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

The once empty street on the east side of the stadium has now been transformed into a lush, suffocating sea of ​​green.

Thick vines sprouted from the ground, some thicker than an adult's waist, others as thin as a finger, intertwining densely to form living walls. The surface of the vines was covered with dark purple veins, pulsating slightly like blood vessels, and the edges of the leaves had fine serrations that gleamed coldly in the moonlight.

The buildings on both sides of the street were entwined, climbed, and covered by vines. Cracks in the exterior walls were filled with plant roots, and windows were shattered by the vines, with shards of glass scattered all over the ground. The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves and broken branches, which made a rustling sound when stepped on.

In the center of this green ocean, Xiao Jiu is standing on a protruding tree root.

The potted plant in his arms... that deep purple plant... was gone. It wasn't dead, it wasn't thrown away, but rather it had merged into the vines. Su Mu could see a faint purple glow flowing through the veins of those vines, circulating within the plant like blood. The glow converged towards Xiao Jiu's feet.

Xiao Jiu pressed his hands to the ground, his fingers digging deep into the soil. His eyes were closed, and his lips trembled slightly, as if he were silently chanting something. Blood was flowing from his nose... not from being hit, but a sign of some kind of backlash. Dark red blood trickled down his philtrum, dripping onto the collar of his gray coat, leaving a small, dark stain.

The hunter moved swiftly through the sea of ​​vines.

His speed was astonishing; he weaved through the dense vines like a shark swimming among seaweed. Every time a vine lashed out at him, he dodged at the last second; every time a vine tried to entangle his ankle, he leaped away at the last moment. The black knife in his hand seemed to come alive; with a flash of light, the vines blocking his path were severed, and dark green sap splattered everywhere.

But he can't kill them all.

The severed vines sprouted new branches within seconds, oozing even more sap from the breaks. He was trapped. Not by a single vine, but by an entire sea of ​​vines. No matter which direction he ran, new vines would emerge from the ground, blocking his path and forcing him back to the center.

The hunter's expression finally changed. That chilling smile vanished, replaced by a gloomy, somewhat irritated look. He looked up at Xiao Jiu, who was standing on the tree root.

"Even your father couldn't kill me," his voice came from between the vines, still calm but with a hint of coldness, "You think you can?"

Xiao Jiu didn't answer. His eyes remained closed, but his fingers dug even deeper into the ground.

The vines' offensive suddenly intensified.

It wasn't an increase in quantity, but a change in quality. The vines that were originally only passively defending began to actively attack... Some shot out from the ground, piercing the hunter like javelins; some closed from both sides, like a giant hand about to crush the prey; some hung down from above, the "buds" at the ends of the branches opening to reveal the dense array of sharp teeth inside.

The hunter was forced to retreat. His blade flashed in arcs, severing the onrushing vines, but his steps began to falter. It wasn't that he was exhausted, but rather that there were simply too many vines, too densely packed, leaving him with insufficient space to dodge.

Su Mu stood on the roof of a building in the distance, watching the battle through a scope.

His eyelids twitched slightly.

Plants... are actually that strong.

He had encountered those vines before—scarlet vines, emerald green vines—each one causing him considerable suffering. But he believed it was the monster's own power, a natural ability of some high-level creature in this world.

Now, watching Xiao Jiu manipulate this sea of ​​vines, seeing those plants that were originally just passively defensive become so aggressive under his will, he truly realized... if used properly, the power of plants is far more terrifying than he had imagined.

Light footsteps sounded behind them. Bai Liuxi, Lao Wei, Zhao Cheng, and A Qi arrived one after another. They stood behind Su Mu, looking at the battlefield below, and no one spoke.

Old Wei's shield hung at his side, Zhao Cheng's Tang sword was still at his waist, and A Qi held his monitoring equipment but didn't look at it. Everyone's eyes were focused on the small figure in the sea of ​​vines.

"Xiao Jiu's plants..." Su Mu began, without turning around, "have they always been this strong?"

Bai Liuxi shook her head: "Not usually this strong. Today it's..."

She paused for a moment, then didn't continue.

Zhao Cheng finished her sentence for her: "Today is a fight to the death."

Su Mu's brow twitched slightly.

Bai Liuxi walked to Su Mu's side, her gaze falling on the battlefield below. Xiao Jiu was still standing on the tree roots, his hands stuck in the soil, blood from his nose flowing down to his chin and dripping onto the chest of his gray coat, forming a large dark stain. His body was trembling slightly, not from fear, but from exhaustion.

"Once his plant domain expands, it will be difficult for us to intervene." Bai Liuxi's voice was calm, but Su Mu could hear something beneath that calmness... not worry, not tension, but a helpless silence. "It's not that we don't want to help, it's that we can't. Those vines don't distinguish between friend and foe. They only recognize Xiao Jiu's commands. If we rush in rashly, we will only add to Xiao Jiu's burden."

Su Mu was silent for a moment, then nodded.

He understood. The density of the vines was too great, the coverage too wide, and the attack pattern too chaotic. In this environment, outsiders simply couldn't distinguish which vines were attacking the hunter and which were indiscriminately sweeping in. Rushing in rashly would not only be of no help, but could also result in being accidentally injured by the vines, or even interfere with Xiao Jiu's control.

But he didn't put the AWM away.

He aimed his scope at the center of the battlefield, tracking the hunter's movements.

Below, Xiao Jiu's battle became increasingly difficult.

The vines' onslaught was fierce, but the hunter's combat skills were too formidable. He weaved and shifted within the vine encirclement, each dodge precise to the millimeter, each strike tearing away a large clump of branches. Xiao Jiu was wearing him down, and he was wearing Xiao Jiu down. Both were locked in a battle of attrition, seeing who would give in first.