Chapter 110 Soft Fragrance and Warm Jade

Chapter 110: Chapter 109: Soft Fragrance and Warm Jade

A full, elastic sensation came from the back of his head. A fresh fragrance drifted over, soothing his Spirit. Then, a pair of slightly cool, soft hands gently pressed against his temples, beginning to slowly massage them. The slight warmth from the fingertips gradually drove away the exhaustion in his brain.

"Where are the others?" Han Ning asked, his eyes half-closed in immense comfort as he enjoyed this rare moment of Peace.

Lin Qianqian’s voice was very soft, and her hands never stopped moving. "Vice President Zhao led the Awakened from Biyun Resort to venture back into the waters around the resort. They want to see if they can salvage some more supplies or boat parts.

"Xu Ming and a few brothers from the fleet who understand mechanics are continuing to repair the boats in the deep-water area east of the commercial district.

"Xu Yinyin is next door helping Professor Ye organize the seeds they brought back. Chairman Wu and I are quite heavily injured and can’t move around for now. We need to rest for another two days.

"Also... thank you for saving me. If you hadn’t pulled me out at the very end..."

Han Ning could feel her fingertips, which were pressing against his temples, pause slightly.

"Mhm... Then where did this food come from?" Han Ning grunted in response and continued asking.

"Everyone chipped in," Lin Qianqian explained. "When we evacuated, some people brought along some food. Chairman Wu said you consumed too much Energy and needed to replenish it, so he asked everyone to give you the best portions first."

"I see..." Han Ning nodded, asking no more as he closed his eyes and comfortably enjoyed the massage.

Whether it was psychological or not, after a brief moment of Peace, the throbbing pain in his brain had eased significantly under Lin Qianqian’s massage. Han Ning sat up straight on his own, leaving that warm, soft support he felt so reluctant to part with.

He picked up the still-warm bowl of noodles, grabbed his chopsticks, and began eating in large bites. The noodles were boiled a bit too soft, but the poached egg was tender with a runny yolk. The savory aroma of the sausage mixed with the flavor of the instant noodle broth, making it exceptionally delicious.

"I need to head out." Polishing off the food in his bowl in a few bites, he set the bowl down, stood up, and stretched his somewhat stiff joints.

His Mental Power hadn’t fully recovered yet, but after a deep sleep, his body’s fatigue was greatly reduced. On the interface, his Spiritual Power had recovered to its peak, and his Mental Power had restored to 1.2.

Lin Qianqian stood up as well, a trace of worry in her eyes. "Be careful."

"Mhm, focus on resting and recovering from your injuries."

Han Ning said no more. He called out to snow cake, who was still in the water, and prepared to set off.

Outside the office building, Han Ning met up with snow cake, who had come over from the eastern docking area.

On this trip, he wanted to find a monster with a Crystal Stone inside its body. Analyzing his previous hunting experiences, he deduced that Crystal Stones would only appear in monsters at least at the Level of a Coral Monster—meaning around Level 5 or above.

He wondered if human Awakened like Sun Wuyan would have a similar core. Yesterday, because the situation was so urgent, he hadn’t had the time to check before being interrupted by the Four-Armed Black Snake Monster Leader. If he went back now, those corpses would surely have been eaten clean by the snake swarm.

"What a pity."

After some thought, Han Ning decided to head west again, stealthily venturing deep into the territory of the Black Snake Monsters to find a relatively strong minor Leader to test the waters.

The man and the lizard swam rapidly through the wind and rain. The accumulated water grew deeper the further west they went. Last night, the snake swarm had clearly moved on a massive scale, causing the water depth in the entire southwestern part of the city to rise by another few dozen centimeters. The density of the snake swarm was also noticeably increasing, and the "HISS" of friction against scales was omnipresent. Their target this time was not these ordinary Snake Monsters, so they didn’t intentionally disturb them.

They continued until they had ventured about eight kilometers into the west, bypassing the ruins of a shopping mall that had been completely submerged by the floodwaters.

"HOWL!" snow cake suddenly stopped swimming.

The Crystal Scale on the center of its forehead flashed repeatedly as it looked toward a massive dome structure deep within the shopping mall. That place had originally been the central plaza of the mall, but it was now a gigantic hollow in the deep-water zone.

Han Ning focused his gaze, his tiger-like eyes piercing through the twisted steel framework. In the middle of the plaza, coiled at the top of a massive broken load-bearing pillar, was an exceptionally huge dark silhouette. Dense swarms of Black Snakes slithered over the surrounding architectural ruins and through the water. The scene was incredibly disgusting.

The creature was nearly seven meters long, far exceeding the size of its peers around it. It possessed two arms, but right below those two arms, two round bulges had appeared. It looked as though something was about to burst through its scales.

The monster wielded two Bone Forks. At this moment, it rested its head near the water’s surface, face down, gulping down something. Visible black smoke seeped out of the water and drilled into its mouth and nose. This was likely the method by which the snake swarm absorbed Black Tide Energy through the Black Tide Water.

"This size... should meet my requirements," Han Ning murmured as golden flames flashed in his eyes.

The man and the lizard needed no verbal communication; Han Ning clearly transmitted his tactical intentions to snow cake through their Soul Link. Leaving only its nostrils above the water’s surface, snow cake swam forward while Han Ning lay prone on its broad back, stealthily approaching the Gathering place of the snake swarm.

The seven-meter-long Black Snake Monster Leader seemed immersed in the pleasure of absorbing Black Tide Energy. Its flat head drooped low, its mouth and nose greedily sucking at the water’s surface. Large wisps of black vapor were sucked into its body, and even the scales on its surface began to emit a faint, dark gleam.

When they closed in on an area where the density of the Black Snakes made it difficult to advance, the earthen-yellow core on the center of snow cake’s forehead lit up.

HUM!

An invisible ripple centered on it and Scattered in all directions.

The underwater mud within a few meters of snow cake seemed to come alive instantly. It churned violently and softened, forming a massive, incredibly viscous mud vortex. A powerful suction force tugged at everything within its range. At the same time, snow cake continued moving forward. Battering aside Black Snake after Black Snake, it swam right beneath the Black Snake Monster Leader.

"HISS?!"

Caught off guard while absorbing Energy, the Black Snake Monster Leader’s body was affected by the inexplicable force and sank downward.

"HISS HISS HISS!"

The ordinary Black Snake Monsters patrolling the surroundings dropped like dumplings into a pot, being swallowed by the swamp one after another. They struggled as they sank, letting out chaotic hisses.

Light flickered in Han Ning’s eyes as he leaped up from snow cake’s back. While in midair, dark green light burst blindingly around his body.

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

Hundreds of thick vines burning with emerald light shot out frantically from around his body, resembling awakening dark green pythons. The surface of every vine was covered with dense, sharp Wooden Thorns gleaming with a cold light.

"WHOOSH WHOOSH!"

The Wooden Thorns detached from the main vines, forming a dense meteor shower of green that blanketed the large swath of Black Snake Monsters trapped in the swamp below.

THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK!

The Wooden Thorns swept through indiscriminately, and a series of muffled explosions detonated one after another underwater! For those Black Snake Monsters hit by the Wooden Thorns—whether they were ordinary individuals or slightly larger elites—clouds of blood mist burst from the struck parts of their bodies.

[Druid Growth Progress +2]

[Druid Growth Progress +2]

[Druid Growth Progress +3]

...

On the interface, information scrolled rapidly like a cascading waterfall.