Chapter 49: The Ring of Thorns

Coming to herself, Xia Tong opened her eyes.

Though she was in a shadowy corner of the ruins, she could clearly sense that everything around her had changed. It seemed she had gained a unique new perception, allowing her to detect subtle exchanges among the plants.

This was the initial ability of a first-rank wood-type supernatural power: plant perception and minor plant manipulation.

Compared with her water-type ability, it was far more ordinary. Yet when she had first awakened her water ability in her previous life, she had been just as weak. It was only through step-by-step effort that she had achieved her present results.

So she would have to work even harder!

…

Just as Xia Tong was preparing to leave, a fresh, natural fragrance, like rain-soaked earth, spread from her body, instantly diluting the lingering rot and dust in the air.

Then a stranger wave, like a gentle tide, blossomed from the depths of her mental sea. It resembled a summons, stirring the surrounding wood-type elements.

In an instant, countless green motes of light, drawn by an invisible hand, rushed toward her from every direction. They circled and intertwined above her head before finally condensing into a withered-colored ring of thorns.

The ring was primitive and natural, radiating a soothing breath of life.

It settled lightly atop Xia Tong’s head without causing her the slightest discomfort. Instead, it gave her an unprecedented sensation of being intimately fused with the entire natural world. It was as though she were no longer an independent cat, but a part of this vibrant realm.

“Is this… the manifestation of a wood-type supernatural power?”

Xia Tong murmured inwardly. Curiosity and delight shimmered in her glasslike feline eyes. It was probably the Source Core condensing and gathering the excess energy.

If there were benefits to be had, she certainly was not going to refuse them.

She savored the clarity that seemed to rise from the depths of her soul, sensing the faint breathing of the surrounding grass and trees. She could even “hear” their silent whispers as they grew and withered.

This perception made her awareness of the surrounding environment extraordinarily keen, far sharper than before.

In short, her strength and repertoire of methods had both increased by one.

She tried to control this power. At the slightest movement of her thoughts, the ring of thorns above her head emitted a faint, glimmering light, as though responding to her will.

Just as she was preparing to explore further and put her newly acquired wood-type power through its paces…

“It’s right ahead! I can feel that pure wood-type energy!”

“There must be some treasure there!”

An excited, urgent female voice suddenly rang out in the distance, shattering the forest’s silence. The voice drew nearer, accompanied by hurried, disorderly footsteps. Judging by the sound, there were quite a few people.

Xia Tong’s ears twitched sharply. The shining ring of thorns above her head instantly went dark. Thanks to the perception granted by her newly awakened wood-type power, she clearly sensed that the voice belonged to someone leading a sizable group rapidly toward her location.

“Where did these people come from? They’re moving pretty fast.”

Xia Tong cursed inwardly. The delight that had filled her face was instantly replaced by vigilance.

She lowered her body and silently slipped behind a collapsed wall, as though melting into the shadows. Only a pair of keen feline eyes remained visible, warily watching the direction from which the newcomers approached.

…

“If I remember the map correctly, this should have been a zoo before the apocalypse. Now it’s completely covered by dense vegetation. It looks more like a botanical garden.”

“Indeed. But Ting, are you certain you sensed a fluctuation of wood-type power ahead?”

The speaker was an ordinary-looking man with a kindly, honest appearance. He wore a pair of damaged black-rimmed glasses and gazed thoughtfully at the buildings ahead.

If Xia Tong were here, she would have recognized this seemingly honest man at a glance. He was Li Sishui, who had escaped with them from the sewers during their previous ordeal.

At the question, He Ting carefully recalled what she had sensed before replying, “Yes. My perception cannot be wrong. It was not far ahead, but now it seems to have… disappeared.”

“If Ting sensed it, then we should go take a look. We might find something.”

As the leader of this survivor team, Liu Ye took the first step forward. The others followed in unison.

Li Sishui narrowed his eyes slightly and secretly spread out his perception.

…

At the shadowed corner where Xia Tong had been earlier, several people gathered in a circle, carefully examining the surroundings.

“That’s right, it’s here! Even I can feel it. The natural aura is incredibly dense!” a gruff male voice shouted, filled with greed and excitement.

The woman beside him, Yan Wenli, stumbled and nearly jumped out of her skin at the volume of his voice. “Wang Quan, you scared me to death! Could you speak a little more quietly?”

“Haha, sorry.” Wang Quan rubbed his nose and gave an embarrassed laugh.

…

Dense plants had piled around the abandoned hut, wrapping the entire structure in layer after layer of growth. The group searched with difficulty, but in the end, they found nothing.

“Strange.”

Before long, six moving figures entered Xia Tong’s field of vision. Their clothes were worn and tattered, but each of them carried the aura of a supernatural power user. They held a variety of weapons and warily scanned their surroundings.

Six power users…

Xia Tong could not help frowning.

This was going to be troublesome.

At the front was a petite woman with a neat crop of short hair. Her expression was solemn as she surveyed the area.

“Hm?”

“Isn’t that Li Sishui? He’s here too… But where are his two former teammates?”

“Could he have stabbed them in the back?”

Xia Tong recognized Li Sishui at once. He was at the very rear of the group, as inconspicuous as ever, looking like the picture of an honest man. But Xia Tong knew that this was all a disguise. The last time, she had already discovered him using a mental ability to interfere with his teammates…

His true nature was that of a venomous snake, nothing like an honest man.

“He Ting, are you sure it was here? There’s nothing in this wretched hut except a few mutated rats,” one of the team members, Wang Yang, asked impatiently, a trace of doubt in his voice.

He Ting ignored his complaint. Her brows drew tightly together as her gaze swept over the area where Xia Tong was hiding, inch by inch, like a scanner.

“I cannot have sensed it incorrectly.”

Her voice carried an unquestionable certainty. At last, her eyes settled on the ruined corner where Xia Tong was concealed.

“This energy fluctuation is even stronger than I expected. And… it seems to have reached its peak only a short while ago. A mutated creature must have broken through to a higher rank here.”

Xia Tong’s heart tightened.

Could this He Ting also possess a wood-type ability? Otherwise, how could she have such keen sensitivity to wood-type energy?

Xia Tong held her breath and did everything she could to restrain her aura. A faint current of water coiled around her, allowing her to merge completely into the surrounding environment. She could feel that He Ting’s gaze was almost piercing through the broken wall and striking directly at her.

There were so many of them, and every one was a power user. Xia Tong was not certain she had a good enough chance either to defeat them or escape.

Better to wait and see.

“Hmph. Whatever it is, anyone bold enough to break through here is practically delivering itself to us!” Wang Quan sneered, his voice brimming with contempt. “Once we find it, we’ll dig out its core.”

“Don’t be careless. Anything capable of possessing such pure wood-type energy is certainly no ordinary mutated creature.”

Liu Ye rebuked him coldly, yet a sharp, determined gleam shone in his eyes.

“Spread out first and surround this area. Don’t let the slightest suspicious movement escape you!”

From the darkness, Xia Tong watched the group coldly. She knew that she had probably already drawn their attention.

She sighed inwardly.

“I was careless after all.”

“But if you want to dig out my core, you’d better make sure you have the ability to do it!”

Xia Tong gave an inward scoff. A dangerous light flashed through her glasslike feline eyes.

She was no helpless prey waiting to be slaughtered.