Tree Transformation. A brutally simple name.
When these jelly-like creatures were first discovered, they were standing by the high wall, curiously watching the humans build it.
They weren't harmful. They just lingered by the wall.
These creatures were fascinated by anything that grew taller.
The steadily rising wall.
The experimental facilities people constructed.
The temporary watchtowers that were erected.
They would gather in groups to watch, staring as the humans completed these tasks.
But what interested them most were the experimental crops the humans brought.
When humans first came to the Theseus Cell sealed-off zone, they used a lot of fertilizer to accelerate plant growth. This was because experiments on plants were much faster and safer than those on animals.
Thanks to technological advancements, these fertilizers produced remarkable results.
This also attracted many of the Tree Transformation creatures. They would stay by the farms, tirelessly watching the plants grow.
After seeing the effect of the fertilizer, they began to trade with the humans.
At first, they offered various rare materials from deep within the sealed-off zone. Eventually, they discovered that humans preferred relics.
So, they began to find all sorts of relics from who knows where, trading them with humans for fertilizer.
After a trade, they would lift the fertilizer with their small bodies and head deeper into the zone.
They showed no wariness when humans followed them, and in this way, they led people to their tribe.
Then, to the astonishment of the humans, they sprinkled this incredibly precious fertilizer on a common, ordinary-looking sapling.
Afterward, they would stand beside the sapling, blankly staring at it.
Only after researchers had visited the Tree Transformation Tribe many times did they realize those weren't ordinary saplings. They were Tree Transformation creatures that had transformed.
Humans gradually came to understand the habits of the Tree Transformation creatures.
These beings spent their entire lives preparing to become a tree.
From the moment they appeared, they observed the changes in all natural things: animals, plants, the waxing and waning of the moon...
Once they felt they understood the world, they would begin their preparations, starting with choosing the right time.
Late spring and summer were not suitable for planting trees. The Tree Transformation creatures probably felt the temperatures then would threaten a plant's health and could even cause the tree to die.
The Tree Transformation creatures chose to plant in autumn or early spring. During this time, they would find a suitable location.
It had to have ample sunlight and water, be close to the Tree Transformation Tribe, and not be on too steep a slope...
Once all preparations were complete, they would dig a hole and swallow a creature composed of Theseus Cells—perhaps an insect, a small reptile, or even plant matter like a fruit or seed.
Then, they would bury themselves alive.
The Tree Transformation creatures would help each other, burying their companions.
The fertilizer traded from humans was also used to fertilize these companions.
As the days and months passed and the sapling broke through the soil, they would tirelessly care for it until it grew into a towering tree.
And these Tree Transformation creatures who tended the trees would eventually choose a suitable season and location to transform into trees themselves.
The principle by which they used Theseus Cells to become trees has yet to be fully understood.
However, some speculate that they transmit a kind of message to the Theseus Cells, causing the cells to replace their bodies with a tree.
The record ended there.
Only then did Mo Ling understand why Captain Su was so concerned about these creatures.
They couldn't be replaced by Theseus Cells. In fact, they could even harness the cells' power, making them the sole exception within the sealed-off zone.
"They haven't appeared for a long time," Captain Su said to Li Luo, who had just finished reading the files. "They used to show up in large groups. Something might have happened to their tribe."
Li Luo didn't hesitate. She glanced at the location of the Tree Transformation Tribe in the file, got in the car, and prepared to leave.
"Be careful on the road. Don't provoke the rampaging creatures. If you run into danger, don't rush in recklessly. We'll be right behind you," Captain Su warned Li Luo solemnly.
Li Luo nodded, then floored it, speeding into the forest.
The creatures in the forest were indeed extremely agitated. They swarmed aggressively at the sound of the small car, but they were no match for Mo Ling's teleportation.
The trees along the path grew larger and larger. Before long, the small car stopped in front of a forest filled with colossal trees.
Mo Ling couldn't see the tops of the giant trees, but their massive trunks, so thick it would take several people to encircle one, gave him a clear idea of just how tall they were.
Walking forward, Mo Ling noticed man-made wooden structures on the trunks, similar to treehouses, but they were tiny.
A small staircase extended from the ground up the tree. Thick, circular vines were used as supports, with round wooden steps woven into them.
These structures obviously weren't meant for humans. The only possibility was that they had arrived at the Tree Transformation Tribe's home.
Sure enough, a jelly-like creature entered Mo Ling's field of view.
It had a spherical body with a leaf on its head, vague facial features, and four pointy appendages for limbs, looking like a plump, walking fruit.
It was slowly making its way down the vine staircase. After reaching the bottom, it walked up to Li Luo's car and stared blankly at the Block on top of it.
Then, its two short arms suddenly stretched out and gave the Block the middle finger.
?
Mo Ling was stunned.
'What is with this creature?'
'It looks so cute, so why is its personality so awful?'
'And why did it flip off the Block first, not Li Luo?'
What happened next completely disrupted Mo Ling's train of thought.
The Tree Transformation creature mumbled a few words, its voice sounding like a small child's.
Though the language was strange, Mo Ling understood it.
The Tree Transformation creature was saying—
"Welcome! Friend."
The sight of it welcoming someone while giving them the middle finger was truly bizarre to Mo Ling.
Next, the Tree Transformation creature turned to Li Luo, gave her the middle finger, and said the same thing.
Li Luo had already turned on her translator. Seeing this, she hesitantly returned the middle finger.
Seeing Li Luo raise her middle finger, the Tree Transformation creature seemed delighted and started talking again. "Trade fertilizer! Trade fertilizer!"
Li Luo quickly replied, "No fertilizer."
Hearing this, a disappointed expression appeared on the creature's face, and it muttered to itself, "No trees, and no fertilizer."
"No trees?"
"Why are there no trees?" Li Luo asked urgently.
"They can't become trees anymore. They all turn into other things," the Tree Transformation creature explained pitifully.
"Come," the creature called to Li Luo, then started walking in a certain direction.
Li Luo drove the car, following the creature deeper in, and a series of abnormal sights appeared before them.
The tribe was filled with cages made of vines, holding all sorts of bizarre creatures that were howling and thrashing about violently inside.
The variety of creatures was completely random, exactly like during the riot at the outpost before.
The Tree Transformation creatures, who should have been observing nature, were instead pacing anxiously around the tribe, as if they had forgotten their purpose.
A group of Tree Transformation creatures stood around the cages, watching the imprisoned beings with worry, completely at a loss for what to do.
'What happened here?'
Only by piecing together fragments of the Tree Transformation creatures' speech did Mo Ling and Li Luo finally understand what had happened to the Tree Transformation Tribe.