Volume 1, Chapter 38: Are You a Masochist, By Any Chance?

"Help! No, don't!"
"We were wrong, please don't kill us—"
...
Li Chuan did not speak to stop it, and naturally, Little Green would not cease its assault.
Its vines, resembling giant pythons, wove back and forth, nimbly snaring all the enemies, hoisting them into the air, and then snapping taut with sudden force.
*Squelch—*
Massive sprays of blood rained down.

[Ding! You have killed Lv11 Wang Daguo. Gold +5, EXP +110.]
[Ding! You have killed Lv10...]
...
A flurry of notifications regarding player kills echoed one after another. Only then did the area finally return to silence.
In the distance, the players gathered at the spectator spot were filled with disbelief.
"That—that Three Heroes Guild actually lost?"
"Lost? This is more like being wiped out."
"Those two murderers are way too intense, right? Two against a dozen and they still pulled off a counter-kill?"
"Can’t you see? The main powerhouse is that spirit plant of theirs!"
"Hey, more than half of the Three Heroes players are dead. Doesn't that mean there are now plenty of ownerless spirit plants over there? I want to go grab some evolution cores to upgrade my own plant spirit."
"Go ahead if you want. I wouldn't dare. You haven't seen whose spoils of war those are."

Meanwhile, the three or four surviving players from the Three Heroes Guild huddled together in terror, whispering about whether they would be hunted down next.
Beneath the tattered and fragmented trunk of Little Green, Li Chuan and Lin Yaoyao sat on the ground, leaning against the plant's trunk on either side. Both had just come through a grueling battle and were breathing heavily.
Li Chuan glanced at the rather disheveled girl beside him, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"A lot of things surprised me today, but the fact that you didn't run away was the most surprising."
Lin Yaoyao lay half-reclined, her small hands dangling limply; she was exhausted to the point of collapse.
"How heartwarming. Actually, I was quite surprised myself. But the greatest strength of a villain in the movies is keeping their word. Perhaps I have the potential to be a great villain after all."
"Am I 'greened' yet?"
Li Chuan turned to look at the top of her head, where the green-tinted words "Cold-Blooded" were flickering.
"You are."
"How is that fair? I definitely haven't killed ten people yet. Great, it looks like I won't be making any friends in the future."
Li Chuan felt a sudden urge to laugh. This girl was erratic and nerve-wracking all day, yet she acted with such ruthless precision; how could she possibly harbor aspirations of making friends?
"Who told us to be in a party? EXP is shared, so naturally, kill counts are shared too."

"I originally wanted to survive alone until the end, but now I think, the two of us..."
Lin Yaoyao tilted her head, a sly smile playing on her lips.
"What? Can't hide your hidden desire for a loli anymore? Are you planning to make a move on me?"
Li Chuan struggled to his feet and rolled his eyes.
"Cut the crap. I’m saying we could team up—in this godforsaken place, it’s good to have a partner you can trust to watch your back."
Lin Yaoyao: "Hmm... why am I feeling a bit disappointed?"
"Fine, then. In this place, you’re truly the only one I can trust."
"Nice to meet you, I’m Lin Yaoyao."
Li Chuan reached out and pulled the girl up by her smooth, delicate hand.
"Li Chuan. Let’s clear the battlefield. We still have a lot of spoils to collect."

...

[Ding! Your plant spirit 'Tree of Miracles' has reached maximum EXP. Level +1.]
[Ding! Your plant spirit 'Tree of Miracles' has reached maximum EXP. Level +1.]
[Tree of Miracles: Orange (Juvenile) (Growth Type)]
[Level: 6/100]
[EXP: 0/600]
[A powerful creature extinct in the Titan Realm, possessing exceptional intelligence and destructive power.]
[Miracle Seeds: 3/3 (Not yet activated)]
[Evaluation: It is rumored that the Tree of Miracles only grows where miracles occur.]

After consuming seven green and one blue evolution core, Little Green’s level had risen twice in succession.
Li Chuan and Lin Yaoyao had just returned from the former territory of the Three Heroes Guild, having recovered all the evolution cores from the ownerless spirit plants.
Massive surges of green energy flooded into Little Green’s damaged branches, healing all its wounds. Its lush canopy returned to its former glory, and its trunk grew noticeably larger.
Li Chuan stood beside Little Green, stroking its trunk with satisfaction. The stronger Little Green was, the higher his own chances of survival.
Thinking back, Li Chuan still felt a lingering sense of fear. When he learned in that horrific laboratory that his spirit plant was about to be besieged, he had been filled with immense anxiety, yet at the time, there was little he could do.
Fortunately, he had obtained that surveillance device, found a laboratory filled with low-level test subjects, and wiped them all out. Not only did he successfully complete the mission, but he also boosted his level to fifteen.

The upgrade to level fifteen had been substantial.
[Li Chuan (Cold-Blooded): Human]
[Level: 15/70]
[EXP: 455/1500]
[Class: Jungle Hunter]
[Sub-class: Lv9 Phantom Master (Purple)]
[Strength: 36+30]
[Agility: 50+48]
[Intelligence: 7+5]
[Mana: 10+40]
[Armor: 2200]
[Free Attribute Points: 0]
[Active Skills: Side Roll (Blue), Blade Strike (Blue), Stun Arrow (White), Weakness Strike (White), Lock-on Shot (White), Jungle Stealth (White), Trap Making (White), Arrow Crafting (White)]
[Passive Skills: Melee Weapon Proficiency (White), Ranged Weapon Proficiency (White)]
[Equipment: Probability Glasses of the Truth-Breaker (???), Piercing Dagger (Blue), High-Grade Combat Jacket (Blue), High-Grade Combat Boots (Blue), High-Grade Combat Trousers (Blue), High-Grade Combat Belt (Blue), Brave’s Bracers (Cyan), Radiant Necklace (Green), Critical Strike Ring (Green)]
[High-Grade Combat Set Bonus 1: Armor +1000]
[High-Grade Combat Set Bonus 2: Grants skill 'Emergency Shield (Passive)'. Automatically triggers a shield with 5000 armor upon receiving significant damage. Cooldown: 3 hours.]

It was by equipping the blue 'Piercing Dagger' and the four-piece blue combat set, activating the set bonuses, and mastering the level fifteen Jungle Hunter skills that Li Chuan had been able to save Little Green just in time.
Even so, if not for Lin Yaoyao’s repeated intervention earlier, he likely wouldn't have made it in time.
This was why Li Chuan suddenly felt the need for a reliable partner.
Though Lin Yaoyao’s personality was eccentric, she shared one trait with him: she kept her word.

In the clearing, Lin Yaoyao suddenly clapped her hands happily.
"Wow, my Little White leveled up! It turned blue."
Li Chuan turned his head.
"Leveled up? Blue?"
Lin Yaoyao cradled Little White, overjoyed.
"Yeah! After consuming the blue evolution core from that Thousand-Thread Grass, Little White's grade rose to blue!"
[White Crane Spirit (Plant Spirit) (Growth Type): Blue]
[HP: 500/500]
[Lv5, High-grade plant spirit, Support type, Parasitic, Weakness Marked!]

Li Chuan appraised the stats of the White Crane Spirit.
It had actually upgraded to blue. So, did the "Growth Type" tag on spirit plants mean their grade could evolve?
Why hadn't Little Green upgraded?
Well, perhaps Little Green’s requirements were simply too high.
"Comrade Lin, stop giggling like a fool. While we still have seven hours left on the mission, I’m taking you to get some clearance keys to play with."
Lin Yaoyao furrowed her cute brows, looking at Li Chuan with confusion.
"Don't we already have clearance keys? Why go risk it? Are you a masochist or something?"