Tree demon? Tentacle monster? Tree demon tentacle monster!

Holding a piece of meat that Wu Yan had just grilled, Hinagiku took small bites while looking at Wu Yan and Mikoto with a puzzled expression, her heart full of questions.

Ever since she woke up, Hinagiku felt that the atmosphere between the two of them seemed a little different.

As for Wu Yan, Hinagiku couldn't quite put her finger on it. He grilled meat when it was time to grill meat, and he was still as irreverent as ever when he spoke. But Mikoto's behavior was just too strange.

Every time Wu Yan looked at Mikoto, she would immediately turn her head away in less than two seconds, not daring to look at him at all. But when Wu Yan turned his head to do other things, Mikoto would secretly shift her gaze to him, and then, in less than two seconds, she would shake her head frantically and look away.

Even though she looked away, it wouldn't be long before her gaze would drift back to Wu Yan, then away again, then back again, repeating the process tirelessly.

Such unnatural behavior made Hinagiku feel a little ticklish in her heart, and she couldn't help but want to ask what exactly was going on.

After everyone finished eating, Wu Yan pointed at the fire pit, and the fire suddenly disappeared. Wu Yan picked up the fire pit, threw it into the Space Ring, and then turned to look at the two girls.

"Alright, let's go. There shouldn't be many more monsters in this place, right? After all, the number of monsters we eliminated yesterday was quite considerable..."

Wu Yan's words reminded Mikoto and Hinagiku of the mountain of monsters they had defeated, and they both nodded seriously.

Seeing the two girls' expressions, Wu Yan maintained his usual demeanor on the surface, but he was actually very happy inside.

If the two girls hadn't adapted yet, it would really be detrimental to the upcoming battles.

"There's only one passage here!" Wu Yan held out his hand, pointing to the wide road ahead. "So, we have no choice but to move forward!"

"Let's go, let's quickly find that Celestial Jade and get out of this damn place!" Mikoto said with a hint of excitement, not only because finding the Celestial Jade would allow them to leave, but more importantly, there were definitely more monsters ahead, and monsters meant experience!

After Wu Yan's explanation and comfort, Mikoto seemed to not care about the Misaka Sisters on the surface, but in reality, she had taken the matter to heart.

Even though Wu Yan had already said that her world was still in a frozen state, that time was standing still, and that the sisters wouldn't be in any danger, Mikoto was still a little anxious.

She just wanted to become stronger quickly, stronger than Accelerator, so that she could save the sisters!

Of course, some anxiety was inevitable, and Wu Yan was already very satisfied. Compared to Mikoto's helpless and desperate demeanor in the original story, Mikoto's current behavior was undoubtedly much better.

Part of the reason was because time was frozen, and part of the reason was because, unlike in the original story, there was no hope!

In the original story, there was no way for Mikoto to save her sisters. Although Mikoto was ranked third and Accelerator was ranked first, it seemed like there wasn't much of a difference, but that was wrong. The gap between them was like heaven and earth!

In the original story, Mikoto had briefly fought Accelerator in order to save one of the Misaka Sisters, but under Accelerator's perverted ability, she was completely overwhelmed, and Mikoto was defeated miserably in his hands.

Plus, there were members of the board pulling strings behind the scenes...

That's why Mikoto wanted to save her sisters by 'dying'!

But things were different now. Mikoto, who originally had no chance of defeating Accelerator, had become Wu Yan's summoned character. As long as there were enough battles, Mikoto could continuously become stronger until she surpassed Accelerator!

Regarding the Misaka Sisters, after Mikoto pushed him away with a flushed face last night, Wu Yan spent the entire night explaining the inside story to her, including the true purpose for which the Misaka Sisters were being used, Aleister's plan, and the support of the board.

This also made Mikoto feel a little discouraged. It was hard to imagine how difficult it would be to be against the entire Academy City, against the place where she had always lived.

Of course, Mikoto was already prepared. She had that kind of determination in the original story, so it went without saying that she would have it now.

But this also made Mikoto understand that as long as she defeated Accelerator, then, at least in the short term, the sisters would be safe. Aleister would not allow any problems to arise with the key to his plan, that was for sure.

As for what to do after defeating Accelerator, Wu Yan's sentence, 'The System will definitely be able to find a way,' finally put Mikoto at ease.

Undoubtedly, compared to Mikoto, who fought to the end alone in the original story, Mikoto now had someone who was fused with her life as her backer, someone she could absolutely trust to help her, which was undoubtedly much happier!

But she was still as headstrong as ever...

Urged on by Mikoto's impatience, the three of them once again embarked on their journey to find the Celestial Jade.

The environment was still exactly the same as before, with rocks and rock walls everywhere, and not a drop of water. The three of them walked on a road that was very easy to become visually monotonous, but their vigilance was not reduced at all.

Compared to their playful attitude when they first entered, Mikoto and Hinagiku had undoubtedly changed a lot. Everything from yesterday was still deeply engraved in the two girls' hearts. That kind of battle where it was either you die or I live had made the two girls' minds a lot tougher.

It was just that there was one thing they weren't very used to...

Looking at Mikoto and Hinagiku's cautious posture as they walked, with their legs clamped tightly together, Wu Yan was speechless.

They had been wearing safety pants for years, and now that they had suddenly taken them off, their behavior had changed so much. What could he say to them?

And Mikoto and Hinagiku were also gnashing their teeth in hatred at this time. The reason why the two of them, who were usually so carefree, decided to wear safety pants was because they didn't want to have to worry about everything. Having to constantly worry about their skirts was too tiring for them, who were very tomboyish and often exercised.

So, now that they had gotten used to wearing safety pants, suddenly changing them was really... awkward!

Moreover, they had to guard against the wolf behind them...

The two girls knew that if they accidentally flashed, the shameless wolf behind them would definitely watch openly!

But once they started fighting, such things would definitely be unavoidable, and they were helpless. They could only swallow their grievances.

If Wu Yan knew what they were thinking, he would definitely laugh and say, "I've seen everything on your bodies, do I still need to pay attention to two pairs of panties?"

What Mikoto and Hinagiku didn't know was that their 'close-fitting guards' were currently lying quietly in Wu Yan's Space Ring...

What is shamelessness? This is shamelessness!

"Look, there seems to be light ahead!" Hinagiku raised White Cherry in her hand, pointing to the front of the road, where there was a faint light, as if it were an exit.

Wu Yan's expression tightened, and he quickly stood in front of Mikoto and Hinagiku, saying to them, "We don't know what the situation is ahead, everyone be careful. We can't rule out the possibility that there are monsters ahead!"

Mikoto and Hinagiku nodded solemnly. They had already prepared themselves mentally after the battle yesterday.

Mikoto even secretly calculated the calculation formula for her superpower in her mind, preparing to use her superpower at any time to meet the battle. After all, Wu Yan was the leader here, but she was the strongest!

Passing through the passage, Wu Yan, Mikoto, and Hinagiku immediately felt a burst of light in front of them, and then, a circular plaza appeared before the three of them.

Compared to the previous venue, this place was even wider, it didn't seem like it was man-made at all. There were evenly sized holes on the surrounding walls. The holes weren't deep, even if they were standing at the bottom of the plaza, Wu Yan and the others could clearly see the bottom of the holes. At first glance, it looked like a honeycomb.

Directly in front of Wu Yan and the two girls, at the highest point, was a cave significantly larger than the others. In front of the cave was a large dragon throne. Although it was made of stone, its shape still exuded a domineering aura.

Seeing this, Mikoto's expression darkened, causing Wu Yan and Hinagiku to be taken aback.

"What's wrong, Mikoto...?" Hinagiku walked to Mikoto's side and asked.

"Look!" Mikoto frowned, raising her finger to point at the dragon throne. "That's a dragon throne, right?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Wu Yan rolled his eyes. Anyone could tell it was a dragon throne.

Receiving Wu Yan's eye-roll, Mikoto immediately glared back. "You're so dense! What kind of person can sit on a dragon throne?"

"Isn't it an emperor..." Wu Yan suddenly jolted, understanding Mikoto's meaning.

"You mean..." Hinagiku's mouth widened as she looked at the high dragon throne, unable to speak. It seemed she was also starting to understand.

"That's right!" Mikoto looked at Wu Yan and Hinagiku. "Here, there are only small caves, caves we can see through at a glance, including that large cave behind the dragon throne. This means there are no other paths. This is the innermost area!"

After saying that, Mikoto tightened her small face. "Since this is the innermost area, where did the previous monster army come from?"

Pointing at each of the caves, Mikoto said, "There's only one answer. Those caves are the nests of those monsters, and there..."

Moving her finger to the large cave behind the dragon throne, Mikoto said with a faint smile, "Is the nest where the king of these monsters lives!"

"Boom..." As Mikoto's words fell, the ground suddenly shook violently. The Railgun, who had just been exuding a domineering aura, was immediately shaken back to her original form. Her body wobbled, and with a 'yah,' she fell into Wu Yan's arms, causing a red blush to spread across Mikoto's face.

Hinagiku beside them was also shaken and fell towards Wu Yan. Wu Yan didn't refuse, wrapping his arms around the two girls and using a force-absorbing technique to stabilize their bodies.

The ground began to crack, and stones rolled everywhere amidst the shaking. Some even rolled towards Wu Yan.

Wu Yan was startled and quickly jumped back, holding the two girls, dodging one rolling stone after another. When he couldn't dodge, he stepped on the rolling stones, using the momentum to fly up.

The shaking grew more and more violent. Just as Wu Yan was worried that the cave would collapse, a vine suddenly shot out from the cracked ground, reaching Wu Yan with lightning speed and striking him before he could react.

At that moment, a wave suddenly came from Wu Yan's mind. The wave passed through his mind and out of his body. Just as the vine struck Wu Yan, the wave suddenly changed, transforming into an invisible dragon-shaped armor, blocking the vine's strike.

A muffled sound rang out as the vine's attack was blocked by the dragon-shaped armor. The dragon-shaped armor swayed and then disappeared.

Only then did Wu Yan react. He quickly stepped on the vine, flipped in the air, and landed on the ground, a drop of cold sweat rolling down his forehead.

If it weren't for the Dragonscale Armor protecting him, he would have been seriously injured from that strike!

Failing with one strike, the vine retreated, and more vines began to shoot out from the ground. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of vines had emerged. A giant tree rose from the center of the vines, with a face on its trunk, its mouth wide open, looking at Wu Yan and the two girls.

Is that a Treant? Or a tentacle monster?