Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Water from the gurgling stream meandered and flowed out from the valley, crashing down from a cliff tens of meters high that resembled a frozen meteor in the sky, forming a silky waterfall off the edge.
Below the waterfall was a deep pool, which flowed a few kilometers down the mountain then curved into a bend by a small mountain village.
In that small village stood an old mansion. A wrinkled Li Laohan sat outside, smoking dry tobacco in silence, his brows furrowed.
“Dad, what should we do? We can’t go to the mountain anymore.” Li Fei raised his head as if to point at the unbudging mist covering the towering mountains in the distance, a sense of fear lingering in his heart.
“Cough! Cough! Cough…” his father broke into a violent coughing fit. “Find them! We still have to find them!” he proclaimed as he cleared his throat, nodding hard.
Perhaps a bit more than a month ago, four people had suddenly visited the village.
The four had claimed to be travel buddies coming to explore the valley, and had paid Old Li’s nephew, Li Ming, a good sum of money to act as their guide.
A month had passed. Li Ming had not returned, and the four travel mates were nowhere to be seen either.
Old Li had thought about calling the police, but there were dozens of kilometers of mountain roads separating their village from the town. Besides, town people would not understand the situation on the other side of the valley as well as a villager would.
“Dad, I think we still need to call the police. We went out yesterday. You have no idea how huge the bugs out there are!” Li Fei’s face turned pale as he recalled the memory.
Yesterday, he and three other villagers had gone into the mountain together, only to frantically flee a while later as a dozen large bugs covered in colorful fur chased them away. He was so petrified, his soul had practically felt his body!
He had grown up on the mountain. Why was this his first time seeing the insane creatures it was also home to?
Not only that, they had later run into a fox the size of a calf.
Had his quick eyes not been able to spot it, and then aim at and shoot it under pressure, his group would probably not have gotten back to the village in one piece. His shotgun hit the fox in the left eye, saving all their lives.
“You have to find him and save them! Call the two children of Old Zhang’s family on the west side of the village to go with you too. You can’t just let him be gone like that and not go after him!” Old Li’s cloudy yellow eyes flashed as he gave his instructions. The village had lost someone, and that was a big deal! It was a matter of someone living, or someone dying.
It was not a big deal to go into the mountains for seven or eight days. Considering the sheer size of the mountain, it could even be said that half a month wouldn’t be enough to do everything one wanted to do. However, it had already been a month. Of course they were growing more frantic by the minute.
“Dad, it won’t make a difference no matter how many of us go! We need to get the county’s fire brigade as reinforcements, we don’t know what we’re dealing with here. I’ll call them now!” Li Fei said, walking into the house.
Old Li agreed. There was no other way, they would need to trouble the county.
He did know how dangerous the mountain was. After all, his fearless son had gone up with a shotgun only to run back home frightened. This was no joking matter.
A few days ago, a grandson-in-law and concubine from the village had gone into the woods to pick mushrooms. They encountered a few mice the size of dogs and lost their shoes in a struggle to escape.
There was also the situation with the youngest son of Old Jin’s family. It was said that he had gone to the toilet at night and saw a centipede thicker than his thigh. He was so shocked that a high fever struck him, and he blabbed nonsense for several days!
There used to be a dozen dogs in the village, but they had disappeared without any explanation. There were pools of blood by the doghouse…
The mountain was mutating.
The mutations seemed to have started three or four months ago. However, it was gradually becoming more rapid and effective.
The villagers were not blind, they knew what was going on. Their ancestors had occupied these lands for generations.
Several families moved to a town many miles away and never returned. Almost overnight, it felt like so many had left.
Old Li knew it would not be long before the entire village moved out.
However, before that, Li Ming needed to be found and rescued.
“Dad, the county is taking this very seriously! They said troops have already set out, the fire brigade is coming over right away, and rangers would be following them too!” Li Fei cried out from inside the house.
Old Li put the cigarette holder back into his mouth and nodded in response.
The troops were coming. It seemed that even the people outside were aware of the things happening around the mountain.
“Big Fei, tidy up the house. It looks like our days in the Little Li Village are running out.”
“Ah? Dad, what are you saying?” Li Fei was stunned.
Old Li ignored him, instead peering out at the misty mountains in the distance. “It’s not just in the mountains. Soon enough, it’ll probably also spread out here.”
…
A gleam of green light flashed, and the unknowing carp that had just emerged from the water was suddenly dealt an early fate.
Its carcass floated on the lake, and beside it bobbed a blade-shaped bamboo leaf.
[You have killed a mutated carp. 3 Evolution Points gained.]
Lin Ming heard the System’s voice in his head and took a look. He still needed 30 more Evolution Points to get to 500 points.
After some time spent honing his Razor Leaves and Bamboo Whip skills, his Attack Range had reached nearly fifty meters!
It was an obvious choice to target the fish of the lake.
The carp’s upside-down, scaly white carcass floated atop the misty turquoise lake. Suddenly, a huge black shadow floated up to the surface, opened its mouth, and engulfed the carp. It dove back into the water again.
Lin Ming now had a new goal.
If he could get rid of this big guy, he would probably get his last 30 Evolution Points with a single kill.
After a while, a few more carp dared jump out of the water. The Razor Leaves were no match for them, chopping them up before they could make their returning dive back into the water.
Splash!
These carp seemed larger than what Lin Ming used to remember. When they flopped into the lake, they created large splashes of water.
Lin Ming pinned his focus on the water, nearly a hundred Razor Leaves ready to be released at a moment’s notice.
Soon, the same huge black shadow appeared once again, its maw gaping open. He sent the leaves after it, flying in a violent mass of green!
Blood splattered across the water’s surface, dying it crimson!
[You killed the Unranked Grade-2 Colossal Man-Eating Catfish. You gain 50 Evolution Points.]
‘Hm? Unranked? What was ‘Unranked’?’ Lin Ming was stunned. He remembered that it was…
[Evolution Points have reached 500 points. You can now evolve.]
At that moment, the synthesized sound of the System interrupted his thoughts.
Speaking of that…
Lin Ming did not hesitate for a second before selecting the option to evolve!
Right then, a wonderful force suddenly surged from the ends of his thousands of fibrous roots and taproots plunged into the soil, gradually rushing toward the center of Lin Ming’s culm.
More energy converged endlessly from the bamboo leaves and bamboo branches as well. It felt unstoppable, gurgling like a stream, rushing like a brook, and rolling like a river!
It was exactly like a river in the sense that these little ‘rivers’ all converged into the ‘sea’ of the culm, a crimson diamond appearing in his center.
The surging energy sent a shock throughout Lin Ming’s body.
Then, a greater shock began to resonate within him as Lin Ming felt a force start to erode the cells in his body, beginning the continuous process of destruction, reorganization, and renewal!
To the naked eye, sis culm was gradually growing larger and rougher. Its diameter was also undergoing violent tearing and reorganization, expanding from his original diameter of tens of centimeters to nearly two meters wide.
Countless green branches were continuously drilling out the culm like a dragon escaping a bamboo prison. These were no weak branches, either. Countless bamboo leaves were frantically unfolding and blooming along the branches, shining like stars when they caught the light. Throughout all this, the culm continued to grow upwards as well, eventually stretching up to a height of fifty meters!
Lin Ming’s root system began to grow and extend. It was almost terrifying – no solid rock or other plant’s root system could halt his growth. It was unstoppable.
The ground could not anticipate this. Pieces and pieces of the soil began to break apart, forming deep cracks.
The entire valley shook with the strong vibrations of this rapid expansion.
Countless birds fled the woods, which even more insects and beasts rushed out from all directions, madly rushing towards Lin Ming!
From a distance, his thousands of branches fluttered in the wind like wavering ghosts in the middle of the night, while his leaves were like flickering stars in the background of the night sky.
A majestic spiritual power fluctuated and centered on Lin Ming like a nebula would, constantly rotating.
The entire valley had now witnessed the moment their new overload had risen!