At a glance inside the compartment, most of it is filled with various plants.

The transparent glass above the head allows sunlight to penetrate and enable the plants to photosynthesize.

The vegetation grows lushly, as if this is not a scientific research institute but a botanical garden.

Zhou Qiang was about to move closer, but he found that the man leading the way in front of him seemed to be unconsciously moving away from the compartments.

There is such a compartment every three meters, giving people the feeling of... a flower pot.

After walking for several minutes and the surrounding environment was still the same, Zhou Qiang began to feel a little depressed.

When he passed by a cubicle, he suddenly turned his head and looked over, then he was met with a pair of numb eyes.

This is a somewhat humanoid creature, but most of its body looks like a plant and is even rooted to the ground.

The posture is a little twisted, and the limbs are still there, but they have all become woody.

The head seemed unable to move, only the pair of eyes would occasionally move, but there was no trace of life in them.

Relatively speaking, there are not many plants in the corridor here, as if they are relatively new.

He paused for a moment and then caught up with the man in front of him, without any change on his face.

It turns out these people were experimenting on human bodies.

Combine them with plants?

He originally thought that he could see the latest experimental subject, but he did not expect that after walking a few meters, a turn appeared in front of him.

The huge stainless steel security door looked like a bank's warehouse door. Two tall guards stood on the left and right of the door, both of whom had particularly slender bodies.

When Zhou Qiang passed by, he vaguely saw some very tiny roots at the feet of one of them.

The door needs two level six people to open it. It is obviously a research institute, but it looks like a prison.

After entering, the light suddenly became dim because the vegetation here became taller and taller.

Some of them don’t even need to be isolated in cubicles. Occasionally, you can see some plants trembling, making people wonder whether they are plants or something else?

The brainless man's body was beating violently, and an indescribable feeling came over Zhou Qiang's heart.

Zhou Qiang had a strong premonition that the place under his feet was probably where the brainless people were created.

After walking a little further, a slightly smaller real research institute appeared in front of us.

At a glance, you can see many people in white coats walking around inside.

After using the badge on his chest to lead Zhou Qiang in, the guard turned around and left.

The next person to lead Zhou Qiang was a woman in a white coat.

Everyone in white coats here seemed to be in a hurry. They had expressionless faces and walked in a hurry, as if they were puppets that had been customized in advance.

"Take off your clothes and inspect them."

A hoarse voice was heard, and Zhou Qiang was taken to an examination room.

Zhou Qiang hesitated, but the woman ignored him and turned to take out a plant branch that Zhou Qiang was very familiar with.

This was the willow branch he had obtained.

After preparing himself mentally several times and telling himself that this was not his original body, Zhou Qiang felt at ease.

The woman looked at him as if he were dead meat, then she circled the branch of the weeping willow in his hand.

There was a slight tingling sensation, and a sharp thorn protruded from the willow branch, drawing a little blood from him.

Zhou Qiang lowered his head and looked at his wrist. It seemed that the Wood Goddess did not trust human technology that much. It seemed that she trusted herself from the beginning to the end.

But as long as you don't verify your brain, it's not a big problem.

The weeping willow loosened and its color turned a light red, then the woman took it down and put it aside.

"Well, welcome to the research institute."

The woman looked up and said words of welcome with a blank expression.

The fragments in Zhou Qiang's hands were quickly taken away by the woman. After Zhou Qiang put on his clothes and hung them out to dry for a while, the woman came back again.

The people in white coats on the periphery are relatively young, probably only in their twenties or thirties.

When he reached the center, Zhou Qiang saw some special old people.

Why should you feel special?

Because the expressions of these people are the most lively that Zhou Qiang has ever seen since he entered this scientific research field.

"You found this thing, didn't you? We just checked it out. It can be considered a new energy source and is very durable."

As soon as Zhou Qiang showed up, an old man who looked to be in his sixties came over and said excitedly.

"Do you have more of this stuff? It looks like some fragments that have been knocked off. If we can get more of this stuff, we will have enough confidence to make some special weapons to protect the people in the city!"

The second person spoke, followed by the third and fourth.

There are only five old men here, and only the last one looks at the vegetation outside from time to time, with emotions such as doubt flashing in his eyes.

"Oh, stop looking. I've told you several times that you must be overworked. How could there be plants in a research institute?"

The person sitting a little further back spoke to the man with a hesitant look on his face in a very low voice.

But Zhou Qiang heard it.

Zhou Qiang looked at the five people in front of him. They seemed to have no idea where they were.

In other words, it is very likely that the scene they see is different from what most people see.

Zhou Qiang showed a somewhat frightened expression and shook his head repeatedly.

"I saw this fragment in the zombie's brain. They were both level three zombies, but that guy was much stronger than his peers."

Zhou Qiang began to deify Hai Jing in order to seek more benefits.

The old men became even more excited and started discussing with each other openly.

Some people say it is a gift from God, others say it is the hope for the future of mankind.

All in all, they wanted more of this kind of thing.

Some of them even patted their chests and wanted to act together with Zhou Qiang, but they were all rejected by Zhou Qiang.

"Wouldn't it be possible for me to obtain permanent residency in the inner city if I offered this treasure to the Wood God?"

Zhou Qiang said somewhat greedily.

Several people looked at each other and then laughed.

"As long as you can find something like this, I can even let you join the research institute!"

The one who looked the oldest thought for a moment and suddenly spoke.

Zhou Qiang was stunned. Why didn’t this guy say it earlier?

Originally, these people wanted Zhou Qiang to lead the team and set off immediately, but Zhou Qiang applied for three days of rest on the grounds that he was not feeling well.

Afterwards, he temporarily lived in this research institute.

And he is with the central figures of these five research institutes.

In addition to this huge laboratory, there are also some rooms in the center of the institute.

It was originally intended to provide a place for these people to rest when they were tired, but now it has become Zhou Qiang’s residence.

Although these people look normal, judging from their living environment, they probably haven't been out for a long time.

The woman who brought Zhou Qiang in was responsible for the daily life of these people. These five people called her Xiao Huai.

Zhou Qiang was not sure whether this woman had any relationship with the locust wood elf, but he already had a hint of murderous intent towards her.

After he finished arranging these people, they began to study the sea crystal fragments. Judging from their appearance, they must have already figured out how to use this energy when it appears on a large scale in the future.

The room has good sound insulation. If it weren't for the overwhelming plants inside, Zhou Qiang would have thought that he was also isolated.

There are some surveillance cameras here, but judging by their versions, they are probably quite old and not particularly useful.

Most of the time, the guards would not enter the inner laboratory too closely, as if they had been given some orders or were concerned about something.

Zhou Qiang lay in a pale room that looked like a hospital ward with his eyes closed. After an unknown amount of time, he heard light footsteps outside his door.

The man hesitated outside for a while, and then seemed to have prepared himself mentally before knocking on the door.

Zhou Qiang got up and opened the door. Standing outside was an old man who looked somewhat hesitant.

Zhou Qiang raised his eyebrows.

He was also familiar with this person's face.

It was the man who had a somewhat confused expression at that time.

"Can I come in and sit for a while? Don't worry, no one will know!"

The old man quickly looked into the distance a few times, and when he didn't see anyone, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhou Qiang made a confused expression, but still opened the door.

After the old man rushed into the house impatiently, he stood there, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Have you ever doubted this place?"

Suddenly, a trace of fear flashed in the old man's eyes and he said.

Zhou Qiang shook his head blankly, looking like a fool.

"They kept saying that the outside was still our previous research institute, but I saw more than once that it was all plants. Every once in a while, some supernatural beings would come to us for treatment. Obviously, there were strange things on these people, but my old friends seemed to be blind to it."

"This situation has been going on for a long time. I really want to go out and take a look, but there is another voice in my head telling me not to do that. Sometimes I wonder if I am schizophrenic."

"I haven't seen my family for a long time, and I always wonder if they are really still alive?"

“How many years after the apocalypse is it now?”

The old man seemed to have a lot of questions in his head, and these questions were almost driving him crazy.

Zhou Qiang looked carefully at the person in front of him.

The old man looked to be in his fifties. He didn't have many wrinkles on his face, but most of his hair had turned gray, and there were some fine bloodshot veins in his eyes.

Zhou Qiang organized his words and spoke.

"It is now the autumn of the third year. Cloud City has developed to its peak. Everyone calls it the City of God."

"The owner of the city is an eighth-level wood-attribute warrior. All the guards in the city are wood-attribute people. There are many compartments outside the research institute, and they are all filled with plants."

Zhou Qiang did not hide anything or exaggerate, he just said what he had just seen.

The old man lowered his head and muttered to himself.

"It shouldn't be like this. I remember that the person in power should be the eldest daughter of the Xue family. She is a seventh-level water-attribute expert..."

After the old man said this, his body staggered suddenly.

Then, something like vines emerged from the top of his head and began to penetrate deep into his brain.

The old man's face was distorted with pain, but he was still trying hard to say something.

"They, they are doing zombie experiments..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the vines suddenly increased in speed and the old man fell to the ground instantly.

There was a sound of footsteps outside the door, approaching here quickly.

Looking at the old man whose body began to twitch, a trace of pity flashed in Zhou Qiang's eyes.

The God of Wood needs others to do things for him, but he is worried that others are unwilling to do things for him, so he must have used some special means to create some illusions for these people.

This old man either has strong mental power or is quite special, since he has a vague feeling of self-awakening.

The moment the footsteps stopped at the door, the door opened without Zhou Qiang even having to do anything.

The woman called Xiao Huai stood at the door, looking inside with an expressionless face.

"I didn't do anything... This old man said he wanted to talk to me, but right after he finished talking about the plants outside, he passed out!"

Zhou Qiang walked towards the woman with a look of help on his face. The woman's gaze stayed on his face for a while, then she stood up without saying a word and helped the old man on the ground.

"Mr. Li Daijun is a bit schizophrenic and always says some inexplicable things. After this experiment is completed, we will persuade him to return home to recuperate."

Xiao Huai said.

Zhou Qiang nodded and was about to go over to lend a hand, but Xiao Huai avoided him.

Watching a woman about 1.6 meters tall pulling an old man who was dragging on the ground away with one hand, Zhou Qiang always felt that this was like a murder scene.

It looks like we can't stay here for too long.

Maybe someone will come to look for the Zhao family tomorrow.

Lying quietly in bed, Zhou Qiang began to recuperate.

Nothing happened that night, and early the next morning, footsteps were heard outside his door again.

He opened the door the moment the other party was about to knock.

"Eh? Xiao Zhao, are you awake? I'm really sorry for last night. I'm a bit old now, and sometimes I always say some inexplicable things. I hope I didn't scare you?"

It was still the same Li Daijun from last night, but the distressed expression on his face had disappeared and was replaced by a kind smile.

The expressions are similar to those of the remaining four old men.

Brainwashed?