All my teammates online are my girlfriends

"We're not kids anymore."

Ye Qianhe rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. Among those present, she was the only mature and reliable person!

Lin Qiu didn't say anything more, but silently raised his vigilance to the extreme before leading them back to the backyard.

Before Ye Qianhe could even ask where the wooden ball was, his gaze fell upon the strangely twisted peach tree, and he froze on the spot.

Somewhat incredulous, Chizuru rubbed her eyes, and after confirming she wasn't seeing things, she was completely stunned—

"Lin Qiu, this peach tree..."

"Just consider it a mutation, but don't worry, the fruit on these is still edible, not poisonous, and tastes much better."

"Really?"

Chizuru breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that there were no problems with the fruit that had grown.

As long as the fruit isn't poisonous, it'll be fine. Otherwise, if Ichie accidentally eats it, it could be a disaster!

"Where's Sakuma?"

Meanwhile, Chen Xiao looked around and, not seeing Wu Xiaoxiong, asked in confusion.

"She wasn't feeling well, so she was taken to the neighbor's house for a check-up. There were medical staff there at the time."

"Physical discomfort?"

"I don't know how to say this either. Just ask her after the examination."

Hearing Lin Qiu's vague reply, Chen Xiao blinked in confusion.

They were all sent for examination, and it seemed like something was wrong, but judging from Lin Qiu's appearance, it didn't seem that serious.

"Lin Qiu, come here for a second. Why don't you touch the wooden ball and take a look?"

At that moment, Tang Feilin's voice came over again.

The wooden ball was clearly rejecting and blocking their group; any rash action could even threaten the bodies of Baiya and Sakikuma.

This guy, for some reason, seems quite friendly, so I have no choice but to send him to make contact!

"It feels like you're sending me to my death."

"You're worrying too much."

Tang Feilin spoke in a serious tone, but her gaze drifted away.

Even if something really happens, with his skills, rescuing Lin Qiu shouldn't be a problem.

Lin Qiu gave her a deep look, and after confirming that she didn't mean any trouble, he cautiously approached the wooden ball.

As Lin Qiu approached, the wooden ball began to beat slowly again, like a heartbeat.

The closer they got, the more eerie chirping sounds filled the air, causing everyone to cover their ears in discomfort.

However, Lin Qiu still didn't sense anything was wrong. Instead, he kept staring at the wooden ball, feeling excited and restless.

"Is it an illusion?"

Lin Qiu muttered to himself, but didn't think much of it. He walked up to the wooden ball and squatted down.

As Lin Qiu stared, the wooden ball bounced more and more frequently, and a strange blood-red color even appeared on the surface of the branches and vines.

"Click——"

An unusual cracking sound suddenly came from the wooden ball. To Lin Qiu's horror, a crack appeared on the ball and quickly spread outwards...

217 - The Replaced Heart

"Um—I have a bad feeling."

Lin Qiu's heart pounded as he watched the wooden ball crack open in front of him.

He wanted to back away, but his body suddenly became uncontrollable, and he remained frozen in place, watching helplessly as the miniature tree reappeared in his sight.

The moment the gaze lingered on the tree, the miniature tree seemed to sense something, and its emerald green branches were quickly stained with an eerie blood red.

Soon, the entire tree turned blood red, as if it had been soaked in blood, shimmering with an eerie luster.

Seeing the obviously abnormal plant, Tang Feilin took a step forward to try to pull Lin Qiu back, but countless vines suddenly burst out from the ground and tightly wrapped around her body.

"Tsk..."

Feeling the restraint on her body, Tang Feilin's heart sank slightly, and she quickly called out—

"Lin Qiu, get out of the way!"

"I don't know why I can't move!"

"The others..."

As Tang Feilin looked at the others, they were all tightly entwined with vines, just like her.

Lin Qiu, the only one who wasn't tied up, watched in terror as the tree drew closer and closer. Although he didn't feel any danger, his heart inexplicably tightened.

Is this thing going to parasitize humans?!

"Huh? Old Chen, what are you doing in the backyard? Is this... bondage play?"

Just then, Wu Xiaoxiong's voice suddenly came from behind.

Wu Xiaoxiong, who had been sent for examination, was standing unharmed by the fence, looking at the strange sight of everyone being entangled in vines with a bewildered expression.

I was only gone for a short while, what exactly happened?

"Perfect timing, Saki, quickly pull Lin Qiu away, that tree might be bad for him!"

Tang Feilin quickly called out, as Lin Qiu was getting closer and closer to the tree, and who knew what would happen if the thing touched Lin Qiu.

"Oh, oh, here it comes."

Seeing Tang Feilin's solemn expression, Wu Xiaoxiong didn't dare to be negligent and rushed forward to grab Lin Qiu.

This time, no vines tried to entangle Saki, but before she could even touch Lin Qiu.

The next second—

puff!

Crimson blood splattered out instantly, stunning Sakikuma who had come to pull the person away.

The sharp wooden splinter pierced Lin Qiu's chest with ease, and at its tip, a heart was impaled, still slowly beating.

"Hey, hey, hey... You're kidding, right?"

Wu Xiaoxiong murmured, still feeling the warmth of the splattered blood on her face, which made her tremble slightly.

Didn't you say there was no danger?

Lin Qiu is dead?!

Lin Qiu was also caught off guard, staring blankly at the wooden splinter that had pierced his chest, the blood almost staining his clothes red.

Before I could react, an indescribable, excruciating pain instantly overwhelmed my brain.

"Lin Qiu!!"

On the other side, Ye Qianhe and Qianhui, who were watching the tragedy unfold, almost fainted, and tears streamed down their faces.

Chen Xiao stared in disbelief at the suddenly deceased Lin Qiu, his brute force exploding to its limit in an instant, causing the vines wrapped around his body to crack in countless places.

But as if to curb her rampage, a large number of vines grew wildly from the ground, further locking her body in place.

Just as she was about to fight desperately, Lin Qiu's somewhat bewildered voice suddenly rang out—

"Ah—um...wait a minute, I think I'm alright?"

"Ok?"

Tang Feilin stared in disbelief at Lin Qiu, who was still alive even after his heart had been removed, and was momentarily stunned.

You managed to survive? Was there no hope of survival in the open?

"Are you... alright?"

Ye Qianhe stared tremblingly at Lin Qiu's heart, which was gradually stopping beating, and still couldn't accept the shock, her vision went black for a moment.

Does this look like everything is alright?

"Although it hurts a lot, it doesn't seem like a big deal."

Lin Qiu even smacked his lips in a daze, his eyes fixed on the wooden splinter that had pierced his chest.

The pain was quite intense, but there was also a strange sensation of something spreading and connecting inside my body...

"Can you move now?"

"No, it's still confined, and I can feel the roots of this thing drilling into my body."

It burrows into the body...

Tang Feilin was deep in thought, then suddenly froze, as if she had thought of something.

Could this tree be going to replace Lin Qiu's heart?!

"Um, is it better for me not to touch Lin Qiu right now?"

Sakikuma, caught between a rock and a hard place, asked a question, her eyes still trembling, unable to recover from the shock she had just experienced.

Looking at Lin Qiu's heart that had been ripped out, I felt a dull ache in my chest.

"Step back and don't touch him. This thing seems to be changing Lin Qiu's body. Don't stimulate him further."

"Okay... okay."

Sakuma swallowed hard and took a few steps back, trembling with fear.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, a large number of roots grew out of the miniature tree and took root directly in Lin Qiu's body.

"Ouch—it hurts! Just give me a quick death, why is it just hurting like this!"

Lin Qiu yelled in frustration, feeling like his class monitor was pinching him as they shoved him at him one by one!

"Lin Qiu, your heart has withered!"

Qi Xi quickly reminded them, and as everyone looked over, the heart, which had stopped beating, seemed to have been absorbed and shriveled up completely.

Even so, apart from still bleeding, Lin Qiu seemed to be perfectly fine.

"It feels like this tree has taken root inside me! It's in, it's in!!"

Under Lin Qiu's horrified gaze, the miniature tree drifted straight towards his missing heart along its roots.

When the miniature tree hovers, flesh and blood identical to the heart immediately emerge from its branches, eventually transforming into an identical heart.

The surrounding roots transformed into blood vessels and reconnected upwards, while only on the surface of the heart did the mark of a small white tree slowly emerge.

"Old woman, can you explain what's going on here, someone from your research institute?"

Qi Xi asked, completely bewildered, as this was the first time she had ever seen someone who had been stabbed in the heart and was completely unharmed.

And what kind of tree can turn into a heart? There's no such prop in Kara no Kyoukai!

"Don't ask me, this is the first time I've ever seen this either."

Tang Feilin rolled her eyes. Although she didn't know what kind of tree it was, it was clear that it didn't seem like it wanted to kill Lin Qiu.

As she watched Lin Qiu's chest gradually being repaired, her eyelids twitched involuntarily.

This recovery speed is probably even faster than Bai Ya's after the experiment.

218-Master and Servant

"Miss Tang, what's with that look on your face that says you want to dissect me?"

"It's your illusion."

"Your technique... feels a bit rough!"

"Believe it or not, I'll break your ribs?"

"Ahem—you continue."

Seeing Tang Feilin's thoughtful expression as she kept touching her chest, Lin Qiu's heart started beating much faster.