Teacher Fang's Silver Lotus Wood was just over 30 centimeters tall. Next to Han Ning's and Lin Tianhe's, it looked like a child.
Unmutated Silver Lotus Woods were typically 20 to 30 centimeters tall. Their intelligence was faint, but they were still considerably "smarter" than ordinary plants.
It was clear they were among the weakest Soul Beasts in this wasteland.
But weak as they were, the Creator had granted them the ability to grow stronger.
Teacher Fang placed the Silver Lotus Wood he was holding onto the freshly killed Demon Eye Frog.
Drawn by the scent of blood, the Silver Lotus Wood stirred. It extended several silver-gray tendrils, which burrowed into the Demon Eye Frog's torn flesh.
A faint red fluid traveled up the tendrils and into its body.
Nourished by the Energy from the Demon Eye Frog's body, the plant-like creature pulsed, expanding and contracting like a breathing human. Its body grew slowly, at a rate barely perceptible to the naked eye.
Since his Awakening had given him a system panel, Han Ning didn't have his Silver Lotus Wood absorb Energy directly from a Soul Beast's corpse like the others.
However, he had witnessed the entire process of Lin Tianhe's Silver Lotus Wood's growth. It took about ten Demon Eye Frogs to make an ordinary Silver Lotus Wood evolve.
So, he waited patiently for over ten minutes. By the time Teacher Fang's Silver Lotus Wood had drained the Demon Eye Frog into a dried-out husk, its body hadn't grown noticeably.
While Teacher Fang's Silver Lotus Wood was absorbing Energy, Han Ning and Lin Tianhe had their own Silver Lotus Woods finish their meals as well.
[Energy +0.19]
"Let's keep moving."
After their Silver Lotus Woods finished absorbing the Energy, the three of them scanned their surroundings and continued toward the academic building.
As they ventured deeper into areas devoid of human activity, the number of Silver Lotus Woods along the path began to increase.
Technically, the Silver Lotus Woods were one of the Soul Beast species that had invaded the academy. However, they were simply too weak and wouldn't attack humans on their own. Combined with their ability to purify the fog, they had become the first Soul Beast for every surviving student and teacher.
Most other Soul Beasts were incredibly ferocious and could kill a person in an instant, so nobody had the chance to form a contract with them even if they wanted to.
Survival in the toxic fog was the only hope for any future.
He recalled that when someone discovered the Silver Lotus Woods' Purification ability a week ago, the survivors had picked clean every last one around the dorm building.
Lin Tianhe watched the Silver Lotus Woods on the lawn vying with the normal grass for territory, then suddenly spoke up.
"If we transplanted a lot of Silver Lotus Woods around the dorms and cultivated them, do you think they could help us fight off the wandering Soul Beasts that try to get inside?"
"It seems possible, but to give the Silver Lotus Woods any real offensive power, we'd have to feed them a lot of bloody meals," Han Ning said after a moment's thought.
Teacher Fang shook his head and pointed to a Silver Lotus Wood in the distance. "That's not realistic in the short term. I don't know if you've noticed, but wherever a Silver Lotus Wood takes root, the nutrients in the soil are rapidly depleted..."
Han Ning followed his finger and saw that the lawn around that particular Silver Lotus Wood had turned into a patch of barren, dry, yellow earth.
"Then never mind. Didn't you say we still need to grow fruits and vegetables on the land by the dorms, Teacher Fang?"
The density of Soul Beasts in the area wasn't too high, so the three continued on, keeping a close watch on their surroundings.
The Bio-Engineering building was a good distance from the dorms. When they were about 400 meters away, a sound suddenly came from behind the surrounding Silver Lotus Woods. RUSTLE RUSTLE.
Immediately after, dark shapes shot out from the surrounding weeds and Silver Lotus Woods without warning, instantly surrounding Han Ning and his companions.
They were Monster Rats with pitch-black fur, crimson eyes, and an average length of 20 to 30 centimeters. A few surrounded them on every side, for a scattered total of fifteen or sixteen.
"SKREE, SKREE..."
They continuously scraped the ground with their long, sharp claws, letting out hoarse shrieks from their pointed mouths.
'What the hell are these things? How can there be rats this big? They're almost the size of kittens,' Lin Tianhe cursed inwardly as beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
"Stay calm, stay calm. Let's get back-to-back."
Staring at the surrounding Monster Rats, which had risen onto their hind legs and were fixing him with cold, bloodthirsty gazes, Han Ning swallowed nervously and pressed back-to-back with the other two.
"We're retreating toward the dorms. Tianhe, your Silver Lotus Wood and mine will cover our rear."
As Han Ning spoke, the three shifted their formation, putting Teacher Fang in the lead, facing the direction of the dorms.
"I'll help watch your backs." Knowing his own strength was lacking, Teacher Fang put his combat-incapable Silver Lotus Wood in his backpack, tightened his grip on the silver baseball bat in his hands, and fixed his eyes on the Monster Rats ahead of them.
"Yin Yi, first blast the few rats blocking our path behind us," Han Ning whispered to Yin Yi, who was nestled in his arms, as he drew an Anti-Riot Stick used by security guards from his belt.
"POP POP!"
By now, Yin Yi could wrap its intricate root system around Han Ning's waist, allowing it to move freely while attached to his body.
Before Han Ning could even finish his sentence, the Monster Rats leaped at them from all sides, one after another.
"Damn it, let's do this!"
Facing the rapidly approaching Monster Rats, all three cursed simultaneously. Han Ning raised the black Anti-Riot Stick, mustering all his strength, and swung it violently at the two black shapes in front of him.
BANG!!
The two kitten-sized Monster Rats were sent flying. Han Ning felt an overwhelming shock travel up the Anti-Riot Stick, making his hands go numb. The skin on the web of his thumb split instantly, his grip failed, and the stick fell to the ground.
However, he had only just knocked away the two Monster Rats in front of him when he heard two pained grunts from his sides.
The faint scent of blood reached his nostrils.
Lin Tianhe's Silver Lotus Wood relentlessly swung its two slender Vine Whips, holding back four of the leaping Monster Rats.
Meanwhile, Lin Tianhe himself faced two Monster Rats on his left. He managed to knock one away, but the other's claws slashed his arm.
Teacher Fang, who was behind him, was in a similar situation. Each of them had to face at least two Monster Rats. Despite his best efforts to defend himself, a Monster Rat inevitably latched onto his arm.
At that same moment, Yin Yi, with its roots wrapped around Han Ning's waist, swiveled its upper body to face the same direction as Teacher Fang. Its body glowed with a green light as it fired three Silver Thorns.
Yin Yi could only fire two Silver Thorns at a time if it used its maximum power.
However, by slightly reducing their power, it could fire three.
The three Silver Thorns precisely struck three Monster Rats, blasting them into the air and tearing their bodies to pieces in mid-flight.
Yin Yi's attack bought the three of them room to fall back.
Seizing the opportunity, Teacher Fang used all his strength to fling away the Monster Rat that was ferociously biting his right arm, then scrambled out of the encirclement.