Lantern Sister is still very capable.

Chapter 48 Fire Tree

It was late at night again, and the roommates were already fast asleep. A week of intensive evening training had exhausted these well-behaved students who also studied hard during the day. Chu Deng could hear Tu Leqi snoring, and Zhang Mengmeng was also breathing heavily. Jin Xiaoyue turned over and slept even more soundly.

After waiting for a week without feeling that any capable instructors were in charge, Chu Deng was starting to get restless and decided to go out at night, mainly because Jin Xiaoyue was making no progress.

She thought of those superhumans who had already reached level three eight years ago, and felt that if her friend didn't awaken soon, she wouldn't be able to catch up with the awakening of superhumans triggered by the intervention of the state apparatus, and would probably only be able to become a low-level superhuman in the future.

So, risking being discovered and forced to work as a wage slave, Chu Deng nimbly left their four-person dormitory and climbed out of the window in the third-floor stairwell. All the windows on the first and second floors were sealed off.

As soon as she stepped out of the dormitory, Chu Deng felt like a wild horse that had been released from its reins. She breathed in the wind as it blew in her face.

In the utter silence, she walked alone, as if she had returned to those days of the apocalypse.

Chu Deng carefully avoided the surveillance cameras and headed towards the cafeteria. For the past week, the cafeteria had been updating the energy-limited windows every other day. She noticed that there were not only mutated animals, but also mutated plants.

Compared to mutated animals that require skill to process, mutated plants with gentler energy are actually more suitable for mutated individuals in their incubation period, and ordinary people will not be harmed by the energy in the food.

She and Jin Xiaoyue used to walk around the campus for a few minutes every night. Jin Xiaoyue thought Chu Deng was just taking a stroll, but she was actually observing the tire tracks on the ground to find out how the vehicle transporting the special ingredients got in. Because the shelf life of mutated plants is not long, the energy contained in them will be lost during transportation, so they are usually picked and eaten on the same day.

The logistics department can provide good things for these students. The instructors' daily diet should also consist of these exotic plants and animals. As long as we find their storage location, we can secretly move some out for Jin Xiaoyue to use.

Combined with the awakening techniques she taught him, Chu Deng was confident that Jin Xiaoyue would most likely awaken within two weeks.

As for the logistics department being short of things, Chu Deng, who still carried the traces of the apocalypse in his bones, didn't care at all. As long as he wasn't discovered while taking things, he could just eat them and make them his own. At worst, he could deny it.

In the apocalypse, how can eating be considered stealing? Whoever gets it keeps it!

While avoiding the surveillance cameras, Chu Deng searched for a way out, but she felt the fire element in the air slowly increasing. She was a little suspicious. When she heard footsteps coming from the cafeteria, she quickly dodged to avoid them.

What are you doing in the middle of the night?

"...da da da da..."

"Really? Wow, give me a few later, I'll give them away."

"Da da da da da-"

"Tch, stingy."

There were two people, but the other one didn't say anything and was instead tapping on the wireless terminal.

Chu Deng continued to lie low, unsure of the other party's level, and couldn't look directly at them, lest someone sensitive to eye contact notice. So she could only glance at them out of the corner of her eye.

Two people, one tall and one fat, walked briskly past the place where Chu Deng was hiding, and it just so happened that Chu Deng recognized them.

The tall one is Qin Chuanfeng, the head instructor of this training camp, and the fat one is Wang Shun, the master chef in charge of making supernatural food at the restricted window.

The two passersby did not notice Chu Deng, who was well hidden, and hurried towards the vegetable garden in the corner of the school, or rather, the exotic plant garden.

That's right. For convenience, a separate permit for planting supernatural plants was approved at Haishi No. 1 High School. A batch of first-level supernatural plants were allocated for instructors and students to consume. The construction was carried out jointly by earth and wood elements and was completed in less than half a day.

Although Wang Shun is a chef, he has a friend in the plant research department who once asked for a seed of a fire tree. After his arduous cultivation, the seed barely reached level three, and after nearly eight years, it was finally about to bear flame fruit!

The Fire Tree is a fire-attribute exotic plant that absorbs fire elements to grow. It mainly grows in desert and volcanic areas. Before level three, it only flowers and does not bear fruit. After level three, it reaches maturity and produces fruit that is two levels lower than its own level—the Flame Fruit. The energy is mild and beneficial to level one ability users. High-level Flame Fruits can also remove ice-type damage.

As a fire-type ability user, Wang Shun noticed that the temperature in the cafeteria had risen. Although he was only at the second level, he had controlled fire for many years and was extremely sensitive to fire elements. In addition, the fire tree had recently broken through to the third level of the plant, and he thought it was about to bear fruit. So he called his old friend who had come over for a free meal and a late-night chat to eat the fruit together.

Upon arriving at the exotic plant garden, Wang Shun first placed his palm on the trunk of the fire tree, transferring his energy to it to help it bear fruit.

Once the fiery tree stabilized, the sudden surge of fire element in the air subsided, replaced by sweet and tempting fiery red fruits on the tree.

Qin Chuanfeng's mouth watered as he looked at it, and he reached out to pick it.

"Squeak-"

"Watch out!" Qin Chuanfeng warned his old friend with a sharp look in his eyes after a sudden movement. He unleashed a wind blade that struck the black shadow that had jumped out from under his feet. Blood splattered everywhere. Taking two steps back, Wang Shun saw the decapitated rat.

The rat was as big as a cat, with its still-open eyes gleaming crimson, a thick, long tail, and long, sharp yellow incisors; it was clearly a mutated rat.

Wang Shun pointed to the ground and then to the fruit on the tree, signaling Qin Chuanfeng to be careful.

The mutated rats not only frequently appear in groups, but their eyes also glow red, indicating a fire-type mutation. Like Wang Shun, they sensed the change in fire element and were attracted by the fire tree, wanting to eat its fruit to enhance themselves.

"Hey, let's eat something quickly, or you won't be able to save this tree when the people come." Qin Chuanfeng quickly used his wind blade to cut off two flame fruits, gave one to Wang Shun, and ate it very fast. While eating, he said, "Notify the guard team to send more people. I'll report the situation. This batch of mutated rat crystal cores will be allocated to us first. This fire tree will definitely be taken by those experimental madmen in the research department."

Wang Shun opened his mouth wide and devoured a Flame Fruit in no time. He had worked so hard for eight years to finally achieve some success, only to have his fruits stolen by others. He wanted to eat a few more!

Before Qin Chuanfeng arrived, he was having a late-night snack with Wang Shun. After eating three fruits, he was so full that he kept burping. He could only stand aside and be wary of the mutated rats that might pop out from the ground at any time. When Wang Shun stopped eating six or seven Flame Fruits in a row, Qin Chuanfeng arrived.

The guard team also arrived. They arrived at just the right time; as soon as they reached the plant garden, mounds of earth appeared on the ground.

The mutated rats inside emerged one by one, swarming in and devouring most of the exotic plants in the plant garden, and launching an attack on the humans who were trying to stop them from eating the Flame Fruit.

In the dead of night, Chu Deng squatted on a tree outside the exotic plant garden, silently watching the battle between humans and rats.

The pungent smell of blood in her nostrils ignited her bloodlust. It was a pity that Chu Deng couldn't join her, but she still remembered the purpose of her trip. She hid in the tree, looking for an opportunity to steal a few Flame Fruits.

This is great stuff! After eating the fruit, she got the seeds and can grow trees herself.

The key is that she knows about this fire tree; its fruit is incredibly delicious, and its leaves make a wonderful drink when steeped in water. Unfortunately, it requires a large amount of fire element to grow.

In the past, during the apocalypse, every day was a life-or-death struggle, and she couldn't raise any trees. Now, although there are still many people with superpowers, the authorities have controlled the situation very well. There are no zombies and no conflicts. She has so much energy that it overflows every day, so she can still raise trees.