The Abused Heroine Stops Pretending [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 79.2

They tried their best to avoid looking at the corpses, doing so would only destabilize their mental state.

“Senior, be careful.” Ever since Tang Jing had gained the ability to communicate with her senior through perception, she had relied on it whenever possible. It was far more efficient, and Xu Yushu could convey her thoughts just as clearly.

Xu Yushu nodded in her direction.

Before setting out, they had already devised a strategy. Now, they split into three groups, aiming to eliminate the tree in one decisive strike. The key was destroying its roots not the sprawling network beneath the city, but the main roots supporting the tree itself.

This task fell to Xu Yushu. All she had to do was pour the gasoline Tang Jing’s group had prepared onto the tree trunk. Given her incredible speed, she was the only one who could get close enough.

Although Tang Jing and the others had absorbed the crystal cores, the gap in strength between them and the giant tree was still immense. At this point, merely surviving its attacks was already an achievement.

Of course, they weren’t idle either.

Tang Jing and the other two were responsible for diverting the tree’s attention, while Ye Yuanhua found a good vantage point to shoot. Once Xu Yushu poured the gasoline, he would fire a flaming crossbow bolt to ignite the branches.

Tang Jing was busy fending off the roots in front of her when she failed to notice one suddenly emerging from behind. The root lashed against her, causing her to stagger. Barely dodging another root attacking from the side, she rolled on the ground to reposition herself.

Zhou Tiantian and Su Zhen weren’t faring much better, especially Zhou Tiantian, who rarely participated in combat her lack of experience was now painfully evident.

Fortunately, with Ye Yuanhua’s assistance, they managed to hold on for a few more minutes.

Meanwhile, Xu Yushu weaved through the gaps between the roots. To stop her, more and more roots converged toward her.

“Brother Ye!” Tang Jing shouted.

Ye Yuanhua immediately fired a crossbow bolt, which struck the root attacking Xu Yushu. Flames erupted, and the root recoiled in pain, giving her a brief moment to catch her breath.

By the time the tree reacted and tried to block her again, Xu Yushu had already closed in on the trunk. Without wasting a single second, she decisively poured the gasoline she had brought onto it.

Because her perception was linked with Tang Jing’s, she could feel her pain. Every second she delayed meant more injuries for Tang Jing, how could she allow that?

Enraged by these ants repeatedly escaping its grasp, the tree lashed out wildly, its roots attacking them with frenzied intensity.

But Xu Yushu had already emptied the gasoline onto the roots. She retreated, retracing her steps and sprinting back toward Tang Jing.

“Ayuan!” Su Zhen, who had been keeping an eye on the situation, called out to Ye Yuanhua the moment Xu Yushu had put enough distance between herself and the tree. Ye Yuanhua, who had been ready for this moment, fired without hesitation.

The crossbow bolt burst into flames mid-flight, only to be intercepted by a root.

Yet more bolts followed. The roots could block the first, the second, but eventually, one struck the trunk. Even the tiniest spark was enough to set the entire tree ablaze.

With the gasoline’s help, the flames surged instantly, engulfing the trunk. The fire spread upward, consuming the branches and the long-hanging corpses of zombies.

The earth trembled violently as the roots, their main trunk burning, erupted from the ground, impaling zombies on the streets and piercing through towering buildings.

The entire city became a silent, merciless hellscape.

“Let’s go,” Tang Jing said. They retraced their path, boarded their vehicle, and sped toward the nearest exit.

The roots tried to stop them, but their strength was waning. Tang Jing and the others dodged them with ease.

The fire raged for three days and three nights.

Tang Jing’s group didn’t leave. Instead, they found a house in the wilderness to stay in, observing the city’s condition daily while continuing to absorb the blue crystal cores.

After days of absorption, the energy within the blue cores was nearly depleted, and the group’s strength had significantly improved.

Three days later, the three of them arrived in City A once again.

Because of that battle, the entire city had fallen. Tree roots pierced through the streets like spikes from the ground, creating a scene that was both tragic and spectacular at a glance.

“Let’s go, take a closer look,” Su Zhen said, pulling her gaze away first.

The reason they hadn’t left in the past three days was to wait for the giant tree to finish burning they wanted to search for the crystal core inside it.

Unexpectedly, before they even got close to the tree, they found numerous crystal cores scattered along the way. These were the result of the tree’s final frenzy, its roots wildly impaling zombies and extracting their cores.

As they moved forward, some zombies were still alive, mouths gaping as they tried to attack. The group swiftly ended them with blades, quickly checking their brains for any remaining cores.

They collected cores all along the path until they finally reached the charred remains of the tree roots. The trunk, as large as a basketball court, had burned down, leaving behind a massive crater.

Standing at the edge of the pit, they peered down but saw nothing but darkness.

“I’ll go down and take a look,” Ye Yuanhua said.

“Be careful,” Su Zhen warned.

Ye Yuanhua slid down the slope and searched the bottom of the pit. Eventually, he felt something hard beneath his foot near the center. He stomped a few times and brushed away the debris, revealing a blackish-red crystal.

“It’s a core!” Zhou Tiantian exclaimed excitedly.

But then, something unexpected happened, a wrist-thick root burst from the ground, lunging straight for Ye Yuanhua’s head.

Su Zhen, who had been keeping watch, immediately fired, severing the root.

This was a newly grown root, several times smaller than the ones they had encountered days before.

“Is this tree still alive?” Zhou Tiantian gasped, collapsing onto the ground in fear. She dreaded the thought of the tree launching a sudden attack they were too close to dodge in time.

“Ah Yuan, grab the core and get back up here quickly!”

“Got it.”

The core was as big as a basketball, and Ye Yuanhua struggled to carry it as he climbed back up. Tang Jing and the others pulled him up with a rope.

“This tree would’ve reached the level of a Zombie Emperor soon,” Tang Jing remarked.

Black-tier zombies were the highest-level undead, and this tree had only been defeated because it underestimated them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have stood a chance.

“Let’s go. It’s time to move on.”

Su Zhen took the core from Ye Yuanhua and placed it in a box.

They drove out of City A, resuming their journey toward City S.

Over the past three months, they had taken many detours and faced countless dangers. Without these obstacles, they would have reached City S long ago.

Now, the entire country had fallen. All survivors were heading to the last remaining bases, while once-thriving cities had become strongholds of the undead.

Even plants and animals were evolving. No one knew what the future held for them.

On the night before reaching City S, the group settled into another abandoned house to rest.

The red-black crystal core they had dug from the tree roots lay on the table as they gathered around it.

“We absolutely cannot bring this core inside,” Su Zhen said firmly.

Although the radio broadcasts from the survivor bases were filled with hopeful news, no one could verify their truth. In this apocalyptic world, human nature was the ultimate test especially when it came to the capitalists, who would never disappear, even in the end times.

Where there was profit, there would always be capitalists.

So, this rare crystal core absolutely could not be brought in with them. Whether it would be confiscated later was another matter, the key issue was whether the four of them would be detained.

After all, with just four people and two zombies, they had taken down a monster close to the level of a Zombie Emperor. No one would believe it.

A single Zombie Emperor could control up to three thousand zombies, how could it be something they could just kill at will?

So far, they hadn’t heard anything about mutated plants and animals on the radio. They didn’t know whether the base hadn’t discovered it yet or was deliberately keeping it under wraps.

Either way, they couldn’t afford to be the ones to draw attention first.

“What about Xu Yushu and the little zombie baby?” Su Zhen asked the most critical question.

Now, every base entrance was equipped with detectors that could instantly identify whether someone carried the virus.

Their group could enter smoothly, but Xu Yushu and the little zombie baby were essentially walking viruses. They’d likely be shot dead at the city gates before even stepping inside.

[System: Optional side quest update available. Please check, Host.]

Hearing the system’s voice after so long, Tang Jing had almost forgotten about the side quest modification.

In the original plot, she was supposed to enter the S City Base with Zhou Tiantian and join a mercenary group to carry out supply-gathering missions.

But now, with her senior sister and the little zombie baby by her side, she couldn’t bear to leave them outside alone nor could she stand being so far from her senior sister.

She asked the system, “Check main storyline progress.”

[System: Main storyline progress at 40%.]

She still needed another 10% before reaching the point where she could act freely. Tang Jing had no choice but to spend points to modify the side quest.

[System: Side quest, Enter S City Base with female lead Zhou Tiantian has been modified. Current balance: 160 points.]

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