frightfiction Chapter 519 Hidden Flower Inflorescence
Chapter 519 Hidden Flower Inflorescence
The others hadn't reacted yet, their eyes fixed on the banyan tree near the zombie, unable to discern anything amiss.
The first-level zombie was in a hurry to escape, consciously sticking to the side of the wall and away from the trunk of the banyan tree.
Leng Yuexiu looked down at his wristband, which showed the location of the tree containing the tree crystal that the rabbit had just described.
The zombies are currently less than a quarter of the way across the road, so at first glance it seems like nothing has happened.
The rabbit unconsciously adjusted its position, standing at the entrance of the tree-lined path near the wall, making it easier to observe the dense canopy formed by the entire banyan tree grove.
Seeing that he had changed positions, the others, driven by curiosity, followed behind the rabbit, craning their necks to look, but they really couldn't see any difference.
Yan Lina clearly didn't have the patience; besides Black Hawk, all that was left was for her to be on guard about the environment behind her.
Bai Mengyan was also an impatient person. After hearing the rabbit say there was movement, she immediately activated her consciousness probing. Her consciousness light ball probed into the tree-lined path, chasing the figure of the first-level zombie, so as to observe the changes in the banyan tree.
Only by being there in person can one truly appreciate the subtle changes. Bai Mengyan felt as if the entire canopy above her head had come alive, and rustling sounds could be heard all around her.
But when you look up, the branches and leaves seem unchanged, swaying gently in the breeze, with sunlight filtering through the gaps and shining on the ground, making them appear somewhat swaying.
It's easy to get the illusion that the feeling of being trapped in a cage was just a mirage, and that there's no danger at all, and everything is peaceful and serene.
After a brief pause in place, Bai Mengyan looked up again and found that the first-level zombie was already dozens of meters away from her.
Bai Mengyan continued to follow, and as they moved further away and passed more and more banyan trees, the feeling of being woven into a cage intensified.
She turned to look in the direction of the team. Perhaps because of the increased distance, the entire passageway appeared several times smaller, but she could still see her teammates looking around.
But looking at the tree canopy from this position, the branches tremble more violently, which shows that the feeling of the tree canopy coming to life was not an illusion.
Bai Mengyan felt no fear whatsoever; on the contrary, she was quite interested in seeing what this spirit-like banyan tree would do to this zombie that could only run, jump, and possessed incredible brute strength.
This tree-lined avenue is more than two kilometers long and seems to have been a famous scenic boulevard before the end of the world.
But as the zombie outbreak occurred, the living were devoured, and the number of zombies on the streets increased, the city became desolate and dilapidated, but this did not hinder the vitality of this scenic boulevard.
The first-tier zombie, eager to escape, slowed down. It wandered aimlessly, hesitating for a moment, tilting its head slightly to sniff the air, seemingly trying to find its way.
Bai Mengyan did not miss this detail. The consciousness she was probing could see images and hear sounds, but it was difficult for it to be in sync with temperature, smell, and other stimuli.
Unless one expends more supernatural power to infinitely enhance their perception of the surrounding environment, they will be able to obtain this information.
Normally, such energy expenditure is not worthwhile, so Bai Mengyan never wastes this effort, only needing her sight and hearing.
When conserving supernatural abilities, one may only be able to capture visual images.
When Bai Mengyan looked up to investigate the changes in the tree canopy above her head, she finally saw clusters of syconia resembling spherical fruits gradually emerging among the layers of leaves that were barely perceptible.
Bai Mengyan was somewhat stunned. In this season, spring was not yet over, so how could it possibly have spanned the entire summer and blossomed and borne fruit?
During Bai Mengyan's observation, the first-tier zombie seemed to have finally made a decision. It continued walking in the original direction, but its speed slowed down considerably, and the energy fluctuations on its body gradually became more intense.
This is a biological instinct to resist, releasing this oppressive signal. Those weaker than it will naturally not bother it.
If someone is stronger than him, there are usually two outcomes: either he angers the opponent and they get into a fight sooner.
Another possibility is that they might slip through unnoticed, intimidating pressure, allowing them to pass without any conflict.
But clearly, this is the home ground of the banyan tree grove, and the tree that produced the tree crystal is far stronger than this first-tier zombie.
Although they are both in the first tier, if we break it down further, a first-tier zombie might just be entering this tier and stabilizing its energy, while the banyan tree with tree crystals represents the top strength of the first tier, breaking through to the second tier, leading by a level, and overwhelming the opponent with its strength.
Bai Mengyan saw the hidden flower clusters, but still followed the zombies' advance.
At the same time, she shared this discovery with her teammates. After all, Leng Yuexiu and the others were veterans of countless battles and had in-depth research on various extreme environments such as dense forests, so this special piece of information would definitely be useful.
The rabbit was also relaying the distribution and intensity of the energy surge in the banyan tree grove in real time, and the two of them provided the team with the most useful intelligence.
Starting from the position where the syconium appears, the further forward you go, the more syconiums appear at the top.
At first, they were hidden among the leaves, with only a few exposed and not very noticeable, but later they became so dense that they could be seen as soon as you looked up.
Based on Bai Mengyan's description, the rabbit earnestly said, "This is it. This is the source of energy surging throughout the entire road."
The rabbit frowned, tilting its head uncertainly. "Something's not right. It seems like there's another force lurking around."
"Another force?"
Bai Mengyan repeated the sentence, and unconsciously raised her consciousness slightly to get closer to the dense clusters of Hidden Flower Fruits above her head.
"Little princess, pay attention, the energy of the first-level zombie is increasing significantly. It seems he has noticed."
Bai Mengyan replied, "Received, I'm observing."
Her consciousness moved forward even before that of the first-tier zombie, examining the hidden flowers and fruits.
Just as she was wondering, perhaps because her consciousness was closer to the treetop, she could hear the sounds of insects flying when she listened carefully.
Following the sound, she unconsciously raised her consciousness again, bringing it closer to the Hidden Flower Fruit, and finally saw the insect that had made the sound.
It was a very, very small insect that clung to the syconium. There was a tiny hole at the end of the syconium, through which these insects went in and out.
The insect was so small that it would have been almost impossible to see unless she got very close.
They may be only 2 millimeters in size, and the largest will not exceed 5 millimeters, so they will not cause any harm to people.
But she still told everyone about this discovery, and Leng Yuexiu's voice came from beside her.
"It's a fig wasp, a companion insect of the fig tree. It's one of the most extreme obligate symbiotic species in nature, completely dependent on the fig tree for survival, and harmless to humans."
After speaking, Leng Yuexiu added meticulously, "Theoretically, the Banyan Bee has no stinger or venom glands, and it will not actively provoke humans, but in the current environment, it is hard to say whether any new characteristics will emerge."
"Xiao Yan, are there many banyan wasps?"