"Li Haiwen, what’s the rush? Never seen a woman before?"

A mocking voice rang out from the crowd.

At this moment, all the treefolk had already surrounded the treehouse in front of them, leaving Bai Cheng inside with no way out.

Despite the rule that survivors couldn’t harm each other, nearly everyone had instinctively hidden behind the treefolk just in case.

Except for this survivor named Li Haiwen, of course.

"Brother Wen, what if she fights back in desperation...?" one of his lackeys worriedly reminded him.

But Li Haiwen only shot his subordinate a fierce glare before turning to the team that had mocked him and coldly retorted,

"I, your father, has seen more women than you’ve seen dear!"

Then, his tone shifted. "But one this pretty? It’s first come, first served... Heh heh heh..."

Before he could finish, a ring of violet light suddenly flashed from the treehouse, and an overwhelmingly sharp aura burst outward, freezing everyone in place.

Hummm—

The very air seemed to tremble with a resonant hum.

Li Haiwen stiffened, feeling a chill crawl over his scalp as cold sweat broke out.

His lackey behind him hastily warned, "Brother Wen, your hair..."

Li Haiwen instinctively reached up, only to find his head completely bare, with nothing but smooth skin left.

Before he could roar in fury, everyone’s attention snapped back to the treehouse.

The massive trunk, thick enough to require ten people to encircle, now bore a perfectly smooth, razor-thin line about two meters up. It slanted diagonally, cutting cleanly across the entire tree.

Everyone stared in shock. They knew that this was the same gap that had just emitted the violet light.

"It can’t be..." one person muttered, dumbfounded.

The next second—

Crack!

The trunk tilted with a groan, and the colossal ancient tree began to topple.

In an instant, the crowd on the side where the tree was falling panicked. Even the hired treefolk scrambled to dodge.

Although the ancient tree was enormous, its fall was slow thanks to the canopy of other trees above cushioning its descent.

Everyone managed to avoid being crushed, but the thunderous crash of the tree hitting the ground still sent a jolt through their hearts.

How could such a massive ancient tree just... collapse?

Before they could process it, a red-haired giant leaped out of the wreckage, carrying two girls in his arms. He effortlessly left the encirclement before vanishing deep into the town.

Li Haiwen bellowed, "They’re getting away!"

"After them! Don’t let her hire more treefolk!"

In their eyes, a Pioneer’s assets had to outmatch every single one of them.

Even if none of them believed that one person could surpass the combined wealth of all nineteen survivors, if Bai Cheng managed to hire a group of treefolk, she could drag this out...

There was no retreat inside this station. Although some survivors were stunned by the display of power, most of them chalked it up to some kind of item effect.

In the end, they could only grit their teeth and chase after her, clinging to sheer luck.

But in reality, Bai Cheng had never planned to waste her Infinite Coins on hiring treefolk.

Even when she saw on the screen that paying triple the hiring fee could turn them against each other, she hadn’t wavered.

After sprinting through several streets, Bai Cheng confirmed that the town remained unchanged, and that no hidden triggers had activated.

She let out a relieved sigh. "We can’t harm treefolk, but destroying structures clearly doesn’t count."

Even the system probably hadn’t anticipated that someone could cut down a tree that thick.

Which meant that things were now a lot simpler.

"This town has no shortage of ancient trees."

In front of another treehouse, Chi Yan set Bai Cheng and Zi Yuan down, bowing apologetically. "Young Lady, please forgive my impropriety."

Bai Cheng waved it off indifferently before turning her gaze to Zi Yuan.

"Young Lady, I’ll hold them off. Chi Yan will protect you."

Without another word, Zi Yuan gripped her blade and strode back the way they came. With another swing, she severed another ancient tree, sending it crashing down to block the road.

She leaped onto the fallen trunk, sitting cross-legged atop it, her expression calm as she faced the approaching horde.

The other survivors had mounts, so they wouldn’t be far behind. The treefolk weren’t slow either.

Bai Cheng and Chi Yan didn’t waste time. They immediately began searching the surrounding treehouses.

At this point, Bai Cheng no longer cared about provoking the treefolk. As long as she didn’t harm them before finding the pass, it didn’t matter.

As for what exactly the pass was, Bai Cheng had no idea.

She could only resort to the most primitive method, which was a thorough, floor-by-floor search for anything suspicious.

"Logically, there’s no way there’s only one pass in this big town."

Frowning, Bai Cheng and Chi Yan combed through multiple treehouses but found nothing.

Her frown deepened. "It shouldn’t be this hard to find..."

Before she realized it, Bai Cheng had reached the very center of the town.

This area was different. Instead of towering ancient trees, the ground was covered in verdant saplings, none taller than a person.

And at the heart of this miniature forest stood a grand, three-story wooden structure so lavish it could be called a palace.

A long staircase led downward, flanked by rows of solemn treefolk guards standing motionless.

"This is..." Bai Cheng’s eyes sharpened.

Beside her, Chi Yan tensed. "Young Lady, I sense an Elite Rank aura here."

Bai Cheng’s surprise quickly melted into a smirk. "Looks like this is where the trophy mission is."

"Chi Yan, let’s go!"

Without hesitation, Bai Cheng strode forward. There was no way this place didn’t have a pass.

But the moment her foot touched the first step, the treefolk guards moved.

Their wooden spears crossed in unison as they stepped forward, blocking her path.

Before they could complete the motion, a furious roar erupted.

"Scram!"

Chi Yan’s aura exploded outward, an invisible force slamming into the guards and sending them tumbling down the stairs.

Bai Cheng didn’t pause. She continued upward, walking step by step.

The remaining treefolk on the stairs hesitated, gripping their spears but not daring to obstruct her further.

When she finally entered the grand hall, her eyes landed on twenty wooden handicrafts emitting golden light.

Obviously, they were the passes.

"So they’re all here together." Bai Cheng smiled.

Now, she could finally fight back.

"In that case... all of you will stay in this station forever."