Starting Off Survival With A Small Treehouse

Chapter 1212 - 635: Cooperation?

The crowd was terrified by the sudden appearance of the monster.

Xu Xin was also sweating profusely, staring intently at the monster crouched in the corner.

Seeing this monster up close for the first time with his own eyes was truly...

Somewhat nauseating.

Luckily, the monster had already closed all but one of its eyes. Although its appearance still made one’s skin crawl, it was at least bearable to look at.

"How... how did you get in here?"

Xu Ying stepped forward to the front of the group, shielding everyone else.

Even though she was afraid of the monster too, she was the one who knew it best among those present. If she didn’t step up, who else could?

"You’re... one of my kind." The half-human, half-monster looked at Xu Ying, its wide mouth stretching even further.

"Who’s one of your kind!" Xu Ying pointed her gun at the monster. "How did you get in here? You don’t think you can just do as you please inside our world tree, do you!"

"Don’t be rash." The monster extended its two limbs, longer than its legs and very disproportionate, pressing them downward. "I didn’t come here this time to cause trouble, but to cooperate."

It spoke slowly, haltingly, but finally got the words out.

"Cooperate?"

The explorers were surprised by the monster’s words, but no one lowered their weapons, continuing to aim their guns at it.

However, apart from Xu Ying, everyone else remained silent.

Xu Ying had said that the monster’s temper was extremely unpredictable, and it was better for her, who was more familiar with it, to probe for a safer approach.

"What do you mean by cooperation?" Xu Ying’s tone relaxed slightly.

Not that she was less wary of the monster, but because it had indeed cooperated with their organization before, more than once.

So, hearing this from the monster’s mouth carried some persuasive power.

The monster didn’t answer Xu Ying’s question immediately but looked at Xu Xin, its two open eyes filled with complex emotions.

Then it turned its gaze to Shi Wanyun sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at the floor.

Its mouth stretched again: "Shi Wanyun? The task I gave you, you didn’t complete it."

Shi Wanyun shivered, instinctively raising her head to look at the monster.

Soon she realized she no longer felt the deep-seated fear towards the monster as before.

Though still physiologically unsettling, evoking some fear, it was more due to its ugliness and the psychological shadow it had cast previously.

Realizing this, she exhaled slowly, the terror fading from her face.

She stood up, facing the monster: "I’m no longer under your control. I certainly won’t fulfill your wish of killing Xu Xin."

She walked forward two steps, standing with Xu Ying in front of Xu Xin.

Li Wenxi also approached Xu Xin, aiming her weapon at the monster’s head.

Xu Xin spoke up: "I guess you don’t want to kill me now, do you?"

"Of course." The monster took a step forward.

"Don’t move!" Xu Ying shouted fiercely. "You are not my match inside this world tree!"

"As I said, I have no hostility." The monster turned to look at Xu Ying, and the eyes on its neck opened, as well as several others beginning to follow suit.

However, it closed the neck eyes and spoke through its sharp-toothed mouth: "Indeed, I can’t do anything to you here, but what about them, those outside, the Earth humans? Think carefully."

Xu Ying tightened her grip on the gun, her face ashen.

The monster possessed a space-time ability like hers. Although it couldn’t use this ability to teleport outside anymore, if it wanted to kill, no one could stop it.

"Yingying, everyone, put down the guns. We should... have a good talk with it." Xu Xin said, looking at the monster.

The monster seemed sincere.

It wasn’t carrying any weapons, showing no intention to attack.

Moreover, it only kept two of its eyes open, perhaps to respect the humans present, trying to appear human-like to avoid repulsion due to its appearance.

"I think so too," Ji Chaoyang said.

With that, he lowered his weapon: "If it’s cooperation, then let’s sit and talk."

"If it wanted to kill us, why reveal itself..." Zeng Tao murmured quietly.

"I like what you said," the monster looked at Zeng Tao, grinning.

"Ah—" Zeng Tao shrank back a step, frightened.

"Hmm... I also think it’s here to cooperate." Wen Guixin lowered her gun, no longer aiming at the monster.

The explorers’ members lowered their weapons one by one.

Except for Xu Ying, who still had her gun raised, her expression conflicted.