Shen Feng was brought underground by the treemen, only to discover that the base of the enemy was actually beneath the earth. The sheer vastness of this subterranean world far exceeded Shen Feng's imagination, as he couldn't even see its edges. He estimated that this underground world had a diameter of at least several kilometers. The surrounding walls were entirely occupied by tree roots, and within this subterranean realm, hundreds of treemen were constantly moving, working like tireless machines.
Captured by vines, Shen Feng was thrown into a semi-transparent cage. This cage was composed of plants, a pale green in color, sticky to the touch, and emitting a peculiar odor that made Shen Feng uncomfortable. He felt the cage that held him was too simple, but also perfectly suited for his escape.
The other survivors were also thrown into cages, one by one. None of them resisted, as long as they didn't resist, the treemen wouldn't attack. Although they were injured, they were still capable of movement, so everyone was preparing their counter-attack methods.
As long as they didn't struggle, the treemen would assume the prey was dead, making them much easier to deal with.
At this moment, Shen Feng suddenly noticed that there seemed to be many cages around him. He couldn't help but push open the lid of his cage and look around. Instantly, Shen Feng felt a chill run down his spine. From the ceiling of the underground space hung countless branches, and at the end of each branch was a cage. And in many of these cages, there were prey!
Many pale green cages contained a lot of liquid, and people were submerged within them. The flesh on many of their bodies had already disappeared, leaving only bones and clothes visible inside the cages. This indicated that these people had all been killed, their flesh and blood dissolved by the liquid. Furthermore, the branches connecting to the cages bulged, and these bulges moved upwards along the branches, as if humans were swallowing food.
Looking around, the cages contained humans, as well as mutated cats and dogs. Mutated cats and dogs the size of lions and tigers were confined in cages and dissolved. Some still had their heads visible, while others were reduced to mere skeletons. There were also animals like cockroaches and rats. Even sparrows flying in the sky were captured. Regardless of the animal, whether alive or dead, all were captured by the treemen and brought here. Most of the creatures in the cages were already dead.
Shen Feng suddenly remembered a type of plant, the pitcher plant, which seemed to feed in a similar manner. However, pitcher plants only digested small insects like flies and mosquitoes. Now, they themselves had become like flies and mosquitoes, which was incredibly ironic. The pitcher plant, which was cultivated as an ornamental specimen, was now capturing humans as food, which was simply outrageous.
In the underground space, there were tens of thousands of these cages, and perhaps even more in places Shen Feng couldn't see. Within these cages were the food for the current treemen!
Some cages became shriveled, and the animals within seemed to have been completely digested. The cages then fell to the ground, revealing the remaining animal skeletons.
"I never imagined that one day I would become food for plants. Unimaginable," Shen Feng said, seeing this scene before him. The shock he felt was beyond words. Although he had found the enemy's lair, he was now here as food.
Suddenly, Shen Feng felt an itch on his foot and quickly looked down. He discovered that there was already a layer of transparent liquid at the bottom of his cage. Shen Feng quickly used his long sword to poke a hole in the bottom of the cage, and the digestive fluid immediately flowed out through the hole. Shen Feng had finally avoided being digested.
The soldiers who had entered with Shen Feng also pushed open the lids above their heads and gestured continuously, their meaning clear: digestive fluid was also flowing out around them.
Shen Feng noticed that these people were not carrying any weapons, likely having discarded them when they were captured. Whether it were firearms or swords, none of them had them on their person. So, Shen Feng handed over his Yitian Sword, signaling for them to poke holes in the bottom of their cages. Everyone quickly nodded, passing the long sword among themselves, poking holes in the bottom of the cages to allow the digestive fluid to flow out, thus avoiding immersion in it.
The treemen walked by intermittently, not noticing anything unusual. Then, more than fifty treemen left the space, while the remaining fifty continued to move around. Those who were still crying out were met with a slap, killed as if swatting a fly, and then they continued their patrol, finishing off anyone or any animal that was not yet dead.
Shen Feng pondered, realizing that staying in the cage was not a viable option. He then carefully crawled out of his cage. The treemen seemed to have noticed the anomaly and were heading towards Shen Feng. Shen Feng immediately became tense. If he were to be killed like swatting a fly, wouldn't that be a laughing matter?
Shen Feng suddenly took out his phone, opened the music app, and played a song called "Wei Feng Tang Tang." He then threw it into the distance. In the vast underground world, modern music echoed continuously. The attention of more than a dozen treemen nearby was drawn, and they all walked towards the direction of the phone. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shen Feng began to climb up the branches of the cages.
The remaining forty-one survivors looked at Shen Feng with strange expressions, never expecting that their usually suave and powerful City Lord would like to listen to such music. This kind of song was completely beyond their comprehension. Shen Feng ignored them, gripping a branch with one hand and gesturing with the other, signaling the survivors to stay put and wait for his return.
Afterward, Shen Feng carefully climbed up the branches. He had to admit that these branches were quite sturdy, after all, the cages either held people or mutated animals. If the branches couldn't bear the weight, these cages would have already fallen to the ground.
The cages were about ten meters above the ground. At such a height, only the treemen could have hung them all together. Shen Feng kept climbing, reaching about thirty meters high before arriving at the top. From here, he could see most of the underground world, and the treemen moving below were also visible.
At this moment, Shen Feng's phone had already been crushed by a treeman's foot. When no more sound came from underground, the treemen resumed their patrol.
At Shen Feng's current position at the top, there were dense pipelines. Shen Feng pressed his ear against them and heard the sound of flowing water. Based on this, Shen Feng guessed that the digestive fluid was flowing through these pipelines. The energy contained within the bodies of the digested animals was dissolved. Whether it was carbohydrates, proteins, or even fats, all were dissolved. Except for the bones that couldn't be digested, most of the other body parts were essentially digested.
"Where is the liquid in these pipelines being sent?" Shen Feng began to speculate. Logically, these treemen also needed energy to move, and energy cannot be generated out of thin air. The light in the white mist was poor, so it was unlikely that the treemen were generating energy through photosynthesis. This meant that the treemen must have other ways of obtaining energy.
After much thought, Shen Feng couldn't figure out where the treemen got their energy from, so he proceeded along the pipelines. Eventually, Shen Feng reached the center of the underground area. He looked up and saw a light overhead, and there was a pipeline leading upwards. Shen Feng thought about it and began to climb up this pipeline, wanting to know what was above.
Shen Feng climbed up for two hundred meters and reached the surface. At this point, he was surprised to find that the surroundings were filled with bomb craters, and a thick tree, more than ten meters in diameter, lay on the ground. The smell of gunpowder from an explosion lingered in the air. Shen Feng finally understood that he had circled back to the previous bombing area. It was truly remarkable that the location of the towering tree was directly above the underground world.
This meant that the tree that produced the mist had a hollow trunk that led to the underground world, and the underground world was responsible for producing the mist and then transporting it to the towering tree above.
Although Shen Feng could escape now, if the forty-one people underground were smart, they would also climb out, and then they could all quietly escape together. However, a bold plan formed in Shen Feng's mind. Since he had already figured out the enemy's headquarters, why not turn this place upside down? Moreover, if this place wasn't dealt with promptly, it might continue to expand in the future and would definitely threaten more people.
With this thought, Shen Feng searched the vicinity and fashioned a vine tens of meters long. This was from a treeman that had been blown apart earlier. Since there were no ropes, he had to make do with vines, fortunately, these vines were exceptionally sturdy.
Shen Feng returned to the underground world and used the vines to rescue the forty-one survivors, escorting them out of the tree hole. Shen Feng whispered his instructions: "You split into two groups. Ten people will leave the mist separately to find Chu Chaoyan and Yang Chang, so they can be ready to provide support from the outside. The remaining thirty-one will go to find artillery shells near the road. Find dozens of shells, and then bring the shells to the tree hole. I will blow up all the caves below to eliminate future trouble!"
These survivors were astonished that they could emerge alive after being captured by the treemen. They now admired Shen Feng immensely and followed his orders. After dividing into groups, they all proceeded in their designated directions. If they encountered any trouble, they were to immediately lie down and remain still. As long as they weren't stepped on by the treemen, there would be no casualties.
Meanwhile, Shen Feng, with nothing else to do, ventured down the tree hole again. He was very curious about where the pipelines at the top led. With so much digestive fluid, there must be a destination, right? With this thought, Shen Feng moved forward along the pipelines again. The further he went, the more confused he became, as the pipelines seemed to be going downwards.
Just then, Shen Feng saw a red light emanating from the underground world and cautiously approached. He suddenly noticed that many treemen were also approaching this area. The heads of these treemen had become shriveled, meaning these tree galls would also shrink.
Shen Feng lay on the pipeline above and watched. He discovered that at the end of the pipeline was a huge spherical object, which was emitting a red light. This massive sphere was at the end of the pipeline.
"All this digestive fluid, has it all been absorbed by this sphere?" Shen Feng thought to himself.
Shen Feng found it hard to believe. There were at least tens of thousands of cages in the underground world. All this digestive fluid was absorbed by a large sphere, which was simply too exaggerated. Not to mention that this sphere was only a meter in diameter; even if it could hold it, it couldn't contain so much digestive fluid.
However, at this moment, a treeman approached the sphere. Suddenly, a sharp spike grew out of the sphere and instantly pierced the treeman's head, specifically its tree gall. Shen Feng was greatly surprised by this scene. He knew how hard tree galls were, yet the spike pierced through them so easily. It was incredibly sharp.
Next, the sphere injected some liquid into the tree gall. The treeman's head suddenly became full, and then this treeman left the area, as if it had replenished its energy. The other treemen also approached the sphere one by one, and the sphere injected liquid into each of them.
Shen Feng understood, "So this is where the treemen get their energy. Their heads are the energy source for their actions, and this sphere is like a gas station. The entire underground space is like a complete system. The treemen are responsible for capturing animals, the animals provide energy to the plants, the energy is transferred to the treemen, and the treemen continue to capture animals."
At this moment, Shen Feng's shock was immense. He had thought of them as mindless plants, but now they had become a behemoth, not only capturing animals but also plundering their energy to strengthen themselves. Apart from lacking intelligence, these plants were like perfectly functioning machines.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the entrance of the underground world. Shen Feng followed the pipelines overhead to the vicinity of the entrance and saw more than thirty treemen appear. These treemen were bound with many people, and these people were the artillerymen and members of the expeditionary force led by Guo Pinming.
After entering the underground world, Zhou Hai had been cursing incessantly, from Jin Zijue to Wang Yuesheng, and then to these emotionless treemen. Finally, he was placed in a cage, and the treeman clasped its hands together and slapped Zhou Hai to death inside the cage. Shen Feng closed his eyes with a pang of sorrow.
Shen Feng also saw the unconscious Guo Pinming, covered in steel armor, thrown into a cage motionless. Even Jin Zijue had been captured. Jin Zijue was also unconscious. He had been hit by a treeman's slap, and dozens of his bones were broken. The fact that he was still alive was thanks to him being a third-tier ability user, his physical fitness being better than that of an ordinary person.
The reason Shen Feng encountered so few treemen was that most of them had been drawn to the road. Therefore, the casualties on the road could only be described as tragic. No one escaped the treemen's attack; everyone was captured. The survivors could only bow their heads and pretend to be dead. They had no choice but to pretend to be dead. As soon as they struggled, the vines would bind them even tighter. To avoid being strangled to death, the survivors held their breath, daring not to make any significant movements.