Evolution Begins With A Big Tree

Chapter 32, Approaching Crisis!!

Translator:  Ashish

Translation Checker: Silavin

The village was not that far away, it was just half an hour’s journey from the convoy.

Unfortunately, hindered by the heavy rain and rugged mountain roads, the convoy came to a halt halfway.

Looking at the narrow unmetalled road that could only accommodate only one or two people side by side, the Colonel got out of the humvee and stated, bitterly smiling, “This is what mountains are like!”

Hearing the Colonel’s exclamation, Yan Gao Yuan could not help shaking his head, and then glanced at the convoy behind him, giving orders, “Leave a few people to guard the convoy, the rest of us will go to the village.”

“Copy that, Sir!” 

Nodding his acknowledgment, the Colonel issued a few more instructions.

Right then, the Colonel suddenly shouted to the rear convoy, as if remembering something, “And one more thing, remember to bring those ‘things’ with you.”

“Colonel, do we really need to be so cautious? Those things are quite heavy!”

“Heavy!?” The Colonel’s face immediately turned black with rage as he emphasized, staring at the young man who had just spoken, “They might seem heavy, but once you lose your life, you’ll know what real heaviness means.”

Saying that, he walked alone to the last truck of the convoy in a huff and puff and took out an iron box. Inside the box was a modified rocket launcher with armor-piercing rocket, which was specifically designed to tackle the mutant beasts.

Tanks and armored vehicles were difficult to maneuver in such mountains. Thus, man-portable projectile launchers came into use. However, considering its terrifying recoil that could shatter an arm, such weapons were generally used as a last resort.

Mostly, regular guns and launchers were used.

Of course, armor-piercing projectiles, which primarily rely on the kinetic energy of the projectile to penetrate and destroy the target, pose a significant threat to mutant beasts. After all, the strength of an ordinary mutant beast lay in their robust defense, that was capable of ignoring ordinary bullets and rockets. But just with one shot, an armor-piercing rocket could tear apart the resilient defense of a mutant beast, unleashing tremendous kinetic energy that could shatter its innards.

In general, there were not many mutant beasts that could withstand this fearsome weapon.

[No beast can stay alive after a shot… except for those few…] As if the Colonel had thought of something, his face suddenly darkened. 

It was not the first time it was participating in such a mission. The last mission was just ten days ago.

[But that time…] Sighing, the Colonel suppressed the untimely emotions rising within him.

It was an irrefutable fact that the mutant beasts were becoming increasingly dangerous to Humans. Even with the military entering the mountains to hunt them, their efforts were not bearing any fruitful result. Not to mention, there were a few areas that had already become death zones.

…

Under the dark sky and drizzling raindrops, the world seemed to have been covered in a layer of gray, decreasing the visibility of ordinary people.

*Tap, tap tap…* Heavy footsteps resounded amid the pitter-patters of rain as a group of a dozen people marched orderly, treading the water-filled muddy ground, slowly approaching the village. However, before they could reach the village, they heard sorrowful cries.

“Oh, my dear granddaughter, why did you leave us so soon?”

“How can you die before us? How will we old couples go on?”

…

As they listened to the loud yet mournful cries, the young soldier, Yan Gao Yuan, and the Colonel exchanged glances, their expressions slightly changing.

“Something must have happened.” Saying so, Yan Gao Yuan nodded to the Colonel before his right leg bent abruptly as a faint light enveloped his legs.

*Boom!* The next moment, a ground quaked as Yan Gao Yuan dashed toward the nearby village with scattered houses like an arrow fire from a bow, splashing water up to three or four meters high.

*Gulp.* Witnessing this inhuman feat, many soldiers who saw it for the first time could not help but gulp.

“Colonel, this…”

“Shut up, there are some things that you shouldn’t ask.”

The Colonel, who was already weighed down with worries, angrily rebuked, then took a deep look at the vanishing figure in the distance.

[If he had been there last time, perhaps my brethren wouldn’t have…] Bitterly smiling, the Colonel shook his head helplessly. Then, he glanced at the new recruits who had just entered the mountains, reminding them, “You better etch this in your tiny brains, you’re here to sharpen yourselves. If we ran into some danger, and if I tell you to retreat, you better get the fuck out of there right away…”

In this rare moment of reminder, the Colonel’s mood became even heavier. [If I remember it correctly, the place we are surveying this time could possibly harbor a mutant beast with Peak Spiritual Energy of up to 10,000. If there isn’t one, that’s even better, but if there is one…then we’re in a whole lot of trouble. The last time we encountered a mutant beast, it only had the Peak Spiritual Energy of only 6,000, and it was as terrifying as a monster straight from Hell! It easily slaughtered half of my squad!]

*Haaaa!* A sigh escaped from the scruffy Colonel’s lips, tightly clenching his fist to the point that his hand was bleeding.

…

Meanwhile, deep within the mountains, unbeknownst to this group, the cloud of mist suddenly started surging as if a colossal beast was slowly waking up.

*Boom!* Accompanied by a dreadful boom, a storm visible to the naked eyes kicked up, pulling in the dense mist.

From the distance, it truly looked as if a monster was stirring up the cloud of mist.

“How is this possible!?” In a rare moment of disbelief, Yu Zi Yu’s heart was weighed down by worries. 

[Humans! And not just any ordinary Humans!] 

The mist could enhance Yu Zi Yu’s perception. However, he had deliberately thinned out the mist into a light fog at the foot of the mountain, in order to avoid drawing the villagers’ attention.  But even so, he could still sense the surge in the Spiritual Energy even from afar.

Through the mist, Yu Zi Yu was even more astounded when he discovered that it was caused by just one person – a single Human.

The mist was Yu Zi Yu’s other pair of eyes. Although he could not see clearly through it, he could still make out the outline of the Human figure.

The figure was 1.7 to 1.8 meters tall, and a little lean.

The recent surge in Spiritual Energy might have been just around the level of Tier-0 Level 5 or 6. However, it was his appearance that was the issue, which brought a significant change in Yu Zi Yu’s expression.

“Impossible… Absolutely impossible…” He coldly declared. After all, he firmly believed that the Humans could not have possibly discovered his existence. After all, only two girls who had laid eyes on him, one of which was already dead, whose soul was tied to his root, attached to him. Whereas the other girl was under his complete control and had not woken up from her coma.

Even if she did wake up, she would not have been able to do anything. Yu Zi Yu had instructed Xiao Qing to erase the other girl’s memories while she was asleep a long time ago.

As someone who had awakened psychic powers, it was not a difficult task for Xiao Qing.

Moreover, for the sake of convenience and to prevent her from regaining her memories, Yu Zi Yu had issued a strict order to completely erase that girl’s memories, even if it meant turning her into an idiot.

In other words, it was a complete destruction of that girl’s psyche. It was for this reason that girl had yet to awaken. 

It was not that she did not want to awaken, but rather, it was difficult for her to do so. Unless Qing Er took control over her body from a distance. Otherwise, even if that girl somehow woke up, she would be nothing more than an idiot now.