Evolving infinitely from ground zero

Facing this aggressive barrage of words, Lin Zichen simply said indifferently, "Will is not honed the way you do it, your methods will only drive people into the arms of the Heretical Sect."

"Heh, quite stubborn, aren't you?"

Zhou Xuehong sneered coldly.

As soon as his voice fell.

The next second, there was a loud "bang."

The Zhou Xuehong who stood there a moment ago now found himself heavily slamming into the ground, his face pressed tight against the soil, unable to move.

An unexpected biological pressure descended from above, pinning him firmly to the ground, so much so that he could hardly breathe, his face turning red.

"With strength like yours, where do you get the confidence to jump around in front of me?"

Lin Zichen looked down condescendingly at Zhou Xuehong on the ground and said to him emotionlessly.

Vice President Tan Wanyi was not far off.

Seeing the two suddenly come to blows, she hurriedly came over to persuade them, "Stop this, both of you. The situation is special right now. Whatever disagreements you have can be settled after everything is over."

Lin Zichen did not even spare Tan Wanyi a glance, his tone remaining indifferent as he said to Zhou Xuehong, "If there's a next time, be prepared to lie in the hospital for half a year."

After dropping that line, Lin Zichen withdrew the biological pressure he had released and continued walking deeper with Shen Qinghan.

Zhou Xuehong's demeanor, whether good or bad, was unknown to him.

The only thing he knew was that he completely disapproved of the principles this man upheld.

...

As time ticked by second by second.

Perhaps more than an hour later.

The Giant Mutant Rats had been routed, with only a small number left hiding in the surrounding ruins, not daring to come out.

The victorious humans began to clear the battlefield and tally up the casualties.

A small group escorted several Exotic Botanists to investigate the Scarlet Giant Tree.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan were also part of the escort squad.

In addition to this couple, whose Biological Level reached High Level, Liu Chuanwu, Song Yuyan, and others of slightly lower Biological Level were also present.

"Yuyan, is your arm okay?"

Shen Qinghan looked at the injury on Song Yuyan's arm, her voice filled with concern.

With an easy smile, Song Yuyan said, "It's just a minor injury, nothing serious. It will heal in a few days."

After saying that, she quickly turned to express her worries, "Weiwei was seriously injured in this rat plague. She was bitten by a Giant Mutant Rat in the waist and abdomen, and the wound looks severely infected. I hope she's okay."

While they were talking, Lin Zichen remained silent.

At the moment, he was thinking about the Three-Eyed Demon Tribe individual they had encountered earlier.

Several hours had passed since the emergence of the Scarlet Giant Tree.

Apart from a swarm of Giant Mutant Rats that would gnaw at anything they saw, only one Three-Eyed Demon Tribe had appeared.

He was seeing one of these humanoid creatures from the Origin Land for the second time.

The first time was the fox-eared girl Su Jiujie.

He was very interested, or rather, very cautious, about these humanoid Origin Land creatures that could speak human language.

Both Su Jiujie and the Three-Eyed Demon Tribe displayed strength that far exceeded non-humanoid Origin Land creatures, posing a significant threat.

Soon.

The group arrived near the Scarlet Giant Tree.

Looking up at the Sky-Scaping Giant Tree whose height reached over a kilometer, everyone felt an immense shock.

Such a tall plant was entirely beyond everyone's comprehension.

"Some of you, accompany the professors to study that Exotic Plant. The rest, follow me to explore the cave," said a Mechanically Modified Human covered in alloy, his voice holding a magnetic quality.

He was a High Level officer from the Military District Headquarters.

His individual strength was almost reaching Rare Level.

He could be considered the strongest person present, at least on the surface.

Under his command, all but the dozen or so people going to research the Scarlet Giant Tree followed him to explore the cave.

To say it was an exploration was an overstatement; rather, they were just standing around the cave, watching as the Mechanically Modified Humans dispatched exploration robots into the cave.

Then everyone just stood there, motionless, staring at the shared screens projected by the Mechanically Modified Humans.

"Godly guy, check out my feed," said Lü Qingyu as she walked over to Lin Zichen's side, enthusiastically sharing the exploration footage from her controlled robot with him.

Hearing the term "godly guy," both Liu Chuanwu and Song Yuyan by his side were surprised.

This girl, who seemed cool and distant on the outside, was actually calling Lin Zichen "godly guy" in front of everyone?

Lin Zichen sure had a great charm...

Both Liu Chuanwu and Song Yuyan thought to themselves at the same time.

Meanwhile, Lin Zichen, the subject of these musings, was intently staring at the shared screen projected by Lü Qingyu, fearful of missing any detail.

The cave was very large, with a diameter looking to be over ten meters.

It was also very deep.

The exploration robot had already penetrated over a kilometer downward, yet had not touched the bottom.

"It's so deep."

Shen Qinghan beside him couldn't help but exclaim.

Lü Qingyu also said, "It's so strange. Despite being over a kilometer deep, the temperature detected is the same as the normal temperature on the surface."

Lin Zichen kept silent, continuously watching the shared screen, observing the cavern within the image.

Focusing his attention on the cave walls.

He noticed that the cave walls looked unnatural, covered with plant roots that seemed to reinforce the structure of the cave. The roots were arranged in a regular pattern, one after another, woven together like a net.

Besides that, the walls were embedded with a large number of deep blue crystals.

These deep blue crystals, hidden beneath the roots of the plants, constantly emitted thin, barely visible mist.

If things were as expected, it must be those deep blue crystals that maintained a constant temperature within the seemingly bottomless cave.

What amazing crystals, they could be used as air conditioning. I wonder if they are evolution resources...

Lin Zichen murmured to himself, already contemplating the deep blue crystals in the depths of the cave.

"No, it's too deep. The depth of this cave has already far exceeded the robot's exploration range; we can't continue the exploration," Lü Qingyu said, frowning slightly.

The other mechanically modified humans around were, without exception, thinking the same thing.

These caves that had suddenly appeared on the ground were incomprehensibly deep, and simply could not be explored.

"Professor Gao, how is your research going over there?"

The high-ranking military officer at the Military District Headquarters, having given up on exploring the cave, turned to an old man studying the Scarlet Giant Tree and asked.

Professor Gao shook his head and sighed, "Not very well. This exotic plant is too peculiar. I've never seen an exotic plant that can grow over a kilometer tall, not even anything similar."

On hearing this response, everyone present was somewhat at a loss for a moment.

The cave exploration was impractical.

Nothing significant could be discerned from the Scarlet Giant Tree.

The rat plague had been dealt with.

All of a sudden, it seemed like there was nothing to do.

In light of this, someone suggested, "Why don't we evacuate for now since all the residents here have been safely moved out?"

Another person agreed, "I also think it's better to evacuate for now, seal off this area temporarily, and let the stronger entities handle it when they return."

The high-ranking officer replied, "That's all we can do."

After some deliberation,

everyone present felt it was best to evacuate, as there was no need to unnecessarily increase the risk.

After all, none of them was strong, not even a Rare Level Fighter.

There was nothing they could do by staying.

Better to leave early.

Just wait for the stronger entities to come back and address the issues here.

However!

Just as everyone was preparing to leave,

the tranquil ground suddenly made a tremendous noise.

The very next second!

Near the Sky-Scraping Giant Trees, almost ten thousand meters away, countless thick scarlet vines erupted from the ground, rocketing towards the sky at high speed.

These vines interwove with each other, forming a massive circular wall, encircling a ten-mile radius centered on the Scarlet Giant Tree within an impenetrable Tree Cage.

Before people could react to what had happened,

suddenly!

Those caves around them emitted violent tremors!

Following that, swarms of oddly shaped creatures burst forth!

Beneath the Scarlet Giant Tree, a horde of both familiar and wholly unknown monstrous Exotic Beasts appeared.

Everyone was fleeing!

Not fleeing would mean death!

High Level Experts covered the rear, while allowing the Ordinary Level students to retreat.

Now, let's describe Lin Zichen's capabilities.

He slaughtered various Exotic Beasts.

...

PS: Bowing down, I ask for your Monthly Pass recommendations!