Chapter 522 - 9: Why Have the Viral Creatures All Turned into Wreckage?

Chapter 522: Chapter 9: Why Have the Viral Creatures All Turned into Wreckage?

Once no one is left to absorb or convert this Death Energy, it will be re-refined from the flesh of dead creatures into new Undead Energy.

’This really is a troublesome job. No wonder no one took the mission. These virus creatures don’t look so easy to deal with after all!’

’It seems I’ll have to rely on Baining to take care of these virus creatures!’

’I wonder how long Baining has lived on this planet. His abilities are the perfect counter to the virus creatures.’

’Nature truly is a miraculous thing. Just as the saying goes, where you find a potent poison, you’ll find its antidote nearby!’

’But there’s one problem now... where are the virus creatures? I don’t see any around!’

Having figured out the virus creatures’ characteristics, Lin Yu now had a clear idea of what to do next. But first, he needed to find out where they were.

"Baining, where did you find this food?"

"Baining didn’t look for them. They came on their own."

"On their own? How did they get here?"

"Well..."

After some detailed questioning, Lin Yu got a general idea of where these virus creatures came from.

Every night, these virus creatures would spread throughout the entire forest.

Normally, this was when Baining would wake up to enjoy his all-you-can-eat buffet.

So, Lin Yu decided to wait with Baining until nightfall and see for himself just where those virus creatures were coming from.

In the meantime, he told Baining all sorts of stories.

It was the first time Baining had ever encountered a lifeform he could communicate with, and he listened with great delight, constantly asking questions.

It had to be said that while Baining was naive, he was also highly intelligent.

After asking these common-sense questions, he would immediately remember the answers, able to connect them to the larger context and understand things quickly.

...

As the sky dimmed and night fell, the forest’s life force gradually subsided until it vanished completely. The various aggressive plants, so imperious during the day, all fell still. It was as if all the vegetation had died.

Lin Yu could sense that the plants truly had become like dead things. All their biological functions dropped to extremely low levels as they entered a state of suspended animation.

But now, a few discordant sounds began to break the silence of the forest.

Lin Yu, in his owl form, flew toward the noise.

RUSTLE... RUSTLE...

Countless faint rustles echoed from the distance. When Lin Yu flew over, he was greeted by the sight of innumerable creatures controlled by the virus—severed limbs.

’Holy hell, it’s all just chunks of corpses!’

Seeing this, Lin Yu began to wonder if he had overestimated these virus creatures.

After so many years without new animals, the puppets controlled by the virus had broken down for one reason or another.

Now, they had all been reduced to mere biological spare parts.

Just as Lin Yu was lost in thought, the virus creatures passing below sensed the aura he had accidentally leaked and instantly flew into a frenzy.

Countless severed limbs began to coordinate and assemble. In the blink of an eye, a new virus creature—a mishmash of all sorts of bizarre parts—appeared before Lin Yu.

"Holy shit, they can actually combine and transform?"

The gigantic virus creature let out a roar and leaped toward Lin Yu.

As it neared Lin Yu, the parts that made up its body dispersed again, forming a sphere of viral components that surrounded him.

Lin Yu frowned as he watched the viral parts that had surrounded him close in.

Even though the World Tree Territory now possessed Death Energy, Lin Yu was still disgusted by this kind of attack, formed from a chaotic jumble of corpse chunks.

"So damn ugly, and it stinks!"

"All of you, just disappear!"

Lin Yu mobilized the energy in his body, unleashing a massive Purification Magic spell.

In a flash of dazzling white light, the Undead Energy within the virus creatures was purified and eradicated by the potent Spiritual Energy.

Without the Undead Energy to sustain them, the parts lost their motive force, instantly going rigid and still.

All the viral parts that had swarmed him rained down onto the ground.

Having dealt with these parts, Lin Yu was about to continue his search in the direction they had come from.

But unexpectedly, even more virus creatures came swarming. Because Lin Yu had just used a skill, a large amount of Spiritual Energy was now in the air, and they all rushed madly toward him.

"Damn it!"

Startled, Lin Yu immediately concealed his aura and flew back toward Baining. He quickly landed on the tree, transformed into a small bug, and focused all his effort on hiding his presence, remaining perfectly still.

"Lin Yu, what happened?"

Baining asked with concern, seeing Lin Yu fly back in such a hurry.

"There are a lot of virus creatures coming from over there, and they seem particularly interested in me. I need to hide, or you might not be able to handle them all."

"Don’t be afraid. That food is very weak."

"Then I’m counting on you to protect me!"

"Leave it to me!"

Baining said no more. He once again extended his roots, getting ready for his all-you-can-eat meal.

Lin Yu, meanwhile, rested quietly on Baining’s body. He set up a camera device on the tree, preparing to record Baining’s upcoming performance.

’I know you’re not afraid of the virus creatures, but you’re not Extraordinary yet. You’re just an ordinary mutated tree.’

’If too many of them show up, I’m afraid you won’t be able to handle it!’

’Besides, what do I have to be afraid of? I’m just a clone. If I die, I die. The only reason I’m even worried is that it would be a waste of time and money to rent another spaceship to get back here...’

...

’Is that fog?’

While they waited for the virus creatures to arrive, the planet’s very atmosphere began to change.

A thick fog drifted in from the distance, growing increasingly dense.

Within it, Lin Yu sensed the potent presence of Undead Energy, as well as the life force of the viruses themselves.

His expression changed. He instantly reverted to his human form and took several airtight containers out of his personal storage space.

He nested the containers one inside the other, creating more than ten layers. Then, he fixed the entire contraption to Baining’s trunk, turned back into a small bug, crawled into the innermost container, and sealed them all one by one.

"Lin Yu, what are you doing?"

"Don’t worry about me. Just do your thing."

"Alright, Lin Yu. Are you ready to watch my show?"

"Ready when you are."

"The dessert has arrived early today. In that case, I’ll start with an appetizer."

’Dessert? I don’t see any virus creatures approaching.’

Lin Yu wondered, peering around from inside his container, but he couldn’t see anything.

Meanwhile, Baining extended his extensive root system, wrapping them gently around the surrounding trees and quickly climbing to a higher position.

The needles on his body began to emit a faint green light, giving off a trace of natural energy.

This natural energy stood out conspicuously amid the thickening presence of Undead Energy, and the viruses in the air swarmed toward it like flies to a carcass.

They rode the undead wind to Baining’s side, gathering around his needles.

The concentration of viruses continued to rise until they gathered into something resembling a viscous liquid.

The needles on Baining’s body unfurled, blooming like green flowers. At the center of each blossom was a small conduit emitting a rich natural aura.

Instinctively, the viruses flowed down the conduits.

Once the liquid-like mass of viruses was gone, the green "flowers" contracted, curling back up into the shape of needles.

"Refreshing!"

"It tastes especially good today, and there’s so much of it!"

Baining’s voice, full of satisfaction, echoed in the mental channel he shared with Lin Yu.

Lin Yu now understood. The "appetizer" Baining had mentioned was this liquid formed from the viruses in the air.

"You can’t really call that an appetizer. It’s a beverage, at best," Lin Yu couldn’t help but quip.

"A beverage?"

"What’s a beverage?"

Baining’s curiosity flared up again as he posed the question.

"A beverage is..."

Lin Yu knew Baining’s personality; he wouldn’t let it go until he had a clear answer. So, he gave Baining a detailed explanation of what a beverage was.

When he finished his explanation, the liquid-like virus had once again condensed beside Baining’s many needles.

"Thank you, Lin Yu! Would you like a drink?" Baining said happily, offering to share his food.

"No, thanks. My biology is a little different from yours. I can’t quite enjoy such a delicacy."

"Alright then. I’ll just have this beverage by myself," Baining said with a hint of regret, as if it were a shame that he had to enjoy such a delicacy all alone.