Barbara was taken aback by the situation described by Su Ming. If the White Light spreads uncontrollably, it would indeed be a terrifying thing.
All animals and plants would become unkillable, leaving humans with nothing to eat. Yet, they themselves wouldn't starve to death either, which means living forever in a state of hunger. Just thinking about it is unbearable, better to die than endure that.
Su Ming, still pondering why a Black Lantern Battery would appear here, paid little attention to the expressions of others.
Vico, on the other hand, insisted that Pete take extensive photos of the dense zombie corpses on the ground. He ignored Pete's continuous retching; the burly man had already thrown up everything in his stomach and was now dry-heaving.
Cindy walked over to Su Ming and leaned against the wall beside him, next to the doorway leading to the room next door. She was twirling her pistol, caressing the netted grip.
"What about the Black Light? You put that container away earlier, what can it do?"
"The Black Light, representing death, is actually simpler. It can transform all deceased creatures into zombie forms, making them slaves to the Black Death Emperor." Su Ming patted Barbara to snap her back to reality, opened the door, and continued, "Even those who had died and been resurrected once before would be immediately controlled by the Black Light, returning to death. As for other functions… I have a hypothesis, but it needs verification."
"But those zombies earlier seemed irrational. I don't know who the Black Death Emperor you're talking about is, but clearly, they are not under control," Cindy said, kicking a headless corpse from which black blood was oozing out of its chest.
Su Ming noticed no Black Lantern Corps insignia on the zombies' chests, which indeed proved they were uncontrolled, acting solely on instinct.
"I don't know; even this battery shouldn't exist, but there are always secrets in the world." He observed the room filled with corpses, holstering his pistol on his thigh: "We are now dealing with creations of magic or alien energy, so be cautious."
"Ha, let them come," Cindy scoffed. She was curious about what formidable characters these foolish scientists could create.
.....................
The door opened once more, revealing a magnificent room where the original experimental tools had vanished, leaving only a world of green plants. The ground and walls were covered with moss, and everywhere there were vines and fallen leaves. A giant tree stood in the space, topped with a high-intensity lamp simulating sunlight.
Before they entered, the place was probably devoid of light. Without light, plants shouldn't grow, yet here was a tree.
Currently, no animals were visible, but on the ground, things like mushrooms and wildflowers mixed together, giving a slightly eerie feeling.
"The humidity has increased; is this a lab simulating a rainforest environment, or is it a park meant for relaxation?" Cindy spoke while reaching back to stop the others from entering, indicating they should wait at the doorway.
"Doubtful. Next door is where zombies were studied, and this turns directly into a lunch-park for scientists? Doesn't that seem a bit off-putting? Black Light zombies eat meat, too."
Su Ming responded to Cindy and tentatively fired a shot at the large tree.
Wood chips flew as the bullet created a hole in the trunk, yet the tree seemed to come alive, slightly swaying as its surrounding vines retracted like whips, lashing towards the two.
A deep mark appeared in the metal floor between them. The force was stronger than Briss's dinosaur toy by several margins.
The vines moved like tentacles emerging from a lush canopy, constantly dancing in the air, reaching to grab them.
"Well, is this a brother of the Swamp Monster? A Forest Monster?"
Cindy and Su Ming rolled aside to dodge, talking even in mid-air, though, as Cindy mentioned earlier, she disliked dealing with plants because she hadn't brought herbicide today.
"You all hide well!" Su Ming shouted to the three outside, instructing them to retreat to the previous room momentarily. He dodged another vine's winding: "It's a plant; its weakness isn't just herbicide."
Cindy also drew a knife to cut a vine, but as more vines surged towards her, she had to evade while shouting her discussion with Su Ming.
"I know! All plants derive energy from the Green of All Things. Plants need sunlight and water to grow. Destroying the roots won't allow them to survive long. The vines and the tree trunk share a symbiotic relationship. Flames counter plants. The key is, what's the weakness of this particular entity in front of us?"
"We don't have magic to summon Hellfire or possess a Fire Superpower," Su Ming replied as vines pursued them persistently: "But plants shouldn't have eyes! How does it know our positions? Think back to Poison Ivy."
Cindy understood. Poison Ivy previously heard their conversation through vibrations, so this plant likely determines an enemy's location through vibrations as well.
Thus, simultaneously creating vibrations far stronger than their running or heartbeats should effectively interfere with the tree and vines' ability to distinguish positions.
"I got it! I'll create the vibrations; you take it down!"
Cindy removed two grenades from her uniform, throwing them into unoccupied corners of the room. Two seconds later, a massive roar and tremors followed.
The vines, closely chasing them, suddenly rose like snakes, swaying slightly before heading towards the direction of the explosion.
Su Ming's analysis was correct; plants indeed lack eyes.
He immediately altered his course, evading the vines on the ground, heading towards the tree itself. Cindy focused on generating vibrations larger than his own actions, drawing all the vine's attention.
At the tree's base, in a patch of soil, some mushrooms and small flowers grew, encircling the thick trunk as if adorning it with a wreath.
The bark appeared rugged, with some metal instruments wrapped within, only a few edges visible, remnants of science surpassed by natural growth.
Its roots were vast and robust, penetrating unknown depths underground, but those exposed on the surface were each thicker than Su Ming's thigh.
Su Ming didn't have time to ponder a plant's age of growth. He took explosives from his leg pouch, skillfully placing them around the tree's roots.
Not far away, Cindy was still buying time.
Attaching a detonator to the explosives, Su Ming quickly retreated while signaling Cindy to find cover.
Soon after, a colossal explosion echoed, and the tree fell audibly. Countless green leaves and branches dropped as soil and wood splinters scattered chaotically.
A splash of green sap splattered on Su Ming's shoulder armor, emitting a strange grassy smell, which he ignored, focusing intently on the vines' movements amidst the haze.
After seemingly thrashing in its death throes, all the vines limply collapsed back to the ground.
Both moved to the room's center, regrouping at the tree's remnants.
The explosives shattered the spot, leaving a large hole in the ground, yet below lay endless soil, not a passageway leading down.
The tree's upper half was blown a distance, revealing its fractured cross-section densely lined with worm-like vines, which were parasitizing within the plant. The explosion severed them, stripping the vines of control.
"Looks like it's encased in a wooden sheath, containing copper wiring within," Cindy, like him, first checked underground, then at the broken tree.
Su Ming sighed. This thing wasn't overly strong but certainly wasn't weak either. It was a decent choice against melee enemies. If not for someone with Deathstroke's speed, getting struck or ensnared by it would yield no pleasant outcome.
He spoke to Cindy standing aside, "Now, the tree is no longer a problem, but we've made quite a commotion. Falcone should be somewhere below, he'll likely notice."
Cindy organized the remaining explosives on her, plenty of grenades left intact; although most heavy artillery was lost in the jeep's explosion, what was left suffices. Even a knife could do the trick, just requiring more effort.
"Being discovered was only a matter of time. I'm curious about what he'll do, knowing we're here?"