Chapter 316: Chapter 304: The Walking Man-Eating Flower
This time, Flora Bloom only brought Yan Yan and Cynthia Grant with her. One was familiar with the laboratory’s layout and could enter the space with Flora at critical moments, leaving no one behind to worry about.
The main reason Flora had brought Cynthia Grant along wasn’t that she was indispensable or particularly powerful, but because half the plants in this botanical garden were rare species.
Last night, Flora had used Crystal Cores to force-feed Cynthia Grant’s Superpower Level. After this massive accumulation of energy, she successfully broke through to the Middle Level, becoming the second Middle Level superpower user on the team after Flora.
Plant-type superpower users had two advancement paths upon reaching the Middle Level.
The first was to continue upgrading the plant vines they manifested upon awakening. Their attack power wasn’t strong, but as a combat-support Control System, they were incredibly effective.
Upon reaching the Middle Level, Cynthia Grant, who originally had only five vines, could now summon nine to attack her enemies. But against a Metal-type or an Earth Ability User with extremely high defense, the binding power of these vines was nowhere near enough. The enemy could break free the instant they were bound.
The other advancement path for plant-types was one that very few people knew about, even ten years into the apocalypse. Plant-type superpower users have a strong affinity for all kinds of plants. Even the most ordinary plants are a part of nature’s energy.
If a plant-type user were being pursued by enemies, they could hide in a forest or any place with a lot of vegetation and, by virtue of their affinity with the flora, find shelter among them, remaining hidden and undiscovered.
If there were spiritual plants, they could even convert their own Spiritual Energy to help the plant-type superpower user quickly recover their spiritual power.
Flora’s purpose for bringing Cynthia Grant had nothing to do with ordinary plants; even spiritual plants wouldn’t work. It had to be an evolved plant, like the Rose vine.
Looking across all of Morhaven, where else could there be more rare plants than in this botanical garden?
After reaching the Middle Level, as long as a plant-type superpower user could establish a mental communication channel with an evolved plant, they could use that plant to fight.
This was somewhat similar to the function of Flora’s space when it created Spiritual Imprints on her "little pets." After an animal or plant was thrown into the space, the space would brand it with an imprint, allowing her to establish a mental link and have it do her bidding.
But a plant-type superpower user at the Middle Level could rely on their affinity with plants to establish a mental communication channel with an evolved plant, which was equivalent to skipping Flora’s Spiritual Imprint step and communicating directly with the plant to have it help them fight.
The higher the plant-type’s affinity, the faster the mental channel could be established. As long as one’s spiritual power was sufficient, there was no limit to the number. As long as the affinity was high enough, the mental communication channel established with the superpower user would not disappear.
In other words, the more these plants liked you, the less likely they were to leave you. They would also help you fight and defend you from enemies. The process of getting along with a plant with which you had established a mental communication channel was a process of building up its affection. The higher the affection, the higher the plant’s loyalty to you, and it wouldn’t even be impossible for it to sacrifice itself for the superpower user.
This alternative advancement path for plant-types required immense spiritual power, but the benefit was not having to discard one’s original plant-type attacks. In other words, if Cynthia Grant succeeded, she could add a more powerful attack and life-saving measure to her original plant-based abilities.
When Flora told Cynthia Grant this, she was so excited she started dancing around. "Really? If I also had a plant pet like the Rose vine, wouldn’t my combat power go through the roof?"
Flora nodded. "Theoretically, yes. But you just upgraded to the Middle Level, so your spiritual power is limited. We can only choose some evolved plants that are at a similar level to your own spiritual power for you to establish a mental communication channel. The Rose vine is too high-level; it’s not suitable for you."
"Ah! Over there! Flora, look at that plant over there with the huge flower bud! Isn’t it beautiful? I want one like that!" The two of them had just walked a short distance from the lab and arrived at an artificial lake with obvious signs of man-made excavation.
Cynthia Grant suddenly pointed to a cluster of plants growing by the water. In that spot, there were several identical clusters with six or seven identical flowers. Each bloom was as large as a washbasin and so vividly red it looked like it was dripping color. The flowers and their buds swayed gently in the breeze, looking quite delightful.
Flora pulled Cynthia Grant a little farther from the freshwater lake, then glared at her, her expression souring. "Those are man-eating flowers. And just by looking, I can’t tell if they’re evolved plants."
Cynthia Grant’s eyes lit up. "Man-eating flowers are awesome! Think how badass it would be to bring one out during a fight. So cool!"
Exasperated, Flora pulled her along, explaining as they walked, "I can’t tell if that man-eating flower is an evolved plant just by looking. If it’s not, it’s useless to you. If it is, then we won’t be able to escape."
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
Flora’s heart suddenly leaped. She turned her head to look. ’We can’t be this unlucky, can we?’ They really were evolved man-eating flowers.
"What are you looking at? Hurry up and follow me!"
Without a second word, Flora grabbed Cynthia Grant and ran toward the lab. "Cynthia Grant, you jinx! Let’s get back to the lab and lay low. These man-eating flowers are probably chasing us because they lack food. As long as we get into the lab and close the door, we can escape their attack."
Once they were finally back inside the lab, the two researchers were panting for breath. Flora, Cynthia, and Yan Yan—all five of them—had also struggled to make it back and were finally able to catch their breath. "Quick, lock the doors and windows!"
HUFF... HUFF... PUFF... PUFF... Cynthia Grant stared at the laboratory’s main entrance, her heart still pounding with fear as she took deep breaths.
"Flora, if you hadn’t reacted so fast, I would’ve been done for back there..."
But Flora was still unsettled. She suddenly sensed that the cluster of man-eating flowers had now completely surrounded the laboratory entrance.
The sound of THUD THUD THUD was incessant, as if someone were playing a prank by knocking on the door. But even though the knocking was loud, the cluster of man-eating flowers wouldn’t be able to break through the lab’s metal doors right away.
The seconds and minutes ticked by, but the knocking at the door remained incessant. After a while, the five people in the laboratory began to think they were hallucinating.
"Flora, these man-eating flowers don’t look that big. Why are we so afraid of them?"
Flora rubbed her forehead. "Don’t let their size fool you. They can swallow food five times their own size in a single bite. It’s useless no matter how powerful your attacks are. These things are impervious to water and fire, blades and spears. Their buds are also immune to all attacks."
’This can’t go on.’
Although the man-eating flowers’ root systems weren’t long, they were highly developed. This was different from other plants, which put down deep roots where they landed and whose root systems became longer and more developed the better they grew.
Most importantly, after these man-eating flowers evolved, they could use their sturdy root systems as legs to move quickly across the ground.
’We’re surrounded by man-eating flowers outside, so we can’t get out. What about underground?’
"Look for any tools we can use to dig a tunnel. The lab is probably surrounded on all sides. Let’s see if we can dig a tunnel straight out of here."
Everyone who heard this thought it was a ridiculous fantasy. Dig a tunnel? They couldn’t find a single shovel or hoe, let alone professional digging equipment.
But just then, Flora remembered the spiritual plant root system she had been cultivating at the base. The area covered by the roots was growing by the day, and the nearest point was only a dozen or so kilometers away.
’It seems heaven hasn’t abandoned me!’
