Chapter Seventy-Five: The Miracle of "Wailing"

At this moment, Colin and his companions had already left the path behind and entered a woodland dense with olive trees. The road did not lead to the edge of the forest; now, less than half a meter from them, the olive trees grew thickly—twisting, writhing, and awakening.

They could only keep moving, avoiding being encircled, for to be caught would mean a particularly gruesome death. With hot weapons at their disposal, dealing with dozens, even hundreds or thousands of these olive trees would not be impossible. But when their numbers swelled to tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, all hope seemed to fade. Worse yet, the trees were not flammable.

Still, Colin was not without options: he could head toward the temporary safe zone. The distance to that safe spot had changed—from three kilometers just moments ago, now down to about two. That meant reaching it was feasible. Yet, Colin knew without doubt that the so-called temporary safe zone was, at best, a place for slow suicide. If he had any choice at all, he would never go there.

The other option was to check the newly issued quest for any chance of turning the situation around. If that proved impossible, then the safe zone would be their last resort.

“What do we do now, boss?” Li Chou gasped, breathless.

“Don't panic. We're not at the end yet—” Colin replied offhandedly, swiftly pulling out the parchment, opening the quest list, and reading the task:

["Land of Withered Olives"]

[Quest Description: As frost descends, the olive trees wither each day. A compassionate young girl, saddened by this sight, comes to a cave beside the olive grove after her daily labor, to weep and pray alone.]

[Perhaps due to her devotion, a "miracle" occurred. Unlike other plants that perished in the cold, this olive grove—meant for midsummer—thrived abnormally in the frost.]

[It seemed the trees were nourished by the girl's tears. Yet, after several winters, one day, she was found dead beneath the olive trees.]

[The villagers buried her in the cave where she had wept, and the next day, all the olive trees began to wither as a result of her death.]

[But when that day arrived, instead of dying with the girl, the olive trees wept and grew hostile to all outsiders, refusing to fall into slumber.]

[Quest Duration: Unlimited.]

[Quest Objective: Reach the source of the anomaly, unearth the grave of the deceased, and discover the reason why the olive trees refuse to die.]

[Page 1/3]

[Quest Rewards: Hardened black bread x99, rope knots x3, Level 3 backpack expansion card (108 slots) x1.]

"Now, the third way to accept quests... The miracles of this world truly are bizarre. A little girl weeps, and tens of thousands of olive trees survive unnaturally. If this happened on Earth, our nation's desert greening would be blessed—no, on second thought, I wouldn't want to see millions of trees refusing to die..."

Colin reined in his sudden thoughts, quickening his pace as he checked the parchment and triggered the hint.

[Hint: You believe the girl's grave lies about one kilometer ahead, to your right. You observe that there are no lord-level aberrations in that direction.]

As long as there were no lord-level aberrations, everything could be managed. Colin considered briefly—if nothing unexpected occurred, this quest would surely have further stages. Otherwise, simply investigating wouldn’t be enough to pacify the “living olive trees.” Thus, the initial task should not be difficult; the real challenge likely lay ahead.

Fortunately, Colin possessed a natural advantage in most puzzle “games.” With luck, observation, and a hint, answers could be found directly.

...

Once their direction was decided, Colin and his group quickened their pace, heading toward the cave where the girl was buried. Walking through the dense olive grove was actually easier and faster than along the main road. The recovered olive trees, due to their density, had trouble pursuing them, and both sides were evenly matched in speed—Colin's group even had a slight advantage.

There was a downside, though: they often brushed against the olive trees, and each touch brought a strange sensation—muscle-like movement beneath the thick, cracked bark. The psychological pressure was immense. It was hard to believe these things could still be called olive trees.

As they drew closer to the cave, the sense of unease grew stronger. The trees became increasingly anthropomorphic, nearer to human form. Many appeared to kneel, their branches reaching forward like hands, as if desperately grasping for something, radiating an aura of deep sorrow.

At this moment, Colin couldn’t help but recall the mourners at a funeral—only the mourners here were trees. They were neither fully human nor entirely other, exuding unspeakable dread and horror.

Enduring this terror, after a few minutes, Colin finally led his companions to the cave's entrance.

But as soon as they arrived, his expression changed.

The cave was completely blocked by a dense mass of olive trees.

[After a brief inspection, you discover that the cave passage is five or six meters deep and now utterly sealed off.]

The entire passage, five or six meters, was blocked by olive trees.

Even with a stockpile of explosives, Colin realized he could not blast a way through.

“Damn it!” Colin’s face paled, his jaw clenched. He saw now that he had underestimated the quest.

Suddenly, he realized: except for daily quests, when had the system ever issued a simple task? Even the “easiest” explorations could be riddled with traps, and the hints might not warn of them. They merely omitted information, not actively causing harm.

Sometimes the hints were helpful; sometimes, as now, they were vague.

To find a solution, he’d have to think from another angle.

But time was running out. Colin gazed darkly at the sealed cave. With enough time, he could blast it open—but time was the one thing he lacked...

A thousand meters away, hundreds of living olive trees were rushing toward them. In about three minutes, they would collide.

Even if luck favored them and they survived, in less than ten minutes, their numbers would double again—reaching tens of thousands.

[You reflect on the quest description and realize it is incomplete, missing vital information.]

[After brief contemplation, you think the temporary safe zone might hold some answers...]

Considering the quest from another perspective, Colin recognized its incompleteness—yet another system-issued, misleading, potentially deadly quest!

Ordinary people, without special instructions, would naturally come to the destination to investigate.

But this was clearly a dead end!

Any delay here would see them surrounded by thousands, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of olive trees.

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ps: Thanks to everyone for your votes and recommendations... Special thanks to "Ling Liu'er," "Honesty Is Hard," "Buddha Is Gone," "Siqi Owen," "Peach Sniper 11," and "Dream of Passing Years" for their generous rewards...