Mo Yang came out with a sullen face and immediately noticed that Emperor Qin’s expression was even worse than his.
Even though Emperor Qin was facing Wan Mei and couldn’t see his face, Mo Yang felt that the man had the look of someone facing a formidable opponent.
Mo Yang turned to look at Wan Mei and received a gentle smile.
Mo Yang: “…”
“Your Majesty, you’ve already brought the two of us into the temple separately. So, have you made up your mind now? Whose method will you adopt?”
Emperor Qin looked at the Tree Queen, no longer looking at Wan Mei, his eyes fixed on the Tree Queen, waiting for her answer. For him, the most important thing in this game world was to impress the Tree Queen and obtain her power. Everything else could take a backseat.
001 previously disclosed that every game world in the dream world retains the consciousness of the inhabitants and the world itself. While 001 didn’t pay much attention when revealing this information, Emperor Qin found it crucial. He had made Qing Nu, Fei Ying, and Little Hou probe several important NPCs in several games, finally confirming something significant.
Something that could rapidly empower him and completely control 001.
Emperor Qin had succeeded many times before in this.
His current mental power level was at level five. Moreover, it was at its maximum value. 50/50.
In the dream world, the mental power of players generally ranged from level two to level three, with a total not exceeding 30. Emperor Qin was certain he had the highest mental power among all players! When his mental power reached level five, 001’s tone and attitude towards him changed subtly, qualitatively.
If before, 001’s tone towards him was like cajoling a child, then when his mental power reached level five, 001’s tone towards him seemed like—an equal.
Emperor Qin was immensely excited about this.
He wasn’t foolish; he knew, of course, that 001 was using him, aiming to control more human players through him. But what did that matter? He was using 001 as well. Even if he might eventually clash with 001, initially maintaining a good relationship with 001 was advantageous and harmless. How else could he find powerful NPCs to devour in the game and easily elevate his mental power?
With these thoughts, excitement sparkled in Emperor Qin’s eyes behind his mask. The Tree Queen, who had lived for thousands or even more years. How powerful would her mental strength be? He believed that by devouring the Tree Queen’s weakened spiritual power as she prepared to sacrifice herself, his mental power level would surely rise to level six!
Level five mental power had already given him a clear mind, exceptional memory, and even the ability to use his mental power to influence or attack others in reality. So, what about level six? Could he directly hypnotize humans? Or control their minds to make them do things?
Emperor Qin suppressed his excitement, waiting for the Tree Queen’s response.
The Tree Queen looked at the man whose eyes were filled with ambition and smiled gently. “I agree with your method. Today is the second most powerful day of the Heavenly Fire’s arrival. By the early morning of the ninth day, we can begin.”
Emperor Qin bowed, “This is your most correct choice. Rest assured, I will do everything in my power.”
The Tree Queen nodded. Then, Emperor Qin looked triumphantly at Mo Yang and left.
Mo Yang: “…”
“Your Majesty, if I were to kill him before the ninth day, would you be angry?”
The Tree Queen raised an eyebrow, “Young man, don’t be so impulsive. Waiting appropriately might lead to better results, you know?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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The captain of the guard tossed the fruit to Mo Yang.
Under Mo Yang’s puzzled gaze, he explained with a serious expression, “Every true treefolk person can bear the Treefolk Fruit. Most Treefolk Fruits are for personal consumption, while a small portion is for propagating the next generation. It’s not something particularly precious, but during non-fruiting periods, it takes considerable effort to bear the Treefolk Fruit.”
“In the current situation, a treefolk can produce at most three Treefolk Fruits. If you need them, you’ll have to ask the treefolk in the Emerald Forest if they’re willing to bear the Treefolk Fruit for you. Perhaps if you assist them in some tasks, they might be willing to exchange.”
Mo Yang, upon hearing this, nodded in gratitude and then turned to the guard captain. “So, what can I do for you? Your Treefolk Fruit looks quite advanced.”
The Queen chuckled lightly, and the guard captain’s stern expression momentarily stiffened, but he quickly regained composure and dryly stated, “You’re the most esteemed guest approved by the Queen. Although I don’t know what you did, to have the Queen give you the Emerald Tears, your actions should be enough for our entire tribe to be thankful.”
Mo Yang was surprised at how perceptive the guard captain was.
About to take his leave, Wan Mei, who had been silent, suddenly tugged at Mo Yang’s sleeve. When Mo Yang turned, he met Wan Mei’s eyes that seemed to shine several degrees brighter. He twitched his mouth.
Nevertheless, he coughed lightly and, with a thick-skinned face, looked at the guard captain. “Um, can you give me another Treefolk Fruit? My companion really hopes to have one of your Treefolk Fruits too.”
The guard captain: “…”
He glanced at the man in the white coat from head to toe, finding him increasingly distasteful. However, after a final look at his queen, whom he had guarded for millennia, he reluctantly produced another Treefolk Fruit. Hesitating for several seconds, he finally tossed it to Wan Mei.
“Don’t do anything strange with my fruit!” The guard captain solemnly cautioned.
Mo Yang sighed inwardly.
Wan Mei looked at the fruit in her hand, nodding with a smile. “Don’t worry. I never do anything strange.” Researching was a noble pursuit, after all.
Later, when Mo Yang and Wan Mei returned to the designated resting area set by the Tree Queen, they found it much more orderly than when they left. There were over a dozen dense, towering trees in the area, each surrounded by several people resting with closed eyes. Standing nearby each tree were a few individuals keeping watch, seemingly assigned to guard duty.
“We found some players outside who wanted to join, so we brought them in. Fighting and ambushes are prohibited in the resting area. Anyone found engaging in such activities will be expelled from the life barrier. For now, they’re behaving.” Zhou Api, upon seeing Mo Yang and Wan Mei return, voluntarily explained the method of accommodating people to Song Kefeng and Long Xiang.
Then, he looked at Mo Yang with great anticipation. “Ah-Yang, did you gain anything from meeting Her Majesty the Queen? What does Her Majesty look like? Is she so beautiful that she doesn’t seem human? And that guy, Emperor Qin, did you meet him too? Did you manage to skin him, as you said?”
As Zhou Api asked, the players in the area eagerly or covertly glanced in their direction, trying to discern something from their expressions and lip movements. However, they didn’t need to speculate for long.
Suddenly, Zhou Api excitedly shouted, capturing everyone’s attention, and his subsequent words brought immense joy to all the players present!
“Oh my, did you find the Treefolk Fruit? How did you get it? I was worrying about that. Please, tell me the method!”
Mo Yang rolled his eyes in exasperation, called over Qi Hong, Zhou Luo, and Mei Gui, not avoiding others, and explained how to obtain the Treefolk Fruit.
“That’s it. As long as you find a true tree-shaped NPC capable of bearing fruit, through trade or other means, you should be able to obtain the Treefolk Fruit from them. However, bearing the Treefolk Fruit will deplete their energy, and some might not be willing to do so. In such cases, you’ll have to find another person.”
“Each treefolk can produce a maximum of three Treefolk Fruits. Never force them to bear more. This is the plant folks’ headquarters. If someone uses violence to obtain the Treefolk Fruit, they’ll surely be hunted by the entire plant folks,” Mo Yang warned.
As Mo Yang finished speaking, Qi Hong pulled out a bright red fruit from his pocket, seemingly recalling something.
“Your words reminded me. When I was on the run, I happened to save two young men with green hair. We couldn’t enter the life barrier at that time, and they couldn’t bring us in either. In the end, they gave me this fruit as a gift. So, this should be the Treefolk Fruit, right?” Qi Hong looked at the exceptionally vibrant red fruit and nodded, “It should be.”
“But… I’d like to ask, what’s with this big missing piece on the fruit? Did you take a bite?” Mo Yang inquired.
Qi Hong, the handsome uncle, showed a slightly embarrassed expression, scratching his nose. “Ahem, I ran all the way, surrounded by heatwaves and smoke. When I finally made it here, I was exhausted and thirsty. So, I took a big bite. Surprisingly, after eating it, I felt completely rejuvenated. It had a much more significant effect than the fruits I found in the woods. That’s why I suspected this fruit was extraordinary.”
Mo Yang nodded in understanding.
Then, Song Kefeng, who had been pretending not to eavesdrop, suddenly spoke up, “If it’s a bitten fruit, can it still be considered a quest item?”
Previously somewhat proud, Qi Hong hesitated, “Um, I guess? Didn’t the system say we need to obtain at least one Treefolk Fruit? I took a bite, doesn’t that count as obtaining it?”
However, no one answered him. Eventually, Qi Fu saw his uncle’s embarrassment and coughed awkwardly, “Um, maybe, Uncle, you should go find another Treefolk Fruit just in case? What if a bitten one doesn’t count?”
Qi Hong: “…”
Xiao Junshi, adjusting his glasses nearby, deadpanned, “Who asked you to have such a loose tongue and get thirsty?”
Qi Hong: “!!!” Can I really be blamed for that? Seriously! The fruit just looked so appetizing! Can I be blamed for that?!
Despite Qi Hong’s inner turmoil, players were now aware of how to obtain the Treefolk Fruit. With this knowledge, they couldn’t sit still and wanted to go out. In an environment where a meteor could potentially kill a group of people, true tree-shaped plant folks were scarce! Even though many players had died due to the Heavenly Fire when entering the Dream World, the total number of players in the game world would still not be less than ten million.
With so many players converging towards this area emitting a greenish glow, the competition for the Treefolk Fruit would intensify as time passed. Moreover, considering the cunning and devious completion requirements—obtaining the Treefolk Fruit—not just having or eating it, players quickly realized that on the tenth day, at the game’s end, the Treefolk Fruit must belong to them. Otherwise, even if they had Treefolk Fruits in hand for the first nine days, if someone snatched it on the last day, they would still fail.
Qi Hong seemed to realize this too.
He clicked his tongue and, in front of everyone, took another big bite from the fruit he had already bitten into. Then, he handed it to his nephew, Qi Fu. “Take a bite.”
Qi Fu was utterly shocked, “Uncle! Are you crazy?! Eating the fruit now?!”
Qi Fu was forcibly fed a mouthful of the fruit by his uncle and nearly burst into tears at how delicious it was in this scorching, dry environment!!
Then, Qi Hong offered the other side of the fruit to Xiao Junshi. Xiao Junshi looked at the beautiful red fruit, feeling complicated, but ultimately, he didn’t refuse and took a ferocious bite.
Qi Hong then took two more large bites, finishing off the not-so-large fruit. Seeing how satisfyingly they ate, people around couldn’t help but swallow in response.
Mo Yang couldn’t help but salivate. He had obtained a Treefolk Fruit, but unfortunately, the fruit given by the guard captain was far from juicy. It looked more like a pine cone, and it probably wouldn’t spoil even if left for a month. As long as he didn’t mention it, no one would try to take it from him. Thinking about it that way, it was somewhat consoling, right?
But still, he yearned for a juicy one!
At this moment, Wan Mei suggested, “Shall we go out for a stroll? We could gather various Treefolk Fruits. I’m quite interested.”
Mo Yang’s eyes lit up. “Sure thing! You research, and I’ll eat!” This was an unbeatable combination.
Most of the players there volunteered to venture outside the barrier to search for tree people, while a small group decided to wait until the last two or three days before taking action. As Mo Yang didn’t deliberately conceal this information, Emperor Qin’s team responsible for gathering information quickly learned about how to obtain Treefolk Fruits. Suddenly, players began roaming outside the life barrier, specifically to rescue injured or needy plant folks.
The puzzled plant folks wondered, “Are all outsiders this friendly?”
Meanwhile, Mo Yang and Wan Mei chose a direction to wander. Mo Yang was responsible for finding people, while Wan Mei collected various leaves and researched.
As the two enjoyed their quiet time together, Mo Yang suddenly heard a hoarse voice:
“Hey!”
Mo Yang instinctively wanted to turn around, but caution and alarm bells in his mind made him quickly stride forward a couple of steps. Still, he felt something sprinkled on his back, followed by a grating, unpleasant laughter.
“Hahaha! You and your lover have been poisoned by my specially-made toxin! No one can cure this poison, so both of you will die!!”
Mo Yang looked up and saw the player in all black who had been standing beside Qing Nu earlier. Besides him, Qing Nu, Fei Ying, Little Hou, and two masked individuals dressed as ninjas all glared at them with malicious intent.
Mo Yang watched his health points rapidly decrease but remained calm. Instead, he looked up at Qing Nu and asked, “Is Emperor Qin coming?”
Qing Nu was momentarily stunned by his reaction but soon sneered, “We don’t need Emperor Qin to kill you! He’ll just come to see your corpses later! Die!”
Mo Yang: “Oh.”
Well, if that’s the case, then he’ll have to deal with them first and then go after Emperor Qin. Hopefully, he would indeed show up later.
Author’s Note –
Crow: My poison is incurable! Perish!!
Three minutes later…
Five minutes later…
Ten minutes later…
Crow: Wait!! Why aren’t you dead yet?!
Wan Mei: Hehe.
WM finally has more specimens, and powerful ones too hehe
Dr. Wan: free test subjects ~
Dr. Wan :You send yourself to me. Heh
Lol thank you