Chapter 1235: Besieging Underground

"Old Wolf!! Old Wolf!!"

Zhao Yi's loud shouts echoed within the crumbling Mother Tree. His gaze constantly swept the surroundings, as if he were frantically searching for something.

Bang—!!

The next moment, a room door was directly smashed open!

Old Wolf, already semi-disasterized, burst out amidst the rising dust, clad in bone armor. He held three children in one arm, his wounds not yet fully healed, and blood still trickled out.

"Holy Son, don't worry about me," Old Wolf immediately replied. "Save the others as quickly as possible!"

Although the Integration Faction children were students, they weren't entirely without combat ability. Older children could escape the Mother Tree on their own, but many six or seven-year-olds were in the difficult "Communion" stage, constantly battling the disasters within their bodies. When underfed and sleep-deprived, their strength was even less than that of ordinary people, leaving them almost defenseless against the disaster roots entrenched around the Mother Tree.

Zhao Yi saw the reopened wounds on Old Wolf's body, and a pang of distress flashed in his eyes. He gritted his teeth:

"Alright! I'll go to the third floor!""I'll go to the second floor!""Wait, where's Teacher Ye?!"

"At this hour, Teacher Ye should be in the underground laboratory," Old Wolf paused. "Don't worry about Teacher Ye, he'll be fine. Prioritize saving the children."

"Alright!"

Besides Zhao Yi and Old Wolf, other high-ranking members of the Integration Faction, as well as older students, began rescuing people within the faction's compound. However, as the Mother Tree was squeezed and deformed by the roots of the Turbid Disaster, more and more children were caught off guard and trapped underneath, making the scene instantly chaotic.

Underground Laboratory.

Dense roots drilled out from underground, trapping a figure in a lab coat.

The disaster roots of the Fleshwood Turbid Forest had initially emerged from underground. By the time Teacher Ye realized the Mother Tree was under attack, it was too late... His surroundings were completely engulfed by various flesh-and-blood roots; as far as he could see, there was no escape.

Teacher Ye's expression was grim, but he wasn't panicked.

He first cast a worried glance in the direction of the children above, then quickly pulled out his backpack and stuffed all the shadow centipede samples and a few reagent tubes from the table into it.

These were the experimental subjects he had painstakingly cultivated, and this experiment was crucial in defining his life's work. Even if it put him in danger, he had to take them with him at all costs.

Within these few short seconds, countless disaster roots converged on him, like an ever-tightening botanical cage. Each of those massive roots, tens of meters thick, seemed intent on crushing the tiny Teacher Ye into a pulp.

After finishing this, he took an injection from his pocket and looked with icy resolve at the wildly thrashing Turbid Disaster roots...

The next moment,

He forcefully injected it into his forearm!

Thud—!

As the entire Mother Tree twisted and deformed under the roots of the Turbid Disaster, the dormitory area was already covered in cracks. Wilted wood chips constantly floated down from above, and acrid dust filled the air everywhere.

"Linglong! Linglong!"

Xiaotao, wearing a yellowish-brown coat, anxiously darted through the crumbling corridors, shouting loudly.

"Xiaotao... I'm here!"

In the deepest part of the corridor, Xiaotao and Linglong's dormitory was completely twisted. The deformed door seemed to be fused into the surrounding walls, impossible to open no matter how much force was used. Linglong's tearful voice came from behind it.

"Xiaotao, don't worry about me. This place is about to collapse, and there are disaster roots everywhere outside... Hurry and go! Go!!"

"Damn it, what idiotic nonsense are you spouting at a time like this!!"

Xiaotao was so anxious she cursed aloud. Without a moment's hesitation, she rushed to the door of the collapsing room, looked at the jammed door, and took a deep breath...

The next second, thin yellowish-brown fur sprouted on her skin, her fluffy ears on top of her head became more erect, and a long yellow and black striped tail extended from behind her!

But at the same time, the light in her eyes gradually faded, as if she had become a hollow specimen.

She stared blankly, lifted her head, lightly jumped, and after effortlessly using her momentum to spin 180 degrees in the air, she powerfully kicked the deformed door!

Boom—!

The moment her foot struck, the air was compressed and boomed, and the door exploded into countless fragments that scattered through the air almost instantly upon impact...

Linglong gasped from behind as a pincer-like hand firmly gripped her wrist.

Xiaotao's vacant gaze fell outside the corridor. Without a word, she dragged Linglong and rushed toward the exit. She didn't notice that her excessive strength had already bruised Linglong's wrist, while Linglong simply endured the pain in silence, stumbling behind her.

"Holy Son!! Old Wolf... Someone save me!! Save me!!"

Just as the two were passing through the dormitory area, preparing to escape the Mother Tree, a pained wail erupted nearby.

Linglong turned her head and saw a completely dark figure already entangled by a root, being dragged steadily outward along the broken floor as if in a horror film. He frantically waved his hands, but could only grasp at emptiness.

"Xiaobai!" Linglong gasped.

Xiaotao, who had already reached the doorway, instinctively looked back. Her vacant eyes scanned the figure about to be dragged away, as if a certain instinct had been triggered. After pushing Linglong out of the Mother Tree, she herself darted back towards Xiaobai with the agility of a whirlwind!

She ran on all fours, light as if weightless. Her long, fluffy tail instantly wrapped around a sharp kitchen knife nearby, and with a whoosh, she leaped into the air...

Her agile figure, accompanied by a flash of the blade, spun several times in mid-air, then precisely struck the root entangling Xiaobai!

Snap—!

The root entangling Xiaobai was not thick; with that one strike, Xiaobai was saved.

But just as Xiaotao pulled Xiaobai, preparing to flee towards the main door, several equally thin roots shot out from behind like lightning, piercing her body in the blink of an eye, leaving several gruesome blood holes.

Xiaotao's figure swayed slightly. No trace of pain appeared in her vacant eyes. She stiffly turned her head to see that the roots that had originally entangled Xiaobai were now climbing her own limbs. Her lightweight body was yanked by them, sending her tumbling awkwardly outward...

"Xiaotao!! Xiaotao!!!" Xiaobai's eyes were bloodshot, and he gritted his teeth, about to go back to save Xiaotao.

Just then, a large red opera robe swept past him.

"Tribunal."

Chen Ling's low voice rang out.

As bullets capable of deconstructing everything whistled out, the roots wrapped around Xiaotao all snapped. Chen Ling scooped up the blood-soaked Xiaotao in one arm, hoisted Xiaobai onto his shoulder with the other, and turned to rush outside!