L1LZDGD Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Nan Tingjin wasn’t wearing his coat. Qian Hui detected the scent of mountain streams on him, along with the damp morning mist.

The familiar warmth of his body was so close that, in a moment of confusion, it felt no different from before.

Qian Hui tightened his arms around Nan Tingjin’s waist, pressing his cheek against him, and stayed that way for a long time.

When his emotions finally steadied, he felt Nan Tingjin’s fingers brushing through his hair—from his forehead to his ear, each movement gentle as a breeze.

Slowly, Qian Hui realized what had happened. Nan Tingjin hadn’t rejected him this time. He’d actually returned the embrace.

Just days ago, the man had threatened to kill him.

For a moment, Qian Hui almost thought Nan Tingjin might have regained his memories.

He looked up, meeting Nan Tingjin’s gaze head-on.

Nan Tingjin’s expression remained impassive, his dark eyes lowered with a hint of scrutiny. It was as if this embrace held no emotional weight at all.

Qian Hui’s heart sank. Nan Tingjin still remembered nothing.

He tried to pull away, but his hands met resistance. Confused, he pushed again. This time, Nan Tingjin released him.

He retreated to the grass, Xiaozhi closing in, its eyes fixed warily on Nan Tingjin.

Residual hurt lingered in Qian Hui’s eyes as he gathered the plants and lowered his lashes. “You… didn’t kill me?”

After a moment of silence, Nan Tingjin answered obliquely, “What happened?”

Qian Hui had been acting strangely even before Nan Tingjin’s arrival, likely due to the man-eating flower.

Nan Tingjin regarded the plant, unflinching under its hostile gaze.

This mutated flora—normally volatile and feared by countless ability users and zombies—now nestled docile as a pet in Qian Hui’s arms.

More strikingly, none of the surrounding plants bore signs of forced subjugation.

Even the unfamiliar vegetation in the forest showed no inclination to attack him.

His initial assessment was likely wrong; Qian Hui probably had no connection to the Sky Base.

Yet he couldn’t rule out the possibility of Qian Hui being a specially trained specimen or an exceptionally skilled imposter.

Qian Hui hesitated before beginning. “It’s… my friend who was with Xiaozhi. Some humans…”

Overwhelmed by grief and anger, he couldn’t continue.

Nan Tingjin guessed part of it and asked, “Who?”

Qian Hui lowered his head. “I don’t know.”

Xiaozhi looked up at him, then turned to Nan Tingjin and pointed in a certain direction with its leaf.

Nan Tingjin glanced in that direction without making a sound.

As a special-grade mutated plant, the man-eating flower could distinguish different origins’ scents, but it couldn’t figure out which base they came from, what the base’s name was, or the exact range.

However, once it encountered those people again…

Xiaozhi ground its sharp teeth fiercely, vowing to avenge the little mushroom.

Behind them, Lajiao, crouching in the grass, also turned to look.

It knew the locations of several large bases. That direction…

Was where it had escaped from—one of the Sky Base’s branches.

Lajiao suddenly whipped around and pulled up a clump of grass.

Many humans hunted mutated plants, but the ones capable of harming the man-eating flower’s friends were most likely from that place.

Lajiao was deeply angry, yet it silently sighed.

It had seen how heartbroken Qian Hui was earlier, but hadn’t found a chance to comfort him before Nan Tingjin stole the moment.

So there really were humans… no, or maybe even zombies, who had such a good relationship with plants.

Lajiao was quite envious. When it eventually died and withered, would anyone mourn for it?

Ruanteng faintly sensed Lajiao’s emotions and quietly peered around.

Lajiao casually pulled Ruanteng’s vine into an embrace, gazing at Qian Hui ahead with mixed feelings.

Qian Hui also made up his mind. “I will find them.”

He looked at Nan Tingjin and pressed his lips together. “You can’t stop me.”

Nan Tingjin was human. According to the game’s rules, he belonged to the human faction, being Qian Hui’s opposing side. It seemed natural for him to stand with the humans.

If only Nan Tingjin could help him. But with no memories, how could he abandon his companions so easily?

I wonder if there’s a more direct way to add humans to the Plant Faction…

Too complicated. Qian Hui couldn’t understand it. The game’s faction divisions were simpler, so his thoughts were straightforward too.

Although he still didn’t know what to do after finding those people.

Should they lock them up or kill them like zombies…

Qian Hui, lacking experience in such matters, decided to let Xiaozhi handle it.

Nan Tingjin remained silent for a moment before responding, “I won’t participate unless someone pays the commission.”

The Black Spine Mountain Base had always been a unique entity.

The base only recruited powerful ability users. They typically selected assignments and bounties from other bases, earning commissions and supplies in the process.

In common terms, they took jobs for money and didn’t interfere in conflicts between other bases.

Qian Hui’s eyes showed confusion. “What… what do you mean?”

Seeing his genuinely bewildered expression, Nan Tingjin decided not to explain further.

However, Nan Tingjin didn’t mention that the amount of the commission was actually secondary.

As the leader, he could do whatever he wanted. His actions depended entirely on his mood.

For example, even though they had a man-eating flower right in front of them that required capture alive, he remained completely indifferent.

It was now 8 or 9 in the morning, and the mist in the forest had yet to disperse as the sun gradually emerged.

Qian Hui felt that Nan Tingjin was pulling his leg, which made him unhappy. He buried his head and muttered under his breath, “All humans are bad eggs…”

This was something Carrot had taught him before, from a picture book.

Many words in the book had been scratched out, with some pages left with only two words remaining.

Qian Hui flipped through several pages before piecing together the phrase “Humans are all bad.”

He hadn’t understood it before, but now he finally did.

Nan Tingjin might not have heard, but he seemed to smile faintly.

The usual coldness in his eyes had dissipated considerably, revealing traces of his former gentleness.

Qian Hui’s bad mood vanished again. He slowly pulled out bread and jerky from his backpack, sharing some with Nan Tingjin.

The nearby hidden plants, drawn by the scent, approached cautiously. The grass rustled repeatedly.

The forest was full of plants, many of which Qian Hui recognized. Yesterday’s cookie-feeding had quickly spread to more plants.

They treated Qian Hui like the man-eating flower’s pet, thinking the flower was showing them kindness.

However, with Nan Tingjin—a powerful ability user radiating overwhelming pressure—nearby, they dared not show themselves openly.

As Qian Hui fed Xiaozhi with food, Lajiao, and Ruanteng, rustling sounds continued behind him.

He turned his head, and the voice vanished again.

In the end, Nan Tingjin was the first to get up and leave, heading toward the creek. Several plants swiftly surrounded him.

Among them was the money tree that hadn’t managed to snatch a cookie yesterday. It swayed its leaves, trying to rub against Xiaozhi’s stem.

Impatient, Xiaozhi flipped over and flung the tree away.

Qian Hui didn’t mind; he was willing to let these plants approach. Otherwise, he would have scared them off long ago.

The money tree, having been rebuffed, circled in place in confusion. Spotting food in Qian Hui’s hands, it tried to nudge him again.

Qian Hui tore off a piece of bread and offered it. The money tree quickly wrapped the bread in its leaves, hid it away, and scurried off.

Some other small plants that approached received similar treatment. Qian Hui fed each one a bite without refusing any.

During this meal, the game’s notification chime sounded several times.

Many entries in the field guide had already lit up, with most plants forming bonds. However, their loyalty remained low.

These plants hadn’t fully accepted Qian Hui’s presence, like stray kittens one might pet on the street—not ready to follow home.

Qian Hui didn’t force them. Compared to these unfamiliar plants, he longed to find those from his old plant courtyard even more.

“Xiaozhi,” he asked the man-eating flower again, “Do you know where Xiaokui, Xiaojuan, Luobo, and the others are?”

Xiaozhi shook its head, then hesitated before nodding.

It drew a carrot shape in the air with its leaf and pointed in a certain direction.

Xiaozhi had only ever seen one carrot before.

At that time, it had been in an area densely populated by zombies. It had been many years since then, so it wasn’t clear if the carrot was still there.

Apart from the little mushroom, Xiaozhi’s relationship with the other plants in the courtyard was ordinary. They had previously been colleagues at best.

Later, after mysteriously coming to this world, there were many places they could go. Moreover, they were all very strong and could survive independently, so they had even less desire to travel together.

Qian Hui silently opened the map and marked a direction on it.

Once Xiaozhi fully recovered, he would go look in that direction.

There were also tasks to complete—killing all the zombies he could and accumulating funds as soon as possible.

Just then, a mid-level zombie wandered nearby, detecting the scent of a large number of plants.

Nan Tingjin was still by the creek. Qian Hui quickly drew his dagger, wanting to call Lajiao.

He forgot that Xiaozhi had already woken up, and the zombie before them posed no threat at all.

Xiaozhi raised its head, its gaze turning cold as it swayed its stem and shot forward.

The intermediate-level zombie lay on the ground, its long tongue flicking out only to be dodged by Xiaozhi.

Just as it prepared to attack again, a sudden chill ran down its neck.

Xiaozhi bit off the zombie’s head with a single snap, then spat it out with a “pah.”

The entire sequence had unfolded in mere minutes.

Qian Hui stood frozen in place, knife still in hand, his understanding of Xiaozhi’s combat capabilities deepening.

Lajiao rushed over to harvest the crystal core while Qian Hui silently sheathed his blade. He then led Xiaozhi to the stream for a wash and mouth rinse.

With the intermediate-level zombie eliminated, the main quest was completed, and the quest log updated accordingly:

[ Main Quest: Lead the plant squad to kill intermediate-level zombies (0/30) ]

[ Reward: Prestige Points +500 ]

[ Side Quest: Form a bond with advanced mutated plants and raise loyalty to 40% (0/3); Form a bond with intermediate-level mutated plants and raise loyalty to 50% (0/6) ]

[ Reward: Faction Points +2000 ]

[ Faction Points: 500 ]

[ Prestige Points: 60 ]

The previous side quest had been completed at some point, its difficulty appearing higher than the main quest’s and offering more substantial rewards.

The system notification stated that 1 Faction Point could be exchanged for 20 balance points, with no deduction after exchange, but only one exchange allowed.

In Qian Hui’s eyes, the Faction Points reward was essentially equivalent to balance points.

He needed to find three high-level mutated plants and six mid-level ones.

Wait, Lajiao also counts…

Qian Hui turned to look at the Lajiao, which was currently engaged in a crystal core dispute with Ruanteng.

Lajiao was indeed a mid-level plant. Despite having followed him for so long, its loyalty remained pitifully low—still only 20%.

Sensing Qian Hui’s gaze, Lajiao looked up and chuckled, appearing to be in a good mood.

Qian Hui’s emotions were complicated. He tried opening the field guide and used 2 Prestige Points to buy a strategy guide for Lajiao.

[ Green Pepper – Qing Lajiao ]

[ Mid-level mutated plant ]

[ Guide purchased: Brave and meticulous, dares to challenge, highly active. A small body containing infinite potential. An emotionally rich pepper. Treats all encountered creatures with caution, holds grudges. Enjoys sleeping in, listening to music, and cherishes freedom. ]

Seeing the words “cherishes freedom”, Qian Hui’s expression turned hesitant.

This pepper was indeed different from Xiao Baocai and Ruanteng. It had originally suffered severe injuries, and Qian Hui had insisted on bringing it along.

Although Lajiao’s leg injuries had fully healed and it appeared to have integrated into the team, its loyalty had always been difficult to increase. Perhaps it didn’t truly want to stay.

With this thought, Qian Hui felt somewhat disheartened.

But since he’d already bought the guide, he might as well try…

Qian Hui decided that when he woke up tomorrow morning, he wouldn’t wake Lajiao, letting it sleep in.

Meanwhile, Lajiao was secretly observing Qian Hui from the side.

The man-eating flower, having bitten a zombie earlier, now bore stains on its body. Qian Hui was giving it a bath.

He had bought a brand-new towel. The man-eating flower clung to a riverside rock, closing its eyes as Qian Hui wiped its face.

Lajiao had witnessed the man-eating flower’s killing of a mid-level zombie. It felt that it was time to leave.

Should I say goodbye to Qian Hui? Or slip away secretly in the middle of the night?

After some internal conflict, Lajiao chose the latter.

Night fell. Qian Hui slept on the soft grass, holding three plants in his arms, with a long-unwoken cabbage still in his shirt pocket.

When the surroundings grew quiet and it confirmed Qian Hui was asleep, Lajiao opened its eyes.

It slowly wriggled out from under Qian Hui’s arm. Ruanteng, startled awake, swayed slightly.

Lajiao quickly held it still, signaling not to wake Qian Hui.

Ruanteng didn’t understand, but having spent so much time with Lajiao, it instinctively trusted its companion. It thought perhaps Lajiao couldn’t sleep and wanted to play a bit longer.

Lajiao patted Ruanteng’s leaves, then quietly opened the shirt pocket to touch the sleeping Xiao Baocai.

As for the man-eating flower, Lajiao didn’t dare touch it. It carefully backed away, planning to leave.

Xiaozhi opened its eyes briefly before closing them again.

At that moment, a game notification suddenly popped up:

[ Green Pepper’s loyalty has decreased to 10%. Please promptly check the plant’s mental state. ]

The notification sound jolted Qian Hui awake. He opened his bleary eyes and saw the message content. At the same time, he caught sight of Lajiao’s silhouette under the moonlight.

Qian Hui froze momentarily before sitting up abruptly. “…Little Jiao?”

Lajiao’s footsteps halted. It turned slowly, its gaze darting about as if reluctant to meet Qian Hui’s eyes. The plant lowered its head, kicking fallen leaves with its roots.

Qian Hui approached and crouched down. “Are you trying to leave?” he asked hesitantly.

Lajiao nodded and let out a soft “Woo.”

Qian Hui opened his mouth to ask why, but changed his mind. “Then… are you unhappy here?”

Lajiao shook its head, confusion evident in its eyes. It seemed perplexed by Qian Hui’s question.

Relieved, Qian Hui said, “Alright, I understand.”

At least Lajiao wasn’t unhappy when it was with him. If it wanted to leave and go elsewhere, he had no reason to stop it.

After some thought, he opened the shop and bought a pack of dried meat, a bottle of water, several Panacea, and skill pills that increase attack power.

“Take these with you.” Qian Hui also purchased a mini backpack, the kind designed for small to medium-sized plants. “Be careful. Don’t let other plants steal your supplies.”

Lajiao was startled and shook its head in refusal, but Qian Hui insisted firmly.

After some hesitation, Lajiao finally accepted the items and tied the backpack’s strap around its body.

Ruanteng leaned closer to Lajiao, nuzzling affectionately as if reluctant to part.

Lajiao finished packing its backpack and let out a soft “woo” before waving goodbye to Qian Hui. Without hesitation, it turned and left.

Qian Hui watched as the creature’s movements grew faster until it disappeared into the night-shrouded forest.

He waited in place for a while, confirming Lajiao had truly gone. With an expression of undisguised loss, he returned to his sleeping spot.

In reality, Lajiao hadn’t gone far at all.

After running a distance, it secretly doubled back.

Lajiao removed its backpack, hid behind a tree, and crouched down. Unable to resist, it stole glances at Qian Hui.

Qian Hui lay down again but found no sleep. He sat up once more, lowering his head to arrange the Ruanteng’s leaves.

Slow footsteps approached as Nan Tingjin came before him.

“Don’t want it to leave,” Nan Tingjin said mildly. “Just bring it back.”

Qian Hui looked up and glared. “Don’t touch Little Jiao…”

In the dim night, he kicked Nan Tingjin’s leg to show his displeasure.

Unfazed, Nan Tingjin crouched down. “What now?” he asked in a low voice. “Want me to hold you?”

Qian Hui gazed at him, eyelashes trembling. Had he misunderstood? Was Nan Tingjin here to comfort him?

The little mushroom’s death still hadn’t been fully accepted, and now Lajiao had left. It had been a truly difficult day for Qian Hui.

Qian Hui hesitated for a moment before inching closer. “…Yes.”

Nan Tingjin reached out, and Qian Hui immediately burrowed into his embrace.

Qian Hui closed his eyes, taking several deep breaths. His cheek pressed against the side of Nan Tingjin’s neck, he felt the warmth of his body.

After a long while, he lifted his head and couldn’t help asking, “Have you remembered anything about the past?”

Nan Tingjin didn’t answer immediately. After a prolonged silence, he murmured, “Perhaps… you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

The origin of Qian Hui’s appearance and his past experiences remained unknown. Nan Tingjin had no memories from before the apocalypse, so they might indeed have been acquainted, or it could be that Qian Hui’s recognition was flawed.

Or perhaps Nan Tingjin simply resembled the person Qian Hui sought, nothing more.

Yet Qian Hui declared with conviction, “That’s impossible.”

He drew even closer, gently snuffling at Nan Tingjin’s scent. From his face to his collar, then to his hair, Qian Hui checked thoroughly before repeating, “I haven’t mistaken you!”

“Is that so?” Nan Tingjin’s gaze lowered to meet his eyes. “Do you like me?”

Qian Hui froze, not expecting this question. He nodded. “Yes.”

“And what do you like about me?” Nan Tingjin pressed.

Qian Hui hesitated. “You… you’re handsome, and you’re kind to me…”

Nan Tingjin smiled faintly, then raised his hand to grasp Qian Hui’s face and chin. The restraining force wasn’t gentle. Forced to look up, Qian Hui felt Nan Tingjin’s breath against his skin as he asked in a low voice, “Do you truly understand me?”

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