The whole nation is trying to survive on the cable car; I'm choosing one of three options at ea

However, looking at the blood-red vines in the distance, Su Mu's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

This thing doesn't even want to let anything in the sky go; it won't let any possible escape route slip by.

Moreover, these vines were much smarter than he had expected.

They are not merely passively defending their territory, but actively seeking every possible escape route.

They learned to climb up the rope, to attack both ends at the same time, and to attack from both the inside and the outside.

If given more time, will they learn to demolish buildings? Will they learn to track the scent of their prey? Will they learn to set more complex traps?

Su Mu dared not gamble.

However, his current plan has failed.

Should we place our hopes on those people in the Salvation Guild?

They had explosives, lives, and a strong will to survive. If they could blast a path, he could follow behind and rush out.

But he quickly shook his head.

Those vines have an incredible ability to regenerate; if a path is blown open, they grow back in just a few minutes.

Moreover, they are constantly evolving. When the truck first probed, they only reacted passively; when they ambushed and strangled the enemy, they learned to lure them in; when they climbed the rope the third time, they learned to actively track them.

What will they learn next time?

Su Mu took a deep breath, forced himself to calm down, and began to systematically analyze the vine.

Is it afraid of fire? Even the flames from bombs can't kill it, and ordinary fire is even less effective.

Are they afraid of physical attacks? The cut branches grow back in minutes; there's no way to cut them all off. Are they afraid of poison? I don't know, but even if they were, where would he find poison that could kill a level 10 monster?

What are its weaknesses, or rather, its core characteristics?

Su Mu closed his eyes and went through the images of his previous encounters with the vines in his mind.

Are the lush green vines on campus and the blood-red vines in Anhan Square the same thing?

Or is it just that they look alike? If they are the same species, then what is restricting the vine on campus?

Why did it only occupy the campus wall and not expand to the entire area?

Because its core is restricted.

Su Mu suddenly opened his eyes. Every vine should have a core... the main trunk of the root system, or something similar to a "heart".

Once the core is found and destroyed, the entire vine will die.

The vine on campus may have its core located somewhere on campus, restricted by buildings or walls, thus limiting its spread.

The core of this tree in Anhan Square should be somewhere in the square... maybe underground, maybe in that red building, maybe under the monument in the center of the square.

The question is, how do we find the core?

Mu suddenly slapped his forehead. His attacks had weaknesses! Wasn't this the best way to find the main body?

He recalled that the last time he attacked those emerald green vines at the gates of Ash University, the weakness lock-on effect was not triggered.

At the time, he thought that the vines had no weaknesses, or that his talent was ineffective against plant-type monsters.

Looking back now, that's not the case at all... Of course, those vines had weaknesses, but his gaze didn't reach their core.

Or his attack range is insufficient to cover the opponent's weak points, that is, the core area.

The branches he cut were just the tips of the vines, like cutting off a person's hair; hair, of course, has no "weaknesses." He needed to find the "head" of the vine... the place where the true core was hidden.

If you can stand at a high enough position and use a sniper rifle, you will definitely be able to find it if you experiment enough.

Moreover, these vines do not locate their prey by sound.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have waited until Lin Xiaohe flew above the vines to attack; they would have already crawled over along the water. They sense the location of their prey through vibration, heat, or some kind of "touch."

This means that if he stands at a distance and fires a sniper rifle, as long as the distance is far enough and the noise is low enough, they may not even notice him.

Su Mu's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

This method is feasible.

The only problem is... bullets.

Armor-piercing projectiles

He needs a large number of armor-piercing shells.

Not just one or two shots, but dozens, even hundreds. He needed to use bullets to "probe" the vines' weaknesses, find the core location, and then use enough firepower to penetrate it.

He can't fire one shot at a time, waiting a few minutes after each shot to see the reaction; that would be too slow. The vines have such strong regenerative abilities that they start to grow back after you fire one shot, and by the time you find the core, it has already grown back.

He needs to fire enough bullets in a short time to prevent the vines from recovering and to penetrate directly to the core.

The materials for making armor-piercing shells are not cheap... copper, gunpowder, treacherous stone, steel. Each of these is difficult to buy at the moment. If he makes them one by one, the materials he currently has are simply not enough.

Su Mu's gaze fell on his talent panel. "Mass Production"... When crafting equipment or buildings, if the total value of the required materials is less than 1 Mystic Crystal, no materials are consumed and no crafting time is required.

The daily limit is 1000 times.

He hasn't used the 1000 spikes he used today.

But is the production cost of an armor-piercing projectile lower than that of a single Ghost Crystal?

Su Mu didn't know. Besides, he wasn't on the cable car right now, and the production station wasn't with him either.

However, a production table can be made as long as you have a scroll.

He quickly calculated. If he gambled correctly, he could use his talent to create armor-piercing bullets for free, giving him a continuous supply of ammunition to test the vines' weaknesses.

The item dropped by a level 10 monster, plus the fact that it was blocking my way, is a worthwhile deal no matter how you look at it.

I gambled.

He was betting that the total value of the materials used to create this armor-piercing projectile would be less than a single Mystic Stone. Only then could his "mass production" talent take effect. It was a risk worth taking.

He opened the trading channel and sent a message: "Buying a crafting table, any quality is fine. Urgent, price negotiable."

No one replied.

He posted another message, this time in the public channel, spending an extra Mystic Stone: "Buying crafting stations. DM me if you have any, name your price."

A few seconds later, someone with the ID "Old Zhang's General Store" messaged him privately: "I have a production table, white quality. What price are you offering?"

What do you want?

"Grain. Twenty portions."

Su Mu frowned. Twenty portions of grain—this price was more than double the market price. But he didn't have time to haggle.

"make a deal."

The transaction was completed quickly. A white crafting table appeared in front of Su Mu.

He placed the workbench on the ground, took out the armor-piercing shell blueprint from his backpack, took a deep breath, and chose to begin production.

[Detected "Magnum HEAT shell blueprint (blue)," proceed with production?]

Each batch requires: 2 copper, 2 gunpowder, and 1 steel.

[Current materials: None.]

[Estimated total value of materials: less than 1 Mysterious Stone.]

[Talent "Mass Production" triggered: No materials are consumed, and no production time is required.]

[To produce?]

Su Mu's lips slowly curled up.

It became.

......