Fire rose from its bark. It screamed again, but it was quieter and weaker. The vines tried to move and lash out, but its movement was slowed down.
"Reload!" Williams yelled.
We had to destroy that thing before the situation turned bad for us.
The three of us fired at the core again.
"Damn it! Why is it still alive?!" Clark cursed in anger as we kept shooting at the tree monster. "It's burning but why is it not dying!?"
He wasn't wrong. It looked weaker, but the thing still moved even when it was engulfed by flame.
The core, although weakened by the grenade explosion, still stood. If that thing wasn't destroyed, it would probably revive again later.
"Hey, hey! This is a mutant we are talking about, don't expect a normal method to work on this fucker!" I yelled at the guy.
It made sense, actually. Plant 42's regenerative capability should be pretty good, considering it was created to be a biological weapon. It was a monster, not just a regular plant. A mutated and dangerous plant.
I knew I should bring a flamethrower, but it would be too bulky for me to carry. Besides, my main weapon was the sword and the rifle.
Fueled by adrenaline and anger, Clark tried to shoot it from a close range.
What the fuck was this idiot thinking!? Didn't I just say that we shouldn't get too close with that thing!?
As I was thinking, one of the tentacles reached him. It moved and wrapped around him like a snake.
It then pulled him to the ground with force. I heard his scream and the cracking noise when he was dragged along the concrete.
"Clark!" Corporal Williams shouted and quickly stopped firing his rifle.
A simple mistake could end Clark's life, so the man couldn't help without getting closer.
The vine was pulling him to the pink nucleus. It had grown some kind of mouth, a sharp toothed maw.
If Clark ever got into that thing's mouth, he would get crushed into a bloody paste. And from what I knew about mutation, getting energy or nutrients meant it would revive stronger than before.
"Cover me, Corporal!"
I didn't do this to save Clark, whose bones probably broke a few but to save myself trouble from fighting stronger Plant 42. I slung my rifle over my shoulder and unsheathed my katana before running toward the center.
My speed was inhuman. I could cover 100 meters in just 3 to 4 seconds and this room wasn't that wide.
In front of my sight, I could see the maw opened wider and wider. It wanted to devour Clark, and it didn't even hesitate to swallow him whole.
'Just a little more...!'
As soon as I was close to the mutated tree, the tentacles and vines that grew from its body whipped toward me.
The tentacles were moving faster than before, probably because it was desperate to survive and to devour Clark, but I could see and dodge them. I swung my sword and cut them apart, dodging left and right, rolling forward, jumping and ducking. It was an amazing scene.
However, I was running out of time. Clark was about to be devoured, literally.
"Help!" He shouted in despair, his eyes wide with terror.
I swung my sword once again, slicing through the last few tentacles before I leaped to his location.
Only 3 more meters. The tree was around 4 meters tall and its mouth was at its center.
To reach it, I had to jump. And I did it without any hesitation. I couldn't dodge or cut through every single tentacle and vine in the air.
Fortunately, Corporal Williams was a good shooter. He covered me from behind, shooting and redirecting some of the appendages with precise shots.
I cut the vine holding Clark and left a grenade to the nucleus at the same time.
When I landed, I immediately dashed away while holding Clark like a sack of rice.
Corporal William ran away after I shouted.
The third explosion blew the pink core to pieces. The pink core was reduced to a goo, splattering everywhere.
All branches, vines, and even the roots covering the room dried up as if they had lost their vitality in an instant.
I felt something hot on my back and when I looked at it, I found out that my clothes were burning.
I dropped Clark to the ground and rolled around, trying to get rid of the fire.
Only after I doused the flame did I notice the fire spreading around us.
This is bad. Using 3 grenades for that thing was a mistake, it seems. The warehouse was on fire, and it spread very fast. I didn't want to die like grilled meat.
"Retreat!" Corporal Williams ordered. He helped me carry the injured Clark to stand up and we left the building.
Once outside, I looked at the sky. The building was engulfed in flame and I could hear things burning inside it. These dried roots and branches must have been a great material to burn.
[Ding! You have received 1,000 Shop Points!]
Should I yell tamaya to celebrate? Or kagyaya? Nah, that was the old Japan, the fireworks festival.
"Let's leave. That thing is gone and I don't want to stay longer." Corporal Williams said. "This place will be flooded with zombies once the explosion attracts them. Also, we have a man in need of urgent medical attention here."
He referred to Private Clark, who had broken a bone on his arm.
I agreed and we tracked our way back. But before we even walked for 100 meters, we heard an engine sound from behind.
It was the patrol group.