Chapter 74: Chapter 74: Riot in the Town (Bonus Chapter)

The seemingly luxurious wooden palace was eerily empty.

Most of the rooms were vacant, devoid of any signs of treefolk habitation, and it didn’t even have decent furniture.

The long wooden staircase led to a large hall, which was equally barren.

The semi-circular hall was mostly occupied by a foul-smelling pool of murky black water. At its center was a twisted, rotting object resembling a tree root submerged in water.

Bai Cheng didn’t know what it was, nor did she care much.

Because the first thing that caught her eye were the neatly arranged passes, glowing faintly with golden light.

They hung along the walls like decorations in the otherwise dull room, forming a perfect circle.

If there was anything special or unique in this town, it was definitely these.

"If those aren’t passes, This Lady will eat them!"

Although the hall was mostly a pool, there was a narrow walkway along the edge, just wide enough for one person.

Bai Cheng stepped forward, reaching up to grab one of the glowing objects. She stood on her tiptoes, but her height wasn’t enough...

A large hand snatched it before she could. But before he could hand it to her, the entire hall suddenly trembled violently.

Splash—!

The black water in the pool surged without warning, and the entire palace shook.

Seeing this, the treefolk outside erupted in fury. They were no longer afraid of Chi Yan as they charged in with wooden spears, seemingly intent on stopping whatever was about to happen.

"Chi Yan, shut them up!"

Bai Cheng glanced back and spoke coldly. Now that she had obtained the pass, there was no need to humor these treefolk or the survivors who had tried to ambush her.

I don’t eat beef!

BOOM—!

Scorching flames erupted from the palace entrance, engulfing the treefolk and blasting them dozens of meters away. Hellfire clung to them like maggots to bone, reducing them to ash in seconds!

At the same time Bai Cheng’s disguise was blown, every treefolk in the town seemed to sense something, and their gazes snapped toward the center of town.

But she didn’t care. In fact, she wanted them to come.

Inside the hall, Bai Cheng examined the pass in her hand.

It was a palm-sized totem-like carving made of an unknown black wood, emitting a faint golden glow. Unfortunately, there was no screen in the hall, so she couldn’t check its details.

But she was certain that this was a legendary item.

Twenty passes meant twenty legendary items. Why would she leave them for anyone else?

Just as she was about to take them all, she noticed that the disturbances in the hall had subsided.

But the next second, the pass closest to her suddenly fell on its own.

Then, the anomalies returned, this time worse than before.

Chi Yan reentered the hall, his eyes immediately locking onto the withered wood in the center of the pool, frowning.

"Young Lady, that is the Elite Rank magical beast. These passes seem to be its seals."

"This subordinate can sense that it’s about to break free."

Bai Cheng paused, understanding his implication.

Once a pass was taken, the countdown to its awakening had already begun.

Although there were twenty passes in the hall, they wouldn’t be enough for everyone to leave this station safely.

The last few to take the passes would inevitably face its wrath. Not to mention the Elite Rank magical beast, even the entire town was now in chaos. Returning to the station to escape would be as difficult as climbing to heaven.

Worse, most were probably in Bai Cheng’s situation.

That is, she had a pass, and the countdown had started, but the others still had no idea what the passes even looked like.

"I didn’t expect this multiplayer station’s difficulty to be so high," Bai Cheng muttered.

Compared to the previous two stations, casualties here were inevitable.

Even for most Pioneers, this was dangerous.

Of course, Bai Cheng was an exception.

"Chi Yan, take all the passes down," she ordered. "Let’s speed things up!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Understood, Young Lady."

Chi Yan circled the hall, removing pass after pass.

The moment he took the last one, the entire palace trembled violently. Then, it collapsed without warning.

Luckily, Chi Yan reacted swiftly, pulling Bai Cheng to safety.

Outside, they found themselves surrounded by countless treefolk, their eyes blood-red but hesitating to attack.

At the same time, black water seeped through the ruins of the palace, and a massive root burst forth, slamming onto the ground.

Then, another root appeared, and a monstrous creature emerged.

It was a hulking beast with four limbs, nearly as large as Chi Yan in his lion form.

Its body was made of blackened wood, its four limbs thick but its torso withered. Countless vines and branches swayed from its back.

"Ugly," Bai Cheng remarked casually.

Then, she glanced at Chi Yan. "It’s your turn."

Chi Yan bowed slightly before stomping the ground. Crimson flames erupted beneath him, swallowing his body in an instant.

A pillar of fire roared into the sky, the sheer heat forcing the surrounding treefolk to stagger back.

When the flames dissipated, a majestic Crimson Flame Lion emerged, his presence regal and commanding.

He lowered his stance, like a king descending upon the battlefield.

"ROAR-!"

A ring of fire exploded outward in all directions!

Meanwhile, Zi Yuan was still fending off the pursuing survivors.

Although the ancient tree was thick, her options were limited since she couldn’t harm them directly. All she could do was buy time.

By now, she had already toppled most of the treehouses, using them to block the streets.

But the survivors only grew more excited.

"Brother Wen, this girl’s just as good as Bai Cheng! You know I’ve got a thing for feet—"

Before he could finish, Li Haiwen slapped him. "Who the hell doesn’t?!"

"Soft and fragrant—I’ll be the first to hold ’em!"

The survivors, along with the treefolk and employees, maneuvered around the fallen trees, continuing their chase.

"There are no more treehouses around! She’s out of tricks—get her!"

Then, a violent tremor shook the entire town, as if the ground itself had turned into a rocking boat.

The group stumbled, and one of them cursed:

"Damn earthqua—"

Before he could finish, a vine shot up from the ground, impaling him and lifting him into the air.

"AAAH—!!"

His screams and dripping blood sent chills through the crowd.

"What the hell is going on?!"