Chapter 39: Silver Radiance on the Lake, The Arrival of the Corrupted Treant and the Doctor

The pain of the spatial tear was like tens of millions of steel knives scraping through the marrow; even with the shield of the Dark Gold Fragment blocking most of the force, Sister Ai Li still felt her body as if crushed and reassembled by an invisible colossal power. Before her eyes were rapidly spinning, bizarrely colored patches; in her ears was the sharp shriek of space.

Time seemed stretched out, yet also seemed but an instant.

"Splash!"

The bone-chilling lake water instantly swallowed Sister Ai Li! The tremendous impact force drove her to the bottom of the lake, her mouth and nose filling with lake water carrying a strong scent of decay and fishy sweetness! The shield formed by the Dark Gold Fragment flickered the moment it entered the water, resisting the initial impact and water pressure, then its light dimmed completely, turning to dust and dissipating.

Sister Ai Li snapped her eyes open! The icy lake water stimulated every nerve in her body. Above was the turbid lake water, glowing with an eerie purple, the light extremely faint. She quickly assessed her situation, kicked her legs hard, and surged toward the surface like a swimming fish!

"Whoosh!"

Sister Ai Li broke through the water, gasping for breath. Before her lay a silent lake; the lake water was viscous like oil, presenting an ominous purple-black, with a thick layer of gray-white fungal mat and rotting plant debris floating on the surface. The air was filled with a suffocating Withering Mist, more dense and more filthy than over at Priestess Liyana's side! Surrounding the lake were countless twisted, towering black withered trees covered in purple fungal spots, like silent, malicious guards. This was—Moon Shadow Lake!

She immediately looked at her hand; the Dark Gold Fragment had already turned to ash, the one-time shield completely gone. The bone-chilling cold and the Withering Essence contained in the lake water began to corrode her body, sending waves of stinging pain and numbness through her skin.

The coordinates transmitted by Xiang Lingna were extremely precise! Sister Ai Li found herself right in the central area of the lake. She looked around; in the turbid lake water, a point of extremely faint, pure silver light appeared and disappeared in the depths of the lake bottom! Moonlight Crystal!

The target was right before her eyes! But danger came with it!

From the withered forest on the lake shore came a sound of "creak" that made teeth ache. Those huge withered trees, like guards, had actually "come alive"! Cracks opened on the fungal-spotted trunks, revealing cloudy yellow eyeballs! Thick "arms" formed of rotting tree roots slowly raised! They were Corrupted Treants! Guardians of the forest, now completely twisted, becoming the claws of the Withering!

"Roar—!" A low roar echoed through the withered forest! More than a dozen massive Corrupted Treants, taking heavy steps, crushed the fungal mats on the shore and closed in on Sister Ai Li in the center of the lake! Their huge Corrupted arms churned the lake water, raising filthy waves!

Sister Ai Li instantly fell into a desperate situation! In the water, her movement was severely restricted; the short crossbow could not be used, and the only weapon was the alloy dagger tied to her thigh! And her opponents were more than a dozen Corrupted Treants with thick skin and terrifying strength!

The bone-chilling lake water accelerated the consumption of her stamina; the Withering Mist corroded her will. Sister Ai Li's eyes remained cold, showing not a trace of fear. She took a deep breath, and her body suddenly sank downward! Her target was directly that faint silver light at the lake bottom!

Only by obtaining the Moonlight Crystal was there hope!

The Corrupted Treants on the shore let out angry roars, their huge arms smashing down hard on the water surface! Raising filthy water columns that shot to the sky! More Treants stepped directly into the lake; their heavy steps churned the mud at the lake bottom, making the lake water even more turbid!

Sister Ai Li, like a nimble swimming fish, darted through the turbid lake water, dodging the huge arms constantly smashing down from above and the churning undercurrents. The Withering Essence, like a parasite clinging to the bone, made her feel her body growing heavier and her movements slower and slower. She endured the bone-chilling cold and the pain of corrosion, relying on her superhuman will and swimming skills, inching closer to that silver light at the lake bottom!

Closer! Even closer!

The scene at the lake bottom came into view: in the thick mud lay a crystal stone, about the size of a palm, perfectly round, emitting a soft, pure Moonlight glow, lying quietly there! Although the light was blocked by the filthy lake water, it still shone like a lighthouse in the darkness!

Light exploded in Sister Ai Li's eyes! She reached out her hand, grabbing for that crystal!

At the very instant her fingertips were about to touch the crystal!

"Boom—!!!"

A huge shadow loomed over the lake surface! A Corrupted Treant King, even more massive than the others and covered in thick purple crystal clusters, had actually stepped directly into the center of the lake! Its huge Corrupted arm, like a battering ram, carrying a tearing wind that ripped through the water flow, smashed down hard on Sister Ai Li at the lake bottom! Its speed was so fast, there was no way to dodge!

Sister Ai Li's pupils shrank sharply! Life and death hung by a thread!

At the same time, in the Wasteland Depression.

The "Scavenger" mobile fortress, like an immovable mountain, stopped five hundred meters outside the depression. A pale blue energy field shield protected it firmly like an eggshell. The triple-mounted heavy plasma turrets were fully charged; their ghostly blue light, like the gaze of the Grim Reaper, locked onto the center of the depression!

"Surrender! Or! Annihilation!" A cold, emotionless electronic synthesized voice echoed through the entire depression via a massive loudspeaker. The source of the voice was a platform slowly rising from the top of the "Scavenger." On the platform stood a middle-aged man wearing a white research robe, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with hair combed meticulously. His eyes were fanatical yet cold, as if observing microorganisms in a petri dish. It was the Black Scorpion's "Doctor"!

He had personally descended!

The Doctor's gaze swept over the depression's crude defenses, as if looking at a group of ants. His line of sight finally fixed on the earth vein crack deep within the depression, and extreme greed exploded in his eyes.

"Target One: Destroy all resistance. Target Two: Capture the spatial node carrier. Target Three: Seize the earth vein core fragment." The Doctor coldly ordered, "Open fire."

"Zzz—Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three thick ghostly blue plasma beams, like spears of divine punishment, tore through the air, carrying an aura of total destruction, and smashed hard into the depression!

The final judgment of the Wasteland descended!