Forge a path to success.

Chapter 362 Abundant Harvest (2)

A deep green light descended from the sky, as if a deity above the clouds had brought down punishment. The light felt exactly like the green light that had once shone in the Great Archives; it was undoubtedly the power of the Thorn Robe.

"Rest assured, everyone, according to the current laws of the Fourth Order, the Divine Tree's sanctions are only for restraint... but if you insist on resisting, you may suffer some injuries!" said Fife.

As the light fell, Chu Hengkong had already drawn his Divine Slash. A flash of blood-red blade light shattered the pillar of light into countless fragments. He returned the blade with one hand, his wrist trembling slightly.

"Don't try to take the force of a level 5 peak; I'll handle it."

Ji Huaisu reacted swiftly, reaching out to snatch the whistle. But a transparent green light barrier appeared, resolutely blocking her attack—the same divine protection that had been displayed on Parriman.

"So resolute?" Fifi activated a mechanism within its fur, and a large lotus leaf sprang from its back, carrying its massive body into the sky. It whistled loudly and continued shouting, "Oppose the bill, attack a member of parliament, disrupt production, more crimes! We implore the Divine Tree to see the truth!"

Three more beams of divine power crashed down, but Chu Hengkong wielded the Divine Slash with flawless precision, cleaving them one by one. At that moment, Fife's shout rang out, and in an instant, countless figures sprang up from the golden fields, the working creatures of all sizes glaring angrily at the scene.

"How dare you provoke your peasant grandfather!"

"Damn it, these aren't just ordinary troublemakers anymore; we have to crack down on them!"

"Brothers and sisters, let's unite!"

The echoing whistles rose and fell, and a murderous aura permeated the fields. Vande suddenly felt a chill on his head. He looked up and saw many bird citizens taking flight, scattering dense, golden raindrops.

Those were plump corn kernels, rapidly expanding in mid-air before landing with a deafening bang. It exploded! It turned into popcorn! Creating a shockwave comparable to a storm!

"Retreat! It's a popcorn bomb!" Gulibo screamed. "It's a level 4 war plant!"

Ji Huaisu quickly raised an ice wall for protection. A popcorn that was good at jumping high jumped into her mouth, making her startled: "Holy crap, it's sweet."

"Don't savor the taste now, everyone get out of here! Damn, I see that divine punishment is getting more and more intense!"

In the blink of an eye, the next round of green beams of light was about to descend, this time there were a total of seven. Vilbert tapped the ground lightly with her cane, and a pale blue stream of information flashed from bottom to top. A limousine appeared out of nowhere and enveloped everyone, thoughtfully leaving Chu Hengkong on the top floor.

Wilbert shifted gears, stepped on the gas, and sped off. Chu Hengkong, perched on the roof, yelled, "Hey, driving is my job!"

“I got my driver’s license a long time ago,” Vilbert said.

The shepherds piled up hay and fences to create a roadblock, but Wilbert didn't even glance at them and sped through them. The unfortunate men rolled and screamed on the ground, wrapped in hay. Within two seconds, several off-road vehicles followed, their appearance quite savage but their speed terrifying.

The vehicles were covered in wooden spikes, their windows painted with terrifying images of giant beasts, and their wheels were designed like hamster cages, within which small creatures like rats, otters, and gobos provided the vehicles with tremendous power. Large trumpet-shaped flowers on the roofs opened and closed, broadcasting wild slogans during the chase:
"Opposing the bill is opposing the sacred tree!"

The surrounding farmers raised their arms and shouted:

"Opposing independence is opposing peace!"

Violet jerked the steering wheel, making a sharp turn and drifting to dodge a swarm of cabbage-shaped bombs. Vande yelled, "BoBo, your hometown is insane!!"

“It wasn’t like this before,” Gulibo said helplessly. “How could they put a horn on the rat cage tank? That’s everyone’s toy!”

Chu Hengkong couldn't hold back: "You call that a toy? A toy that can catch up with an F1 race car?"

"I know perfectly well that I shouldn't be trying to reason with people in this godforsaken place!" Ji Huaisu cried out in despair. "Vilbert, where are you going? Where are we headed?"

"Meeting with allies."

Wilbert pressed the switch next to the air conditioner, and the extended limousine was instantly enveloped in a flash of light, blending into its surroundings like a chameleon. At the same time, she created another limousine that continued along the original route, with the rat cage convoy roaring past in close behind, followed by a group of howling little animals carrying pitchforks and shovels.

Violet waited until the pursuers were far away, then turned the invisible car around and drove off. Her invisibility technique seemed to have even fooled the pillar of light from the divine tree. The vehicle drove through a patch of tall grass, transforming from a sedan into an SUV. A short farmer stood by the grass, waving and bouncing at them: "Come here, come here!"

This person was also a Gubo, wearing a small wizard's hat on his head. Chu Hengkong casually scooped it into the car, and Gubo exclaimed in surprise, "Cousin Magic Bo, it's been so long!"

Molibo was startled by this: "Molibo? You're still alive, Molibo!"

Gulibo was deeply moved: "Cousin, you came to save me because of brotherly love, didn't you?"

"Oh, no, it's because VV contacted us," Magic Bo said. "Please come with me quickly, everyone. Time is running out, so the faster we act, the better."

The car drove through layers of tall grass and into the farm. Molibo hurriedly led them into a warehouse. It jumped up and pawed at a switch, opening the floor to reveal a secret passage leading underground.

"Everyone, get down here as soon as possible. There's no time to explain." Magic Bo looked tense. "The attacks from the fake divine tree will get stronger and stronger. Many of our comrades have been captured, and all the remaining fighting forces are underground. Please remember, never think about anything related to the 'Oppose Bill' on the surface."

"—Brother Magic Bo! The flowers are blooming!"

At that moment, a scream came from outside the warehouse. Molibo gasped and rushed out of the warehouse: "I'll buy some time. Everyone, go down and destroy the secret passage! Don't try to fight it head-on. There's no hope of fighting the fake divine tree!"

Van Der, with his sharp eyes, noticed that the area outside the window was suddenly covered with flower-shaped shadows, as if a large patch of flowers had suddenly sprouted on the surface of the warehouse. Chu Heng, skilled and daring, was the first to peek out. The previously empty flat ground was now occupied by wildflowers, which bloomed out of thin air, their hearts emitting inorganic sounds:
"Anti-Act ideology detected. Anti-Act ideology detected. Please have the Divine Guard take action."

"Fourth Team received your message. You are now being detained on charges of antisocial and anti-peace. Please enter the prison van in an orderly manner. If you have any comments or suggestions, please send them to the Fourth Team's citizen mailbox. You will receive a response within three working days of receiving your letter."

With a whooshing sound, the four-winged flying machine, resembling a bee, arrived and launched wooden claws towards the farm. The claws precisely caught Magic Bo and tossed it into a hamster cage. Magic Bo quickly ran off, and a gentle notification sound followed:

"Your punishment is: mandatory labor. The punishment period is: thirty-three working days."

Gulibo raised his paw in anguish: "No! Cousin Bo!"

"Don't worry about me, huff, you guys, huff, hurry up and go!" Magic Bo ran out of breath, "Say hello to my great-great-grandfather for me!"

Chu Hengkong swiftly sliced ​​through the incoming beam of divine power, grabbed Gu Libo, and leaped into the ground. After confirming that everyone had left, he struck again, and the collapsed rubble buried the secret passage forever.

"I'm still a little dazed," Ji Huaisu said.

Van der stared blankly: "This is insane."

The underground space was pitch black, without a single light source. Ji Huaisu was about to turn on the torch when he saw a small flame appear in the darkness. The one holding the torch was a large, furry snowman, who grinned and gestured for them to follow.

Chu Hengkong felt the face looked familiar, and after a moment of recollection, he remembered: "You are an employee of Feiyan Amusement Park."

"Work, work!" the snowman said cheerfully.

With its neck hunched and head bowed, it led the group through a maze of twists and turns until they reached a wide-open plaza. The place was teeming with people; small animals dressed as farmers chattered anxiously, a few tree-people darted about carrying ledgers, and numerous burly amusement park employees toiled away, moving things around. Chu Hengkong even spotted many demons, hiding under their suits, bustling about with great enthusiasm, seemingly embracing a grand reunion of all races in the turbulent world.

"Thank goodness, you've finally arrived!" said Mr. Gray.

Mr. Lan looked around: "Which one of you is VV?"

The two veteran amusement park employees were also underground and came to greet them after discovering them. Wilbert handed over a business card with a design of a double caduceus, which Mr. Grey examined for a while with his glasses before handing it back with satisfaction.

"Test passed, thank you Miss VV." It glanced at Chu Hengkong. "I must say, your secrecy is truly impressive. You were having so much fun at the amusement park without giving anything away. Even I, Mr. Gray, who was a professional in intelligence back in the day, couldn't have guessed that you were reinforcements sent by VV."

Chu Heng thought for a moment and said, "Actually, we only found out a few days ago."

"So you two haven't known each other for very long."

"We've known each other for over ten years."

“Friend, I really don’t understand what you’re talking about,” Mr. Lan said.

Ji Huaisu patted Vilbert on the shoulder: "Mind explaining?"

“Before heading to the city of Thorns, I had already established some cooperation with the local conservative faction and jointly funded the anti-Act organization in the field,” Wilbert replied. “I did not choose Mr. Just Trek as my partner because he is an important figure in the military, which makes his every move closely watched by the independence faction.”

"—So she chose me, the neutral party who prioritizes self-interest, the young captain troubled by demons and with no interest in politics~~"

Fifth Captain Harley Luo's projection popped out from Mr. Gray's bow tie. She looked Violet up and down and laughed, "We finally meet, the famous Serpent of the Underworld! I didn't expect you to look so cute!"

“Right?” Chu Hengkong said happily.

Violet glanced at him sideways: "Please stop with irrelevant topics."

Mr. Gray and Mr. Blue whispered to each other, "Sacrificing lives and the laws of the underworld, it sounds so melodramatic..."

"Don't do that. You know, this is what high school and college students love most. Like the Black Flame, the Black Swordsman, the Red Comet..."

Chu Hengkong couldn't help but interject: "The term 'chuunibyou' didn't exist when the Red Comet appeared."

Vilbert tapped him hard with her cane: "Akong, let's talk about animation after work."

"Alright, alright~" Chu Hengkong stretched. "So this is Tianye's 'resistance organization'? Are you the leader of this organization, Harleiroya?"

“I still have to handle my own pulse sequence work, so another more suitable senior will take over,” Harleroya’s projection waved. “Everyone, please look!”

The center of the plaza was enveloped in a faint purple light, and what was wrapped in the light was a small tree. Long branches and vines branched out from its top, and the light flowed to various parts of the underground structure, supplying power to many devices like electrical wires.

A vine reached out to the group, carrying a familiar voice: "Children, we meet again."

"Oh, it's the Divine Tree!" Gulibo jumped up excitedly. "Divine Tree, you've leveled up again!"

The familiar spiritual energy made everyone recognize at a glance that this tree was the Fen Sprout they had brought to the city-state. Now it had developed from a "sprout" into a "tree," becoming the third point on the path of the Divine Tree of the Forest, the "Thorn Tree."

“The land of the city-state is fertile, and the fields have many friendly gardeners; it is the best environment for me,” the thorn bush said to them. “You must be facing many problems; let me explain the current situation to you.”

“Before that, there’s a small problem. Now that you’ve been promoted again, what should I call you?” Van der said.

The thorny shrubs were silent for a few seconds: "How about we just call it Stone Seed... we're already familiar with it anyway..."

(End of this chapter)