Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 371: Chapter 290: Everything is Ready - Commensal Banyan Tree

The others in the ”Explorers” certainly didn’t have such thoughts.

However, to say they weren’t afraid at all would be a bit of a stretch.

After all, someone who is entirely poisonous and can manipulate minds at will might cause people to keep their distance.

But since she had already been open with everyone, it didn’t matter. None of the people present were ordinary.

”You didn’t dare to touch Qin Yunlong and his brother before, not even handshake. Is it because you yourself cannot control the release of this ’mental toxin’?”

Wen Guixin opened her mouth, looked at Xu Xin, hesitated for a moment, and finally told the truth: ”...Right now, I actually can’t help it, my whole body is full of this toxin, and I have no way to control its release or withdrawal.”

Li Wenxi: ”Sigh, doesn’t that mean you can’t interact with others...”

Ji Chaoyang: ”Earlier, Qin Yunlong said you either don’t touch survivors from other areas or kill them in one strike. Is your ability confirmed to be effective on survivors too?”

”...Yes, it is effective,” Wen Guixin replied, ”As I have told you before, on the first day the protected zones connected, I encountered that survivor. The very one who invited me into the treehouse with malicious intentions, and he was the first survivor I met after coming to this world.”

Xu Xin certainly remembered this incident. Wen Guixin was the first among them to acknowledge having killed someone, leaving a deep impression on him.

”That guy was speaking arrogantly and tried to get handsy with me, so I thought at the time, it was a good chance to experiment on him. I let him grab my hand and then... he was immediately infected.”

Just holding a hand could infect a survivor?

”How long does the infection take? Is it long?” Xu Xin also asked.

In order to make others less afraid of her, Wen Guixin patiently explained: ”For normal beasts, it only takes an instant of contact to infect them, while it takes about two seconds for mutated creatures. But for a survivor, after the person let go of my hand while screaming, he covered his head and struggled on the ground for over a minute before being completely eroded by the mental toxin, turning into an absolute puppet obeying commands.”

Listening to her explanation, she said it took over a minute, but the actual time of contact was just that moment of holding hands...

She really is poisonous all over... Just a handshake resulted in infection, and it’s not even her actively trying to infect people.

Even if she doesn’t want to infect people, if she accidentally touches someone...

Her power is more like that of a witch than an empress.

It’s fortunate everyone in this team is not ordinary, each with their own special abilities, so they are much more tolerant of unique powers; otherwise, they would definitely keep their distance from her.

One must admit, not having any vigilance would be a lie. A person who can control you just by contact would make anyone cautious, right?

Zhao Xiaochuan: ”...Is this infection irreversible? What if it’s an accidental contact...”

Wen Guixin quickly explained, ”It’s reversible, it is reversible. I can create an antidote for the mental toxin! Even if fully infected, as long as you take the antidote before your life runs out, it’s fine. Besides, Sister Xuefei’s pills might also work against my toxin, so you guys don’t need to be too afraid. Even if it’s accidental contact, there’s an antidote!”

Saying so, she traded a piece of antidote to everyone present.

Xu Xin accepted the trade, and a water-blue crystal appeared in his hand.

[Tears of the Empress (Blue): Can clear the mental toxins in the body and relieve the Empress’s mental control. The mental toxin causes immense damage to the mind and vitality, so it’s best to take it before being fully infected.]

Li Wenxi: ”Sister Guixin, is this really your tears?”

Wen Guixin: ”Of course not, it’s just the name. It’s actually made from blue-grade hemostatic herbs.”

Qi Xuefei: ”I see now. Yesterday, you asked me for so many blue-grade hemostatic herbs, turns out it was to make this antidote.”

Wen Guixin: ”Yesterday, didn’t we meet Qin Yunlong and them in reality? We needed to be prepared in advance, just in case of accidental contact... Hey, you all, I gave you the antidote to my ability, so you better not ostracize me!”

Wang Lei: ”What’s there to fear with an antidote? It’s stable, isn’t it? By the way, if you’re controlled, do you still have your consciousness?”

Wen Guixin: ”Probably none, I’m not sure. I haven’t used this antidote on others before.”

Qin Yunlong: ”Haha, last night I was talking to Yun Hu, thinking you might have some form of male phobia, since you were being so cautious, avoiding contact with us.”

Wen Guixin: ”What! There’s no way I’d be afraid of men!”

Qin Yunlong: ”Rest assured everyone, although her powers are quite dangerous, there’s no problem interacting with her. No need to be afraid. She herself is very cautious, so as long as both sides are careful, it’s all good.”

Wen Guixin: ”Wow, finally someone speaking up for me. I’m touched!”

Qin Yunlong: ”If you’re touched, lend us a hand with the beast tide tomorrow then.”

Wen Guixin: ”Jeez, I’m just a tool person, huh.”

Li Wenxi: ”But Sister Guixin, it’s so pitiful, not being able to touch others...”

Qi Xuefei: ”The ability will definitely strengthen in the future, perhaps by then it can be controlled.”

Wen Guixin: ”Let’s hope so...”

Seeing no one criticizing her ability, Wen Guixin breathed a slight sigh of relief.