The Creator's Cruel Trick (continued)
But when they met Tao Qiu's eyes again, which seemed to see through everything, they realized they had been tricked.
Their faces instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot, but they really didn't dare to do anything to Tao Qiu.
Having obtained the answer she wanted, Tao Qiu stopped and continued walking towards the greenhouse.
When Tao Qiu saw someone coming to pick her up, she understood that the mutated monster was indeed colluding with certain humans.
As for their names?
To ensure that he is not followed by any Lou Family, it would require considerable manpower and financial resources, which is generally unaffordable for ordinary people.
Looking at such a large and luxurious botanical garden, it's obvious that only a few large families in the Central Base could build it.
The reason he guessed it was the Shen Family was not only because he had heard Lou Yu say that the Shen Family was originally relatively weak in scientific research, but later rose to prominence by developing Awakening Reagent, which made them quite suspicious.
Furthermore, after Tao Qiu came to the Central Base, he looked at the distribution map of several forces and memorized the entire road map of the base. He roughly remembered which road was the most convenient to take from where to where, and how many turns were involved.
Although he couldn't see anything while sitting in the car, he could hear and sense whether the car was moving forward or turning. He wasn't sleeping with his eyes closed; he was simulating possible routes in his mind.
The driver did deliberately drive around aimlessly to get here, that's true, but no matter how many times he drove, he was still in this area, which is within the Shen Family's sphere of influence.
I wonder if the Shen Family representative who went to the Yong'an Base genuinely didn't know that the mutated monster came from their own family, or if he was just putting on an act.
If it were acting, his skills, if placed in the context of a major disaster, would be enough to sweep all acting awards.
The greenhouse was so quiet that only Tao Qiu's own footsteps could be heard, and the occasional faint fragrance of flowers wafted in, making it easy to know where one was.
He followed the pebble-paved path through various scenic spots and small gates, finally stopping on a lawn as large as a football field.
Looking up, a lush Banyan Tree stood in the center, sheltered from the outside wind, yet Tao Qiu could see the verdant leaves swaying slightly, and he even vaguely sensed a feeling of joy.
This is definitely it.
Tao Qiu's lazy gaze instantly turned sinister. He strode towards the Banyan Tree, which stretched out its Banyan Tree roots, making a gesture as if to open its arms for an embrace.
"Good evening, my dear fellow human being." Tao Qiu heard that familiar voice again.
Tao Qiu ignored Qi Gen, who was leaning close to her and acting very affectionately, and said coldly, "Don't try to fool me with those lies you tell humans. Tell me, where is my child?"
Their relationship was worse than that of enemies, and the Banyan Tree's behavior annoyed Tao Qiu even more.
The Banyan Tree probably does this because it's used to employing this feigned gentleness and friendliness to brainwash others.
The Banyan Tree retracted its aerial roots, as if somewhat aggrieved, and said, 'You played the human role so well; I thought you would like it.'
Tao Qiu frowned. "Enough nonsense, I'm here. Give me back my child."
'Okay, okay, what an impatient little guy.'
Qi Gen pulled out a cell phone from somewhere and slowly handed it to Tao Qiu.
"Don't worry, I didn't hurt her. Although she's a bit mischievous and has been trying to run away these past few days, I've always brought her back very gently, without letting her get hurt at all."
In stark contrast to his sinister and murderous demeanor at the Yong'an Base, Banyan Tree, perhaps believing victory was assured, patiently resumed his role as a gentle and tolerant elder.
Tao Qiu grabbed the phone, opened it, and saw a video inside.
A black car suddenly pulled up in front of a shop with a building sign. The door opened, and a little girl in a skirt got out. She had barely stood still when the car sped away.
The shop assistants ran out to check, and the little girl seemed to say something to them. The shop assistants looked shocked and suspicious, but still led the little girl inside.
About twenty minutes later, Lou Yu appeared in the shot. He walked into the shop and picked up the little girl who rushed towards him.
This video has ended.
The little girl was Tao Yuan. The video quality was fairly clear. The child didn't appear to be injured, and her complexion was rosy, but she seemed to have lost a little weight.
Banyan Tree: 'I picked out the dress she's wearing; it suits her perfectly, doesn't it? She's as cute as all the mutated monster cubs I've ever seen. If I weren't about to eat her father and it weren't inconvenient for her to see me, I'd really like to keep her here for a few more days.'
It uttered such horrific and cruel words, yet its tone carried a faint smile, as if saying, "What a lovely day!"
Tao Qiu was in the nest of the Banyan Tree, and the other party even threatened to eat him, but? Not only did he not show the slightest fear on his face, but the corners of his lips even turned up after seeing that the child was safe.
He put down his phone, looked up at the Banyan Tree, and said, "May I ask you why you want to eat me?"
The Banyan Tree remained silent, so Tao Qiu answered herself, "Because you also have that disease, and it's in its late stage. Even if you eat the crops I grow, it won't work, so you want to try eating me directly, right?"
This time, the Banyan Tree spoke, but it was no longer as warm as before; instead, it carried a hint of aloof indifference.
'What a clever little fellow. You must have seen plenty of mutated monsters who died painfully from this disease, right? They definitely didn't want to die, and neither did I. I want to live, so I can only ask you to die.'
Tao Qiu sat down at the stone table and continued chatting with the Banyan Tree as if they were old friends.
"I'm quite curious about something. The mutated monsters I know who have contracted this disease all have extremely low sensitivity to the energy in my crops. This becomes more severe as the disease progresses. But you seem unaffected, and your sensitivity to this energy is frighteningly sharp."
Take Tao Qiu himself as an example. The mutated monsters who were competing with him for the glowing fruit all said that they felt both life and death from the fruit at the same time. But perhaps because he also had that disease, he only felt life.
The leaves on the Banyan Tree branches swayed again, this time conveying a complex emotion that Tao Qiu couldn't discern.
'This is a blessing bestowed upon me by the Creator, and also a calamity that will propel me into hell.'
The Banyan Tree's words contained three parts sigh and seven parts resentment.
'By human standards, I am among the first mutated monsters after the great catastrophe. Each mutated monster possesses its own unique ability. After awakening my consciousness in the deep mountains, I also discovered my own ability: the ability to sense and absorb all the energy in the world that is beneficial to my growth.'
'The energy that other mutated monsters couldn't detect or absorb all entered my body, aiding my growth.'
'Thanks to this superpower, my growth rate far surpassed that of all plants of the same age, making me the most powerful mutated monster in the forest at the time. My root system spread across most of the Dark Forest; you could say that the entire forest was my territory.'
Tao Qiu was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then asked with a mixture of surprise and expectation, "You're the high-level mutated tree in the forest north of the lake?"
The Banyan Tree, unperturbed by Tao Qiu's interruption, spoke again in that loving, elder-like tone, "Little one, do you know me?"
Tao Qiu nodded. "I've heard of you. You're the most powerful being in the forest. You never harm the mutated monsters and even provide them with shelter. The mutated monsters in that forest all revere you."
'So that's how the mutated monsters outside told me, but it's not too far off from the truth.'
The Banyan Tree seemed to miss the good old days, but soon its tone turned cold and menacing.
There's a saying among humans: good deeds bring good rewards. But I've done so many good deeds, and I've never intentionally harmed any mutated monster or human before. So why did the Creator give me that disease? Is it because I'm too powerful that I can't live long in this world? Why? This isn't fair! I refuse to accept it!
The Banyan Tree's branches, leaves, and aerial roots trembled and danced incessantly, revealing its agitation and anger.
Amid the chaos, Tao Qiu spoke up, guessing, "So you came to the human world to help them develop the Awakening Reagent, hoping to use it as a condition for them to find a cure for your illness?"
Upon hearing this, the Banyan Tree went even crazier, but this time it wasn't angry; it was simply overly excited.
It didn't answer Tao Qiu's question. Instead, it asked him, "Back then, the mutated monsters almost wiped out humanity. Why did they suddenly all retreat? Do you know the reason?"
They can't possibly be trying to fatten up humans before eating them; otherwise, with the significant increase in the human population over the years, they would have already returned.
After much thought, and considering their current topic of conversation, the only possible answer is, "Because many mutated monsters have discovered they are sick."
"You're only half right." The Banyan Tree's tone was eerily calm. "The higher the mutation level of a mutated monster, the more susceptible it is to that disease. Decades ago, overnight, more than half of the high-level mutated monsters foresaw their own demise. But what made them give up hunting humans for food wasn't just that they were sick and desperately wanted to go back to find a cure."
Like a demon's whisper, the Banyan Tree recounted everything that had happened. "Those mutated monsters who foresaw their death discovered that even though they had never wronged humans, they inexplicably developed a physiological aversion to them after contracting the disease. Their sense of smell and experience told them how delicious human flesh and blood were, but getting close to humans would trigger a flood of negative emotions in them, like a pot of boiling soup—the aroma is enticing, but instinct warns you that touching it will burn you."
This conflicting emotion tormented the mutated monsters, and coupled with their unwavering trust in their instincts, even the most ravenous craving for human flesh forced them to stay far away from humans.