Chapter 788: A Battle in the Forbidden Forest

“What’s wrong with my education?”

“I…”

Lu Xin’s first reaction was one of indignation – after all, he had earned a college degree.

But his confidence quickly evaporated.

Among this group, the one with the lowest academic credential was an engineer, and they all looked down on the one holding a master’s degree…

Sigh…

Originally, his role was to be among Doctor An and the others – one of thinkers.

Yet he hadn’t expected that, like Sissi, his Sister, and A Zhen, his sustenance relied purely on brute strength…

Alright, education isn’t everything; ability matters most.

……

……

Lu Xin quickly shelved this pointless thought and began to focus intently on the unfolding confrontation.

Doctor An was right – if a forbidden force of an extraordinarily high level truly existed in this forest, then now that the little girl named Sissi had driven every kind of contamination in the woods to its limit, it was only natural for it to emerge.

“Whoosh whoosh whoosh…”

Amid the ceaseless sound of slicing blood threads, Sissi had clearly overwhelmed every mental monster in the dense forest.

Now she had already undone five metal rings, and much of her body had transformed into intricate strands of blood.

Only her head, neck, and a part of her upper body still retained their original form.

The remainder – her lower torso, arms, and legs – had all morphed into endless streams of blood threads.

They whipped in every direction as she floated in mid-air.

Everything around her – from the black shadows to the fruit dangling from trees – was enveloped by her blood threads.

Those delicate strands interwove throughout the forest, almost making her the core of the entire woodland.

And by core, it meant she held absolute control over everything within.

The Overlord.

It was like being in a chaotic zone where, thanks to one’s innate traits, every mental monster was forced into submission.

To become the ruler of that area.

Mental overlords of the abyss often emerged through such brutal clashes.

If this trend continued, her mental power would only grow stronger – eventually covering the entire forest with her blood threads, suppressing or even eradicating every strange entity to transform it into her own forbidden zone…

Only two things could stop this process.

First, as her mental power expanded, the mounting pressure forced her to deliberately contract.

Second, encountering an even stronger mental creature could halt her spread.

But for now, nothing was strong enough to stop her.

……

……

“Swish…”

While Lu Xin pondered this, the little girl in mid-air had already undone another ring.

This ring, lodged just above her chest, was a semicircular band shaped like a “V”.

In an instant, more blood threads were released, spreading far and wide, as denser, more twisted strands surged deep into the forest.

The mental monsters, already at a disadvantage in her presence, were immediately suppressed even further.

“Not good…”

At that very moment, both Lu Xin and Doctor An furrowed their brows.

This little girl, Sissi, originally possessed eight circular or semicircular mental trait inhibitors.

Of these, two were on each arm, one around her waist, one at her chest, and two more – one around her neck and one lodged at the back of her head in the form of a thin metal plate.

By now, she had undone six.

Not because facing these anomalies required six to be opened,

but because as her blood threads expanded, the pressure on her grew increasingly intense.

Deep in the forest, with countless sinister entities at work, she could only continually release her inhibitors to spread her power further, gradually suppressing the forest’s strangeness and seizing the advantage.

Yet, out of eight, she had only activated six…

Lu Xin turned to glance at Doctor An.

Doctor An understood and whispered, “At most seven.”

“If she unlocks the eighth inhibitor, she’ll lose control completely – dragging us into her assault.”

“More importantly, if she goes haywire, the conditions here won’t let me stabilize her.”

“That means she must be cleansed.”

“……”

Lu Xin exhaled deeply, mentally bracing himself, and continued to wait patiently.

At the same time, after Sissi had undone six rings, her blood threads began to dance in a frenzy, whipping chaotically in all directions.

She nearly transformed the dense forest into an abyss.

Everywhere, there were faint hissing sounds and the dull thuds of blood threads penetrating thick flesh.

The forest itself seemed to shudder, its trees convulsing like living beings and even emitting low moans.

Like the deep rumble of an earthquake, these heavy sounds spread from afar.

Every tree around appeared as if it were a towering demon, its branches lashing out like tentacles.

“Crack…”

Without hesitation, Sissi unlocked the seventh ring.

From beneath her head, her entire structure transformed into endless blood threads that soared high and entwined with the branches.

“Rattle…”

Towering trees instantly withered, their dry leaves and branches cascading down like rain.

At that moment, Lu Xin detected a fresh, subtle scent of death.

It was the distinct aroma of trees – markedly different from the stench of decaying wood.

The girl Sissi now seemed incensed by this colossal adversary, her eyes blazing with murderous intent.

On her lone remaining head, a cold and wild expression emerged.

Tree after tree withered.

She was effectively killing the forest.

……

……

“This isn’t good…”

Lu Xin’s heart pounded as he held his breath.

He couldn’t bear to see this little girl fighting so desperately – it just didn’t feel right.

Admittedly, Doctor An had said that although she appeared as a little girl, in reality she was a high-level forbidden zone creature.

But to Lu Xin, a little girl was still just a little girl.

Here, we adults watched helplessly as she fought with all her might.

This…

…And then he suddenly sensed something, pausing for a moment.

……

……

“Hehe…”

Sissi pushed her blood threads to an unprecedented frenzy, and suddenly a faint, almost mocking laugh echoed around her.

Her ever-expanding blood threads seemed to reach their limit, snapping something crisp in the process.

Clear cracks appeared in the surrounding space, as if everyone were encased in a transparent glass box – normally so clean that the glass was nearly invisible, but now the cracks revealed it clearly.

Then, with a sharp “crack,” all the glass shattered and fell to the ground.

The exploding blood threads vanished without a trace.

In mid-air, with only her head remaining, Sissi suddenly jerked upward, her wild eyes turning bewildered.

As large shards of glass clattered down, the dense forest, the monsters, and even the sinister shadows disappeared completely.

Even the gloomy woods vanished.

In her place was a lush green lawn, filled with the scent of flowers and colorful butterflies.

On the tender green shoots, tiny, dragonfly-winged sprites frolicked happily. At a nearby stream, clumsy, hearty little dwarves filled a bucket with water and gently sprinkled it over a pristine, jade-like surface.

A band in elegant tuxedos performed on a nearby lawn.

A girl in a white wedding dress, looking every bit like a princess, sat by a fountain painting.

In the sky, little angels with small wings fluttered about, waving enchanted wands that showered sparkling starlight.

……

……

Here, everything was as beautiful as a fairy tale.

Every imaginable beauty was present in this place.

Yet in this breathtaking world, Sissi – reduced to one intact head – drifted in mid-air, filled with a deep sense of loss.

She even gazed upon the beautiful scene with a yearning that grew stronger.

The more she longed for it, the deeper the shame gnawed at her.

Her blood threads, once scattered across her body, now drooped helplessly, tangling together in a sorrowful shape.

In this fairy-tale world, whether it was the sprites frolicking on the lawn, the clumsy water-carrying dwarves, the band performing, or the little angels flying overhead, they all gradually took notice of her.

Then they all smiled as they looked her way.

Their laughter was melodious and dreamy, yet their smiles filled Sissi with a deep shame.

She instinctively stepped back, trying to avoid their gaze.

But the girl painting gently waved her brush, seemingly to ward off their ridicule.

Then she offered Sissi a sweet smile and gently pointed at the canvas.

It was as if she was asking Sissi if she could paint her into the picture.

Sissi’s lone head quickly nodded – much like a little beggar accepting an invitation from a princess.

Which little beggar, full of self-consciousness, would refuse a princess in white from having her portrait painted?

So the brush danced across the canvas, gradually capturing Sissi’s likeness.

At that moment, Sissi experienced an unprecedented happiness; as her image emerged on the canvas, she felt as though she were slowly merging into this wondrous fairy-tale world, leaving her past behind.

She felt delight – even a profound serenity…

……

……

“How magical…”

And just then, as everything in the fairy-tale world seemed to reach a perfect climax,

a soft, awed voice rang out.

On the neatly trimmed, soft lawn, a man in a jacket with red-framed glasses walked in, a cigarette dangling from his fingers. He looked at this magnificent world with quiet wonder, and a smile slowly spread across his face.

“So when a fairy is grabbed, does she scream like a slaughtered pig?”