Chapter 328 | Chapter 329 | Chapter 330
Chapter 328: A Seed of Suspicion
What appeared before everyone was a sheer chasm, and at the very top of it stood a massive, dazzling palace.
It wasn’t orderly, nor did it resemble any human architecture. Starting from a huge triangular junction of branches at the top, it spread layer upon layer downward, countless interwoven branches supporting and threading through it—like a natural marvel of both engineering and beauty.
Artificial gemstones—square and round—along with zircon crystals and imitation pearls, were glued in place with bird saliva. Every so often, a large, glittering glass orb was set in, with shards of mirror scattered throughout. This enormous, radiant nest—ten times larger than a wasp’s hive—was the resplendent palace of the grey magpies and crows.
Sunlight filtered through the forest in strands, illuminating it. Even those who had seen the height of human luxury couldn’t help but marvel at this masterpiece crafted by nature.
“Damn…”
It took a long moment before anyone in the vehicle found their voice.
After struggling for half a lifetime, how was it that they still weren’t as rich as a flock of magpies? Whether practical or not, everyone couldn’t help wanting a palace like that!
At that moment, the arrival of humans in the territory had already drawn the attention of the densely packed magpies and crows perched on the branches.
“Don’t move!” someone commanded through the headset. “You’re too close to the nest. If you make a move, these magpies and crows—who’ve seen firearms—will go all out against you!”
When they got vicious, they could swarm in less than a minute and strip the flesh from a person bit by bit.
The camera remained perfectly still. The scout obediently froze in place.
Seeing him unmoving, the magpies stayed perched as well, tilting their heads as they stared at him.
After a while, a particularly large magpie flew out from the palace, circled him several times, then returned to perch atop the crystal palace.
“Wait—zoom in! What’s under that magpie’s feet? It picked it up with its beak… zoom in! Can you see it clearly? What is it?”
Everyone frowned.
It was shiny, silvery-gray, about the size of a quail egg, wrinkled…
“What is that?”
As the question lingered, the scout slowly opened his palm, watching as the magpie placed the object into his hand. He examined it from all angles and finally said hesitantly—
“This… looks like a ball of tin foil?”
It was tightly crumpled.
But no matter how tight, wasn’t it still just lightweight foil?
Just as he was puzzling over it, there came a “plop” sound. At the bottom of the crystal palace, a round glass orb suddenly dropped. In the deep ravine below, besides scattered beads and glass balls, there were also several broken branches.
The group fell silent.
After a moment, Bai Yu finally let out a breath. “So… after all that, what they want is just tin foil balls?”
The people in the vehicle also relaxed. Fighting meant casualties—if they could avoid it, all the better. And tin foil? Cheap and easy to handle!
“Look at those broken branches—this nest is probably too heavy. The lower branches can’t hold it anymore.”
“And it’s probably hard to secure things too. Those glass balls are heavy and smooth—no matter how they stick them, they’re more likely to fall off.”
“You’ve got to admit, these magpies have good taste. Tin foil balls really do the job.”
First, they’re light—no added weight when stuck on.
Second, they still shine brilliantly in the sunlight.
Third, they insulate far better than those useless glass balls and crystals.
Warm in winter, cool in summer.
The only drawback was durability—exposed to sun and wind, they’d dull quickly.
But that didn’t matter. As long as humans kept coming into the wilderness, would they ever lack supply? They could cover the entire forest with nests like this.
However—
“We don’t have any.”
Seriously, who brings a pile of tin foil balls into the wilderness?
Whoever first used foil balls to appease these magpies had really outdone themselves. Now the others had wasted all this time—and still had to worry about raw materials!
Logistics immediately began scrambling. “Check everything—do we have anything packaged in foil?”
If they didn’t pay the toll properly, the magpies wouldn’t let them pass. Bai Yu gave the order to rest on the spot while logistics frantically searched through supplies, working themselves to exhaustion.
The magpies seemed to have their own way of communicating. Once they saw that the humans had recognized the foil ball, they stopped surrounding them and instead quietly perched on the branches.
But thousands of silent birds staring down—it made one’s scalp crawl.
The logistics team tensed up, hastily checking their inventory again, cursing under their breath.
The rushed three-day plan, the sudden change of orders—they’d already been worked to the bone with no rest. Now, instead of getting a break on the road, they were stuck dealing with this!
At the root of it all—General Wu really knew how to make things difficult.
Meanwhile, the very General Wu they were grumbling about was trying to calm himself, suppress his anxiety, and take a walk in the woods.
From a distance, Bai Yu observed him. Wherever he went, the vines and branches didn’t move aside at all—he had to push them away by hand.
“?”
She frowned slightly.
As fellow wood-type ability users, they all possessed some degree of plant affinity—especially those who had once stimulated large plants. For instance, another commander had once nurtured a jujube tree in the wilderness, saving countless lives.
After such stimulation, when walking through forests, most mutated plants would instinctively shift aside a little.
Experts said this was a sign of partial integration between ability origin and plant life—not particularly powerful, but not useless either. It also increased success rates when communicating with other mutated plants.
But why not with Wu Yue?
Bai Yu’s expression remained calm, but her mind replayed every detail.
Back when he guided her abilities and during training sessions, Wu Yue’s power had been active—making it impossible to tell whether plants were yielding naturally or under pressure.
Yet Wu Yue had been in Flower City for three days and had never mentioned the Rose Corridor. He hadn’t even attempted to approach it.
The commander who had nurtured the jujube tree was said to be able to communicate with it, visiting it every time he passed by.
Could it be a difference in emotional sensitivity between men and women?
But thinking back to what Zhou Qian had said—Wu Yue, the Rose Corridor, the cabin, the injury…
Was he really injured because he activated the protective charm left behind by General Lin?
She glanced once more at the silent forest, then suddenly smiled and began walking around with her guards.
Wherever she passed, the tangled plants gently shifted aside—subtle, natural.
Meanwhile, Wu Yue—unaware of Bai Yu’s suspicions—stood near a small rest area and noticed a particularly tall sunflower at the edge of the clearing.
Chapter 329: The Sunflower’s Ability
A lone sunflower—rare in the forest, unusually tall—stood there.
Even from a distance, Wu Yue spotted it at once.
His interest was piqued. He passed through the woods, crossed the small rest area, and went straight up to the sunflower.
This sunflower was extraordinarily large. The stalk alone was as thick as a forearm. Looking up, the top was partly hidden by overhanging branches, and only through the gaps could one sense that blinding, tear-inducing light.
Interesting. Even from afar, its petals had looked unusual, and the light just now clearly wasn’t normal forest sunlight.
Wu Yue wiped away the tears from his eyes, then summoned vines to lift himself swiftly along a nearby thick branch.
Only when he reached the treetop did he truly see the sunflower.
In terms of height, it was probably eleven or twelve meters tall. Not especially prominent in the forest—but no other tree of three stories could produce such a massive and singular yellow bloom.
Up close, its petals seemed metallic—edges sharp, surfaces smooth. Under sunlight, they reflected beams that scorched the eyes, making them burn and water again.
Instinctively, he activated his ability, trying to sense the sunflower at close range. But the plant stood upright from earth to sky, stubborn and single-minded—it wouldn’t heed him at all.
When his ability wrapped around it, the sunflower seemed to grow angry. Its massive flower head abruptly twisted, locking onto his direction!
Bai Yu, who had also hurried over, remained outside the forest, standing in the rest area and looking up. She called out in surprise:
“What a huge sunflower! General Wu, did you cultivate this?”
Wu Yue’s heart stirred.
Standing atop the tree, one hand behind his back, a faint smile curled at his lips as he looked down at Bai Yu and her guards.
“I—”
Before he could finish, Bai Yu’s face suddenly showed a trace of alarm. “General Wu—!”
She seemed about to warn him of something, but before she could finish, Wu Yue felt a searing pain on his cheek. His body instinctively tilted back.
At the same time, another scorching beam shot past above his ear. He immediately smelled burnt hair and felt a sharp burning pain along his ear.
Wu Yue had fought many battles. He instantly took a defensive stance, unleashing his ability. Vines and branches surged outward, lashing in all directions!
But—
Nothing.
There was no sign of any mutated creature.
He snapped back to his senses and turned his gaze toward the sunflower.
At that moment, another intense beam of light suddenly shot from the bronze-bright petals. Even before reaching him, it carried terrifying heat!
Wu Yue dodged quickly, then watched as a nearby tree trunk was pierced clean through.
Anger flared in his chest. Power surged through him as he slashed his hand forward. A massive elephant-ear leaf in the forest shot out diagonally like a blade!
The sunflower wasn’t especially strong. Under that strike, it was cut cleanly in half at the stalk. It fell straight down through the branches, its massive flower head hitting the ground—and then went still.
“Ah!” Bai Yu exclaimed in regret.
From a distance, others who had gathered around reacted the same way. “What a pity!”
With his keen hearing, Wu Yue could even catch murmurs from the crowd:
“Such a big sunflower—who knows how many seeds it could’ve produced? A high-yield crop gone just like that…”
“Exactly! Sunflower oil is in short supply!”
“Forget the oil—don’t you see its leaves could focus and emit light? Do you know what that means?”
“That’s valuable for research!”
“Right! If we brought it back, the points we’d get would be huge…”
“General Wu’s already a general—he doesn’t need those points. Why cut in on us? And so quickly too…”
“Yeah! Wasn’t he just supposed to oversee things? Why is he taking the lead?”
At first, everyone had respected Wu Yue, Flower City’s defender. But once their own interests were involved, that respect inevitably wavered.
First he had driven them hard without rest. Now, just as they discovered a new species, he cut it down at the root…
Even wood-type abilities should follow basic plant traits! This sunflower reproduced by seeds—cutting it like that meant it couldn’t be regrown from the root. What a waste!
Judging by the size and brightness of the flower, the seeds probably hadn’t even matured yet. Even preserving seeds was now impossible.
In short, those farther away muttered quietly among the trees, not daring to speak too openly.
Wu Yue stood above them and heard everything. Anger piled up in his chest, but he couldn’t vent it. He spoke coldly:
“This sunflower’s mutation isn’t simple. Its ability to reflect light can even injure me. It would be troublesome for ordinary soldiers…”
He was lowered from the treetop by vines, then sighed as if in regret.
“My mistake—I acted too hastily. I struck too hard.”
With him putting it that way, what could anyone say?
Bai Yu smoothed things over: “What are you saying, General? Since this mutated plant is so dangerous, eliminating it early ensures everyone’s safety.”
Still, this was the first time such a giant sunflower had appeared in the wilderness—
“Where’s the analysis team? Take samples back and study them thoroughly—see if anything can be put to use.”
And also test its remaining mutation level, to confirm how threatening it truly was.
Wu Yue nodded, unconcerned about the results.
After all, mutated sunflowers wouldn’t just appear scattered throughout the forest. Since none had been seen before, this was likely a rare anomaly.
Moreover, mutations in plants were closely tied to their environment. Even if another sunflower appeared, it wouldn’t necessarily have the same abilities—this wasn’t a stable, cultivated lineage.
So even if something was discovered, without replicable conditions, it wouldn’t be very useful.
His attitude was casual. Meanwhile, the analysis team carefully flipped over the massive flower head—face-down—and found it heavy as a millstone, packed densely with seeds, though none had ripened yet.
Everyone let out a collective sigh.
Looking at the leaves again—sharp, yes, but otherwise unremarkable, except for their mirror-like smooth surface.
If only this light-focusing ability could be brought back and studied properly…
What a pity.
Chapter 330: Not a Good Omen!
The massive sunflower head was lifted by two people and placed into a collection container. The vehicle already carried testing instruments, so even the unripe seeds inside could be analyzed immediately. As for the petals, they required more precise examination and would be properly preserved before being sent back to the research institute.
By the time the stalk and roots were also collected, the test results were already out:
[Plant Mutation Value: 38]
[Fruit Mutation Value: 8]
[Total Fruit Weight: 3.2 kg]
[Fruit Analysis (per 100g):
Vitamin E: 91.9 mg
Vitamin B1: 4.9 mg
…calcium… iron… potassium…]
Everyone stared at the data, hearts aching.
Such high nutritional value, such low mutation level! If the sunflower hadn’t been cut down, it would probably have been the greatest gain of their entire expedition.
But now…
Resentful glances drifted subtly toward the lead vehicle. Suddenly, exploring the new zone didn’t seem as important anymore—what mattered was whether they could find a second or third sunflower along the way…
Even Wu Yue felt regret.
Had he known the data would be this good, he would never have destroyed it. Just this one plant could have earned him a considerable number of contribution points. No one had expected such an ordinary-looking sunflower to have such outstanding metrics—it was practically like a high-yield crop carefully cultivated over years.
Now, not only had he lost a large reward, he also had to endure the unspoken resentment of the team. So he fell silent.
Meanwhile, the logistics team practically tore through all their supplies before finally gathering a thick stack of tin foil—from their seed reserves, of all places.
There was hardly any foil in their supplies. The only reason they found some was because wood-type ability users often carried large quantities of seeds, and with the help of foil, their cultivation efficiency improved.
Combining abilities with science—even if it wasn’t useful in combat, any bit of convenience mattered.
It was tough. After all, these magpies only liked tin foil balls.
With nothing else to do, everyone took sheets of foil, tearing and crumpling them until they had a full basin of glittering silver balls.
As soon as the basin was brought outside, flocks of grey magpies swooped down, snatching the foil balls one by one before flying off.
The crows perched above watched intently, as if urging for a second batch—after all, there were so many birds, and this little bit wasn’t enough.
The logistics team was on the verge of tears.
“That’s it! We’re out! We didn’t know you liked this stuff!”
“How about this—we’ll send a message back to base right away and spread the word. Other exploration teams haven’t set out yet, they can still prepare some…”
Magpies were smart—but crows were even smarter. Watching the logistics team’s miserable expressions, they seemed to understand something. After circling once more, they finally gave way.
Everyone let out a deep breath of relief.
Bai Yu tried to comfort them: “Look on the bright side—if not for the magpies blocking us, we might not have discovered that sunflower at all…”
That only made everyone feel worse.
They had discovered it, sure—but now it was dead, and the seeds weren’t even ripe!
What a terrible start to the expedition—such bad luck!
“Brother Zhou Qian, I feel like this trip has been smooth and lucky—we’ve gained so much!”
Huai Yu popped a roasted chestnut into her mouth, chewing slowly as she sighed happily.
“When we’re richer and have more friends, we should form our own convoy. That way, we won’t have to worry about not fitting all the good stuff into the car.”
Zhou Qian glanced at the back of the vehicle. “As long as you don’t bring everything from home—building nests here, setting up living areas there—we should still have some space.”
Of course, that was just talk. If they ran into something like mutated hornets again, without Da Zai and Er Zai, he wouldn’t handle it easily.
Then again, without those two, they probably wouldn’t provoke hornets in the first place.
Looking around, he spotted Keta-lang still rolling furiously among a pile of osmanthus flowers, shaping them into balls. Zhou Qian sighed.
“Keta-lang, why don’t you take a break?”
Keta-lang, clutching a half-finished golden osmanthus ball, merely shifted its strong hind legs and turned its back to him.
Zhou Qian: …
Why did he even bother worrying? Born laborers, the lot of them!
The basin of osmanthus balls filled the air with a sweet fragrance, making him drowsy. He frowned.
“Little Yu, do you know what effect this has?”
Huai Yu shook her head. “No idea… why don’t you try it? You’ve eaten it before anyway.”
Zhou Qian paused. “…Forget it. We’re still in the wilderness—we need to stay alert. I’ll try it when we get back.”
He chose caution, but Huai Yu trusted anything made by Keta-lang. She picked up a fragrant ball, admiring it.
“If only we had wintersweet flowers too—I love that scent. If we hung these in the house, wouldn’t it smell amazing?”
Zhou Qian stared at her in disbelief. There was a wintersweet tree in Zone 7 nearby, and he had even brought a whole bag of growth fertilizer—just in case.
Was she really planning to go look for it?
But Huai Yu’s thoughts jumped quickly. She only mentioned it casually before sighing again.
“Back then, Sister Chenxing had a device that could analyze these Keta balls. But it only measured composition, not actual effects—it wasn’t very accurate…”
Her imagination drifted.
“Brother Zhou Qian, I heard the equipment used by the garrison troops is super advanced… when can we get one?”
Zhou Qian replied expressionlessly, “Why don’t you sell me and buy one?”
She really had bold ideas for someone so young.
Huai Yu blinked in surprise. “Am I really that valuable?”
Zhou Qian silently tossed another piece of firewood into the stove. “Why don’t you just put the fish in the oven?”
“Not yet,” Huai Yu said. “Let this batch of chestnuts finish roasting first. The fish is big—the meat will be tough, so let it marinate a bit longer.”
She rummaged in her bag and pulled out a sunflower seed.
“Brother Zhou Qian, keep an eye on the fire. I’m going to the woods over there to stimulate this sunflower.”
Zhou Qian was puzzled. “There are maps marking the rest areas—why are you growing sunflowers here?”
“It’s just in case!” Huai Yu said confidently. “If we plant one at every rest stop, we can take a different route on the way back and maybe find more resources. There are so many paths—what if you take a wrong turn?”
Zhou Qian thought to himself: you’re not worried I’ll get lost—you’re worried I’ll be lazy and just take the same route back, aren’t you?
