Chapter 229 - 146: Eradicating All Parasites, Harvesting the Vine Core, and Recruiting Members

Chapter 229: Chapter 146: Eradicating All Parasites, Harvesting the Vine Core, and Recruiting Members

Besides, he knew Chen Chong all too well. The man was no reckless brute who fought for the thrill of it. If he dared to charge in alone, he must have had some degree of confidence.

But trust was one thing; the worry in their hearts was another.

The group didn’t dare to act rashly. They could only stand guard and watch how things unfolded.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM—

Just then, the fleshy sphere of vines began to vibrate as if it had swallowed something indigestible, twisting and contorting.

As time passed, the vibrations grew more and more violent.

Even though they couldn’t see what was happening inside, the group could clearly sense that something was wrong with the Bloodthirsty Vine.

This was completely different from its previous state of devouring and merging. Now, the fleshy sphere would contract erratically one moment and expand violently the next.

Even stranger, some of the vines, which had been wrapped into an impenetrable mass, broke away and began to spread wildly in all directions.

Xu Jun, Wang Biao, Qi Zhen, and Ning Yu exchanged a look, immediately spread out, and swung their weapons to sever the scattering vines.

They couldn’t launch a full-scale assault on the fleshy sphere formed by the Bloodthirsty Vine, so they could only stop these offshoots from spreading further and prevent others from getting caught in the chaos.

As they cut down more and more vines, the group gradually realized something was wrong.

A mixture of red and green fluid was seeping from the cracks in the fleshy sphere, accompanied by a faint, hair-raising hum.

The vines spreading outward moved with growing urgency, desperately seeking living creatures to parasitize and drain for energy.

This was a clear sign that the Bloodthirsty Vine had been severely wounded and was in dire need of fresh blood and flesh to replenish its power.

Xu Jun’s face lit up.

"Could it be that Brother Chong has seriously wounded this thing from the inside?"

"Don’t overthink it. Just focus on stopping these vines for now. Leave the rest to the boss," Wang Biao barked, his hands moving even faster.

Time ticked by, and the shape of the fleshy vine sphere grew more and more distorted.

Just then, an even stranger change occurred.

Unable to absorb any fresh blood and flesh for a prolonged period, the vines seemed to adopt a new strategy, once again piercing into each other.

But this time, it wasn’t for the sake of merging as before. They were truly devouring one another.

The pierced vines began to visibly wither, while the others took on an even deeper hue...

Through this constant cannibalism, the vines, originally bluish-black with hints of light green, slowly began to shift toward a profound, inky black.

The thorns on their surface grew denser, more ferocious, and more terrifying!

As Transcendents, the group could perceive subtle auras that ordinary people couldn’t.

At this moment, the mutated vines were emanating a presence far colder and more intimidating than that of the vines on the Parasites before.

The smile vanished from Xu Jun’s face. His heart skipped a beat. ’Don’t tell me... its fusion is complete?’

Wang Biao’s expression darkened. "If this thing finishes fusing and evolves again, won’t the boss be in danger inside?"

At these words, the group grew anxious.

If that was the case, they couldn’t worry about the risk of friendly fire!

They had to break through the vines immediately and see what was going on inside! ℴ

After all, no one could guarantee how much stronger the Bloodthirsty Vine would become after evolving.

If Chen Chong, trapped within, couldn’t handle it, they would be in serious trouble!

Just as Wang Biao and Qi Zhen were gritting their teeth, preparing to launch an all-out assault regardless of the consequences...

SQUELCH—

The wildly twisting, ferociously dancing vines suddenly froze in an instant.

As if struck by an invisible bolt of lightning, they then began to tremble...

From their bare surfaces, the vines seemed to exude a sense of extreme panic, something almost human.

They stopped spreading outward and instead frantically burrowed back toward the core of the fleshy sphere.

They paid no mind to the fact that this caused their own thorns to pierce them, sending fluid spewing everywhere. It was as if something hidden within the core terrified them to their very essence.

They didn’t even bother to stop Qi Zhen and Wang Biao, who were right beside them, focused only on burrowing inward...

"What’s happening!?"

Before the group could figure out the situation, the nearly ink-black vines began to lose their luster at a visible rate.

They became withered and gray, like dead branches devoid of all life.

Then, the enormous fleshy sphere of vines collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Layers upon layers of withered branches scattered across the ground, revealing the figure that had been encased at its very core.

It was none other than Chen Chong!

Chen Chong was covered from head to toe in a viscous, red-and-green fluid, panting heavily.

His left hand still tightly gripped the Snake Scale Short Knife.

And in his right, he held a round, basketball-sized object, pitch-black and covered in thorns.

"Finally managed to cut this thing off. That really took a lot out of me..."

Staring at the object in his hand, Chen Chong’s voice was hoarse, but a flicker of relief crossed his eyes.

This was the core of the Bloodthirsty Vine.

After the vines had completed their fusion and evolution, Chen Chong had endured unimaginable pressure inside, nearly being crushed to death several times.

Fortunately, he found an opportunity and forcefully severed the core from the vine’s main body.

It was precisely because it realized its core was about to be attacked that the Bloodthirsty Vine had grown so agitated and panicked, trying desperately to burrow inward to stop him.

Unfortunately for it, it ultimately failed to stop Chen Chong.

It had gone through all the trouble of fusing its power and completing its evolution, only to kick the bucket less than three seconds after it was done posturing.

Instead, the core—which had condensed all the energy absorbed from the vines within the fifty Parasites, as well as all the essence the Bloodthirsty Vine had plundered over the past few days—ended up in Chen Chong’s hands.

If the Bloodthirsty Vine King, wherever it was, had human-level intelligence, it would probably be coughing up blood from sheer rage right now...

Looking at the Vine Core in his hand, Chen Chong smiled.

He didn’t destroy it immediately as he had before, but instead planned to take it back with him.

He knew very well that this thing was different from the cores inside ordinary Parasites.

Those cores possessed very little power. While they did contain Extraordinary Power, the amount was insignificant.

But this one was different. Condensed with so much energy, it definitely qualified as an extremely rare Extraordinary Material.

The Lion-headed Goose had mutated in the first place because it had accidentally eaten a similar Vine Core.

Although the quality of this one might not compare to the one from the Unihorn Catfish, it was better than nothing.

It would be good to take it back as food for the Lion-headed Goose; maybe it could help it level up again.

Even if it couldn’t finish it, using it to forge an Extraordinary Artifact was also a good option...

After all the trouble he’d gone through, obtaining something like this meant his efforts hadn’t been in vain.

"Brother Chong, are you okay?"

Xu Jun, Wang Biao, and the others rushed over, their faces filled with concern.

Chen Chong wiped the fluid from his face with the back of his hand and smiled.

"I’m fine. It’s just the mixed blood of the Parasites and the vines. It’s sticky and a bit disgusting, but I’m not hurt."

Thanks to the protection of Rock Body Transformation, the vine’s thorns couldn’t harm him in the slightest.

But the prolonged, high-intensity battle, combined with the exertion of using his ability at full power, had somewhat depleted Chen Chong’s stamina, even with his rapid recovery talent.

Right now, his entire body felt sore, and waves of weakness washed over him.

But this weakness was worth it.

At least all the Parasites in the entire square had been completely wiped out.

Aside from the early-stage Parasites, all of the deep-stage ones had been thoroughly eliminated.

The surrounding students were still reeling from the shocking turn of events, standing frozen in place with dazed expressions.

Shock, fear, confusion, disbelief... a complex mix of emotions played across their faces.

Chen Chong paid no mind to the crowd’s reaction and walked straight toward the high platform.

He briefly wiped some of the filth from his body, and once he was mostly clean, he picked up the megaphone.

’Uprooting the Bloodthirsty Vine, purging the Parasites... that’s done.’

’Next, it’s time to take care of other important business.’

’Time to consolidate the school’s personnel, establish a team, and launch the survival resource circulation plan!’

Chen Chong’s gaze swept over the crowd below.

As he spoke, his calm yet magnetic voice echoed throughout the entire Central Square.

"The Parasites have all been dealt with now. I will honor my previous promise and let you leave."

"But before you go, I have one more thing to announce. For those who are interested, you can join my team..."

As soon as he said this, an uproar erupted from the crowd below.

The students looked up in unison at Chen Chong on the high platform, their faces still holding the lingering traces of shock and confusion.

But for those students who had already come to their senses, a flicker of keen interest flashed in their eyes...

...