26: Chapter 26 Grade E Tomato

Chen Ze was stunned, his breathing quickening.

The scenery before him was simply beyond his wildest imagination!

Below the hillside, the greenery was as thick as unmixable paint, with all kinds of towering trees blocking out the sky. Visually, they were at least a hundred meters tall, with thick trunks that would require over a dozen people to encircle.

The bark of the trees had strange textures, like traces carved by time, ancient and mysterious.

Thread-like plants hung from some of the branches, swaying in the wind.

"Is this the forest of the other world?"

Chen Ze felt his throat go dry and swallowed hard.

It was no wonder he reacted so strongly; the trees here were simply too massive. A hundred-meter height would only be the height of a skyscraper on Earth, yet here in this desolate other world, they connected into an endless expanse.

Chen Ze had been to Changbai Mountain on Earth, and the towering trees in that primeval forest had once made him marvel at the uncanny workmanship of nature.

But now, standing in this forest of the other world, those trees from Changbai Mountain seemed like mere saplings in comparison.

Everything here was so enormous, so beyond reason!

Chen Ze stepped forward, preparing to get a little closer.

Suddenly, a faint, transparent Light Barrier appeared before him. The Light Barrier was like a solid object, forcibly bouncing Chen Ze back.

"Damn, what is this situation?"

Before Chen Ze could figure out the situation, that familiar yet strange mechanical voice suddenly appeared in his mind.

"The area ahead is a high-risk zone. Countdown to opening: 1 day, 10 hours, and 28 minutes. If you enter forcibly, the current probability of death for the survivor is extremely high. Are you sure you want to enter?"

"High-risk zone? Extremely high probability of death?"

Chen Ze didn't rush to make a decision. He narrowed his eyes, and images of playing RPG games in the past inexplicably appeared in his mind.

Unopened areas meant high risk and high reward; they were high-drop-rate zones far exceeding what other survivors had at the current stage. If he could enter before others and obtain the resources within, it would undoubtedly give him a huge advantage in the competition of the apocalypse.

Chen Ze knew this well; the Fortress survival game for all had given him a chance to turn things around, and in this lifetime, he never wanted to be trampled underfoot by others again!

"Damn it! If I die, I die! Let's do it!"

He clicked confirm, and the Light Barrier in front of him instantly dissipated. A wave of humid air mixed with decay rushed toward him.

Chen Ze gripped the arisaka type 38 rifle in his hand and stepped forward, not hesitating for a second longer.

The bushes on the outskirts of the forest were very dense, almost level with Chen Ze's chest. He struggled to make his way through them. The branches and leaves of these bushes were very tough, scraping against his body from time to time and making a "rustling" sound.

Chen Ze scanned his surroundings vigilantly, but the bushes were simply too dense, and the range he could see was extremely limited.

Suddenly, he thought of the mysterious beast hide he had obtained from Fatty. The mysterious beast hide could detect humans and zombies, so could it also detect wild beasts?

"Damn, how could I have forgotten about this treasure!"

He unfolded the mysterious beast hide; it was just like turning on a GPS, and the five-pointed star representing his location immediately appeared in the center.

Besides that, dense light spots suddenly appeared on the edge of the mysterious beast hide; they were so numerous that they almost filled the entire edge.

Chen Ze's heart tightened; such a huge number of light spots meant that countless dangers were hidden around him.

The detection range of the mysterious beast hide was one kilometer. This distance was not close, but it wasn't far either. If it were a large mutant beast, it could arrive in minutes.

But now, he hadn't even touched the edge of the forest, and he was really unwilling to go back in such a dejected state.

Gritting his teeth, Chen Ze changed direction and continued to move forward, attempting to bypass the danger ahead.

Chen Ze carefully maneuvered through the bushes, his eyes constantly watching the mysterious beast hide in his hand.

Those dense light spots remained active, seemingly not reducing their "attention" on him just because he changed direction.

He knew deep down that he was like someone placed in a giant hunting ground, being peered at by countless eyes, and he had to be careful with every step.

As he walked, the bushes gradually became shorter, and those towering ancient trees gradually became larger. Chen Ze finally arrived at the interior of the forest.

Those towering ancient trees were like skyscrapers piercing the clouds. Sunlight could only spill down through the gaps in the layered branches and leaves, forming golden pillars of light that cast mottled shadows on the ground.

Chen Ze looked up. From time to time, "rustling" sounds rang out from the trees, along with the calls of some birds and beasts. Presumably, many forest creatures were hiding in the shadows.

He didn't know whether those animals posed a threat to him or not, so he could only grip the arisaka type 38 rifle tightly with both hands, staying vigilant.

Just as Chen Ze sidestepped around an incredibly thick, towering tree, a dazzling, vibrant red suddenly struck his field of vision.

It was a small plant over half a meter tall. Its stem was as thick as a child's arm, tough and solid, firmly rooted in the damp, humus-rich soil.

Winding and intertwined vines stretched out layer by layer. Orange-red fruits hung heavily among the branches, round and plump. There were dozens of them, densely adorning the entire vine, looking exceptionally tempting.

"This... is this a tomato?"

Chen Ze's pupils suddenly constricted, and he subconsciously muttered aloud.

The shape of the fruit was just too similar to the tomatoes on Earth, only more than twice the size. The skin was ruddy and translucent, the flesh was plump, and the surface had a faint, lustrous sheen.

Without needing to think, it must be a ranked mutant plant!

Chen Ze glanced at the mysterious beast hide and found that the yellow dots in that direction had clearly increased by quite a bit. Presumably, some kind of animal was entrenched here.

He narrowed his eyes, a trace of ruthlessness rising in them.

"Damn it! No matter what it is, I'm going to take this tomato!"

Almost inching his way, Chen Ze approached bit by bit. Finally, after ten minutes, he reached out and touched the first fruit.

The item's information immediately appeared in his mind.

e-rank tomato.

Consuming it increases all attributes by 2 points, up to a limit of 6 points!

"Holy crap! E-rank!"

Chen Ze was shocked to the core. One had to know that an E-rank durian fruit could only add 5 points to all attributes, and that thing only produced a portion of flesh every ten days, whereas this e-rank tomato could directly add 2 points! This thing was simply a heaven-defying divine item at the current stage!

"Pick! Must pick them all!"

Chen Ze's heart was pounding wildly, his hands moving swiftly as one e-rank tomato after another was packed into his backpack.

At this moment, he had a strong feeling that he was like a bank robber, with pursuers eyeing him covetously from behind and all around. He had to seize every second.

Picking one more meant one more point of strength; being a second slower meant the possibility of ending up in the jaws of a beast.

Time seemed to be stretched to the limit at this moment; everything around him became blurred, leaving only the tempting red fruits covering the branches before his eyes.

Chen Ze's hands flew, his movements clean and crisp. In just a short moment, the heavy fruits on the vines were swept clean by him. A rough count showed there were as many as twenty or thirty of them!

"Rustle... rustle..."

A fine, harsh rustling sound suddenly amplified, drilling into his ears.

Chen Ze's nerves, which were already stretched to the limit, instantly shattered, and the hair all over his body stood on end.

He jerked his head up and looked around, but the forest was too dense; he couldn't discover anything at all.

"Caw! ~"

"Screech! ~"

Just at this moment, Chen Ze suddenly heard a burst of noisy bird calls.

A large flock of unknown giant birds flapped their wings and quickly flew away.

"Damn! What on earth is coming?"

He subconsciously looked down at the mysterious beast hide in his hand.

The large patch of yellow light spots that were originally surrounding the edge had now compressed to within a hundred meters. They were dense and numerous, enough to make one's scalp tingle, and they were approaching his direction at an astonishing speed!