The sanity of the Core Patient at the center of the Forest had been utterly destroyed. Most of the "trees" faithfully carried out "her" final command, growing rapidly toward First Rehabilitation Hospital as the fire spread out of control.
"That woman! Hurry! Save her!"
With the Core Patient destroyed by Number Two, the Forest's collective will no longer crushed the intruders. Banban and the two servants abruptly regained consciousness, barely making out the Core Patient's figure through the flames and thick smoke.
The Core Patient, once considered the most beautiful woman in the world, was covered in wrinkles. She resembled an old tree that had withered for decades, so aged that a single touch might shatter her.
"Did the Shared Brain fail? What did Doctor Gao do to the core patient?"
"Save them first!" Banban ripped the wires off Doctor Gao and the Core Patient. The Shared Brain Instrument was too heavy to take along while carrying people. The three of them could only extinguish the flames on Doctor Gao and the Core Patient first, then carry their severely burned bodies out of the Forest on their backs.
Explosions rang out. Police officers and members of the Human Rights Committee were also nearby. With all three groups helping one another, Banban and the others narrowly escaped alive.
On a distant street, Banban stared at the sea of flames and collapsed to the ground. "How did it turn out like this..."
"The wall of fire was initially meant to isolate the Forest, but later, people started setting fires deliberately. They think Florist was sentenced to extreme punishment because he treated flowers as people. Conversely, in their eyes, the Forest is nothing but trees. All they're burning is timber." While medical staff worked to save the wounded, Banban and the others received