Or to be more precise, the hidden condition might be 【feeling the same pain together】.
So this was the execution of an Auxiliary Rule.
The range of influence wasn't large, limited only to the two Participants who triggered the rule; looking at the result, it merely led to the deaths of two Participants.
But its "energy level" far exceeded Ren Yi's understanding.
It was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, a flak cannon to kill a mosquito, or a Star Destroyer to set off fireworks.
The terrifying part was that this "judgment" seemed to uphold a kind of absolute fairness, and its potential influence was enough to cover the entire world.
Ren Yi's gaze fell back to the painfully writhing vines on the ground.
He could feel that at this moment, the Wutong Tree Anomaly was experiencing a different kind of pain.
The pain of a bleeding heart.
The corner of Ren Yi's mouth twitched imperceptibly.
He had roughly figured out the Wutong Tree's rules.
The Wutong Tree's rule allowed it to directly attack people who were alone, or perhaps those whose blood had been absorbed by its roots.
That was why the 【Herb Garden Work Guidelines】 required working in pairs and not bleeding.
Its ability further complemented its rules, ensuring it wasn't helpless against those in "pairs."
Specifically, it could release a mist that blinded perception and confused direction.
Most importantly, the flesh of living beings in the mist would gradually grow together and fuse upon contact.
If there were too many exposed roots—the vine skulls—the mist would thicken, and the "fusion" speed would increase accordingly.
If one stayed in the mist too long without leaving, they would likely turn into one of these vine skulls in the Herb Garden, becoming part of the Wutong Anomaly's root system.
This explained the origin of the two rules: "limited working hours" and "burying special vines."
The solution was actually simple: keep moving in pairs, don't panic after the flesh starts to fuse, calmly and quickly finish the work under the influence of the fusion, and then walk out of the Herb Garden.
After all, the Lu Family only had a rule that "one can only move within the courtyard and work areas," but no rule that "one is not allowed to leave the work area during work hours."
Once out of the mist's range, the two people grown together would likely separate naturally before long.
The Wutong Anomaly's ability was very powerful; its Herb Garden might even have the prototype of an "Anomaly Domain."
However, this Wutong Anomaly was quite unlucky this time.
Under the dual effect of the external 【Herb Garden Work Guidelines】 and its own ability, it was almost inevitable for Participants to "feel pain together."
Thus, a vicious cycle was formed.
Participants were forced to stay close, the Wutong Anomaly made them fuse tighter, the Wutong Anomaly tried to kill them, the Participants felt pain together, and the Participants were erased by the Auxiliary Rule.
So, the wipeout of the Participants probably wasn't due to the Wutong Anomaly's efficient killing, but purely because it was too easy to trigger that high-and-mighty "Auxiliary Rule" to steal its kills.
No wonder Fu Ye assigned so many people to this Herb Garden... It's likely that the Wutong Anomaly hasn't actually managed to "eat" a single Participant until now, right?
Ren Yi looked at the Wutong roots crawling all over the ground, exuding endless grief and indignation, as if he could hear a silent wail.
He could completely understand.
Food was right in front of it, but it couldn't eat it; he had just experienced that feeling not long ago.
But the Wutong Anomaly seemed a bit more pitiful; Ren Yi just saw it but couldn't eat it.
The Wutong Anomaly, however, could see it but was fixed in place, forced to watch helplessly as the food delivered to its mouth was snatched away again and again by an existence it could never oppose.
This grudge was destined to never be settled.
Ren Yi gently tugged Lu Zihan, signaling him to leave quickly and give this grief-stricken Wutong Anomaly some space to cry alone.
As for any other Participants that might still be in the Herb Garden?
If they weren't all dead yet, he sincerely wished the Wutong Anomaly... could at least successfully get one bite.
A moment of silence for it.
The two of them continued to grope around in the mist for a long time before finally finding the exit to the Herb Garden.
Although the Wutong Anomaly was crying its heart out and likely had no time for them, Lu Zihan still strictly followed the rules and stepped out of the Herb Garden at the same time as him.
The moment the two of them crossed that invisible boundary, the thick, syrup-like mist around them seemed to be wiped away by a giant hand; their perception returned, and their vision suddenly cleared.
In the sky, the sun was already tilting toward the center; it was almost time for lunch.
Ren Yi was planning to head to the place where the servants ate, only to discover awkwardly that his and Lu Zihan's hands were still fused together.
A peeling sensation accompanied by a slight itch came from where their skin touched, like two pieces of overly sticky tape being slowly pulled apart by time.
But this process clearly needed time; at the moment, their palms were still stuck together as if by the most stubborn tree resin.
Ren Yi was calculating how to solve this "conjoined" state to go to the servants' cafeteria when he heard Lu Zihan beside him clear his throat somewhat deliberately.
"Follow this Young Master upstairs." He looked toward the main house, not at Ren Yi. "Fu Ye... um, Fu Ye said he has some matters to arrange for you."
His tone seemed to be hinting at something.
Ren Yi slowly typed a 【?】 in the Anomaly Web.
【Ren Yi: Is there something you can't just say here? You're acting all sneaky. What exactly did Fu Ye say?】
Lu Zihan's reply came quickly.
【Lu Zihan: Oh, it's not Fu Ye, it's my mom!】
【Lu Zihan: She said you've already met the Instance completion requirements. Bound by the Instance rules, she must meet with you once, so she told me to bring you to her.】
Ren Yi was slightly stunned. He could understand being bound by Instance rules; although this world had been reduced to a "Pasture," its underlying rules were still running on inertia.
As one of the Anomalies here, it was reasonable for Auntie Lu Qing to act according to certain rules.
But what were the Instance completion requirements? Weren't they...
Wait!
Rate on N.U.
