Apocalypse: Transmigrated with an Overlord System
Chapter 173: The Secret Field Under the Sleeping Giant

Chapter 173: Chapter 173: The Secret Field Under the Sleeping Giant

Now, after the fight and collecting their crystal cores, everyone’s attention was back on that strange fungus, and they started appraising even more carefully.

The fungus’s cap was wide and undulating, with royal blue colors. Strange glimmering particles lazily floated out of the gills, like dreamy spots of light.

At the root of the mushroom, there grew a lush herb, some of whose leaves shone silver, and some of whose petals shone golden, faintly visible even in the shadows.

"These are third-level aether herbs!" Old Man Zhou exclaimed in a low voice, squatting down, with a flash of surprise in his eyes, "This is not an accidental lucky zone. This area... is fertile beyond imagination."

Xu Kai raised his eyebrows slightly: "No wonder those mutant ants nested here?"

Zhan Yifan nodded slowly and carefully removed a piece of soil: "The soil here is full of residual energy. This is a treasure land that most alchemists rarely encounter in their lifetime..."

One by one, the survivors put down their backpacks and joined in, carefully digging herbs and putting them into bags. Even those who knew little about herbs saw the importance of it from Old Man Zhou’s expression.

It was like discovering a treasure.

From the initial panic collection to the collective cooperation later, they cleaned the grass roots and found clean water to rinse the roots. Some people even found old cloths to wrap the delicate flowers. This is not just for survival.

It is also hope.

"This feels a little warm!" A teenager shouted, "Does it smell like... honey?"

"That’s the ’soft golden root’." Old Man Zhou’s eyes flashed, "A very rare natural stimulant. If it is brewed properly, it can restore physical strength in a few minutes and even heal surface wounds."

Yang Ming leaned over to look at the glowing mushroom: "Do we want to collect this too?"

Liora’s eyes became sharp, and her eyes slowly moved upwards.

There, not far from the mushrooms... there lay a sleeping giant.

It was that mammoth.

Even in sleep, the ground rose and fell with its heavy breathing, and every exhalation was enough to blow people away and even raise ashes.

Its steel-like body glowed slightly in the sun, and the silver hair was intertwined with vines and leaves.

"Even when it’s asleep, its breath can blow people away." Lin Ci whispered, "How strong is it..."

"No one knows," Liora whispered back, "but I don’t want to risk waking it up."

Everyone fell silent. The glowing mushroom was clearly the core of this small ecosystem—why mammoths slept here, why herbs flourished here, and even why mutant ants gathered here. Picking it would mean taking away its treasure.

It would also wake up the guardian. And everyone could feel that it was very powerful.

"Liora, what do you think?" Yang Ming looked at her.

She stood there for a moment, the shadows curling slightly under her boots, as if instinctively preparing for action. But no one noticed this faint moment, because the shadows made themselves as transparent as possible, so hardly anyone could notice.

She clenched her fists.

If she was alone, she could try. She could summon all the shadows and run away, and maybe even survive. But there were too many people here—incompetent survivors, tired comrades, people who were just beginning to trust each other.

She couldn’t risk their lives.

"I’m strong," she said at last, "but I’m not invincible. More importantly..."

She turned to the crowd and said in a clear and firm voice: "I won’t trade your lives for a mushroom. Let’s go."

Old Zhou opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he just sighed softly, planted the silverleaf grass he had just picked back in the original place, and carefully compacted the soil.

"Alas, I’m old and timid... If I were thirty years younger, I might have dared to pull out the nose hair of the mammoth and soak it in medicinal wine."

Yang Ming rolled his eyes and whispered: "Even if you are thirty years younger now, you are still a lunatic."

Everyone laughed softly, and the atmosphere slowly relaxed.

"We... really don’t take anything?" A young girl looked at the huge mushroom reluctantly and asked in a low voice.

"You won’t live long if you take it away." Yang Ming shrugged, "Unless you can run five kilometers before the mammoth opens its mouth."

"Those who can run away have long legs and long lives." Zhan Yifan patted the girl’s shoulder, "Our lives are still worth a little money, so don’t be cannon fodder for mushrooms."

Liora took a last look at the mushroom. It still stood there quietly, like some existence that did not belong to the mortal world, emitting a faint light in the wind.

She whispered: "This is its habitat, not ours."

The shadow gently meandered under her feet, then slowly retracted and merged into the cloak.

She turned around and nodded to everyone: "Let’s go."

The team quietly packed up the supplies, and the group bypassed the edge of the spiritual land, trying to walk outside the breathing range of the giant beast as quietly as possible.

After leaving the strange mushroom spiritual land, the sun gradually fell through the treetops, and the wind became warmer. When walking in the woods, everyone was still silent, but their expressions were obviously much more relaxed than just now.

Zhan Yifan walked in front of the team, picking a strange-colored grass from the roadside and sniffing it.

"Hmm... This is called ’Kulingcao’. It smells a bit bad, but it’s still good as an antidote."

"You know what it is just by pulling it out?" Yang Ming was shocked, "Do you carry an encyclopedia with you?"

"It’s called experience." Zhan Yifan shrugged, "I fell into a poison frog nest in Tiannan Swamp and almost used earthworms as bandages. Later, when I climbed out, I decided to remember the taste of all the weeds."

"Is that why your taste is so strange now?" Yang Ming stepped aside with a look of disgust.