Evolution Begins With A Big Tree

Chapter 481, Sheeps in Captivity

Translator:  Ashish

Translation Checker: Silavin

At this moment, in the highest office of China was pervaded with silence, deathly silence. 

This is the seventh meeting since the Invasion of Sea Creatures. Seven meetings had been held till now, almost twice a day.

This was quite unimaginable in China. After all, a meeting of this level every biweekly could be considered quite frequent already. But now, several had been held in just a few days.

However, despite such frequent meetings, none of these bigwigs showed boredom; instead, they all had dire expressions on their faces. Some even had an extremely gloomy look on their faces.

“A Tier-4, a Tier-4 Transcendent has appeared, what should we do?” This question had been asked umpteenth time, yet it received only complete silence as an answer; even the President, presiding over the meeting, remained momentarily silent.

However, at this moment, if one were to look into the depths of the President’s eyes, the man who had always been in control, they would find them slightly dim, with an indescribable complexity. 

*Haaa…* With a deep sigh, the President of China gazed towards the door, calling out, “Come in.”

“Yes, Sir,” a reply came from the outside.

Moments later, amidst the astonished gazes of each dignitary, a girl with fiery long hair comes into view. The girl was very beautiful, and barefooted. Yet, no one was shocked by her appearance; instead, their faces changed slightly, some even excitedly standing up.

“Flame Princess…”

“Empress He Ling Er…”

One exclamation followed another, the faces of everyone revealing a complex look.

She was a legendary figure, who broke through to Tier-3 in the midst of Sea Creatures Invasion, and became the first Tier-3 Superhuman in the history of mankind. More importantly, she put her life at risk to stop the Beast Tide.

In these few days, her popularity has reached the highest in China.

And now, she has appeared here.

“From today onwards, He Ling Er will be the seventeenth minister with real authority in our China, and will the will of our China and determine China’s future direction,” the middle-aged President sitting in the main seat declared in a calm voice.

“Uh…”

Collective silence ensued, yet no one dared to speak.

Only because at this moment, many ministers felt a sudden tightness in their chests, as if they were about to suffocate.

That extremely frightful aura made them all feel palpitations from the bottom of their hearts.

However, in that very instant, a discontent suddenly emerged, “Sir, this does not comply with the procedure…”

However, before he could finish with his words, a figure suddenly appeared behind that minister and suddenly grabbed his throat.

Moments later, amidst the somewhat shocked gazes of the ministers and officials, the discontented minister suddenly burst into flames and slowly reduced into a wisp of smoke, unable to even scream.

“When the President is speaking, please refrain from interrupting.” With a hint of amusement, Ling Er tactfully stepped behind the middle-aged President and stood quietly.

Except, the playful smile tugging the corner of her lips made many involuntarily gulp a mouthful of saliva in nervousness.

“Fantastic, absolutely fantastic! Congratulations! This marks a great day for our nation as we welcome a new minister into the ranks,” amidst a somewhat forced voice, the minister sitting next to the ashes stood up and actively congratulated.

[Had I not been a member of congress, maybe I would have been the dead one.]

Thinking of this, a chill ran down his spine as a cold sensation seized his heart.

Meanwhile, the President only spared a glance at the ashes and did not reprimand Ling Er. Instead, his gaze turned to the others, directly stating, “Ling Er has done a meritorious deed by stopping the Sea Beast Invasion, and is the first person in our nation to do this. It’s fitting for her to have a seat of honor.”

With that said, the President of China started tapping the table with his finger and ordered in a serious voice, “Ling Er, you have had close contact with the Tree Monster. Briefly explain your understanding of this Tier-4.” 

“Yes, Sir,” accepting the order with a nod, Ling Er stepped forward.

A timely solemn expression appeared on her face as she began, “The Tier-4 represents ‘invincibility,’ unmatched by those of lower tiers.”

It was a simple sentence, but it struck the hearts of everyone in the office like a heavy hammer.

Right at that very moment, Ling Er heaved a long, deep sight before continuing with her description, “If it so desires, that Tree Monster could annihilate our entire nation without a scratch.”

“…”

Silence ensued.

The entire office sunk into an eerie silence.

However, just then, a figure, seemingly curious, stood up and asked, “If it truly possesses such power, why hasn’t it destroyed our country? If I remember correctly, we still have some grudges with the Tree Monster, don’t we?”

“Tsk, tsk…” Glancing at the middle-aged man with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile, Ling Er also asked, “Before the Era of Transcendence, Humans were the masters of the world, capable of wiping out entire races… why didn’t they do it then?”

“Well…” Taken aback for a moment, the person also exclaimed, “How can you lump it with us?”

“Why not?” Saying so, Ling Er’s tone turned colder as she added, “The Tier-4 signifies a re-shuffle of one’s hierarchy in life. Just as we Humans view Ants, now, in the eyes of the Tree Monster, what’s the difference between us Humans and Ants? There are two reasons it hasn’t acted against us. Firstly, although the Tree Monster is terrifying, its nature is benevolent and it doesn’t want to cause unnecessary bloodshed. Secondly, it’s because our nation, or more accurately, we Humans, hold a certain value in its eyes. Regardless of the premise of these two points, it’s absolutely unwise to provoke it. Otherwise, I believe it wouldn’t hesitate to crush a few Ants, such as our country…”

Her tone was light, but Ling Er’s words were spine-chilling, causing the eyelids of many ministers and officials to twitch involuntarily.

It had to be admitted that Ling Er’s words truly startled these ministers and officials to the point that now, they were mostly looking at each other in astonishment.

However, at this moment, as if thinking of something, an old man suddenly added, “If my guess is correct, Humans should hold some value to the Tree Monster.”

“How so?” After a brief astonishment, others also asked in succession.

“Not to mention our Human technology, but just recently, there have been some offering ceremonies between the Tree Monster and certain Superhumans, which indicates that it has some plans regarding us Humans.”

At this point, the old man raised his head and asked, “I wonder if you’ve heard about the Western Faith and our Eastern Incense Offerings.”

“Of course, we’ve heard of them.” Nodding, everyone affirmed.

“In that case, it’s not hard to explain,” Saying so, the old man stood up and stated in a confident voice, “I believe that with the continuous advancement in the hierarchy of life, one doesn’t just need Spiritual Energy. For terrifying beings like the Tree Monster, if they seek further advancement, it may involve even more esoteric powers. At that point, the so-called ‘Power of Faith,’ or even the ‘Power of Incense Offerings,’ could be what it seeks. Of course, this is just my speculation, nothing more than a guess.”

At this point, the old man sighed, expressing his helplessness, “It would be best if it’s not the case, otherwise, not only us Humans, but even other Mutant Species would just be ‘sheeps’ that it keeps in captivity.”