But the physical attacks of the vines could not be blocked.
"We must destroy that thing!" Lu Shiyan pointed at the pulsating heart.
"Understood!"
Xiao Han took a deep breath, pushing his Wind Ability to its limit. A visible tornado formed in front of him, sweeping up debris and broken vines, and slammed fiercely into the heart!
A Mo, on the other hand, switched to a submachine gun and sprayed wildly at the heart's location!
"Bang bang bang!"
Bullets and the storm all bombarded the tumor, splattering its skin with fluid, and the human faces trapped inside twisted in even greater agony.
However, this heart's defense was far beyond imagination. Bullets only left shallow craters on it, which were quickly repaired by the wriggling tissue. Xiao Han's tornado only made it sway a few times, unable to cause fatal damage.
"Roar—!"
The enraged mother let out a shriek unlike anything any creature could produce, and a mental shockwave suddenly spread out!
Xiao Han and A Mo both swayed, feeling as if their heads had been struck by a heavy hammer, and their vision blurred. Xiao Han bit down hard on his tongue, forcing himself to clear his head with the sharp pain, and cursed, "Damn it! It even plays dirty!"
A Mo knelt on one knee with a muffled groan, but the arm holding his gun remained steady. With a soldier's strong willpower, he quickly shook off the dizziness and re-locked onto his target.
Su Wan also felt dizzy and disoriented. The mental shockwave caused her abdomen to clench suddenly, and the little one inside seemed to sense the threat, becoming restless. But then, the residual energy from the energy stone she had absorbed earlier transformed into a warm current, surging up through her veins, barely steadying her mind.
Even so, her face turned pale, and she instinctively reached out to protect her lower abdomen.
Only Lu Shiyan, with his powerful mental strength, merely grunted and withstood this wave of impact.
They couldn't drag this out any longer.
His eyes were bloodshot, and the lightning ability within him erupted without reservation!
Blinding electric light gathered in his palm, forming a highly compressed ball of lightning. A destructive aura permeated the air.
However, just as he was about to hurl the lightning ball, a clear illusion suddenly appeared on the surface of the plant heart.
In the illusion, there was a warmly decorated nursery, and a baby, sculpted like pink jade, seven or eight parts similar to him, was babbling and reaching out his small hand towards him, calling in a milky voice, "Daddy... hug..."
Lu Shiyan's movements suddenly froze.
Lu Shiyan instinctively reached out, wanting to touch that chubby little face.
But his fingertips passed straight through, touching nothing.
A void.
The little thing in front of him was like a wisp of smoke, blown away by the wind.
That clear laughter also vanished without a trace.
His hand was still frozen in mid-air when a voice so gentle it could wring water out came from behind him.
"A Shi, what are you spacing out for? Come here quickly."
He turned around blankly.
A young woman stood not far away, with a bright and radiant smile on her face.
It was her.
She looked so young, with a rosy complexion, carefully holding another child, an infant still in swaddling clothes, in her arms.
She looked down at the infant in her arms, her smile almost overflowing, a kind of contentment and joy that Lu Shiyan had never seen before.
"Mommy..."
His lips moved, his throat terribly dry.
The woman didn't look at him, only affectionately rubbed the baby's forehead with her cheek, amusing herself by teasing it.
"Be a good baby, look, your brother is over there."
Her voice was full of doting, and her gaze never left the small, red face of the infant for a moment.
Brother?
Lu Shiyan looked at the unfamiliar infant in her arms, then at his own empty hands.
So, that child just now...
"Where did he go?" he couldn't help but ask, his voice even hoarser than he expected.
The woman finally looked up, her gaze sweeping over his shoulder to the empty space behind him, her smile unwavering.
"A Shi, what foolishness are you saying?" she chided, "Come over quickly and hold your brother, he's been so good today."
...
Su Wan's mind buzzed, the mental shockwave making her stomach churn.
She barely managed to hold on, and when she looked up, she saw Lu Shiyan frozen in place, his eyes vacant, staring straight ahead.
His hand was still foolishly raised, as if to grasp something.
But in front of him... there was nothing.
"A Shi?" Xiao Han also sensed something was wrong and leaned closer, "What are you looking at? Can flowers bloom on that wall?"
Just then, a sharp, urgent "squeak, squeak" sound suddenly rang out in Su Wan's mind!
It wasn't heard with her ears; it exploded directly in her consciousness.
It was Red Bean!
The little one was pacing anxiously in her space, the feelings of agitation and warning being transmitted with absolute clarity—
Fake! Dangerous! A trick!
Illusion!
Su Wan reacted instantly.
This demonic plant could not only launch mental attacks but also create illusions targeting each person's weakest point!
Was Lu Shiyan... caught?
Damn it, this rotten vine even does targeted strikes?
Seeing that the surrounding vines were already stirring, ready to seize the opportunity, Su Wan couldn't care less about anything else.
"Lu Shiyan!" She roared with all her might.
No reaction.
His expression even softened, the corner of his mouth seeming to curve into a smile.
This expression appearing on Lu Shiyan's ice-cold face was more terrifying than seeing a ghost.
"Damn it!" Su Wan grew anxious, no longer caring if she would provoke him, "What the hell are you looking at?! It's all fake! Your wife and child are about to be turned into flower fertilizer, wake up!"
Her shout was full of power, sharp and clear.
Xiao Han and A Mo both jumped, looking at her in unison.
Sister Su Wan... so fierce.
"Lu Shiyan, wake up! It's fake!"
Su Wan's sharp cry, like a clap of thunder, exploded in his ears!
The plant mother caught his momentary hesitation, and dozens of the thickest vines, like giant siege pythons, attacked simultaneously from all directions!
A whistling sound tore through the air, aiming directly for the moment his mind was unguarded!
In the nick of time, an invisible barrier appeared out of nowhere in front of Lu Shiyan!
"Bang bang bang bang!"
The violent vines slammed fiercely against the spatial barrier, emitting a series of dull thuds.
The barrier shook violently, ripples spreading across its surface, on the verge of shattering.
It was Su Wan!
Disregarding Lu Shiyan's previous prohibition, she once again used the power she still couldn't fully control!
"Pfft—"
A tremendous recoil struck, and Su Wan's throat sweetened, a mouthful of warm, coppery blood gushing out.
The blood splattered on his strong arm, like a few hastily blooming red plum blossoms.
Her face instantly turned ashen white.
The familiar cramping pain returned from her abdomen, as if an invisible hand was twisting her internal organs, making her vision blur in waves of pain.
Damn it, this feeling again...
"Su Wan!" Xiao Han and A Mo shouted simultaneously.
Lu Shiyan snapped back to his senses.
Seeing Su Wan spitting blood, the momentary daze in his deep, unfathomable black eyes, caused by the illusion, was instantly replaced by shock and towering rage.
He reached out, wanting to support her swaying body, his fingertips trembling.
"I... cough cough... I'm fine..."
Su Wan held on with her last breath, barely steadying herself, still stubbornly refuting him.
She looked up and saw Lu Shiyan's world-falling expression, and even had the presence of mind to joke.
"What? Scared silly? If you don't act now, we're really going to be left here as fertilizer together."