Chapter 94

Chapter 94

The pancake-flat patches, colored identically to the cliff wall, shifted their patterns to blend seamlessly with the light ripples on the ground as they passed over them, almost perfectly merging with the surface.

One by one, they moved toward the most dazzling Deer Antler Tree in the cave, playing a game of "red light, green light" with the players lingering inside.

Whenever players glanced their way, they immediately froze, motionless, then seized the moment the players looked away to slide forward quickly.

Before long, they had reached the roots of the Deer Antler Tree, which splayed across the ground and merged with the light ripples, becoming indistinguishable from them.

[Wild Grandpa] chatted casually with allied players nearby, then suddenly turned his head—the light ripples on the ground flowed smoothly, showing nothing out of the ordinary.

[PeeSniper] beside him jumped: "What's wrong?"

[Wild Grandpa] floated up a bit, his gaze fixed on the ground: "Do you feel like something's moving toward us?"

A few nearby players looked around. [Langlang Mountain] pulled out the map: "Nothing shows on the map, Wild Grandpa. You must be seeing things."

[Wild Grandpa] frowned and opened his map. Centered on his position, aside from the green dots for other players and the larger yellow dot for the [Deer Antler Tree], there were no other markers.

Maybe he really was imagining things. [Wild Grandpa] closed the map and turned his attention back to the tree.

Recently, the Moon Dew Elves fruits had been glowing more brightly, and everyone guessed they would ripen any day now.

The fruits still hadn’t grown eyes, and forum users speculated they might only open their eyes once fully formed.

Some even brought up imprinting, suggesting it might apply to these Moon Dew Elves.

The idea that they would bond with the first person they saw upon opening their eyes fit perfectly with game logic.

The water attribute, once the least noticeable, had recently become highly sought-after. More new players were choosing water when awakening their attributes.

Most players gathered in the "Baby Cave" were water attribute players above level 40, with a few others just there for the fun.

After all, Moon Dew Elves favored water attribute players, who had the best shot of forming contracts.

One of the "little flat guys" slid near the tree roots, its patterns perfectly matching the light ripples on the ground. As it moved, its patterns shifted in real time with the ripples. Seizing the moment when players weren't paying attention, it swiftly slid onto a root. The tasty glowing energy tempted it to wrap itself entirely around the root.

Mmmm, such rich glowing energy—even better than Moon Dew Grass.

"Wah—"

The surge of energy reached its soul, and the little pancake couldn’t help but let out a satisfied murmur. The chatter in the cave came to an abrupt halt.

"What was that sound?" [PeeSniper] glanced around warily. "Did you guys hear something just now?"

[Langlang Mountain]: "I heard it—sounded like a baby crying. Maybe the little elves are about to pop?"

Just then, the branches of the Deer Antler Tree suddenly started shaking, drawing all the players' attention and distracting them from their earlier suspicions.

A glowing white light, as if guided by something, flowed along the branches. The branches thrashed wildly, swaying as if sending a silent cry for help.

But the players couldn’t hear the tree’s cries. To them, the once peaceful Deer Antler Tree’s sudden agitation meant only one thing—

"Holy crap, it’s having babies! The Deer Antler Tree is finally having babies!"

"Why’s it shaking like it’s freaking out? Is it trying to shake the elf fruits off?"

"Must be a difficult birth. They say giving birth is like going through hell."

"Damn, this shaking isn’t normal. Does anyone know how to help a tree give birth?"

Of course, players didn’t know how to help a tree give birth—even if they could, game restrictions prevented them from touching the Deer Antler Tree. They could only watch helplessly.

As the tree shook more violently, its crystalline branches gradually dimmed, and the fruits lost their glow even faster.

The players finally realized something was wrong. The fruits, now dull, began falling one after another. Alarmed, the players exclaimed, "What’s happening? This doesn’t look like normal ripening!"

They flew down quickly, rushing toward the fallen fruits—but the "little flat guys" stuck to the roots were faster.

The smooth ground suddenly rippled. Right before the players’ eyes, the ground bubbled up and formed into 3D small stone people, which swiftly snatched up the fallen fruits and made a run for it.

[Wild Grandpa]: "Quick, cut them off!"

[Bobofish]: "They’re here to steal the fruits!"

[PeeSniper]: "Crap, this one’s a level 59 fruit thief—holy shit, it’s level 60 now! It gained a level!"

[PeeSniper]: "It’s still going—61!"

Players were used to using levels to gauge strength and didn’t understand the concept of star ratings in this world. Though shocked by the small stone person’s quick leveling up, they missed the truly alarming part: this stone creature, with a glowing white gem on its head, had broken through to six stars using the Deer Antler Tree’s energy.

Seeing the small stone people already two meters away with the elf fruits, players tried to summon Light Blades to attack the thieves—only to find their spiritual power circulating uselessly, unable to be released.

Unable to use skills at this critical moment, players started cursing up a storm.

[Bobofish]: "Damn, these are yellow-tagged mobs—we can’t attack them!"

[PeeSniper]: "Are we just supposed to watch them steal the fruits?"

Even if the fruits looked withered and near death, they were still the little buddies everyone had been waiting for. What if they could still be saved?

Helplessly, players watched as the small stone people fled farther away. With skills locked, they could only intercept physically, flying ahead of the thieves.

[PeeSniper] snarled and bared his teeth menacingly and growled out, "Which mountain are you from? Put down our fruits!"

[Bobofish]: "Or else don’t blame me for letting the Emperor loose on you!"

Most players rushed to intercept the fleeing thieves, while the level 61 small stone person clinging to the root remained motionless, as if in a trance. Unable to use skills, players could only watch helplessly.

Fruits continued to fall from the Deer Antler Tree. They had to find a way to stop this yellow-tagged elite mob.

But it was level 60—how could they stop it without skills?

After the update preventing attacks on yellow-tagged mobs, tech-heads on the forum had analyzed that when players harbored malicious intent toward yellow-tagged creatures, their brainwaves—or their minds—triggered a response. The game likely detected this intent and locked their spiritual power.

In theory, if they could deceive their own subconscious and avoid the system’s detection, they might game the system.

[Wild Grandpa] stared intently at the rapidly dimming Deer Antler Tree, mentally repeating: The tree is being harmed, I must protect it…

As he focused, water started gathering before him, swelling into a massive snake-like stream that surged toward the exposed root.

The watery serpent washed the meditating small stone person away from the root. Overjoyed, [Wild Grandpa] shouted, "I suddenly feel like swimming! Earth and metal attribute players, build a pool! Water attribute, fill it now!"

Players busy intercepting the thieves were confused, but as an elder of the Ambition Alliance, [Wild Grandpa] had considerable influence. At least his alliance members followed his orders instinctively.

When metal attribute players conjured a metal wall ahead of the thieves and water attribute players released streams to scatter them, everyone understood [Wild Grandpa]’s plan.

But by the time they realized it, they could no longer use their skills.

As long as they did not harm these yellow-named monsters, the game wouldn't restrict them.

The prerequisite was their ability to compartmentalize—for instance, creating a metal wall simply because the cave looked too plain and they wanted to decorate it, not to trap any yellow-named monsters. Even if a monster happened to be trapped, it would just be a coincidence.

Few players could achieve this, at least among those present.

The players quickly called for reinforcements within the alliance, reasoning that with more people, there would inevitably be some who could dissociate or self-hypnotize.

But they failed to notice the fanatical gleam in the eyes of the small stone people who had been scattered by the water flow.

"Big bugs that can make water!"

"Capture them!"

The small stone people dropped the Moon Dew Elves in their hands, whose vitality was rapidly fading, and eagerly spread their arms, pouncing toward the players.

Their targets were clear—all the players who had just released water.

The situation took a sudden 180-degree turn, but the players hadn't processed it yet.

When they saw the fruit thieves trying to escape earlier, their instinct was to chase. Now, seeing these thieves suddenly turn and charge at them, the players' first reaction was to run.

The roles of hunter and hunted were instantly reversed.

The players scrambled to take flight, thinking they were safe once they put distance between themselves and the stone people on the ground. But then, the level 61 elite yellow-named monster shot beams of light from the gem on its forehead.

The beams were incredibly fast. Several players, unable to dodge in time, were struck and suddenly encased in a light barrier that fit them perfectly.

[PeeSniper], bewildered, banged on the barrier: "Damn, I'm trapped!"

These barriers were familiar to the players. When the Moon Dew Elves merged with them, a protective barrier would appear.

The barrier could block attacks from the outside and also trap those inside.

The small stone people clapped their hands excitedly and shouted, "The elder is awesome! There’s another water-making bug here!"

"This one, this one, and this one—they can all release water!"

The stone elder, with its luminescent white gem on its head, had eyes that shone with a faint eerie glow. "Take these ones back first," it said.

Before the words faded, it suddenly turned and shot a beam at [Wild Master], who was quietly observing the situation.

—This big bug had released the most powerful water stream earlier; it must be very capable. It had to be captured.

The beam struck [Wild Master], quickly forming a protective barrier around him.

Seeing that even [Wild Master] was trapped, the other players panicked and dodged the beams while urgently calling for reinforcements from their alliance.

These fruit thieves were only interested in water-attribute players. Their "third eye" accurately targeted those players, and soon over a hundred water-attribute players were encased in barriers.

Deciding that this was enough, the stone elder linked the floating barrier spheres with beams from its third eye and dragged them downward. The barrier spheres, along with the players inside, were moved to the ground.

The excited small stone people eagerly grabbed them, each grabbing a barrier sphere, and quickly ran toward the rock wall in the southeast.

The trapped players, seeing they were about to crash into the wall, instinctively leaned backward. But as the small stone people reached the base of the wall without slowing down, the smooth rock surface suddenly cracked open, revealing a deep, dark cave.

"Damn, is this earth-element ability?"

"The rocks in this cave are special; earth attributes can’t control them. It must be a racial Talent."

"Where are they taking us?" [Bobofish] banged on the barrier. In such a confined space, he didn’t dare use his abilities recklessly—if it backfired, it wouldn’t be worth it. He could only watch as he was carried away.

"They can talk; they’re sapient beings," [Miss Baizhou] observed, noting the words "Sunstone Tribe" above the mini stone people’s heads. "Could this be a new storyline?"

Her words snapped everyone out of it. The high level of realism had made them too immersed, and they’d almost forgotten this was a game.

With Substitute Puppets, they could revive even after death. What did they have to fear?

The players who had been frantically pounding on the barriers suddenly calmed down, their eyes shining with anticipation. This might be an opportunity.

The small stone people dragged away twenty or thirty barrier spheres, while the rest were linked by beams emitted from the stone elder. Like a string of balloons, they were pulled into the crack in the rock wall.

Players from various alliances, arriving via teleportation circles, immediately gave chase. But as they reached the cave entrance, the crack in the wall suddenly closed, returning to normal as if nothing had happened.

>>

The tunnel was deep and dark. The players inside the barriers looked around curiously.

[PeeSniper]: "I never thought there’d be such a tunnel hidden in the Baby Cave."

"This tunnel might not have been dug beforehand," [Wild Master], positioned near the back, clearly saw the tunnel vanishing behind them as they moved forward.

[PeeSniper]: "Damn, you’re right. These guys are digging while moving. Impressive."

[Wild Master]: "Look at their eyes and the light they emit—doesn’t it resemble Sunstone?"

[Bobofish]: "Not just Sunstone—it’s similar to the Deer Antler Tree and the Moon Dew Elves too. There must be some connection."

[Yang Leduo]: "Anyway, they came to steal the Moon Dew Elves and harmed the Deer Antler Tree. That’s a fact. I wonder if the fallen Moon Dew Elves can survive. They’re probably a hostile faction."

[Wild Master]: "They’re still yellow-named for now, so likely not a hostile faction. Let’s wait and see how things unfold."

All the captured players were water-attribute. [Wild Master] created a private chat where they discussed excitedly. Some even started a livestream, attracting a lot of viewers.

By the time Shen Yi learned about the incident, the small stone people had long disappeared.

"How are the Deer Antler Tree and the spirit fruits? How many were stolen?" Shen Yi hurried to the underground cave with Xi Ye while consulting the system.

"The Deer Antler Tree is recovering from energy depletion. No spirit fruits were stolen. 138 players were captured."

Shen Yi, still engrossed in researching the cultivation path of Tangyuan, was slow to process the information. He summarized hesitantly, "So you’re saying the Sunstone Tribe returned to the cave, almost drained the Deer Antler Tree, and captured over a hundred players?"

Shen Yi’s impression of the small stone people was still stuck on the image of them frantically fleeing the moment he appeared. He struggled to connect that with the fruit thieves described by the system.

"Why did they capture the players?"

"All 138 captured players are water-attribute."

Xi Ye, who had also caught up on the forum, gave Shen Yi’s hand a squeeze reassuringly. "The desert lacks water. Players who can release water must be quite novel for the Desert Beasts."

Watching the system’s recording of the small stone people abandoning the withered spirit fruits and eagerly carrying the players away, Shen Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Players could revive, so there was nothing to worry about. As long as the spirit fruits were safe, it was fine.

When they teleported to the underground cave, the fallen spirit fruits had already grown back on the tree, and the Deer Antler Tree was slowly recovering.

When the Sunstone Tribe had drained its energy earlier, the tree had suppressed its instinct to absorb energy from the gems. No matter how much energy it absorbed, the Sunstone Tribe would just take it away. The more energy it had, the less likely the tribe would let it go.

Players were tidying up the mess left from trying to stop the fruit thieves. Shen Yi and Xi Ye’s sudden appearance in the cave caused a commotion.

Shen Yi raised a finger to his lips, signaling for quiet, and flew directly to the Deer Antler Tree. "Are you okay?"

"They know I'm here." The Deer Antler Tree rustled its branches. Perhaps it was Shen Yi's imagination, but he detected a slight tremor in the tree's gentle voice.

Moon Dew Grass is the food source of the Sunstone Tribe, and the Deer Antler Tree, formed from concentrated essence of Moon Dew Grass, is also food for them.

This was a situation Shen Yi had not anticipated.

Until today, he had been planning to track down the Small Stone People and establish friendly relations with them once found.

For this purpose, Shen Yi had even had the system classify the Sunstone Tribe as yellow-name NPCs to prevent players from accidentally harming them, which could lead to irreversible consequences and hinder diplomatic relations between the two groups.

Unexpectedly, it was the Sunstone Tribe that initiated the conflict. Classifying them as yellow-name NPCs ended up restricting the players and, by a strange twist, nearly harmed the Deer Antler Tree.

While the Sunstone Tribe's intentions remain unclear, the Deer Antler Tree is a genuine friendly ally. Shen Yi immediately told the system to change the Sunstone Tribe's status to non-aggressive unless provoked, allowing them to retaliate if attacked.

As the Deer Antler Tree absorbed sunstone energy, the Spirit Fruits hanging from its branches gradually returned to their original state. Yet, Xi Ye could clearly sense its anxiety.

The Sunstone Tribe is its natural predator, and being located by them naturally caused anxiety.

Metal-element Talents can somewhat counter the Sunstone Tribe. Shen Yi summoned Little Seven and left a nest of Metal Bees in the cave to protect the Deer Antler Tree. If the Sunstone Tribe returns, they will be notified immediately.

"The captured players have arrived at the Sunstone Tribe's new gathering place. Host, you might find this interesting." The system pushed a livestream from one of the captured players to Shen Yi.

When Shen Yi opened it, over six hundred thousand viewers were already watching the livestream.

The screen showed a familiar cave illuminated by a gleaming white light, with crisscrossing stone pathways connecting the surrounding walls—almost an exact replica of the cave they were currently in.

The only difference was the absence of a thick central stone column running from top to bottom in the new cave, and no sign of the Python Beast.

The Small Stone People's chieftain, with a glowing white gem on its head, returned laden with spoils with its tribe. After instructing its people to put away the spoils, it headed toward one side of the cave. As it approached, an opening appeared on the smooth wall, which vanished after it entered, leaving the wall intact.

The Small Stone People dragged round glowing orbs excitedly and piled them in the center of the nest. "Look, what have we found?"

"Big bugs that can release water."

"We won’t be short of water anymore."

The Small Stone People, busy with their new cave, hurried over curiously to examine the players inside the glowing spheres.

"Are these big bugs the good things the chieftain mentioned?"

"Aren’t these the bad guys who always tried to break into our cave before?"

Viewers in the livestream chat were frantically commenting.

"What does this mean? Aren’t these new characters? When did they ever try to break into the cave?"

"This cave looks so similar to the Baby Cave, and even the Maple Leaf Alliance’s cave—it’s almost identical. Could they all be the Small Stone People’s caves?"

"Now that you mention it, the central pillar in the Baby Cave could perfectly accommodate that giant python."

"You’re overthinking it. Why is there no pillar in this cave? And no sign of that python either."

...

A Small Stone Person who had just returned from outside poked one of the glowing spheres, its eyes shimmering with fluorescence. "They can release water. Elder Yanshan says their potential is quite good. We can select a few to train as Guardian Beasts."

Yaya was the Guardian Beast nurtured when their tribe was first established. Initially just an ordinary little snake commonly found in the desert, the tribe transformed it into a Guardian Beast and used the entire tribe's resources to develop it into what it is today.

However, Yaya’s aptitude was too poor to keep up with the tribe’s growth. After this relocation, the chieftain decided to release Yaya and seek a new Desert Beast.

This time, they must choose one with the best potential to nurture.

The players, surrounded and observed through the transparent orbs, listened quietly to the conversation, feeling more and more uncomfortable.

[PeeSniper]: "We totally look like monkeys put on display in a zoo now."

[Langlang Mountain]: "The way these Small Stone People are looking at us is like picking out chickens at a market."

[Bobofish]: "What did they mean by 'Guardian Beast'? Is this the new storyline?"

[PeeSniper]: "There must be about a hundred of us captured, right? And they’re only selecting a few to be Guardian Beasts? Do we have to compete for the position?"

"Something feels off," [Yang Leduo] muttered under his breath. "Why does this 'Guardian Beast' thing sound like an insult?"