L1LZDGD Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Outside the forest, on the abandoned street, the wind picked up. The air filled with the strong smell of fresh grass.

The giant man-eating flower raised its head, its sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight.

Watching the man-eating flower rapidly grow behind Qian Hui, the members of the forward team all wore expressions of terror, utterly shocked.

Wasn’t it said… that this man-eating flower was severely injured, almost on the verge of dying?

Liang Jie had personally witnessed the four injured members from the Black Spine Mountain Base. The bones broken by the massive force couldn’t be faked, and they had no reason to lie.

So he was completely certain that even if the man-eating flower appeared, it could only maintain a maximum size of about two meters, nothing to fear.

Even if that pepper was with the man-eating flower, it wouldn’t matter. It was just a mid-level mutant plant temporarily unable to use its energy attacks.

Based on this reasoning, Liang Jie and his team were fully prepared. The team consisted entirely of high-level combat-type ability users. Once they found the man-eating flower, they would definitely be able to capture it alive.

However…

The man-eating flower before them was larger than the one they had encountered during the zombie attack. Its massive shadow blocked out the sky, nearly stopping the team’s hearts.

But they were a well-trained team and quickly reacted.

The captain swung a powerful wind blade and shouted, “Quick! Retreat!”

Two modified cars were parked nearby on the road. Their bodies had been reinforced for high defense. If they could get inside quickly…

The group still underestimated the power of a peak-stage, enraged super-grade mutant plant when it attacked.

Xiaozhi swung its flower stem, sending the person at the back flying. They crashed heavily onto a protruding rock.

Its thick, hard skin made the air currents it spat out weaken all offensive abilities. In an instant, it bit another person to death.

The captain tried to use the communicator to call Liang Jie, but his trembling hand couldn’t press the button before something closed in behind him.

Screams came one after another, blood staining a large area of the ground.

Qian Hui hugged Xiao Baocai and Ruanteng in a corner, closed his eyes and covered his ears.

When they found these humans, it was too late to return to the forest.

And once inside the forest, Xiaozhi’s size would be limited.

Also, it had smelled the humans’ scent—the same source that had harmed the little mushroom.

When the little mushroom was hurt, Xiaozhi was also injured. After that, it was chased by many people and had to hide for a long time.

Now that Qian Hui had healed it, the flower finally had a chance to fight back properly. Since these people had come to their door asking for death, there was no way they would let them go.

Qian Hui had promised that once they found these humans, he would hand them over to Xiaozhi for punishment.

Just thinking about the little mushroom wrapped in leaves made Qian Hui feel both sad and angry. He tried not to listen or look, treating those humans like zombies.

Xiaozhi poured all its pent-up emotions onto these people. Its coiling stems formed a circle, keeping them from escaping too far.

However, it didn’t notice that the first person who was blown away was still alive. With great effort, he crawled down from the ruins.

He didn’t choose to go toward the modified car, but tried to find cover in a more distant place.

In fact, his choice was right, and he was mostly successful. Xiaozhi was busy dealing with the remaining two people and didn’t notice him.

However, just when he was a few meters away from a low wall, a shadow was thrown through the air.

It was a long, thin carrot with a sharp, knife-like tip that pierced exactly into his chest.

The man immediately stopped breathing and fell to the ground.

Moments later, the carrot shattered into powder and scattered in the wind, leaving no trace.

Xiaozhi sensed something strange and glanced in that direction.

In the distance, a carrot crouched in a corner, a blade of grass between its teeth, secretly watching.

Hmph, these humans can’t even handle this themselves. Why would they need my help?

The carrot had smelled the man-eating flower’s approach earlier but fled quickly to avoid meeting it.

After seeing the man-eating flower face humans, the carrot returned to see if it could win.

But in the dark, it completely missed Qian Hui hiding in the corner.

The carrot watched for a while, confirming it had no role here, then turned and left.

It touched its head, pulled out a carrot thorn, and threw it far away.

Then the carrot suddenly jumped up, grabbing the end of the thorn and being dragged along in a glide.

Meanwhile, Xiaozhi had finished off the last member of the group. It approached a nearby corpse and buried its nose in it, sniffing.

It was indeed the carrot’s smell.

Xiaozhi immediately looked up and called softly.

The area was silent, with nothing to be seen.

It’s gone again.

Xiaozhi turned back to Qian Hui and shrank to two or three meters tall.

When killing, it was careful. It hardly used its teeth to bite, so there wasn’t much blood on its body. It had just wiped itself with human clothes.

Qian Hui touched Xiaozhi’s nose and quickly checked its body. “You’re not hurt, are you? That’s good…”

Xiaozhi rubbed against his hand and pointed in a certain direction with its leaves, drawing a carrot shape.

“Did Luobo go that way?” Qian Hui sighed quietly. “We’ll find it later. Let’s go back first.”

It was already dark. Nan Tingjin might still be waiting in the same place.

Qian Hui climbed onto Xiaozhi’s neck. The flower swayed its stem and quickly dove into the forest.

On the other side.

Three whole hours had passed since the sky darkened. Nan Tingjin sat quietly under a tree.

Qian Hui didn’t come back.

He might have been delayed by something, but with the man-eating flower in its near-peak state beside him, he shouldn’t have been this late.

Or perhaps… Qian Hui simply didn’t want to leave with him and had no intention of returning.

Just like the night they escaped from the man-eating flower, Qian Hui kissed him and then immediately left.

Qian Hui probably didn’t realize he wasn’t very good at lying or hiding his feelings. He didn’t really understand why Nan Tingjin wanted to take him away.

So it seemed he never planned to go back with Nan Tingjin after tonight.

If he didn’t want to, then for now, let it be.

Nan Tingjin’s lowered eyes were dark and gloomy. The surrounding mutant plants sensed danger and all moved away.

The communicator in his jacket vibrated again with a message urging him. Nan Tingjin stood up.

He opened the communicator and replied: “Returning to the base.”

Xiaozhi knew about Qian Hui and Nan Tingjin’s agreement. The delay that night was mostly its fault, so it felt guilty and wanted to take Qian Hui back quickly.

When they left earlier, they had taken a winding path to chase Carrot. Now Xiaozhi lifted its head high, carefully sniffing the air to find a shortcut.

It swiftly moved through the forest, skillfully avoiding branches. Midway, it suddenly stopped again.

Xiaozhi’s eyes narrowed as it carefully sniffed the air.

There… was another group of people.

Mixed in with their scent was a familiar pepper seed smell.

In the distance, Lajiao was desperately running, trying to shake off the human ability users chasing it.

It had secretly followed Liang Jie’s team all along. After discovering Mimosa’s guided direction, it wanted to reach Qian Hui first.

It also knew staying in the forest was dangerous, but having been cared for by Qian Hui for so long, it simply couldn’t leave directly.

However, Lajiao still overestimated itself. The forest had too many mutant plants. Sensing a large number of unfamiliar scents approaching, and seeing the suspicious Lajiao, they naturally treated this unfamiliar face as an invader.

Lajiao struggled forward, unable to move fast. In the end, while fighting a winter melon, Liang Jie’s team found it.

It fought back hard, injuring one human before escaping. But the chase behind didn’t stop at all.

Finally, Lajiao was surrounded by the team again.

Several human ability users carefully approached. Liang Jie had warned them—this pepper was more important than the man-eating flower. They could only capture it alive.

Knowing the pepper’s fierce nature, they feared it might do extreme things to avoid being caught again.

Liang Jie, aware the pepper could understand, still tried to persuade it, “If you help us, you can have as many crystal cores as you want.”

Mimosa, temporarily useless, was tied under a tree.

Liang Jie raised his hand, signaling his team to move.

Just then, several pepper seeds shot toward the team members one after another. While they dodged, Lajiao seized the chance to dash away.

It hadn’t run far when its legs were wrapped in mud, making it fall over.

One team member’s ability controlled stone and earth. This forest was the perfect place to use it.

Lajiao kicked hard, barely managing to throw off most of the dirt. Hearing the fast-approaching footsteps, it felt hopeless.

Its energy attack was just short of ready, and pepper seeds alone couldn’t defeat so many humans.

It never thought that leaving during the day would be its last moment with Qian Hui.

Too bad it hadn’t finished eating the cookies Qian Hui gave it. If it knew earlier, it wouldn’t have saved them…

Another clump of dirt covered Lajiao. A flashlight beam shone on it as Liang Jie walked closer.

Up close, he saw something on the pepper’s back that looked like… a mini backpack.

He asked, confused, “What’s this…?”

And he wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but Liang Jie felt this pepper seemed much stronger than when it first escaped.

Behind them, the unattended Mimosa under the tree suddenly lifted its leaves and shrank back in fear.

When a subordinate brought a cage to put the pepper in, something happened in an instant.

Three people in the group had energy detectors, and all of them started working fast at the same time.

In the dark forest, a medium-sized man-eating flower moved forward, burying its head to knock away the humans beside the pepper.

“Man-eating flower!” Liang Jie first felt happy, then quickly realized, “Wait…”

The man-eating flower’s size wasn’t too big, matching his guess. But how could it move so fast without showing any serious injuries?

In the blink of an eye, the flower attacked two more people. Lajiao took the chance to get out of the mud and stand up.

Seeing the familiar man-eating flower, Lajiao almost wanted to cry.

A special-grade mutant plant had come to save it!

Noticing the situation had changed, Liang Jie still refused to give up.

He had finally found both plants. If he returned empty-handed now, he wouldn’t have the face to go back to the base.

Besides, with the forest’s limits, the man-eating flower couldn’t show its true strength. If they could hold it off, even just taking Lajiao back would be enough.

Liang Jie had no time to think about why the man-eating flower was helping the pepper. He quickly told his subordinates to change their plan.

The man-eating flower’s attacks were fierce, and several people got hurt. But using the forest’s cover, they lasted longer than the outer teams.

At the same time, two people secretly went around to the back and caught up with Lajiao.

After breaking free from the mud, Lajiao ran away. Its energy attack wasn’t ready yet, so staying would only make it easy for Xiaozhi to accidentally hurt it. It couldn’t help much anyway.

The two people saw the pepper running in the distance. They chased after it and saw the pepper suddenly throw itself into someone’s arms.

“Who’s that?” One of them asked, shocked. They lowered their voice. “Am I seeing things…?”

The figure in the distance was crouching on the ground. They picked up the pepper and seemed to be comforting it.

They’d never heard of anyone from another base coming here…

But whoever it was, since the mutated pepper was in their hands, they became the team’s enemy.

The two people quickly approached and said sharply, “That’s our plant! Hand it over now!”

The other person immediately used their special ability, trying to knock the figure down.

Qian Hui held Lajiao tightly in his arms. He stood up and took half a step back.

Ruanteng was ready to help him leave. Xiaozhi also noticed the situation and left the person beside it to rush over.

But something moved faster, getting in front of Qian Hui first.

A potato fell from a tree with a “pop”, making smoke.

The two people were caught by surprise. Thinking it was a weapon, they quickly backed away.

Soon, they clearly saw that what had crashed into the bushes was a palm-sized potato.

The potato jumped up, stretched out its arms to protect Qian Hui behind it, and glared angrily at the two humans.

Then, it whistled loudly.

The surrounding bushes immediately began shaking, making rustling sounds.

The movements came closer. A four-leaf clover suddenly jumped out, its fan-sized leaves like iron plates, swinging its head to attack.

It wasn’t just the four-leaf clover. There were also corn, morning glories, and other mutant plants.

The potato wasn’t idle either. It noticed the larger number of humans near Xiaozhi, rushed over, and sat down in the bushes.

Boom!

This skill had the power of a small bomb. Several people couldn’t dodge in time, and the bushes were blown into a crater.

The potato got up, wiped its sooty face, and ran to the other side to blow up again.

Liang Jie frowned deeply. Seeing the situation was bad, he secretly started backing away.

All the plants were attacking the human team in a frenzy. The pressure on Xiaozhi suddenly decreased.

A money tree came to Qian Hui’s side. Its thick leaves kept getting bigger, completely protecting Qian Hui.

Qian Hui touched its leaves and said sincerely, “Thank you.”

He had planned to run farther away and hide in the cabbage’s shell, never expecting the plants to come help him.

Lajiao was also moved, and very happy. It hugged Qian Hui’s hand and couldn’t help but make a soft sound.

Qian Hui pained to take out a Panacea and fed it to Lajiao. “Why are you here? Good thing Xiaozhi found you…”

Feeling guilty, Lajiao lowered its head and ate the medicine.

Looking at the human squad nearby, Qian Hui worried. “Maybe… maybe you should stay with me. It’s too dangerous outside.”

The humans trying to catch Lajiao still wouldn’t give up. If it stayed alone outside, Qian Hui couldn’t feel safe at all.

Staying with him, at least there was Xiaozhi’s strong power. Ordinary human squads couldn’t fight against it.

But Qian Hui also feared Lajiao wouldn’t want to. If it refused…

Lajiao immediately looked at him and nodded hard. “Woo!”

It seemed to have been waiting for these words. Qian Hui said happily, “Really? Then you mustn’t run off again…”

[ Green Pepper’s loyalty has reached 80%~ ]

Qian Hui was surprised for a moment, then even more delighted. He patted Lajiao’s head. “Good boy!”

The little cabbage also stuck its head out from the pocket and rubbed against Lajiao’s leaves.

The battle outside was coming to an end. Two game notifications popped up:

[ Second Faction Conflict has ended. Congratulations to our side for winning! Reward: 50 Prestige Points. ]

[ Hidden quest triggered! Rewards have been added to balance. ]

[ You seem to have successfully stopped some enemy faction’s schemes! Extra reward: 200 Faction Points, Hidden Item “Disguise Potion” x2. ]

Qian Hui opened his backpack. Inside was a new item.

[ Disguise Potion x2 ]

[ Sale Price: Obtained through hidden quest ]

[ Use: For host and host’s plant team only. Drink and hold your breath. Can change appearance to any form or race (zombie, human, plant) you imagine. Hides all signs of life within 1 meter. Lasts 2 hours. ]

The potion’s short duration meant many uses. Not only could you change your look freely, but it also hid your presence and others’ nearby. Perfect for sneaking into enemy territory.

Qian Hui read the instructions carefully, then put it away for now.

All his team members were dead. Xiaozhi returned to his side.

With the battle over, the Money Tree retracted its leaves and returned to normal. The other plants also gathered around.

Potato squeezed to the front, standing with hands on hips, looking very proud. It thought it was even more amazing than Xiaozhi.

Qian Hui gave it several pieces of candy and wiped the dirt from its face with a leaf. “Thank you.”

He then patted each plant, feeding them snacks or Panacea.

Finally, Qian Hui sat on Xiaozhi’s neck.

Some plants left after getting their rewards. Others, braver ones, crouched on Qian Hui’s backpack or Xiaozhi’s head.

Potato was the most familiar, sitting on Qian Hui’s shoulder.

Xiaozhi took Qian Hui and the plants back to where Nan Tingjin was supposed to be.

But when they returned quickly to the distant place, Nan Tingjin wasn’t there.

“Xiao Jin?” Qian Hui searched frantically nearby. After confirming no one was there, he followed the path they’d taken while searching for zombies, going to the small stream where they’d rested earlier.

But there was no one here either, and he didn’t find any left-behind items or traces.

Qian Hui stood blankly in the forest, not knowing what to do. “Did he leave?”

He had indeed returned much later than promised. Nan Tingjin, unable to wait, might have left directly.

Qian Hui crouched on the ground, confused about what to do next.

These past few days, Qian Hui’s interactions with Nan Tingjin had been so smooth that he almost forgot Nan Tingjin had no memories of their past. To him, they had only known each other for less than half a month.

Seeing Qian Hui’s sad expression, Xiaozhi moved closer and rubbed against him, making soft “woo” sounds to apologize and comfort him.

Qian Hui opened the map and looked at the marked direction points.

Has Nan Tingjin returned to his base? He really wanted to chase after him immediately. Maybe he hadn’t gone far…

At that moment, Qian Hui suddenly noticed that the direction of Nan Tingjin’s base was the same as the direction the carrot had left, according to Xiaozhi.

A faint hope lit up in his eyes as he hesitantly asked, “Xiaozhi, I want to find him… And Luobo is also in that direction.”

In Qian Hui’s heart, Nan Tingjin’s resurrection and the revivals of other plants and little mushrooms were all very important. They were his only concerns and family in this strange world.

Xiaozhi hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.

It knew the carrot’s personality well—it loved joining in fights and crowds. Any place with many people or zombies would definitely have the carrot.

Since they were in the same direction, they could go look. Though it didn’t like Nan Tingjin, it didn’t want to see Qian Hui sad.

At that moment, Lajiao came over and drew a human shape on the ground with a stick, “Woo?”

Its eyes asked: Did you lose Nan Tingjin?

This was easy. It knew where Nan Tingjin went and the exact location of his base.

But going straight there wasn’t possible. Lajiao looked at Qian Hui with a serious expression.

The Black Spine Mountain Base was easy to defend but hard to attack. There were several small bases around it, and many humans lived in that area.

Even though not everyone had energy detection devices, Qian Hui still needed to be fully prepared.

So that night, Qian Hui stayed in the forest and decided to rest before leaving.

The next day he woke up early, packed everything, and bought a new hooded jacket with a bigger hood and a scarf to hide his silver hair and red eyes.

After getting ready, Qian Hui picked up Xiao Baocai and Ruanteng, and Lajiao skillfully hid in his pocket.

Xiaozhi waited nearby, ready to carry Qian Hui away from the empty area before hiding itself.

At that moment, the bushes moved, and a potato emerged along with several other plants.

Qian Hui stepped forward and crouched down, saying goodbye to them, “I’m leaving. I might not be back for a while.”

He had left two or three packs of cookies in the forest. The plants really liked these snacks.

Hearing this, the potato rubbed its head in thought for a moment, then suddenly jumped onto Qian Hui’s knee.

It pointed at itself, then at Qian Hui, signaling that it wanted to go too.

Qian Hui carefully asked, “Do you want to follow me?”

Potato made a soft sound of agreement. Looking down, it saw Lajiao in Qian Hui’s pocket and squeezed in to lie down.

Lajiao grumbled in displeasure, shifting its body.

Seeing this, the money tree couldn’t resist either. Its leaves wrapped around Qian Hui’s fingers, asking him to take it along.

Another familiar-looking corn also came over. The forest was really boring. Maybe following a special mutant plant would be fun.

So the plant team gained three more members. The money tree and corn were hidden in the backpack.

Qian Hui patted the three in his pocket, and the soft vine around his wrist.

He straightened his jacket, finally ready to leave. He climbed onto Xiaozhi’s back.

Three days later.

Xiaozhi carried Qian Hui through the city ruins and arrived at a sign that said “Safe Zone (Area 5).”

The Safe Zone meant there were few zombies and mutant plants inside, making it suitable for humans to live.

Xiaozhi shrank its size beforehand and hid in Qian Hui’s backpack.

Qian Hui pulled his hood up and entered the Safe Zone.

Their journey wasn’t fast. The man-eating flower needed to constantly watch for humans to avoid being discovered, while also killing a few mid-level zombies along the way.

By chance, Xiaozhi found several traces left by Carrots along the way.

There was a zombie killed by a Luobo’s thorn, with a hole left in its head. There were also pieces of Luobo that fell into the water, unable to decompose in the air.

As they approached the Safe Zone, Xiaozhi grew increasingly puzzled.

Could it be that the carrot also came to the Safe Zone? But what did it come here for?

After entering the Safe Zone, Qian Hui hadn’t walked far when he encountered several humans.

There were three people traveling together, and one person like him, also walking alone on the road.

Qian Hui was very nervous, keeping his head buried very low, afraid they might discover him. His hand in his pocket clutched a bottle of camouflage potion.

Fortunately, this area was a free movement zone, not belonging to any base. Unless they recognized each other, people passing by wouldn’t easily approach or talk to strangers.

The few humans only glanced at Qian Hui before hurrying off down another road.

At that moment, a vehicle drove up from behind. The person in the back seat leaned out and shouted at Qian Hui and the others, “All of you, get back quickly! It’s not safe recently.”

The vehicle had a large symbol painted on it, probably the mark of some base.

After giving the warning, the vehicle continued forward and disappeared around the corner.

With no one around, Qian Hui stopped and turned to look at a stone pillar to one side.

The stone pillar was probably a road sign, carved with some symbols. A piece of paper with writing on it was stuck to it.

Qian Hui walked closer and slowly read out loud: “Northern District… Zombie King traces found. West District… Special mutant plants found… Carrot!”

The backpack behind him moved. Qian Hui patted it like he was comforting it.

So Luobo was here too…

Filled with hope, Qian Hui kept walking forward.

Earlier, when they passed a human-made road sign, Lajiao had pointed out that Nan Tingjin’s base was called… Black Spine Mountain.

But Lajiao told Qian Hui to be careful and not get close easily. Qian Hui planned to find the exact location first.

After walking a long way, a simple house appeared in the distance. Many people were gathered around it.

There was also one person standing in the middle of the road, holding a mechanical instrument.

Qian Hui slowed down, closed his eyes, and drank the disguise potion.

He tried to imagine a human’s face in his mind, but all he could see was his own face, just with black hair and eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he touched his hair.

[ Disguise potion used successfully. Remember the time limit. Your current appearance is: Human. ]

Qian Hui let out a sigh of relief and walked forward as if nothing was wrong.

He was still very nervous, pinching his own hand.

As he approached the house, the person standing in the middle looked at Qian Hui.

The person had handsome features, but also seemed like a stranger. He called out, “Wait, you’re…?”

Qian Hui stopped himself from turning to run and stayed still.

“Which base are you from?” The person walked closer, looking at Qian Hui. “Are you from the new one? The one called… what was it again? White Bird Base?”

Without waiting for Qian Hui to answer, he said it all himself. Qian Hui nodded along, “Mm…”

Because of the disguise potion, all plant smells in his pockets and backpack were hidden. They couldn’t be detected by instruments.

The person couldn’t imagine that what was in front of him wasn’t human, and that his backpack was full of plants.

He was quite friendly. Seeing that Qian Hui looked young, he couldn’t help but warn him, “At this time, don’t go out alone. Even the outer part of the Safe Zone might not be safe. You need to be more careful.”

Qian Hui looked at him and nodded again. “Mm.”

He added, “Thank you…”

At that moment, two modified cars approached from behind.

The guard watching the inner circle entrance immediately signaled others to clear the way, making space for the vehicles.

Qian Hui stood to the side, now much more relaxed. He looked around curiously when he suddenly saw a familiar face.

Nan Tingjin was sitting in the back seat of one of the cars, his profile flashing by.

Qian Hui was slightly stunned. He instinctively tried to follow, but the guard he’d spoken to earlier stopped him.

“Careful. There’s more behind.”

More similar-looking modified cars came, with the Black Spine Mountain Base logo on their bodies.

In the blink of an eye, the first car was already gone. Qian Hui strained his eyes, trying to see. “That…”

“Oh,” the guard thought he was curious and explained, “They’re from Black Spine Mountain Base. They’ll help with the defense.”

Black Spine Mountain Base’s position was special. To get here, you had to take a detour and enter through this entrance.

“Although the situation doesn’t look good,” the guard added, “Chief Nan is here too. That should be fine.”

“Nan…” Qian Hui furrowed his delicate eyebrows. “Nan Tingjin?”

The guard nodded, lowering his voice. “Don’t shout his name everywhere. Show some respect.”

Qian Hui’s expression turned blank, as if frightened. After a long pause, he nodded stiffly.

So…

He was the leader of the Black Spine Mountain Base.

Meanwhile, Nan Tingjin’s gaze withdrew from the scene outside the window.

Even now, his emotions remain unsettled. He thought he had seen Qian Hui in the crowd.

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