Chapter 522: Excessive Force
Chapter 522: Excessive Force
"Zhao Ru, why don’t you try absorbing that water crystal core and see if you can create a water zombie under your control?" An Ran teases as she drives the mutant vines into the auditorium.
Vines spread wildly around her bulletproof car, enclosing it as though they are deep inside a dense primeval forest. Rain pours down, pelting the leaves with a fine crackling sound, while the green vines scramble across the walls.
In no time, the water zombie Zhao Ru immobilizes is completely covered. The vines coil tightly around its body, frantically draining it of water.
A few minutes later, the zombie is sucked dry.
Little Mint, who is inside the car, hands An Ran a marble-sized water crystal core. It scatters with a light poke, and in An Ran’s palm it looks like a trembling dewdrop, dangling even when she flicks her hand.
She holds it out to Zhao Ru. "Another one. Will you take it?"
Zhao Ru hesitates, then places her hand over An Ran’s and absorbs the crystal core.
But nothing miraculous happens as she imagines. Closing her eyes tightly, she frowns, waiting for some sort of change within her body.
"What do you feel?" An Ran asks, also expecting something extraordinary.
Zhao Ru shakes her head. "Nothing special. Just the sense that I can control two water zombies at once."
"I’ll give it a try." An Ran opens the golden box she has set aside. Inside is the crystal core from the first water zombie Zhao Ru killed. She pours the dewdrop-like crystal core into her palm and absorbs it. Almost instantly, she begins coughing violently.
“What’s wrong?” Zhao Ru hurriedly supports her, while Little Mint anxiously leans forward from the back seat.
An Ran waves them off, coughing. “It’s fine, it’s fine. I just pushed a little too hard.” As she raises her hand, the entire car shakes. Forcing herself under control, she gives Zhao Ru a strained smile. “Water crystal nuclei… they accelerate plant growth.”
Outside, the downpour rages on. With the rain feeding her powers, the elementary school is soon engulfed in a sprawling, mutated forest.
Behind her, the fat thorn ball in the trunk silently responds to her energy. Under An Ran’s influence, it sprouts a branch and blossoms into a pure white flower.
The fat thorn ball levels up. Meanwhile, the flesh flower’s crystal core remains motionless, nestled quietly in the thermos cup holder.
Delighted, An Ran turns her gaze toward the flowerpot in the corner. The small, ball-like fat thorn ball now bears a foot-long branch, its surface covered in sharp thorns, with a cactus flower blooming delicately at the tip.
If the mutant lily vine outside the car is a Level 3 plant, then the fat thorn ball starts out as Level 1. Now that it grows branches, it is clearly Level 2.
If it reaches Level 3, will its branches be as thick as the mutant vines outside? An Ran wonders.
The thought of the fat thorn ball eventually evolving into a thorn-covered mutant vine thrills her.