Super Gene Ⅱ: Evolution

This snow-white tree and its fruit bear a striking resemblance to the Attribute Fruit mentioned in the intelligence reports.

Overjoyed, Tian Xin took out a box made from Crystal Base material, ready to pluck the fruit from above.

"Don't rush, I have noticed that this fruit looks slightly different from the Attribute Fruit described in the documents," Lin Shen suddenly spoke up, stopping Tian Xin.

"I didn't notice anything different. Don't get any wrong ideas, if you want Attribute Fruit, go find it yourself," Tian Xin scoffed, stretching out his hand to pick a fruit.

Although he said that, he had already used the Base Variant Carapace, still very much on guard.

As soon as a fruit was picked, Tian Xin placed it into the box and then proceeded to pluck the remaining two fruits.

Before long, all three fruits were picked by Tian Xin and placed inside the box. He put the lid on and turned to Lin Shen with a sneer, "Stop freaking out. There's no problem here… prob… le… mmm…"

Thud!

While speaking, Tian Xin suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

Lin Shen was startled and quickly retreated, distancing himself from Tian Xin who lay on the ground, observing him from afar.

After the fruits were plucked by Tian Xin, the snow-white tree withered rapidly, its branches shedding dust until, in a short while, the little tree turned into a small heap of white dust.

Turning his attention to Tian Xin, it seemed he was not dead; his breathing was even, his chest rose and fell steadily, appearing as if he had simply fallen asleep.

Lin Shen felt a wave of relief inside, thankful that Tian Xin wasn't dead; otherwise, he wasn't sure how to explain it to Tian Xun upon returning.

"What exactly caused Tian Xin to end up like this? Was it the three fruits, or was it the tree itself?" While Lin Shen was deep in thought, he suddenly noticed the white ash that the small tree had turned into was moving.

Hidden behind the large leaves of a Sword Orchid, he quietly observed the area where the white ash was.

Soon, a small hole appeared on the ground, and something peeked out tentatively before crawling out entirely.

Lin Shen carefully observed the small creature and found it resembled a cartoon version of a weasel, with big round eyes and a chubby body with a very large tail.

However, its body wasn't made of fur but was composed of colorful crystals, appearing like a multicolored crystal artwork.

"It's a Crystal-based Creature," Lin Shen exhaled in relief, as he was able to deal with most normal Crystal-based Creatures.

If an Ascended Creature had appeared, Lin Shen was not confident he could definitely protect Tian Xin.

After emerging, the creature didn't attack Tian Xin, who was deep in sleep; instead, it went over to the white ash of the tree, dabbed some with its paw, and started to lick it.

After tasting the ash, the little creature's expression became blissfully intoxicated, seemingly as happy as if it had become drunk, and it began turning in circles on the spot.

"What on earth is this white ash from the little tree? It seems so bizarre!" Lin Shen exclaimed in surprise as several more of the same Crystal-based Creatures crawled out from the hole.

Upon appearing, they swarmed toward the ash and started licking it with their paws.

In no time, these little creatures also began spinning around and soon sprawled out on the ground, staggering and tumbling.

The creatures that emerged subsequently followed suit, and eventually, they looked as if they were completely drunk, lying on the ground and snoring away.

Their symptoms looked very similar to Tian Xin's, the only difference being that Tian Xin had not gone through the intoxication process and had simply collapsed and fallen asleep.

"It looks like the problem lies with that little tree," Lin Shen was now certain that the tree itself was problematic, but he was still unable to determine whether the fruits were also problematic.

He had previously warned Tian Xin, mentioning that the fruit was not quite the same as the Attribute Fruit stated in the reports.

Indeed, the two fruits looked very similar; from the outside, they appeared to be the same kind of fruit.

However, Lin Shen noticed that the colors inside the fruits were slightly different. Although the Attribute Fruit was also colorful, its array of colors did not include black.

But among the three fruits Tian Xin had picked, within the array of colors, there was a hint of black.

Because of this, Lin Shen even opened his notebook to compare it with the data he had recorded, confirming that the Attribute Fruit indeed lacked that hint of black.

Memory can sometimes be unreliable; it's more trustworthy to record things.

As all the little creatures fell asleep, Lin Shen summoned the Base Variant Carapace, cautiously approaching Tian Xin.

He walked very slowly, afraid that he might fall under the spell as well.

For some reason, perhaps because the little tree had turned into dust and the Crystal-based Creatures had consumed it, the effect that put Tian Xin to sleep was gone.

Or maybe because the fruits were locked in the box, their scent couldn't spread.

No matter the reason, Lin Shen wasn't affected, and Evolution Theory wasn't triggered.

Lin Shen moved to Tian Xin's side, grabbed his leg, and dragged him to another spot, far from the sleeping Crystal-based Creatures.

He also took back the box with the fruits, but he didn't open it.

In case he too fell asleep, the two of them dozing off in such a place, who knows if they would end up being eaten by a Base Variant Creature.

Lin Shen poured water on Tian Xin's face, as he had heard in radio storytelling programs that this was how to wake someone up after being knocked out.

Unfortunately, this trick didn't seem to work; Lin Shen emptied an entire bottle of water, and yet Tian Xin showed no reaction at all.

"Tian Xin, wake up," Lin Shen had no choice but to start slapping Tian Xin's face.

After a couple of slaps without any response, Lin Shen reluctantly increased the force, slapping his face so it made a loud smacking sound, but it was still no use—Tian Xin slept like a dead pig.

"Why did it have to be Tian Xin who came? If it was Tian Xun who had been affected, couldn't I have taken the opportunity to take her Fire Seed?" Lin Shen mused, feeling frustrated.

Seeing that he couldn't wake Tian Xin, Lin Shen wondered whether to let the Mutated Black Armored Centipede bite him; the centipede's poison would cause great pain and might just be painful enough to wake him up.

Just as he was considering this, he suddenly heard something and quickly dragged Tian Xin behind some grass leaves for cover.

Shortly after, Lin Shen saw a Crystal-based Creature resembling a Saber-Toothed Tiger leap out from the bushes, eyeing those sleeping little beings on the ground with predatory interest.

The Saber-Toothed Tiger didn't seem to know the meaning of the word 'polite'; it directly bit into a small creature, crunching away as it chewed.

What horrified Lin Shen was that despite such brutal biting, the small sleeping creature didn't show any reaction at all.

The Saber-Toothed Tiger was so large, and one little creature hardly enough to satisfy its hunger. It devoured them one by one, swallowing them whole, without leaving a single hair behind.

After finishing its meal, the Saber-Toothed Tiger yawned and surprisingly lay down to sleep on the spot.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The giant grass in the distance shook; yet another Base Variant Creature was approaching, but this time the newcomer was much larger, even bigger than a Mammoth Giant Elephant.

"Ascended Creatures! Weren't there supposed to be no Ascended Creatures in here?" Lin Shen caught a clear glimpse of the creature and couldn't help feeling a shock run through him.