Chapter 79、Man-Eating Plants! The Fall of the Entire City!

"Ah!"

"My hand! It's biting my hand!"

A piercing scream of terror rang out, and Yi Bai's nerves instantly tightened. He rushed to the surveillance station in the room, his mind racing. On the monitors, he could clearly see the chaos unfolding in the building's lobby.

People were gathered around a man whose right hand had been severed, blood pouring from the stump. He writhed on the ground in agony, and his detached hand was stuck fast to the wall.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Wang Daniu shouted from the crowd. He pointed at the wall, and the others backed away in fear, as if something terrifying was attached there.

Yi Bai adjusted the camera, zooming in to get a better view. What he saw made his heart skip a beat—a strange, slick, dark green substance spread across the wall. It was creeping silently, expanding at an alarming rate. By the time anyone noticed, it had already covered the entire surface.

The substance resembled a patch of lichen, or perhaps a fungal mat, exuding an ominous aura. The severed hand was stuck to the wall, firmly attached to the green mat. Dozens of tiny, writhing tentacles protruded from within the mat, frantically latching onto the hand and devouring it. In less than half a minute, the hand was consumed entirely.

As if the mat had absorbed new nourishment, the fungi began to grow even more rapidly. The mat spread outward, inching toward the floor, the ceiling… it was closing in on the crowd, moving like a pack of beasts hunting their prey. The danger was closing in fast.

"This is the man-eating fungus! It's eating people!" someone screamed.

"It's not a plague—it's a plant crisis!" another voice shouted in fear.

"Shoot! Someone shoot!"

Panic swept through the crowd as those still calm began shouting commands. Soldiers rushed to take action, pushing the civilians behind them.

"Test fire! Stop it from getting closer!" Lin Yue barked out a command.

"Bang! Bang!"

The sharp cracks of gunshots echoed through the air. The soldiers fired their pistols, each bullet piercing the mat and splattering green liquid on impact.

Yi Bai, watching through the surveillance system, noted that the bullets seemed to do little to harm the fungus. Instead, the mat reacted angrily, its tentacles twitching and reaching out toward the soldiers who had fired.

Pfft!

Wang Daniu, with a military knife in hand, immediately severed the tentacles as they detached from the mat, each wriggling violently on the ground.

The crowd recoiled in terror, eyes locked on the squirming tentacles. After a few moments, they liquefied into a green puddle and evaporated into the air, leaving behind only a faint mist.

"The bullets don't work very well, but once these things detach from the mat, they seem to dissolve on their own," Jiang Xiaoci observed as she analyzed the situation. She turned to Lin Yue. "But they regenerate quickly. We need to find something more effective."

Just then, the door to the building burst open, and a few soldiers ran in, breathless.

"Report!"

"Outside, there are a lot of green, unknown vine-like plants. We suspect they're the same as the fungal mats inside. They're highly aggressive and can extend small tentacles to attack humans!"

Lin Yue turned to the soldiers, her expression stern. "How many are out there?"

"A lot!" A communications officer quickly set up his drone monitoring equipment, displaying the live feed on the screen. Lin Yue and the soldiers gathered around, eyes fixed on the aerial view of the area outside.

What they saw made their blood run cold.

The fungal mats had already spread across most of the neighborhood, covering roads and even the green areas of the complex. Each building in the area had a thick covering of the fungi, and even the distant streets were overtaken. The entire city seemed to be engulfed by a vast, creeping green sea.

The fungus spread everywhere—on roads, buildings, sewers, and utility pipes. Wherever they looked, it was all green, moist, and undulating. The entire city had fallen in an instant.

"This is too much…" Jiang Xiaoci muttered, her face grim as she realized the gravity of the situation.

With the fungus's aggressive attack, rapid growth, and remarkable regenerative capabilities, it posed a threat just as deadly as the extreme heat of the first wave of the apocalypse.

"Continue experimenting with ways to stop these man-eating fungi," Jiang Xiaoci ordered. "I'll go check on the boss. His safety is the top priority."

"Yes." Lin Yue nodded. She turned to her aide. "Take three squads up and ensure the boss is safe."

"Captain, two squads are already waiting upstairs."

"Then send more people. He's our leader—his safety cannot be overlooked."

"Yes, ma'am." The aide saluted and immediately started organizing more troops to head upstairs.

Wang Daniu, seeing the situation, raised his hand. "I'll go too. I'm not afraid of these things. Let me clear them out."

"…Fine," the aide relented, after a quick glance at Lin Yue. "You go with me. You're responsible for clearing the floor where the boss is."

Wang Daniu's eyes lit up with excitement. He was proud of his own physical strength and was completely unfazed by the growing danger. If anything, he saw this as an opportunity to get closer to Yi Bai, the mysterious leader.

The closer he got to Yi Bai, the more likely he was to climb up the power ladder.

"What?" You think I'm worried about this new crisis? That's nonsense!" Wang Daniu thought to himself. "If I'm not scared of these fungi, what's there to fear? The boss won't be afraid either. In fact, he'll probably see how brave I am and reward me!"

With his thoughts running wild, Wang Daniu charged forward, eager to impress.