Wasteland Nation
Ch. 29 - The Blood Orchid Fruit

The wild boar charged without warning. Its massive frame barreled forward in a Savage Charge, tusks gleaming with lethal intent. Simultaneously, the large yellow dog and black cat flanked Chen Liu. The savage trio’s movements were synchronized. The black cat, swift as a sow,  became a blur midair, its claws aimed for a killing strike. Chen Liu’s combat instincts surged to life. He stood his ground, analysing the beasts’ attack paths and devising a strategy to break their coordinated onslaught. The rumble rumble rumble of the boar’s approach grew deafening, its tusks looming large. In a fluid motion, Chen Liu twisted his right foot outward and sidestepped, his body grazing past the boar’s flank with precision. Without his special instincts, such a maneuver would have been impossible. As he shifted, he leaned back just in time to evade the black cat soaring over his head, catching a fleeting glimpse of surprise in its eyes. Got you, he thought, seizing the moment.

Chen Liu struck back as he dodged. As he leaned back, his right hand swung his short axe upward, slicing into the black cat’s soft underbelly with a sickening rip. Blood sprayed through the air, and the cat’s wail echoed as it crashed into the dirt. But danger still loomed. Chen Liu’s body collapsed toward the ground, save for his left elbow which barely cushioning the fall. The yellow dog, fueled by old enmity,  lunged with savage fury with its front paws. It raked across Chen Liu’s face, leaving bloody gashes that exposed raw flesh. Its teeth clamped onto his right shoulder, biting down to the bone with a crunch that sent pain searing through his soul. It’s targeting my axe arm, he realized, recalling the dog’s cunning. Meanwhile, the wild boar, having missed its charge,  dug its hooves into the earth, turned sharply, and barreled back like a relentless juggernaut. Chen Liu was trapped but refused to yield. Instead of retreating, he pressed forward, wrapping his left arm around the dog’s head to immobilise it. Dropping his axe, he drew a dagger with his right hand—ignoring the agony in his shoulder—and plunged it into the dog’s throat with a force that  nearly wrecked his arm. He wasn’t going to let it escape.

His “Body Regeneration” ability kicked in, source energy flowing through his meridians to the wounded arm. The torn flesh twitched and multiplied, knitting together with unnatural speed. As a Seven-Star Awakened, Chen Liu’s strength far surpassed Fang Ruoming’s, making such a risky move possible. The yellow dog, wounded,  released its bite with a painful Wrooarrr and prepared to leap away, likely assuming the boar’s charge would finish Chen Liu. But he roared Arghhhh, summoning his full strength to hurl the hundred-pound dog directly into the boar’s path. The sickly crackkkk of his freshly healed shoulder tearing open again was excruciating, but Chen Liu never flinched. The dog’s body was impaled on the beast’s tusks, killing it instantly and blinding the boar. Seizing the moment, Chen Liu rolled aside, snatched his axe, and swung with brutal force, severing the boar’s hind leg with a slice. The beast toppled like a capsized truck, its cries were filled with agony as it thrashed. Chen Liu delivered a blow with his axe to the boar’s neck, carving a gushing wound. The boar went berserk, careening through the forest, but Chen Liu kept his distance, waiting patiently for it to bleed out. No need to take risks against a dying beast, he thought, knowing that mutated beasts below Phase Two lacked awakened abilities and were no match for his power.

In under ten minutes, Chen Liu felled three formidable mutated beasts, a feat fraught with peril where a single misstep could have been fatal. To his surprise, the boar’s erratic rampage followed a consistent path, piquing his curiosity. Where is it going? He wondered, trailing it cautiously. After less than a hundred meters, he pushed through dense shrubs to find a small plant, no taller than half a meter, bearing a single thumb-sized fruit, vivid red like freshly spilt blood. “Blood Orchid Fruit!” Chen Liu gasped, recognizing it instantly from bloodline lore. This rare treasure, born of the mysterious force driving global evolution, could awaken or enhance bloodlines, unlocking latent powers or, in rare cases, granting a second ability for ability-users, or triggering an initial awakening for ordinary beings or beasts. This is a miracle, he marvelled, his heart pounding with desire. He realized the beasts had not been hunting him but racing to claim the fruit. He was an unintended disruption. Determined to seize it, Chen Liu dashed forward, delivering a final axe blow to the boar before it could reach the plant. Carefully, he plucked the Blood Orchid Fruit, and the plant withered instantly, roots and all—a one-time gift of nature, never to grow again.

Knowing the fruit’s power would fade within ten minutes, Chen Liu found a hidden shrub, sat cross-legged, and swallowed it whole. The fruit melted instantly, transforming into a stream of red liquid that seeped into his bloodstream. His body heated, his blood boiling as a mysterious force stirred within. This is power awakening, he noticed, feeling his meridians grow tougher and thicker, laying a stronger foundation for his eventual advancement to the Evolver stage. Most significantly, deep within his bloodline, he unlocked a combat technique—“Three Forms of the Axe Manual,” an offensive skill tied to the eight-armed, three-eyed demon god from his dreams. After a long while, Chen Liu opened his eyes with a glint of refreshment, ready to face the evolving dangers of the apocalypse.

Yuyu: What MC doesn't have their author daddy giving them some benefits?

thINKer: He keeps evolving and evolving. Come back next time to see what Chen Liu does with his new powers. 👍