Chapter 84: The Tree Laden with Abundant Fruit

The Minsheng Mall was a circular structure, six stories tall, each level home to a different commercial district, with floor plans shaped almost like ovals. Two escalators connected each floor, and at the very center of the mall stood two elevators that ran straight from the bottom to the top. Besides these, there were several emergency exits available as well.

This was one of the few large malls in City Three, which was precisely why, when the strange incident broke out, so many people happened to be inside.

Qi Chen started from an entrance that had already been sealed off by the Special Operations Team. He would never be foolish enough to enter through the two entrances teeming with anomalies. That would only make things unnecessarily difficult for himself.

“I’m going in,” he murmured, carefully peeling off the sticky seal from the glass door and spreading his hands wide as he pressed gently against the door, pushing it open inch by inch.

There was a slight resistance under his palms, but nothing unusual happened. Once the door was open, however, he immediately sensed that something was wrong.

From outside, the mall should have been ablaze with light, but as soon as he stepped in, he found it shrouded in darkness.

A few steps forward and Qi Chen understood why.

The marble floor, which should have been smooth and pristine, had been completely ruptured by a dense web of tree roots, all seemingly emanating from a single source—a colossal tree that stretched from the ground floor all the way to the topmost ceiling!

It was because of this tree that the mall’s interior was so dim. The massive trunk was so thick that it would take dozens of people to encircle it. Its luxuriant branches and leaves layered upon each other, blocking out almost all the light.

Standing on the ground floor, Qi Chen could not feel the faintest ray from above.

“What... what is that!” came Warm Guy’s startled exclamation over the earpiece. Even the seasoned veteran, upon seeing the footage from Qi Chen’s bodycam, felt his worldview shatter.

The tree that pierced through the entire mall differed not just in size from any ordinary tree; its branches and leaves were not green, but dazzlingly multicolored, like the wrappers of candies—bright and garish.

But that was not the most terrifying thing. Hanging from the countless colorful vines that dangled from the tree were masses of human figures, clustered together like bountiful fruit.

“Those must be the people who went missing in the mall,” Qi Chen whispered, keeping his voice as low as possible, though in this silent world, even the slightest sound felt jarringly loud.

This was a world that belonged to the tree alone.

...

“Captain Fu, have Qi... Facepuller withdraw immediately. This footage is proof enough that there’s no hope left for those inside,” Warm Guy said gravely, sitting beside Fu Ying. His heart skipped a beat as his gaze fell upon the screens inside the command vehicle.

Each of the people suspended from the vines wore an expression of extreme ecstasy, as if the vines piercing through their bodies brought no pain, only pleasure.

At the same time, they kept hauling themselves upward along the vines, frantically plucking clusters of candies that grew from the branches and stuffing them into their mouths without pause.

“Have him keep investigating,” Fu Ying replied, eyes narrowed, rejecting Warm Guy’s suggestion once more. “There’s something wrong with that tree.”

...

Qi Chen moved with utmost caution, tiptoeing across the tangled roots. What he saw up close was far more striking than anything shown on the screens behind him—every detail hammering home the reality of the scene.

This gigantic tree was like nothing he had ever encountered. Its flamboyant foliage and upright trunk did not evoke a tree at all, but instead resembled a woman dressed with exaggerated elegance.

“I’m going to head up to a higher floor. I want to see why they’re all climbing upward,” he reported to the command vehicle, reaffirming his own resolve as well.

After seeing the tree, even he felt the urge to grab a vine and pull himself up. The myriad candies hanging above exerted an almost irresistible allure.

With his own mental fortitude already straining to resist eating one, he could only imagine how overwhelming the temptation must have been to ordinary citizens who had already tasted them.

Perhaps even more deadly than the legendary nectar of the gods.

After a long trek to the escalator leading to the second floor, Qi Chen discovered that the escalators between the floors were surprisingly intact, so there was nothing to prevent his ascent.

Still, though he had yet to sense any imminent danger, he continued to move as quietly as possible.

The oppressive aura radiating from the tree was overwhelming, so much so that Qi Chen dared not let his guard down for an instant.

He controlled his steps, climbing the escalator, the recording device on his chest transmitting every moment to those watching from the command vehicle.

“Why is there no sign of chaos inside the mall?” Warm Guy wondered aloud, watching the footage on the screen. The shops throughout the mall appeared undisturbed; aside from scattered candies on the floor, nothing had been violently disrupted.

That meant the tree must have grown to its monstrous size without causing any panic.

“Do you remember that middle-aged woman?” Fu Ying interjected, raising a possible suspect. “The surveillance footage showed her entering the mall just before the incident began. Maybe the anomaly started brewing the moment she stepped inside.”

Given their current intelligence, this was the most plausible theory.

Ultimately, what happened next depended on what Qi Chen could uncover.

After ascending all the way to the sixth floor, Qi Chen paused, hunched over and panting, trying to steady his breath. Even as his chest heaved, he was careful not to make a sound. But when he looked down from the railing, a scene of even greater impact met his eyes.

From this vantage above, the view was entirely different from that on the ground floor. He could see, more distinctly than ever, the vivid faces on the vines. Though their expressions varied little, they all bore the stamp of utter madness.

Each person clawed desperately upward, chewing candies they hadn’t even had time to swallow, hands blindly reaching for more and cramming them into their mouths.

Blood trickled down some of their chins, but still they chewed relentlessly.

Qi Chen’s gaze turned to the top of the tree, eager to see what was drawing them all upward.

And in that instant, as he and those in the command vehicle watched the same image, all were left speechless.

At the very summit of the tree, a figure had blossomed—a crystal-clear shape, gleaming like amber beneath the sunlight streaming through the skylight, radiating an unsettling sense of holiness.

But it was not a beautiful figure. In fact, it was rather bloated—like...

The middle-aged woman who had entered the mall before everyone else.

...