“Hurry up and decide. You don’t have much time left,” said the fruit tree, its control over this body clearly far stronger than Huai Feng’s own.

Without external help, Huai Feng wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer; soon he would be completely devoured by the fruit tree’s consciousness, leaving only an empty shell behind.

“Fine, I agree,” Huai Feng, feeling his body wracked with increasing pain, was finally forced to concede.

Hearing his reply, Nan Muran didn’t act immediately.
Instead, she instinctively used her spiritual power to sense Huai Feng’s thoughts.

She couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh — this person was indeed deeply scheming. No wonder she needed to be more ruthless and merciless: “Words alone aren’t enough. I need to impose some restrictions.”

Huai Feng froze when he heard that.

Then, he saw a very fine branch from Xiaoliu on Nan Muran’s left wrist shoot out, approaching the tree-man’s mouth and swaying slowly so he could clearly see it.

Nan Muran commanded coldly, “Open your mouth.”

Liu Mei looked at Nan Muran and asked, “What is that? What are you trying to do?”

“If you want to live or not, that’s your choice. I’m not the one about to die,” Nan Muran said icily, clearly with no intention of explaining.

“You…” Liu Mei was infuriated by her cold attitude.

But she dared not speak harshly to Nan Muran because it was obvious that Huai Feng’s life was now in her hands.

Huai Feng also clearly understood his situation.
He couldn’t help but give a bitter laugh — it was obvious that this little girl didn’t trust him, and he didn’t trust Nan Muran either.

But now, the stakes were different: she was only after the fruit that the tree wanted, while he was fighting for his own life.

Even if he was unwilling, he had no choice.
In the end, he painfully opened his mouth and watched as a ten-centimeter-long willow branch slid into his body through his mouth.

Nan Muran was very satisfied with his cooperation. “Since that’s the case, you will fight before them and resolve the situation first.”

She would never foolishly throw herself into the fray right now. If she and this withered tree ended up harming each other, the underground lab people would swoop in and reap the benefits — she wasn’t that crazy.

Liu Mei and Huai Feng were both so furious they were about to lose their minds. Had they been tricked?

Without her help, Huai Feng wouldn’t even be able to control the tree-man body, let alone set any terms.

“I can’t control it… Attack my… back…” Huai Feng suddenly struggled in increasing pain, his voice turning hoarse, and the last two words were squeezed out with great difficulty.

The back of his heart was his fatal weak spot — something he would normally never reveal to anyone — but now, he had no choice.

Hearing his warning, Nan Muran smiled faintly.
This was exactly what she had been waiting for.
It seemed that the tree-man’s fatal point was right at the heart, just like a human.

Huai Feng could clearly feel a force within his body shifting toward the back of his heart along his blood vessels.

At the same time, the willow branch in Nan Muran’s hand suddenly darted from her wrist and headed directly toward the tree-man’s back.

The moment they touched, the life force at the tree-man’s back began to surge and dissipate rapidly, spreading outward.

Huai Feng could clearly feel his life force draining away.
But at the same time, he also felt his control over his body gradually returning.
The other, overwhelming force within him — the one he had failed countless times to resist — was now rapidly fading away.

Watching Nan Muran’s movements, Xingchen suddenly understood her plan.

She wanted Huai Feng to completely take over the tree-man’s power, then use the tree-man to wear down the three of them.
In the end, under Huai Feng’s lead, she would harvest the mutated fruit from the forest behind them.

“We can’t let him fully control the tree-man’s body,” Xingchen said heavily to Yin Yue and the other newly arrived Level 5 early-stage water ability user.

Upon hearing this, Yin Yue and the man immediately adjusted their plans and charged straight toward Nan Muran, who was helping Huai Feng regain control.

The moment their abilities approached Nan Muran, a massive water shield rose swiftly, reinforced by a wall of earth, blocking the path of all their attacks.

This was the result of Si Ye and Shiwu’s coordinated defense not far behind Nan Muran.

Xingchen looked at the rest of the group besides Nan Muran with obvious disdain.

Eight people against three — it might seem like they had the advantage.
But among the eight, the strongest was Jiawu, a peak Level 4 lightning ability user.

Next was Si Ye, a Level 4 early-stage water ability user.
The rest were all peak Level 3 or Level 2 ability users.

In ability combat, level differences were often fatal.
Against opponents below his level, Xingchen had never even considered them a threat.

But as soon as they clashed, Xingchen was thoroughly frustrated.

Even without Nan Muran, the three of them — a peak Level 5 control user, an early Level 5 water user, and a Level 3 traversal type user —
still couldn’t defeat these eight people.

Their numbers weren’t the real problem — the terrifying part was their seamless coordination, their rich combat experience, and the commander Si Ye’s precise battlefield judgment.

It was obvious that this team’s combat skills weren’t honed after the apocalypse through random fights.
They had been tempered through countless battles even before the apocalypse.

After being repeatedly hit by wind blades, physical weapons, and even sneak attacks from speed ability users’ daggers, even though his injuries weren’t yet critical, Xingchen clearly understood:
retrieving the mutated fruit today was impossible.

And even worse — surviving the day might be an issue.

Meanwhile, because Nan Muran was extremely familiar with plants, and had used the willow branch inside Huai Feng’s body to control the tree’s power, Huai Feng quickly regained full control over his body.
This complete control made him feel an unprecedented sense of freedom and exhilaration.

The moment Huai Feng fully controlled the body, Nan Muran signaled for Si Ye and the others to withdraw from the battle.

The nine of them calmly stood to the side, watching the show.

Xingchen’s group of three, who had been fighting non-stop and were now injured thanks to Si Ye and the others, had no chance.

The tree-man’s withered, stiff branches started attacking under Huai Feng’s command.
Since the fruit tree was a Level 7 mutated plant, its strength remained terrifying even after full control was seized.

Very quickly, Xingchen’s group was defeated.

At the critical moment, the Level 5 water ability user shielded them and covered the retreat, while Yin Yue dragged the heavily injured Xingchen into hiding.

After the victory, Huai Feng, now in full control of the body, immediately turned against Nan Muran, his voice filled with hatred:
“You truly deserve to die.”

Even Liu Mei was startled by his reaction, her beautiful eyes filled with shock:
“Huai Feng, what are you doing?”

Seeing the arrogance in him after gaining control of his body, Nan Muran simply smiled and asked,
“Are you really planning to fight me?”