Chapter 530 - 527: The Deathly Silent Wasteland

Chapter 530: Chapter 527: The Deathly Silent Wasteland

No matter how bizarre this island became, Li Luo had to keep moving forward.

She had come here to figure out what was happening on the Hua Sheng Islands, get involved, and anchor herself.

’Let’s head toward the beacon.’

This was only the outer edge of the archipelago; the beacon was still a long way off.

Thinking this, Li Luo checked her map and led Block deeper into the wasteland.

With no vegetation for cover, the wind here was exceptionally fierce, whipping up sand, gravel, and splinters of deadwood and sending them scattering everywhere.

These gales followed no pattern. Sometimes they would suddenly intensify, and other times they would abruptly die down, causing the swirling sand and debris to fall from the sky with a CLATTER.

When the gales raged, the sky would turn completely black, and a sinister, cold aura would seep down from the clouds, blanketing the entire land. But as soon as the wind stopped, the sky would clear up again, and the wasteland would fall silent.

But no matter how the weather changed, there was always a heavy, oppressive feeling in the air.

Li Luo walked in fits and starts, occasionally looking up at the pitch-black sky. Shrouded in clouds and mist, she couldn’t make out what was hidden within them at all.

But Mo Ling could see it very clearly.

They were... condensing water droplets.

Every time the gales blew, dark clouds would begin to gather in the sky, and a cool air would gradually sink.

But it was as if some force was holding the raindrops back, forcibly causing the fully formed storm clouds to dissipate.

’It’s preventing the rain?’

Watching the water droplets gather and then disappear again, Mo Ling finally understood why the wasteland felt so oppressive.

The climate here seemed to be perpetually "stuck" in the moment right before it rained.

All that was missing was a clap of thunder to let the downpour begin.

But that next step never came. The raindrops were completely suppressed, the dark clouds scattered, and a new cycle began.

Because it was always stuck in this phase of condensing water vapor, the atmosphere felt incredibly heavy and stifling.

’But why can’t it rain here?’

’Could it be that this place turned from a forest into a wasteland because of the lack of rain?’

This strange climate led to a drought. Because of the drought, the vegetation stopped growing, the creatures gradually died off, and in the end, only a lifeless wasteland remained...

However, this was just Mo Ling’s speculation.

’I have to ask Li Luo. Maybe there’s something missing from the data on the Hua Sheng Islands.’

So, Mo Ling had Block intercept Li Luo and wrote everything he had seen on its electronic screen to tell her.

Li Luo looked at the electronic screen, then glanced up at the sky that periodically turned dark, and fell into deep thought.

After a moment, she seemed to have an idea and started rummaging through her backpack.

Soon, she found her water cup.

Li Luo unscrewed the cup and carefully poured out a single drop of water onto the ground.

The instant the droplet touched the ground, the caked earth began to tremble. A crack appeared where the water had landed.

Immediately after, a tender green sprout broke through the soil and began to grow vigorously.

The seedling grew visibly larger, soon reaching Li Luo’s height. The ground was completely shattered as thick roots pulverized the hardened earth.

Seeing the seedling grow taller and taller, Li Luo immediately backed away from it.

At this point, it could no longer be called a "seedling," but its stem was still a tender green, covered in soft fuzz.

After growing to be more than a person’s height, the bizarre plant began to change color from a tender green to a mature, deep green. The young leaves at its tip started growing rapidly, and a small flower bud emerged from between them.

Before Li Luo could react, the bud burst open with a WHOOSH, and a huge, vibrant flower emerged, releasing countless grains of pollen.

In an instant, the red pollen filled the air, spreading everywhere with the wind, some even landing on Li Luo’s hand.

The moment the pollen touched the skin on the back of Li Luo’s hand, she began to scratch uncontrollably. Like sharks smelling blood, the pollen burrowed directly into her body.

’This is bad.’

Li Luo immediately realized something was wrong. She quickly tore off her Purple wrist rope, and Xiaozhi shot out, transforming into layers of thin gauze that wrapped tightly around her.

But a flower still grew uncontrollably on the back of her hand, pushing aside the Purple threads to poke its head out. ℯ

The bright red flower hung from the back of Li Luo’s hand like an ornament.

However, this red flower didn’t continue to grow. It simply bloomed conspicuously, its glaring red color like flowing blood.

The pollen was still drifting about, but thankfully, Xiaozhi blocked it all, preventing any more from touching Li Luo’s skin.

After releasing all that pollen, the giant red flower wilted and began to wither. Before long, it became as dry and desiccated as the deadwood scattered around.

Li Luo hadn’t expected a single drop of water to trigger such a massive reaction.

If she hadn’t reacted in time, her entire body would have been covered in that pollen and overrun by these red flowers.

She could clearly feel that the flower on the back of her hand had already sunk its roots into her blood vessels.

’Is this a parasitic plant?’

The brightly colored red flower seemed to be growing by feeding on Li Luo’s blood.

However, the flower didn’t seem to be endlessly drawing nutrients from her.

It was even helping to improve her blood circulation and purify her blood with its roots. That must be why Xiaozhi hadn’t immediately destroyed the red flower, but had instead left it alone.

Li Luo studied the flower for a moment before looking back up at the sky.

’So, is the rain being stopped to prevent these flowers from spreading?’

Just a single drop of water was enough to grow a giant flower that released countless grains of pollen. This parasitic flower seemed to be an extremely resilient life-form.

But after parasitizing a human body, it didn’t seem to cause any harm...

Li Luo swung her arm. Under the flower’s influence, her previously aching arm actually felt much better. Her entire arm felt pleasantly warm and very relaxed, as if she had just had a massage.

Just as she was taking in this sensation, Block came closer and nudged her arm.

Li Luo immediately understood what Block meant.

Mo Ling had a way to remove the flower. His teleportation was now extremely precise; as long as it was within his line of sight, he could even perform "microscopic separation."

The red flower’s roots hadn’t penetrated very deep. He could separate it from Li Luo’s blood vessels bit by bit, without harming her.

It might take a little time, though...

"I want to keep it."

Li Luo said thoughtfully, looking at the red flower.

"I can feel it. It must be related to what’s happening on the Hua Sheng Islands."

Li Luo raised her hand. The flower actually straightened up slowly and turned in a specific direction. When she rotated her arm, the red flower rotated with it, always pointing in the same direction, just like a sunflower.

"It... seems to be guiding me..."