The Bizarre Tree Agents had never been one big happy family. They competed with one another and schemed against each other.
Sometimes they had no choice but to put on a show of unity and harmony, but it was all for appearances. Who didn't want to enjoy the Bizarre Tree's favor alone? Who didn't want to be the one it valued most?
Now, with a powerful enemy at their doorstep, the intruder had vanished right inside their encirclement. At best, it was a dereliction of duty and a sign of incompetence. At worst, it could be called a lapse in principles—deliberately letting the intruder slip through and allowing a human to break in right under their noses.
Otherwise, where had the human intruder gone? How could they have disappeared into thin air? Whether by air or underground, an encirclement of this scale couldn't possibly have any gaps to exploit.
If they had to find a reason, the easiest explanation was that someone had deliberately let the intruder go.
The agents with grudges against one another immediately began making a scene.
The other agent leaders, however, remained relatively calm.
Someone urged, "Everyone, let's not turn on each other just yet. Is it possible the intruder never escaped at all? Maybe they're hiding somewhere. Could our grid search have had a gap they managed to slip through?"
"I don't think that's possible. We're looking for a grown person, not an insect. There's no way they could've evaded a search this thorough."
"Whatever the case, we have to find them. If they have ill intentions and disturb Lord Tree Ancestor, we'll never be able to atone for our crimes, even if we die a hundred times."
"Exactly. Lord Tree Ancestor is at a critical stage of evolution. Not the slightest thing can go