Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System-Chapter 79: Becoming Boss

"Here we are," the tattooed man said, stepping back half a step. "Since you’re so capable... show us."

He gestured toward the entrance, "Go ahead." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Vikram didn’t move immediately.

Instead, he turned his head slightly, his calm gaze landing on Sunil Kumar.

Sunil met his eyes and spoke casually.

"Brother, you’re the one who said you could handle Exquisite-grade monsters easily. My subordinate might be blunt, but he’s not wrong."

He smiled faintly.

"How about it?"

Vikram looked at him for a brief moment. Then he turned back toward the entrance.

"It’s fine," he said calmly. "I’ll go first."

Vikram stood at the entrance of the ruin even saying that, his eyes fixed ahead, completely still. Behind him, the Sprout Team also remained motionless, quietly waiting for his command. To the others, however, this silence looked like fear.

"Look at him, he doesn’t even dare to go in."

"Hahaha, he was acting so confident on the way here, and now he’s frozen."

"Someone go kick him in."

"No one? Then I’ll do it. Move aside."

Vikram didn’t react. His thoughts were calm and cold. So this is how it is... then there’s no need to hold back anymore.

A gust of wind suddenly rose behind him as the attacker launched a flying kick straight at his back. Just before the strike landed, Vikram slightly shifted his body, barely moving an inch. At that exact moment, something moved.

No one saw it clearly.

There was only a faint blur.

The Guardian Sprout had already stepped forward.

Its shield moved.

Not fast... but precise.

To the attacker, time seemed to stretch for a split second. His eyes widened in shock as something filled his vision.

Then—

"Bang!"

A heavy, dull impact echoed.

The man’s body was sent flying forward as if struck by a massive force, crashing straight into the ground inside the ruin.

From everyone else’s perspective, it looked like he had simply missed his kick and slammed into the ground on his own.

"What a waste," Sunil Kumar snorted in disdain. "He couldn’t even land a kick from that close."

"Hey! Stop acting and get up!" the tattooed man shouted impatiently.

No response.

The man didn’t move at all.

A strange silence spread.

The people behind exchanged uneasy glances, finally sensing something was wrong.

One of them cautiously stepped forward and nudged the fallen man with his foot. When there was still no reaction, his expression stiffened. Slowly, with trembling hands, he bent down and turned the man’s face over.

The moment he saw it, his entire body froze. The man’s face... was completely smashed.

Not just injured, it was crushed beyond recognition, as if it had been struck by something heavy and unyielding. Blood and flesh were mixed together, making it impossible to even identify his features.

"H-he’s dead!" he shouted in terror, stumbling backward.

This time, panic truly spread among the group.

"Dead? Just like that?!"

"That’s not from a fall!"

"What hit him?!"

Even the tattooed man’s expression changed. He quickly stepped forward, grabbing Vikram by the collar of his wolf fur coat and pulling him closer.

"What the hell did you do?" he roared, his eyes filled with anger and suspicion as he pointed toward the corpse.

Vikram slowly lowered his gaze to the hand gripping his coat, then looked back at the man.

"Do what?"

Vikram tilted his head slightly, his tone calm and indifferent. "He tried to kick me, so of course he died." He spread his hands as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Then his gaze slowly dropped to the hand gripping his collar. "And how dare you touch me?"

His eyes turned cold.

No command was spoken, yet the next moment—

The Warrior Sprout moved.

A single slash.

So fast that no one present could follow it.

For a brief second, everything looked normal. Then suddenly, the tattooed man’s arm slid off from his shoulder, blood bursting out violently.

"AHHHHHHH!!"

A terrifying scream echoed as he dropped to his knees, clutching the severed stump, his face twisted in agony.

The others froze.

No one had seen anything.

They only saw the result.

One moment he was fine, the next, his arm was gone.

Their eyes slowly shifted toward the plant-like beings behind Vikram. The harmless appearance they had before now felt like a cruel joke. A deep fear rose from the bottom of their hearts.

Vikram let out a soft chuckle as he looked at their panicked expressions.

"From now on, all of you will follow me," he said lightly. "Do as I say... or..."

He made a simple slicing gesture across his neck.

The meaning was obvious.

Panic spread instantly.

"Boss, we should—" one of them, Chandan, turned to run.

"Chandan, stop right there!" Sunil Kumar suddenly shouted.

Chandan froze, trembling. "Boss, I..."

"No need to say anything. Just follow him," Sunil said firmly, though his voice carried a trace of tension. His eyes were fixed on Vikram, no longer showing earlier arrogance.

"Brother Vikram, we will follow your every command."

"Good, Sunil Kumar," Vikram replied, deliberately using his full name. "I came all this way to explore resources. As for ants like you, you should understand your place if you want to follow me."

Sunil’s face stiffened slightly, but he didn’t dare show any displeasure. What he had just witnessed was enough. Even with the strength from consuming physique fruits, he couldn’t see the movements of those plant beings clearly. He had only seen the outcome. And there were eight of them.

On Vikram’s side, eight terrifying entities.

On his side, barely five people, and none of them had the courage to fight anymore.

"Yes, Mr. Vikram... please don’t be angry. We will follow you," Sunil said quickly.

The others nodded frantically.

Even the tattooed man, pale from pain and clutching his severed arm, forced himself to speak, "Yes... Boss Vikram... don’t be angry... you can take everything..."

Vikram looked at them for a moment and suddenly felt a bit speechless.

Their attitude had changed far too quickly.

But then a thought formed in his mind.

Since they were already this obedient... why not make them his subordinates?

Thinking of this, Vikram gave a slight signal with his fingers. The tattooed man, still trembling from pain and fear, immediately understood and walked toward him cautiously.

"What happened, Boss?" he asked, already changing his tone completely.

"Good," Vikram nodded, satisfied with his attitude. "What’s your name?"

"I... I am Alex," he replied quickly.

"Go bring your arm."

Alex was stunned for a moment. He didn’t understand why Vikram wanted it, but he didn’t dare question him. He hurriedly ran, picked up his severed arm from the snow, and brought it back with shaking hands.

Vikram then glanced toward his Sprout Team. The Healer Sprout stepped forward. The Light Mage Sprout followed.

Both of them placed their plant-like hands on the severed arm and the bleeding stump. A faint glow appeared, soft and warm, spreading from their touch.

In just a few seconds, the torn flesh began to reconnect.

Blood stopped flowing. Skin, muscle, and bone fused back together as if time itself had reversed.

Soon, Alex’s arm was completely restored.

No scars. No wounds. As if nothing had ever happened. Silence fell over the group.

If the earlier scene had filled them with fear, this one shattered their understanding entirely.

Killing... was terrifying.

But this, this was something they couldn’t even comprehend.

Alex looked at his arm, flexing his fingers, clenching his fist again and again. It moved perfectly, no different from before.

His face lit up with disbelief and joy.

Without hesitation, he dropped to his knees.

"Boss! From now on, you are our boss! We will follow you in everything!" he shouted, his voice filled with excitement and submission. "If you tell us to go east, we will never go west!"

He quickly gestured to the others. Seeing this, the rest didn’t hesitate anymore.

One by one, they all knelt down.

"Boss!"

"Boss Vikram!"

Even Sunil Kumar hesitated for a brief moment, but under the pressure of the situation, he also slowly knelt. However, unlike the others, a faint flicker of thought still remained hidden in his eyes.

Vikram looked at them and smiled faintly.

Satisfied.

"Not bad," he said calmly. "Then let’s begin exploring."

His gaze shifted to Alex, "Send someone in first."

At the same time, he gave a silent signal. The Guardian Sprout moved forward slightly, positioning itself closer to the entrance.

"...Alright," Alex nodded quickly.

He first went to collect the corpse of the dead man along with the dropped supplies, stuffing everything into his backpack efficiently. Then he turned toward the group.

"Chandan, you go first."

Chandan didn’t hesitate at all.

After witnessing everything just now, especially the healing, his fear had transformed into blind trust.

As Chandan stepped forward, the Guardian Sprout silently followed behind him. Vikram then moved as well, and the rest of the group hurriedly entered the ruin one after another.

The moment he stepped inside, Vikram’s eyes began scanning everything carefully.

Most of the outer structure had already been dismantled by Sunil Kumar’s group. The walls were uneven, torn apart in many places, and the floor was even worse—hardly any tiles remained intact. The entire area looked like it had been violently excavated.

Yet despite the damage, the ruin still carried a strange sense of order.

A sense of... technology.

Because the entire structure was made of metal, there was no warmth inside. No life. No sound. Only a faint, cold atmosphere that seemed to seep into the bones.

Even Vikram felt a slight chill.

Suppressing that discomfort, he activated the system scan.

[Zombie Ruin: Purple Gold. Contains powerful enemies and abundant resources. Defeat the strongest creature within to obtain an additional ruin treasure chest. (Note: This secret realm will disappear in one week.)]

Vikram’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"So it really is a zombie-type secret realm..."

A faint realization appeared on his face.

"No wonder it felt familiar... this place is almost like those underground facilities from Resident Evil."

The thought flashed through his mind briefly before he shook it away.

Now wasn’t the time to think about that.

The group continued forward, quickly passing through the damaged outer area and arriving at an inner section of the building.

There stood a metal door. Unlike everything outside, this section was completely intact. The walls were smooth.