Chapter 671: A mutated plant

The aircraft soared high into the sky, gliding smoothly.

Ethan quickly realized just how fast it was—easily twice the speed of the flyers developed by Genesis Biotech. It streaked through the air like a flash of light, racing toward the designated coordinates.

As it flew over the open plains, he noticed the vegetation below growing denser and more vibrant the farther they went. The soil clearly had more nutrients here.

According to Hank, the center of this continent was rich in resources.

Soon, the landscape began to shift. Zombies started appearing in the wild—masses of them, swarming in tight clusters, aimlessly wandering.

From above, they looked like countless tiny black dots, like ants crawling across the earth. It was impossible to tell where they were headed.

About ten minutes later, a patch of green appeared on the horizon. A forest—thick, lush, and dark. The trees were so densely packed and deep green they almost looked black.

“So this is where the distress signal came from?” Ethan narrowed his eyes.

According to the survivors, this place used to be a zombie nest. Then, overnight, it transformed into a forest. No one could explain how. It was bizarre, to say the least.

The aircraft began to descend, heading straight for the forest canopy.

…

Deep within the dense forest, a small group of humans huddled together.

The trees around them were draped with zombie corpses—dozens, maybe hundreds—hanging like grotesque ornaments. Rotting faces stared blankly in every direction.

The humans were on their knees, trembling, their faces pale with fear. Their voices cracked with desperation.

“I brought you more humans! Please, I’m begging you—don’t kill me!”

“Lord Tree, we truly submit to you. Please, spare me!”

“As long as we’re alive, we can keep bringing you fresh blood and flesh…”

They pressed their palms together, praying with frantic devotion.

But the object of their worship wasn’t a god. It was a tree.

A massive, gnarled tree—so thick it would take three people to wrap their arms around it. Its roots twisted and coiled like veins, snaking across the ground.

Dozens of zombie corpses hung from its branches, their blackened blood dripping down onto the roots, where it was absorbed into the tree’s bark like water into soil.

The whole scene was nightmarish.

There were four of them—three men and one woman. None dared to lift their heads. They couldn’t even look at the thing.

They were mercenaries from the human settlement on the other side of the continent—Terran Reach. Hired to hunt zombies, they’d tracked a small nest and were about to take down the Zombie King when this… thing appeared.

The tree had wiped out the entire nest in an instant. By the next morning, a forest had grown in its place, trapping them inside.

And the tree—somehow—was sentient. It had spoken to them, demanded they bring it fresh meat. If they failed, it would hang them from its branches like the others.

Faced with that kind of threat, they had no choice but to obey.

They’d come to hunt zombies. Now they were prisoners. Just goes to show—you never really know who the prey is until it’s too late.

Suddenly, a low rumble echoed through the forest, growing louder by the second.

“They’re here…” one of them muttered.

All four looked up, peering through the gaps in the canopy. A sleek aircraft was descending fast.

It bore a blue insignia—a tower-like structure in the center.

They recognized it instantly. It was human tech.

“That’s a Blueprint Academy ship!” the woman blurted out.

“Wait… are those students?” the younger man beside her clenched his jaw, his brow furrowed deep with worry.

A wave of guilt hit him like a punch to the gut.

They were about to betray someone who had come to help them. Someone who didn’t even know what they were walking into.

And worse—it wasn’t just anyone. It was a student. A kid who hadn’t even graduated yet.

The guilt twisted deeper.

“Don’t think about it,” the woman said through gritted teeth, trying to reassure him—or maybe herself. “We didn’t have a choice.”

The aircraft’s engines powered down, and it touched down smoothly in a small clearing.

With a mechanical hiss, the hatch slid open.

Ethan stepped out.

The moment the door opened, the stench hit him—rot, blood, decay. It was thick in the air. But to someone used to the scent of zombies, it wasn’t unbearable.

Not far ahead, four humans stood frozen. Behind them loomed the grotesque tree, its branches heavy with corpses.

“Yo…”

Ethan raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him, a flicker of surprise crossing his face.

But it didn’t take long for him to piece it together—just as he’d suspected.

A mutated plant.

That towering tree, covered in dangling corpses, wasn’t natural. It had mutated—clearly.

The four people across from him were watching him just as closely.

One of the young men looked especially guilty.

“I’m sorry… I really am. We didn’t have a choice.”

Ethan’s voice was calm, but sharp. “I came here to help you. And you lied to me?”

The young man flinched, guilt washing over him even harder. “I didn’t want to. We just… we just wanted to survive. Lying to you was the only way.”

The woman beside him clenched her jaw, her expression hardening. “Sorry, but this is the apocalypse. Only the strong survive. If you want to blame someone, blame yourself—for being too soft. That kind of bleeding heart crap will get you killed sooner or later. Might as well die now—for us.”

“Too soft?” Ethan muttered under his breath, not buying it.

So what if I’m kind? Since when was that a crime?

It was that kindness—doing the right thing, again and again—that got him this far.

“You’ve done well…”

A low, buzzing voice echoed from behind them.

The twisted, grotesque tree was speaking. It sounded pleased.

Its massive trunk creaked and groaned like it was waking up. Branches began to sway, and the corpses hanging from them rocked back and forth like grotesque wind chimes.

Then, without warning, the thick branches shot out in every direction—like a swarm of tentacles—lunging straight for Ethan.

In an instant, he was surrounded. There was nowhere to run. The forest itself had turned into a trap.

The four mercenaries stood frozen, watching in horror. Their guilt hit a breaking point.

“I’m so sorry…” the young man whispered, barely audible.

But what happened next left them all speechless.

Ethan didn’t move an inch.

A pulse of dark energy exploded from his body—Domain of the Dead—spreading outward like a shockwave.

The power tore through the air, unstoppable.

Every branch that had reached for him froze mid-air—then shattered into splinters, disintegrating into dust.

Nearby trees cracked and split apart, their trunks crumbling like dry clay, dissolving into powder.

The sheer force of it—the overwhelming pressure—radiated from him like a storm.

SSS-class Zombie King.

The raw, terrifying aura of a top-tier undead.

The humans felt it instantly. Their hearts pounded. Their instincts screamed. It was like staring down a predator at the top of the food chain. Their very DNA recoiled in fear. Even their souls trembled.

“What the hell…”

BOOM!

With a thunderous crash, the monstrous tree exploded, fragments flying in every direction.

And from the wreckage, Ethan walked out—calm, steady, untouched.

“I came here to free you,” he said, voice low but clear. “And this is how you repay me? You all might want to try being decent people for once…”

…