Noticing that the vines no longer posed any threats to them, Gao Bohai removed the wind shield, and they went to check the situation.
At the same time, Du Beiye and Jiao Lizhi also noticed the strangeness of the Mutant Tree and stopped attacking it.
Soon after the members gathered at the rooftop garden, Jin Xuyan, Yin Yusheng, and Lin Que arrived.
When he saw that his members were fine, Lin Que finally heaved a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you for your Team’s help, Captain Jin."
Jin Xuyan only nodded and went to the rooftop garden with Yin Yusheng.
When they saw that the Mutant Tree was already under Zhou Huajian’s control, Jin Xuyan asked, "Huajian, how long can you control this Mutant Tree?"
Zhou Huajian went silent for a moment before replying, "Captain, this Mutant Tree is at least level four. Although I can control it, it consumes too much of my energy. I can only do it for at most half an hour."
At first, the Blood Shadow Team thought he was only able to control it for a few minutes when they heard the first part of his sentence. But when they heard the latter part, they were stunned.
They thought that even if their Team differed by one rank, their strength would not differ so much. But now they realized why the Phantom Team was ranked as S-rank with only twenty-four members.
While they were shocked, the members did not feel anything strange. Not to mention anything else, Zhou Huajian was a level-three ability-user. This level of power was as expected.
Jin Xuyan thought for a moment and turned to Lin Que. "Did your Team come to this place for this Mutant Tree?" he asked.
Lin Que’s injuries were healed by Yin Yusheng, and he was no longer as pale as before. He nodded and replied, "We only need a branch."
Hearing this, Jin Xuyan nodded and unsheathed his longsword. With a swing, he cut off the thick branch as if it were mud.
The branch fell to the ground with a thud, and green liquid seeped out from the severed part. As the liquid touched the ground, it let out a strong, acidic stench.
Suddenly, a small sunflower popped out on Yin Yusheng’s shoulder. Before he could ask anything, he felt his Kuikui slap his cheek with its leaf.
"What do you want this time?" he asked with a hint of helplessness.
Kuikui pointed at the Mutant Tree with its leaf while letting out a soft squeaking sound. Since they were connected, Yin Yusheng understood what his sunflower wanted.
Turning to Jin Xuyan, he said, "Captain, this Mutant Tree has a lot of functions and might be beneficial for us. Can I have it?"
"Go ahead," Jin Xuyan nodded.
Hearing this, Yin Yusheng smiled and said, "Thank you, Captain!"
Then he turned to his friend and said, "Huajian, I need you to continue controlling this Mutant Tree."
"No problem," Zhou Huajian agreed readily.
This was the first time the members saw him absorbing a Mutant Plant, so they took several steps back, giving him more space, and stood there watching and guarding him.
Yin Yusheng walked closer and placed his palm on the Mutant Tree’s trunk. As he circulated his energy and sent it into the Mutant Tree, Kuikui turned into a small dot of energy and disappeared into the trunk.
After a few seconds, the entire Mutant Tree was enveloped in a soft green light. With his eyes closed, Yin Yusheng used his energy to find the Mutant Tree’s core.
When he found it, he wrapped the core with his energy and, with Kuikui’s help, absorbed it into his body.
While he was absorbing the Mutant Tree, Zhou Huajian felt the Mutant Tree trying to break free from his control. He gritted his teeth and poured more energy into controlling it.
In just a few minutes, his face turned pale, and his clothes were drenched in cold sweat. Blood trickled down from the corner of his lips and dropped to the ground.
Noticing his condition, Jiao Lizhi placed her palm on his shoulder and sent her energy into his body.
Feeling a surge of warm energy entering him, Zhou Huajian felt his pain and dizziness lessen. He turned to her and smiled.
Jiao Lizhi did not use much energy when fighting the Mutant Tree, and with Gaia’s energy level, it was not a problem for her to share some with him.
Twenty minutes later, the members saw the Mutant Tree starting to shrink until it disappeared completely.
At this moment, Kuikui was guiding the new friend it had obtained toward its Master’s core. The moment the two balls of energy reached the core, they were enveloped with Yin Yusheng’s energy and floated around it.
Opening his eyes, Yin Yusheng let out a long breath and clenched his fists. After absorbing the Mutant Tree, he could feel that not only had his energy pool expanded, even his physical condition had improved by leaps and bounds.
Standing up, he opened his palm, and the next moment, a branch shot out from it. The branch was as thick as a baby’s arm, but everyone knew it was the Mutant Tree’s branch.
With a flick of his hand, the branch hit the railing with a loud sound.
Crack!
The members looked at the metal railing, which had been cut in the middle, and the wall split in half with amazement. This branch was too sharp!
Seeing this, Xiao Qi exclaimed, "Brother Huajian, from now on, you will not be the only one who can use vines to whip zombies!"
Hearing this, Zhou Huajian looked at him and said meaningfully, "Xiao Qi, I never expected you to be into this kind of play."
The moment they heard his words, the members turned to Xiao Qi and gave him a teasing look. Meeting their gazes, he quickly said, "Why are you all looking at me like that? I am a normal person! I do not have a wicked hobby!"