357: Man wielding a giant axe

Gu Qinghan was first startled by the cost of this skill, but he quickly recovered.

His current mana was definitely enough to use this skill, not to mention that he still had many ways to restore mana.

"What is the Realm of the Dead? What is its relationship with the Netherworld?"

Gu Qinghan remembered that his previous skill involved summoning Temporary Workers from the Realm of the Dead to fight.

The Guardian's voice rang out again, tinged with a bit of awkwardness:

"You can understand it as a small world created by the God of Death when he was bored. It is filled with relatively weak Netherworld Creatures."

Gu Qinghan fell silent for a moment. This God of Death was truly idle, creating a small world just because he had nothing better to do.

However, this also indirectly reflected the God of Death's power; he could create a world just for fun. No wonder it attracted the hostility of the other gods.

After bidding farewell to Zheng Shanhai and Chu Tian, Gu Qinghan took Meina and flew toward the city where his university was located, with the help of the Crow King.

Gu Qinghan turned to look at Meina, smiling as he said:

"Meina, if we succeed this time, you can eat as much kimchi as you want."

However, Meina opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something.

"Just say what you want to say. There's no need to keep it bottled up," Gu Qinghan said directly.

Meina hesitated for a moment before finally speaking:

"If possible, could I eat something else... I've noticed that the food in your country seems much tastier than kimchi..."

Gu Qinghan was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter... In a desolate city, architectural debris was everywhere, looking exactly like a post-earthquake scene.

But if viewed from high above, one could see a large area covered in greenery.

And in the center of this area was a towering giant tree whose crown blocked the sunlight completely.

The greenery surrounding it was all its roots.

After several months of growth, this Mutated Ancient Tree had spread its roots across several surrounding blocks.

Within this range, almost everyone was unable to leave because the edges were lined with thick roots tens of meters high.

Unless someone could fly out, they would all be trapped inside.

A skinny Girl peeked out from a pile of rubble, looked around, and only after confirming safety did she gently wave her hand backward.

The Girl's physical condition was very poor, like the after-effects of prolonged malnutrition.

Four or five people emerged behind her, looking much the same—all emaciated and frail.

They crept along furtively, approaching a large tree about ten meters high.

Under that large tree were some pink fruits that looked extremely tempting, drawing the eyes of these people.

However, just as this group was about to step within fifty meters of the large tree, a sudden sound of footsteps caused their expressions to change drastically.

A somewhat gaunt man appeared in front of them, planting the weapon in his hand into the ground as he said:

"Go back. You are already the third group to come today."

The man never glanced at the fruits, his expression carrying a look of resolve.

The leading woman's face changed, but she did not immediately retreat.

She looked at the small boy behind her, and her eyes became much firmer:

"I beg you, my child hasn't eaten for two days. Please be kind and let us pass."

Her tone was pleading, and her gaze seemed able to bypass the man and look directly at the fruits behind him.

However, the man still shook his head firmly and said:

"If I recall correctly, you just received food from us yesterday morning.

I cannot let you pass. Every time you trade blood for food, this thing grows stronger."

The woman's expression shifted, but she still insisted stubbornly:

"Who can survive on the little bit you hand out? It's just one piece of bread and half a compressed biscuit.

This is just this one time. We just want to eat a full meal. Please."

The man shook his head, looking at the woman's skeletal appearance and saying:

"The way you look now, you must have had your blood drained at least two or three times, right?

If you supplied blood one less time, our comrades might suffer one less casualty, and the difficulty of rushing out would be slightly lower.

Don't force me to act. Leave here, and there won't be a next time."

Only then did the woman notice that there seemed to be fresh blood on the ground around the man.

Although no bodies were left behind, this man had just killed someone.

Her pupils contracted violently, and she quickly fled the area.

The people behind her also fled, not daring to look at the man again.

The man watched their retreating figures, sighed softly, and picked up his weapon from the ground.

It was an exaggeratedly large battle-axe, yet it didn't look cumbersome in his hands at all.

"Don't come again. This time was my leniency toward a mother..."

The man took off his helmet and glanced in a certain direction, seemingly wanting to see the two people he wished to meet.

This face had some scars, stubble, and a look of weariness.

But regardless, it was the face of a young man.

"Wang Yan! The Mutated Ancient Tree is rampaging again! Hurry up and go check it out!"

Suddenly, an agile figure appeared nearby, causing the young man's expression to change quickly.

Wang Yan looked at the newcomer, frowning tightly as he asked:

"What are the casualties like? Didn't it just calm down yesterday afternoon?"

The newcomer landed after a few leaps, revealing a slightly lewd face, and sighed:

"There's nothing we can do. It's probably because of our recent strict control; this thing has been consuming much less blood, so the frequency of its rampages is getting higher.

The disturbance just started over there, so casualties haven't escalated yet. Gang Zi is holding the line."

Wang Yan pursed his lips upon hearing this, pointing at the large tree behind him and saying:

"Keep a close eye on this branch. Absolutely no one is allowed to come and feed it blood.

I have a feeling this Mutated Ancient Tree is about to lose control. We only have this one chance to escape!"

The lewd man nodded, clicking his tongue as he looked at the fruits on the ground:

"Forget those people; even I want to take a couple of bites.

If I had known, when I ransacked the supermarket with that kid Gu Qinghan, I would have made him leave more food for me.

Now look, the karma for showing off has arrived.

I wonder where he is now. Gu Han, the one who topped the rankings before, must be him, right?"

Wang Yan was also stunned for a moment upon hearing this, recalling that somewhat familiar name.

He hurried off in the direction Hao Zhi had come from, but left a final remark:

"Brother Hao Zhi, I want to see him more than you do.

Therefore, we must seize this opportunity."

The voice gradually faded away, leaving only Hao Zhi squatting on a large rock, sighing as he watched the reliable retreating figure:

"Sigh, for an Epic Class Professionals to grow to this point, this kid..."

He pulled a half-smoked, crumpled cigarette from his shirt pocket, took a deep sniff under his nose, and then put it back.

Afterward, he looked around, threw a few stones in several directions, and warned:

"No one is forcing you to fight if you're afraid, but don't cause trouble.

Otherwise, you won't get any food in the end, and you'll lose your life too."

From where the stones landed, the sound of hurried footsteps quickly retreating could be heard.

Hao Zhi smiled, lay down on the large rock, looked at the distant giant tree that seemed to be swaying, and sighed softly once more.