Chapter 77: Chapter 77: Survivor's Trace
Anthropomorphic State, this was the first time Su Han had seen a skill involving bodily transformation, rather than bodily evolution.
Under the skill of the Anthropomorphic State, the nature of the Human-faced Tree would not change. However, it would transform from a wooden shell to a fleshy body, merging flesh and wood into a humanoid form, slightly smaller but more human-like and more agile.
Su Han thought, "Anthropomorphic State."
He controlled the Human-faced Tree to use the skill, and soon, a red glow enveloped the Human-faced Tree. Countless vines wrapped around it, forming an airtight cocoon.
The eleven or twelve-meter stature of the Human-faced Tree visibly shrank under the vines' wrap, the vines becoming sparser and the red light intenser.
In just a few minutes, the appearance of the Human-faced Tree drastically changed.
Its skull, spine, and bodily skeletal frameworks were made of pitch-black hard wood; vines and flesh intertwined, forming a special tissue texture, filling its muscles; its branches formed limbs, twisting into shapes like claws, and its oil-green eyes carried a hint of chillness.
The Human-faced Tree had transformed into a humanoid monster interwoven with wood and flesh, resembling a Treant warrior.
Previously, the Human-faced Tree was more similar to a tree's form, whereas this Human-faced Tree's Anthropomorphic State was closer to a human's.
With a thought from Su Han, the Human-faced Tree already moved, striding forward and leaping seven or eight meters, landing heavily on a car and crushing it.
It extended its wooden arms, and vines stretched out like fingers, wrapping around the vehicle, holding it high in its grasp, then tossing it away.
The vines in its hands constantly morphed, from a palm shape, they twisted together, forming spikey shapes like awls.
After controlling for a while, Su Han had a clear understanding in his mind.
The Anthropomorphic State having a four-meter stature was more agile, and its speed was faster. However, compared to the Treant Form, its strength was somewhat reduced, and there was less vine control.
"Trading strength for agility, it makes sense," he mused.
Being more agile meant it was easier to flee, which was particularly evident during Su Han's fire attacks.
If the Human-faced Tree had such mobility at that time, it could have easily escaped the flames.
Upon the completion of the integration of the Human-faced Tree, Su Han's gaze then shifted to the warrior of the Tentacle-faced Monster.
Although the Fusion speed had increased, the required materials had also become more abundant.
An hour passed, and the Tentacle-faced Monster had integrated over twenty cars' worth of metal, weighing about ten to twenty tons, yet its Fusion Degree had only reached 56%, which suggested how much more material was required.
He let it integrate on its own for now.
At this rate, it would probably take another hour or two to complete the LV5 common metal Fusion.
Su Han could wait, but there was no need to keep the Human-faced Tree idle. It was better to wander around the area.
The commercial street was not too far from the residential area, and it was inevitable to get a clear understanding of this place.
With that thought, he controlled the Human-faced Tree to walk deeper into the street, where the Radiance of the Lamp Tree gradually dispersed the fog, illuminating the streets on both sides.
The deeper they went, the more decrepit the scene became, with darkened bloodstains everywhere and gnawed bones.
When the fog had descended initially, the cars outside were jammed, and more and more people accumulated inside, inevitably leading to an unimaginable massacre here. Your adventure continues at m v|l-e'm,p| y- r
"Roar"
Scattered flesh corpses attacked, but before they could reach Su Han, the Human-faced Tree had already moved first. In its Anthropomorphic State, it solidified its arm vines into spikes and instantly pierced through the flesh corpse's heart.
As it killed, it continued to move deeper inside. For some reason, there seemed to be fewer monsters in the commercial street.
"Not right, someone has cleared this place," Su Han finally noticed. Unlike the chaotic vehicles outside, the vehicles here had been dragged and placed as if they were protective barriers.
Moreover, three rows of blackened vehicle frames appeared in front of him, about four or five vehicles abreast in each row, all burned down to their frames.
"Fire belt, so are the people in Summer Garden Mall?"
His gaze fell on the deepest part of the commercial building, the core area of the entire business district, where there should have been the most people when the apocalypse erupted.
Go and take a look.
Su Han and the Human-faced Tree walked directly towards the Summer Garden Mall, having crossed over the isolation strip.
As they approached, the smell of gasoline and burning filled their noses, and he could also see many bodies that had been burned to cinders, some of them exceptionally twisted corpses.
Some were human, heads facing the direction of the Summer Garden Mall but they hadn't managed to crawl out of the isolation strip.
At a glance, there were easily twenty to thirty recognizable charred bodies, which indicated how fierce the battle had been there initially.
If Building Seven had also been in a populous area, it definitely would not have been so easy at that time.
Su Han walked through the fog and arrived in front of the Summer Garden Mall.
The entire building was eerily quiet, its upper half hidden in the fog, while its lower half was illuminated by the Lamp Tree of the Human-faced Tree.
The main entrance was barricaded, and the broken parts were also blocked by some items, making it strangely silent.
Su Han's eyes swept the area and spotted a not-so-small gap at the entrance, signaling the Human-faced Tree to open this door.
The Human-faced Tree's hands, resembling vine tendrils, grew rapidly and slid through the gap, expanding and pulling until they created a big opening in the door.
The noise of the door opening echoed throughout the ground floor of the building. Su Han and the Human-faced Tree walked in, and suddenly, the dim first floor lit up. Seven or eight figures stood in the empty lobby, their backs to the entrance, eerily silent and upright.
Su Han's expression tensed as the seven or eight figures, having heard the noise at the entrance, turned around. Their ghastly white faces were full of Blood Holes, and a blood-covered viscous fluid continuously slid down from their faces, with tentacles writhing out of the Blood Holes like worms.
Tentacle-faced Monsters?!
Su Han was shocked. Eight Tentacle-faced Monsters were not a small number. Could it be that this place had been overrun?
While he was thinking, the Tentacle-faced Monster had already rushed towards them. Not only were their faces full of Blood Holes, but other parts of their bodies also bore Blood Holes. The tentacles had already extended, about three to four meters long, attempting to launch an attack on Su Han.
This batch of Tentacle-faced Monsters was even more powerful than those encountered before.
Su Han made a quick judgment, yet his movements did not slow down. Pu knife in hand, he met the attack head-on, the blade's light flashing as he instantaneously severed the charging tentacles.
He charged towards the Tentacle-faced Monsters, Pu knife chopping down, decapitating the first Tentacle-faced Monster at the neck.
Thud
The head rolled on the ground, and the body, driven by inertia, moved forward two steps before collapsing.
However, even though it had been beheaded, the Tentacle-faced Monster did not die immediately. Its tentacles continued to flail wildly, seemingly trying to drag Su Han down with it.
The remaining seven Tentacle-faced Monsters drew closer.
But the Human-faced Tree leapt up, charging directly into their midst. Its two leg-like tree roots stomped heavily on the middle Tentacle-faced Monster, cracking sounds indicating the instant fracturing of bones.
Vines growing from its feet rapidly extended, directly penetrating the bodies of the Tentacle-faced Monsters, strangling them.
The remaining six Tentacle-faced Monsters closed in, but the Human-faced Tree's hands, like vine whips, grew rapidly. With a left and right swing, its seven or eight-meter-long tendrils toppled them over.
The tentacles converged like spears, piercing with incredible speed, one after another, through the bodies of the Tentacle-faced Monsters. In less than two minutes, the remaining six Tentacle-faced Monsters were also defeated, barely alive and struggling on the vines.
[Fusion available with living creature: Tentacle-faced Monster. Proceed with fusion?]