Chapter Forty-Seven: Establishing the Base

After a day of clearing, Haikou gradually returned to tranquility. Only the lingering scorch marks and the charred corpses piled like small hills remained. Occasionally, a few still struggled, but soldiers led by Kelly immediately finished them off.

“What now? Should we spend the night back on the ship?” Thomas glanced at the last rays of sunset and frowned.

“No need,” Guo Lang replied with a mysterious smile. He walked a circuit around the area, surveying the terrain, then selected a spot in what had once been a landscaped greenbelt—now blackened by fire—and planted the seed of the Tree of Life.

With a rumble, the ground shook. In a sight straight out of a fantasy film, the seed sprouted and took root before their very eyes. In less than a minute, it had grown into a towering tree. Though Thomas and the others couldn’t estimate its exact height, they recalled a science program about an almond eucalyptus in the Eastern Ocean that reached 170 meters—about as tall as a fifty-story skyscraper. Yet the tree before them soared even higher, at least 300 meters into the sky.

Witnessing a seed sprout and grow into a colossal tree within minutes was overwhelming. The soldiers were left dumbfounded, particularly as such vibrant life erupted from the midst of devastation. In that moment, there was nothing more dazzling in heaven and earth.

“It’s beautiful,” Kelly murmured, her face dreamy.

“Damn, I’m really starting to think following this boss is the best decision I ever made!” Abel exclaimed, eyes alight.

The others voiced their awe at this miraculous spectacle.

Guo Lang cleared his throat to break the spell. “Let me explain: this tree will keep growing, especially its roots, which will spread at a rate of twenty kilometers per day. Thomas, you’ll need to organize teams to follow the advancing roots and set up defenses. The undead will be drawn to the tree’s life force. Your job is to protect the roots—don’t let the undead dig them up.”

“It’ll keep spreading?” Abel asked dramatically. “Is it going to cover the whole island?”

“Yes,” Guo Lang replied.

Thomas frowned. “This island’s not small. If our defensive line stretches that far, won’t our forces be spread too thin?”

“Don’t worry,” Guo Lang shook his head. “You’ll get precise data on the tree’s growth and range. Once the roots reach a new area, the local undead will be drawn to them—without exception. All you need to do is follow the roots. Once the roots cover the island, the undead here will be wiped out.”

“I see.” Thomas nodded, then asked, “Where should we set up base? Next to the big tree?” He had his doubts about establishing a base on the island. Hainan was a tourist destination; aside from Haikou’s hotels, the island had few buildings due to its rugged terrain, and certainly no industrial facilities fit for defense. The only hotels had just been burned to the ground—so where would they live?

“In the tree.”

“In the tree?” Thomas repeated dumbly, completely baffled.

Guo Lang offered no further explanation. He walked up to the Tree of Life and performed a strange ritual, full of dignity and grace. Thomas and his group had never seen anything like it, but Guo Lang’s gestures exuded a noble aura.

“Good day, ancient one of life. May I know your honored name?”

The others stared in disbelief—was he talking to the tree? But what happened next shattered their worldview. A face emerged from the trunk, eyes opening wide. The tree was a vibrant green, its pupils a regal violet.

“Good day, young disciple. My name is Teldrassil Ryan. I am glad you have found me this land in which to grow.”

“You are too kind. May I ask, how much accommodation can you provide now? And how many sprites can you offer as labor in the initial phase?” Guo Lang asked, cutting straight to the practical matters.

“You are a pragmatic one,” the tree replied, amused. Droplets of green liquid began to form on the trunk, gathering and growing until each reached roughly two meters in size. They hung from different branches and then solidified, becoming jelly-like pods.

Guo Lang quickly counted—about five hundred. He nodded, satisfied. “That will suffice for a long while.”

“Daddy, what is that?” Alice asked in her sweet, curious voice.

“Your new rooms!” Guo Lang tapped her nose, lifted her into his arms, and waved to Laura. “Come, let’s see our new home!”

“Go inside?” Laura echoed in astonishment. The events unfolding were surreal, but Guo Lang just kept surprising her.

“Hurry!” Guo Lang, carrying Alice, led the way. When they reached one of the pods, he turned to the still-stunned soldiers. “Pick one for yourselves and have a look inside!” With that, he stepped into the pod and vanished, as if swallowed by air. The pod looked barely large enough for two, yet Guo Lang had disappeared without a trace.

“Chief, what if this tree is some kind of monster, and the boss is actually an evil wizard luring us in so the tree can eat us?” David, usually the quiet one, voiced his dark suspicion.

Thomas shot him a look. “You’ve watched too many fantasy movies. Your head’s full of cliché plots.”

“Still, this is just like a fantasy film—ultra-realistic effects. The Federation’s so-called 5D is nothing compared to this.”

Laura bit her lip but eventually followed Guo Lang and vanished into a pod.

“Hey, Thomas, are you less brave than a woman?” Abel teased, grinning.

Thomas sneered. “If you’re so bold, why are you still standing here? Go on, then.”

Abel froze. He wasn’t exactly timid, but the whole situation was unnerving—he’d already had his worldview shattered once when he signed up, but this was too much. As a well-educated modern citizen, it was hard to process.

“Maybe… let’s go together?” Abel ventured.

“With you?” Thomas recoiled, then glanced at Kelly and cleared his throat. “Shall we go in and take a look?”

“Sure,” Kelly replied with a smile.

Since the incident between Jerry and Thomas’s wife Mary, his relationship with Kelly had grown much closer. Although the split wasn’t final—for the sake of his daughter—the rift was unbridgeable. The now-darkened Lieutenant Kelly seized the opportunity. As the saying goes, for a man chasing a woman, it’s like climbing a mountain; for a woman chasing a man, only a thin veil separates them. Kelly, with her advantage, quickly warmed things up between them.

And it had only been two days!

Abel, a thirty-year-old bachelor, was nearly blinded by the affectionate looks exchanged between the new couple. Spurned and subjected to this display, he couldn’t take it anymore. He shouted, “To hell with it! If I die, so be it. If not, I’ll live forever!” and was the first to charge into a pod.

Seeing someone take the lead, the others exchanged glances, hesitated a moment, then each selected a pod and went in.

Once inside, everyone was once again utterly bewildered.