Chapter 87
The monitoring footage from the isolation chamber was completely out of control.
In the flickering scene, the shadows of trees spread like ink, gradually covering the original alloy wall layer.
The energy readings surged wildly, even exceeding the critical value when the avatar was shattered on the battlefield.
The parliament hall erupted in chaos.
"Activate the ultimate measures immediately!"
"We can't delay any longer. If the city is completely invaded by a third force, the whole city will fall!"
A blood-red button appeared on the projection screen.
"Molten Core Purification"—this is their hidden last line of defense. Once activated, it will use the city's energy center as the detonation point to completely incinerate the isolation chamber and everything inside.
Someone hesitated: "That's... 237."
“If he no longer belongs to us, what’s the point of keeping him?” Another high-ranking official gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing coldly. “He must be eliminated.”
—Meanwhile, inside the cabin.
Sprout 12 suddenly raised its head, and the light in its eyes surged rapidly.
She has become aware of the external decision-making process.
"They want to...burn us down."
237, however, remained calm; his voice was deep and steady.
"Perfect."
This is their real trump card.
As the words fell, the "sapling" in the isolation chamber suddenly trembled, and a bluish-green halo rapidly spread, strangely resonating with the pulse network of the external melting core system.
Sprout12 was stunned: "You're... hijacking the city's network?"
237 closed his eyes, and an ancient pattern appeared on his forehead. It was not a human symbol, but rather a mark left by some superior being.
"It's calling me—but I'm not going to give in."
"I will use its power to tear off their shackles."
boom--
The external "melting core purification" was activated, and a torrent of energy flowed through the pipes into the isolation chamber.
But the moment it touched the bulkhead, the energy trajectory suddenly reversed, as if it were being absorbed by the roots of some giant tree, and was instead entirely drawn into 237's body.
The high-ranking officials in the hall stared wide-eyed.
"How is this possible?!"
"The purifying energy... was devoured by him?!"
On the screen, 237 opened his eyes.
His gaze was cold, yet it carried a light that was impossible to look directly at.
Thank you for your gifts.
The branches and leaves suddenly unfurled.
The entire isolation chamber had transformed into a verdant storm's core.
The emerald storm inside the isolation chamber suddenly subsided.
The branches and leaves withered, the vines curled up, as if it were all just a fleeting illusion.
The data curve on the projector gradually stabilized, and the energy fluctuations returned to a "controllable range".
The high-ranking officials in the hall breathed a sigh of relief.
"The molten core purification worked?"
"Judging from the numbers... it seems to be suppressed."
Someone whispered, "Perhaps... we misjudged him; his condition hasn't completely spiraled out of control yet."
A false sense of peace permeated the air.
But deep inside the isolation chamber, Sprout 12 and 237 looked at each other and understood—that energy had not dissipated, but had been transferred.
237 closed his eyes, his body like a sleeping seed, but his "roots" had penetrated deep into the city's veins.
The main energy source of the molten core, like a large river, was quietly drawn in, branching into invisible tributaries that flowed into his body.
Sprout 12 whispered, "You're taking a huge risk. If they find out..."
237's lips curled into a slight smile, yet he remained motionless as if asleep.
"So I want them to think—that I have been tamed."
In the external monitoring, his brainwaves became flat, even showing a kind of "compliant" rhythm.
The high-ranking officials exchanged glances in front of the screen, and one of them finally suggested: "Perhaps we shouldn't rush to eliminate him. As long as we keep him firmly under control, he will remain our sharpest weapon."
The other person scoffed, "A sharp blade? Or a calamity hanging over our heads? Remember, the source of the unknown energy within him has not yet been confirmed!"
The debate reignited, but at least for this moment, the execution order was suspended.
——
The deepest part of the isolation chamber.
Sprout 12 reached out and rested her hand on the isolation wall, sensing the hesitation and division among the higher-ups outside.
"They still think they're clever."
237's voice came softly, as if echoing in my heart:
“As long as they believe I have ‘submitted,’ the roots of the city will unknowingly become soil that we can control.”
Sprout 12 squinted slightly, as if she could see the future: a city made of steel and energy, gradually growing roots belonging to plants, penetrating, coiling, and eventually engulfing it.
— Superficially docile, but secretly growing.
This is the true strategy for seeds.
The debate at the highest levels has not ended.
On the surface, the meeting ended with the conclusion of "temporarily suspending the handling and continuing to monitor," but every leaf and branch present knew in their hearts that this was a compromise after wavering, not the end.
After the meeting adjourned, the lights dimmed, and several high-ranking officials quietly remained on one side of the long table.
Their shadows stretched extremely long in the lingering dim light of the projection, intertwined like roots.
"We can't wait any longer," one of them whispered, his fingertip tapping the table, revealing a string of encrypted signal pulses.
Another person chimed in, "The third force has already released the 'seed of information.' If we delay any longer, we will be swallowed up first. We need leverage."
"Cheers?"
Almost simultaneously, their eyes converged on the name projected on the screen: 237.
"He is the most suitable key."
“If we offer him up, they might allow us to be advance vassals rather than passive sacrifices.”
"This is the only way out."
The cold whispers spread like mold under the long table.
Finally, they pressed their palms together, completing a secret vow.
--at the same time.
Inside the isolation chamber, 237 lay quietly "asleep," its branches tightly wrapped around it, like a seed buried deep within.
But deep within his consciousness, a faint sound was echoing in the dark soil.
It was neither the sound of footsteps nor the hum of instruments.
Rather, it is an echo from a higher and more distant place.
A whisper seeped from the depths beyond the rift:
"They are plotting betrayal."
How would you respond?
The lake of 237's heart rippled slightly.
He didn't open his eyes, but silently answered in his heart:
"Then let them think I'm still a seed."
By the time things take root and sprout, it may not be up to them to decide who will be the 'sacrifice'.
Beside her, Sprout 12 tilted its head slightly.
Although 237 made no sound, as an entity sharing the same origin as the mother tree's embers, he detected the hidden vibration.
He squinted and murmured:
"237, you're already responding to 'the call from over there,' aren't you?"
—External conspiracy, internal awakening.
The isolation chamber was deathly silent, but a true undercurrent was already quietly surging among the branches and leaves.
As night fell, the outer walls of the quarantine zone gleamed with a cold, white light.
A faction secretly forming an alliance within the upper echelons is quietly operating.
They dispatched a "medical transport team," ostensibly to "stabilize the energy fluctuations of 237," but in reality, they set up a hidden transmission chain in the passageway.
It was a passageway entwined with vine-like runes. Once 237 was sent into it, the energy of the isolation chamber would be quietly drained and replaced with a flow leading to the "other side".
"He will become the key."
The leader spoke in a cold, low voice, and dark patterns shimmered on the branches, clearly indicating that some kind of pact had been completed with the message seed of the third force.
“As long as we hand over the key, they will accept our loyalty.”
However, they did not realize that Sprout 12 had already intervened.
—During the day, taking advantage of a visit, he carved an almost imperceptible crack on the outer wall of the isolation chamber.
What was planted in that crack was not an ordinary symbol, but the "roots of freedom" given to him by the remnant of the mother tree.
At this moment, as the transfer team connected to the energy lines of the isolation chamber, roots quietly extended, winding along the array of runes.
Before the dark energy could flow out, it was swallowed up and reversed by this root.
Sprout 12 opened its eyes inside the cabin and smiled softly:
“They thought they were taking time off, but they were actually feeding us.”
237 remained silent with his eyes closed.
But deep within his chest, the darkness and radiance that should have been drawn out intertwined even more tightly.
Just like the seeds that are suppressed the deeper they are, the closer they are to bursting forth.
--at the same time.
The leader of the transport team suddenly felt a chill, sensing that the energy fluctuations within the talisman array were out of control.
"How could this be... instead of flowing towards the other side, it's... instead being pulled back?!"
Before he could withdraw his hand, a white light suddenly shone on the rune array, like a silent eye staring at him.
"This is not a sacrifice."
The sound of Sprout 12 came from the end of the passage, its branches and leaves rustling.
"This is a reversal of the original purpose."
The next instant, the rune array collapsed, and the branches in the passage were rolled back and swallowed up.
Several members screamed and fell to the ground, the patterns on their bodies completely extinguished, as if they had been stripped of their support.
—Inside the medical pod, 237 slowly opened his eyes.
In the depths of his gaze, a fleeting, indistinct light and shadow flashed, neither light nor darkness, but more like some new network being woven.
He whispered to Sprout 12:
"They've already tried."
"Next, it's our turn."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
