Chapter 928

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Main Character:

Shen Yao

"What's wrong?" Shen Yao came up to Huo Xunqi and looked up at him.

Huo Xunqi didn't speak, but instead lowered his eyes slightly and met Shen Yao's gaze for a moment.

Shen Yao:...

Shen Yao looked at the crowd opposite, and sure enough, she spotted a few familiar faces among them — they counted as Huo Xunqi's old colleagues, only neither side had much desire to talk.

She patted Huo Xunqi's arm helplessly; this man really left her at a loss for words — colleagues turned into strangers, showing that his becoming the Special Investigation Bureau Chief was entirely due to his own genuine ability; otherwise, the overt and covert obstacles alone would have been enough for Huo Xunqi to suffer.

Huo Xunqi shrugged calmly, "I'll exchange intel with them later.

But the road we're taking is the opposite direction; we can't cooperate on the same path."

Shen Yao sighed, "They should be able to see the problems with the Dodder Garden and Maple Garden; otherwise they wouldn't have, as that person just said, not entered the garden areas and just walked straight ahead."

Changming Botanical Garden has only five garden areas, and there are timed bombs in between that don't need visiting; as players rich in instance experience, unless the difficulty is too high, they wouldn't pass up any method that could raise their clearance rating.

You have to understand, walking this path is like rowing against the current — if you don't advance, you fall back; no one wants to tread water in place, so in every instance they need to secure a higher rating to raise their player level and unlock more player functions.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad," Huo Xunqi muttered that it was bad, but his facial expression didn't reveal a hint of it; the couple conversed in words only they could hear for a while, then one returned to the original spot, the other went to find strange colleagues.

Shen Xi and the other two looked back and forth; Huo Mingze hugged Shen Yao's arm, "Mom, why did Dad go over there again?"

That group looked like frost-bitten eggplants, listless and without a shred of spirit.

Huo Mingjue waved his hand with great flair, "Dad must have discovered something; maybe the seals on the tickets can produce a few more."

As one of those being carried, Huo Mingjue had full self-awareness; he knew even better that this instance was only entered by Mom and Dad for the safety of the two of them.

The current world changes too fast; Huo Mingze and Huo Mingjue are both children, and facing dangers beyond human power they lack the means to respond and counterattack.

Huo Xunqi is busy; Shen Yao and Shen Xi are both Apprentice Players who need to level up; Huo Mingjue and Huo Mingze's more likely path is to honestly attend school first, then enter instances when they reach a certain age.

But can they still be given time to attend school peacefully right now?

However, as long as they clear this instance smoothly and gain Apprentice Player status, the two of them can fully use the items in their hands; even if they encounter enemy retaliation or whatever during that period, they'll have means to counter enemies; stepping back further, enemies who can precisely catch and hurt them are, by nature, in a life-and-death struggle with Huo Xunqi and even Shen Yao — at that point nothing more needs to be said, it's just a matter of who comes out on top in the end.

"The more seals, the higher the rating," Shen Xi felt this instance's clearance was related to the number of seals; if they only got seals meeting the minimum clearance standard, then no matter how hard they tried, it wouldn't exceed C-Grade.

"Not necessarily; the Changming Botanical Garden Instance has other assessment paths."

Shen Yao mentioned the previous Slaughterhouse Instance — she had triggered a side mission there; Changming Botanical Garden might not lack special side missions either — for example, those other garden areas not within the botanical garden's visiting scope might once have been part of the arranged visit, only disappearing due to various matters.

Oh

They disappeared from the Changming Botanical Garden's introduction section, and from time to time would still appear and scare incoming players, even trapping players so they couldn't leave.

The previous Locust Garden was this situation; fortunately Shen Yao had a Staff ID, allowing her to lead the others out effortlessly.

The four huddled together and talked about previous experiences — mainly Shen Yao and Shen Xi speaking, Huo Mingze and Huo Mingjue responsible for listening; the two of them don't need to enter instances and fight for their lives temporarily, but understanding more instance operation logic has no downside — it'll all be useful in the future.

Soon, Huo Xunqi who went to find colleagues returned; his expression looked no different from before, but his eyes were much gloomier than at the start.

Hm?

He actually found something out?

Shen Yao looked again at the crowd not far away and discovered they were packing up, heading to the next garden area? Sunflower Garden and Willow Garden — with sufficient strength they wouldn't be hard to pass.

"The situation is rather tricky; in the Dodder Garden, they lost quite a few people," Huo Xunqi raised his hand and pointed at his own head, "Ordinary people lost part of their memory; once someone goes missing, they forget the other person."

Even those strange colleagues of his couldn't block this layer of harm; they still walked out of the Dodder Garden completely, realized the memory gaps, kept recalling, and only then exposed the problem.

But it was all too late; from the moment they walked out, the garden area behind them would no longer open for them; they could only bring the muddle-headed crowd forward until they ran into Huo Xunqi at the Banyan Garden.

Shen Yao:...

Arms crossed over her chest, Shen Yao raised her hand and tapped lightly; Huo Xunqi's words all came from those colleagues who'd just been pitted by the instance, "Can't fully believe them; perhaps, they still haven't truly woken up."

They merely think they've woken up, but their actual thoughts are still following the instance's logic; Shen Yao raised the danger level of the next three garden areas in her heart.

Huo Xunqi nodded, "Very likely; their abilities aren't outstanding, they just occupied an early advantage over others."

Later, with good luck someone carries them, ratings go up, they raise player level and get corresponding items; actually stripping away these external influence factors, they might not even compare to Shen Xi who just touched the threshold.

Shen Xi, treated as a measuring unit:...?

"Alright, let's not say so much; Dodder Garden and Maple Garden are for later; right now this Banyan Garden," Shen Yao gazed at the banyan trees forming a forest ahead, thinking that compared to modern society's banyan trees, this banyan tree was even more exaggerated and terrifying.

Endless aerial roots connected the banyan's trunks to the ground, like inserted fences stretching in patches; the dozens-of-meters-high banyan canopy blocked out the sky, stopping not a single thread of sunlight from above; a layer of dark green gas floated at the junction of ground and aerial roots, alive-like, constantly bubbling out and retracting at a specific frequency.

Standing outside the Banyan Garden, Shen Yao could still feel tremors from underground, like the banyan's heartbeat, thump by thump driving the entire Banyan Garden's operation.

The crowd had already bypassed the five of them by now; they dragged exhausted bodies, eyes dull and bewildered as they walked toward the Sunflower Garden ahead.

Shen Xi turned to watch, thinking that with these people's physical condition and mental state, they didn't look like they could clear the instance.

Huo Mingze and Huo Mingjue shook their heads like little adults; good thing they came in with their parents — if they were innocent bystanders dragged in, they'd be the ones in this miserable state right now.

"This garden area, I'll handle it!"

Shen Xi raised her hand, indicating the Flaming Heart hadn't been used since acquisition; right now this banyan tree was top-grade ignition material.

"Sister, didn't you say the plants inside the garden area..." Huo Mingze pursed his lips, afraid his big sister would act on impulse and be punished for violating the botanical garden's rules.

"Uncle Huo and Mom and them all made moves, and the seals still got stamped on just the same.

Shows the botanical garden's rules have loopholes," exploiting loopholes to act means the rules won't forcibly apply to oneself; Shen Xi pinched the Omni Bracer, indicating she'd wait for the banyan to act abnormally before moving, "The seals are most likely hidden underground."

Finishing her words, Shen Xi waved at the four, then walked into the Banyan Garden with a relaxed face, swinging the gate open and striding in grandly.

The crowd that left a step earlier stopped to watch; all were shocked by Shen Xi's action — this unafraid? This is an instance where one wrong step means no complete corpse!

"Can she get the seals?"

"A little girl, audacious beyond measure; definitely won't get any harvest."

"Can't put it that way; her group of five made it here smoothly; maybe they're stronger than us."

"So what if she's capable? With so many of us unable to find the seal, how could a little girl manage it?"

"Hey, you—do you know how to speak? Can she or can't she?"

"What's it got to do with us? Once we leave the Banyan Garden, we can never get back in—so why aren't you hurrying? Be careful the time runs out before you get the seal."

"..."

Shen Yao withdrew her gaze from behind her and fixed her eyes on the Banyan Garden before her.

It was very strange, as if she were looking at the things inside through a layer of glass, and moreover it was too calm; given Shen Xi's personality and the words she had spoken, Shen Xi absolutely could not be checking around the banyan tree in a routine, by-the-book manner.

Once again releasing her already-recovered mental power, Shen Yao sensed a sudden stab of pain in her brain, and following that the calm scene before her eyes shattered like a broken barrier, revealing the true scene that had been concealed.

Shen Yao:...?!!!

Dark, terrifying, bottomless—Shen Xi relied on the Omni Bracer's flight function, approaching the banyan tree's main root while dodging the aerial roots striking at her.

Truly unexpected—this Banyan Garden actually has two completely different faces.

From the outside it looks peaceful and serene; once inside it reveals its foul, hideous true appearance.

"Fake is fake in the end—no matter how convincing the disguise, it cannot change the fact," Shen Xi said as she spoke, then raised her hand and touched the aerial root at her side; the Flaming Heart activated, and the touched aerial root instantly burst into massive flames.

One to ten, ten to a hundred—in the end they connected into a continuous blaze. The Flaming Heart's fire may be ordinary, yet it is not easily extinguished; moreover the aerial roots are connected to the tree trunk, so the ignited flames need only two seconds to make any creature that touches them boil all over.

In the end it was still the banyan tree that chose to self-sever, which dispelled the endlessly spreading sea of fire.

Seeing this, Shen Xi didn't take it to heart—fire overcomes wood; so many aerial roots are all her ignition sources. What can self-severing do? Unable to achieve a one-hit kill, the ultimate winner can only be her.

Huo Mingze and Huo Mingjue began circling around Shen Yao and Huo Xunqi. The two of them could not perceive any change in the Banyan Garden; they only felt that Big Sister was acting abnormally, actually flying up and down searching for the seal—this simply wasn't Big Sister's character at all.

"Mom, should we go in and help?" Huo Mingze raised his hand and pointed at the Banyan Garden.

"Yeah, Big Sister has already run back and forth three times; that patch of leaves has grown several layers," Huo Mingjue remarked that unless they cut down the banyan tree, just looking from the periphery would make it very hard to find the seal.

Shen Yao:......

She knew it—as staff here, if she really wanted to give Changming Botanical Garden some suggestions, the illusion is made too fake; even ordinary people can't be fooled.

"No need, she'll be out any moment." The illusion is a preset procedure; Shen Yao relies on mental power to see through the falsehood to the reality.

Huo Xunqi sniffed his nose. "Fire?" A smell of scorching—likely the entire Banyan Garden has caught fire.

Prompted by Huo Xunqi's words, Huo Mingjue and Huo Mingze also became aware of the foul smell. Strange—how did they not notice just now?

"Illusion interference," Shen Yao explained the problem to the father and three sons.

In short, the illusion blocks the senses and consciousness a person should have; ordinary people are affected most severely—without someone pointing it out they will simply overlook it.

Players, on the other hand, will have some slight discovery; it just depends on the player's own reaction—if they perceive it they won't be affected; if they don't, they'll follow in ordinary people's footsteps.

In Shen Yao's view, the Banyan Garden before her had long since become a sea of fire; dark green gas continuously surged up from the ground, the towering banyan tree like a ball of flame, the scorching temperature twisting the air.

Before the banyan tree, Shen Xi was as tiny as a little black dot, dodging the branch trunks falling from above, the Omni Bracer tightly protecting her.

Crack-crack——

As if a barrier had been shattered, the originally exquisite and peaceful display window vanished, leaving behind the floor full of mess behind the display window.

Shen Xi came out pinching a stone in her hand, her whole body reeking of smoke and fire, ash hanging on her head, and several scratches from tree branches on her face.

"Got it."

Not only did she get the seal, she also gave the banyan tree a beating and incidentally avenged those who died in the Banyan Garden—the piled bones in the underground pit were all burned to ashes by the Buddhist fire; Shen Xi actually didn't know that such a small Banyan Garden had killed so many people!

No wonder this banyan tree grew so well—turns out it was all nourished by innocent people.

The five took out their respective tickets; as Shen Xi stamped the seal, the stone in her hand shrank smaller and smaller until the last bit was completely integrated into the Flaming Heart, bringing about an upgrade of the Flaming Heart.

Flaming Heart (A+): After one strengthening, it no longer needs contact to incinerate everything visible; two seconds is too much—one second is enough...

The red gem glittered in the sunlight; Shen Xi pinned it at her chest. "Not bad, not bad—looks like choosing fire attack in the botanical garden really yields twice the result with half the effort."

Next the five arrived at the Dodder Garden; the whole garden was full of pretty white flowers, yellow stems climbing over various plants, continuously supplying nutrition to the white flowers.

The previous battle greatly boosted Shen Xi's confidence; plus the Flaming Heart's strengthening upgrade, the current Dodder Garden is no match for Shen Xi.

As usual, after entering she adopted violent means; the dodder persisted longer than the banyan tree, but alas in the end it still fell within the Flaming Heart's fervor.

Shen Xi, having obtained the seal, gained a beautiful plant hairpin on her head, and they were thus able to continue on to the next destination.