Volume One, Chapter Twelve: The Core of Evolution
White Little Bear: “Wow! Got taught a harsh lesson by a cold-blooded one, the tension is heavy!”
Black Friday: “Wow! Got taught a harsh lesson by a cold-blooded one, the tension is heavy!”
Wealthy Young Master: “Wow…”
...
Li Chuan shut down the chat channel.
“How come this doesn’t count as stopping the conflict?”
[ Ding! Newbie Task Three ‘Survive Tonight’ Completed ]
[ Task Rating: Good! ]
[ Task Rewards: Copper Coins*50, Experience*50, Low-Level HP Recovery Potion*5, Low-Level MP Recovery Potion*5, Temporary Photosynthesis Capsule (Purple)*1 ]
[ Ding! Player ‘Li Chuan’ has reached maximum experience. Level +1. Gained 5 free attribute points. ]
[ Newbie Task Four Released: Reach the White Area on the Map within Twelve Hours! ]
[ Preliminary unlocking of the Disorder Zone. Greater dangers are imminent. Please arrive at the White Area on the map before sunset! ]
[ Task Rewards: Copper Coins*80, Experience*80, Low-Level HP Recovery Potion*5, Low-Level MP Recovery Potion*5, Sub-Profession Transfer Book*1. ]
[ Task Penalty: Eradication! ]
[ Remaining Time: 11 hours 59 minutes ]
White Area on the map?
Li Chuan opened the map, then zoomed out.
Sure enough, at the very northern edge of the map was a white region, but clearly, his current position was outside that white area.
He measured the straight-line distance between himself and the nearest border of the white zone.
One thousand six hundred meters!
“Seriously?!”
If the system wants me dead, it might as well say so outright!
The Miracle Tree can travel at most six or seven meters per hour. Even if he pushed himself to the limit, in twelve hours he could only cover about eighty meters, yet the task requires covering sixteen hundred meters.
If the system were a person, Li Chuan now felt like stabbing it to death with a single blow.
Wait, the task rewards!
Li Chuan opened his backpack and found the newly acquired item among the nearly full inventory.
[ Temporary Photosynthesis Capsule: Purple ]
[ Produced by the Empire Laboratory, contains a large amount of Spirit Plant Evolution Serum, which can accelerate the growth and advancement of spirit plants. (Third generation, single-use capsule, lasts up to twelve hours) (Temporary Photosynthesis Capsule can only be used once; the spirit plant is released inside and the capsule self-destructs) ]
[ Evaluation: No matter how magical the world, technology remains the primary productivity! ]
Li Chuan stroked his chin.
He seemed to understand.
The survival task’s time limit was twelve hours, and the duration of the temporary photosynthesis capsule was also exactly twelve hours.
In other words, he just needed to place Little Green inside the capsule and then head towards the white area carrying it.
That meant the task’s difficulty suddenly dropped significantly.
Having figured out the task rules, Li Chuan stopped worrying. He patted Little Green’s trunk, spoke gently a few words, and then placed Little Green into the palm-sized photosynthesis capsule.
“Don’t worry, Little Green. I’ll make sure you get plenty of that spirit plant evolution serum over these twelve hours!”
---
One thousand five hundred meters was like a long migration for Little Green, but for Li Chuan, it was nothing more than half an hour’s journey.
So, no rush to avoid the poison zone yet; first, he wanted to check on those two spirit plants.
Little Green was his greatest asset at the moment. He couldn’t afford to give up anything that could make it stronger.
Less than a hundred meters away, he arrived in an instant.
Li Chuan stared at an ordinary tree in the forest.
If the map hadn’t marked its location, he might not have been able to tell if it was just a regular tree or a spirit plant.
[ Hugging Tree (Spirit Plant): White ]
[ HP: 500/500 ]
[ Level 20, low-level spirit plant type, slow movement speed, short attack range, weak points marked! ]
Several glaring red dots appeared on the trunk of the Hugging Tree.
Weak point markings! What a cruel ability!
Li Chuan silently raised his crossbow, aimed at the glowing spot on the trunk, and pulled the trigger.
Whizz!
[-21]
Awkward. He aimed at the weak point but missed.
Swish~
The spirit plant was attacked and immediately started wildly thrashing its branches, trying to crush the enemy who dared harm it into shreds.
But alas, its attack range was pitifully small—so small that Li Chuan almost felt sorry for bullying it.
He quietly stepped closer by a few paces.
Reloaded the crossbow bolt.
Whizz!
“Hmm… better get closer.”
Li Chuan, without any scruples, closed the distance by a few more meters. Now he was less than five meters from the Hugging Tree.
Whizz!
[ Weak Point Attack -63! ]
“Stun Arrow!”
[ Weak Point Attack -75! ]
The wildly thrashing little tree seemed to be hit by a pause button, freezing momentarily before resuming its frenzy.
Did the stun effect work on the first hit?
Whizz, whizz, whizz.
...
[ Ding! Defeated Level 20 Hugging Tree (Normal)*1, Experience +20 ]
The little tree stopped struggling, its branches and leaves spread out, looking like a real tree.
Li Chuan saw a glowing item appear beside the trunk and quickly rushed over.
[ Evolution Core: White ]
[ One of the specialties of the spirit plant world, rich in life energy, with versatile uses. ]
---
[ Evaluation: Want to try its taste? ]
Just as he was wondering what to feed Little Green, he felt delighted.
But why do players and monsters disappear upon death, yet spirit plants do not?
Li Chuan stared at the Hugging Tree until he activated the identification function.
[ Hugging Tree: White ]
[ A type of tree with hard wood, excellent material for making arrows. ]
It turned into an ordinary plant?
Li Chuan was momentarily stunned, then turned his head to survey the unusually lush trees throughout the forest.
A chill involuntarily rose from his heart.
“Forget it, forget it. No more overthinking!”
Li Chuan used the hunter’s innate gathering skill to turn the Hugging Tree into a piece of timber, then put it away and ran toward another spirit plant not far away.
[ Iron Thorn Tree (Spirit Plant): White ]
[ HP: 500/500 ]
[ Level 20, low-level spirit plant type, slow movement speed, slightly longer attack range, weak points marked! ]
Whizz!
[ Weak Point Attack -65! ]
The Iron Thorn Tree shuddered violently, wildly shooting out countless wooden spikes with no accuracy.
Li Chuan quickly ducked behind a large tree, using the cover to chip away at the Iron Thorn Tree’s health.
Whizz, whizz, whizz.
Li Chuan’s skill with the crossbow grew more adept, and his accuracy gradually improved.
[ Weak Point Attack -77! ]
[ Ding! Defeated Level 20 Iron Thorn Tree (Normal)*1, Experience +20 ]
He grabbed the Evolution Core and gathered the wood.
“I’m truly a born marksman.”
“Compared to fighting treasure chest guardians, these low-level spirit plants seem more suitable for newbie players to level up.”
Though no treasure chests were opened, he also didn’t have to face those terrifyingly strong beasts.
There were at least six hundred more spirit plants in this forest. Should he share this information now?
Of course not!
Not only would he keep it to himself, but he intended to exploit this information gap to level up quickly!
He had just spent a fair amount of time killing two spirit plants. Surely by now, others must have entered the white area?
Disorder Island regional chat channel.
Current surviving players in this region: 309/1000
Moonlit Breeze: “Damn! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have rushed over so early. There’s a barrier at the edge of the white area! Only players level eight and above can enter!”