Chapter 225
On the flickering screen, even Chloe found her whole perspective turned upside down.
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As the scenes unfolded inside, everyone stared wide–eyed, hands clamped over their mouths in pure amazement.
Even their breathing became barely audible, as if afraid that the slightest sound would shatter the magic of this incredible world.
The first thing that popped up on the screen was a bunch of towering, century–old trees, their branches bursting with lush leaves and loaded down with fruit.
These fruits were clearly out of the ordinary, types no one had ever seen before, and they were huge.
“Oh my god, what kind of fruit is that? It’s massive!” someone blurted out.
“It kinda looks like a mini melon, but wait, there’s no way a mini melon could get that big, right?” another person chimed in.
Frank hurried over and pulled his wife along. “Honey, you grew up on the farm, right? Ever seen anything like this before?”
As he spoke, he nudged the others aside and led Joan right up to the front.
Joan stared at the screen, her eyes widening at the sight of those so–called mini melons, long as a loofah, thick as her own arm. She couldn’t help but think, just as confused as everyone else.
Joan thought for a moment before speaking up. “It’s definitely not a mini melon. See how they’re hanging from the branches? Mini melons always grow on ivies along the ground. These are nothing like that.”
“Whoa, that’s just bizarre,” someone said, shaking their head.
“Could it be a mutant plant or something?” another person wondered aloud.
Everyone started chiming in, throwing out their own theories and guesses.
Suddenly, Emily yelled out, “Hey, check this out!”
Everyone turned to look, just in time to see a gray rabbit scurrying under a tree loaded with those weird–looking melons.
One of the melons dropped to the ground and split open, making the rabbit jump in surprise. When it saw the fruit, it snatched up a chunk and started chomping down.
But before it could even finish a few bites, the whole rabbit started twitching all over. In less than three seconds, it keeled over, dead as a doornail.
Everyone gasped, stunned by what they saw.
Todd blurted out, “Wait, is that thing actually poisonous?”
Zombie 6 kept heading deeper into the Botanic Gardens, stumbling across all kinds of bizarre trees, even giant succulents, each one massive, easily a hundred times their usual size.
Everyone was totally blown away.
Zombie 6 had been wandering for who knows how long when the camera suddenly shook. When it steadied, a shadowy green ivy appeared right in front of the lens.
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Before they could get a good look, the sixth zombie’s camera feed turned to static, and the connection was lost. Everyone just stared at the static–filled screen, silent for a long moment.
“Looks like it ran into that Mutant Ivy,” Todd muttered.
Suddenly, the Phantom Zombie appeared, its voice flat and mechanical. “Sixth zombie was terminated.”
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Chloe was floored. A mutant zombie about to hit the fifth level had been instantly killed the moment it touched that vine.
Just how many terrifying mutant plants are still hidden in the Botanic Gardens?‘ Chloe thought, her heart racing.
Eliminating the mutant plants in the Botanic Gardens had become an urgent task.
Chloe was sure that if those mutant plants were allowed to keep growing, they might threaten the entire Blaze Haven, or even attack it.
Speak of the devil, trouble showed up the moment she thought about it.
Suddenly, Clayton’s voice came rushing in from outside.
“Boss, bad news! Really bad news!” Clayton yelled. He came stumbling in, covered in grime and panting hard.
“Boss, a mutant plant smashed through part of the east wall, and now a swarm of mutant cockroaches is crawling in. They’re massive, seriously, about this big!” Clayton exclaimed.
He gestured, showing that each mutant cockroach was as big as two adult fists put together.
“They eat anything in sight and bite anyone who gets close. They’ve already wiped out a huge patch of vegetables in the fields. Some farmers tried to stop them, but those mutant cockroaches just chewed them down to the bone,” Clayton said.
Just remembering it made Clayton shudder. He was still shaken by the whole scene.
Chloe couldn’t wait another second. She turned on her heel and headed out fast.
“Lead the way,” she said.
Frank, Mindy, and the rest of the crew rushed right after her.
Emily was clutching a laser cannon, a brand–new weapon straight from Bluehaven Base. She was itching to see just how powerful it really was.
By the time they arrived, more than 3 acres of vegetables had already been ravaged. Thousands upon thousands of mutant cockroaches were swarming in a thick mass, advancing so fast you could actually see the ground disappearing beneath them.
Everywhere they passed, they left nothing but bare earth in their wake.
A bunch of farmers stood off to the side, shouting in panic and frantically stomping their feet.
“My vegetables! Those damn bugs ate all my crops,” one of them wailed, his voice cracking with despair.
He threw himself down in the field, as if he was determined to defend his land to the bitter end.
Just as the mutant cockroaches were about to swarm him, Chloe grabbed Walter and yanked him back. He barely escaped getting eaten alive.
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The old man looked completely crushed.
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He’d finally managed to grow those veggies and was hoping to trade them in for some points.
“Don’t worry. Go tell everyone in the fields to head home. We’ll handle things here,” Chloe said.
The man nodded, then hurried off to round up the others.
Chloe and her crew had wiped out wave after wave of these swarming bugs before, so when they ran into them again, they went with their tried–and–true tactic.
Just a splash of hot oil over the mutant cockroaches, and a lit match dropped onto them.
With a sharp whoosh, the flames erupted, spreading across the ground in an instant.
The air was instantly filled with the sizzling and popping of burning mutant cockroaches.
In no time, the mutant cockroaches retreated, leaving the ground littered with cores.
Chloe finally figured out what was going on, thanks to the system.
The Mutant Ivy in the Botanic Gardens just powered up again!
Maybe today was just a provocation, just knocking out a few bricks from the wall. But tomorrow, it could bring the whole wall crashing down.
And when that happens, a horde of mutant plants and bugs will swarm in, and Blaze Haven will be wiped out before anyone even knows what hit them.
Two things had to happen, and they had to happen now.
First, she needed to level up her spiritual space ASAP, catch up to the Mutant Ivy’s level, and upgrade Blaze Haven’s defenses.
Or, she could go straight for the jugular, siphon off all the new energy hiding underground in the Botanic Gardens, and stop those mutant plants from leveling up so fast.
That was the real reason those mutant plants in the Botanic Gardens were growing so out of control. There was a massive energy stone buried deep underground.
Chloe asked the system in her mind. “System, can you move that energy stone under Blaze Haven?”
The system shrieked in her mind, “Seriously? Why don’t I just turn you into a god right now?”
Chloe scratched her head awkwardly. “If you can, awesome. If not, whatever. Don’t get so salty.”
Then the system piped up again, “The Botanic Gardens and Blaze Haven are only separated by a wall. That energy stone underground is so huge, it’s already reaching under the east wall.”
Chloe’s eyes nearly popped out of her head.
‘Energy stones can actually stretch out like that?‘ she thought, totally blown away.
Even through the spiritual space, Chloe could practically feel the system rolling its eyes at her.
“Come on, what are you even thinking? That energy stone is just huge. When Blaze Haven expanded, it just happened to
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include part of its edge,” the system replied.
Mutant bugs kept flooding through the cracks in the east wall, swarming in nonstop.
Everyone was fighting like crazy, scooping up cores left and right as they went.
Chloe just stood there, looking dazed, deep in thought. After a moment, she called Clayton over from the fight with the mutant bugs.
“Boss, what’s up?” Clayton asked.
