Chapter 80: Crino Prairie 24
These Positive and Negative Mushrooms were plentiful here, and their bright colors made them exceptionally easy to find.
Moira Lynch carried a bamboo basket on her back. Wherever she went, whether it was purifying moss, Water Storage Mushrooms, or Positive and Negative Mushrooms, she took them all.
Once again, she moved all the mushrooms from the bamboo basket into her space. Reaching out, she parted a large patch of tall grass, and her vision was filled with red and blue.
Behind this patch of grass, the ground was completely covered with Positive and Negative Mushrooms—so many that there was no place to step.
Among the many Positive and Negative Mushrooms, three of them stood out from the rest. One look was enough to tell they weren’t ordinary mushrooms.
After collecting all the Positive and Negative Mushrooms, Moira Lynch walked up to the three special ones.
[Positive and Negative Mushroom: A very rare, mutated variety of Positive and Negative Mushrooms. A weak electric current is generated between the two differently colored mushrooms. Note: Frequent exposure to the shocks can increase electrical resistance.]
After hearing the description, Moira Lynch’s eyes lit up. ’Just as I thought, these aren’t ordinary mushrooms.’ She carefully placed the three Positive and Negative Mushrooms into her space.
’Since Thunder Talent is one of the strongest offensive talents, having electrical resistance is essential.’
After finishing all this, Moira Lynch looked ahead and discovered a hidden lake.
The water within was a clear blue. ’No wonder I didn’t notice it before.’
However, after the incident with the player’s death, Moira Lynch was very wary of lakes. ’Who knew where the water here came from?’
Arriving at the lake’s edge, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw aquatic plants and fish swimming in the water.
Water resources were scarce on Caelus now, and many reservoirs had dried up completely. So, seeing such a large lake with so much water, she was incredibly excited.
’With this much water, taking half shouldn’t be a problem, right?’
Seeing that no one came out to stop her, Moira Lynch took it as their tacit approval.
She covered the entire surface of the lake with her spiritual power and then began to rapidly siphon water into her space.
The water level began to drop at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Many round stones were exposed on the now-bare lakebed.
Seeing this, Moira Lynch decided to get a closer look.
She reached out and touched one. It didn’t feel like a stone; it was soft. Applying a bit of force, she pulled the object out of the mud.
After washing it clean, she took another look. ’Good heavens, this isn’t a stone at all—it’s a giant Water Storage Mushroom!’
Looking at the round "stones" that had been exposed by the receding water, Moira Lynch couldn’t have been more excited.
’If those small Water Storage Mushrooms can hold so much water, won’t these huge ones hold even more?’
Moira Lynch decided on the spot: she wasn’t leaving until she had collected every last Water Storage Mushroom here.
Her spiritual power and her space worked in tandem. Any Water Storage Mushroom she could detect would appear in her space the very next second.
While Moira Lynch was happily collecting mushrooms, the other players, with time running out, had to risk moving at night to complete their quests as quickly as possible.
But even so, because the Beastkin lived far apart from one another, they wasted most of their time just traveling.
Where there are strong players, there are also weak ones. Even though they were all players who had awakened talents, everyone’s starting point was different.
Some were thriving in the game and could complete their quests quickly, while others had been bustling about for ages only to earn a handful of smiley faces.
Just finding a Beastkin didn’t guarantee quest completion. Some people toiled for hours only to fail the quest and get driven away by angry Beastkin.
Trying to argue would get them a beating, and if they ran into powerful or ill-tempered Beastkin, they might even get injured.
After collecting all the Water Storage Mushrooms, Moira Lynch circled the lake one more time to make sure there were no stragglers, then finally left the area.
Just a moment ago, her spiritual power had detected more than one group of people arriving here.
However, most of them were heading for the Chimefin Beastfolk and not in her direction.
She got up and left. After walking for about half an hour, a glint of reflected light up ahead caught Moira Lynch’s attention.
Her spiritual power didn’t detect any signs of life, but Moira Lynch still lightened her steps, crouching down and inching closer.
Parting the tall grass, she saw a strange-looking grove of trees appear before her.
’What’s so strange about it? There’s no purifying moss here.’
Ever since entering this forest, purifying moss had been the most common thing to see, but there was none here, not even a trace of it on the ground.
Moreover, as she looked at the leaves on these trees, Moira Lynch’s first reaction was that they were perfectly formed; every single one was a perfect leaf.
[Cangxiao Tree: Normally looks no different from an ordinary tree. But when the wind blows, its leaves transform into the sharpest of weapons, slashing anyone who gets too close to ribbons.]
’That powerful? For real?’
Moira Lynch curiously picked up a fallen leaf. It felt just like a normal leaf, and with a slight tug, it tore in two.
’Could Patience have made a mistake?’
Just as Moira Lynch was feeling doubtful, a light breeze suddenly blew past.
In that instant, the hair on Moira Lynch’s whole body stood on end as an immense sense of danger washed over her.
Without a moment’s hesitation, her body dropped to the ground. It was definitely the fastest she had ever moved in her entire life.
Immediately after, the sound of sharp blades slicing through the air came from above her head.
After a long while, once the sounds overhead had stopped, Moira Lynch let out a sigh of relief and slowly climbed up from the ground.
She looked at a nearby tree trunk, where several leaves were now deeply embedded.
Looking at the Cangxiao Trees, she was a believer now.
Picking up another leaf, Moira Lynch flicked her wrist and threw it.
The once-soft leaf flew through the air like a sharp dagger, embedding itself straight into a nearby tree trunk.
This scene reminded Moira Lynch of a saying: even flying flowers and falling leaves can be used to harm people.
The leaves of the Cangxiao Tree were perfect tools for sneak attacks and assassinations.
’After all, who would ever be wary of a tiny little leaf?’
Moira Lynch first used her spiritual power to dig a few pits inside her space, then rubbed her hands together, ready to make a move on the Cangxiao Trees.
’Leaves will wither, and a disposable item like this will eventually run out, no matter how many I collect. It’s better to just take the whole tree.’
There was no wind inside her space, so she didn’t have to worry about the leaves of the Cangxiao Trees flying around and hurting someone.
After moving four or five Cangxiao Trees into her space, Moira Lynch stopped. That was more than enough for her needs.
She had originally thought that Shane Rhodes and Kai York would finish their quests quickly, but Moira Lynch ended up waiting until afternoon to see the two of them appear, looking completely dejected.