Chapter 42 The Power Apple, the Floating Plum
Chapter 42 The Power Apple, the Floating Plum
Listening to Cheng Cheng recount this shocking truth in a flat, monotone voice, Su Jinjin felt a chill run down her spine.
"No wonder Cheng Cheng hates researchers so much…" Su Jinjin looked at the girl in front of her who was being controlled and forced to relive painful memories, and for the first time, she felt complicated emotions towards this instance world.
This is hardly a natural disaster.
It is clearly a hell on earth brewed by human greed and madness!
She and those so-called players were merely new additions to this hellish drama, all struggling to survive.
"Luckily, I only have to endure three days in this godforsaken place," Su Jinjin thought to herself, determined not to live like a rat, constantly hiding and running away.
Her sharp gaze fell on the mantis scythe in Cheng Cheng's hand, which gleamed with a cold light, and then swept over the girl's slender body, which contained astonishing explosive power.
That's a physique that ordinary humans shouldn't have.
Su Jinjin herself took the [Body Modification Pill], but only gained an advantage in speed and reaction.
Cheng Cheng's power in instantly killing the giant spider and her leap of several meters were beyond her reach.
"How did you acquire this sickle... and your physical abilities?" Su Jinjin asked bluntly.
Cheng Cheng, still under the influence of the sweet fragrance, spoke with a unique pride: "This scythe was cut off from the forelimb of a very powerful 'Shadow Scythe Mantis'."
"The red mist not only caused insects to mutate and evolve, but also gave some special insects near-'supernatural' abilities. Ordinary bullets? They might be okay against small insects, but against monsters of that level, they're not even enough to tickle them! Only weapons forged from the hardest parts of their own bodies can truly break through their defenses and inflict fatal wounds." She weighed the heavy scythe in her hand. "This is using their own weapon against them!"
Su Jinjin understood: I get it, use magic to defeat magic!
But she was more concerned about the latter, "What about your superhuman strength and jumping ability? Don't tell me it's innate."
A hint of pride flashed in Cheng Cheng's eyes: "I found a 'Power Apple' and a 'Lightweight Plum' to enhance my abilities. After eating them, I gained my current strength and jumping ability."
"Power Apple? Light Plum?" Su Jinjin raised an eyebrow; the names sounded both strange and tempting.
"As I mentioned before, the red mist toxin doesn't just harm insects," Cheng Cheng explained, her tone becoming serious. "Its effects on plants are equally terrifying. Most plants simply grow wildly and become enormous, but some mutated plants also develop offensive capabilities; their vines can strangle, and their flowers can spit out poisonous stings… But a very small number of plants, during the mutation process, evolve and condense into fruits with miraculous effects!"
A longing gleamed in her eyes, "Like the Power Apple I mentioned, eating it makes you incredibly strong; the Light-Up Plum enhances your jumping ability, making you as light as a swallow, leaping several meters in one bound! I've also heard of 'Eagle-Eye Grapes,' which allow you to see in the dark as if it were daytime; and 'Iron-Skinned Durian,' which temporarily hardens your skin like steel..."
Upon hearing about this unusual fruit, Su Jinjin's heart began to race.
This is practically a "heavenly treasure" in the dungeon!
If she can find and consume several of these fruits within three days, her survival ability and chances of completing Mission Two will be greatly enhanced!
Collecting insect corpses is for treasure chests, but these fruits can be directly converted into combat power!
Just as Su Jinjin was about to say something, the alluring effect of the sweet fragrance suddenly ended.
Cheng Cheng suddenly came to her senses.
He looked at Su Jinjin and asked, "What happened to me? What did you do to me?"
Su Jinjin pretended not to know anything, "Nothing? You suddenly turned around, I was about to ask you what you wanted?"
Cheng Cheng scratched her head, feeling that something was amiss.
His wariness of Su Jinjin increased significantly.
Su Jinjin breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself that the alluring control effect of the sweet fragrance was still effective. To maintain control, she needed to keep letting the sweet fragrance on.
"We already know a lot of information, but we haven't gotten any specific details about the Insect Whisperer from her yet. Let's stop here for now and talk about it when we meet her again."
Su Jinjin felt that she wouldn't find an opportunity to make another move.
Now Cheng Cheng is even more wary of herself.
At that moment, a commotion and exclamations came from deep within Cheng Cheng's area.
Su Jinjin also heard other people shouting.
"Quick! Xiao Wu is entangled in the vines of the 'Carrion Flower'!"
"It's dragging him down! This is a specially evolved plant; we can't cut these vines!"
Cheng Cheng's expression changed upon hearing the voice.
"Oh no, Xiao Wu and the others are in danger."
She didn't come out alone to look for food.
Upon hearing the sound, Cheng Cheng knew that her teammate was in danger.
He grabbed the sickle and rushed over.
Su Jinjin followed closely behind.
Then, turning a street corner, one could see a thin boy being tightly bound around the waist and legs by several wrist-thick, thorny, dark purple vines in front of a doorway that had been squeezed open by plant roots. His body was being held upside down in mid-air.
It was being dragged by a tremendous force toward a giant flower bud covered in sharp teeth that kept opening and closing!
The flower buds emitted a nauseatingly sweet and rotten smell, which was exactly the "carrion flower" that someone had just mentioned!
Cheng Cheng roared, and the mantis scythe slashed at the vines with a shrill sound!
However, when the sharp blade struck the tough vine, it only left a shallow white mark, sparks flying everywhere!
Beside the carrion flower were two young men wielding machetes, who were also rapidly hacking at the plant.
"Damn it! This guy's vines are as hard as iron!" Cheng Cheng's face turned pale. Even with her strength and her special weapon, the scythe, she couldn't cut them off immediately.
"Chengcheng! What do we do! If we don't deal with this carrion flower, Xiao Wu will be eaten!" a man shouted in a panic.
Cheng Cheng gritted her teeth and swung her sickle repeatedly, but to no avail, and even angered the carrion flower that was about to feed.
Countless steel-like vines attacked the group.
Su Jinjin used the resume eye tool.
[Name: Carrion Flower]
[Gender: Female]
[Professional Skills: Powerful Digestion, Iron Vines]
Weakness: Fear of fire
Su Jinjin's eyes narrowed.
Ordinary vines could not possibly stop that terrifying scythe!
Watching the boy being dragged little by little towards the flower bud of death, Su Jinjin no longer hesitated.
She took a deep breath, her lips slightly parted beneath her mask.
"Mian Mianxiang!"
A wisp of pale blue, cool-smelling mist drifted precisely toward the carrion flower's gaping maw and the boy's mouth and nose.
The boy's struggling movements suddenly stopped, his eyes quickly became glazed, and his tense body instantly relaxed.