"You, you, you... who are you?!"
Feeling the powerful aura radiating from Sam, Bartholos subconsciously retreated several steps.
"I am a friend of Cipher." Firefly had long anticipated this situation. "Are you Bartholos?"
"Oh, so you're Big Sis's friend? Phew... you scared the life out of me."
After hearing Firefly's explanation and inquiry, Bartholos patted his chest and let out a sigh of relief.
He then crossed his arms, speaking with a face full of pride:
"Jie jie jie jie... That's right! This great one is the greatest creation of Ancestor Zagreus! The Spirithief Bartholos!"
"Bring Cipher over; she's about to fade," Firefly said, pointing at Lu Jianyi, who was collapsed on the ground, while silently rolling her eyes at Bartholos's posturing.
"Oh, right away, right away!"
With that, Bartholos began rubbing his hands against the air. Before long, a purple circular portal appeared in the void.
"Whew... this is a bit far, but for this great one, it's a piece of cake!"
Seeing the portal take shape, Bartholos began to act proud once again.
At that moment, the portal stirred, and Cipher leaped directly out of it.
"It worked!"
Looking at Sam in front of her, Cipher felt a small surge of joy; this was technically the first time she had met "herself."
However, there was a more important matter to attend to, so Cipher planned to set that aside for later.
Approaching Lu Jianyi, Cipher reached out her hands. A Rainbow Light emerged from her palms and was slowly infused into Lu Jianyi's body.
Immediately afterward, the person, the cat, and the Spirithief all clearly saw wisps of blood-red energy being driven out by the Rainbow Light. The energy slowly seeped from Lu Jianyi's forehead and vanished into the air.
"Hiss... what evil energy!"
Bartholos, who had been watching the entire process from the side, sucked in a breath of cold air and exclaimed.
"I wonder how many people had to be killed to condense such energy; it looks terrifying."
Hearing Bartholos's words, Firefly instinctively thought of that bizarre giant tree covered in blood-red light and nodded in agreement.
"Alright, the energy inside has been completely expelled. She should wake up very soon," Cipher said to the two of them as she withdrew her hands.
Just as she finished speaking, Lu Jianyi let out a gasp and slowly opened her eyes.
"Sam? Why are you here... and who are these two?"
Upon opening her eyes, Lu Jianyi saw Sam standing next to a cat and a Spirithief, and she reflexively inquired.
But soon, she remembered what had happened to her.
For some unknown reason, her mind had suddenly become filled with agony, as if her brain were being peeled apart layer by layer with a small knife—it was an unbearable pain.
"What happened to me?"
Regaining her senses, Lu Jianyi rubbed her head, which still throbbed with a faint ache, and questioned Firefly and the others.
"You were infected by that giant tree in the Forest Forbidden Zone. Are you certain you actually escaped back then?" Firefly explained calmly.
Lu Jianyi froze, then began to recall her previous memories once more.
Soon, they all saw cold sweat breaking out on Lu Jianyi's forehead again.
"I... I didn't escape back then..."
Lu Jianyi opened her eyes, her expression looking fearful and despondent.
"They brought me to that bizarre giant tree, and then I watched helplessly as a strand of blood-red energy bored directly into my brain... I lost consciousness after that."
"When I woke up, I was already near the city gates of Greenshade Spring. I don't know why, but the first thought that popped into my head at the time was... 'I actually escaped.'"
"As for the memories of being captured, I don't know why they vanished. It must have been because of that eerie blood-red energy..."
"Later, because I couldn't go back in myself, I posted a commission, hoping other adventurers would investigate."
"But, also due to the influence of that blood-red energy, when I was making the camera... I unconsciously infused that energy into it."
"Indeed." At this point, Firefly nodded slightly and took out the camera. "Every time I pressed the shutter button, this energy would appear, attempting to invade my brain."
Having said that, she pressed the shutter in front of everyone. Immediately, a strand of blood-red energy emerged from within, trying to bore into the user's mind.
However, Firefly casually erased it as usual.
"That tree wanted to use me to provide more high-quality experts for it to devour... No wonder not a single expert who took this commission ever managed to escape..."
Lu Jianyi muttered to herself, then she immediately stood up. "I must report this to the Greenshade Spring authorities and the Mercenary Association Headquarters immediately! This tree must be eliminated! It cannot be allowed to keep growing!"
With that, she pulled out her Terminal, intending to make a call.
But in the next moment, Sam interrupted her actions with a single sentence.
"No need. The giant tree has already been destroyed by me."
"Eh?"
Upon hearing those words, Lu Jianyi froze in place, seemingly unable to comprehend what Sam meant for a moment.
"Check the news."
Sam did not explain further, but instead calmly uttered those three words again.
"Oh, oh."
Reacting, Lu Jianyi quickly navigated to the latest news content and began browsing.
While Lu Jianyi was browsing the news, Bartholos quietly leaned toward Cipher and whispered:
"Big Sis... this friend of yours is so cold and aloof. I feel like she's even colder than that Aglaea."
Hearing Bartholos's words, Cipher paused, then also began to explain in a whisper:
"Her... actually, she's just a chuunibyou. Don't be fooled by how cold she acts now; it's mainly because she's wearing the armor and wants to look cool. Once she takes the armor off, she's quite lively. Besides, she's actually a silver-haired beautiful girl."
"Is that how it is?" Bartholos's eyes widened, and he stole a glance at the tall, silver-white armor standing ramrod straight.
While Big Sis probably wouldn't lie to him, why did he still find it a bit hard to believe? Was there really a lively silver-haired girl inside there?
"An S+ rank or higher energy reaction occurred in the Forest Forbidden Zone. The magnetic field of the Forest Forbidden Zone has now completely vanished. With the forbidden zone as the center, everything within a fifty-kilometer radius has been razed to the ground, turning into scorched earth?!"
Looking at the news on the Terminal, Lu Jianyi cried out in disbelief.