Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

When Ruo Manni realized that her teammates had suddenly disappeared, leaving her alone facing a vast array of eerie fifth-tier mutant trees, she was initially confused and then utterly horrified. As she remained on high alert, she suddenly sensed something was off—why did the aura of these fifth-tier mutant trees seem so weak, almost like they were only third or fourth-tier?

A thought suddenly flashed in her mind about the spirit-core mutant tree, and she quickly became wary.

Thanks to her powerful mental strength, once Ruo Manni became alert, she soon realized that what she was seeing might not be real. There was an unknown psychic force subtly affecting her perception, possibly causing her to experience hallucinations.

Hurriedly, Ruo Manni used her psychic power to shield herself entirely, and, sure enough, the scene before her immediately changed.

Her teammates were still beside her, and the surrounding mutant trees were no higher than the second tier—no, they were in the late fourth tier…

Then Ruo Manni spotted a silvery-gray mutant tree about a hundred meters away—that was the spirit-core mutant tree.

Just moments ago, as they were about to break through the area of mutant trees, Ruo Manni’s guard had dropped slightly, and she hadn’t expected to fall into the spirit-core mutant tree’s illusion at that very moment.

The attack from the spirit-core mutant tree was silent and invisible, mixed in with the attacks from the other mutant trees. Ruo Manni, who had never fought against mutant trees before, was caught off guard and fell victim to it due to her lack of experience.

After breaking free from the illusion and regaining her senses, Ruo Manni immediately realized that her teammates were in serious danger. Without bothering to deal with the fourth-tier mutant tree, she urgently focused on waking up her teammates.

Hebrew Adam seemed to be in a slightly better situation; his expression was somewhat strange, looking both confused and struggling, which clearly indicated that he had realized something was wrong with his situation. He appeared to be desperately fighting to escape the psychic illusion of the mutant tree, fiercely chopping down the branches that attacked him.

However, it was evident that he was using too much force; his actions did not resemble someone dealing with second-tier mutant trees, but rather someone facing a very powerful enemy, requiring all his strength to combat it.

Ruo Manni observed Hebrew Adam’s situation and felt that it would take him quite a while to break free from the psychic control of the fourth-tier mutant tree.

Among the other four members of the team, besides Su Forty-Three, who appeared conflicted and was struggling a bit, the others were motionless like lambs waiting for slaughter. It was unclear what they had seen in the illusion, but their faces were filled with despair, showing no resistance as they allowed the branches of the mutant trees to bind them.

Ruo Manni anxiously called out loudly to her teammates, hoping to wake them up, but they remained unresponsive, unable to hear her, and were going along with their deaths without any resistance.

Desperate, Ruo Manni tried to use her psychic powers to “call” her teammates. Since she had never used her powers in this way before, she had to carefully control the “strength” to avoid harming their brains.

As Sheila was being drained into a mummy by the mutant tree, and Tamaki Kazia, Tino Venamoinen, and Su Fourty Three were each being pulled to a fifth-tier mutant tree trunk, Sheila watched the white roots extending toward her.

No, no, Sheila desperately struggled, trying to self-harm…

“Why are you just standing there? Wake up, fight back…”

Just as she was about to bite her tongue to end her life, Sheila suddenly heard Ruo Manni’s voice. It seemed to pierce through some barrier, penetrating her eardrum and causing her head to throb with pain.

Sheila suddenly shivered, realizing that the terrifying scene of Hebrew Adam and Ruo Manni being drained into mummies had shattered and vanished. The fifth-tier mutant tree also disappeared, leaving only first- and second-tier mutant trees in front of her.

At the same time, Sheila felt the intense pain in her body disappears. However, she was still dazed and unresisting, bound by mutant tree branches as thick as her arms and being lifted into the air.

Startled, Sheila realized that the second-tier mutant tree branches couldn’t restrain her. She struggled forcefully, reaching out with her sword and cutting through the binding branches, then gracefully landing from the not-too-high height.

Hebrew Adam was the first to break free from the illusion. He was momentarily disoriented by the sudden shift between illusion and reality but quickly turned his attention to Ruo Manni.

“Ruo Manni, did you locate that mutant tree? Can you determine its position?” Hebrew Adam asked in a hoarse voice, with a fierce and murderous intent in his eyes.

Only then did Ruo Manni realize that Hebrew Adam had always restrained himself in front of their teammates and had never shown such a fierce and murderous aura.

Hebrew Adam noticed the fleeting surprise in Ruo Manni’s eyes, but his bloodthirsty emotions surged uncontrollably, and he could not restrain his murderous intent.

He had been too careless, thinking that this island, which had multiple batches of military academy students training every year and had been repeatedly screened by instructors, was free of danger. Thus, he had relaxed his vigilance.

Even if he suspected the presence of a psychic core here, he estimated it would only be of a lower tier, not capable of affecting him. However, he did not expect that the psychic core mutant tree was already at the fourth or even fifth tier, and his initial carelessness led him to fall for it.

This was a major mistake. If his older brother knew he had made such a significant error, he would definitely be heavily punished.

If Ruo Manni hadn’t spoken up and broken the illusion, their team would have been doomed here. Indeed, psychic core mutant trees were the most terrifying among mutant trees, without exception.

“That’s the one,” Ruo Manni said without hesitation, pointing to a mutant tree over a hundred meters away. It was larger and darker in color compared to the other mutant trees.

When the psychic core mutant tree did not attack, it was camouflaged to look similar to the other mutant trees, so everyone failed to notice its difference. Now, as soon as it moved, its presence was revealed.

“Cover me from its psychic attacks while I destroy it. Forty-three, protect Ruo Manni,” Hebrew Adam commanded, brandishing his Tang sword and heading menacingly toward the mutant tree.

The surrounding mutant trees, driven by the fourth-tier psychic core mutant tree, attacked Hebrew Adam furiously. Everyone except Su Forty-Three rushed to help him.

Only Ruo Manni stood still, closing her eyes and remaining motionless. Su Forty-Three hurriedly moved forward to protect her.

It was clear that the fourth-tier psychic core mutant tree knew that Adam’s team was attacking it and attempted to drag them into an illusion once again. Ruo Manni was determined not to let her teammates be deceived by it again. She used her psychic power to directly suppress the mutant tree’s psychic abilities, preventing it from creating illusions.

However, after doing this, Ruo Manni realized she was in a very difficult situation and had overestimated her strength. The mutant tree was a late-stage fourth-tier mutant tree. Although Ruo Manni’s psychic power was stronger, she could not harm its psychic core. Therefore, she could only suppress its psychic power to prevent it from using illusions, and she wouldn’t be able to withdraw her own psychic energy until Hebrew Adam destroyed it.

In normal conditions, Ruo Manni would not be afraid, as her cultivation level was higher. However, she was currently in a state of insufficient psychic energy. Using this level of psychic suppression consumed a significant amount of her psychic reserves, and soon her face began to turn pale.