Mature Woman No. 5 handed a crystal ball to Shi Wanyun.
"This is..." Shi Wanyun looked at the crystal ball in her hand, which was about the size of a walnut and emitted a white light, and asked in surprise, "The core of the tree house?"
"Hmm... It's somewhat similar to the core of the tree house, and it contains a lot of energy." No. 5 explained, "This crystal ball was given to you by the master. It should contain the information you need for this mission."
"Information?" Shi Wanyun pinched the crystal ball in her hand, held it in front of her eyes and looked inside. "How do I see this?"
The crystal ball is translucent, and the inside is hazy and nothing can be seen.
It's like a miniature tree house core.
"That's not the way to look at it." No. 5 smiled, "When the time is right, it will start automatically. You just need to pay attention to it."
"Automatically start..." Shi Wanyun thought, "Does it project images like a watch?"
"You'll know when the time comes. It can't be activated now, perhaps because I'm with you." No. 5 looked at the crystal ball and said, "The owner may just want you to see the content of the message."
"I understand." Shi Wanyun did not put the crystal ball away, but held it in her hand, "Then I will..."
"I'll take you away, come with me."
Shi Wanyun followed her and after walking a not-so-short distance in the corridor, No. 5 pushed open a door.
The scene behind the door made Shi Wanyun's eyes slowly widen.
What did she see
Ponds, flowing water, bamboo forests, courtyards, and sea of flowers.
There are also very Chinese-style pavilions and towers.
There is even the occasional sound of birds chirping.
Unlike the somewhat dim corridor she had just walked through, it was sunny here. As soon as she stepped out of the door, she felt the warmth of the sun on her body.
"this… "
Shi Wanyun immediately turned around and looked at the door she walked in through.
The door is still there.
However, the door was covered with green plants climbing up the wall, as if hiding the door in such a cave.
"We were... teleported to another place?" she asked in surprise, "This door, is it a portal?"
"A portal? Haha, of course not." No. 5 smiled and shook his head, "We didn't go anywhere, we just passed through a door. We are still in the World Tree. Welcome to where I live."
"Where... do you live?" Shi Wanyun opened her red lips slightly, amazed by everything in front of her.
She has seen too many strange things here.
Just now, she saw many unusual situations along the way, but she didn't react at all because she was already a little numb to it. She thought that apart from the monster appearing again, nothing else could surprise her.
But it seems that she overestimates herself.
She couldn't keep calm anymore.
She had never thought that there would be such a surprising area in the tree house of this world tree.
This was even more shocking to her than the space above the elevator!
Who would have thought that in this world tree, in this giant tree house, there is actually a...
garden
A paradise on earth
No. 5 looked at her expression with interest: "Surprised?"
"... Yeah, I'm surprised." Shi Wanyun took a few steps forward and looked around. "Aren't we in a tree now? In the tree, there is such a world..."
The stream was less than ten meters in front of her. She walked forward and looked down.
The stream was clear and flowed slowly, and there were even fish swimming in the water.
The ground was no longer a wooden floor, but soft soil.
Looking up, she discovered that although this area was indoors, it was surprisingly high, nearly twenty meters, or about the height of six floors!
What amazed her the most was that the ceiling above was not made of wood like other areas, but was made up of pieces of rounded stones.
At first glance, it looks a bit like a cobblestone road in a park.
Unlike pebbles, these stones are relatively large, each about the size of a soccer ball.
And the most important thing is that these are not ordinary stones.
Instead, it is a crystal stone that emits a bright white light!
It’s as if huge tree house cores were pieced together to form this ceiling that looks like a work of art.
This paradise-like area does not have any windows, and light from the outside world cannot shine in at all. Despite this, it is still as bright as the daytime in the early morning.
As soon as she came in here, she felt as if the sun was shining on her body, and it was very warm.
So... what made her warm wasn't the sunlight, but these... the bright white light emitted by the huge core
"Don't underestimate this world tree." No. 5 came up from behind. "The highest point of this world tree is 300 meters, and the canopy stretches for two kilometers. The actual usable area is very huge."
So...
“So big!”
The area is two kilometers in radius, which is more than twelve square kilometers, nearly twenty thousand acres!
It is also said that tree houses have an invincible natural space utilization rate. A height of 300 meters can be used at will. Unlike the outside world, high-rise buildings must be built to barely utilize a small amount of high-altitude space.
This place can almost cover a city!
It shouldn't be a problem for millions of people to live in this world tree, right
When she saw the giant tree outside, she was just a little shocked, but she didn't expect this...
"So, even though my garden looks big, it doesn't actually take up much space in the tree." No. 5 laughed, "Of course, there are only a few people who own a garden like this. After all, most of the area of this tree is not for living, but for other purposes."
Shi Wanyun's eyes moved.
It means that it has other uses... It means those genetic experiments, right
"But even so, there is still plenty of remaining space here. A small part is still empty and not being used." No. 5 walked along the stream, and Shi Wanyun followed behind her.
"You are really strong to be able to utilize most of this tree..." Shi Wanyun exclaimed.
No. 5 looked at her and said, "What I mean is that when you complete this mission and come back, you can also have a living area like this here."
Shi Wanyun was silent for a moment, then said, "Am I the only one here? Wouldn't that be a bit lonely..."
"Of course not." No. 5 pointed to the pavilions in front of him, "There is enough space for many people to live there. As long as they are here, I can let them live here at any time. It's just that I like quietness."
"You can bring others in..."
"Of course, and I also said that the master does not interfere in our affairs except for setting some rules that cannot be violated. So..."
No. 5 smiled and said, "If there is someone you care about, you can still bring him in even if he doesn't meet our requirements."
"Can we bring in other survivors? Anytime?" Shi Wanyun immediately turned to look at No. 5.
"As long as you have my status, you can do it." No. 5's voice was full of temptation. "You survivors are still struggling to survive, right? If there is someone you are worried about, you can naturally take him over. That way, he will end his survival early and won't be in any danger anymore."
"...Wouldn't this kind of thing violate the rules?" Shi Wanyun asked.
"Of course not. But... since they are not selected, they cannot participate in our genetic modification program and cannot have a long lifespan and strong physical abilities like us."
"… Wait, them? Can I bring a lot of people?"
"Of course, but not too many." No. 5 thought for a moment and said, "Five or six people should be fine, seven or eight at most."
"I see..."
Hearing this, Shi Wanyun felt that her heart had begun to waver wildly.
It would be a lie to say I'm not moved.
She now felt that being able to live in a place like this, away from danger, seemed to be... very, very attractive.
The people she brings here don’t have to participate in the genetic modification program and don’t have to become monsters.
And No. 5 also told her that they also had genetic mutations that did not allow them to turn into monsters, just like No. 5 himself, they were no different from ordinary people, so she didn't need to worry too much.
Although she had a deep-seated hatred and fear for the monster she had seen before, and held an extremely negative attitude, but...
It has to be said that the other party didn't seem to do anything to hurt her.
And as No. 5 said, that incident only occurs once or twice in a decade or so, and normally has no impact at all.
Although she was a little skeptical about the purpose of this genetic program, the fact that it provided her with a safe and luxurious place to live in this dangerous world and gave her hope of returning to her original world was enough...
She was already looking forward to this!
but…
Her mission was to kill Xu Xin, the strongest survivor, the one who had the best chance of leading the majority of the survivors to survive.
He is also her savior.
… What should she do…
At this time, No. 5 had already brought Shi Wanyun to the gate of the courtyard and asked her, "Would you like to come in and sit down?"
"Yeah." Shi Wanyun nodded.
The two walked into the yard.
It was not the complicated Chinese courtyard that Shi Wanyun had imagined.
As soon as you come in, there is a small courtyard.
There are rockery, ponds, pavilions and everything else.
"Come sit in the pavilion." Perhaps because of some privacy issue, No. 5 did not invite her into the building, but looked at the pavilion in the middle of the small lake in the courtyard and said.
"good."
They walked into the pavilion and sat down.
Sitting in the pavilion, you will be surrounded by a pond covered with lotus leaves and several blooming lotus flowers.
It would be more comfortable if there were a few more breezes, but unfortunately there is no wind here.
"Are those glowing stones above replacing the sunlight? That's why these plants can still grow like this?" Shi Wanyun pointed at the lotus flowers blooming on the water.
"Part of it."
No. 5 took out a set of tea set from somewhere, brewed a pot of tea, and poured two cups.
"Plants can indeed grow with the light of energy stones, but in this world tree, they can actually grow with the energy of the world tree. The energy stones can only make them grow faster. The main function of energy stones is lighting."
These crystals are called energy stones, so they are just used for lighting
She looked up at the crystal stones that were laid flat above her with almost no gaps between them.
Each of them emits a bright and soft white light.
… I always feel that this woman is doing something very extravagant.
"Are you curious to know what these are?"
"I want to know."
Naturally, she wanted to know how similar this thing was to the core of the tree house.
"I can't tell you for now." No. 5 picked up the teacup, blew on it, and took a sip.
"My master said that when you complete this mission and come back, you will be on the same level as me. Then I will tell you everything I know. Right now, you are not qualified to know these secrets."
Shi Wanyun nodded.
That’s right, No. 5 is already very friendly to her by telling her so much information now.
"So, what should I do now?"
"I will get you to where you need to be before tonight."
"Where I'm supposed to go is... take me back?"
No. 5 shook his head: "I don't know either. I'm only responsible for activating the transmission device."
A transmission device
Shi Wanyun was not surprised.
It would be strange if there were no teleportation device here.
"So, you can stay here until the evening, and it's up to you to decide when to leave."
"Then... let's do it in the evening." Shi Wanyun thought for a moment and said softly, "I want to learn more about this place."
If she goes back now, she will be very conflicted.
Although sacrificing the life of a survivor to exchange for her future is nothing, and it’s not like she hasn’t killed people in this world, but...
She still couldn't do something like being ungrateful.
Unless it's very attractive here.
She wanted to take another look.
"OK."
…
At this moment, Xu Xin’s mind darkened.
He opened his eyes and found that Shi Wanyun was so tired that she could hardly keep her eyes open.
"I'm... so tired." Shi Wanyun said tiredly, "I'm mentally exhausted."
"Are you not tired?"
"Hmm... So sharing memories with others is so tiring..."
Shi Wanyun could hardly open her eyes, and she leaned against the back of the sofa, as if she was about to fall asleep.
But Xu Xin didn't want to let her sleep, so he threw her an orange.
"Replenish your energy. I need to know what happens next."
Shi Wanyun looked at the orange thrown at her, her eyes a little resentful for a moment: "... I know."
Then she began to peel the orange slowly.
Xu Xin took the opportunity to think about what had just happened.
The story just now contains a lot of information.
What he cared about most was the photo of his pocket watch that Shi Wanyun received.
"Do you still have that photo of me?"
"Yes, but..." Shi Wanyun chewed the orange and said incoherently, "It's no longer in my hands now. It's in my tree house."
Xu Xin nodded.
He indeed did not find anything like a pocket watch in Shi Wanyun's backpack.
but…
The person on the pocket watch must be the image of Xu Xin.
And the existence of Xu Xin, the image with blood veins on it, could only be in the collapsed world at that time.
The alien invasion from that world came together with the image of Xu Xin and others!
Back then, Xu Xin's team spent hundreds of years making a time machine. After sending people from the future back to the past, the whole world fell into a state of chaos in time and space.
According to Xu Xin, this chaos was already noticeable to most people and had a very obvious impact on people's lives.
In this case, the alien invaders from that time and space should also be able to sense the chaos of time and space.
Of course, the chaos of time and space was caused by the organization of Image Xu Xin. Even if the alien invaders noticed it, they would definitely not be able to find the cause of the chaos of time and space in a short period of time.
Therefore, the members of the organization who returned to the past generally believed that they were the only members of the organization who escaped from the collapsed future to the past.
but…
Is this really the case
The alien invaders have a technological level far superior to that of humans on Earth. Can't they build a time machine that the human team can