The entire area, from top to bottom, was gradually enveloped by a yellow paralyzing mist. Plant 42 originally didn't want to use paralyzing powder, as it was something it could only use when its life was in danger. The amount of paralyzing powder was not infinite, and each storage required a huge amount of energy within its body. But there was no other way this time; Plant 42 could only choose to do so.
After all, this was a big gamble.
If it could kill the giant snake and obtain such massive blood and nutrient, it could quickly undergo metamorphosis and evolution. But if it couldn't kill the giant snake, or even let it escape, then the next time the giant snake returned, it would have no means of self-preservation!
"Oh no, it's poison mist!"
"We can't stay here any longer, let's go quickly! Be sure to cover your mouths and noses, and whatever you do, don't inhale this poison mist!"
Watching the yellow mist continuously spew from the fruit stamens of Plant 42, Javier quickly turned his head and loudly warned Rebecca beside him, and Jill and Barry in the distance. Seeing this, the few of them didn't hesitate in the slightest, covering their mouths and noses with their clothes and quickly fleeing this dangerous place.
Meanwhile, on the other side,
The giant snake had no resistance against Plant 42's paralyzing powder mist attack. It was an animal that needed to breathe air, and its body did not have powerful lung organs that could regulate the concentration of these toxic mists.
Therefore, the moment the dense yellow mist touched the giant snake, it was inhaled. The giant snake's originally tensed muscles immediately went limp, and its tightly clamped scales became loose. Its huge head swayed, and its yellow-green vertical pupils were filled with confusion, its killing intent dissipated.
Its entire body was limp, as if it were drunk, completely lacking any excess ability to resist. Its heavy mass simply pressed down into the basement's water tank.
Seeing the giant snake lose its ability to resist, Plant 42 didn't hesitate at all. Its thorny vine tentacles shot out again, savagely striking the giant snake's massive body below. The hard thorns instantly pierced into the giant snake's scales, and then were pulled back with force, tearing them open.
"Pfft..."
Piece after piece of incredibly hard scales were ripped off, causing a gush of blood. Originally, Plant 42 couldn't break through the giant snake's defenses at all, not even with the thorns, because when the giant snake's scales were tensed, they were tightly layered and adhered together, with no gaps whatsoever, and the closing force was immense, with the muscles almost entirely tensed, twisted, and intertwined.
But now,
The giant snake's muscles were paralyzed by the paralyzing powder.
Its entire body was limp and couldn't exert any force, and its muscles couldn't tense up. Naturally, the entire scales were hooked by the thorny vine tentacles of Plant 42 and easily torn off, its entire body covered in blood.
"Roar, roar, roar—!!!"
But the intense pain instantly activated the giant snake's paralyzed brain nerves.
With its brain temporarily clear, the giant snake directly issued its highest intensity neural response. The original sense of neural paralysis was temporarily removed. The giant snake roared furiously, and its limp body suddenly erupted with a primeval force, quickly breaking free from the vines wrapped around it. It opened its abyssal maw, fangs bared, and lunged fiercely at the core of Plant 42's fruit stamen, determined to fight to the death!
These two behemoths battling each other caused the entire Mansion Villa to begin trembling violently...
Chapter Seventeen: The Fisherman's Gain
The giant snake and Plant 42 were fighting wildly.
This was a battle between a Poison-type Pokémon and a Grass-type Pokémon. But purely based on type advantage, the Grass-type Pokémon, Plant 42, had a huge advantage and would likely determine the winner very quickly. However, to stop this battle, one would need to summon the Ultraman warriors from the Land of Light in Nebula M78. After all, this had already exceeded the scope of human capabilities.
But unfortunately,
This was Resident Evil, and there were no Ultraman warriors from the Land of Light in Nebula M78. It seemed more appropriate to invite superheroes from the neighboring DC and Marvel universes.
However,
This did not mean that Javier and the others could not intervene in this battle.
Because they still needed to handle the aftermath. Whether the giant snake won or Plant 42 won, they still had to kill the remaining monster. And the weaknesses of both the giant snake and Plant 42 were naturally fire and herbicide. Both could easily be controlled.
Therefore,
Javier and the others, who had temporarily left the dangerous area, quickly reacted accordingly. Javier and Rebecca continued to search for fuel, while Jill and Barry transported herbicide. The two pairs had clear divisions of labor, determined to be the fisherman who reaped the benefits while the snipe and clam fought!
However,
As the saying goes, surviving a great disaster leads to future blessings.
Javier and Rebecca were not hunted down and killed by the giant snake. Instead, during their search, they found the third cursed mask hidden in a haystack in the giant snake's lair. This could be said to be very fortunate.
Furthermore, Javier and Rebecca originally needed to have a big battle with the giant snake and kill it completely to obtain the mask. Yet, by a strange twist of fate, they led the giant snake to Plant 42's lair, causing the two to fight each other. This was truly unexpected.
After all, solving two problems at once was simply delightful!
And in the storage room of the Mansion Villa,
Javier and Rebecca also successfully found two barrels of fuel. The packaging was a bit old and covered in dust, but fortunately, upon opening the cap and smelling it, the fuel inside had not completely evaporated and was still usable.
Meanwhile...
Barry and Jill also emerged, each carrying several bags of herbicide on their backs.
Because the herbicide was piled next to the Plant Greenhouse, it wasn't hard to find. Barry alone carried four bags of herbicide, while Jill held two. Although there weren't dozens of bags, it was already enough.
A few minutes later,
The four gathered there.
Looking at the fuel and herbicide they had found, they all nodded to each other, ready to begin executing their plan. Of course, before that, they still needed to check the progress of the two giant monsters' battle. After all, to sit back and watch the tigers fight, and reap the benefits of the fisherman, they also needed to see what state the snipe and clam, or the two tigers, were in. If they weren't both injured, or even if they hadn't sustained much damage, then Javier's calculations would all be for naught.
But fortunately,
At this moment, the battle between the giant snake and Plant 42 was already nearing its end, not as slow as imagined.
"Roar, roar, roar—!!!"
With an angry roar,
The giant snake's massive body writhed strenuously in the underground water tank. Its only weapon, its fangs, were frantically destroying Plant 42's roots. The giant snake's injuries could be described as extremely battered, even tragic.
Many areas of its originally dense and incredibly hard scales had been torn off. Crimson blood almost covered the giant snake's entire body, and in the middle section, a very deep wound had been cut, penetrating beyond the scales, revealing the red flesh inside.
And one of its pair of yellow-green vertical pupils had been blinded, pierced by a sharp vine that took advantage of an opening. Viscous yellow liquid and blood streaks flowed out, seemingly due to poisoning.
But even so,
The giant snake's ferocity remained undiminished. Its sole remaining vertical pupil still emitted a dangerous, terrifying crimson glow, its gaze fixed deadly on Plant 42. Half of its mouth had also been torn open by the vine's thorns, yet its blood-filled maw still roared menacingly.
Only its rock-hard head remained incredibly sturdy. That head, as hard as steel, was the part of the giant snake that Plant 42 could least penetrate its defenses. To this day, the giant snake's skull showed no signs of injury, still emitting a dark luster.
A one-eyed, defeated giant snake, at this moment, was still making its final desperate struggle.
Even if it were to die here, it would absolutely not let Plant 42 have an easy time; this was its inherent nature of seeking revenge, at least it had to perish together!
"Hiss hiss hiss…!!!"
Of course,
Plant 42 was also not in a good state. Although it was a Grass-type Pokémon and had a certain type advantage against Poison-type Pokémon like Arbok, it couldn't withstand Arbok's suicidal attacks, all of which were reckless charges. This kind of life-threatening skill, which harms the enemy a thousand but damages oneself eight hundred, couldn't be fully resisted even with the Grass-type's resilience.
The giant pink core fruit had already been half-melted by the giant snake's corrosive venom, and the protective petals were completely torn off like a bald rooster. The thick and tough roots were also mostly destroyed, and even seventy or eighty of its vine tentacles were lost. All the paralyzing powder in its pistil was completely exhausted.
Plant 42's weapons and ammunition were almost completely used up, but even so… Plant 42 still had a very high chance of winning.
Because it had a huge advantage over the giant snake, and that was… resilience and persistence. Its roots were firmly rooted in the underground water trough, and with this, Plant 42 could continuously provide life force. Although very weak, it was better than nothing.
Therefore, even if the core fruit was destroyed,
As long as the roots were still there, it could continue to survive. After all, to remove weeds, you must remove the roots… the roots were the most important organ of Plant 42!
"Bang—!!!"
With a loud bang,
The giant snake once again used a reckless charge, vigorously twisting its massive body, and its hard head slammed heavily into Plant 42's thick roots. This blow almost broke Plant 42's waist, and countless fibers had already begun to tear.
And Plant 42 was not to be outdone; countless vine tentacles once again wrapped around the giant snake's body and frantically whipped and pierced its torn scale wounds, causing its blood to flow out even faster.
The two of them thus tortured each other little by little.
And it seemed that the giant snake was truly the first to be unable to hold on. Its remaining single eye burst forth with even more terrifying light. The giant snake squeezed out every last bit of venom from its body and concentrated it on its fangs, then suddenly raised its head, aiming at Plant 42's core fruit and spitting fiercely!
"Roar roar roar—!!!"
"Pfft… Whoosh whoosh—!!!"
The final roar,
Two high-pressure water gun-like streams of venom shot out rapidly again. This time, the amount was unprecedentedly large; it was the giant snake's last desperate attack, a death throe. This surprise attack was very fast, leaving Plant 42 no time to react, block, or defend.
In an instant, Plant 42's core fruit was directly hit by the giant snake's yellowish-green corrosive venom. A large amount of corrosive venom stained the core fruit, causing the already incomplete red fruit to instantly succumb to the venom's potency, slowly turning into a sticky liquid and flowing down.
In just a few tens of seconds,
The core fruit of Plant 42, hanging from the ceiling, was completely corroded away, not a single bit left. And with the core fruit destroyed, Plant 42 was like a deflated ball; countless vine tentacles fell down one after another, losing their vitality, lying motionless as if truly dead.
"Hiss…"
And the one-eyed giant snake, with only one eye remaining,
Upon seeing Plant 42's core fruit destroyed by itself and showing no signs of life, the giant snake also closed its eyes in peace, and finally, its entire massive body lost strength, collapsing with a crash, falling heavily to the ground, splashing countless water and emitting a dull sound.
Ultimately,
One snake and one plant,
Both ended in a mutually destructive manner.
But… was the result truly like this?
"Rustle rustle…"
Just as the giant snake thought it had perished together with Plant 42, Plant 42, rooted in the underground water trough, slowly raised its vine tentacles despite having lost its core fruit…
Was this a miracle?
Clearly not.
This clearly aligned more with a plant's conspiracy than a miracle.
For most plants, the most important organ is still the root. A large tree cut in half, if not uprooted, will still grow new sprouts after spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Although the recovery time is slow, it is still not dead.
Wild grass burned by a large fire will gradually grow back after a spring rain. Therefore, other organs of plants are highly deceptive; if the roots are not damaged, it will not die. The same goes for Plant 42; the red core fruit is merely a part of its brain control organ. Although important, it is not fatal.
After all, the red fruit is only responsible for controlling the vine tentacles for more precise predation and reproduction. Without this red fruit, Plant 42's predatory and reproductive instincts will not disappear; it will just be clumsier than before.
Without intelligence…
Its recovery speed will be much slower, especially its sensory ability. In the past, if there was prey nearby, it could quickly hunt and entangle it, but now… it can only rely on its vine tentacles as eyes, slowly touching the prey before it can attack!
But it's still the same saying…
As long as it's not dead, there's still a chance to make a comeback!
And that's precisely the case with Plant 42 now.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!!"
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!!!"
A sound of rushing air rang out,
Almost by survival instinct, the vine tentacles of Plant 42, which had appeared dead, suddenly burst forth. The remaining thirty-odd vine tentacles quickly wrapped around the giant snake's corpse. At the same time, barbs grew on the tips of the vine tentacles, which began to frantically cut the flesh and blood of the giant snake's corpse.
After a short while,
The giant snake's corpse was dissected completely.
The corpse was cut into several pieces, and large chunks of flesh and body accumulated in the underground water trough at Plant 42's feet. The dark red, viscous blood mixed with the sewage in the trough, and the blood within the giant snake's body contained a rich T-Virus.
These mixed nutrients and fertilizers would be completely absorbed by Plant 42, including the chunks of flesh on the ground, which would slowly decompose and be completely absorbed by the roots. At that time, after Plant 42 consumed these nutrients, it would grow to an unimaginable extent. It would continue to expand its living space,
Penetrating the entire Mansion Villa, its infinitely extending, never-ending vine tentacles would grow into every corner of the Mansion Villa. It would make the entire Mansion Villa its lair, beginning to consume the zombies and various monsters present within. After consuming the monsters in the Mansion Villa, its ambition would slowly expand to the Akeley Mountains, Raccoon City, and even the entire United States, and even the world—!
This was the ambition of a plant re-endowed with life by the T-Virus…!
It could be said to be very grand,
But unfortunately,
The ideal is full, but the reality is bony. Behind every aspiring big boss, there is a patient old fox waiting. As the saying goes, when the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman profits. Javier and others, as the fishermen, had been waiting for a long time, and now they finally had this opportunity.
Originally, they also thought that the giant snake and Plant 42 had perished together.
But upon seeing Plant 42 feign death and revive, then secretly consuming the giant snake's corpse, Javier and others couldn't help but sigh, almost being fooled by a plant. Are plants this smart these days?
It's just a pity,
No matter how clever the prey, it cannot outsmart a patient hunter…
Looking at Plant 42 slowly consuming the giant snake's corpse in the underground water trough, Javier and others didn't even think twice and immediately began to act.