Chapter 355 - 351: Confrontation

"This thing can convert more than just metal?"

Zhang Wenda was both stunned and overjoyed. He had three of these devices, and he felt like he’d hit the jackpot.

More importantly, with these three devices, being trapped was no longer a problem!

He immediately rushed over to another grotesque, flesh-covered car, pried off the Triangular Device that weighed hundreds of pounds, and hoisted it directly onto his shoulder.

"Maomao! Share the operating instructions with me in my mind!"

He quickly learned from Hu Maomao that the device’s operation was actually quite simple. The core power source was the large pearl, likely a special item found in some unique region.

It could convert any substance, but it had its drawbacks: the prep time was long, requiring thirty seconds for each use, and the pearl sustained some damage with every activation.

But for Zhang Wenda right now, none of that mattered.

Soon, another green beam shot out. Under the illumination of the two beams, the mountain of cement was completely breached, and light flooded in from the outside.

The ceaseless flow of cement tried to fill the gap, but as it was continuously converted into clear freshwater, it simply streamed down to the ground, no longer able to block Zhang Wenda’s escape.

A moment later, Zhang Wenda ran out of the cement mountain, the Triangular Device still on his shoulder. He came face-to-face with the giant tree in the sky, from which dangled all sorts of wooden appliances.

It was much closer now, almost directly overhead.

"We’re finally out! Let’s run!" Hu Maomao tugged on Zhang Wenda’s clothes but couldn’t budge him.

"Run? You think running is going to do any good in this situation?" Zhang Wenda gestured at the increasingly turbulent ocean around them and the towering, layered waves.

"Instead of running, I think we’ve got a better chance taking this thing head-on. At least wood seems easier to deal with than cement."

Zhang Wenda finished speaking, his gaze fixed fearlessly on the massive tree before him. He then grabbed the collar of Hu Maomao’s school uniform and tossed her straight into the Inner World.

The next second, he activated the Triangular Device on his shoulder, poured the water out of the container inside, and replaced it with a red flame someone had given him.

He then hoisted the Triangular Device and, stepping on clusters of thought, charged toward the tentacle-like length of wood in the sky.

The various wooden appliances hanging from the branches all turned to face Zhang Wenda, a cacophony of noise mixed with the sound of radio broadcasts spilling from them.

"Are you... looking for death?"

"Give that thing to us... You have no idea of its value..."

"Foolish human."

But then, a green beam shot out from Zhang Wenda’s shoulder, cutting them all off.

In the blink of an eye, the green beam struck the giant tree, and its wooden body rapidly began to convert into a raging inferno.

As the giant tree thrashed, the sky filled with a cacophony of jarring noises and creaks—what sounded like the creature’s pained screams.

Realizing things were going badly, the giant tree immediately tried to counter. The nearby cement tsunami split into two massive waves that surged toward the green beam, attempting to block the strange light.

It was utterly useless, however. The moment the cement touched the green beam, it was instantly converted into a raging inferno, which the light then carried forward to smash against the hard wood.

The amount of fire converted by a single beam wasn’t much and looked minuscule on the giant tree’s body. But fire spreads. The newly created flames quickly used the surrounding wood as fuel and began to burn violently.

The giant tree whipped down from the sky like a long lash, slamming into the ground. Amid a cloud of dust, the newly kindled flames were snuffed out.

But it was no use. The next thirty-second cycle was up. A new green beam shot out, and the flames roared to life once more.

Just as the giant tree, controlling the turbulent ocean, was about to strike at Zhang Wenda...

...two more identical green beams shot out from a nearby crack leading to the Inner World. Hu Maomao, with the help of the Little Black Cats, had pushed the other two Triangular Devices to the entrance and joined the fight.

The three green beams now crisscrossed, carving three furiously burning lines of fire onto the giant tree. The massive entity, which looked to be at least ten kilometers long, began to burn in earnest, the flames spreading up toward the sky.

Finally, Zhang Wenda raised his Triangular Device, aimed it at the sky, and fired another fire-converting green beam. The entire sky seemed to be dyed red by the inferno, and a rolling wave of blistering heat pressed down on him like a solid wall.

Whether to cut its losses or because it simply couldn’t hold on any longer, a massive, burning section of the tree broke off and plummeted from the sky. It smashed onto the re-solidified cement waves, instantly creating what looked like a furiously burning volcano.

"Now that’s a spectacular sight," Zhang Wenda said with a laugh, taking it all in.

"Why didn’t you retreat just now? We clearly could have run for it first."

Hu Maomao floated out from the Inner World, her brow furrowed in disapproval of Zhang Wenda’s reckless actions. "What if the Triangular Device hadn’t worked on it? You would’ve been in danger."

Zhang Wenda took the Triangular Device off his shoulder and tossed it forcefully into his Inner World. "If it didn’t work, I’d have thought of something else. There’s always a solution. I refuse to believe I’m going to die here."

"Besides, back when the thought-tides first started, do you think the first thing people did when they encountered an incomprehensible creature or phenomenon was run away?"

"If we can’t even handle this thing, how are we supposed to deal with 1999?"

Hearing this, Hu Maomao said no more. Although she was his senior, Zhang Wenda never listened to her.

Having said his piece, Zhang Wenda looked at the floating Hippocampus and said, "Create a new table. Log the dangerous organisms in this region, including the threats they pose, their attack methods, and their weaknesses. Share it with everyone when we get back."

"What should we call it?" the Hippocampus asked, pen poised.

Zhang Wenda stared at the red, burning flames before him. "We can’t be sure if this thing is an animal or a plant," he replied. "Let’s just call them ’Regional Entities’."

Zhang Wenda suddenly spotted something and sprinted toward the volcano. When he returned, he was using his scythe to drag a two-meter-long wooden staff behind him.

He tentatively picked up the wooden staff and gave it a light wave. The cement on the ground instantly softened, twisting and deforming under his control.

’It seems anyone holding this can control concrete,’ he thought. ’I wonder if it only works on concrete, though.’

In the glow of the raging inferno, Zhang Wenda held the wooden staff high, examining it intently.

"I don’t care what anyone else calls this. From now on, its name is Concrete Wood. From now on, *we* will be the ones who define this world!"

At his words, Hu Maomao shuddered. She couldn’t help but look up, her expression incredibly complex as she gazed at Zhang Wenda’s profile.