The apocalypse struck, and I became a druid.

Page 214

Standing next to Professor Ye, Su Mingke saw her companions wolfing down their food, and the tension that had been gripping her mind snapped.

She pouted, her cheeks wrinkled, and the pent-up grievances she had been holding back for so long surged up like water bursting its banks.

Su Mingke covered her face with her hands, tears silently streaming through her fingers.

Xu Yinyin was startled and quickly stood on tiptoe, gently patting her back and whispering words of comfort:

"Aunt Su, don't cry, don't cry."

"Xiao Su, don't blame yourself, you've done a great job."

Professor Ye stood to the side, sighed heavily, and looked at him with a complicated expression.

As a former professor at an agricultural and forestry university, it's impossible for him not to have deeper feelings for these colleagues and students.

Professor Ye was very happy that his former companions could join the Biyun Gathering Area.

He was one of the first to come out with Han Ning, and he knows all too well how difficult it is to support such a large group of ordinary people in the outside world.

Su Ming's ability to hold on until now and bring so many people here almost unharmed is a testament to the hardships he has endured, which is unimaginable to outsiders.

--------

Night falls.

The outskirts of the Iron Tiger gathering area.

A specially reinforced watchtower was reduced to a blurry outline in the night.

Two awakened individuals assigned to guard the first half of the night huddled in the shade, trying to escape the pervasive chill.

"Damn it, this weather is awful. You need a stick to even take a piss. I bet those bastards at the Black Stone level are cuddling with their women right now." The younger Awakened on the left stomped his feet and complained under his breath, his white breath being blown away by the wind.

The older awakened one wrapped his dirty old coat tighter around himself and scoffed:

"Who told them to be so strong? Be content, kid. At least it didn't hail tonight."

When the topic shifted to women, the young man's attention was indeed diverted.

He perked up a bit and chuckled, "Brother Cen, last time you exchanged supplies with Boss Chen Hu in that little settlement to the west, didn't you say there were a lot of girls there? How was it, did you manage to get your hands on any?"

"Get lost, those women are all mistresses of Blackrock Awakeners, they have no place for me."

Old Cen chuckled and cursed, but a hint of lingering satisfaction still flashed in his eyes.

"But... on another note, those women in the Crystal Gathering Area are really damn good. Once I break through to the Black Stone level, I'll find a woman to keep me company. This kind of weather is perfect for snuggling up with a woman in a warm bed... hehe."

"Hey, you know what, now that the apocalypse is here, the only good thing is that those female anchors, beautiful white-collar workers, and internet celebrities that we couldn't reach before, now as long as we become Black Stone level masters, we'll have the chance to have our way with them. This is something I never dared to imagine before I transmigrated."

"Bro, I've recently taken a liking to a female internet celebrity who used to have 200 million followers. I can sleep with her for one night if I just give her 5 cans of meat."

Young people couldn't help but swallow hard when they thought of the hot figures of those female internet celebrities.

"Five cans? That's too expensive, last time I..."

Old Cen squinted, about to boast a few more words, when a gust of cold wind blew into his neck, making him shiver violently and blowing away the warm reverie that had just begun to rise.

He rubbed his almost frozen hands. "Hiss...it's so cold. Go check if the charcoal fire has gone out."

“Oh… uh?” the young man said.

His voice abruptly stopped.

Old Cen subconsciously turned his head, but what he saw was not his companion's familiar face, but an extremely thin line of water that silently pierced into A-Jie's forehead and emerged from the back of his head, bringing not blood, but a small clump of pinkish-white foam that was instantly frozen.

The lewd smile on Ah Jie's face froze instantly, and the last thing reflected in his pupils was Lao Cen's suddenly distorted expression.

Fear pierced Old Cen's brain like an icicle.

He let out a short, sharp gasp, his body reacting faster than his mind, trying to pounce on the opponent.

But then the second water line arrived.

Faster and colder than the first one.

It entered from one side of his temple and exited from the other.

He didn't even feel pain; he only felt an intense chill suddenly penetrate his head, and all his thoughts, including the warm fantasies about women he had just had, vanished instantly.

The two bodies lay on the ground, their faces still bearing the subtle expressions of their last conversation.

Chapter 251 Flying Dragon's Cry for Help

The sentry post became deathly silent, with only faint voices and the sound of wind coming from the distant settlement, making this corner seem even more desolate.

A few seconds later, the nearby shadows began to writhe unnaturally.

One after another, slippery figures emerged silently from the darkness, wading through the mud and approaching the fence.

They have humanoid outlines, covered in dark green, slippery scales, with sharp, hook-like fingers and joints bent at abnormal angles.

His dark green eyes swept indifferently over the still-warm corpse on the ground, without any emotional fluctuation, as if he were looking at two stones.

More water ghouls surged out of the darkness, like a tide overflowing over the rocks, and gathered around the outer perimeter of the Iron Tiger's gathering area.

They raised their heads, sizing up the undulating silhouettes of the buildings in the dim light not far away, their eyes filled with bloodlust.

...

Within the Biyun gathering area, Han Ning arrived alone at the Moxiangmu cultivation area.

The air was filled with the unique fragrance of grass and trees, and dozens of newly cultivated saplings of the Chinese tallow tree swayed gently in the breeze.

He opened his palm, and a few glossy black seeds of the black sandalwood lay quietly in his hand.

Han Ning closed his eyes and concentrated, his body naturally circulating spiritual energy.

His body was bathed in bright green light.

Enveloped in a blurry halo, his body began to elongate and twist.

Its skin turned a deep brown, almost black, its limbs transformed into branches, and its hair spread out into a crown of emerald green leaves.

In the blink of an eye, he transformed from human form into a 10-meter-tall ancient tree with a jet-black trunk, emerald green leaves, and strange white flowers.

"If I cut off a part of the body from the form of an ancient tree, could it be used as raw material for shipbuilding?"

The tree canopy moved on its own without wind, and Han Ning tried to control a branch as thick as a bowl to break off on its own.

The branch fell to the ground with a thud, but almost instantly withered and turned black. The once hard wood became brittle and crumbled into dust at the slightest touch.

"Certainly not."

Han Ning flicked away the vines and picked up the withered branch.

Halfway through the transport, the withered branch completely turned into powder and dissipated.

His gaze shifted to the few vibrant young saplings of the blackwood tree beside him, and a thought flashed through his mind.

"Try the Life Domain + Rapid Growth."

A verdant glow rippled outwards from him, gently enveloping the entire cultivation area.

A gentle breeze, full of life, swept across all directions.

"Huhuhu~"

Even the emerald tree spirit beside the water purification pool trembled slightly, sensing this vibrant life energy.

"Susu~"

The blackwood trees bathed in green light are changing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The seedlings grow taller and the trunk thickens, and the bark becomes darker and shinier.

The leaves rustled softly, thick and full.

Han Ning could clearly feel them joyfully absorbing the power of life, and their growth rate was several times faster than usual.

Professor Ye was drawn to the energy fluctuations here and stood on the periphery of the area to observe.

"Boss, is this your new ability? How's it going?" Professor Ye asked as Han Ning de-transformed.

"Yes, it's very effective." Han Ning's eyes lit up with joy.

"Releasing the life domain in the form of ancient trees has a particularly significant effect on promoting the growth of the wood. At this rate, this batch of wood will grow to the standard of ship main materials in about ten days."

"That's great. I've selected several dozen students from the Agricultural University who are skilled in..."

Professor Ye was only halfway through his sentence.

The communicator hanging from Han Ning's waist, which resembled an old-fashioned walkie-talkie, suddenly emitted a burst of rapid static, interrupting their conversation.

The two fell silent, their gazes simultaneously fixed on the vibrating and noisy equipment.

Han Ning frowned slightly, picked up the communicator, and pressed the answer button on the side with his thumb.

"Zzz... Chief Han?! Can you hear me? Chief Han, Chief Han, please respond immediately!"

On the other end of the communicator came Feilong's urgent voice.

Moreover, the background noise was interspersed with bursts of painful screams.

"What happened?" Han Ning asked.

“Those water ghosts… they somehow found our settlement area. There are so many of them, we can’t stop them at all, and our defenses are about to collapse.”

The dragon's voice was intermittent.

"Chief Han, please help us! We need reinforcements! Bang!"

Before the words were finished, a heavy impact came from the other end of the communication, as if something had slammed hard near the flying dragon.

Then came the cracking sound of bones breaking and Feilong letting out a short, painful groan.

"Damn it! Get out of here!" Chen Hu roared furiously through the communicator, accompanied by the slicing sound of weapons tearing through flesh.

Then came a chaotic scene of objects overturning and breaking, and the communicator seemed to have slipped from the dragon's hand and crashed heavily to the ground.

"Brother Long!!" Aya's tearful scream came from afar.

Finally, only the increasingly close sounds of slippery crawling, greedy hissing, and the terrifying sounds of chewing flesh and blood completely drowned out all the commotion from the dragon's side.

Communication was not interrupted, but all that could be heard on the other end was the eerie sound of eating against a backdrop of deathly silence.

Han Ning's fingers tightened slightly around the communicator, and his expression turned serious.