Blood Banyan Tree

Deep within the factory grounds, the air had changed.

Lu Heng led the Bone Demon along the cracked cement road in the center. The cement fragments crunched under their feet, and with each step, the smell in the air grew stronger.

At first, it was just a normal stench—the smell of Zombie, the remnants of battle, mixed with the musty, rusty odor of an abandoned factory. Lu Heng had been smelling this for a whole day, and his nose was almost numb.

But the further in you go, the less the stench fades.

Instead, there was a strong, fresh smell of blood.

It wasn't old, dried blood, but freshly flowed blood, still warm and pungent. It was so thick it felt like burying your face in a basin of blood, each breath filling your lungs with rust.

Lu Heng slowed his pace and placed his right hand on the Deboning Knife.

The Bone Demon walked beside him, a cold glint suddenly flashing in its eye sockets.

It stopped.

Lu Heng also stopped and glanced at it. The Bone Demon tilted its head slightly, as if sensing something, and the frequency of its cold light flashing increased.

There's something ahead.

Lu Heng did not hesitate and continued forward.

Turning the corner of a factory building, a tightly closed iron gate appeared in front of us.

The door was an old-fashioned industrial iron door, two hinged panels, covered in rust, with the latch warped and jammed. A pungent, metallic smell of blood seeped from the cracks in the door, so strong it was almost solidified, wafting straight into the nostrils.

Several Zombie were gathered in front of the door.

They squatted on the ground, scratching at the iron gate with their fingernails. Their nails were worn down to the bare bone, and dark blood seeped from their fingertips, staining the gate. But none of them stopped; they seemed to be nailed there by something, scratching and banging incessantly, making a piercing scraping sound.

Lu Heng frowned.

The commotion from the Gluttonous Aberrant was quite significant; logically, the Zombie in the factory area should have been drawn there. But these few didn't. They stood guard in front of this door, as if there was something behind it that was more worth chasing than fighting.

Something behind the door is attracting them.

Moreover, it is extremely attractive.

Lu Heng's gaze swept over the Zombie' worn-down fingernails, then looked at the unmoving iron gate.

Ordinary Zombie couldn't break down this door. They weren't strong enough; even wearing through their fingernails, they couldn't pry open a single crack.

But the Bone Demon can.

Lu Heng glanced at the Bone Demon.

The Bone Demon has already moved.

It strode forward, its bony arm flashing, and the first Zombie's head exploded like a watermelon. Before the second one could even turn around, the Bone Demon's fist had already smashed through its chest. The third, the fourth—

Clean and efficient, within seconds, all the Zombie in front of the door fell down.

Not one of them let out a proper roar.

Lu Heng walked to the door and placed his hand on the iron gate. The door was cold, but the stench of blood emanating from the cracks was stronger than before, as if something behind the door had sensed the movement outside and was releasing the odor more rapidly.

The Bone Demon took two steps back, gathering strength in its bone arms.

boom--

The iron gate was blasted open with a punch, and the two door panels slammed onto the ground on either side with a dull thud.

A strong, suffocating stench of blood wafted towards us.

Lu Heng subconsciously held his breath and squinted his eyes.

Behind the door was an abandoned sewage treatment pond.

The pool was half-buried underground and quite large. The cement walls were cracked and peeling, and the bottom was filled with blackened liquid. The stench of blood that permeated the air was emanating from this pool, so strong that it felt as if the entire pool was submerged in blood.

In the center of the pond stands a tree.

The moment Lu Heng's gaze fell upon it, his pupils contracted slightly.

It was a banyan tree.

Or rather, it used to be a banyan tree.

Its trunk swelled several times its original size, becoming as thick as a stone pillar, and its surface was covered with a layer of dark red bark, as if it had been soaked in blood. The trunk rose from the bottom of the pool, stretched upwards, and branched out into several thick branches, spreading out in all directions to form a huge canopy.

The tree canopy blocked most of the space above the pool, casting a deep shadow.

What's most disturbing are those aerial roots.

Countless dark red, fleshy tentacles hung down from the branches, densely packed like an inverted curtain. Each tentacle was as thick as an arm, with a moist sheen on its surface, and its tip swayed slightly, as if sniffing out the scents in the air.

Several of the tentacles had something wrapped around their ends.

Scattered along the edge of the pool were the remains of several Zombie, their lower bodies dragged into the water, leaving only their upper bodies exposed. Their chest cavities were torn open, their internal organs empty, as if they had been drained from the inside by something.

Several bird carcasses were hanging above the pool wall.

Their wings were entangled by tentacles, their bodies had been drained, leaving only a skin covering their skeletons, swaying slightly in the wind. Some remained in a falling posture, their beaks open, as if struggling before death.

The birds in the air were also attracted by the smell of blood. The moment they flew under the tree canopy, their antennae drooped down and wrapped around the blood, dragging it up to digest and absorb it.

This creature has a three-dimensional hunting range—covering the ground and the air.

At the base of the main trunk, the thickest aerial roots have sunk into the bottom of the pond, merging with the main trunk so that it's impossible to distinguish where the roots end and the trunk begins. The whole tree looks like a giant spider crouching at the bottom of a pit, with its antennae as legs and its canopy as its web.

Lu Heng finally understood.

The hundreds of Zombie did not gather here by chance.

It was this Blood Banyan Tree that attracted them with its strong scent of blood, then used its tentacles to capture and devour them one by one. They were the prey. The Zombie outside the door were also attracted, but they were cleared out by the Bone Demon before they could even go inside.

The Wristband on my wrist vibrated, and a message appeared on its metal surface.

Blood Banyan Tree

Grade: Bronze Tier

Description: Originating from a banyan tree, its aerial roots have mutated into dark red, fleshy tentacles that can dangle from a height, entangle prey, and drag them to the trunk for digestion and absorption. The tree releases a strong, bloody odor, capable of luring Zombie and birds from a distance over a very wide range. After consuming large quantities of prey over a long period, its size and attack power far exceed those of ordinary mutated plants.

Bronze Tier.

Lu Heng stared at the information on the Wristband, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

I've been eating this all along.

Hundreds of Zombie, along with countless birds, were swallowed by it and swallowed to the bottom of the pool. It continued to grow and become stronger.

If left unattended, it will mature completely.

Lu Heng raised his head and looked into the depths of the tree canopy.

The dark red tentacles moved again, slowly drooping down like a silent rain curtain, waiting for the next batch of prey to enter its shade.