Nan Muran looked at Liu Mei with a calm, water-cold tone.
“The withered tree in your room snatched two mutated cores from my contract plants.”

“I must get them back for them.”

Liu Mei was visibly stunned when she heard Nan Muran’s words.

She could naturally hear the obvious displeasure in Nan Muran’s tone regarding Huaifeng’s actions. But she hadn’t expected the previously gentle and smiling Nan Muran to turn so cold and detached in an instant.

At that moment, Huaifeng inside had already chased the trio of Xingchen out through the heavy door.

Both sides appeared one after another in the corridor on the sixth floor of the Evernight Hotel.

Only then did everyone get a clear look at the complete form resulting from the combination of the treant and Huaifeng.

It was still humanoid, standing over two meters tall. Its entire body was covered with cracked tree bark. Its facial features remained human-like, but its hair had been replaced with green sprouts. Its limbs were still flexible, and its movements were almost indistinguishable from a normal human’s.

“Is that… a contract plant?” the Eagle muttered, glancing between the strange treant and the obviously far more powerful Nan Muran.

Clearly, this treant was abnormal.

And the two yellow mutated cores that Xiaobai and Xiaoliu had been longing for were now clutched in the treant’s hand, looking ready to be absorbed.

Due to continuous fighting with Xingchen’s group, the treant’s internal energy was nearly exhausted, and it was already feeling the strain.

And human cores were much more precious than those of plants or animals.

For mutated plants like them, human cores were the finest treasures, capable not only of boosting them beyond their current level but also instantly replenishing their energy.

But just before the treant could absorb the two yellow treasures—

The two little vines, Xiaoliu and Xiaobai, shot out from Nan Muran’s hand, darting straight for the cores in the treant’s grasp.

At the same time, Nan Muran unleashed her mental power to suppress the treant’s movements, coordinating with the two vines to retrieve what they had fought so hard for.

Seeing the white and green vines rushing toward him at an incredible speed, the three from Xingchen’s group felt an odd force approaching from behind. Afraid of getting caught up, they quickly dodged to the sides.

The treant froze as a sudden restraining force bound its body, rendering its massive form motionless for a moment.

That was all the time Xiaobai and Xiaoliu needed to reach the treant and snatch back their precious yellow cores.

Since they could sense Nan Muran’s thoughts, the two vines had no intention of getting involved in the chaotic battle from the start.

After successfully retrieving the cores, the two little ones quickly retreated.

The treant was clearly stunned, and even Xingchen’s trio was shocked by Nan Muran’s sudden, decisive action.

What left them even more speechless was the obviously strong bond and harmonious relationship between Nan Muran and her two mutated plants—something almost unheard of in the post-apocalyptic world.

Noticing how the others were staring curiously at Xiaobai and Xiaoliu now back in her hands, Nan Muran casually tilted her chin and said,

“What are you standing there for? Keep fighting. You haven’t finished yet.”

Behind her, Liu Mei, who had been watching Nan Muran closely, couldn’t help but burst into laughter at her breezy tone.

She hadn’t expected the strongest member of their nine-person group to be this young girl.

And she was also a plant-type ability user—someone who could completely control plants. That was exactly what Huaifeng needed right now. He had to learn how to master the power of the tree, instead of being completely devoured by it over time.

But clearly, this little girl, despite her gentle appearance, was no pushover. She was formidable and not easily manipulated.

Faced with such a strong opponent, it was best to deal with her honestly. Any trickery would backfire.

Xingchen glared at the indifferent Nan Muran, furious enough to want to curse.
Still want us to keep fighting? Are we actors here, just putting on a show for you?

Meanwhile, the treant turned a thoughtful gaze toward Nan Muran’s wrist.
This was how a true plant ability user controlled plants, he realized.
His own existence had been flawed from the beginning.

Sensing Huaifeng’s turbulent thoughts, a hoarse, deep voice suddenly rumbled from the treant:

“You actually dare to think you can completely control me? How arrogant.”

Hearing this terrifying voice, Liu Mei’s face instantly went pale.
Clearly, Nan Muran’s actions had provoked Huaifeng, making him forget that the treant could sense his hostile intentions.

Anxiously, she shouted,
“Huaifeng, stay rational! Don’t let it take over completely!”

The treant, disturbed by the bizarre changes in its body, eventually froze at the corridor entrance.

Its pupils began switching colors—one moment green, the next their original color—cycling repeatedly, even the left and right eyes changing differently at the same time.

“Is it about to be completely taken over?” Han Yingtian muttered.
They had previously heard Nan Muran’s explanation about treants and could roughly guess what was happening now.

Nan Muran had no intention of interfering. She even motioned for everyone to take a few steps back.

The others understood instantly and had no objections.

Liu Mei, however, turned to Nan Muran, her voice urgent and pleading:

“Sister, you have a way to help Huaifeng, don’t you?”

Nan Muran stared at Liu Mei without speaking. After a while, she turned to watch the treant’s endless struggle, clearly waiting for them to offer a satisfactory price.

“If you can save Huaifeng, I’ll agree to anything!” Liu Mei grew increasingly desperate at Nan Muran’s detached attitude.

Nan Muran looked at her coolly and replied,

“What you have, I don’t need.
And what I need isn’t in your hands.”

---

It was clear—the true controller of the “Emerald Fruit” was the treant.

Huaifeng, the “person” Liu Mei mentioned, was merely a puppet controlled by the treant, with no real autonomy, practically worthless.

“You want the fruit, right?”
The struggling Huaifeng spoke, his voice gritted with effort.

One of his eyes had already turned completely green, while the other was still resisting.

Nan Muran sneered,
“You think you can get the fruit?”

“Save me, and I’ll give you information,” Huaifeng gasped out, his voice pained and strained.

“Information? That’s a pretty cheap bargaining chip. Without your so-called information, it would just take us a little longer. There’s no need to risk helping you now,” Nan Muran said coldly, even taking another step back.

Huaifeng hadn’t expected this seemingly simple girl to be completely unmoved.

“I know how to get the fruit!” he shouted, desperate.

“Even if you die, I can still get it,” Nan Muran said bluntly, cutting through his lies without hesitation.

Huaifeng and Liu Mei’s faces changed drastically.

They hadn’t expected Nan Muran to already know the situation with the fruit.

Indeed—the tree that had fused with Huaifeng was just a main trunk of the original fruit tree.

In other words, the fruit tree’s soul had been with Huaifeng all along, trying to completely take him over, while its body remained deep within the forest, full of emerald-colored fruit.

“I can give you a share of the fruit,” Huaifeng finally yielded, though still clearly unwilling.

Nan Muran thought to herself that she’d gambled correctly—she had only guessed the relationship between the treant and the fruit tree based on things she’d heard in her previous life.
Still, she kept a cold, emotionless smile and said sharply,

“You can only choose one: your life or the entire batch of fruit.
And when I say the entire batch, I mean not even a single fruit missing.”

Huaifeng was utterly dumbfounded.
So ruthless?!

Liu Mei’s face also changed dramatically as she looked at Nan Muran.
Was this little girl a ruthless merchant before the apocalypse?

Her bargaining method was so brutal—stripping away every option and leaving no room for retreat.