42: Chapter 42 Desperate Situation! Fang Che's Choice

The main root, covered in barbs and venom, let out a piercing sound as it lunged straight for Mu Waner's face.

Mu Waner felt her blood run cold; her body stood frozen in place, her mind a complete blank.

She could only watch helplessly as that deadly giant thorn grew larger and larger in her pupils.

This was her final thought. "It's over."

"Move!"

Just as the fatal giant thorn was less than half an inch from her forehead, and she could even smell the foul, rotting stench upon it, a black shadow, accompanied by a tremendous roar, slammed into her from the side!

It was Fang Che!

Displaying lightning-fast reflexes, he slammed his shoulder hard into Mu Waner, the violent force sending her flying.

Bang!

Mu Waner tumbled wretchedly into a patch of poisonous mushrooms nearby. Her cheek burned with pain from scraping against the ground, but she couldn't care about that. She whipped her head around, her pupils instantly contracting violently!

In her line of sight, Fang Che had taken her place. Alone, with an unyielding stance, he faced the terrifying giant thorn capable of impaling a person!

"Fang Che—!"

Teacher Qin Bing and Su Qingxue screamed, their voices heart-wrenching and filled with endless fear and despair.

He was crazy! He was absolutely, completely insane! Trading the life of the team's core member for a support unit? No matter how you calculated it, it was a total loss!

However, Fang Che, standing at the very center of extreme danger, showed no panic on his face. Instead, a flash of extreme, fanatical determination crossed his features.

Now!

[Ding! You have made the rational judgment to use your physical body to withstand a fatal attack to protect a team support unit, triggering the talent: Absolute Critical Hit!]

[Calculating... Defense attribute Critical Hit successful!]

[Critical Hit multiplier: 37 times!]

A rainbow-colored light, visible only to Fang Che, instantly surged from within him and covered his arms, which were crossed in front of his chest!

"Size Manipulation!" he roared in a low voice.

In an instant, the muscle fibers of his arms, crossed in a defensive block, rapidly expanded, twisted, and reorganized! Their size surged by more than double out of thin air, with gnarled, clearly defined veins wrapping around them, transforming them into two incredibly hard muscular cylinders!

The next moment!

Boom—!!!

The deafening, massive sound carried such intense force that the entire Greenhouse's glass dome vibrated wildly!

The thick tree root, capable of crushing everything into dust, slammed solidly into the surface of Fang Che's arms.

The terrifying impact was horrifying; the concrete floor beneath Fang Che's feet instantly cracked, with dense fissures spreading wildly! He dug his feet firmly into the ground, forcibly plowing two trenches over half a meter deep, sliding backward a full five meters!

But he had held his ground!

The very tip of the giant thorn was firmly lodged by his expanded arms, unable to advance even a fraction of an inch further! Because of the terrifying defensive power of the 37-times Critical Hit, the sharp wooden tip even emitted a sound of splintering under the unbearable strain!

"Roar...?"

The scarlet core of the Rotting Gardener flickered noticeably, seemingly unable to comprehend why this extremely weak and insignificant human could block its fatal blow.

"Creak... screech... creak..."

Fang Che clenched his molars until they cracked, the veins on his forehead bulging visibly, and the bones in his arms groaned as if about to snap completely. The 37-times Critical Hit had only barely allowed him to survive!

"What the hell are you standing around for! Waiting to die!?"

This roar, delivered with every ounce of his strength, carried immense penetrating power, ruthlessly waking up all the terrified girls.

That's right! It wasn't over! Fang Che was still alive! He had created a miracle!

"Counterattack!!" Su Qingxue was the first to react. Suppressing the wild joy and lingering fear in her heart, she screamed with a hoarse voice, "Jiang Ning! Teacher Qin Bing! Provide covering fire! Don't let him take this hit for nothing!"

"Coming!"

Jiang Ning's eyes were already bloodshot; the tragic death of her companions and Fang Che's reckless act had completely detonated the madness in her bones.

She let out a suppressed growl, her entire body erupting with incredible speed as she circled to the BOSS's flank. The military knife in her hand quickly danced, creating numerous afterimages as she frantically hacked at the small vines attempting to ambush Fang Che!

Teacher Qin Bing also instantly steadied her mind, pushing her mental power to the limit. She swung her katana with maximum force, hacking viciously at another vine extending from the Rotting Gardener!

"Hum!"

The Rotting Gardener's movements noticeably faltered, and the light of its core dimmed for a split second.

This was the opening!

"Break—for—me!"

Fang Che's arms erupted with his final reserves of strength. Accompanied by a shocking, massive roar, he actually forced that giant thorn, which he had been clutching so tightly, to bend sideways at an impossible angle!

Snap!!!

The giant thorn broke right in the middle, and foul, green venom splattered everywhere in a large area.

Fang Che immediately pulled back, putting distance between himself and the BOSS. His chest heaved violently, each breath carrying the scent of blood. That last move had almost exhausted all his physical strength.

The crisis was temporarily averted, but a despair even thicker than before completely engulfed the entire team.

Less than five minutes into the battle, two were dead and one was seriously injured. Fang Che was also nearly exhausted. And the damage they had dealt to the BOSS was negligible. How were they supposed to fight this?

"Wuu... it's no use... we can't beat it..." A girl completely broke down, collapsing to the ground, her pants wet. She cried incoherently, "Let's retreat, Fang Che, I beg you, let's go back! I don't want to die!"

"Shut up!" Su Qingxue turned back and scolded sharply, her eyes icy cold. "Leave now? Can you outrun its roots? The toxic mist is right outside, where can we retreat to! If you want to live, pick up your weapon!"

The girl was stunned by the shout, then cried even more hysterically.

That's right, there was no way out.

This was a dead end.

"Everyone shut the hell up."

A chilling voice rang out, overpowering all the crying and arguing. It was Fang Che.

He stared fixedly at the behemoth in the center of the plaza, his gaze sweeping over the churning black mud at its feet and the complex, massive root system beneath the soil.

The only weakness was symbiosis. The only path to survival was to sever its connection to this land!

An extremely insane, special idea quickly formed in his mind. The risk was immense, and the success rate was less than ten percent. But it was the only way to live!

Fang Che slowly turned around, facing the pale, despairing faces. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable, powerful sense of authority.

"Listen up! If you want to live, do as I say."

"If you don't want to live, you can lie down on the ground right now and wait to be turned into fertilizer; I won't stop you."

The crying stopped abruptly, and everyone's gaze focused squarely on him. At this moment, the powerful personal aura radiating from this boy, who was only a few years older than them, made them instinctively choose to trust and rely on him.

Fang Che used the broken metal rod to point at different people, rapidly issuing his instructions for the next steps:

"Su Qingxue! You are the team's brain; command the overall situation and warn us of all the BOSS's attacks!"

"Teacher Qin Bing! Put away your sword! Focus all your mental power and disrupt its core at any cost! Even if you can only distract it for one second, one second is enough!"

"Jiang Ning!"

Jiang Ning gripped her military knife and replied loudly, "Here!"

"You are the fastest; you are our vanguard! I will create an opportunity for you later, and you have only one mission!" Fang Che's gaze was sharp and focused. "Charge into that black mud, and with your fastest speed, sever the thickest main root at its feet!"

Upon hearing that she had to charge into that high-risk area, Jiang Ning's pupils contracted sharply, but the next second, a bloodthirsty smile appeared on her face, and she nodded heavily.

"Understood!"

Fang Che's gaze turned to Mu Waner, whom he had just saved.

"Mu Waner, use your [Eye of Analysis] to help Jiang Ning find the most fragile node of the main root and guide her!"

Mu Waner nodded vigorously. Although her face was still pale from the shock, her eyes were firmer than ever: "Okay!"

Finally, Fang Che swept his gaze over the girls who were still shivering, his voice sounding cold to the extreme.

"As for you, your mission is to create chaos! Throw everything you can find—stones, metal, the bodies of your companions! Throw it all at the BOSS! Don't fear death; if you fear death, you'll die right now!"

Everyone was completely stunned by this simple, direct, and even extremely crazy plan.

Letting Jiang Ning charge alone into the BOSS's danger zone to cut its roots? How was that any different from going to die?

"Is... is this really going to work?" a girl asked in a low voice.

Fang Che glanced at her coldly. "It has to work, because this is our only way to live."

His gaze returned to Jiang Ning, and his tone became very solemn. "Jiang Ning, the most dangerous part of this plan lies with you, you..."

Jiang Ning interrupted him directly, wiping the blood off her face.

"Stop with the nonsense. Isn't it just charging in to chop up some rotten wood?" She licked her dry, cracked lips with her tongue, a look of madness and burning intensity flashing in her eyes—a unique look of someone prepared to risk everything for a final gamble.

"It's all about the thrill; we're aiming for a maximum trade!"

She looked at Fang Che, her eyes carrying a meaning only the two of them could understand.

"Just... make sure I don't die for nothing."

Fang Che's heart shook violently. In that gaze, he read entrustment, trust, and that investment that transcended life and death. He nodded heavily and spat out two words.

"I promise."

After saying this, he turned around abruptly, facing the Rotting Gardener that radiated immense pressure once again, gripping the broken metal rod in his hand tightly.

Fang Che's voice echoed loudly throughout the deathly silent Greenhouse, filled with high fighting spirit as they were about to launch a desperate counterattack.

"Everyone, get ready!"

"Move!"