In the middle of the island, there was a deformed black twisted tree that required four people to wrap their arms around it. It was no more than five meters tall, and its twisted trunk was like a crazy patient. It was twisted, distorted, and chaotic!
There were no leaves on the branches, only the bare trunk. It was like a twisted sword piercing into the void.
At the edge of the black twisted tree, there was a large open space. There were no black thorns or dark green vines around it, as if its surroundings were a forbidden area that could not be approached.
Jia Tao waved his scarlet energy blade and hacked at the black thorns blocking the way. The direction they were heading in was that strange black twisted tree.
The five of them advanced for a distance, and they did not encounter any attacks from Insectoids. Rustling sounds came from all directions, and Nie Xiu, who was walking at the back, suddenly turned back to look. His face immediately turned ugly.
"Stop!" Nie Xiu shouted.
The startled Snake Ghoul and Sun Ye stopped at the same time. The two of them followed Nie Xiu's gaze, and their faces also turned ugly.
Sun Ye cautiously took out the revolver at his waist, while Snake Ghoul closed its eyes and stuck out its forked tongue, as if sensing something in the air.
Qi Yuan stopped and turned back to look, only to find that the passage that Jia Tao had just opened had been quietly sealed. They could no longer see the path that they had come from.
The black thorns that had been cut off fell to the ground and took root like living creatures. They then connected with the surrounding black thorns at a speed visible to the naked eye, completing the sealing of the passage.
This process lasted no more than five minutes. Qi Yuan saw with his own eyes a section of the black thorns piercing into the soil, then spread to the surrounding thorns, and then intertwined with each other like water and milk.
"What do we do?"
The sudden change made Sun Ye no longer hide, and his eyes became fierce.
"Ghost Snake!" Nie Xiu shouted in a low voice.
Ghost Snake slowly opened his eyes and shook his head slightly, his eyes somewhat serious.
"There are no other Insectoids around. Maybe these thorns are interfering with my senses."
After saying that, Ghost Snake took out a dagger and slashed at the black thorns beside him.
Swoosh!
The black thorns suddenly sank, and half of the thorns that had been cut off fell off. However, the main body of the thorns fiercely bounced up, and the dark red thorns slashed across the snake demon's arm, leaving behind a fine white mark.
Ghost Snake's pupils shrank. He walked to the road that had just been sealed off and swung his saber again.
Once again, it was cut in half with a single slash. This time, the black thorns sank much less.
"The original black brambles are very hard, and their blocking power is equivalent to two layers of black-toothed rat's fur. The newly grown black brambles have weaker defensive power, but their hardness is comparable to a black-toothed rat's fur." Ghost Snake gave his judgment.
Nie Xiu frowned and pondered for a moment.
"According to the bug detector, there is only one bug on the entire central island, and it is hiding in the twisted tree in the center. The thing we want is also inside. Although these black thorns are strange, they won't attack us. With Jia Tao here, even if they take root, they won't be able to trap us. Since we've already come this far, I suggest we go deeper and get the thing before leaving!"
"That blind man's asking price is too high. That VCP -II bio-medicine cost us a whole hundred thousand!
A Death Reaper and a motorcycle. Even if we add in the reward for clearing the swamp, we won't be able to break even! "
"If we can get the thing inside, not only will we be able to break even, we might even get a few tier-2 medicines from the shelter!"
Tier-2 medicine!
Sun Ye and Ghost Snake's breathing suddenly quickened. Although the Iron Chariots gathering point had laboratories that could produce ability medicine, most of them were tier-1 medicines. The production of tier-2 medicine was very low, and the quality of the ability medicine produced by the Iron Chariots laboratory was too low.
The tier-2 medicine produced by the Iron Chariots only had a fifty percent chance of awakening an ability, a thirty percent chance of failure, and a twenty percent chance of triggering a genetic breakdown.
Even if a tier-2 ability was successfully awakened, the genetic stability would be severely damaged. The next time the ability medicine was used, the probability of triggering a genetic breakdown would increase exponentially.
It was far inferior to the ability medicine produced by the Black Steel Shelter's Biological and Mechanical Experiments.
The awakening success rate was more than ninety percent, and it would not affect the genetic stability. It could accurately awaken a specific transcendent ability!
The huge difference in quality between the two was directly reflected in the price difference, which was nearly ten times the price difference.
However, the amount of ability medicine smuggled out of the shelter was very limited. Most Wilderness Hunters did not have channels, and even if they had the money, they would not be able to buy suitable medicine.
Although the three of them had hooked up with the blind man, the other party's asking price was very high. With their strength, even if they frequently went out on missions from the Hunter's Guild, it was difficult for them to afford the high price of tier-2 ability medicine.
Therefore, the three of them had been Hunters for nearly ten years, narrowly escaping death to reach the threshold of C-rank Hunters. Only Nie Xiu had mastered two tier-2 abilities, while the other two had only mastered one tier-2 ability.
The tier-2 ability medicine was like the devil's temptation. Even Sun Ye, who had thoughts of retreating, gave up on the idea and nodded in agreement with Nie Xiu's suggestion.
Ghost Snake nodded, its cold eyes sweeping across Jia Tao and Qi Yuan, who were also whispering in front of it.
"Continue to let them pave the way. We'll take action when we return. We must not let them leave alive. Otherwise, the news will leak. With our strength, we won't be able to protect that thing."
"Don't worry. Before we kill them, I'll let them do their best to help us clear out these damned thorns."
"Continue forward. The thorns behind us are about to catch up," Nie Xiu said.
"Ghost Snake, be careful of Jia Tao. I suspect that he has other motives for approaching us on purpose!"
Ghost Snake's mouth cracked open, revealing a cruel smile.
"Don't worry. The two of them won't be able to cause any trouble. Jia Tao's cyborg equipment, the energy weapon, has some power, but he's too slow to unleash the power of this mechanical arm."
"As for that Qi Yuan, he's just a brat who thinks he's smart. Without Death Harvest, he won't even be able to break through my snake scale defense. Even if they work together, I can easily kill them!"
Nie Xiu nodded lightly. Ghost Snake's tier-2 ability was Speed Enhancement, but Defense Enhancement was only tier-1. However, when he was still an ordinary person, because he had devoured the flesh of a tier-2 snake-type insect beast, it had triggered a genetic mutation. He had gained some of the characteristics and abilities of a snake, and a layer of fine scales had grown on the surface of his body. His defense was not much weaker than tier-1 Defense Enhancement.
Tier-1 Transcendents were basically unable to break through his defense. Although Jia Tao could, he was too slow and would not be a match for Ghost Snake.
"Be careful. If they make any strange movements, kill them immediately. Don't hesitate," Nie Xiu whispered a few final words of advice.
Ghost Snake nodded and quickly closed the distance between him and Qi Yuan. With his speed, within three meters, Qi Yuan would not even have the chance to take out his gun.
Ghost Snake's approach interrupted Qi Yuan and Jia Tao's whispers. Qi Yuan maintained his gentle smile, but Jia Tao's eyes showed a hint of confusion and doubt.
"Continue forward!"
Under Ghost Snake's urging, Jia Tao continued to swing his energy weapon, opening a path in the direction of the twisted tree. Qi Yuan leisurely followed behind him, not looking like he was in danger at all. Instead, he looked like he was out for a walk.
Although the black brambles were tough, they did not have much resistance against Jia Tao's energy weapon. Soon, the group of five reached the edge of the twisted tree.
The moment they passed through the brambles, an icy chill spread from the soles of their feet. It was as if they were stepping on thousand-year-old ice instead of ground.
Nie Xiu and the others also noticed the abnormality of the ground. Ghost Snake stabbed the ground with his dagger, but even with all his strength, he only managed to stab an inch into the ground.
"The ground has been completely frozen!" Ghost Snake said in a deep voice.
Nie Xiu was not surprised at all when he heard this. Instead, his eyes burned with passion.
"If I'm not wrong, it's here!
The thing is inside! "Nie Xiu could not help but mumble to himself.
Qi Yuan glanced at the three of them and noticed that they did not seem to mind that they had heard something they should not have. Only Ghost Snake continued to stare coldly at him and Jia Tao, as if he would attack at any moment.
Nie Xiu extended his finger and tapped on the twisted tree's trunk, producing a hollow sound. They could even vaguely hear an intermittent echo.
The trunk of this twisted tree, which required several people to wrap their arms around it, was actually hollow!
"Cut an opening here that we can enter!" Nie Xiu suddenly ordered Jia Tao.
Jia Tao lowered his head and pursed his lips, his body trembling slightly as if he was about to move. However, when he raised his head, he happened to meet Qi Yuan's gaze. Suddenly, the conversation between the two surfaced in his mind.
Sun Ye had already moved his gun over, while Ghost Snake stood behind Jia Tao, dagger in hand. As long as Jia Tao made the slightest move, the three of them would work together to deal a fatal blow.
After hesitating for a moment, Jia Tao finally gave up on his original plan. Instead, he waved his mechanical arm and began cutting the twisted tree.
Compared to the black brambles, the twisted tree was much tougher. Even Jia Tao's energy weapon could not cut through it easily.
After several attempts, all Jia Tao managed to do was leave a few deep burn marks on the tree's sturdy trunk.
"The twisted tree is even harder than a Tier 3 Defense. My energy weapon can't cut through it," Jia Tao said with a grim expression.
Ghost Snake waved his dagger and slashed at the twisted tree, but only left a shallow mark.
"The trunk is also frozen."
Qi Yuan raised his head and looked at the top of the twisted tree. When he was cutting and knocking on the twisted tree, the echoes came from above.
"The trunk is hollow. There's a gap at the top. We should be able to enter from above," Qi Yuan suddenly said.
Nie Xiu looked at Qi Yuan in surprise, then suddenly revealed a smile.
"Aren't you afraid?"
"Why should I be afraid?" Qi Yuan feigned ignorance and asked back.
"You are all Tier 2 Aptitude Users. Even if there are Insectoids inside, they are no match for us!"
"Heh — —" Nie Xiu chuckled, "Since you said that we can enter from above, then I won't make things difficult for you. Climb in first. As long as you help us take out the things inside, I'll give you 5,000 when we return."
"What's inside?" Qi Yuan asked.
"You'll know once you get in."
Nie Xiu didn't answer directly. Qi Yuan didn't ask either. He only looked at the tall twisted tree and said:
"The twisted tree's trunk is hard and smooth. I can't climb up. I'll probably have to build a human ladder."
Nie Xiu estimated the height of the twisted tree.
"No need to go through so much trouble."
"Jia Tao, throw him up!"
Jia Tao and Qi Yuan looked at each other and slowly stretched out their thick mechanical arms.
Qi Yuan shrugged and stood in the middle of the mechanical arms.
"Stand firm!"
Jia Tao yelled and then threw him up with force.
A huge force came from the bottom of his feet. Qi Yuan's whole body almost stuck to the twisted tree trunk and flew up a few meters.
Jia Tao's force was just right. When Qi Yuan reached the top of the twisted tree, he stopped moving up.
Qi Yuan used both hands to grab onto the top of the twisted tree trunk and flipped his body to stand on it.
A dark tree hole came into view. He couldn't see what was inside at all. He only felt a chill coming out of the tree hole as if it could freeze a person's body.
Qi Yuan turned his head to take a look, only to see the faint smile on Nie Xiu's face and the black muzzle of the gun in Sun Ye's hand.
"I'll go in and take a look first."
Qi Yuan smiled indifferently, then jumped directly into the dark tree hole.
There may be insects in the tree hole, but Qi Yuan wasn't very worried. Even Nie Xiu and the other rank 2 insects dared to touch this place. Even if there was danger, the level of danger wouldn't be too high.
The most important thing was that he saw the light beam of the Sign Point. In the dark tree hole, the light of the Sign Point was as clear as the stars in the night.
Wild Sign Point!
Sign Point Successful!
"Is this kid really stupid or just pretending to be stupid?"
Looking at Qi Yuan who jumped down without saying a word, Sun Ye couldn't understand his thoughts for a while.
"The Ice Python inside is rank 2. Isn't he afraid of falling into the Ice Python's mouth?"
Ice Python!
Jia Tao's body trembled slightly. He finally knew the real purpose of Nie Xiu and the others.
Most insects relied on their strong bodies to hunt, but the Ice Python was different. It was a rare insect that could semi-elementalize its body.
Elementalization was an ability that only rank 4 and above insects had. However, the Ice Python could rely on some special frost energy to complete the semi-elementalization of its body when it was rank 2.
For special insects like the Ice Python, the Futu Chamber of Commerce and Black Gold Chamber of Commerce, who were stationed at the Iron Chariots gathering point, had offered a high price. They even included the high-quality rank 2 ability potion that was hard to come by in the wilderness.
More importantly, the place where the Ice Python appeared would definitely have a special type of ore that contained powerful frost energy.
Someone once used this ore to exchange for a real mechanical weapon from the Black Steel Shelter.
This was the reason why people were crazy about the Ice Python.
Just when Jia Tao was hesitating and was about to press a button hidden in the mechanical arm, a muffled gunshot suddenly came from the ground.
"Qi Yuan isn't dead yet? He's fighting the Ice Python?"
Jia Tao stopped in surprise. He couldn't believe his ears. A rank 1 aptitude user actually had the ability to fight against a peak rank 2 Ice Python!
After the gunshot rang out once, Jia Tao did not wait for the second gunshot. His heart gradually fell to the bottom of the valley.
"I actually believed in a rank 1 Wilderness Hunter. I'm really crazy!"
Jia Tao's face suddenly became determined. As long as he pressed that button, the plasma bomb hidden in the mechanical arm would destroy everything around him.
I'm not afraid of death. As long as I can drag Nie Xiu to hell with me, I'm willing to die!
Just when Jia Tao was about to activate the plasma bomb to kill Nie Xiu together with him, another muffled gunshot came from the ground.
Qi Yuan isn't dead yet?
This time, not only Jia Tao, but even Nie Xiu had a hint of surprise in his eyes.
A rank 1 aptitude user who fell into the Ice Python's cave not only didn't get killed instantly, but he also found a chance to shoot and lasted for so long.
However, the target of this shot shouldn't be the Ice Python, but himself!
The Snake Spirit sneered.
"You're going to die anyway. Why do you have to make things difficult for yourself? The longer you last in front of the Ice Python, the more pain you'll suffer. The feeling of watching your blood being frozen bit by bit is even more terrifying than death!"
No one noticed that Jia Tao's face became strange. Only he knew that Qi Yuan wasn't dead. This shot was a secret signal between them.