The vines that had been dragging the two men suddenly recoiled as soon as they felt the searing heat. They loosened their grip and flung the two men halfway across the ground.
The two scrambled up at once, stumbling back several steps. But the man-eating flowers' root stalks were short. Without the vines feeding them, they could not bend over to bite their prey. These flowers could only eat what the vines delivered into their mouths.
Drool dripped as the man-eating flowers still stared at them hungrily. Lao Gao had no patience for this. He lifted the Ashen Blaze and fired three shots, one into each flower.
The man-eating flowers recoiled at once, their stalks shrinking back, their gaping mouths jerking away as if trying to keep a safe distance. But with their root stalks nailed into the ground, there was only so far they could retreat.
Even the vines that had just been itching to strike pulled themselves back, unwilling to test the flame-wreathed gun.
Lao Gao frowned. "Why do I feel like these vines understand people? Don't tell me they've gained spirit."
Huang Jinghe answered, "I fear all the plants here have already gained spirit."
Otherwise, how could they evolve into something like this? Clearly, this entire forest was wrong.
When Lan Jin and her group caught up, the first thing they heard was this exchange. Lan Jin quickly asked, "What happened? Everyone all right?"
Lao Gao explained, "These man-eating flowers can only reach so far. As long as we don't step closer, we're fine. But they rely on vines to feed them. We have to be careful of the vines."
Ling Jiang asked, "Then what are vines afraid of? Is there any way to stop them?"
Lao Gao's tone was obvious, as if it needed no asking. "Fire. All plants here fear ability flames. Ordinary fire does nothing. Only ability flames work."
That meant, aside from Lao Gao, no one else could do much. Still, the team had never planned to split up. Brother Zhang said, "We'll keep searching together. Just this area for now. Look around a bit more, then…"
But Brother Zhang had not even finished speaking when, from behind the stone wall, a green-stemmed plant lunged out and snapped its jaws shut on him. In a flash, he was dragged away.
It happened too fast. His last word was cut off mid-sentence.
The entire group was thrown into chaos. Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe rushed forward, chasing after the vine's trail.
Lao Gao shouted, "What was that? Did you see it clearly?"
Huang Jinghe thought for a moment. "Looked like a Venus flytrap. A giant one."
And what else could it be?
Venus flytraps ate anything. They clamped prey tight between their lobes and slowly digested them. Different from man-eating flowers, Venus flytraps did not chew—they held their victim still and drained it over time. The process was slow, but Brother Zhang was struggling so fiercely that half his body had already forced its way back out.
These mutated flytraps could extend their stems, though not infinitely. Before long, Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe had chased the trail to its nest.
Before them stood more than a dozen Venus flytraps, each as tall as a man. The largest was the one holding Brother Zhang.
Lao Gao wasted no time, sending flames at the flytraps. But the stems twisted and darted with unnerving speed. The more he burned, the faster they dodged. In the confusion, Brother Zhang almost got torn apart.
Lao Gao had to cut off his power and retreat two steps.
The Venus flytraps regarded Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe as though they were fresh delicacies set before them. Even without dripping mouths, the hungry stare was unmistakable.
Lao Gao asked, "Can you use your water ability?"
Huang Jinghe hesitated. "Won't plants grow faster with water?" That was why he had avoided using it this whole time. But freezing water into ice and stabbing into the plants might work.
He tried. It did nothing. The flytraps only wriggled faster, as if energized.
Lao Gao sneered. "Fine. Then I won't use powers at all."
Brother Zhang, half-trapped, shouted in exasperation, "What do you mean no powers? Without powers, how do we escape?"
Lao Gao glanced at the thick gloves on his and Huang Jinghe's hands. "What do you think?"
Huang Jinghe understood instantly. Lao Gao wanted to rip them apart with brute strength. Given their powers had little effect, maybe that was not impossible.
The two stepped forward, each grabbing one side of a flytrap's leaf. With a bit of force, the plant—nearly as tall as they were—was torn in half.
Brother Zhang stared wide-eyed. "That… impossible…"
Lao Gao said calmly, "Nothing's impossible."
Once ripped into two, no plant or beast could survive. The flytrap shriveled instantly. More shocking was that the two had not even used their full strength. That first tear gave them confidence. They did not even need to work together anymore.
Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe exchanged a look, nodded, and split up, each tearing at different flytraps bare-handed.
By the time Lan Jin and the others caught up, the scene before them was absurd: Lao Gao and Huang Jinghe were ripping Venus flytraps apart by hand, while Brother Zhang, still half-clamped by one, stared in utter disbelief.
No one had expected such a method. Someone stammered, "W-we can do that?"
Was it that the plants were fragile, or that these two men were simply monstrous? In the end, it did not matter. As long as they could save people.
Especially Huang Jinghe, who after tearing apart two flytraps, called out in excitement, "Sister Lan, come on! Just rip them open!"
Lan Jin only gave him one glance. She wanted to, but did not. Instead, she circled to Brother Zhang, summoned a lightning spike with the Violetbane Ring, and sliced straight through the flytrap holding him.
The massive plant split cleanly in half, and Brother Zhang dropped free.
Brother Zhang was alive, and everyone breathed easier. He was uninjured, though his clothes were shredded by the sharp spines inside the trap.
"Good thing I wore thick clothes."
Just as Lan Jin prepared to lead them away, a faint cry for help drifted toward their ears.
Brother Zhang clearly heard it too. Their steps faltered. They turned back, searching for the source of the voice.