66: Chapter 66 Jiafule Shopping Center

Wang Ting looked at the shopping center almost submerged by vines and stretched his limbs.

"Based on the degree of vine coverage, this shopping center should have quite a few monsters and supplies. Let's clear it out first; the sooner we finish dealing with it, the sooner we can head to the Industrial Zone."

The route Wang Ting walked had naturally been carefully chosen.

[Writing up to here, I hope readers remember our domain name, Taiwan Novel Network, which is super smooth and hassle-free.]

The Hospital, shopping center, and Industrial Zone were practically aligned in a straight line.

Not only did he need to kill the monsters here, but he also had to clear out parts of the road roughly.

Only in this way could vehicles come over to transport away the supplies found.

Otherwise, even if he killed all the monsters in these places, it would be useless; vines covered the roads, monsters continuously attacked, and the people in the camp had no way to pass through, meaning the supplies could not return to the camp.

Wang Ting strode toward the shopping center, and the closer he got, the taller the shopping center felt.

This was a large single-story shopping center without an underground parking lot.

Its perimeter was a large open-air parking lot with neither tall trees nor various canopies, only low bushes and neatly arranged streetlights.

Wang Ting arrived in front of the parking lot, where several hundred cars were parked scattered about, resembling old building blocks of various colors.

The vehicles were dilapidated and covered in vines; some cars had even lost their paint, exposing rusty skeletons.

Wang Ting carefully perceived the rustling vibrations and the Parasitic Fungus Vines hidden among the vines, all of which were exposed within his perception.

"Dozens of Parasitic Fungus Vines... That really is quite a lot."

Wang Ting directly slammed his vine skull tyrant blade against a nearby vehicle, and the clanging sound spread outward in all directions like a striking bell.

The loud noise instantly awakened all the Parasitic Fungus Vines hidden within the parking lot.

In an instant, those Parasitic Fungus Vines smashed through the car windows, and roars resounded all around, resembling a terrifying awakened swarm of bees.

These Parasitic Fungus Vines keenly locked onto Wang Ting's position, pouncing over like a pack of wolves.

Wang Ting's figure remained motionless as the fastest-charging Parasitic Fungus Vine already reached his presence.

At this moment, Wang Ting waved the vine skull tyrant blade in his hand, its blade light resembling a green glow, splitting the oncoming Parasitic Fungus Vines in two wherever it passed.

Some Parasitic Fungus Vines extended long vine tentacles, trying to bind his figure.

However, Wang Ting unhesitatingly swept the vine skull tyrant blade left and right, cleanly severing all the tentacles.

For a time, dozens of Parasitic Fungus Vines surrounded Wang Ting tightly.

Wearing sand scorpion armor, Wang Ting continuously charged and killed amidst the encirclement of these Parasitic Fungus Vines.

Clearly heavily outnumbered, Wang Ting acted like an unshakeable reef amidst raging waves, focusing solely on slaughter.

He silently observed the surrounding approaching Parasitic Fungus Vines; the vibrations grew denser and the roars clearer, and most of the Parasitic Fungus Vines in the parking lot had gathered around him.

He immediately activated his Plant Control ability, manipulating the vines to continuously extend and bind the approaching Parasitic Fungus Vines one by one.

The slightly farther Parasitic Fungus Vines were also actively sought out by the vines and subsequently bound, being dragged to his side like prey on a spider web.

Earth Vine Spike!

Wang Ting activated his skill, and a large number of dark green thorny spikes rose abruptly from the ground.

Those Parasitic Fungus Vines were so dense and had their bodies bound by vines, leaving them completely without space to dodge, forcing them to watch helplessly as the thorny vines pierced through their bodies.

Some pierced only one, while others instantly pierced two or three like skewered candied haws, green mucus flowing all over the ground, and the roars of the Parasitic Fungus Vines abruptly stopped.

Even for those Parasitic Fungus Vines that had not yet died, with just a thought from Wang Ting, the vines rushed to attack, tearing those Parasitic Fungus Vines directly into pieces.

Clearly a perilous trap of encirclement and slaughter, it was completely reversed within just a few short minutes.

Wang Ting pulled the vine skull tyrant blade out from the corpse of a Parasitic Fungus Vine, swinging the blade to shake off the bloodstains on it.

As he continuously fought these anomaly-type monsters, his combat skills grew more proficient and his strikes more ruthless.

His gaze swept across the dozens of Parasitic Fungus Vine corpses, retracting the Earth Vine Spikes that had pierced them, and then he walked toward the main entrance of the shopping center.

The shopping center was very dilapidated; the glass of the main entrance was completely shattered, and vines extended everywhere.

Clang.

One of Wang Ting's feet stepped on a soda can on the ground, producing a crisp sound.

His gaze looked inward through the already shattered shopping center entrance; many old and rotting goods were placed on crooked shelves, and a decaying odor drifted out from inside.

Rustle, rustle.

The activity sounds of monsters came from inside the supermarket.

Under the cover of individual shelves and pervasive vines, this huge supermarket appeared dim and messy, resembling an artificially formed maze.

Wang Ting could sense the presence of monsters inside, but looking with the naked eye, he could only see some faint, flickering outlines.

He walked in and knocked on several shelves near the entrance, wanting to repeat the same trick.

Many crawling sounds came from the corner as Parasitic Fungus Vines killed their way out, weaving through the shelves, gathering twenty to thirty of them in a short time.

The interior space of the shopping center was narrower, and the collapsed shelves became obstacles hindering Wang Ting's movements, making dodging not as simple as being outside.

One Parasitic Fungus Vine after another pounced toward him by taking advantage of the uneven terrain.

Wang Ting manipulated the vines as if forming a large net; the incoming Parasitic Fungus Vines all fell into the net and were directly entangled by the vines.

He swung the vine skull tyrant blade, killing these Parasitic Fungus Vines one by one.

After just a few minutes, the surroundings fell into silence.

Wang Ting frowned as pairs of prying gazes fell upon him, as if a more powerful monster was staring at him at the end of the dim supermarket.

"Such a cunning monster; it seems it cannot be lured out."

Staring closely at the dimness deep within the supermarket, he walked inward step by step.

The steady footsteps fell on the cold tile floor, producing a soft echo.

Goods were scattered everywhere on the ground, all of which were daily household items—towels, slippers, pots and pans, expired food... Almost everything on the shelves had fallen over.

Avoiding the debris on the ground, Wang Ting swept his peripheral vision across the surrounding shelves.

The items on the shelves were sparse, as if they had been looted by people, with little left.

Picking up a can casually, he found it covered in dust.

Just pulling open a gap brought a foul stench, and he didn't know how long it had been rotting.

Wang Ting continued walking inward, stepping past three or four rows of shelves, and by this time had reached the middle section of the shopping center.

Those Parasitic Fungus Vines seemed to sense Wang Ting's terrifying aura, sparsely fleeing deeper inside.

Wang Ting grew increasingly vigilant, because within his perception, something in the dim depths of the supermarket seemed to have already locked onto him.

Walking a bit further inward like this, in the dim depths of the shopping center, streams of crimson light lit up.

Wang Ting tightened his grip on the vine skull tyrant blade in his hand, his heart turning stern as he was already prepared.

He walked forward a few steps, and the scene before him was finally completely exposed to his eyes.

Inside the dim supermarket, shelves were scattered all over the floor.

Humanoid monsters stood on the open space before him; their eyes were crimson, and their bodies were connected to umbilical vine cords, the other ends of which continuously extended along the darkness to end at a tall vine tree rising abruptly from the ground.

This vine tree was a full ten-plus meters tall, roughly three to four people wide in girth, having burst out from the ground, and its massive body had even crushed the dividing wall between the supermarket and the warehouse.

Countless vines extended from top to bottom, occupying the entire rear half of the shopping center, shaping like a huge dark green spider web.

A low roar came over; beneath this giant vine tree, two tall figures stood on the left and right.

Two Vine Skulls stood on the left and right, and this roar was emitted by them.

Behind the Vine Skulls, there was unexpectedly another tall monster, strikingly a Vine Spider Nurse.

"How can there be Vine Skulls and Vine Spider Nurses here too?"

Wang Ting was greatly shocked in his heart; this place was definitely not a Hospital, so how could there be monsters identical to those in the Hospital?

While he was astonished, that Vine Spider Nurse had already let out a shrill roar.

Looking closely, although the upper bodies of those monsters also had human head appearances, those human heads looked more like employees from the supermarket.

His heart was vigilant, his gaze was like a sword, and he tightly grasped the vine skull tyrant blade in his hand.

At this moment, as if receiving a summons, those Vine Parasite Corpses actively severed the umbilical vine cords on their bodies, pouncing toward Wang Ting like starving ghosts.

Thud, thud, thud—

The heavy sounds resembled beating drums as those two huge Vine Skulls strode forward, like an out-of-control heavily armored truck, crushing straight toward Wang Ting.

The great battle broke out instantly!

Wang Ting fiercely manipulated the vines; the vines on the left and right intertwined and struck like huge pythons, turning into tripwires on the ground.

Those Vine Parasite Corpses rushed over, tripped by the vines on the ground, and instantly tumbled to the ground.

The first wave of Vine Parasite Corpses had just fallen when the next wave of Vine Parasite Corpses leaped across their bodies and pounced over.

The Vine Skulls were even more exaggerated, taking large strides and leaping, their figures charging over like cannonballs.

Facing the monsters' impact, Wang Ting did not retreat at all; he strode forward to meet them, decisively swinging the vine skull tyrant blade in his hand toward the Vine Parasite Corpses in front, the blade light severing their necks directly as if cutting through tofu.

The heads of the Vine Parasite Corpses dropped in response, and the Vine Skulls by their sides chased and arrived.

Sensing the vibrations and perceiving their positions, Wang Ting immediately manipulated the vines to entangle the hands and feet of the Vine Skulls.

The vines shot over like dark green giant pythons, tightly binding the arms of the Vine Skulls.

Although the strength of that Vine Skull was formidable, this time the vines were thicker ones rapidly spawned under the superposition of Wang Ting's Primary Plant Control and Plant Growth traits.

It waved its hand fiercely to pull, but for a moment it was unable to completely break free.

Seeing this opportunity, Wang Ting further manipulated the vines to crawl up along its two legs, wrapping it up like a rice dumpling in an instant.

The other Vine Skull was a bit faster, reaching out with a large vine hand to grab him, and Wang Ting swung his vine skull tyrant blade upward, this single slash cutting off half of its arm.

The Vine Skull let out a roar, counterattacking angrily, and just as Wang Ting intended to behead it, he was surrounded again by Vine Parasite Corpses.

"Troublesome things!"

Cold light leaked through his pupils with murderous intent, and Earth Vine Spikes instantly rose abruptly from the ground, piercing through the bodies of one Vine Parasite Corpse after another.

The Vine Parasite Corpses were slain, and the Vine Skulls were still struggling; strong though the monsters were, they were no match for Wang Ting.

Wang Ting swung his blade, ready to continue fighting, when suddenly his peripheral vision caught sight of a huge, bright red fruit beginning to bear on that tall vine tree.

"What is this?"

Before he could examine it closely, the fruit suddenly split open its shell, exposing the contents inside—unexpectedly a brand-new shotgun.

His eyes immediately lit up: "This is a supply?"