Chapter 108: Active Matter

Big fish eat small fish, and small fish eat shrimp.

Though zombies, who viciously prey on humans, seem fierce and brutal, they too have natural enemies. However, compared to zombies’ shallow method of feeding—merely biting—their predators appear far more terrifying.

The zombie hanging from the tree struggled, but it was futile. Often, the more one struggled, the more likely they would become the next prey.

It was like a process of fertilization.

Crushing the zombie, turning it into a pulp, then pouring it onto the soil helped the tree grow.

This entity itself was an absurd and grotesque tale. Its mere presence could shatter the spirits of those lacking resolve in life.

It was akin to a spiritual invasion.

Many believed they had strong willpower—until they encountered the abyss.

Many thought themselves clever, only to be ensnared in a pyramid scheme and never emerge.

Human willpower was far weaker than imagined.

“Should I destroy it?”

After adapting, Fan Li’s expression gradually calmed. He gazed at the tree before him, pondering for a few seconds, then shook his head slightly.

He decided not to eradicate this tree.

Although it used bizarre methods to produce fertilizer and caused some spiritual contamination, its target didn’t seem to be humans. Fan Li smelled the scent wafting around but felt no adverse effects.

Only the zombies were driven mad.

Of course, a brief examination was insufficient. Long-term observation was needed to see if, lacking enough zombies nearby, its prey might shift—from zombies to beasts, or even humans.

Besides these considerations, Fan Li hesitated because he sensed a certain danger from this tree.

This arose from his sixth sense honed through long survival in the apocalypse.

“Bang!”

A loud crack echoed as another zombie was crushed by tentacles, its scattered juices dripping around the tree.

The earth writhed. This time, Fan Li clearly saw devourers lurking beneath the soil.

They too were tentacles, but unlike those hanging from the canopy, the tips of these were either embedded with starkly black-and-white eyes or shaped like mouths with tiny teeth.

Suddenly, sensing something, some eye-tipped tentacles broke through the soil, standing upright and locking their gaze on Fan Li—an eerie sight.

Dozens of tentacles surged from the earth, resembling venomous snakes confronting him.

“Wow!”

Ellie stepped forward, emitting a sharp, childlike cry.

The tentacles hanging above the ground trembled noticeably, then after swaying for a few seconds, all withdrew, burying themselves again in the soil. Yet one or two eye-tentacles remained just beneath the surface, watching Fan Li coldly.

It seemed the monsters had reached some sort of understanding; they chose to retreat without further aggression.

Fan Li beckoned Ellie to his side, then opened his backpack and pulled out a notebook.

He flipped to the latest page and wrote three words—“Active Entity.”

To Fan Li, this tree with tentacles and hoof-like roots redefined his shallow understanding of the apocalypse.

Beyond humans, remnants of gelatinous devourers, mutated monsters, zombies, and the suffocating beings above monsters, Fan Li had discovered a completely new form of life.

The monster manual was no exception. Though it was just a book, it breathed like a living creature. When sealing monsters, a soulless eye would sometimes appear on its cover.

Now, this tree—unyielding through wind, rain, bird pecking, and insect bites—had undergone a profound mutation.

Its trunk was no longer solid wood but green sap and pulp, easily bitten off by zombies and swallowed.

“Blood Tree.”

A rather mundane name.

Yet Fan Li felt it fit perfectly.

“There’s a black thing on the road. It’s not just a tree—something huge and dark, crouching there as if waiting for something, its string-like arms writhing and stretching…”

“This is an unprecedented life form, suspected to be active. Its intelligence remains unknown. It appeared in the middle of a residential area.”

After writing this, Fan Li emphasized a final sentence at the bottom.

“What a mad and chaotic world this is!”

Fan Li packed the notebook back into his bag and cast a long glance at the monstrous tree before turning away.

To be honest, he hoped it would keep feeding on zombies’ bodies—it would ease some pressure on survivors.

If, one day, he found it had gone berserk, indiscriminately devouring anything, he would gather all his monsters and eliminate it.

There were still too few monsters.

Though Ellie and the Butcher were powerful, they were not yet dominant throughout the county. Because of the apocalypse, not only zombies but other species had undergone mutations.

“If there were more monsters, I wouldn’t have to be so passive. Facing any challenge, I could just charge straight through by pressing A!”

“Monsters with adhesive abilities, covered in severed limbs.”

“Dog-sized but with three heads.”

These were two monster reports Fan Li had obtained from Liu Hao and the survivors’ base. Killing them would increase his kill count and secure a third key artifact.

...

Leaving the blood tree behind, Fan Li headed toward the hospital—the site of a massive monster that had once left Liu Hao delirious. It was Fan Li’s main hunting target this time.

Encountering the zombie-devouring tree had no impact on Ellie. She occasionally pulled food from her bag to eat. Her childlike behavior eased Fan Li’s mood somewhat.

“Cough, cough…”

“Gah, gah, gah…”

After walking for a while, passing a high school, Fan Li suddenly heard sounds inconsistent with the surrounding silence.

Following the noise to the teaching building, he glimpsed through a curtain into a blurry classroom, where about a dozen figures sat in chairs, swaying gently as if reciting something.

Fan Li tilted his head back and quietly listened to the indistinct chanting.

A thought flashed unbidden through his mind:

“Even at the end of the world, they’re still learning?”