Chapter 4
Qian Hui huddled in the cabinet, his head leaning against the wooden boards.
He fell silent, listening to the pattering rain outside.
When a few humans passed by, their voices carried faintly through the drizzle, muffled by the distance and the falling rain.
If it weren’t for the rain, he might have ventured out.
Since both he and the man-eating flower were here, perhaps Nan Tingjin was…
But what if he’d misheard?
From waking up until now, he’d barely managed to stay safe. Recalling all the dangers he’d faced along the way, it was impossible not to feel fear.
Recklessly exposing himself might bring more peril.
Besides, the rain still fell outside. Getting wet would hurt him, and he had two plants with him.
Qian Hui looked down at the pepper and cabbage nestled in his arms.
In this completely unfamiliar place, it seemed the only things he could trust and touch were plants.
Moreover, if Lajiao and Xiao Baocai were discovered, they would also be in danger.
One had severely injured legs, while the other was small and clearly lacking in combat ability.
Qian Hui remembered that the game’s faction analysis mentioned how mutated plants had been hunted by humans and zombies in recent years, leaving them in a precarious state overall.
Additionally, he’d encountered two human teams today, both of which mentioned the man-eating flower.
Could they all be searching for the man-eating flower, trying to capture it?
Recalling that the man-eating flower had been injured before disappearing, Qian Hui grew increasingly worried.
He wanted to find it too—it was one of his best friends.
And then there was Nan Tingjin. If only he were really here.
Overwhelmed by sadness, Qian Hui’s expression grew more confused and aggrieved.
He wanted to return to the plant courtyard, not stay in this place.
Xiao Baocai seemed to sense Qian Hui’s emotions. It brushed his palm with its leaves and looked up at him.
Qian Hui hugged both plants tightly, closed his eyes, and rested.
Night fell, and the rain gradually ceased.
A few stray low-level zombies passed through the ruins, unaware of Qian Hui hidden in the cabinet.
Unwilling to venture out, Qian Hui fumbled in the dark for the remaining fruit and shared it with the two plants.
His appetite was small, yet he seemed to grow hungry quickly. Within hours, his status had deteriorated to [Hungry] again.
After consuming a third of the fruit, he returned to [Marginally Good].
This time, Lajiao obediently accepted the offered food, swallowing the flesh in a few bites.
Xiao Baocai took the food Qian Hui offered, clearly surprised by the gesture. He held it in his hands for a long moment before retreating to a corner to devour it in private.
Satisfied, Xiao Baocai returned to Qian Hui’s side, nuzzling affectionately against him.
After their “dinner,” Lajiao’s loyalty remained unchanged, while Xiao Baocai’s loyalty directly increased to 50%.
Qian Hui opened the field guide, noting the updated skill list:
[Species: Mini Cabbage—Xiao Baocai
Level: Low (Docile)
Status: Good
Loyalty: 50%
Basic Skill: Stealth (50 seconds)
Advanced Skill: Invisibility (50 seconds)
Berserk Skill: Unknown
Preparation Details: Unlocked at 80% Loyalty
Suggested Class: Assassin/Support
Class Level: Beginner
Skills Points: Attack 0 Defense 0 Speed 0 (No available skill points)]
Xiao Baocai, unaware that Qian Hui was observing him, curiously examined the boy with an innocent expression.
Qian Hui thought to himself, It’s so small, too hard for it to even find food. It probably can’t be an assassin…
He opened the shop again and was genuinely stunned. The shop interface was crammed with rows of items.
There were five categories: daily necessities, medicines, construction materials and weapons, plant upgrades, and special items.
Qian Hui scanned everything. The daily necessities section contained various foods, water, and clothing.
The medicine section had limited varieties, divided into blue recovery, health recovery, and Panacea. Each category had different levels, with higher levels being more expensive.
The construction materials and weapons section, as the name suggested, sold various weapons of different sizes, as well as bricks and cement, indicating they could be used to build a base.
Qian Hui opened the plant upgrades section, which sold skill points.
The special items section only had two products: Evolution Water and Revival Bean.
Qian Hui’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. He looked at his balance…
There were so many things, but he couldn’t afford most of them.
His balance only had 200. After searching through the entire shop, he could only afford a small piece of bread or a basic Panacea.
Having just finished dinner, Qian Hui wasn’t hungry and turned his attention to the Panacea.
Lajiao’s wounds were still healing, and it coughed a few times while eating. Its legs remained immobilized, and the broken leaf on one side showed no signs of regrowth.
Compared to Xiao Baocai, Lajiao was clearly more wary of Qian Hui, with only a sliver of loyalty remaining.
Whether it was zombies or humans who had injured Lajiao, Qian Hui could guess.
Despite this, Lajiao had still helped him in the forest. Without that assistance, he would have been captured by the zombies long ago.
Qian Hui bought a Panacea and offered it to Lajiao.
Lajiao sniffed the pill but didn’t take it.
“It heals wounds,” Qian Hui whispered. “You ate one while unconscious before.”
Lajiao stared at the pill for a long time, its expression unreadable. It glanced at Xiao Baocai, who was nearly asleep in Qian Hui’s arms, and snorted inwardly.
Food, medicine… Was this strange human or zombie trying to tame them?
Not a chance!
Lajiao swallowed the pill whole, then rolled over and closed its eyes.
It could tell this wasn’t poison, and it probably did heal wounds. Given its current condition, staying with Qian Hui for now was the best choice.
Once its legs healed, it would slip away…
Lajiao secretly resolved itself, feeling the pill’s effects spreading through its body.
Having consumed one pill earlier, this second dose amplified the healing. A tingling sensation soon reached the severely wounded legs.
Before leaving, I should capture two or three mid-level zombies and extract their crystal cores for him.
Two should suffice. Three might be excessive.
With these thoughts, Lajiao drifted off to sleep.
After purchasing the medicine, Qian Hui’s balance stood at zero.
He examined the methods to replenish funds: mission rewards, title unlocks, and zombie kills.
Judging by the day’s events, the first two options seemed… more promising.
Qian Hui had no gaming experience, so he operated the system purely on instinct, barely understanding most functions.
After securing the entrance with wooden planks, he closed his eyes.
This marked his first night away from the plant courtyard, devoid of familiar plant companions.
Yet he considered himself fortunate—unharmed and not starved to death on the journey.
He’d even encountered the man-eating flower, knowing it remained nearby.
Curling into a tight ball, Qian Hui recalled the massive flower’s appearance and the voice eerily similar to Nan Tingjin’s.
His breathing slowed into a steady rhythm as sleep claimed him.
Later that night, Lajiao awoke briefly.
After confirming no threats lurked outside, it resumed its slumber.
The next day, Qian Hui was woken by game notifications.
He opened his bleary eyes to find messages continuously popping up on the interface.
[Status: Extreme Danger!]
[Status: Extreme Danger!]
Qian Hui sat up quickly, realizing the pepper had vanished from his arms. The cabbage remained quietly crouched nearby.
The wooden board blocking the entrance showed signs of disturbance, and a sliver of light seeped through from outside.
Qian Hui scrambled out of the entrance to find the pepper sitting on a stone before the cabinet, turning to look at him with an expression that seemed to say: ‘Why so late?’
Qian Hui looked up at the sky—it appeared to be noon already.
He didn’t feel particularly hungry, but his overall condition was poor. Waking up only left him feeling more exhausted.
The cabbage followed Qian Hui out, reaching out to grip a corner of his pant leg tightly.
Qian Hui opened the field guide—both the pepper and cabbage showed signs of hunger.
They needed to find food quickly.
No zombies approached in the immediate vicinity. Qian Hui turned off the game, picked up both plants, and carried them.
The game provided new guidance. He took the dagger and followed the indicated direction.
After entering the forest, Qian Hui walked forward for over twenty minutes without finding any food or water along the way.
The destination in this direction was likely that small stream from yesterday, but after Qian Hui left and was chased by zombies, he had already strayed far from it.
To return to that place, he would probably collapse halfway there.
Dazed and disoriented, Qian Hui stopped to rest twice.
Xiao Baocai was very worried about him, but didn’t know what to do. Lajiao couldn’t help much either.
The fruits from yesterday were completely gone. Qian Hui opened the shop, looking at his empty balance.
He had overestimated himself too much…
Yesterday’s success had given him a false sense of security. In a post-apocalyptic environment, food and water weren’t so easily obtained.
Had he known, he wouldn’t have bought medicine first yesterday.
Feeling both regretful and self-reproachful, Qian Hui leaned against a tree trunk and crouched down. He looked at the two plants and said, “Why don’t you two…”
Lajiao, though immobile, could hide first. Xiao Baocai wouldn’t need to follow him anymore.
Understanding Qian Hui’s meaning, Lajiao turned and ran immediately.
It flipped and rolled into the grass, using its hands to push itself forward a short distance.
Xiao Baocai remained motionless, pressed against Qian Hui, emitting soft whimpers.
At that moment, the struggling Lajiao suddenly froze.
It lifted its head, its expression alert.
Every time it reacted like this, it meant something was amiss in the surroundings.
Qian Hui also strained his ears and heard faint sounds from one direction—they sounded like zombies.
His first instinct was to get away as quickly as possible. He had just stood up when he hesitated.
Killing zombies earned balance rewards, and the shop had food and water.
Should I… try it?
Qian Hui looked at the dagger in his hand, torn between fleeing elsewhere or attempting to kill a zombie.
Just as he was wavering, the zombie’s growls drew closer, filled with anger.
Lajiao, ever practical, rolled back with a “gurgle gurgle.”
Qian Hui crouched down again, cautiously peering around the corner.
At the edge of his vision, a familiar-looking zombie appeared in the forest.
The zombie’s face bore a burned scar, and its other features were clearly recognizable—it was the same one Qian Hui had encountered yesterday.
At that moment, it was grasping a vine and struggling to tear it off.
The vine seemed to be a mutated plant as well, its end tightly wrapped around the zombie’s neck, clearly trying to kill it.
But the vine wasn’t strong enough, barely managing to hold on and prevent the zombie from spitting out its corrosive mucus.
The zombie’s strength was immense, and in a flash, it tore off the vine’s end.
The vine trembled, enduring the pain as it tried to climb up a branch and escape, only to be caught by the zombie again.
In the zombie’s eyes, even moving mutated plants could fill its stomach.
Moreover, the vine had angered the zombie. If it weren’t for the vine wrapped around its neck and arm, it would have already devoured this low-level plant completely.
Qian Hui observed this scene, gripping his dagger tightly as he prepared to approach.
He had no time for further thought. Since the zombie was temporarily restrained by the vine, there was a greater chance of killing it.
The game warned again of extreme danger, forcing Qian Hui to steel himself.
He still hadn’t found the man-eating flower or Nan Tingjin. He didn’t want to die, and he refused to sit idly by.
Xiao Baocai clung tightly to his side. Qian Hui picked it up and stuffed it into his pocket.
He turned to Lajiao and whispered, “Can you help me?”
Lajiao guessed what he was planning. As Qian Hui reached out, the plant silently offered a leaf.
There was no time to lose. Qian Hui shoved Lajiao into his pocket as well, then seized the moment to dart closer.
The vine was desperately holding on, its body stretched taut and on the verge of snapping.
The zombie’s neck bore deep wounds, but as long as its bones remained intact, only a head strike could finish it.
Just as the vine neared despair, it spotted a figure approaching from behind the zombie.
Qian Hui raised his dagger. Guided by the game’s prompt, he thrust it into the zombie’s nape with all his might.
The zombie roared in pain, releasing the vine and whirling around.
The blade lodged in the skull, refusing to budge. With no combat experience, Qian Hui was sent sprawling by the zombie’s sweeping arm.
Ignoring the vine still wrapped around its neck, the zombie lunged at Qian Hui, aiming to bite him dead.
Qian Hui rolled away just in time, but the zombie’s sharp nails raked across his arm.
The vine froze momentarily, unsure what to do. Instinctively, it lashed out with tendrils, trying to drag the zombie away from Qian Hui.
Lajiao burst from the pocket, leaping up to cling to the zombie’s face. It aimed for the forehead and fired a volley of searing pepper seeds.
The dagger, combined with pepper seeds, inflicted a severe wound on the zombie’s head. Finally, it collapsed to the ground.
With its last remaining breath, the zombie raised its hand to grab the pepper on its face. The vine immediately coiled around its hands.
Xiao Baocai also wanted to help. It stealthily approached and bumped the zombie’s head several times, completely extinguishing its life.
[Congratulations! You have successfully killed a level 2 zombie (1). Rewards have been delivered to your account!]
Qian Hui sat up, holding his injured arm as he scanned the area.
After confirming no other zombies were approaching, he immediately opened the shop and bought a bottle of water and a pack of biscuits.
As the balance deducted, he glanced at the remaining amount—1600.
Staring blankly, Qian Hui picked up the water and food that appeared beside him, then approached the dead zombie.
The pepper had already dug out the zombie’s crystal core and placed it on the ground, pushing it towards Qian Hui.
Qian Hui picked up the crystal core, examined it, then put it back down.
The moment the zombie died, the game rewards had arrived. As for the crystal core, he had no idea what it was.
Thinking he didn’t need it, the pepper split the crystal core in half. It ate one half and tossed the other to the nearby vine.
As for Xiao Baocai, it hadn’t contributed much effort, so it didn’t get a share.
Xiao Baocai didn’t mind. It leaned in to lick the broken fragments of the crystal core.
Qian Hui sat on the ground, drinking several mouthfuls of water and tearing open the biscuit packaging.
The biscuits were hard but filling. Qian Hui gave some to Lajiao and Xiao Baocai as well.
With his physical condition finally recovered, he turned to look at the tree nearby.
The vine from earlier had not left. Having eaten half a crystal core, it seemed to want to approach Qian Hui but hesitated.
Qian Hui picked up a cookie and offered it to the vine.
After half a minute, the vine crept closer, snatched the cookie from his hand, and gently brushed against him with its leaves.
The vine wasn’t large at all—just a thin, delicate tendril with leaves about the size of a fingernail. Its eyes and mouth weren’t visible externally; it had to use special leaves to dissolve food.
Lajiao observed Qian Hui’s actions while busily munching on cookies.
It wouldn’t object to any of Qian Hui’s actions. It would only act when necessary, and as for other plants, they could make their own choices.
In any case, once its leg healed, it would leave.
The vine quickly finished the cookie and moved even closer to Qian Hui, loosely coiling around his wrist.
The stench of the zombie corpses on the ground was overwhelming. Qian Hui, temporarily unable to check the vine’s information, got up and moved to a slightly more distant location with Lajiao and Xiao Baocai.
There were still some cookies and water left. He considered buying a backpack from the shop and new clothes, but feared there might not be enough food in the future.
In the end, Qian Hui didn’t buy anything and used all his balance to stock up on food.
The small vine remained wrapped around his wrist, just like Xiao Baocai. In a short time, both plants had become very close to Qian Hui.
At that moment, the game notification finally arrived.
[Successfully bonded with three or more plants! You can now form your plant squad! Hurry up and increase their loyalty!]
Below it was a friendly reminder: the lower a plant’s loyalty, the higher the risk during combat. They might flee or even attack their host, rendering previous cultivation efforts futile.
Qian Hui opened the field guide, where a new column for combat strength estimates had appeared.
[Green Pepper—Qing Lajiao (Mid-level, injured and recovering)
Mini Cabbage—Xiao Baocai (Low-level, weak skills)
Soft Vine—Ruanteng (Low-level, low combat strength)
Overall Estimate: Combat Strength 5, Victory Probability 6%. Have fun playing!]
Qian Hui silently closed the interface and finished his last cookie.
With so much balance remaining, if he rationed carefully, it could last several days.
If the small soft vine wanted to follow him too, he’d take it along. Together they’d search for…
Qian Hui pressed his lips together, opened the field guide again, and stared at the man-eating flower’s entry.
He quickly composed himself, stuffed the cookie and water into his pocket, and picked up the cabbage and pepper.
The dagger previously stuck in the zombie’s skull had been retrieved and carefully wiped clean of blood.
The small soft vine coiled around Qian Hui’s wrist several times, quietly following him as they left.
As Qian Hui walked, stopping occasionally, he encountered no more zombies.
The forest seemed safe enough. Without the game’s guidance, he wandered aimlessly for hours until reaching the edge of the city ruins.
Before him lay endless wreckage, all looking much the same. He couldn’t tell where he’d first seen the giant man-eating flower.
The afternoon sun was fading. Just as Qian Hui began looking for a place to stay overnight, Lajiao in his arms suddenly looked forward and made a soft “woo.”
Qian Hui quickly hid and watched from a distance.
Through the ruins, several human figures moved slowly, scanning with instruments in their hands.
Seeing more humans, Qian Hui’s eyes lit up slightly as he tried to recognize any of them.
The group standing by the broken wall was from the Black Spine Mountain Base.
The short man turned to look around and said, “There are two places with the strongest signals. It must be hiding nearby.”
They searched the area carefully for a long time, sure the man-eating flower hadn’t left.
“Let’s think of a way to lure it out. Maybe we can catch some plants?”
“Ordinary ones won’t work. We could try mushrooms…”
The group didn’t notice Qian Hui hiding in the distance. One of the taller men asked in a low voice, “Where did the leader go again?”
The short man shook his head. “I don’t know.”
Qian Hui watched as the group moved in another direction. He followed them.
These humans might be the same ones he’d met yesterday.
If they were, following them might help him find the man-eating flower, or… that human with a voice so like Nan Tingjin’s.
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