L1LZDGD Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The paper and envelope were both found in the trash, making it difficult to put together a complete letter.

Qian Hui wrote very, very slowly. He took a long time to think about each stroke, and didn’t press too hard, afraid of ruining the writing.

After barely finishing one line, he hid it inside a cabbage shell, just in case someone saw it.

The man-eating flower lay on the backpack, its head serving as Qian Hui’s writing surface. The money tree stood ready to stir more mud as needed.

Among the pile of plants, only Lajiao knew how to read. Hanging from Qian Hui’s shoulder, it tilted its head to peer at the letter’s contents.

[ Xiao Jin: ]

[ I miss you very much. Last time we parted, Xiaozhi and I returned too late and couldn’t find you. ]

At this point, Qian Hui’s eyes fell in disappointment as he drew a small crying face with a downturned mouth below the words.

He continued on the next line: [ I want to see you. I’ll wait for you under the crooked tree. ]

Nearby, a large crooked tree stood by the roadside. Because of this distinctive landmark, the nearest base was called Crooked Tree Base—Qian Hui had seen it on a road sign.

As for the waiting time, Qian Hui hesitated briefly before deciding not to write it down. Instead, he added a separate line: [ I’ll always miss you. ]

The letter’s delivery to Nan Tingjin was uncertain, and Qian Hui still needed to track down Luobo’s whereabouts.

Even if they couldn’t meet at the agreed location, it would be good for Nan Tingjin to know he had come here.

And to tell him that he hadn’t meant to delay so long that night. After being apart for days, he missed him very much now.

Finally, Qian Hui wrote his signature at the end.

He checked it twice to make sure everything was correct, then gently blew to dry the mud and shook off any loose debris.

Lajiao leaned closer to examine the letter. Qian Hui’s handwriting was messy and childish, like a beginner’s. Fortunately, there were no mistakes, and the words were still legible.

Only his name seemed slightly carelessly written. The character “Hui” had two circles drawn for the bottom part, while the top radical was smudged into a blob.

“Huh?” Lajiao pointed at the name, signaling that Qian Hui had written it wrong, and tried to demonstrate the correct way.

Qian Hui shook his head. “No, that’s a leaf… Doesn’t it look like one?”

He had always written his name this way, finding it special.

Lajiao leaned in closer to look again, then made a reluctant “huh” sound.

Well, Nan Tingjin would probably recognize who wrote the letter anyway.

After finishing the letter’s content, they needed to write on the envelope too.

Qian Hui put the paper inside and wrote “For Nan Tingjin” in big letters. In the corner, he drew a small “Hui” character.

By the time everything was done, it was already afternoon.

Qian Hui ate some bread to regain energy, taking the opportunity to feed the plants around him.

While no one was watching, Qian Hui slipped out of the cabbage shell and returned to the entrance of their previous base.

He looked around carefully, then placed the letter inside, before quickly leaving.

No one noticed Qian Hui’s actions. In recent days, almost everyone in the Safe Zone had been preparing to resist the Zombie King and hordes of zombies. The base entrance was often left unguarded.

The location was remote, not situated at any essential intersection, and few people ever passed through.

Around 6 PM, someone arrived at the empty base entrance on a dilapidated bicycle and opened the mailbox.

He was the mailman, responsible for delivering letters. He wanted to send out one last batch before the zombie horde attacked.

After visiting several bases and collecting all the letters, the mailman began sorting them by address.

When he saw the words “Nan Tingjin” written in bold letters, his hand trembled, nearly dropping the envelope.

Th-this was…

Everyone in the Safe Zone knew Nan Tingjin’s status. While the Black Spine Mountain Base differed from others—requiring a detour to reach and its leader being inaccessible at will—those wishing to contact Nan Tingjin could indeed choose to write a letter.

But… no one had ever done this before.

The mailman couldn’t identify the sender and dared not touch the letter carelessly. He immediately left with the envelope.

Coincidentally, Nan Tingjin had arrived in the inner circle of the Safe Zone, at the nearby Yuejin Base.

The mailman arrived at the base, asked for directions, and was led to a specific courtyard by one of the residents.

Two subordinates of Nan Tingjin stood at the courtyard entrance. The mail carrier handed over the letter.

The subordinate examined the envelope, frowning. “What’s this?”

“I’m not sure. I delivered it immediately after finding it,” the mail carrier said. “I don’t recognize the sender’s name. Please forward it to… Leader Nan.”

The subordinate acknowledged this and waved the mail carrier away.

The handwriting on the envelope looked peculiar, as if not sent through normal channels. If it were addressed to someone else, the subordinate would likely have opened it to investigate.

But since the recipient was Nan Tingjin, they dared not risk opening it. Any unauthorized handling of his belongings might provoke his anger.

The subordinate entered the courtyard and approached Nan Tingjin’s door. “Leader, you have a letter.”

The door remained open. Nan Tingjin stood by the window, his gaze fixed downward. “Where’s it from?”

His right hand rose, manipulating a mass of iron through the air.

The solid metal twisted and contorted, emitting waves of heat.

“Just delivered. No sender information,” the subordinate observed Nan Tingjin’s indifference and offered, “Shall I check it for you?”

Nan Tingjin remained silent, offering no objection.

The subordinate tore open the envelope. After reading its contents, an odd expression crossed his face. “This…”

Nan Tingjin looked up. “What is it?”

The subordinate struggled to find words. “Perhaps… someone with too much time on their hands… I’ll dispose of this immediately.”

Who would dare send such a letter to the leader of Black Spine Mountain Base?

Doesn’t they value their life?

Nan Tingjin had been in a foul mood these past days. His subordinate didn’t dare show him the contents and moved to take the letter away for destruction.

“Wait,” Nan Tingjin said.

As if sensing something, his gaze fell on the envelope in his subordinate’s hand.

The envelope was addressed to “Nan Tingjin” with a small, barely legible word in the corner.

Nan Tingjin’s eyes narrowed. He stepped forward.

Realizing Nan Tingjin wanted to see the letter, the subordinate handed it over with trembling hands, head bowed low.

An ability user’s senses are keen. The subordinate quickly noticed Nan Tingjin’s changing breathing pattern and the sudden tension in the air around him.

The subordinate took a half-step back, waiting for Nan Tingjin’s anger or irritation.

Yet Nan Tingjin stared at the letter and only said coldly, “Get out.”

The subordinate let out a sigh of relief and immediately turned to leave.

Nan Tingjin remained standing in place, his downcast eyes obscuring any trace of emotion.

Not long after, the subordinate returned to the courtyard.

As he passed through the corridor, Nan Tingjin’s door remained open, but the man was nowhere to be found.

There was another rear entrance on the side of the courtyard. He might have gone out alone on some errand.

The subordinate didn’t give it much thought, having already pushed the letter to the back of his mind.

Given Nan Tingjin’s status and influence, it was only natural that many would try to catch his attention through various means, hoping for his favor.

But such attempts had ceased long ago. Once people witnessed Nan Tingjin’s true cold-bloodedness and ruthlessness, no one dared harbor such ambitions anymore.

In short, that strange letter… had been written in vain.

Meanwhile, Nan Tingjin stood beneath the crooked tree.

The sky had darkened, and not a soul passed through the deserted intersection.

He had been here since earlier, but Qian Hui still hadn’t appeared.

Qian Hui shouldn’t have been here at all. The Safe Zone teemed with ability users, and the only entrance to the inner circle was guarded by soldiers. How had he managed to slip through?

But that letter must have been written by Qian Hui.

Nan Tingjin removed his ring and examined the engraved mark.

That day when Qian Hui had written his name in his palm, he hadn’t paid much attention.

Now, looking again, the “Hui” character Qian Hui had signed off with in the letter was nearly identical to the mark on the ring.

This wooden ring had been with him for a long time, its origin unknown.

Either Qian Hui had deliberately done this, seeing his ring and preemptively chosen a false name for himself.

Or…

After a long while, Nan Tingjin put the ring back on and took out the energy detector he always carried.

The instrument’s needle didn’t move, indicating there were no hidden zombies or mutated plants in the area.

But since he’d received the letter, Qian Hui must be somewhere within the Safe Zone.

Nan Tingjin left the tree and began searching along the path, inch by inch.

However, Qian Hui had never imagined the letter would be delivered that very day, ending up in Nan Tingjin’s hands.

Moreover, with the base team having returned earlier, the area was full of people. With nightfall approaching, lingering alone outside would raise suspicions and increase the chances of encountering patrol teams.

So Qian Hui hid in an empty corner, concealed within a cabbage shell.

At dinnertime, a group of plants surrounded Qian Hui, waiting to be fed.

Just then, a patrol vehicle slowly drove past. The plants immediately went still, avoiding the sound of cookie-chewing that might give them away.

Qian Hui also instinctively held his breath. As the vehicle’s sound faded, he broke off half a cookie and gave it to Tudou, the potato.

The potato buried his head in the cookie, crunching away, when the vehicle suddenly doubled back, now moving much faster.

At the same time, someone on the vehicle picked up a real-time communicator, “The eastern district’s perimeter is under attack by a Grade A mutant plant. We’re on our way…”

The words came through clearly. Qian Hui and Xiaozhi both looked up.

Grade A mutant plant… Qian Hui felt a sudden unease. “Is it Luobo?”

He’d just seen Luobo’s portrait that morning, and now he was hearing news of an attack on the Safe Zone that night.

The man-eating flower leaned in, biting Qian Hui’s sleeve and tugging, wanting to go check.

Qian Hui couldn’t shake his worries either. Especially since Luobo seemed reluctant to meet Xiaozhi. If they lost track of it again, who knew when they’d find it next?

There was no time to lose. Qian Hui grabbed his backpack and opened the cabbage shell.

Tudou hastily finished its last bite of cookie and jumped into his pocket.

With all the plants in tow, Qian Hui pulled up his hood and hurried in the direction the patrol car had left.

He kept close to the fence, moving as quickly as possible while no one was around, occasionally getting help from Ruanteng.

Before long, Qian Hui came to a fork in the road and stopped, unsure which way to go.

The East District was very large, and he didn’t know exactly where to find Luobo.

At that moment, Mimosa on his sleeve moved.

It grew slightly larger and lifted a leaf to point in a certain direction for Qian Hui.

Qian Hui was surprised. “You know Luobo is that way?”

The mimosa’s leaf swayed, indicating that it did know.

Though its combat strength was extremely low—with no real self-defense abilities beyond shrinking—it was a high-level mutated plant. Its perception capabilities were unimaginable to ordinary creatures.

During the day, the portrait of Luobo that had been drawn contained traces of the person who had been attacked, or someone who had come into contact with the carrot. This left Luobo’s scent on the paper.

Originally, the carrot had been too far away for Mimosa to detect it. But now that it was closer, a faint scent was coming from that direction.

Trusting the mimosa, Qian Hui immediately chose the direction it indicated.

Meanwhile, outside a section of the East District’s fence…

Luobo was leaping between ruins, dodging the long-range attacks from ability users inside the wall.

Its small body moved with agile flexibility, its shadow under the moonlight moving so fast it was hard to catch.

Another volley of fireballs came hurtling toward Luobo. The carrot-shaped creature twisted sideways, shielding its leaf-crowned head.

The fireballs smashed into trees behind it. As the shattered trunks hurtled toward Luobo, it kicked them aside with a powerful foot.

Annoying!

Luobo had never intended to attack the Safe Zone at night. Truth be told, it didn’t particularly enjoy fighting humans. At most, it might get a little trigger-happy if it encountered them on the road, but it would never try to attack human settlements.

It had come here because it had discovered the hideout of two high-level zombies near the fence.

Eager to fight, Luobo had forced them awake. During the battle, it accidentally damaged the Safe Zone’s fence. Humans mistook this for an attack on their territory and reacted as if facing a major threat.

Now the two high-level zombies had disappeared again, possibly summoned back by the Zombie King.

In short, Luobo was seething with anger, ready to erupt at any moment.

Seeing that the number of ability users inside the fence seemed to have increased, Luobo realized they would definitely try to drive it away from the Safe Zone. A silent sneer twisted its leafy face.

It slapped its forehead. In an instant, hundreds of carrot-shaped spikes split off and shot toward the fence, carried by the wind.

All of you, die! I’ll take you all down with me if I have to!

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