Old Commander Lin watched the sudden outburst of rage among the ability users. At first, he remained silent, but then his expression changed sharply. Having spent many years on the battlefield, he was always keenly alert to danger.

He turned to look at a man behind him, around forty years old, wearing a military uniform.

Just one glance was enough for the man to understand. He immediately turned and ordered the subordinate next to him, “Notify everyone: emergency assembly.”

Chen Shuhan was no stranger to Old Commander Lin and naturally understood how vigilant a veteran of countless battles could be.

“Something happened?” Ouyang Yun asked, somewhat uncertain.

Old Commander Lin looked at Chen Shuhan and said, “Have your people immediately inspect everything.”

Chen Shuhan’s first thought was of the fruit trees. He signaled the elder from the Chen family standing nearby to immediately go check the condition of the five fruit trees.

The emergency bugle call began to sound throughout the entire valley.

Soldiers stationed at various sentry posts and attack points instantly tensed up. Everyone loaded their weapons, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

The soldiers who had been eating in the canteen also rushed out quickly, forming squads with neat, uniform formations, fully armed and assembling in the center of the valley.

Even the helicopters that had just completed their patrol not long ago had already started up again.

It was as if their war was on the verge of breaking out. Every soldier stood tall, eyes resolute, fearless of life or death.

“Search all the surrounding mountains. Quickly inspect the condition of those few fruit trees. Move fast,” Old Commander Lin gave his orders in a deep voice.

Feeling the suddenly tense atmosphere of the entire valley and watching the seven little ones already entering the jungle, Nan Muran secretly let out a sigh of relief.

This team’s combat strength was very strong, and their reaction speed was frighteningly fast.

If her group had rushed into the valley to personally deal with the mutated fruit trees, they would probably have already been buried under endless artillery fire by now.

Beside her, Si Ye, Eagle, Han Yingting, and the others stood straight, solemnly saluting toward the valley.

This was their first time facing an emergency assembly call ingrained in their bones, standing motionless.

At the very back, Zhou Ling watched the scene in front of him and finally understood why Nan Muran hadn’t let him bring his people. If the people he led encountered such a situation, they’d probably be scared out of their wits.

Because even now, he already felt the urge to pee.

Ling Yuan and another penetrating-type ability user exchanged glances, both clearly seeing the fear in each other’s eyes.

At that moment, Chen Shuhan’s people and a squad of soldiers quickly moved toward the location of the fruit trees.

“Commander, all the fruits on the trees are gone,” reported the Chen family elder in front, with a soldier following behind. Both of them looked extremely disturbed.

It was so strange that they had triple-checked before daring to confirm it.

Hearing this, Old Commander Lin, Chen Shuhan, and the others rushed toward the fruit trees without wasting any time.

Staring at the five bare, withering trees, everyone was in disbelief. “Where are the fruits? How could not a single one be left?”

“Who touched the fruit trees?” Ouyang Yun’s face turned deathly pale.

These fruit trees were of immense importance. Now that something had happened, none of them could take responsibility for it—perhaps even losing their lives over it.

The soldiers on guard shook their heads. “Our squad maintained a distance of fifteen meters, backs to the trees, as ordered. It wasn’t until Mr. Chen instructed a check that we discovered all the fruits were missing.”

Listening to the soldier’s explanation, Ouyang Yun sneered coldly. “How do I know this isn’t you stealing from within?”

Hearing her accusation, the soldier’s face darkened to the extreme, his heart filled with murderous rage. “You’re insulting us.”

“Miss Ouyang, please choose your words carefully,” Old Commander Lin deliberately softened his chilling tone.

After so many years on the battlefield, his aura was still oppressive.

Seeing the drastic change in expressions, Chen Shuhan hurriedly reprimanded Ouyang Yun, “Are you stupid? We’re on the same side!”

He quickly apologized to the surrounding soldiers and to Commander Lin as well.

Old Commander Lin raised his eyes, his voice cold and sharp. “The external search will be handled by our military. You are responsible for the situation here. We each perform our duties—just get it done.”

“Dispatch troops to search the mountain.”

Watching the figures gradually moving away, their straight backs,

Chen Shuhan, filled with suppressed anger, gave Ouyang Yun a dark look. “Gather all the sensory and plant-type ability users. Hurry!”

Ouyang Yun felt wronged but knew she couldn’t lose her temper at this moment.

These five mutated fruit trees had cost the underground laboratory and their backer, the Shen Sha Organization, three months and dozens of ability users’ lives to find. If they were truly lost now…

Both the Chen family and the Ouyang family would be doomed, and no number of lives would be enough to make up for it.

At the same time, on the mountain, Nan Muran also moved into the cleanup phase.

Using her mental powers, she took control of a peak second-level wind-type ability user in the valley’s ability-user team. Then, through him, she cleanly killed the plant-type girl who had overheard Xiaoliu and the others’ conversation.

Next, she began quickly identifying special-type ability users among the crowd and relayed targets to her companions.

Following Nan Muran’s commands, Si Ye and Jiawu moved with her, working together to eliminate all the targets cleanly.

As for the others—why didn’t they act? It was simple: ability users below level four simply couldn’t attack from such a long distance. So they could only watch from the side.

They watched as blood ran like a river through the ability-user team, with fifteen ability users killed by various powers, lying lifeless on the ground.

Nan Muran and her group silently murmured an apology.

They couldn’t judge whether Commander Lin was good or bad, nor could they judge whether these ability users were good or evil. But in this situation, they had no choice.

Si Ye reached out and held Nan Muran’s hand. “We need to leave quickly, or even more people will die here today.”

His words weren’t just for Nan Muran but also for Han Yingting and the others, who were clearly struggling internally. If they were discovered by the military, a fight would be unavoidable.

They wouldn’t surrender, meaning they would have to clash with these loyal soldiers—and it would be a brutal, deadly battle.

If they fought at full strength, the casualties would number in the hundreds.

Han Yingting was persuaded by Si Ye’s words. He sighed inwardly, helplessly accepting the reality. “Let’s leave quickly. The helicopters patrolling low are no joke.”

“But Xiaoliu and the others haven’t returned yet,” Qijin said worriedly, thinking of the little ones.

Just as he finished speaking, Xiaobai and Xiaoliu suddenly leapt up from the ground and returned to Nan Muran’s left wrist.

Following behind them were treants—one large treant restored its form and hesitated, standing still. Around it stood four smaller ones of different sizes.

Nan Muran realized the treant was waiting for her acceptance. If she reached out her hand, the treant would become her contracted plant from then on.

To be honest, Nan Muran found the creature a bit dirty, but she had to admit that surviving to become a level-seven mutated plant by its own strength in the apocalypse meant it would surely become a powerhouse in the future—even stronger than Xiaoliu.