Chapter 14
Nan Tingjin stared at Qian Hui for a moment before murmuring, “Alright.”
Xiaozhi, still waiting for Qian Hui to return for breakfast, gradually grew impatient. It leaned closer to observe what the two were doing.
Even in its reduced state, the super-mutated plant’s presence was undeniable. The man-eating flower’s recovery speed was nothing short of miraculous.
It glared at Nan Tingjin, then gently bit Qian Hui’s sleeve and tugged.
A flicker of impatience crossed Nan Tingjin’s eyes, but he only released Qian Hui when the man pushed him away.
Keeping a wary eye on Nan Tingjin, Xiaozhi whined and chewed at Qian Hui’s hem.
Realizing it was hungry, Qian Hui picked up the plant and carried it back to the tree.
After he left, the communicator hidden in Nan Tingjin’s coat vibrated softly.
He opened it to find a message from the base:
[ Zombie King traces detected in the North District. Three missions received. ]
The Zombie King’s appearance meant it would inevitably lead hordes of undead to besiege nearby bases.
While the Black Spine Mountain Base’s position was secure, the real concern lay with the surrounding smaller bases.
A few years ago, the three major bases had jointly established new regulations. In times of crisis, all ordinary humans and ability users were forbidden from harming their own kind or ignoring their pleas for help. Violators would face trial and punishment, thus maintaining the precarious order in the apocalypse.
In other words, unless Black Spine Mountain Base lacked the necessary capabilities, they had no choice but to send assistance upon receiving the commission.
However, the higher the difficulty of any commission or bounty, the greater the compensation in terms of payment and supplies. They wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.
Since the Zombie King was extremely difficult to deal with, the base immediately contacted Nan Tingjin, hoping he would return as soon as possible.
After reading the message content, the four-person squad outside the forest also sent a message, asking Nan Tingjin for his next instructions.
Should they return to the base immediately, or continue capturing the man-eating flower?
Nan Tingjin still didn’t reply, turning off the communicator.
Meanwhile, Qian Hui had finished dividing the food. After feeding Xiaozhi a few bites, he went to feed other plants that had quietly approached.
To prevent fighting over food, Qian Hui placed the broken biscuits in different locations.
Seeing him approach, some bolder plants even directly extended their heads forward.
Among them was the familiar Money Tree. Its loyalty had reached 30%, a gentle mid-level plant primarily focused on defense.
Qian Hui patted its leaves. “Hello.”
The Money Tree was quite clever. Ever since its failed attempt to curry favor with the man-eating flower, it had figured out that while the carnivorous plant appeared dominant, Qian Hui was actually the one in charge.
Accepting Qian Hui’s offering, the tree buried its head in his palm and rubbed vigorously.
Suddenly, the Money Tree lifted its head, sniffed the air, and fled with its food.
A soft “thud” echoed as a potato dropped from the tree. Smoke rose from the grass beside Qian Hui.
The potato rolled over and skillfully extended its hand toward Qian Hui, begging for food.
“You again…” Qian Hui remembered how this potato had stolen his biscuits last time, letting out a soft snort.
Recalling the strategy guide’s mention of potatoes’ preferences, he bought a piece of fruit candy from the Shop.
The Shop stocked most easily-stored foods. Qian Hui tore open the candy wrapper slightly, letting the aroma escape.
The potato had never seen such a thing before. It took the candy curiously, sniffed it, then licked a small bite.
Its black bean eyes immediately lit up. Clutching the candy block, it buried its head in vigorous licks while settling beside Qian Hui.
Qian Hui closely monitored Potato’s loyalty gauge, watching it surge by 30% in an instant.
He secretly delighted in this and tentatively stroked Potato’s head.
So easily pleased.
Potato ignored Qian Hui’s touch, already having polished off half the candy block.
In the distance, Lajiao perched on a tree, observing stealthily.
Too far away to clearly see who else was with Qian Hui, but the pepper could guess.
Those freeloaders again, too lazy to find their own food and shameless enough to mooch off him. Qian Hui’s always the softest.
Lajiao considered staying longer—at least until Xiao Baocai woke up…
Just then, Qian Hui sprang up and dashed toward the tree where his backpack hung.
He crouched, opened the pack, and carefully removed a verdant bundle.
The green mass in Qian Hui’s hands stretched languidly, unfurling its leaves.
Lajiao scrambled to the branch’s tip, craning its neck.
Is the cabbage… really waking up?
As Xiao Baocai stirred, Qian Hui received a game notification.
[ Mini Cabbage’s advanced skills have been updated! ]
Qian Hui opened his backpack to find the little cabbage had indeed woken up.
Its body hadn’t changed in size, but the leaves on its shell were now a deeper green. Yawning, it opened its eyes.
Seeing Qian Hui, the little cabbage wrapped its leaves around his finger and rubbed against it affectionately.
Qian Hui gently touched its slender leaf-like hands. “How do you feel? You’ve been asleep for so long.”
The little cabbage tilted its head in thought for a moment before suddenly making a sound.
It jumped onto the grass, twisting its body and swaying.
Then, the little cabbage shed a layer of its “cabbage shell.”
At first glance, the shell looked almost identical to its body, except it had no limbs and was completely empty inside.
The little cabbage picked up its shell and offered it to Qian Hui as if presenting a treasure.
“What’s this…” Qian Hui carefully took the shell, holding it up to examine while opening his field guide.
[ Species: Mini Cabbage
Level: Low (Home Assistant)
Status: Good
Loyalty: 90%
Basic Skills: Stealth (50 seconds)
Advanced Skills: Invisibility (50 seconds) / Invisible Fortress (8 hours in safe state)
Berserk Skill: Unknown
Preparation Details: None
Suggested Class: Support
Class Level: Beginner
Skills Points: Attack 0 Defense 10 Speed 0 ]
The suffix after Xiao Baocai’s level changed from “Cute and Obedient” to “Home Assistant”, and the suggested class no longer included “Assassin”.
For mid-to-low level plants, Berserk Skills need special chances to develop. When loyalty is very high and it says “Unknown”, it means the skill hasn’t been developed yet.
What does “Invisible Fortress” mean?
At that moment, Xiao Baocai walked over and patted the cabbage shell.
The cabbage shell immediately began to grow larger, its weight also increasing.
Qian Hui could no longer hold it and put it back on the grass. The shell kept growing bigger, even larger than the nearby shrubbery.
Two minutes later, a giant cabbage shell about 1.5 meters in diameter stood in the same spot. Qian Hui was shocked. He walked around the cabbage shell twice and reached out to touch it.
The shell felt very hard, not at all like the touch of plant leaves.
Xiao Baocai followed at Qian Hui’s feet, looking up proudly.
After the shell grew larger, a base appeared below it.
Qian Hui patted it again, and one of the shell’s leaves slowly opened outward like a door.
Xiao Baocai went inside first, and the “door” closed. The entire shell suddenly disappeared from the spot.
Qian Hui was stunned, still not reacting when the shell reappeared.
The “door” opened again, and Xiao Baocai stood at the entrance, waving at Qian Hui to hurry in.
Now Qian Hui understood. This was… a cabbage shell that could make things invisible!
He carefully held the “door frame” and bent down to crawl through the entrance.
[ Mini Cabbage’s advanced skill activated. Please place the fortress in a safe location. If touched or attacked by other creatures, invisibility will fail. ]
The cabbage shell was very clean inside. The leaves fit together tightly, completely covering the top. There were no gaps and it didn’t feel stuffy.
The leaves were covered with a thin layer of white fuzz. They felt cool and comfortable to touch.
There was plenty of space inside, with a flat bottom that could easily fit a person to sleep and rest.
Qian Hui touched and looked around everywhere. The little cabbage rolled around nearby, then spat out a cabbage slightly bigger than a finger.
The finger-sized cabbage fell to the bottom and immediately started glowing, turning into a cabbage lamp.
Qian Hui picked up the cabbage lamp, admiring it with great care.
He pulled the little cabbage into his arms and said sincerely, “That’s amazing!”
Before this, no one could have imagined that a low-level mutant plant with very limited power could evolve such a strange ability.
The little cabbage smiled shyly, climbed onto Qian Hui’s shoulder, and hugged his hair tightly.
Qian Hui felt sorry for the little cabbage having slept for so long. In one breath, he bought 20 defense skill points and fed them all to it. Ruanteng and Xiaozhi were also inside the cabbage shell.
Ruanteng broke off a piece of itself, tied it around the cabbage lantern, and hung it on a leaf.
The Xiaozhi watched the little cabbage nearby with curious eyes.
At this moment, the little cabbage suddenly realized there was a very strong mutant plant near it.
It lost its balance and fell off Qian Hui, rolling right up to the man-eating flower.
The little cabbage didn’t move, pretending to be dead. Xiaozhi lowered its head and touched it with a leaf.
Qian Hui picked up both of them. “Xiaozhi is my old friend. Don’t be afraid.”
Meanwhile, the pepper watching from a tree in the distance was almost frantic with worry. It didn’t know what was happening.
It seemed like the little cabbage had become a big cabbage, then a giant cabbage… and finally disappeared with Qian Hui.
The pepper almost went to check, but seeing Nan Tingjin nearby, it stopped itself.
Anyway, no matter what, the little cabbage must have become much stronger.
The pepper sighed quietly and looked at the backpack hanging on the tree.
It really was time to leave.
Qian Hui lay inside his shell for a while before pushing open the leaf door. He saw Nan Tingjin standing not far ahead.
Qian Hui’s face lit up with excitement. “Are you coming in?”
Nan Tingjin glanced at the wary man-eating flower and the timid Xiao Baocai hiding beneath Qian Hui’s clothes. He whispered, “No need.”
So Qian Hui sat at the “door” and opened the game, flipping through it for a long time.
Only now did he seem to finally understand the game’s usage and the changes it could bring.
Qian Hui was itching to evolve all the plants around him right away. If the plants became stronger, their faction’s power would increase, and they wouldn’t need to fear being captured by humans or zombies.
But there were too many plants in the forest, and Qian Hui wasn’t familiar with them yet.
Moreover, the game stated that feeding skill points had only a 30% chance of evolving new skills. To reach 100%, he’d need to buy Evolution Water.
Qian Hui opened the Shop and saw that one bottle of Evolution Water cost 3000 balance.
He could afford it, but Qian Hui hadn’t decided who to use it on yet, lacking a specific plan.
Besides, he needed to save up enough balance for Revival Beans and couldn’t spend recklessly.
After some hesitation, Qian Hui temporarily gave up, deciding to plan later.
Most importantly, he couldn’t keep spending his balance without earning more. If he couldn’t find Carrots or other plants soon, he needed to complete tasks quickly.
Qian Hui emerged from the cabbage shell, which suddenly shrank as its usage time expired.
He put the Xiao Baocai and the shell into his pocket, then approached Nan Tingjin.
“I’m going out today,” Qian Hui said, his eyes sparkling. “To kill zombies. Will you come with me?”
His face was delicate and beautiful, his red eyes clear and innocent, as if he were simply suggesting they go sunbathe outside.
Nan Tingjin was quiet for a moment. “Okay.”
He took a step closer and asked, “Are you sure about this?”
“What…”
Qian Hui paused, then realized Nan Tingjin must be asking about joining him at the human base.
He answered honestly, “Not yet.”
In Qian Hui’s imagination, Nan Tingjin had a new “stone hut” and wanted to invite him to live there.
Curious, Qian Hui asked, “Your… base, where is it?”
Nan Tingjin pointed in a certain direction.
Qian Hui looked in that direction and silently marked it on his mental map. “I’ll think about it and tell you later.”
“When?” Nan Tingjin asked.
Qian Hui made a sound of consideration. “Tonight?”
He thought about checking how many zombies were in the forest, how long it would take to complete the next main quest, and then going to the last place Carrot had been seen.
If they moved quickly, they might be able to go in a few days, or he could negotiate with Nan Tingjin to reschedule.
Qian Hui also had his own little plan. If Nan Tingjin didn’t get an answer, he might continue to keep him company.
Qian Hui secretly studied Nan Tingjin’s expression, then tried to take his hand. “How about it?”
Nan Tingjin looked down at him, patiently answering, “Okay.”
So, the two set out together.
Qian Hui walked in front, carrying Xiaozhi, with Ruanteng draped over his shoulders and Xiao Baocai tucked in his pocket.
Nan Tingjin followed behind, maintaining a distance of a few steps.
Lajiao watched them leave from afar, feeling increasingly conflicted.
It sighed, put on its small backpack, cast one last glance at Qian Hui’s retreating figure, and turned to depart.
By now it was nearly noon, the time when plants ventured out to sunbathe and hunt zombies.
As a newcomer, Lajiao encountered many mutated plants along the way trying to steal its backpack.
Showing no fear, it bared its teeth ferociously, protecting its pack as it fled.
After walking for what seemed like hours, the sunlight no longer burned so fiercely, and Lajiao gradually slowed its pace.
It didn’t actually know where it was going. Logically speaking, those humans it had evaded shouldn’t have given up so quickly; they should have hidden as far away as possible.
Lajiao climbed up the nearest tree, peered around, and tried to figure out which way to go.
Just then, it caught a faint whiff of something unusual.
Lajiao sniffed the air, jumped down from the branch, and quietly crept in a certain direction.
Soon, a familiar group of humans appeared at the edge of its vision, led by none other than Liang Jie.
Oh no! They found me!
Lajiao instinctively turned to run, but stopped after just a few steps.
There were many mutated plants in the forest. If it moved fast enough, it could probably shake them off.
But… These people were probably here to catch Xiaozhi too.
If it guessed right, they were the ones who harmed Qian Hui’s friend.
And Xiaozhi was a special-grade specimen, with a strong scent. If they found it…
These humans must have come prepared. Lajiao wasn’t sure how much Xiaozhi had recovered, and Nan Tingjin was an unknown factor too.
No, I can’t just leave. I need to find a way to help.
Lajiao quickly made up its mind. It retreated to a more distant spot, making sure it wouldn’t be discovered, while keeping an eye on the humans’ movements.
Meanwhile, Qian Hui located five intermediate-level zombies.
These zombies moved alone, offering no resistance when encountering the man-eating flower.
However, Xiaozhi hesitated to act, fearing that biting the zombies might make Qian Hui stop hugging it.
So it pretended to be drowsy, waiting for Nan Tingjin to use his ability to make the zombies collapse before Qian Hui finished them off with his dagger.
Qian Hui carefully extracted each zombie’s crystal core, cleaned it, and fed it to Ruanteng and Xiao Baocai.
At that moment, he thought of Lajiao who had left.
Where could it have gone…?
Qian Hui opened the field guide, which showed Lajiao’s status as “good,” proving it was currently safe.
That’s good… he thought. It should be happier now.
Qian Hui stood up, preparing to investigate further. Xiaozhi in his arms suddenly lifted its head, sniffing the air in all directions.
“What’s wrong?” Qian Hui asked anxiously.
Xiaozhi formed a carrot shape with its leaves and pointed forward.
“Carrot?” Qian Hui exclaimed, delighted. “Is it nearby?”
Xiaozhi nodded, jumped down from the ground, and chased after the scent.
Qian Hui hurried to follow, but even though Xiaozhi chose the easiest path, Qian Hui’s speed was completely insufficient.
Seeing the scent fading, Xiaozhi suddenly grew much larger in desperation, standing about as tall as a tree.
It let Qian Hui sit on the thickest part of its neck, allowing it to carry him through the forest.
Qian Hui climbed up and sat down, instinctively turning his head to ask Nan Tingjin to come along too.
However, Xiaozhi let out a soft “woo woo,” clearly expressing its displeasure.
Qian Hui had no choice but to give up. He climbed down from Xiaozhi and ran over to Nan Tingjin.
Qian Hui took his hand. “Wait here for me, okay?”
Nan Tingjin didn’t say anything, his gaze sweeping toward the man-eating flower.
Qian Hui sensed his unhappiness and hastily kissed his cheek. “I’ll be back when it’s dark.”
Even if I don’t find the Carrot, I’ll come back.
Only then did Nan Tingjin respond, “Okay.”
Xiaozhi urged them from behind. Qian Hui gave him another hug before hastily running over.
He climbed back onto Xiaozhi’s nape and gripped a sharp spine on its head.
Once Qian Hui was secure, Xiaozhi violently swayed its floral stem and darted forward.
Simultaneously, the Mimosa detected a sudden surge in energy and raised its leaves to charge ahead.
Noticing this, Liang Jie immediately activated his communicator and contacted his subordinates at the forest’s edge, “We have a direction now.”
He had guaranteed Wen Jue mission completion and made thorough preparations.
Outside the forest, another team stood ready—their numbers matching or exceeding the first, equipped with two modified vehicles. This force could swiftly maneuver around the forest’s perimeter to handle unexpected situations.
His subordinates sprang into action as Liang Jie gripped the communicator, his brow furrowed.
The Mimosa’s sudden directional movement likely meant the man-eating flower had revealed itself somewhere.
But wasn’t it severely wounded? Could it have recovered so quickly…?
The thought surfaced momentarily before Liang Jie dismissed it.
Impossible. Even if the man-eating flower shows itself, it must be at its end. It won’t last half an hour.
Following the scent of the carrot, Xiaozhi chased after it relentlessly.
Twice it felt close to catching up, but the carrot seemed to sense its pursuit and accelerated its escape…
Xiaozhi grew increasingly furious. Though their last encounter had indeed been fraught with tension—the carrot had blamed the little mushroom’s death on the flower—this was no excuse for such behavior.
The forest wasn’t a good place to grow larger, so it chased hard until it reached the forest’s edge.
Outside was the city ruins, with a relatively open street.
Xiaozhi carefully checked the direction and sped forward for a while.
However, the scent grew fainter and fainter until it completely disappeared.
Xiaozhi stopped, breathing heavily with frustration.
Qian Hui noticed its low mood and patted it. “Don’t worry, we’ll find it… Let’s go back first.”
Xiaozhi swayed its leaves and turned back.
About ten minutes later, as they were almost reaching the forest’s edge, Xiaozhi stopped again.
It stared in one direction, sniffed some scent, then gently put Qian Hui down and rapidly shrank its body.
Qian Hui picked it up. “What’s wrong?”
Xiaozhi pointed to the side, emitting continuous low growls from its throat, its gaze filled with intense hatred.
“Humans?” Seeing its expression, Qian Hui immediately understood. “It’s the little mushroom…”
In the distance, two modified cars were driving along the forest’s edge.
As they approached a certain area, the instrument’s needle on the vehicle suddenly surged, indicating the presence of a super-grade mutated plant’s aura nearby.
The team immediately went on high alert. They stopped the vehicle at the intersection and got out to search carefully.
The street was relatively open with few places to hide. Between the ruins, a faint shadow flickered by.
“Over there!” The shadow attempted to flee towards the woods. Several team members quickly gave chase.
Seeing the suspicious behavior, the team leader raised his hand and summoned two wind blades.
Just as the wind blades were about to strike the shadow, a thin vine emerged from his sleeve. It wrapped around the nearest abandoned streetlight and pulled sideways, narrowly avoiding the attack.
This brief delay gave the other team members time to close in, surrounding the shadow completely.
The team leader stopped and examined the person before him. “Who are you? Where’s your companion?”
Qian Hui’s silver hair was concealed by the wide hood of his coat, his face nearly completely hidden in the darkness. Behind him hung a gray backpack.
He remained silent. The team leader was about to lose patience when he noticed the instrument’s needle had reached its maximum reading.
This meant they were very close to the man-eating flower.
The captain turned his gaze to Qian Hui, focusing on his backpack. “What’s inside there?”
There was no cover nearby. He suspected this person had beaten them to it and hidden the man-eating flower they sought.
Qian Hui took half a step back. To the captain, this movement proved his suspicion correct.
With a menacing expression, he raised his hand slightly. “Hand over the man-eating flower. It belongs to us—”
At that moment, Qian Hui lifted his head, revealing a pair of crimson eyes.
The captain saw them clearly, startled, and immediately took a step back.
Simultaneously, the backpack behind Qian Hui shifted, a slit opening gently.
In the darkness, a shadow fell to the ground, its form rapidly expanding like dark clouds.
Off to the side, a carrot hid, peeking out furtively.
Meanwhile, in the forest…
Lajiao’s presence had been exposed, and he was now hiding behind a tree.
Several ability users surrounded the area. Liang Jie stepped forward. “Come out. If you cooperate, you’ll suffer less.”
Translator’s Note:
Good day, everyone! Hehe, sorry for the late update. I’ve been quite busy with school lately. We’re going to hold a musical drama as a school project, and we’ve been going crazy trying to raise funds. I’m playing the main character, so I also have to memorize all of my lines and choreography, plus do vocal training and stamina exercises. Haha, the closer we get to the performance, the more it feels like we’re in hell—but it’s fun too! So, over the next few weeks, I’ll do my best to update even if it’s not on time. Hehe, thank youu!
![The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image_2021-09-11_143139.png "The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao")
Aahhh caroott come backlk
Thnx ya for the chappiiee~ good luckkk
Thankss~