Chapter 95
The alarm continued to blare in the air.
The light curtain over the entire medical area seemed to be torn apart by an invisible hand.
The leaves and branches of Bean Sprout 12 trembled slightly, and one could sense an unusual "growth signal" spreading through the air—
That wasn't natural diffusion, but rather a conscious expansion.
New root patterns have spread across the bulkhead.
They are not part of the facility, yet they precisely avoid the load-bearing lines of the metal structure.
It's like "reading" the architectural logic of humankind and then rewriting it.
Sprout12 watched all this and whispered:
"This isn't under your control, is it?"
237 Silence
The seed of light in my palm was still pulsating, rhythmic like a heartbeat.
“I thought…I could tame it,” he murmured.
"But it also reflects on me. Like two intertwined roots,"
It's still uncertain who will absorb whom.
From the 12th stand, the veins of the leaves darken slightly.
That's a sign of a "defensive stance".
He looked directly at 237: "You know the consciousness within you—it doesn't just want to coexist with you."
237 slowly raised his head, the green light and shadow intertwining in his eyes.
It's like two plant hormones competing for the main stem within the same body.
“I know,” he said softly.
“‘Other Roots’ is trying to ‘copy’ me, and it is also copying you.”
It sees us as extensions in two different directions—
One is a container for the host's order, the other is a test subject for free will.
Sprout12's eyes narrowed: "It's rebuilding me?"
237 nodded.
"It uses your combat memories to try to build a growth model of the 'free form version'."
If successful, it will no longer require any 'prime'.
It can self-reproduce 'awakened forests' at any ecological level.
The vines of Sprout 12 are taut.
"Then it will destroy us."
“Not destroy,” 237 corrected in a low voice.
It's 'absorption'—
Like a mother tree absorbing fallen leaves, turn everything into new roots.
The air was so still that only the low rumble of radio waves could be heard.
Sprout12 slowly walked up to him, her tone turning colder:
So the question now is—
Are you still you?
237's fingers gently touched his chest.
The original "energy rifts" there have long been filled with the light of the root.
There was no pain, only an excessively quiet sense of growth.
"I'm not sure."
He answered calmly.
"But if I weren't me,"
I will make sure that the new 'me' remembers to preserve your existence.
Sprout 12 paused for a moment.
That sentence sounded like a farewell—
But it also resembles a promise that is not yet fully mature.
He remained silent for a long time, only extending a wounded branch.
It was placed on 237's shoulder.
“Listen, seed,”
Sprout 12 lowered his voice.
“I won’t let you be ‘reshaped’ by that thing.”
Even if it means uprooting all its roots—I will make sure you stay.
237. A slight smile.
"Let's see if we can penetrate deeper first."
Or perhaps it learned to 'think' first.
Just as the two were having their brief conversation—
Beneath the surface outside the cabin, new pulsations are spreading.
The stream of consciousness of the other shore root no longer exists only within 237's body.
It spreads along the life support systems of medical facilities and into the city's ecological cycle.
Every modified plant, every leaf network used for oxygen circulation, began to resonate slightly.
The monitoring systems throughout the entire ecological zone triggered alarms:
[WARNING: Unauthorized "root synchronization" behavior detected.]
[The energy pulse index exceeds the normal value by 312%.]
The high-level conference room descended into chaos once again.
Someone shouted in terror:
"This is not an infection, this is—growth!"
Deep inside, 237 closed his eyes.
You can hear the distant earth whispering.
The voice was soft, yet it carried a chilling will:
Let them choose—
To grow, or to continue being defined.
The night was torn to pieces.
The city's aerial flower curtain, ecological tower, and temperature-controlled forest veins—
Those plant networks that were originally only for supplying oxygen and regulating the microclimate,
They are breathing at the same time.
It's not the undulations caused by the wind.
It's not the heartbeat.
From the medical area to the central maternal tower,
Every vine and every leaf vein is expanding and stretching at a visible pace.
The wall surface bulged slightly, and roots had penetrated the metal surface.
Thousands of tiny roots, like bundles of nerves, flicker between light and darkness.
—The entire city is “awakening.”
When the light shield of the medical module collapsed,
Almost instinctively, Sprout 12 spread its vines to protect 237.
Scattered light danced on his leaf veins, a mixture of burning pain and numbness.
“It’s already started to leak out,” Sprout12 whispered.
"The root system is invading the main energy source; we must sever the connection immediately!"
237, however, did not move.
His eyes were closed, and his breathing was extremely slow.
It's like listening to some deeper frequency.
The sound didn't come from outside—
Instead, it emanated from the darkness beneath the earth, from the "second root" within his body.
Layer upon layer, deep, ancient, and with alluring ripples:
Did you see that?
All they know is control and fear.
And all we want is—to let everything grow.
The sound spread through my mind like a beam of light.
In an instant, he saw a sight he had never seen before—
Beneath the entire continent's strata lie sealed "old roots";
Those ancient tree trunks have transformed into fossilized nerve bundles.
They are being awakened one by one by this "echo from the other side".
Sprout 12 sensed something was wrong and roared:
"Don't listen to it! That's not the mother tree's voice, that's—"
"I know."
237 opened his eyes, his pupils flashing with a mixture of green and black.
"It merely borrowed the tone of the mother tree."
But I also saw another truth—
The 'Mother Tree Consciousness' remains dormant, and it—is attempting to replace her.
The tips of Sprout 12's leaves tensed abruptly: "So what do you plan to do?"
237 slowly got up.
The veins on his body became visible in the light.
The patterns are no longer chaotic, but follow the ancient imprints of the mother tree—
Climbing upwards to grow.
"We can no longer just resist."
He reached out and placed a seed of light into Sprout 12's palm.
"This is the root nucleus I separated."
Once I am completely assimilated, it will be your turn to sever me—
"Bring it back to the Land of Afterimages, so that the Mother Tree may truly awaken."
Sprout 12 was stunned.
"Are you crazy? This is tantamount to... using you as bait!"
"I am a seed."
237 smiled slightly.
"Seeds do not die from being buried, but from not sprouting."
The alarm sounded again.
The outer protective dome has begun to crack.
Countless beams of light shot out from the ground.
That is the awakening forest spreading towards the sky.
The high-level command center was thrown into chaos.
Energy readings surged across all regions.
The central AI cannot analyze the signal source and can only repeat the broadcast:
[Detection of abnormal plant consciousness groups is underway...]
[Warning: Ecological sovereignty is being redefined.]
The human defense forces retreated.
All order, all systems—
Everything is being rewritten by the plants' respiration.
The dome of the medical pod was completely shattered.
The fragments floated in the stream of light, like dust in slow motion.
237 and Sprout 12 stand side by side.
The root patterns underfoot were dazzlingly bright.
Even the air was rippled with pulses.
On the distant horizon,
A colossal silhouette composed of roots and light is rising.
That's not a building.
And it resembles a—
A "second mother tree" that grew from the core of the planet.
Its branches pierce through the clouds,
Unfolding in the sky,
Like an outstretched hand.
Sprout 12 gritted his teeth, his voice low and deep:
"It has begun to 'replace' the mother tree."
237's gaze remained fixed on him.
"Then we'll pull it up from the root."
He raised his hand,
The body's energy dissipates with each heartbeat.
All the light roots on the ground trembled simultaneously.
A new era of rebirth has officially begun.
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