Chapter 87

We could only crouch carefully with a few people, but Ye Xi'an kept her attention on that white dot, feeling faintly that the white light was off, seemingly writhing slightly and changing shape.

Lin Zhi Jing pushed aside the dense thicket, and through a narrow gap, saw clearly the situation opposite.

There stood a towering Mutant Vines, its thick body twisted like an inflating balloon leaking air at a grand opening's welcome gate; countless tendrils sprouted from its roots, flailing wildly in the air, like demonic arms crawling up from the depths of hell, spanning before us in a chilling posture.

Its main trunk was several meters in diameter, its bark a dark black‑purple, covered with sharp spines, each spine as long as an adult's arm.

Inside seemed to flow a mysterious, darker‑hued slime; the slime moved slowly like a leech clinging to the inner fleshy walls of the trunk, surging out when wounded, dripping sticky down the trunk to the ground, instantly corroding the flat surface into a deep pit, emitting a screeching, grating sound.

But the most striking feature was the white light on its body, larger and brighter than the light orbs of other plants, nearly blinding Ye Xi'an.

Ye Xi'an squinted, not understanding what the white light was, as if it came from the exact center of the vines' trunk, yet the vines' bark was rough and flesh thick, how could light pass through?

Not far from the giant Mutant Vines, a clan was holding it at bay; each male wore a serious expression, wielded various weapons, their clothes torn by the vines, and bore various wounds.

Behind them, a female clad in a glossy black trench coat gathered her sea‑weed‑like massive waves to her side, lounging comfortably on a stone; her long legs were perfectly outlined by black leather pants, casually crossed on the ground, her demeanor relaxed, as if the massive creature posed no threat, merely tilting her head slightly to glance at a point on the giant Mutant Vines.

Following her gaze, Ye Xi'an and the others finally saw a male beastman whose waist was encircled by vines, hanging in mid‑air.

That must be the family member they need to rescue in the mission.

Suddenly, the female on the stone blinked, slowly turned her head toward Ye Xi'an, her sharp gaze filled with inquiry and warning.

"She's found us. Should we go out?" Ye Xi'an felt embarrassed to just take the money without doing anything.

Lin Zhi Jing turned back, raised an eyebrow at Ye Xi'an: "Can you beat it?"

Ye Xi'an choked a bit; of course she couldn't beat it: "Then can you beat it?"

Everyone shook their heads; this clan looked overwhelmingly strong, if they couldn't beat it, Ye Xi'an's clan would be even less likely.

Even a level‑6 Lin Zhi Jing charging forward would likely only get hit.

"But it's strange, how can a two‑star difficulty planet have such a powerful mutant plant?" Ji Jiangci, though he hadn't visited many planets, knew something about it.

Planets of one‑star difficulty are purely for tourism. Two‑star may have some danger, but never unavoidable life‑threatening hazards; difficulty only rises from three stars upward.

But given the current situation, Sai Fulola is clearly beyond its class.

"It's evolution."

Lin Zhi Jing slightly lifted his head, gazing at the vines that had almost become monsters, his tone firm and steady: "In fact, Zhu Shen Xing, when rating a planet's difficulty stars, already noted Sai Fulola's uniqueness; the planet's magnetic field fluctuates constantly, and the cells within the plants change form with the magnetic waves."

"Yet these plants' appearance remains unchanged and shows no aggression. However, the Federation always deemed the planet unstable, thus naming it Sai Fulola. It is like a bomb ready to explode at any moment, awaiting a moment to trigger a universe‑shaking transformation."

"Perhaps this transformation is about to begin."

Ji Jiangci and Yi Yang were both stunned by Lin Zhi Jing's words; even without knowledge of biology or science, they could feel the impact.

Only Bao Jing sneered at Lin Zhi Jing, unable to stand his pretentiousness: "It's just another mutation, all that god‑talk nonsense."

As for Ye Xi'an, she was already immune to Lin Zhi Jing's lofty talk, having heard it countless times in her laboratory on Diqiu.

"Who are you?"

Just as the group was engrossed in conversation, a cold, sharp female voice suddenly emerged behind Yi Yang, startling Bao Jing into instantly pressing Ye Xi'an behind him; the other three instinctively surrounded Ye Xi'an before turning to assess the situation.

Qiu Yi, seeing the others shielding themselves as if facing a ghost, crossed his arms and sneered: "Got guilty consciences, thieves? You've been spying on us for so long, and I say a word and you get scared like this."

The speaking female turned out to be the one who had been lounging on the stone; when she had slipped behind them, they hadn't heard any movement at all.

Lin Zhi Jing narrowed his eyes dangerously; it was one thing that Bao Jing and the others didn't notice, but even a level‑6 esper like him failed to detect her—could the female's ability level be above six?

"Why aren't you speaking?" Qiu Yi tilted his head; seeing them silent and staring warily at him, he found it utterly boring and began to size up the clan's female.

But these people were protecting the female far too tightly; she could only see a purple, fuzzy head, which only made her more curious.

"What's going on?"

Ye Xi'an, surrounded and crouching on the ground, didn't know what was happening outside, only feeling the atmosphere was oddly quiet.

So she cautiously stuck her head out from behind Bao Jing; as soon as she caught sight, she met the female's gaze, who gave her a subtle smile, startling her pale‑purple pupils to contract sharply, her eyes opening like two bells before snapping shut again.

When Qiu Yi saw Ye Xi'an, his previously distant gaze instantly lit up, thinking the female was just too cute!

Her round, glossy eyes resembled a soft, adorable kitten.

She hurried toward Ye Xi'an; several males rang alarm bells, rushing to attack the female.

But as soon as they moved, they sensed something was wrong.

"I can't move," Lin Zhi Jing frowned, immediately realizing it was the effect of the female's psychic ability; indeed her ability level seemed above six.

Lin Zhi Jing's voice was chillingly cold, yet his face betrayed unmistakable panic: "Ye Xi'an, run!"

Ye Xi'an wanted to run, but the four of them had her completely surrounded, leaving no escape.

"Run where?" Qiu Yi pressed the somewhat panicked Ye Xi'an; his 1.78‑meter stature was imposing, his icy face extending a hand toward her.

(End of chapter)