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Those trees, which looked like oversized glass ornaments during the day, now emitted a faint, cold yellow-white light through their translucent trunks.

The flowing light is more pronounced between the veins, as if it were breathing.

When a person is in that situation...

The entire forest has been transformed into a dazzling maze, but... it's the kind without a business license or insurance.

"Squeak..."

"Chirp chirp..."

The faint chirping of insects came from deep within, penetrating everywhere.

Aurora silently bestowed a healing aura upon Renyi, who was leading the way, and Ivan, who was bringing up the rear, while Xiao Jiu poked half of her head out of Renyi's pocket, mimicking the trees and changing into mesmerizing colors.

This time, the team consists of five living beings: Renyi, Ivan, Aurora, Nathan, and Xiao Jiu.

Luigi, Esting, and Sean, three guys who were pretty useless on land, stayed on the ship, while Klaus was also left behind—

The main task is to keep an eye on the two newcomers.

Once inside the forest, even the feel of the ground beneath your feet changed, giving you the illusion of a rubber track.

"Be careful...don't touch the tree trunk or step on the roots."

Nathan whispered the warning, almost in a breath, afraid that even a breath might trigger these beautiful yet dangerous things.

However, his reminder was rather unnecessary.

Having learned from Ivan's experience, everyone subconsciously walked in the middle, keeping a safe distance from the tree trunks on all sides, and walked very slowly. Ivan, at the very back, managed to turn his long strides into tiny, shuffling steps.

As we walked...

The person at the very front suddenly stopped.

Again.

That feeling of being spied on.

It felt similar to being stared at every time the blue-eyed creature appeared in the Abyss—not with malice or scrutiny, but more like simple observation and curiosity.

But this time the feeling is much stronger!

The gaze had no source; it seemed so close, seeping from every glowing leaf, every shadow, and every fold in the trunk.

"Boss, I felt it too..."

Nathan approached from behind suspiciously and whispered.

He nodded slightly, calmly scanning his surroundings, but there was nothing there except for the glass tree that kept changing angles.

at this time,

There was a rustling sound in his breast pocket.

Little Jiu poked half its head out, its two black bean-like eyes darting around, then excitedly tugged at Renyi's collar, one of its tentacles pointing straight up.

"Birds! There are birds!"

Looking up at it randomly, there was nothing but the treetops. Then I looked down and watched it gesturing wildly, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"Um?"

Seeing that he didn't react, Xiao Jiu hurriedly climbed out of the pocket and frantically flapped its two tentacles up and down on his shoulder.

"..."

He watched its performance and fell into deep thought.

"You mean...you want to climb the tree?"

Xiaojiu: վ‸ վ

It decided to try communicating with a different pet.

The little octopus puffed out its cheeks and jumped onto Nathan's shoulder, extending two more tentacles and flapping them up and down even more vigorously, while also twisting its body to mimic the undulating motion of flight.

"Birds! Big birds, little birds, birds that can fly!!!"

Nathan's mind started racing.

Fluttering wings, undulating posture... a round body, the same color as the light emitted from the tree canopy.

"I see!"

The explorer from Sunset Kingdom suddenly realized, "The Golden Thief!"

Xiao Jiu: "..."

The tentacles drooped limply.

Looking at the two two-legged creatures before it, which appeared intelligent and wise, a look of despair appeared in its black bean eyes.

Communication is so difficult.

It silently slid off Nathan's shoulder, took heavy steps, and kept looking back as it climbed to the middle of the group, where it snuggled into Aurora's arms.

"What's wrong?"

She gently patted Xiao Jiu's soft head.

Little Jiu rubbed against him sadly—

"A naive, land-dwelling creature... doesn't even recognize a bird..."

Forget it, I'm not counting on them anymore.

Let's get something good to eat.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming a little strange, Ivan, who was bringing up the rear, suddenly exclaimed "Huh?"

"Shh...rustle..."

Suddenly, a sound like countless tiny claws scratching at cardboard came from the glass tree trunk to his left.

"Ivan, you've encountered it?" Ren Yi asked warily.

Everyone immediately took a few steps back, isolating Ivan and the tree next to him.

"No!" Ivan immediately raised his hands to prove his innocence. "It wasn't me! I was a meter away from it!"

"Swish... swish..."

"Chirp... Squeak..."

The sounds grew clearer and more frequent, and the chirping of insects gradually began.

Using the dim light emitted from the tree trunk, they finally saw the source of the sound.

A dense swarm of black beetles quickly crawled up the translucent tree trunk!

They emerged from the soil.

Its shell resembles obsidian, refracting iridescent colors. Six barbed legs cling to the smooth tree trunk as it feeds with abandon.

What surprised Renyi even more was—

They don't gnaw on the bark, but rather penetrate the outer shell and suck up the glowing 'pith' flowing inside like a straw!

"Splash—"

Just like the reaction to being punched by Ivan, all the glassy leaves on the tree instantly fell off, turning into a deadly rain of blades that shot towards the beetles that were still surging out of the ground!

"Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding..."

The leaves were dense enough that quite a few beetles managed to penetrate them.

However... the results were minimal.

The beetles were too small and too numerous; most of the leaves just brushed against their bodies, falling to the ground in vain and quickly dissolving.

Only a few unlucky ones were nailed to the ground, and they too turned into a lump that seeped into the earth.

Despite its impressive scale, the battle was a dismal success.

The bare tree trunk trembled, quickly sprouted new leaves, and then launched another attack.

Repeatedly.

Like an elephant enraged by a mouse, it jumps around in vain.

Ivan felt a slight itch again in his already healed wound.

He scratched his arm, looking at the tree with a complicated expression:

"This...this guy, turns out he's just a paper tiger?"

"It's just the food chain."

"Its attacks are very effective against large targets, but against these beetles..." Ren Yi corrected.

As they were speaking,

The luminous liquid flowing inside the besieged tree had dimmed to an extreme degree, and the rate at which leaves were regrowing was becoming increasingly slow.

Ultimately, it happened silently...

The light inside its trunk went out completely, turning it into a gray, tree-shaped sculpture, as if it had exhausted all its energy.

The tree is dead.

The black beetles lost interest in it and retreated from the dead tree trunk like a tide, turning to another vibrant glass tree next to it to continue their feast.

These beetles seem to have been created specifically to control the glass tree.

What should I do?

Are you just going to watch like this?