Chapter 1337: Beneath the Falling Flowers
As Xu Huo said, the mutated plants were still manageable for now. However, their sheer numbers and the fact that the Stairway to Heaven's plants were far more agile than any they had encountered before remained troublesome. The main issue was that they blocked the roads, and with so many trees intertwined, the area had almost turned into a cave system. Every time the vehicle passed through a spot, they had no idea if the path ahead would be clear. It was like speeding down a dangerous road without knowing where the next turn would be or what obstacles lay ahead—the risk of flipping over was ever-present.
Cao Qinglin and Dai Song took the opportunity to spray potions into the forest. Although mutated plants were not as sensitive as mutated animals, there were still herbicides designed for them. One bottle down could yield some effect.
Just as the flight effect wore off, the vehicle burst out of the tunnel formed by these vine-like plants, and they were greeted by an endless sea of flowers.
The rich floral scent was pervasive. Dai Song reminded everyone to put on gas masks.
"Mutated plants are somewhat toxic, but this flower sea is quite beautiful," Cao Qinglin said. "The fallen petals and flowers don't seem to wither easily."
Indeed, as the vehicle sped by, it kicked up the fallen blossoms on the ground. These petals had buried nearly half the tires, but even the ones lifted from the bottom looked as fresh as if they had just fallen. Like Cao Qinglin, the others initially thought this was because the flower trees had evolved the ability to stay fresh for a long time. But then the petals began to fall in a flurry that almost turned into a blizzard, and they realized the truth: these petals hadn't accumulated to such thickness over time—they were falling at that incredible speed!
Before the vehicle could be completely buried, Dai Song placed a small prop on the roof. A sudden gust of wind blew the falling petals ahead of them far into the distance, barely clearing a path. But further ahead, the piled petals had already exceeded the height of the vehicle.
"Hey, is there something wrong with your map?" Qiu Ming quickly asked. "We'll lose the car if we're not careful. Isn't there a cleaner route?"
"This is the safest route—one that others have taken," Dai Song said solemnly. "Both sides of Twin Cities have extended toward the Stairway to Heaven, but the middle section has never been explored."
"So, not only is it difficult to traverse, but there's also a stretch where no one knows what dangers lie ahead?" Qiu Ming cursed under his breath. "Other places are barren, not even a blade of grass in sight, yet this place can grow so many mutated plants. Isn't the District Government curious about that?"
Dai Song didn't respond.
Xu Huo used a Space Barrier to push the piled petals to both sides of the road, then said, "Keep an eye out ahead."
A few seconds later, a mutated beast that had been hiding under the petals leaped out from the side and slammed heavily into the vehicle.
This beast was almost unrecognizable in its original form. Its head had evolved to be particularly large, and it had grown a hard shell like a turtle's. One strike left a dent in the passenger door, causing the entire vehicle to tremble.
"The smell of blood will attract more mutated beasts!" Dai Song quickly warned before Xu Huo could act.
Xu Huo tossed out a bottle of Hypnosis potion, hitting the beast square on the head. The B-grade potion was highly effective; within seconds, the beast became dizzy and disoriented, unable to chase the vehicle.
More mutated beasts emerged from the piles of petals. Those with larger bodies were dealt with in the same way—one bottle if it wasn't enough, two bottles if needed. If they were too fast, Xu Huo simply used the Space Barrier to block and smash them. Except for a few beasts with evolved senses of smell, the method worked well.
"This is much faster than fighting directly," Cao Qinglin said, wiping her face. She felt relieved but also worried that Xu Huo's potions might run out, so she decided to buy some herself.
B-grade potions were relatively expensive, but not prohibitively so, and using them didn't hurt the wallet.
The blizzard of petals continued without any sign of stopping. Xu Huo checked the map, which indicated a half-hour drive through this forest, and asked Dai Song, "Is there a relatively flat shortcut?"
The tourist route was a bit winding.
"The Stairway to Heaven has been uphill from this direction. There might be other possibilities, but this area is all flower trees, making it hard to drive through," Dai Song said. "Following the route map is the safest..."
Before he could finish, the wall of flowers right in front of them began to tremble violently. It was directly ahead of the vehicle, as if a massive wall was moving toward them, about to crash head-on into the speeding car...
"Boom!" It collided solidly with a hard object. If Qiu Ming hadn't reacted quickly, the vehicle would have been flipped. Just as they stabilized, another commotion erupted on the other side, and another huge "flower wall" slammed into them!
"What the hell is this?!" Qiu Ming shouted.
Dai Song had no idea. He leaned halfway out the window and said to the flower wall, "Reveal the truth." Instantly, the petals that seemed glued together scattered in all directions. But all they saw were petals—still no clue what was inside.
"That's just a flower wall. Ignore it," Xu Huo said, signaling Qiu Ming to keep driving while he threw out the "Speed Injury Ice Ball."
Wherever the "Speed Injury Ice Ball" hit, a square meter of ice would form. He slightly controlled the ice ball's range, letting it bounce repeatedly between the two flower walls, freezing most of their surfaces. Then he leaped onto the vehicle, drew the "Cake Slice," and quickly slashed a few times.
The frozen parts of the prop shattered along with the petals, revealing root-like things hidden inside. These couldn't move flexibly, but the sap they secreted could solidify the surrounding petals, gradually forming a whole mass.
However, after the roots were cut, a large amount of red liquid oozed from the cross-sections. The blood-like texture made Xu Huo frown slightly. Sure enough, the next second, rustling sounds came from all directions in the flower forest, as if dozens or hundreds of mutated beasts had suddenly appeared.
"Go now!" Dai Song's face changed color, and he shouted at Qiu Ming.
Qiu Ming's face darkened. With the help of auxiliary props, he floored the accelerator and yelled, "Brother Xu, clear the way for me!"
Xu Huo's Space Barrier could separate non-aggressive petals, but it wasn't enough to withstand so many mutated beasts. Moreover, his control range was only a few hundred meters, insufficient for such large-scale defense. So, he stood on the vehicle, clearing the road while using Space Rays to create Space Blades within that range, beginning to slaughter the mutated beasts.
From deep within the flower piles, wails occasionally emerged. Dai Song understood what he was doing and climbed onto the roof as well. "Since we've already started, we might as well lure all the nearby mutated beasts over. These petals and enough corpses can buy us some time!"
(End of Chapter)