Apocalypse Arrives: I Become a Powerhouse by Scavenging

Meanwhile, Moira Lynch ran into another big problem.

On her way to the Dada Duck’s territory, she suddenly encountered a "tiger blocking the path."

It was a giant tree, dozens of meters tall.

This tree was completely different from the surrounding ones. Its entire body was white, as if its bark had been stripped away. There wasn’t a single leaf on it, making it stand out starkly, like a general without an army.

If that was all, the tree wouldn’t have earned the title of "a tiger blocking the path."

Just then, a black bird flew past the tree.

The massive tree, which had been motionless, suddenly seemed to come alive. A white, spike-like branch shot out from its trunk, completely impaling the black bird in mid-air.

The bird didn’t even have time to make a sound before its life was brought to an abrupt and unexpected end.

’What is this thing? It looks like something out of Cthulhu.’

"Patience!"

[Please wait a moment, Master. I am searching...]

After about a minute, Patience finally spoke. [Master, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?]

"...The bad news," Moira Lynch replied.

[The bad news is that this tree is called a Qianren. Its attacks are extremely powerful, and it will strike any living thing that gets close, turning it into nutrients to make itself stronger. It will be very difficult for us to get past it.]

Moira Lynch fell silent after hearing Patience’s explanation.

Having seen how the black bird died, Moira Lynch already understood just how terrifying this thing was.

"Right, isn’t there still good news? What is it?" Moira Lynch asked suddenly.

[The good news is that the Qianren is extremely rare, especially one of this size. The spikes that grow from its body have immense medicinal value, and there are many related quests at The Adventurer’s Guild.]

Moira Lynch was speechless.

’How should I put this? I guess that technically counts as good news, but why do I have a weird feeling about it?’

Gazing at the Qianren in the distance, Moira Lynch hesitated. The image of the black bird being impaled was seared into her mind.

After a moment, she asked, "Patience, this is the most direct route to the Dada Duck’s territory, right?"

Patience didn’t know why Moira Lynch was asking. Hadn’t this question been settled long ago?

Even so, it answered honestly, [Yes, this is the most direct route to the Dada Duck’s territory. Once you pass through the Qianren’s area, it’s only another three-hour walk to the Dada Ducks’ territory.]

"And if we take a detour, how long would that take?" Moira Lynch voiced her question.

After a moment’s thought, Patience replied, [It would take about a day. In that case, you won’t be able to complete the quest in time.]

"What about flying over it?" Moira Lynch asked.

[It would take about an hour. However, the Qianren is extremely sensitive to flying prey, and its high-altitude attack range is vast. Furthermore, based on the data I’ve collected, the sky isn’t completely safe either. You might encounter things even more dangerous than the Qianren, so I do not recommend that path.]

Moira Lynch was speechless again.

’This won’t work, and that won’t work. Is brute-forcing my way through really the only option left?’

’I wonder if my Invisibility will last long enough for me to get through this area.’

’As for the value of the Qianren, that can wait until after I complete the quest and get the Cheese Grass.’

The ideal is beautiful, but reality is harsh.

Just as Moira Lynch activated her Invisibility and was about to charge straight through, she took a single step forward, then froze before her foot even touched the ground.

In that instant, a bone-chilling sensation rose from the depths of her heart.

It felt as if a venomous snake had its eyes locked on her.

In the nick of time, Moira Lynch leaped back. A second later, a white spike shot down from above, embedding itself deep into the spot where she had just been standing.

The sight made the hair on Moira Lynch’s arms stand on end, and a cold sweat broke out across her back.

She had been a hair’s breadth away from sharing the same fate as that black bird.

Before Moira Lynch could even breathe a sigh of relief, more white spikes rained down from the sky.

To avoid being turned into a pincushion, Moira Lynch could only keep retreating.

Fortunately, thanks to her spiritual power, she could accurately predict where each spike would land, allowing her to dodge in advance.

Even so, her dodges were clumsy and desperate.

She was still under the effects of Invisibility, but the Qianren’s spikes seemed to be equipped with radar, always finding her precise location.

After she had retreated several dozen meters, the spikes finally stopped falling.

Moira Lynch deduced that she must have moved out of the Qianren’s attack range, causing it to give up.

Moira Lynch visually estimated the distance between herself and the Qianren.

"That’s pretty far."

Moira Lynch frowned in thought for a moment, and an idea suddenly occurred to her. ’This might just work.’

’Since the Qianren can automatically lock onto and capture prey, rather than waiting for it to come closer like other carnivorous plants, it must have some form of intelligence.’

’And if it has intelligence, then it should be possible to communicate with it, right?’

’The Qianren needs food, so I’ll give it food. I have plenty of that. I’ll just consider it paying a toll.’

With this idea in mind, Moira Lynch remained Invisible, leaped onto a nearby branch, and then released her spiritual power, attempting to communicate with the Qianren.

The instant she established a connection with the Qianren, Moira Lynch’s mind was overwhelmed by sounds of ravenous hunger.

The Qianren was starving, which was why it was hunting so frantically.

’Then again, it makes sense. For something this massive, the amount it needs to consume just for basic sustenance must be terrifyingly large.’

Using this as an entry point, Moira Lynch tried to communicate.

"Hello. I can provide you with food. Will you let me pass?"

After a moment’s wait, a vague voice echoed in Moira Lynch’s mind.

[Food. Delicious. I will eat you. Eat all of you.]

As soon as the voice faded, Moira Lynch saw several white spikes sprout from the Qianren’s body and shoot toward her position.

However, perhaps due to the distance, the spikes stopped abruptly a few meters away from Moira Lynch.

Seeing this, Moira Lynch knew her previous guess had been correct.

After several more attempts at communication yielded similar results, Moira Lynch gave up on this method.

The Qianren possessed intelligence, but it clearly wasn’t very high. Besides, Moira Lynch sensed that it was on the verge of starving to madness.