CHAPTER 84 - GOLDEN POT

Despite the obscuring mist, Han Wu could still tell that the Mourning Deathcaps were successfully blooming on the zombies. However, the not quite formidable Deathcaps weren’t able to absorb much of the zombies’ death aura, so they weren’t inflicting as much damage as he had hoped. Nevertheless, he wasn’t worried, and he continued to watch as the Mourning Deathcaps rapidly spread throughout the zombie horde.

Ascending into the sky, Han Wu looked down upon the zombie horde. He could see that the Mourning Deathcaps had thoroughly engulfed them and were continuing to spread rapidly. The infection was spreading exponentially—one zombie would infect ten, those ten would infect a hundred, and so on.

An hour later, Han Wu observed with satisfaction that the Mourning Deathcaps had spread to every single zombie, regardless of its rank from 1 to 5. It was time to put his plan into action.

Victory or defeat will be decided in this single moment!

Han Wu then activated his exclusive skill, Sacrifice. This special ability granted him the power to sacrifice any life forms under his control, which in this case included the millions of Mourning Deathcaps.

He felt the array rapidly enlarging, quickly spreading to cover the entire town and the surrounding outskirts. This confirmed that the array had recognized the Mourning Deathcaps as life forms under his control.

Han Wu was thrilled that his risky plan had worked. He could feel the life energy of the numerous Mourning Deathcaps being drawn into the array. Although the life energy of a single Mourning Deathcap was only about a tenth of that of a Common locust, their sheer volume made up for the difference.

Once again, Han Wu was presented with three new options, although this time the options had been specifically designed with the context of Zombie Town in mind.

[Option 1: Rank 9 Wisdom Tree Seed. Can be planted in the divine realm to maintain stability. Increases races’ lifespan. Produces Wisdom Fruits upon maturation (Wisdom Tree maturation time: 1,000 years. Lifespan: 100,000 years)]

[Option 2: Golden Pot. Grants Immortality to any special plant planted within it, making them immune to aging or death.]

[Option 3: Rank 4 Building: Botanical Museum. Can be built in the divine realm. Produces a seed of a special plant every 24 hours, with the rank of the seed varying in rarity (Rank 1 seed: 50%, Rank 2 seed: 40%, Rank 3 seed: 9%, Rank 4 seed: 0.9%... Rank 9 seed: 0.00009%)]

Han Wu’s mouth practically watered as he looked at the three available options—they were all excellent rewards! The first option, the Rank 9 Wisdom Tree seed, was particularly enticing as it could both stabilize his divine realm and grant his races a significantly longer lifespan.

As a Divine Being, Han Wu understood that longer lifespans for his races meant a greater accumulation of Faith Points. In essence, lifespan was equivalent to money. Additionally, the potential of the Wisdom Tree to yield Wisdom Fruits, each worth a Divine Essence upon maturation, made this first option particularly alluring.

The second option, the golden pot, appeared to have a relatively modest effect—granting immortality to any special plants placed within it. However, in Han Wu’s eyes, this seemingly ordinary pot might actually be even more valuable than the Wisdom Tree seed.

The side effects of his Controlled Mutation always involved a reduction in the target’s lifespan, but with the immortality granted by the golden pot, he could potentially use Controlled Mutation without any limitations on any special plant planted within it, even if it seemed utterly useless. This choice held immense potential.

The third option, the Botanic Museum, could produce a special plant seed every day, but the odds of getting a higher-ranking seed were very slim. But what if he had enough time? To a Divine Being, a 0.00009% chance of obtaining a Rank 9 seed with each passing day wasn’t considered a negligible possibility. After all, Divine Beings had extremely long lifespans, and time flowed faster in divine realms than in the real world.

Unfortunately, Han Wu could only select one. He carefully considered each option before ultimately making his choice. He decided on the golden pot. Moreover, he had already decided which special plant he intended to plant within it.

He gazed at the Rank 1 special plant, the Mourning Deathcap, cradled in his hands. Although it was currently weak, he was confident in his ability to mutate it to a terrifying degree. He eagerly anticipated the incredible strength the Mourning Deathcap would possess after undergoing multiple mutations.

Han Wu carefully planted the Rank 1 Mourning Deathcap into the golden pot. Almost immediately, the Deathcap’s mycelia began to extend and grow deep within the pot’s soil, creating an inseparable connection between the two.

Han Wu closely inspected the Mourning Deathcap and observed that it now possessed a vibrant life force that seemed utterly inextinguishable. He then proceeded to use his Controlled Mutation skill on the plant. After filtering out any mutations that required special ingredients, a significant amount of Divine Points, or those that would have detrimental effects, he was finally left with three distinct mutation options.

The three available mutations would affect the number of spores produced, their survival rate, and how quickly they would grow. Han Wu decided to apply all three mutations to the Mourning Deathcap, maximizing the effect of each. As a result, the plant could now release several hundred billion spores with a 50% survival rate, and those spores would grow ten times faster than before.

Han Wu decided to test the newly mutated Mourning Deathcaps on the remaining zombies once more. This time, the Deathcaps grew with incredible speed, rapidly engulfing the undead. Moreover, the mutated Deathcaps were now dealing a much greater amount of damage to the zombies.

Furthermore, any zombie that became infected by the Mourning Deathcaps had its overall strength reduced by a tenth, which was excellent news for the defenders of the town. Han Wu’s actions caught the mayor’s attention, and he received even more Friendship Points from the mayor.

The intense battle raged on, and finally, the eclipse was nearing its end. However, in a final surge of energy, the zombies were reinforced one last time, and their death aura doubled in strength yet again, making it exceedingly difficult for the already struggling Defender Squad and the guards brought by the mayor to push the relentless zombies back.

The Defender Squad and the mayor’s guards were forced to retreat towards the town’s entrance. The narrow corridor that linked the town’s perimeter to the inner town offered a strategic advantage, as it would effectively reduce the number of zombies able to attack them simultaneously.

Flying around the battlefield, Han Wu specifically targeted the Rank 5 zombies in order to earn more points. His concentration was so fixed on eliminating the undead that he became oblivious to his surroundings and let his guard down. Suddenly, a green tongue shot out from the eerie mist, coiled around his right arm, and violently dragged him into the seething zombie horde.

By the time Captain Dirt and the others realized what had happened and wanted to come to his aid, it was already too late. However, the town gate was completely obstructed by powerful Rank 5 zombies, requiring time and effort to defeat. All they could do was watch in horror as Han Wu was dragged helplessly by the green tongue into the depths of the overwhelming zombie horde.

“Han Wu, hold on! We’re coming to get you!” Captain Dirt shouted, blasting away at the zombies in desperation, but Han Wu was already being pulled deeper into the mist and couldn’t hear a thing.