have been no trouble.
Two tree people, carrying over sixty people, walked into the mist. Shen Feng took a headcount and found that forty-two of the captured people were still alive; the others had died. So, Shen Feng instructed them, "Listen to my command later. When I escape, I will definitely take you with me."
The others quickly replied. Now, to survive, they could only follow the City Lord's orders.
After walking for an hour, the two tree people brought Shen Feng and the others to the foot of a small mountain. At the foot of the mountain was a dark, large hole. The tree people led the captives down. After walking for more than ten minutes, they brought everyone to an underground world. Here, there were many fruits that emitted white light. These fruits were very small, only about the size of a finger, but they brought light to the underground world. After a long passage, everyone was brought into a huge space. It was very spacious, with glowing fruits growing around, illuminating the underground world like scattered starlight.
No one could have imagined that there was such a world underground, vast and mysterious. What dangers lurked in the underground space was unknown.