books44 Chapter 416 [Empire] "Battle Plants"
Chapter 416 [Empire] "Battle Plants"
Stepping into the abandoned experimental base again, I couldn't help but sense a difference. Though I couldn't see anything with my naked eyes, a sense of unease crept into my bones. The air seemed heavier, and the walls, the ground, the equipment around me all had a subtle shift, as if everything was silently undergoing unnoticed changes.
I carried the young green seedling on my back, feeling the subtle glow emanating from its branches and leaves, a warm and mysterious radiance. Each time its light flickered in the gloom, I involuntarily tightened my backpack strap. The young green seedling seemed to sense the difference. Its branches and leaves were no longer as calm as before, occasionally trembling slightly, as if responding to some unknown call.
Nightingale walked ahead, his steps light and swift, his eyes scanning the surroundings sharply. Clearly, he too had sensed something was amiss. "Be careful," he said in a low, calm voice. "I have a feeling the danger this time is more than just the combat plants we encountered before."
I nodded, my inner vigilance rising. With every step, I felt an inexplicable sense of oppression, as if an invisible force was hovering around us, ready to erupt at any moment. The faint flickering light of the cyan seedlings brought me a sense of comfort, but also made me more alert. This fluctuation of power seemed much stronger than before.
"What's wrong?" Nightingale suddenly stopped and turned to look at me. His eyes were full of sharp light, as if he had noticed my uneasiness.
"Something's changed here," I whispered, my eyes scanning the surroundings as a sense of foreboding crept into my heart. "I sense something lurking, an invisible threat even."
Nightingale nodded slightly, her eyes becoming more cautious. "Then you should be even more careful. Since you have this intuition, there must be a reason."
I took a deep breath and continued to follow Nightingale. The abandoned experimental base unfolded before us. Though everything seemed silent, this stillness concealed a subtle tension. Walking down a long corridor, the surrounding equipment still maintained its cold appearance, but I knew that every inch of this space might hide unknown dangers.
Suddenly, the green seedling trembled slightly, and the light on its branches flickered. My heart skipped a beat. I turned to look at it. Its fluorescence had become even stronger, as if it had sensed some unusual signal. I quickly reached out and gently touched my backpack, feeling its power more active than ever.
Nightingale's gaze followed closely, having noticed the changes in the cyan seedling. "It looks like it's reacting." His voice remained calm, but a hint of alertness flickered in his eyes. "Be careful, something might be approaching."
At this moment, a deep voice suddenly sounded behind us. The voice came without any warning, like an echo in the air, vague and unclear, yet oppressive.
"You...are finally here."
I spun around and saw a figure standing in a dark corner. Its outline was blurry, as if condensed from the endless darkness. The figure's contours kept distorting, like an illusion, or some hidden power. The voice was low and threatening.
Nightingale didn't hesitate at all. She drew her weapon instantly, her gaze fixed on the blurry figure. "Who is it?"
The figure's outline gradually became clear, revealing a pale, sinister face. His eyes shone with a strange light, and a hint of a sneer clung to his face. It was clear that he was no ordinary human; his body bore clear signs of modification, seemingly a fusion of mechanical and biological elements.
"You... finally found this place," the figure repeated in a low voice, a strange tremor in his voice. "You shouldn't have come here."
Nightingale's gaze grew more serious, his finger already slightly gripping the trigger of his weapon. "Tell me, what awaits us here?"
A glint of madness flashed in the figure's eyes. He suddenly extended his hand, pointed at us, and moved his lips slightly, as if chanting some ancient spell. I felt a chill run through my heart. The light of the green seedlings flickered even more, as if responding to that strange power.
"You—are not supposed to know the truth."
My heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and a chill washed over me. The man's legs and feet were no longer human. Instead, they were a tangle of twisted tree roots, tangled and intertwined, tightly wrapped around the ground, as if they had grown from deep within the earth, exuding a faint, eerie, decayed aura.
The roots were covered in grayish-white spots, shimmering with a faint light, blending seamlessly with the surrounding environment. This wasn't ordinary biological tissue at all; it was clearly a cursed or manipulated force, more like an "infection." The figure moved slowly, its movements extremely slow, as if restrained by some invisible force, yet it continued to approach us with determination.
I glanced at Nightingale. His expression had become even more serious, and a hint of obvious alertness flashed in his eyes. He didn't act immediately, but whispered, "Be careful, this isn't just a combat plant."
The figure's smile remained sinister, as if he were enjoying our fear. "You are not qualified to know the secrets of this place," he said in a low voice, filled with unspeakable power. "And you should not have interfered."
The green seedling's branches and leaves suddenly trembled violently, and the light in my backpack flickered brighter and brighter, as if it were about to break through some limit. Its reaction was clearly different from any previous one, as if it sensed some extremely dangerous power in this figure. My hand unconsciously tightened around the backpack strap, and a certain intuition in my heart told me that this confrontation would not be so simple.
Nightingale stood straight, gripping his weapon tightly, ready to deal with any sudden attack. "What are you?" His voice was filled with calm pressure. "Are you a product of this experimental base, or a victim of it?"
The figure's smile grew increasingly sinister, a sneer of strange satisfaction lingering on his lips. "You are truly clever, but unfortunately..." He paused, a strange glint in his eyes. "Your 'cleverness' is useless. Do you understand? This experimental base is the pursuit of higher powers. All the experiments here, all the 'research', are aimed at drawing power from combat plants and the plants themselves... and I am a part of that."
Before he could finish his words, his body suddenly lurched, appearing before us almost instantly. His hands had transformed into a tangle of branch-like tentacles, rapidly attempting to entangle Nightingale and me. This force was unlike anything I had ever seen, swift and full of the primal vitality of some plant.
The cyan seedling's light suddenly erupted with dazzling light, its branches and leaves vibrating violently. A powerful wave of energy suddenly released, as if in response to the figure's threat. I felt a surge of heat coursing through my body. The cyan seedling seemed to provide me with invisible support, making my movements more agile.
Nightingale's reaction was equally swift. He drew his weapon almost instantly, and a silver-white long blade flashed with a cold light before swiftly slashing at the tree root that was trying to spread. The moment the long blade made contact with the tree root, there was a sharp impact sound, and a strong energy wave spread out in all directions.
I quickly retreated, my "water gun" ready, pointed precisely at the figure and began charging. I knew I had to end this battle quickly, or else this force would consume us completely. I even suspected the monster before me had the power to transform us into its own kind.
The figure's laughter was tinged with madness. "You will never understand the true meaning of this power!" His voice became almost unsteady, as if manipulated by some mad force. "Everything will become a part of me. All life, all power, will ultimately belong to me!"
As he finished his last words, the enormous pressure suddenly hit us again. The light in the air seemed to be swallowed up in an instant, the surrounding walls began to vibrate, and bursts of low roars came from the depths.
"This is wrong!" Nightingale suddenly shouted, a nervous glint in his eyes. "Hurry up, don't let him unleash any more power!"
I took a deep breath, gripped the "water gun" tightly, and felt the energy gradually reach its peak. I aimed at the figure's core and pulled the trigger without hesitation. A powerful jet of energy suddenly penetrated the air and hit the figure's chest.
His body was hit, and an intense light burst out instantly. The light was mixed with the faint light of plants and the brilliance of some machinery, as if two forces were colliding violently, carrying an unstoppable destructive force.
Nightingale and I both jumped back, afraid of being affected. The light gradually faded, and the scene before us became blurry.
When everything returned to silence, we saw the figure gradually collapse, and the powerful force on his body seemed to have been broken, but the remaining tree roots and rotten plants on the ground were still slowly wriggling, as if they had not completely disappeared.
Nightingale said in a deep voice: "This is not over yet."
I gripped my weapon tightly, my inner vigilance undiminished. "It seems we haven't seen the real enemy yet."