Industrial Cthulhu doesn't believe in the end times.

Chapter 225 Hesitation
The large-scale landing of sea monsters is an inevitable event that will occur in both past and present lives; it is an irreversible trend. The Legion has neither completely prevented it nor has the ability to completely stop it.

What they have been doing all along is ensuring that these mutated beasts do not pose a threat to the safe zone. If conditions permit, they will further ensure the smooth flow of transportation lines along the coast and rivers. The locations where defensive lines are established are all strategic strongholds, and there is no need to fight for areas that cannot be effectively controlled in the short term.

If you lose people but retain land, you lose both; if you retain people but lose land, you retain both. In some places where it is particularly difficult to establish a defense line, the Corps has chosen to relocate the entire base city.

In areas inhabited by zombies, mutated beasts, and even alien species and mutated plants, introducing marine creatures may not be a bad thing. These creatures may be enemies of humanity, but they are by no means allies to each other.

Even if the terrestrial mutants have overlapping habitats with humans and the potential to form alliances, how can they be expected to muster the strength and courage to stand on the same side as humans if they are not made to feel real pressure?

However, if there is a sudden increase in the number of land-based marine mammals, we should be on high alert. This often means that there may be an even more terrifying entity behind them, gradually approaching the land.

Su Xun pondered for a moment, then arranged for people to conduct detailed investigations in coastal areas of various regions, and ordered local defenses to strengthen their vigilance.

After that, he bid farewell to Han Zhong. The daily management of the base city is now maintained by Qin Chang and others. After handling some important matters briefly, Su Xun returned to the Daizong battlefield.

The place is not much different from when he left; the sound of cannons is like rolling thunder. If it weren't for the unimaginable huge stockpile left before the Great Cataclysm, the current army might not be able to support such consumption.

Upon arriving at the front-line command post, he received a message left to him by Xu Huan.

So he didn't linger there and headed deeper into the battlefield, eventually spotting Su Xun on the corpse of a sixth-tier alien species.

The enormous, mountain-like corpse was now covered in vines, with all sorts of plants growing wildly on it as if on accelerator. Xu Huan's ability hadn't changed much in essence after reaching the fifth level, but the plant seeds he generated could now grow and germinate a second time, and could also undergo greater mutations according to his thoughts. Both in terms of efficiency and power, it had made a huge leap.

At this moment, the little old man was sitting cross-legged on a winter melon the size of a small house, his whole body swirling with vigorous spiritual power. After the Great Cataclysm, he had developed the habit of growing a beard, and now his beard and hair were all standing on end, and his clothes were billowing, giving him the air of a highly accomplished Taoist master.

If he were wearing a Taoist robe instead of a thick military overcoat, he would probably look more like one.

"Hey, Commander-in-Chief, you're back?"

Upon seeing Su Xun, he withdrew his supernatural abilities. The vines that had been crawling all over the alien corpses swayed and, in a very short time, produced fruits of different shapes and varieties, which then rolled off the ground. A number of soldiers nearby loaded these fruits onto trucks, preparing to transport them to the rear.

Despite being called an old man, Xu Huan's current appearance is quite different from before. He looks much younger, and even his hair has turned a lot darker. After breaking through to the fifth level, his spirit and energy have greatly improved.

Looking at the other person's hair, and then touching his own, Su Xun's lips twitched slightly.

If a seventy-year-old man across the street can get his hair back to its natural black color, why can't we, as young people in our early twenties, do the same?
Seeing Su Xun's expression, Xu Huan clapped his hands, as if he remembered something, turned around and jumped down from the huge winter melon, and walked over from the side carrying a tuber that was as thick as a thigh and pitch black from top to bottom.

"This is……?"

"Polygonum multiflorum!" Xu Huan said with a smile, "I grew it especially for you. I guarantee it's good stuff. Go back, dry it, and try it!"

“This…” Su Xun opened his mouth, but ultimately did not say the word of refusal.

"You didn't call me here just to give me this, did you?"

“No, that’s not it.” Xu Huan shook his head, put down the piece of he shou wu in his hand, and took out a peach pit from his pocket.

"Look at this, it should be basically restored." Just as he said, an extremely strong life force was surging on this peach pit. Its appearance was still the same, with bloodstains of an unknown creature on its wooden shell, exuding an ancient aura that had experienced unknown years.

If one were to sense it closely, one could discover that it contained a vast and powerful spiritual force. This tiny peach pit gave Su Xun the feeling of seeing a lit nuclear fusion reactor for the first time. The powerful force was condensed within the tiny shell, where an unimaginable germination and growth was brewing.

"We've finally fed it a good meal!" Xu Huan handed it to Su Xun: "It's fed nearly half of the alien species on the battlefield during this period: five sixth-tier, more than forty fifth-tier, and more than two hundred fourth-tier."

Su Xun held the peach pit, his eyes showing no joy, but rather a sense of solemnity.

Born in a special environment, the alien species possesses a much greater spiritual energy than ordinary life forms. Xu Huan, through his supernatural ability, extracted spiritual energy in such a bone-deep, marrow-draining manner that even the part that sustains the alien species' flesh and blood was squeezed out and poured entirely into this peach pit. The total amount exceeds that of most seventh-tier extraordinary creatures. Only a few individuals with extremely special circumstances possess such an energy level at the seventh tier, such as mineral vein creatures or collective consciousness!
What kind of mutated plant possesses a total spiritual power of level seven or higher at the seed stage?

It is not even a seventh-order creature. If we have to determine its order, it can only be considered a first-order creature at most. It has mastered spiritual power that surpasses that of ordinary seventh-order extraordinary creatures at this level!

Did Osvye possess such a powerful energy level when it was at the first level of the Cataclysm? Recalling a distant glimpse from my past life, Osvye was a powerful individual known for its terrifying total spiritual power among the tenth-level cataclysms. In fact, it should have been at least at the fifth level when it gained consciousness.

The answer is unknown! Even Su Xun found it hard to imagine. He had seen some powerful creatures that had competed for the position of the Calamity, but they definitely did not have such power when they were at a low level.

The seventh rank is already an extremely terrifying existence; these creatures have reached the edge of the understanding of past Earth civilizations!
Before reaching the seventh tier, extraordinary beings could be annihilated by nuclear weapons. Their strength was comparable to that of civilizations created before the Great Cataclysm. However, the situation changed at the seventh tier.

A full-force attack from a seventh-tier transcendent being is already comparable to a nuclear weapon, and their defenses are strong enough to allow them to survive an attack of this level! The truly formidable spiritual energy ring, with its legendary Nine Heavens Gale, allows a seventh-tier transcendent being to move freely in and out of it!
In terms of mobility, their powerful physical strength also allows these creatures to almost ignore the gravitational overload caused by acceleration, and they can switch between motion and stillness at supersonic speeds at will!
Even if a mutated plant cannot move or has poor mobility, it must have some other talents that make up for it!

When Su Xun explained these things to others, he once said that nuclear weapons are seventh-tier weapons that are lethal but have no defensive capabilities. Even in the ideal theory of extraordinary civilizations, seventh-tier weapons are definitely high-end combat power and can influence the war situation of civilizations on a planet!
Xu Huan hadn't noticed Su Xun's expression yet. He continued, "Mutant plants are very adaptable to the environment. At its level, it could probably survive even in a volcano. But if you want it to grow better, it's best to find a suitable place."

“During its growth phase, it may continue to absorb spiritual energy from the outside world, especially from underground, but the total amount shouldn't be as exaggerated. Previously, it was mainly because its energy deficit was too large, and we needed to replenish it…”

Su Xun took a deep breath and asked, "Do you think we should grow it?"

Xu Huan paused, looked at Su Xun, and realized the problem.

After a long silence, he slowly said, "This seed is indeed extraordinary. All I did was complete the task you gave me. I did not suggest that you must plant it. The specific decision on how to handle it is up to you."

"However, one piece of information I can provide is that during the process of infusing it with spiritual power, I vaguely sensed a trace of its consciousness... If I had to describe it, I would say it was rather ignorant, but quite gentle, not a bloodthirsty or ferocious being."

Xu Huan has a natural advantage in communicating with plants. Now that they are both at the fifth level, his perception ability is even stronger than Su Xun's.

Although for this level of mutant plant, its inherent 'personality' is not the determining factor in whether it is beneficial or harmful.

A gentle carnivorous plant is far more dangerous than a volatile sunflower. Humans can hardly understand the nature of plants, and the very existence of certain powerful individuals is a threat.

Was Oswell bloodthirsty or peaceful? Actually, it's probably neither. Apart from zombie hordes like Mashihai, the tenth-tier natural disasters of the past probably didn't have any extra personalities. In their long slumber and brief awakening, they simply turned over and caused the world to turn upside down.

Gazing at the peach pit still lying quietly in his palm, Su Xun fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)