Losses and Gains
"Now that this Sub-district has reached A-class, I imagine things are even more dangerous than before," Xu Huo said. "You've been here for seven days, and the whole district hasn't experienced a plant resurgence. Your records are also clear: you haven't found any signs of large-scale plant destruction along the way. Even if Mutated Plants grow quickly, those ancient trees, dozens or even hundreds of meters thick, couldn't possibly recover in just a day or two. So it must have been some time since the last district-wide wave."
"If the upgrade wasn't caused by the intervals between district-wide waves growing shorter, then the waves may have become larger in scale and longer in duration."
"Another possibility is that a particularly unusual kind of Mutated Plant has appeared—one capable of causing massive destruction in an instant. If so, the timing of the district-wide waves may become unpredictable."
After listening, Unpolished Jade and the others began to suspect the worst. It would be strange if the district-wide waves followed a strict schedule in a Sub-district full of Mutated Plants. Maybe both of Xu Huo's possibilities had already come to pass, and they'd simply been lucky enough not to encounter them yet!
"Don't be so pessimistic." The short-haired woman managed a strained smile. "Maybe we're lucky, and the Sub-district has fallen dormant."
"Who knows?" Xu Huo didn't seem to care that he'd dropped a bombshell. Instead, he said, "I'm more curious about what's underground in this Sub-district. How else could so many Mutated Plants grow here? I wonder how deep it goes."
Unpolished Jade's expression shifted slightly, but Xu Huo seemed to have made the remark casually. He got up and walked out as soon as he'd finished speaking.
The Artifact's interior fell silent for several seconds. Only then did