Wu Qing, of course, would not sit idly by and wait for her death. She took out an exquisite wooden carving the size of a hammer, closed her eyes, and sensed the plants in the outside world.

In an instant, a faint white mist appeared in the sanctuary. The plants, which had been dormant, seemed to come alive after being touched by the mist, baring their fangs and claws as they charged toward the intruder.

The mutual aid society members, who had been aggressively attacking the shelter, were startled when they saw the plant suddenly come to life and retreated in surprise.

In just a few breaths, the once vibrant flower opened its gaping maw and transformed into a man-eating plant, swallowing the survivor who couldn't escape in one gulp; the giant sunflower above turned around, and its sunflower seeds, like a dense barrage of bullets, riddled several members of the mutual aid society with holes.

Chen Beipan was completely dumbfounded by the scene before him. It was like a real-life version of Plants vs. Zombies. His men had become sitting ducks, and in an instant, more than a dozen of them had lost their lives.

These mutual aid society members each had their own ulterior motives, and all their actions were solely for profit. Now, having witnessed the power of this shelter, they immediately crumbled and fled in all directions, leaving behind screams and wails everywhere.

The redneck spat and cursed angrily.

"They're all a bunch of rabble."

Having said that, he picked up his musket and fired at the man-eating flower.

With a loud bang, a fiery serpent shot out from the gun barrel, instantly engulfing the man-eating plant, and the flames illuminated the area even brighter.

The carnivorous plant was ignited and quickly burst into flames, but soon it was charred and ceased to move.

One-Eyed Dragon and his adjutant realized that the owner of the shelter was no ordinary person and guessed that there must be plenty of resources inside. So they used the same trick as before and took out Molotov cocktails to try to break the deadlock with fire.

Inside the treehouse, Wu Qing noticed the one-eyed man throwing Molotov cocktails into the shelter. She hurriedly manipulated the vines to intercept them, but the weather was extremely dry, and the Molotov cocktails ignited on anything they touched, quickly setting the vines ablaze. Fearing that her carefully cultivated plants would be destroyed, Wu Qing had no choice but to move all the plants toward the treehouse.

Seeing this, the mutual aid society members who had just been howling and scattering to flee became courageous again, like a pack of hungry wolves pouncing on the shelter, trying to get a share of the spoils.

At the same time, the Light Alliance members on their secret mission also heard the commotion and immediately cautiously approached the bushes to observe the situation ahead.

As soon as Liu Yu parted the bushes, he saw a giant, glowing sunflower. Below it, a group of people were looting, vandalizing, and burning, besieging the shelter on the giant tree.

Liu Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead, took a closer look, and immediately recognized several familiar faces among them.

The sunflowers' rays and the firelight illuminated the area around the shelter. Tang Hao also recognized several members of the mutual aid society; these were people with whom he had grudges.

The system is completely transparent about survivor information; when members of the Light Alliance are bullied, their information is already shared in the internal group. The moment Tang Hao saw his enemy, his eyes turned red, his blood boiled, and he was about to lead his men, machetes in hand, to fight to the death. His friends were among the Light Alliance members who had been killed, so it's no wonder he was so agitated.

Liu Yu grabbed him and cursed under his breath.

"What's the rush? Let's wait and see how things go!"

Inside the shelter, Wu Qing activated the Staff of the Ancestors. This time she was lucky; she triggered the Taunt Totem, a pale blue light enveloping the shelter, rendering the flames from the Molotov cocktails completely ineffective. The plants outside the treehouse also formed a ring, protecting the giant tree at its very center.

Zhang Shi arrived late and was teleported into the treehouse.

Upon landing, they saw Wu Qing with a worried expression.

"What happened?"

Zhang Shi glanced at the room's furnishings and found that Wu Qing's residence was exquisite, with a comfortable temperature and a spiritual atmosphere. If it weren't for the noisy shouts outside, it would be a wonderful paradise.

Wu Qing pointed to the window and said in a cold voice.

"The Eagle Regiment, you see for yourself."

Zhang Shi frowned, peered out the window, and immediately spotted the one-eyed man and his two companions. His face was as cold as frost. He then glanced at the crowd and instantly spotted Chen Beipan hiding among them. At that moment, Chen Beipan was squinting and looking towards the treehouse.

Zhang Shi hadn't expected to make such an unexpected discovery on this trip. No wonder so many Xia people were mixed up with the Mutual Aid Association. It turned out that Chen Beipan had long been in cahoots with the Eagle Gang. He just didn't know how they found Wu Qing's location. Whether it was by chance or for a purpose, it was still unknown.

Zhang Shi glanced at the shield whose health bar was constantly weakening, then looked at the clump of plants around the treehouse, and after a moment's thought, decided to take the initiative.

Zhang Shi leaned out of the window, drew his bow, and unleashed a rain of arrows from his composite bow toward the densest part of the crowd.

Arrows pierced the sky with a sharp whistling sound, like a dense and swift meteor shower falling from the heavens. Zhang Shi's composite bow seemed to come alive in his hands; the bowstring was pulled back with a burst of air, and instantly, dozens of arrows wove together in the air into a net of death, covering the area where the mutual aid society members were most concentrated.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—" Arrows rained down like raindrops, screams and cries of alarm rose and fell one after another. The members of the mutual aid society were caught off guard and fell to the ground, hit by arrows.

The one-eyed man reacted with lightning speed, rolling away from the fatal blow, but an arrow still pierced his left arm, staining his sleeve with blood. He roared, a fierce glint in his eyes, and glared towards the treehouse.

Unexpectedly, he caught sight of an arrow flying towards him, and he rolled away to dodge the fatal blow.

"Trying to run? Not so easy!" Zhang Shi snorted coldly, having already anticipated the other party's movements. He flashed and, using the treehouse as cover, quickly moved to the other side of the window, drew his bow again, and shot an arrow accurately at the one-eyed dragon.

At the critical moment, Redneck drew his gun, and a thick fire snake destroyed the arrow, saving One-Eyed Dragon from Zhang Shi's grasp.

Meanwhile, Wu Qing wasn't idle in the shelter either. She gripped a small wooden carving tightly in her hands and chanted incantations. As the incantation accelerated, the surrounding plants seemed to receive new instructions. Vines grew wildly, entwining enemies that tried to approach. More man-eating plants appeared. Although they were temporarily suppressed by the surrounding flames, they still had the power to open their huge mouths and devour several unlucky ones.

The giant sunflowers, like dozens of heavy machine guns firing simultaneously, continued to launch sunflower seeds, each one like a large-caliber bullet, precisely striking the weaknesses of the mutual aid society members.

When Chen Beipan saw Zhang Shi appear, he was extremely shocked. He originally thought that with the strength of the Eagle Gang, taking over this small shelter would be a piece of cake. He did not expect that not only did it have a powerful defense mechanism, but it also managed to blast out this big fish, Zhang Shi.

He realized that if things continued like this, he might get caught up in it too, so he quietly retreated, trying to find a chance to escape.

However, the other members of the Light Alliance did not give him that chance. Liu Yu also noticed the commotion and waved his hand, signaling the alliance members to attack.

Unable to contain his rage any longer, Tang Hao led several companions out of their hiding place. Wielding machetes and spears, they engaged the Mutual Aid Society members in close combat. Tang Hao's swordsmanship was fierce, each strike whistling through the air, unstoppable. Coupled with the fact that the Mutual Aid Society members were thrown into disarray by the sudden appearance of a group, Tang Hao's men quickly carved a bloody path through the crowd, heading straight for Chen Beipan.

"Chen Beipan, your end is near!" Tang Hao roared, slashing at Chen Beipan with his sword. The latter barely dodged, but a large gash was cut open on his shoulder, and the pain made his face contort.

The battle reached its climax, with sparks flying around the treehouse, arrows and swords flashing, and many corpses lying scattered on the ground, the air thick with the stench of blood.