I set up a shelter organization

Chen Fan's Adam's apple moved, and he suddenly remembered that last winter, the most famous genius boy in the town suddenly disappeared. At that time, the townspeople said that he was chosen by the gods and went to the holy mountain to practice.

Now that I think about it, the boy’s parents’ swollen eyes didn’t look like they were crying for their child’s “good luck” at all.

"Those missing people were turned into monsters by the strange energy?" Chen Fan's voice trembled.

The twisted giant tree appeared before his eyes, with human faces densely packed on the trunk, some still retaining painful expressions, while others have been completely swallowed up by the bark.

Chen Ke snorted coldly, tiny ice crystals condensing on her fingertips. "It's not that simple. Strange energy will first erode people's will, causing them to actively approach the source of pollution. Like a moth to a flame, by the time they realize something is wrong, they've already been completely assimilated."

He suddenly raised his hand, and ice crystals shot towards the bushes in the distance. A rabbit covered with tentacles rolled out screaming. Under its originally cute fur, its blood vessels were a strange purple-black color.

Chen Fan took a half step back and his back hit the cold tree trunk.

Chen Ke stepped forward slowly, and the ice blade accurately cut off the rabbit's tentacles, turning the monster into a pool of foul-smelling black water. "This is only the lowest level of contamination. The real danger..."

Before he could finish his words, the ground suddenly shook violently, and countless vines broke out of the ground, with serrated leaves piercing the two men.

The coldness around Shen Ke surged, and the vines froze into brittle ice the moment they came into contact with the frost.

However, Chen Fan's ankle was entangled by a vine that had escaped the net, and he was hung upside down.

He was horrified to find that the surface of the vine was covered with tiny holes, which were greedily sucking the blood oozing from his skin.

“Close your eyes! Don’t look at its core!”

Chen Ke's roar mixed with the sound of ice cracking could be heard.

Chen Fan instinctively did as he was told, but the moment he closed his eyes, he saw an astonishing scene - a translucent crystal was suspended deep in the tree canopy, sealing countless distorted human figures, among whom was his sister!

"Save...save her!" Chen Fan struggled and screamed. The vines suddenly tightened, making his vision go black.

Shen Ke slashed with his ice blade repeatedly and finally saved him.

When he landed, Chen Fan staggered and tried to rush forward, but was grabbed by the collar by Chen Ke: "Do you want to die? That crystal is a contaminated core. If you touch it, you will turn into a monster!"

"But my sister is in there!" Chen Fan turned around with red eyes, only to find that the treetops had returned to normal, with no trace of the crystals or human figures.

Chen Ke frowned and stared at the sky, scarlet lines faintly visible in the clouds: "It's an illusion, mental pollution caused by strange energy. But..."

He looked down at the wound on Chen Fan's arm caused by the vines. The originally tiny bloodstains were now turning purple. "You are contaminated. In three days at most, you will..."

Chen Fan suddenly pulled open his sleeve, and fine vine-like lines appeared on the wound.

He suddenly remembered that on the day of the awakening ceremony, the sacred trees around the altar had flashed a similar purple light.

At that time, he thought it was the refraction of sunlight, but now he thought that perhaps he had been targeted by a strange energy since then.

"Why me?" Chen Fan grabbed Chen Ke's wrist. "Those believers pray to the holy tree every day, why are they okay?"

Chen Ke was silent for a moment, then condensed ice needles from her fingertips and quickly pierced around Chen Fan's wound: "Because you can 'see' the truth. God needs foolish believers, and you..."

He paused, and the ice needle turned into a stream of light and sank into Chen Fan's body. "I have temporarily suppressed the pollution, but to completely eliminate it, we must find the source of the pollution. And the most ironic thing is-"

He raised his hand and pointed to the holy mountain in the distance, where a huge golden tree canopy floated. "The place where the god you worship lives is likely the biggest source of pollution."