Chapter 42: Power Apple, Lightweight Plum

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Power Apple, Lightweight Plum

Listening to Cheryl Chase recount the shocking truth in a monotone voice, Seraphina Sullivan felt a chill run up her spine.

’No wonder Cheryl Chase hates the researchers so much...’ Seraphina Sullivan thought, looking at the girl before her, controlled and forced to relive painful memories. For the first time, she felt complicated emotions about this instance world.

How was this a natural disaster?

It was clearly a man-made hell, forged by human greed and madness!

And she and the so-called Players were just new characters added to this hellish drama, struggling to survive just like everyone else.

’Good thing I only have to survive in this godforsaken place for three days,’ Seraphina Sullivan thought. She refused to resign herself to hiding like a rat.

Her sharp gaze fell on the Mantis Scythe in Cheryl Chase’s hand, which glinted with a cold light. Then, her eyes swept over the girl’s small, thin frame, which held astonishing explosive power.

That was no ordinary human physique.

Seraphina Sullivan herself had taken Body Transformation Pills, but they had only given her an edge in speed and reflexes.

But the power Cheryl Chase had displayed when she instantly killed the giant spider, and her ability to leap several meters at a time, left Seraphina in the dust.

"That scythe of yours... and your physical abilities, how did you get them?" Seraphina Sullivan asked, getting straight to the point.

Still under the control of the Sweet Fragrance, Cheryl Chase’s tone held a distinct note of pride. "This scythe is a forelimb I cut from an incredibly powerful Phantom Scythe-Mantis."

"The Red Fog didn’t just make insects mutate and evolve; it also gave some special insects nearly ’supernatural’ abilities. Regular bullets? They work on the small fry, but against monsters of that caliber, they can’t even scratch an itch! Only weapons forged from their own hardest body parts can truly break through their defenses and inflict a fatal wound." She hefted the heavy scythe in her hand. "It’s a classic case of fighting fire with fire!"

Seraphina Sullivan understood. ’I get it,’ she thought. ’Fight magic with magic!’

But she was more interested in the latter. "What about your superhuman power and jumping ability? Don’t tell me you were born with it."

A flash of pride crossed Cheryl Chase’s eyes. "Enhancing Fruits. I found a Power Apple and a Lightweight Plum. I only gained my current Power and bounce ability after eating them."

"Power Apple? Lightweight Plum?" Seraphina Sullivan raised an eyebrow. The names sounded both strange and tempting.

"Like I said before, the Red Fog Substance didn’t just plague the insects," Cheryl Chase explained, her tone growing solemn. "Its effect on plants is just as terrifying. Most plants just grew wildly and became enormous, but some mutated plants also developed offensive abilities. Vines that strangle, flowers that spit Poison Stings... But a very small number of plants, during their mutation process, evolved to bear fruits with magical effects!"

A flicker of longing passed through her eyes. "Like the Power Apple I mentioned. Eating it gives you immense strength. The Lightweight Plum enhances your jumping ability, making you as light as a feather and able to leap several yards in a single bound! I’ve also heard of Eagle Eye Grapes, which let you see in the dark as if it were day, and the Iron Skin Durian, which can temporarily make your skin as hard as steel..."

Hearing about these special fruits, Seraphina Sullivan’s heart couldn’t help but beat faster.

These were basically the "Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures" of this instance!

If she could find and eat a few of these fruits within the three days, her chances of survival and completing her second objective would increase dramatically!

Collecting insect corpses was for the Treasure Chests, but these fruits could be converted directly into combat power!

Just as Seraphina Sullivan was about to say something more, the Charm Control effect of the Sweet Fragrance suddenly wore off.

Cheryl Chase suddenly snapped out of it.

She looked at Seraphina. "What just happened to me? What did you do to me?"

Seraphina pretended not to know anything. "Nothing? You just turned around all of a sudden. I was about to ask what you were doing."

Cheryl Chase scratched her head, feeling like something was off.

Her wariness toward Seraphina grew even stronger.

Seraphina breathed a sigh of relief. ’So the Sweet Fragrance’s Charm Control has a time limit,’ she thought. ’To maintain control, the target has to keep smelling the Sweet Fragrance.’

’Still, I’ve learned a lot. I haven’t gotten any specifics about the Insect Speaker out of her yet, but I’ll stop here for now. I’ll ask again if I get another chance later.’

Seraphina felt she wouldn’t get another chance to use it again anytime soon.

Cheryl Chase was much more wary of her now.

Just then, a commotion and cries of alarm erupted from somewhere deep ahead of where Cheryl Chase was.

Seraphina also heard other people shouting.

"Quick! Vivi is tangled in the vines of a Decaying Flower!"

"It’s dragging him away! This is a specially evolved plant; we can’t cut through these vines!"

Cheryl Chase’s expression changed when she heard the shouts.

"Damn it, Vivi and the others are in danger."

She hadn’t come out to look for food alone.

Hearing the commotion, Cheryl Chase knew her teammates were in trouble.

Gripping her scythe tightly, she charged forward.

Seraphina followed close behind.

After rounding a street corner, they saw a scene in front of a doorway that had been burst open by plant roots. A skinny teenager was tightly bound by his waist and legs by several dark purple, wrist-thick vines covered in thorns, his body hanging upside down in mid-air.

He was being dragged by an immense force toward a giant flower bud lined with Sharp Teeth that was constantly opening and closing!

The flower bud emitted a nauseating, sweet-and-rotten stench—it was the Decaying Flower someone had just mentioned!

Cheryl Chase let out a furious roar, and her Mantis Scythe sliced toward the vines with a piercing whistle!

However, when the sharp blade struck the tough vine, it only left a shallow white mark as sparks flew!

Beside the Decaying Flower, two other young men with machetes were also rapidly hacking at the plant’s stalk.

"Damn it! This thing’s vines are as hard as iron!" Cheryl Chase’s face turned pale. Even with her strength and her special scythe, she couldn’t sever it instantly.

"Chase! What do we do?! If we don’t deal with this Decaying Flower, Vivi is going to be eaten!" a man shouted in a panic.

Cheryl Chase gritted her teeth and swung her scythe again and again, but to no avail. Instead, she only angered the Decaying Flower, which had been about to eat.

Countless steel-like vines lashed out at the group.

Seraphina used her Eye of Resume.

[Name: Decaying Flower]

[Gender: Female]

[Professional Skills: Strong Digestion, Steel Vine]

[Weaknesses: Flame]

Seraphina’s eyes narrowed.

’Ordinary vines could never have blocked that terrifying scythe!’

Watching the boy being dragged little by little toward the deadly flower bud, Seraphina hesitated no longer.

She took a deep breath, and her lips parted slightly beneath her mask.

"Sleeping Fragrance!"

A wisp of pale blue mist, carrying a cool Aura, drifted precisely toward the Decaying Flower’s large maw and the boy’s mouth and nose.

The boy’s struggles suddenly stopped. His eyes quickly glazed over, and his tense body instantly relaxed.