The great banyan tree had too many branches; they needed to be cut off before sawing through the main trunk.
Song Nanxing climbed directly up the tree and stood at the center of the canopy, then hauled up the electric saw and began sawing the sprawling branches.
The new type of electric saw was convenient and sharp enough. In just a short while, Song Nanxing had neatly sawed off all the umbrella-like branches extending outward.
Leaves and branches of the banyan tree fell all over the ground, and a dark red liquid oozed down the bark.
Song Nanxing climbed down and adjusted the position of the saw, preparing to cut the main trunk.
As the electric saw roared to life, the sharp blade bit into the thick trunk.
The dark red liquid flowed even more profusely now, splashing onto Song Nanxing with every vibration of the saw.
He wiped the liquid off his face shield, thinking to himself how lucky he was to be wearing protective gear.
Gradually, people began gathering by the roadside, apparently drawn by the noise of the tree being sawed down.
Li Hao and two staff members pulled up the safety barrier and loudly drove the crowd away. “There are contaminants here, extremely dangerous! Please do not gather, do not gather! Beware of mental contamination…”
The three of them quickly stretched out yellow tape to cordon off the area, but when they looked back, someone had already slipped past the line and was heading toward the great banyan tree.
“No!” Li Hao’s sharp eyes caught a small patch of woody bark-like skin on the back of the man’s neck. Scanning the dozen or so people who had gathered, he noticed that they all had small patches of bark showing on their exposed skin, and their expressions were unusually vacant.
They weren’t here to watch the commotion—they were infected by the banyan tree, trying to save themselves!
“These people are all infected. Stop them!”
Li Hao rushed forward and forcibly dragged the man who crossed the barrier back. But before he could restrain him, the safety line was broken through by the others, who marched stiffly toward the banyan tree.
The other two staff members each tried to stop one person but couldn’t hold back the rest.
“Song Nanxing, be careful!” Li Hao shouted with all his strength as he pinned down the struggling man.
Song Nanxing turned to see a dozen men and women walking stiffly in his direction. Their movements were rigid, their expressions vacant, showing no obvious hostility.
However, as they stepped into the area once covered by the banyan’s canopy, the bark-like symptoms on their skin visibly accelerated.
At first, it was only on their necks, but as they approached the tree, the grayish-brown bark had already climbed onto their cheeks.
Looking at the banyan tree, which had only been half sawed through, Song Nanxing said to Li Hao, “Knock them out. Don’t let them get close. The banyan tree wants to eat more people to save itself!”
Li Hao finally realized these people weren’t attacking—they were walking straight into the tree to nourish it.
He flipped over and straddled the struggling man, grabbed his head, and slammed it hard against the ground. The man’s eyes rolled back, and his body went limp.
“I’m sorry, brother. I’m doing this to save your life,” he muttered, then charged at the next person.
But just as he managed to pin someone down, two others shouted, “The rat! It’s up again!”
The man who had hit his head was now stiffly crawling back up.
“Damn!” Li Hao turned to Song Nanxing, “Knocking them out doesn’t work!”
The vacant men and women were now only three steps away from Song Nanxing.
Just as he hesitated, wondering whether to stop cutting the tree, urgent screeching brakes sounded behind him.
“I’m here to help you!” Cheng Jianning jumped out of the car, his data cables suddenly extending and binding each of them tightly.
Those tied up struggled violently, trying to move toward the banyan tree. Cheng Jianning’s cables stretched taut. He sucked in a breath and said, “They’re really strong.”
Song Nanxing glanced back and shouted, “Drag them farther away! The tree is about to fall!”
Cheng Jianning let out a sound of surprise but forced the infected several meters backward.
The ordinary police officers who arrived with him immediately handcuffed and shackled the restrained individuals to prevent escape and notified the health center to pick them up.
Only a quarter of the banyan tree remained.
Song Nanxing pushed the electric saw against the trunk with all his strength, speeding up the sawing.
Suddenly, the entire banyan tree began to wither—starting from the top of the trunk, once vibrant and sap-filled, the wood quickly turned dry and gray-white.
Huge cracks split the trunk, revealing the inner core that was once red and white, now rotten and black-red, with no more sap flowing.
At this moment, the last bit of the trunk was sawed through. The heavy trunk crashed down with a thunderous sound, breaking into several pieces like something long weathered, the decayed fragments blowing across the ground.
Li Hao, anxiously waiting, showed a hopeful expression. He wanted to approach but hesitated, only daring to lean in and ask, “Is it done?”
Song Nanxing’s face darkened as he stared at the stump below and shook his head. “The roots are still alive.”
The remaining stump, almost level with the ground, showed concentric rings of red that slowly flowed. Clearly, the banyan tree had not died completely.
Meanwhile, the infected residents who had struggled so hard finally settled down into a quiet, vacant state.
The rescue vehicle from the health center arrived promptly and quickly carried the infected away on stretchers.
Li Hao, unwilling to give up, took out a detector and retested. “The contamination index in the air is dropping.”
He narrowed the detection area and moved closer to the stump. “The contamination only extends about one meter from the stump.”
This was at least good news. If they cut the tree in time, the contamination wouldn’t spread rapidly.
Song Nanxing said, “We need to leave at least two people on watch in shifts to prevent the roots from regrowing. We also need to deal with the banyan trees in Longteng Garden and Happy Garden.”
Li Hao left one technician and a police officer to guard the roots, then led the others to join Song Nanxing en route to Longteng Garden.
Song Nanxing drove separately and didn’t ride with Li Hao.
No sooner had he taken the driver’s seat than Cheng Jianning’s smiling face appeared outside the passenger window. “Their car is full. Mind if I hitch a ride with you?”
Song Nanxing flicked his chin toward the seat. Cheng Jianning happily opened the door and climbed in, his eyes rolling playfully over Song Nanxing.
He clicked his tongue in admiration. “I always said you were too badass to wander around alone in Good Dream like an ordinary person. Yet the tech team insisted you weren’t mentally contaminated.”
Leaning closer, he curiously asked, “Does your ability lower mental contamination levels? Like Captain Chu?”
Song Nanxing gave him a speechless look and said, “Honestly, I don’t know.”
Regarding whether he had any special abilities, Song Nanxing was skeptical. But after several dangerous encounters, he had indeed noticed he was less susceptible to mental contamination.
That was why, when Chu Yan persuaded him to join the Containment Center, he didn’t object.
He attributed it to his experience with the Black Goat case.
Most details of the Black Goat case were fuzzy in his memory; only a vague outline remained. But the suffocating pain and despair, like maggots gnawing at his bones, remained vivid.
So, he believed it was natural for him to be more resistant to contamination after enduring such trauma.
“Maybe having been through a lot, my emotions are just more stable than normal people’s.”
Cheng Jianning looked at him blankly, unable to imagine what storms someone so young could have faced.
But his attention quickly shifted. Not dwelling on it, he immediately brought up another topic: “I heard from Captain Chu that you joined the Execution Squad? Then we’ll be colleagues!”
He waved his hands excitedly. “I heard from Zhou Xuan that when things are slow, the team usually works in pairs to maximize safety. I don’t have a partner yet. How about you and me team up?”
Song Nanxing was indifferent but nodded casually. “Sure.”
By then, they had arrived at Longteng Garden. He parked and got out, waiting for Li Hao to take the electric saw out of the trunk to handle the banyan tree there.
But as he approached in his protective suit, he noticed the tree seemed thicker than when he first saw it.
Song Nanxing’s expression grew dark as he set about sawing down this banyan tree in the same way.
This time, with experience and Cheng Jianning’s help, their efficiency improved greatly.
After sending the infected residents with tree bark disease to the health center and leaving personnel on guard, the group hurried to Happy Garden.
Once the banyan tree in Happy Garden was cut down, they finally caught a brief breath.
But before they could fully rest, Chu Yan’s call came through.
“Reinforcements needed at Chunfeng Road in the outer city. Once you finish here, hurry over to assist.”
Li Hao’s face immediately fell. He sighed deeply and tried to psych himself up again.
Cheng Jianning was used to his self-talk and patted his shoulder, offering comfort: “Brother, stay strong. Whether the job’s painful or joyful, it’s still a day of work. Might as well be a happy one.”
They had no choice but to rush to Chunfeng Road without delay.
But when they arrived and saw the enormous banyan tree that three people could barely hug, they understood why Chu Yan sounded so grave on the phone.
Cheng Jianning couldn’t smile. He murmured, “How many people has this thing eaten…”
Li Hao’s hands trembled as he pulled out a pack of mints, poured a handful into his mouth, chewed fiercely, grimacing, repeatedly reassuring himself, “It’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay…”
Song Nanxing put on the hood of his protective suit. “Let’s go. They’re about to give out.”
*****
The enormous banyan tree on Chunfeng Road was much harder to deal with than the previous three.
The obstacles they faced weren’t just infected residents with tree bark disease but the banyan tree itself.
Compared to the others, this tree was smarter and better at exploiting human weaknesses.
When Song Nanxing took the electric saw and began cutting, he heard a little girl screaming in pain right by his ear.
Only then did he understand why the person with the saw kept changing, yet the huge banyan tree remained standing.
The last worker to hand the saw to him was pale and sweating profusely; after retreating to the safe zone, he crouched on the ground, clutching his head, crying out in agony.
This enormous banyan tree had countless branches—too many to count—revealing just how many people it had devoured.
As the saw slowly bit through the main trunk, the voices of the devoured echoed in Song Nanxing’s ears, their cries pitiful and their pleas humble.
“Please don’t saw anymore, my leg hurts so much, save me, someone please save me…”
“I don’t want to die. Aren’t you the police? Why won’t you save me? I’m not dead yet…”
“Mommy, I want Mommy. The bad people are cutting my belly. It hurts so much… I’m going to die…”