148: Chapter 148 Dryad Toxin

"cosmic rarities?!" Su Fan's heart gave a jolt, and a fervent light burst from his eyes!

"No wonder! No wonder!"

"The resources the Canglan Empire has its eyes on couldn't possibly be ordinary."

"System, is the cosmic rarity the life source liquid here?" Su Fan asked.

"Correct. This life source liquid is known in the system as Tree Demon Essence, a secretion from a peculiar race in the universe called Dryads."

Su Fan came to a sudden realization. He didn't know about life source liquid, but he knew about Tree Demon Essence—it was one of the primary ingredients for level 4 gene optimization fluid.

The jar was about the size of a human head; it couldn't actually hold much.

Xitulu carefully brought the jar to Su Fan and gently opened the lid.

A refreshing fragrance wafted into his nostrils, heart-warming and mind-clearing!

With one sniff, Su Fan felt his entire body relax, feeling as comfortable as if he had just finished a bath and a foot massage.

"Is this the life source liquid? It feels so good!" Xia Feifei took another deep, appreciative breath.

Besides marveling at the effects of the Tree Demon Essence, Su Fan was even more amazed that his Android body could simulate such a refreshing sensation. It was incredible.

He wondered if doing certain 'special things' with this Android body would be just as soul-stirringly pleasurable!

"Feifei, you hold onto it. We'll go check out the large lake to the west, and then immediately move on to other towns!" Su Fan glanced at the Tree Demon Essence in the small jar; it was a little over half full.

"Okay!" Xia Feifei nodded solemnly.

"We need to move faster. If any of these Watermelon People secretly contact the Canglan Empire, we'll be in trouble!" the Great Elder reminded.

"Hmm, that makes sense!"

"In that case, we won't bring these Watermelon People along. We'll fly the spaceship directly there," Su Fan said immediately.

"Seconded!"

"Seconded!"

"Red Queen, bring the kunpeng no. 2 over immediately!" Su Fan commanded.

"Yes, Master!"

Given the speed of the kunpeng no. 2, it reached the town entrance almost instantly.

The three of them quickly reached the town entrance and leaped into the kunpeng no. 2 spaceship.

The new generation of Androids was not just lifelike; their speed, defense, and load-bearing capacity were comparable to same-level exoskeleton armor.

"Red Queen, head west. There's a large lake there," Su Fan pointed in a direction.

Xitulu stared blankly as Su Fan and the others ran off, boarded the ship, and vanished in an instant. His expression was incredibly complex.

These new aliens were much gentler than the previous ones, even though they had taken the life source liquid.

But at least they hadn't committed any slaughter!

For some reason, Xitulu even felt a hint of gratitude in his heart!

This was a dangerous, twisted psychological state. When someone becomes accustomed to being enslaved, the slightest kindness from the slave master will evoke gratitude, or even profound thanks!

Over time, they would lose themselves and become mere puppets!

Su Fan and the other two soon arrived over a large lake aboard the kunpeng no. 2.

It was a vast lake spanning a thousand miles, its shores densely packed with all sorts of bizarrely shaped trees.

Most terrifyingly, the trunks of these trees could actually twist and move continuously. Their branches danced incessantly, stretching, shrinking, thickening, and thinning!

The entire lakeshore looked like a chaotic dance of demons—it was truly frightening!

"Su Fan, it's so eerie and terrifying here," Xia Feifei said, looking down with a hint of disgust.

"If you're really scared, just stay on the ship," Su Fan smiled gently, then commanded the Red Queen: "Red Queen, bring over three mechas. E-class will do."

"Yes, Master!"

Under the Red Queen's control, three mechas flew out of the kongming's cargo hold and reached a spot near the lake almost instantly.

"Let's go. We'll board the mechas and meet these Dryads," Su Fan said with a laugh.

"If I'd known, we would've just come in mechas directly instead of switching around," Xia Feifei grumbled.

"Ahem... I forgot..." Su Fan stepped off the ship awkwardly.

The three of them donned their mechas and marched aggressively into the Dryad forest by the lake.

As soon as they entered the Dryad forest, countless branches and roots—large and small, hard and soft—quickly crawled up the mechas' legs.

Unfortunately, their weak attacks couldn't breach the mechas' defenses at all. The trees, only a few dozen meters tall, couldn't even reach the top of the 99-meter-tall mechas.

"Do you think these Dryads have any intelligence?" Su Fan asked with a smile.

This kind of overwhelming advantage made him feel very relaxed.

"I'm not sure. I don't think they have much intelligence; they act a bit like predatory animals," Xia Feifei replied.

"Alert! Detected that the Dryad branches and roots crawling on the mecha legs are secreting a special liquid. Liquid composition unknown," the Red Queen's voice rang out.

Su Fan was taken aback. Just as he was about to speak, the System's voice also sounded.

"Discovered cosmic rarity—Tree Demon Toxin."

"Holy crap!" Su Fan blurted out in excitement.

"What's wrong, Su Fan? Is that liquid dangerous?" the Great Elder asked with concern.

"It's fine. It's harmless to the mechas," Su Fan explained.

Tree Demon Toxin—a potent neurotoxin!

However, just like Tree Demon Essence, Tree Demon Toxin was also one of the primary ingredients for level 4 gene optimization fluid.

"What kind of day is this? To find two cosmic rarities in a row, and renewable ones at that!" Su Fan shouted internally.

"Stay rational! I must stay rational! This is the Canglan Empire's material ranch; I must scavenge it as quickly as possible!" Su Fan took a deep breath.

"Red Queen, immediately dispatch all robots from the kongming to collect the toxin secreted by these Dryads with full force!"

"Yes, Master!"

Immediately, a large number of robots arrived at the lakeshore and began collecting the Tree Demon Toxin.

"Note: try not to slaughter these Dryads. This place will be an asset of our Xia Clan in the future," Su Fan reminded them.

Although they couldn't defeat the Canglan Empire now, it didn't mean they couldn't in the future.

With the System, upgrading to a Level 4 Civilization and then unlocking Level 5 black technology was only a matter of time.

Once he had a level 5 civilization class-b spaceship, the puny Canglan Empire would be at his mercy!

This precious planet, rich in Tree Demon Essence and Tree Demon Toxin, would no longer belong to the Canglan Empire then.

"Great Elder, collecting the Tree Demon Toxin will take some time. To save time, let's split up immediately!"

"You and Xia Feifei will be one team, and I'll be another. In our mechas, we'll start searching the entire planet for Tree Demon Essence—the life source liquid—at once!"

Su Fan noticed that the collection speed for the Tree Demon Toxin was relatively slow, so he decided to split up to save time.

"Okay!"

"Be careful yourself!"

"We'll keep the communication link open at all times!" the Great Elder said solemnly, knowing that time was of the essence.

"Xia Feifei, let's head east!" The Great Elder and Xia Feifei took off in their mechas, vanishing into the eastern sky in an instant.

Su Fan also took off in his mecha and disappeared into the western sky.

It was worth mentioning that all the mechas, spaceships, equipment, and robots carried by the kongming mothership had been repainted with the livery of the Black Dragon Empire.

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