Apocalypse: I Can See the HP Bar, Killing Monsters Drops Loot-Chapter 1491 - 621: Mutated Plants Tools_2

Hearing Wang Tao’s compliments, Xiang Bo didn’t act modest, and instead took the opportunity to educate Wang Tao and others:

"Haha, this is also a feature of our base – whether it’s humans or mutated plants, they coexist very well and even help each other! Take these ’Leaf Cars’ for example, they require special fertilizer or their evolution is quite slow, and we are the only ones who can prepare this waste material. So we use the fertilizer as a bargaining chip to invite them to transport survivors for us..."

"Then there’s that huge mushroom structure. We transported the mushroom back during the night. It was nearly frozen to death, but its spores hadn’t had a chance to spread, and even they were frozen. We promised to help spread its spores, and to thank us, it agreed to let us hollow out its body before it died. After its death, its body would harden, and we wouldn’t have time to hollow it out in an instant... And the reason for using this mushroom to build houses is because living inside makes one less easily tired. Our City Hall is actually a big mushroom..."

"Oh right, there are also those mutated bamboos, they emit a special fragrance. The smell attracts certain parasites which are initially undetectable. By the time they are discovered, it’s already too late – the parasites and bamboos have a symbiotic relationship, if the parasites die, the bamboos will too. But if the parasites don’t die, they will continue absorbing the nutrients from the bamboos, causing them to slowly wither. So we promise to help them find parasites during bamboo shoot season, ensuring the parasites do not survive. In return, they grow into forms suitable for our houses to reside in. Since the bamboo fragrance is very pleasant and, other than that specific kind of parasite, snakes, bugs, mice, and ants all despise this scent, it’s only harmful to the mutated bamboos but actually quite beneficial for humans! Therefore houses built by them don’t have to worry about poisonous insects. You know, in this place, there are a lot of toxic insects..."

"..."

Listening to Xiang Bo’s introduction, Wang Tao and his companions exchanged glances, seemingly recognizing a shared sentiment in each other’s eyes – impressive.

Perhaps this is "life finding its own way." With the help of these bamboo plants, Hongfeng Base could be quickly constructed and also provide convenience for the survivors within the base, resulting in a win-win for both sides.

However, this made Wang Tao even more curious about the communication methods and the military control over Hongfeng Base. You see, one of Wang Tao’s Hidden Attributes was [Plant Affinity], which allowed him to sense the feelings of certain plants. But that was just a one-way sensation on his part, not a communication.

And through his perception of plants, Wang Tao knew that these plants were brainless, literally brainless, incapable of communication. Even if they mutated into Plant Monsters, their intelligence was still not sharp enough to communicate.

So it wasn’t just about Hidden Attributes; even with Ability or Awakening, Wang Tao felt it was impossible to control these level-less mutated plants. At best, he could control them for a short while, but for long-term control, the plants would need to have a brain of some kind.

Like the Biological Weapon [Crystal Energy Poison Tree] that Wang Tao left at Changhe Base, which did have a brain and could act according to Wang Tao’s instructions without any extra effort on his part; it was like an AI, possessing some intelligence but no emotions, a very handy tool tree.

But these level-less mutated plants were able to act in an orderly and rational fashion, which was clearly a very powerful Ability. At the very least, Wang Tao wasn’t capable of such a feat and couldn’t quite figure out how they communicated.

The Military’s firm control over the entire Red Maple Base might have a lot to do with this technology.

"Mr. Wang, would you like to try our Leaf Car?"

After the introduction, Xiang Bo promptly extended the invitation.

"Sure."

Wang Tao nodded.

Then, Xiang Bo approached something that looked like a public phone booth, opened the door, and went straight in. Through the transparent window, one could see him picking up a tendril.

Seeing the tendril in Xiang Bo’s hand, Wang Tao suddenly had an epiphany.

He had previously found it strange how quickly messages were passed around here and had wondered about their method of communication; it turned out to be through these tendrils.

Having seen tendrils that could transmit radio signals in the Rift, Wang Tao found the existence of tendrils that could directly transmit sound to be not so surprising.

After coming out, Xiang Bo explained some more to Wang Tao, knowing that he might not fully understand.

"These are our base’s communication tendrils. As the name implies, through them, we can communicate with any place in the base that has communication tendrils. What I did just now was to call for a Leaf Car—it will arrive shortly..."

Xiang Bo had come in a hurry, and the small Leaf Car he arrived in couldn’t fit Wang Tao and his group. Of course, they could have taken several more cars since there were spare Leaf Cars available, but Xiang Bo wanted to show off the superiority of Hongfeng Base, and this large Leaf Car was perfect for giving Wang Tao a taste of what they had.

While they were talking, the sound of "thump thump thump" approached from afar, followed by the sight of a large Leaf Car with 12 legs swiftly approaching.

Although the Leaf Car was only Level Two, its rather large size made it somewhat intimidating. If Wang Tao had encountered this thing in the wild, he guessed he would have probably chopped it down with a single stroke.

After the Leaf Car approached, it promptly lowered itself for the passengers to board.

Thump thump thump—

Once everyone was aboard, it quickly stretched out its long legs and carried them away.

Wang Tao had expected a bumpy ride but was surprised to find it rather comfortable. While it certainly couldn’t compare to vehicles on the highway, it was somewhat better than those off-road vehicles commonly seen in the post-apocalyptic world.

Of course, this comfort was relative. The discomfort they experienced in the lift earlier made the current smooth ride feel much more pleasant by comparison.

Wang Tao looked down and noticed that these Leaf Cars seemed to obey traffic rules well, avoiding trampling on the vegetation by the roadside and always keeping within the road limits. Even at intersections, they would slow down, and other Leaf Cars would yield and let them pass first.

Wang Tao could see that since boarding, neither Xiang Bo nor anyone else had any conversation with the Leaf Car; Xiang Bo only mentioned a destination when getting on... So, to some extent, this must be considered "Plant Intelligence"... quite interesting indeed.

Perhaps wanting Wang Tao and his companions to enjoy more of the roadside scenery, the Leaf Car didn’t travel at a fast speed. While listening to Xiang Bo’s introduction, Wang Tao suddenly asked:

"Mayor Xiang, I think this Leaf Car is pretty good, but why are there still regular petrol cars within the city?"

Chen Haolin, Zhan Liang, and other members of the Blazing Fire Squad were following in their vehicles. Besides them, Wang Tao also noticed ordinary vehicles on the road.

"Uh..."

Faced with this question, Xiang Bo’s face revealed a trace of embarrassment. Scratching his head, he spoke somewhat sheepishly:

"Ahem, these Leaf Cars are indeed great things. Compared with traditional vehicles, they don’t require a driver or maintenance, which is incredibly convenient. But they have one drawback, a common issue with all the mutated plants—they can only be used within the base and are incapable of leaving it. That’s why those regular petrol vehicles are for when we need to travel outside the base..."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Tao raised his eyebrows.

Could it be that the method the Military uses to communicate with so many Mutated Plants and make them work has a certain range limitation? Interesting...