The journey through the towering trees forming high walls was smooth. Apart from the occasional cries of an infant, there was no other disturbance.
As the distance increased, Yi Chen became more adept at maneuvering. With just one outstretched hand, the tree trunks ahead would move aside on their own.
During this process, Yi Chen gradually noticed the unique characteristics of these towering trees.
The sap flowing within their trunks carried a distinct metallic scent of blood. This undoubtedly had a direct connection to the nutrients absorbed by their roots. Such peculiar nutrients must be the reason these trees could grow into these extraordinary hundred-meter-high walls.
Meanwhile, Jin followed leisurely behind, as if on a sightseeing trip, even finding time to chat.
"I didn't expect a man like you to have such exceptional control over plants... Planning to open a clinic in the future?"
"No such plans for now."
"Hopefully, you'll never have that plan. Clinics are just tools organizations use to restrain talent.
Someone like me prefers to minimize ties with Zion. Once Zion's value is fully exploited, I'll leave. Would you join me then?"
After traversing over 300 meters through the walls of trees, they finally broke through the innermost layer of trunks.
What greeted them wasn’t a paradise or the comfort of emerging into sunlight. Instead, they found themselves in an even darker, completely lightless area.
The canopy at the top of the nearly 100-meter-high walls defied natural growth patterns. Branches intertwined densely, overlapping and tangling to form a cover that completely enveloped the space within the walls.
Mixed within this dense canopy was a grayish fog-like substance that filled the gaps between the leaves, blocking even the tiniest rays of sunlight. This created an absolutely dark, enclosed area.
An ordinary person walking through such an environment for two to three minutes would feel an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia creeping over them like an invasive insect.
Yi Chen lowered his head to observe the grayish haze swirling around his shoes. Its concentration was comparable to that of the Twilight Clinic, reaching advanced stages. However, the area it covered here was significantly larger, with its effects penetrating deeper.
It was possible that similar abnormal patients like the IV drip doctor or the bandaged nurse could appear here.
Under the influence of the gray haze, the trees growing in this inner region were no longer upright. Instead, they grew chaotically, twisting at bizarre angles.
The branches resembled human arms, while the dark, lifeless leaves clinging to their surfaces looked like skin—some even embedded into the wood, creating a particularly eerie sight.
Some trees, accelerated by the gray haze, appeared unusually bloated. Their trunks were grotesquely swollen, with thick greenish liquid oozing continuously from their midsections, seeping into the soil to become nutrients once again.
Additionally, the bark and surrounding ground were densely populated with massive fungal growths.
Some of these larger fungi had open, mouth-like tops, mimicking the act of breathing. Each pulsation released spores that deepened the haze’s effects, further driving the mutations within the forest.
The gray spores floating through the forest obscured vision even more. The light from an oil lamp could barely illuminate a range of ten meters.
Thanks to Little Grape, Yi Chen’s vision range was doubled.
Suddenly, Little Grape’s voice came through telepathically:
“It’s so rich here~ This place isn’t much worse than the Twilight Clinic. Be careful, William! If you’re unlucky and run into another Open Source Patient, things could turn deadly.”
“Stop jinxing it. I’ll be cautious.”
Yi Chen approached a diseased tree dripping with pus and placed his palm on its bark to sense what was happening inside.
Beneath the tree’s bark was a fleshy red malignant tumor. This tumorous structure was causing the trunk to swell and ooze.
Moreover, the tumor was connected to the vascular transport system, extending toward the tree’s roots.
“It seems the lower roots are linked to something.”
Before Yi Chen could process further, Jin approached without hesitation, dipped her fingers into the thick liquid, and tasted it on her tongue.
“There’s a distinct taste of blood and flesh! So it’s related to the roots? Let’s find out what’s going on.”
Without consulting Yi Chen, Jin took the initiative...
Jin wrapped her arms around the tree trunk, red threads crisscrossing her forearms. With explosive force, she wrenched the tree from the ground.
Yi Chen did not intervene but focused intently on the roots.
What came into view made his brows furrow and left him uneasy.
The roots of the uprooted tree were swollen, smooth, and writhing as if alive. Rather than ordinary roots, they resembled the tentacles of an octopus.
The living roots writhed actively, even attempting to reach out and burrow into Jin’s arms. Unfortunately for them, their length fell short.
“What exactly are these roots feeding on?”
Yi Chen brought the kerosene lamp closer to the hole in the ground and leaned in to look.
A bead of cold sweat formed on his forehead.
It seemed to anchor him there, while simultaneously functioning as a conduit to draw nutrients from beneath the seat.
From the gaps below the chair, faint wafts of a corpse-like stench emanated.
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