In the apocalypse, I hoarded goods and handed over my storage space to the government.

Looking at Li Guodong's wrinkled yet resolute face, Su Ran felt a surge of warmth in her heart.

Before he could respond...

The correspondent suddenly stood up, his voice urgent.

"Report! An urgent telegram from the Southwest Theater Command!"

"read."

The gentle expression on Li Guodong's face vanished instantly.

"The Bashu Base has been attacked by an anomalous creature. The target possesses extremely strong expansion capabilities and is... is attempting to penetrate the third outer physical defense barrier of the Bashu Underground City!"

The correspondent looked at the information on the screen, his tone somewhat hesitant.

"They say it's a forest that has come back to life."

Su Ran's pupils suddenly contracted.

Plant alienation.

In the apocalypse, mutated plants often exhibit extreme polarization.

Ninety-nine percent of the mutated plants are simply larger in size, posing a limited threat.

But the remaining one percent, they don't need to move. As long as they take root, they can draw a death zone centered on themselves, a place where no living person can enter!

A base that can prompt the head of a main base to request assistance is definitely not a benevolent entity.

"Shu region? A large-scale mutated forest?"

He pondered silently, searching his memories of his past life.

"The most dangerous and famous pest in the Shu region in my previous life was probably the 'Ghost Face Tree King'."

I just don't know if it appeared around this time.

He had only heard about this incident from other survivors.

It was a behemoth that occupied an entire province, which was ultimately slain by Bai Lu, who had reached the pinnacle of strength.

After that, the region of Bashu was exclusively occupied by Bailu.

But no one knows exactly how they did it.

Su Ran walked quickly to the control panel.

"Switch the camera over here!"

The screen flickered.

On the screen was a mountain forest that seemed to be cursed.

But at this moment, the trees appeared to be an eerie dark purple.

The tree trunks are no longer straight, but twisted and tangled like mollusks, as if countless giant pythons were mating.

What's even more chilling is that those twisted branches are covered with translucent, cocoon-like things.

Li Guodong stared at the cocoons and said in a serious tone, "Get the person in charge of the Bashu base."

The image on the large screen flickered.

Communication is established.

A middle-aged military officer with a full beard and deep-set eyes appeared in the center of the picture.

Zhao Zhigang is the highest-ranking official at the Bashu Base.

"Commander Li! We're in big trouble!"

Zhao Zhigang's voice was hoarse, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Li Guodong placed his hands on the control panel and leaned forward:

"Calm down. Report according to regulations. How long have you known about this mutated forest? Were heavy weapons used to destroy it? What is the extent of damage to the outer defensive wall of the underground city?"

Three questions that get straight to the heart of the matter.

"It's been three days!"

Zhao Zhigang spoke very quickly, and then pulled up a report and transmitted it over simultaneously.

Three days ago, the border post only found a few pine trees with strange colors.

Following the guidelines of the first edition of the "Manual for Handling Alienated Organisms," we directly deployed napalm bombs in preparation for physical elimination.

Screen switch.

A drone-shot aerial video has surfaced.

The blazing inferno engulfed the woodland, flames shooting into the sky.

"This is handled perfectly," Su Ran said softly, staring at the screen.

Fire is the best way to deal with plants.

"And the result?"

"In the end, they didn't burn to death, but instead caused a huge mess."

Zhao Zhigang's voice carried a hint of fear.

The video begins to fast forward.

After the fire was extinguished, the scorched earth did not become lifeless.

The surfaces of those tree trunks, burned to charcoal, were cracked with countless fissures.

Immediately afterwards, thick purple vines burst forth from it like venomous snakes.

They danced wildly on the ruins, expanding outwards at a visible speed.

What was originally a mutation point of only a few dozen square meters has swallowed up half a mountain in just three hours!

"The high temperature didn't damage their cell structure; on the contrary, it accelerated their division!"

Su Ran pointed out the key point incisively.

"Not only that!"

Zhao Zhigang zoomed in on the image, pointing to the giant cocoons hanging on the vines:

"The high temperature not only failed to destroy the main organism, but actually stimulated these companion organisms. Some of these cocoons ruptured due to the heat, hatching a giant beetle!"

In the video, swarms of dark brown beetles, each the size of a washbasin, emerge from their cocoons, their backs adorned with wings and their mouthparts sharp as knives, as they rush toward the outer perimeter of the blockade.

Fortunately, the soldiers nearby reacted quickly, and a dense barrage of fire blasted the flying insects into the air, splattering green sap everywhere.

He suddenly leaned closer to the camera, his tone revealing a hint of fear:

"Advisor Su, Commander Li, the most terrifying thing is its contagiousness. This mutated plant possesses assimilation characteristics similar to a virus."

The view then switched back to a real-time overhead perspective.

The purple "cancer cells" were frantically infiltrating the surrounding once lush green forest.

Once entangled by those purple roots, the bark will crack and ooze purple pus within just four hours.

Then it twists and mutates, eventually becoming one of them.

"We subsequently tested high-explosive armor-piercing rounds, thermobaric rounds, and even strong acid neutralizers. None of them worked!"

Zhao Zhigang slammed his fist on the table, his voice bitter.

Conventional military strikes can only slow its spread, not eradicate it.

Moreover, the heavier the firepower used to destroy it, the stronger its vitality becomes!

Li Guodong frowned, his fingers tightening slightly as he held the cigarette between his fingers.

Forced immunity, assimilation of infection.

This is the most troublesome variant.

"What tiers are these mutated plants? And what tiers are the insects?"

Su Ran pressed for an answer.

"Reporting to Advisor Su."

Zhao Zhigang immediately replied, "We have tested it using our newly developed 'Bio-energy Rank Identifier.' Plants are all second-order, while insects are all first-order."

"Second-order, first-order..." Su Ran muttered to himself.

The second-tier mutated plant possesses the characteristic of being able to resist firearms.

This is unreasonable.

"The Bashu base currently has no solution to completely eradicate the problem."

Zhao Zhigang sighed, "Currently, its underground main root system has already touched the outermost layer of special concrete in the underground city of the base."

We dared not use firepower recklessly and could only request reinforcements from Kunlun.

"Let's stabilize the situation first."

Li Guodong stubbed out his cigarette and began making emergency arrangements.

"The Kunlun base will immediately activate its emergency response. I will dispatch the Academy of Sciences' top biology team to the Bashu base."

The Awakened Squadron and the Crystal Core Special Forces will also be deployed simultaneously.

Hold the line, cut off all surrounding organic matter that can be assimilated, and await reinforcements.

"Yes, sir! Mission accomplished!"

Zhao Zhigang stood at attention, saluted, and cut off the communication.

The command center fell silent again.

Li Guodong turned to look at Su Ran standing to the side and asked:

"Xiao Su, you've got a lot of information in your head. Do you recognize this?"