95: Ganges survivors worship the sacred tree; the pure land of Brahma hides strange and mysterious secrets.

Chapter Ninety-Eight: Ganges Remnants Worship the Divine Tree, Brahma Pure Land Hides Treachery

The scanning range of the skynet satellite continued to expand. When the lens swept over the South Asian Subcontinent, everyone in the command center was stunned.

This land, once regarded as a "secondary testing ground" by the Serpent Skeleton Research Institute, had neither turned into a living hell like Africa nor become riddled with Mutant nests like Sakura Country. Instead, it presented a bizarre "tranquility"—atop the ruins on both banks of the Ganges River, vast stretches of towering giant trees that blotted out the sun had grown. The trunks were a strange dark green, and aerial roots like tentacles hung from the branches. From a distance, it looked like a labyrinth constructed of plants.

Even more inconceivable was that in the satellite imagery, tens of thousands of survivors from India were kneeling beneath the giant trees in worship. They were dressed in rags, yet their faces bore a near-fanatical devotion, chanting incantations as if they were making offerings to some deity.

"This... what's the situation?" Wang Hu rubbed his eyes, thinking he had seen it wrong. "Skeleton Serpent didn't cause trouble here? Or has this group of people been driven mad by the apocalypse and started worshipping trees?"

Lin Zhou's gaze was fixed on the screen. With a light tap of his finger, he enlarged the details of one of the giant trees. He noticed that the tree's roots were buried deep in the silt of the Ganges River, and beneath that silt, the wreckage of abandoned experimental capsules from the Serpent Skeleton Research Institute was faintly visible. Even stranger was that the leaves of the giant trees secreted a pale purple mist. Wherever the mist reached, even Mutants didn't dare to approach, only circling far away.

"Immediately retrieve the satellite records from three months ago!" Lin Zhou ordered in a deep voice.

The research personnel operated quickly, and the images on the screen began to play back. Everyone clearly saw that three months ago, the Ganges River basin was still a major experimental site for Skeleton Serpent, with abandoned Mutant experimental subjects everywhere and very few survivors. It wasn't until after a rare great flood of the Ganges that strange green sprouts suddenly emerged near the wreckage of those experimental capsules. They then grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, growing into the current towering giant trees in just half a month.

"These trees are definitely related to Skeleton Serpent's experiments!" The Research Team Leader pointed at the wreckage of the experimental capsules on the screen, his tone certain. "Perhaps it was leaked genetic agents from the experiments combining with the unique environment of the Ganges that catalyzed this Mutant plant!"

To uncover the truth, Lin Zhou ordered the Southern Army Group to dispatch an elite Reconnaissance Squad to infiltrate the heart of India disguised as refugees.

The Reconnaissance Squad crossed the mountain passes of the Himalayan Mountains and headed south, stepping into the land shrouded by the giant trees. As soon as they approached, they smelled the pale purple mist permeating the air. Inhaling the mist into their nostrils actually gave them an inexplicable sense of calm, and even their tensed nerves relaxed a bit.

The squad members disguised themselves as fleeing commoners and blended into the survivor communities beneath the trees. They soon discovered that these survivors revered the giant trees as the "Brahma Divine Tree," calling it the deity that saves all living beings. And the giant trees did indeed "protect" them—the trees produced red fruits the size of a fist, which could resist Mutant attacks when eaten; the hollows in the tree trunks provided shelter, and the pale purple mist could disperse poisonous insects and miasma.

But the Reconnaissance Squad soon discovered something was wrong.

They noticed that the survivors who consumed the red fruit long-term would have their pupils slowly turn the same dark green as the leaves, and they became increasingly lethargic. Most of their day was spent kneeling under the trees in a daze. Only when the tree sap dripped would they mechanically reach out to catch it as if awakened. Even more terrifyingly, a member of the squad, out of curiosity, stole and ate a red fruit. That night, he developed a high fever and kept muttering in his sleep, repeatedly saying things like "The Divine Tree is about to awaken" and "Only through sacrifice can one achieve eternal life."

The squad members were greatly alarmed and hurriedly injected him with the antiviral agents they carried. After struggling for a whole night, they barely managed to stabilize his condition. Just then, they witnessed an even more horrifying scene—several survivors who had been promoted as "Divine Envoys" actually dragged several young people who resisted the "Divine Tree Doctrine" to the roots of the giant tree.

Those thick roots suddenly began to wriggle like living things, extending countless tiny red threads that wrapped around the young people's bodies. In just a few minutes, those young people were sucked into shriveled husks, while the branches and leaves of the giant tree became even greener, and the pale purple mist grew thicker.

"This isn't a divine tree at all; it's a monster!" The Reconnaissance Squad leader gritted his teeth and quickly transmitted the captured footage back to the Central Hub Base.

Inside the command center, everyone's faces turned ashen as they watched the tragic scenes on the screen.

It turned out that these Mutant giant trees were another conspiracy of the Serpent Skeleton Research Institute. They had fused Mutant plant genes with human gene fragments to cultivate this "Spirit-Devouring Tree" that could control minds. Using the fruit and mist as bait, they turned survivors into "nutrients" for it to draw nourishment from. Those who were sucked dry would eventually become part of the tree, completely losing themselves.

Even more terrifyingly, satellite monitoring showed that the roots of these Spirit-Devouring Trees were spreading toward neighboring countries, faintly forming a "sea of trees" spanning across South Asia.

"Skeleton Serpent wants to turn the entirety of South Asia into their plant ranch!" Chen Hao's fists clenched until they creaked.

Lin Zhou's gaze darkened. He looked at the sun-blotting sea of trees on the screen and then toward the energy mist of the Bear Country to the north, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Pass down my orders," Lin Zhou's voice carried an unquestionable decisiveness. "The Southern Army Group is to enter a state of level-one combat readiness! The Research Team is to immediately develop an agent to counter the Spirit-Devouring Tree! Additionally, closely monitor the movements of the sea of trees. Once it crosses the border, open fire immediately!"

The waters of the Ganges River still flowed quietly beneath the sea of trees.

Those kneeling survivors were still devoutly praying for the "Divine Tree's awakening." They did not know that the deity they worshipped was nothing more than a meticulously planned massacre.

And far away in the depths of the Pacific Ocean, Zhulong was looking at the sea of Spirit-Devouring Trees on the screen, a morbid smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"The 'Pure Land' of South Asia is but an appetizer."