20demayo Page 16
Page 16
On the wrinkled, rotting bark, the grooves twisted eerily into the face of a dying old man, with murky sap seeping from the "eye sockets" like the turbid tears of a dying person.
Even more chilling was the presence of numerous millipedes, each as thick as a python, crawling around the tree roots.
The carapaces of these arthropods gleamed with a purplish-black hue in the dim light, and their densely packed legs made a chilling rustling sound as they moved, gathering around the tree roots and intertwining into a writhing living carpet.
"That's it! Rinko! Archina! Get rid of all the bugs around the tree!" Having found the target, Luo Jiajun quickly pointed in the direction and said to Rinko Akiyama and Archina beside him.
With his ability to transform into the [Bio-Terminator] having cooled down, and now equipped with the "Resurrection Armor," Luo Jiajun was fearless and immediately led the charge.
This humus zone had become a kingdom of mutated millipedes. The intrusion of Luo Jiajun and his companions was like a boulder thrown into calm water, instantly startling all the millipedes into a commotion.
These mutated, abnormally large, terrifying millipedes crawled on the ground, making a dense, chilling rustling sound, and began to swarm out from tree holes, cracks in the soil, and other dark corners.
"Wind-Splitting Slash!"
Faced with so many mutated millipedes, Rinko Akiyama charged towards the area with the highest concentration of millipedes, transforming into a streak of purple light. Although it appeared to be just one strike, dozens of dazzling blades flashed and crisscrossed in the area she passed through, shredding one mutated millipede after another.
Seeing that Akiyama Rinko had taken the initiative to attack the area where the insects were most concentrated, Archina stayed by Luo Jiajun's side to continue protecting him.
Compared to Akiyama Rinko, who boasts exceptional mobility and formidable attack power, Archina is more like a meat shield or tank. While her kill efficiency is far inferior to Akiyama Rinko's, she can rely on her towering size and powerful limbs to fight head-on against every mutated millipede that attacks her.
However, the swarm of insects was overwhelming, and even with Luo Jiajun's support amidst the crackling arcs of electricity, Achina, whose large size had attracted too much firepower, was quickly surrounded. A massive number of mutated millipedes surged towards her, their countless segmented bodies nearly engulfing her completely.
"Achina! Transform quickly!" Luo Jiajun narrowly dodged an attack from a mutated millipede, severing the millipede's tentacles with his sword, and then turned to shout to Achina.
Not far away, Akiyama Rinko, who was wildly wielding her sword and her breathing was already erratic, suddenly raised her left hand, disregarding her exhaustion, and launched two gravity orbs. The orbs, crackling with purple lightning, blasted apart a mutated millipede that was about to flank Luo Jiajun. (The last sentence appears to be unrelated and possibly a fragment from another text.)
Knowing she could no longer hold back, Achina, who was about to be buried by the swarm of insects, suddenly had her muscles bulge and overturned every millipede around her with overwhelming force.
Then her limbs and bones began to twist, fleshy wings tore off her back, and a giant tail, resembling tree roots, grew from her tailbone.
With a low growl suppressed in her throat, the three-meter-tall female body quickly swelled and mutated into a dragon-shaped monster with a gaping maw full of sharp teeth, even more ferocious and terrifying than the previous man-eating flowers.
Even after being reduced to a "monster," she retained her ability to speak, her hoarse vocal cords vibrating out indistinct human words:
"Damn insects, I'm going to crush you all!"
Shame and indignation at displaying this ugly state, she unleashed her boundless rage upon the swarm of insects. With a flap of her wings, she swooped down from the air, her sharp claws crushing mutated millipedes one after another like a raptor slaughtering centipedes.
As a large number of millipedes died, the swarm gradually collapsed, and more and more millipedes began to reveal their instincts, curling their bodies into a circle to show a cowardly defensive posture, or simply turning around and fleeing.
When there were no more millipedes still moving on the scene, only a pile of mangled limbs and the strong stench of millipede secretions in the air.
Achina had just folded her wings and landed beside Luo Jiajun. Her mutated body, which resembled both a demon and a dragon, still exuded an undiminished killing intent.
She didn't say anything at this moment, or perhaps she just didn't know how to talk to Luo Jiajun in this ugly state. She could turn back to her original form at any time, but frequent transformations would greatly deplete her physical strength. The three of them were still in the park and might face more crises, so she didn't immediately turn back to her original form.
"Achina... um... may I ride on your back?"
Looking at the distorted form of this 'eight-foot lady', Luo Jiajun blinked and asked curiously.
“If you don’t mind.” The woman’s shrill voice then rang out.
Although her dragon-like and deformed appearance was indeed terrifying.
But Luo Jiajun wasn't scared at all, and quickly and confidently climbed onto her back.
Beneath this form that sends one's sanity soaring, there is still a remnant of humanoid shape on the spine between Archina's wings, as if the upper body of a human form has grown onto her spine. However, that upper body is also a pale, monstrous shape, covered with tentacle-like white roots, which can even be somewhat nauseating.
But Luo Jiajun still boldly rode on her back, pressed against her remaining human-shaped upper body, and then spread his arms to hug her.
...No unnecessary words were exchanged; simple physical contact spoke louder than a thousand words.
The half of the woman's body that remained on her back trembled slightly, and the white, tentacle-like roots gently wrapped around Luo Jiajun's arm, as if resisting, yet also as if being intimate.
"Xiao Luo, what's this?"
At this moment, Akiyama Rinko returned to Luo Jiajun's side. Looking at Archina in her dragon form, despite having some guesses in her mind, her usually cool face still showed surprise.
"This is what Archina looks like after transforming. She just protected me." Luo Jiajun seemed to be explaining to Akiyama Rinko, but in reality, he was reassuring Archina, who might be more sensitive in her transformed form.
Next, Luo Jiajun opened the quest expansion bar in the game map and saw that the quest "Rotten Tree of Life" was completed, but the quest reward was still in the "(Pending)" state.
On the map, a golden exclamation mark appeared on the faces of Luo Jiajun and his two companions, corresponding to the location of the decaying ancient tree.
Luo Jiajun understood immediately and patted the dragon's back lightly: "Take me to that tree."
The deformed dragon then spread its wings and flew with Luo Jiajun toward the withered tree with the human face carved on it.
Upon arrival, a crack appeared in the tree trunk, like a mouth, and then an old voice slowly spoke:
"Human... thank... thank you..."
The moment the words fell, the entire ancient tree completely lost its color, even the last trace of wood fading away, turning as black as ashes. From the crack in the trunk where the human voice had emanated, a vibrant green light source flew out and autonomously entered Luo Jiajun's body.
The message includes a notification to claim the quest reward of +1000 Summoning Points.
On the game panel that popped up in front of Luo Jiajun, a new prompt box quickly appeared.
You have received an additional quest reward—an incomplete source of the Tree of Life.
[The Incomplete Tree of Life's Origin: Significantly Enhance Your Physical Fitness and Lifespan]
[Attention! Due to absorbing the "incomplete source of the Tree of Life", your transformation ability - "Bio-Terminator" - has been upgraded.]
【Bio-Terminator II】: You can now switch to the "Alien Terminator" form after transforming into the Terminator. In this form, you lose the ability to control electricity, but your basic abilities such as vitality, speed, stamina, and strength receive an additional 50% boost. When you switch to the Alien Terminator form, the duration of this transformation will also be refreshed, and all injuries and stamina will be restored.
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A verdant ball of light, symbolizing the origin of the Tree of Life, surged into Luo Jiajun's body, and a gentle warmth flowed through every meridian of his body like a spring breeze.
In the blink of an eye, Luo Jiajun's physique became as robust as if it had been through countless trials. His previously somewhat thin body now showed smooth muscle contours, and under the cover of his clothes, eight distinct and muscular lines were outlined on his waist and abdomen.
'I didn't expect this mission to have a hidden reward, awesome!'
It's fair to say that what Luo Jiajun needs most right now is to improve his physical abilities. Because his physique is no different from an ordinary person when he doesn't transform into a Terminator, he could only provide support to Achina in the battle to clear out the mutated millipedes. Strictly speaking, his contribution was minimal, and he was essentially just a bystander.
Now that his physical fitness has greatly improved, Luo Jiajun's mood has also become much better.
When Achina carried him back to the ground, Rinko Akiyama arrived shortly after. Luo Jiajun excitedly said to Rinko, "Rinko! Don't I look very different now!"
Although his appearance remained the same, after absorbing the [Incomplete Origin of the Tree of Life], Luo Jiajun not only expanded in size, but his height, which was originally just 1.8 meters, also increased to almost 1.9 meters.
Rinko Akiyama had witnessed the decaying Tree of Life transmitting its essence to Jiajun Luo, so she nodded and said to Jiajun Luo:
"Hmm, Xiao Luo's body has indeed become much stronger. Is that all thanks to that tree? It seems that although all plants in this world have been mutated, it doesn't mean that all plants have become evil beings..."
Upon hearing what Akiyama Rinko said, Luo Jiajun was momentarily stunned.
Yes! Even that decaying tree of life just now said "thank you" to him!
Moreover, the "Tree of Life" sounds like a very noble and righteous existence, which should symbolize eternal vitality and hope... Unfortunately, before it could have a chance to flourish, it was parasitized and devoured by those greedy mutated millipedes, which squeezed out its abundant life essence.
“Hmm, Rinko, what you just said has given me some insight. If these mutated plants aren’t all evil, then at least there’s still hope for us humans,” Luo Jiajun pondered.
Of course, what he just experienced was merely an exception in the catastrophe. Along this bloody journey, the cruel reality had already shown Luo Jiajun that the vast majority of the mutated plants had turned into ferocious creatures that would devour humans, like thorns hanging over the throat of human civilization.
Just as Luo Jiajun was talking with Akiyama Rinko, some rustling sounds suddenly came from not far away. Luo Jiajun, whose five senses had become much more acute after his physique was enhanced, immediately noticed them.
When Luo Jiajun turned around, he discovered that it was actually a "dead leaf mummy" that was staggering along.
The mutated millipedes that had been occupying the park entrance had all returned to defend their nest. With no obstacles in their way, the withered leaf mummy was able to enter the park smoothly.
Luo Jiajun reacted quickly, patting the spot behind him to signal Akiyama Rinko to jump onto Archina's dragon back. He then ordered Archina to carry him and Akiyama Rinko, flying high in the air and hovering far behind the withered leaf mummy.
Once off the ground, the three no longer had to worry about being attacked by the various mutated plants in the park, and Luo Jiajun's plan to follow and observe them proceeded smoothly.
Before long, they arrived at the deepest part of the park, where a patch of open ground covered with intertwined roots came into Luo Jiajun's view. At the end of this open space, a decaying, towering ancient tree stood majestically, with a hollow about two meters high at the base of its trunk. Within the hollow, countless roots twisted and intertwined, weaving a human-shaped silhouette, resembling Jesus on the cross.
Upon arriving at this place, all the dead leaf mummies emitted mournful whimpers and knelt down on the root-covered open ground, worshipping the giant tree with the utmost devotion.
At this moment, a game notification popped up in front of Luo Jiajun:
You have discovered a hidden, high-value target: the source of corruption.
The quest "Returning to One's Roots" has been completed, and you have received the reward: 1 Plant-type Summoning Card.
The new quest "Eliminate the Weeds at the Root" has been automatically accepted. Please complete it as soon as possible!
……
Eliminate the root of the problem.
[Mission Requirements]: Eliminate the source of corruption.
[Task Time Limit]: Within 72 hours
[Mission Reward]: Doubles the Summoning Points gained from eliminating the high-value target, Source of Corruption.
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After reviewing the mission details, Luo Jiajun closed the game panel and looked back at the giant tree known as the "Source of Corruption".
High-value targets are the root of corruption.
Just like the "Needle Giant" before, the giant tree called the Source of Corruption in Luo Jiajun's field of vision also had a string of words on the top of its tree hole, and these words were orange!
Luo Jiajun remembered clearly that the information bar font of the needle giant he had encountered before was purple.
So what is this?
Classic white, green, blue, purple, and orange?
Doesn't that mean the source of corruption is far more difficult to deal with than the previous needle giant?
'Fortunately, I can summon twice at any time to further enhance the team's combat power!' With this in mind, and knowing that the mission only needs to be completed within 72 hours, Luo Jiajun immediately patted Achina's dragon back and gave Achina the order to return.
After the previous battle with the mutated millipede herd, Rinko had expended a lot of energy.
Moreover, when you summon new teammates, you always need to get them used to each other first.
Therefore, Luo Jiajun decided to go back and make some preparations before dealing with this "hidden boss".
They returned to the house where they had previously lived.
On the balcony outside the bedroom, Achina transformed back into her original form and landed smoothly.
"Well……"
Leaning against the balcony railing, the woman raised her hand to cover her forehead and let out a low moan. It seemed that although she could freely switch forms, this ability brought her a considerable burden.
"Um, that... Archina... do you feel... a little cold?" Luo Jiajun asked Archina slowly.
Because she transformed and then reverted to her original form, Archina is currently completely naked!
So this ability really can't be used recklessly, especially when you revert to your original form, you have to be careful of any loitering people nearby...
Archina only realized the situation after Luo Jiajun reminded her. But she only paused slightly, not panicking. Instead, she smiled knowingly and asked Luo Jiajun, "How is it? Does it look good?"
"Ahem! You should go inside and lie down on the bed to rest, and cover yourself properly with the blanket," Luo Jiajun said in a serious tone.
Beside him, Rinko Akiyama had already turned her head away, avoiding looking at him.
Enter the house.
Later, Luo Jiajun explained to the two women that new teammates would be arriving soon.
Neither Archina nor Rinko Akiyama showed excessive surprise at this.
"So, little guy, you really do know magic, right? You can cast the summoning spell again?" Archina said to Luo Jiajun, half-jokingly and half-seriously.
Rinko Akiyama nodded and slowly said, "Summoning magic? In the world I came from, there are quite a few people who are skilled in this, especially the demons."
Luo Jiajun then opened the game panel and entered the summoning interface. He found that in the summoning interface, in addition to consuming summoning points, the [Targeted Summoning] function also supports switching to consuming "Plant Summoning Cards" for a single summon.
[Plant-themed Summoning Card]: Using this summoning card will randomly summon a new teammate whose appearance and abilities match the plant theme.
The character's appearance and abilities align with the plant theme...
who can that be?
Without hesitation, Luo Jiajun then chose to summon.
Then, various humanoid silhouettes began to flash rapidly across the summoning interface.
When the flashing stopped, a stunning animated character portrait appeared before Luo Jiajun's eyes:
This is a bewitching woman composed of thorns and flowers.
Her upper body was enveloped in green leaves, her skin as smooth and translucent as newly grown tree bark, delicate vine patterns entwined around her collarbone, and her fiery red hair resembled a blooming flower crown. Below her slender waist, her long, shapely legs were encased in unusual stockings or boots made of thorns and leaves.
Zyra, the Rise of Thorns
职业羁绊——法师（2/4/6/8）：法师单位的法力消耗降低20%/40%/60%/80%，法力恢复速度提升50%/80%/120%/200%。
Faction Synergy - Fairy (3/5): All units in the team gain 20%/45% resistance to viruses and various abnormal statuses, and fairy units gain double the resistance bonus.