Chapter 27
Qian Hui lowered his eyelashes. “Alright…”
To reach the base, he needed to place complete trust in Nan Tingjin anyway.
Nan Tingjin had also promised to stay by Qian Hui’s side at all times, acting as both protector and guide.
The Special-Grade Mutant Plant was located in a restricted area behind the base. Once they arrived, Nan Tingjin would take Qian Hui there.
So Qian Hui continued practicing, replacing the thick blindfold with a thinner cloth that allowed some light to filter through.
He slowly walked around the house, hugging and feeling each plant to identify it.
By nightfall, the carrot and chili “hair dye” was finally ready.
Qian Hui sat on the ground, a towel draped over his shoulders, leaning back against his backpack.
Several plants bustled behind him. Lajiao, dissatisfied with Luobo’s meticulousness, summoned Facaishu and Xiao Baocai to assist.
Strand by strand, his silver hair was coated with the viscous dye, then wrapped in a towel secured with steaming pepper seeds. Lajiao stood guard, replacing them as they cooled.
While waiting, Qian Hui fed the plants their dinner. Having won the day’s battle, each member of the Plant Squad received unlimited jerky.
Tudou, however, disliked jerky and demanded an entire bag of candy. After some hesitation, Qian Hui bought it for him, warning him not to eat too much at once. Tudou snatched the bag, gave a perfunctory nod, and scampered off happily.
With the food distributed, it was time to divide the basin of crystal cores. Lajiao had been eyeing them greedily for hours, and when Qian Hui brought over the small wooden basin, he was already waiting eagerly nearby.
Qian Hui roughly counted over thirty crystal cores. Most were from mid-level zombies, but there were five high-level cores, smaller in size and purer in color.
The Xiaozhi and Luobo didn’t need crystal cores. For the remaining four main damage dealers and Facaishu, each received one high-level core.
Qian Hui also reserved a mid-level core for each of the Xiao Baocai and the others, ensuring everyone in the squad got a share.
Crystal cores differed from the game’s Skill Points. Besides enhancing overall strength, they also increased the probability of unlocking Berserk Skills.
Each plant’s Berserk Skill was unique. Some were enhanced versions of their existing high-level skills, while others were entirely new abilities.
Among all plant levels, Special-Grade Mutant Plants naturally possessed Berserk Skills, which were charged attacks. The probability of unlocking Berserk Skills gradually decreased for high, mid, and low-level plants.
Yet the Plant Squad now numbered twelve. Among the high, mid, and low-level plants, only Lajiao had unlocked a Berserk Skill according to the Handbook.
No wonder those humans had tried to capture Lajiao—it was truly exceptional.
After distributing the cores, Qian Hui worried that consuming too many at once might cause indigestion. He bought mini backpacks for the five plants.
The crystal cores were stored in these backpacks, allowing the plants to carry them personally or store them with Qian Hui and retrieve them when desired.
Not just crystal cores, anything could be stored in the backpacks. Tudou picked up a small backpack and stuffed the half-eaten bag of sugar inside.
Lajiao used pepper seeds to mark his backpack strap, then hurried to help Qian Hui remove the pepper seeds from his towel.
Pigguo, the last to join the group, also received a crystal core. Xiao Baocai brought him over, and he chose the smallest one before settling down beside Qian Hui and eagerly gnawing on it.
Qian Hui stroked one of Pigguo’s leaves and casually opened the Handbook.
[ Species: Red Apple
Level: 1 ]
Huh? Qian Hui thought the system had glitched and reopened the Handbook, but it still showed Level 1.
He remembered that when he first brought Pigguo back, the Handbook had listed him as “Low-Tier”…
Pigguo continued to munch on the crystal core, the smallest of the lot. He finished it in a few quick crunch, crunch, crunch bites.
He wiped his mouth, and the text in the Handbook flickered, changing his level to “2”.
Qian Hui witnessed this firsthand and was astonished.
Pigguo’s level wasn’t high, and his skills weren’t particularly outstanding. He was a support type, able to exhale a cloud of smoke to envelop himself, concealing his presence or confusing enemies.
Unfortunately, he was too small, his combat power was low, and his movements were slow, rendering the smoke largely ineffective.
Unless the game was malfunctioning, perhaps Pigguo was more special than he appeared?
To test his theory, Qian Hui bought a pill that granted a Skill Point in defense and fed it to Pigguo.
Overwhelmed with gratitude, Pigguo twisted its head left and right before scrambling into Qian Hui’s arms, turning its back to all the plants and quietly nibbling on the pill.
But after eating the pill, Pigguo’s Level remained unchanged.
Qian Hui noted this down, thinking he would feed Pigguo more crystal cores when he had the chance.
Having finished the pill, Pigguo rubbed against the back of Qian Hui’s hand, clinging to him and refusing to let go.
As they finished distributing the crystal cores, Yumi had quietly eaten several pieces. The squad’s overall combat power had risen to 11,000, slightly higher than before their daytime battle against the Zombie Horde.
Qian Hui held the last crystal core, reserved for Mimosa.
He summoned Mimosa from his sleeve. The nail-sized plant slowly crawled onto the crystal core, which visibly shrank as it was consumed.
“Xiaocao,” Qian Hui whispered, “would you like me to buy you a bottle of Evolution Water?”
He had an ulterior motive: he wanted to quickly increase Mimosa’s loyalty.
Since bringing Mimosa into the squad, Qian Hui had followed the guide’s recommendations, talking to it daily and providing plenty of snacks.
Yet despite Mimosa’s apparent docility and its helpfulness, its loyalty remained stubbornly at 30%.
Qian Hui couldn’t understand it, feeling as if he must be missing something.
Now that he had enough balance, Qian Hui thought for a moment and bought Evolution Water for Mimosa. He also planned to purchase additional Skill Points for defense and speed.
Mimosa’s leaves lifted slightly, as if surprised.
After a moment’s hesitation, it shook its leaves to indicate it didn’t need it.
Qian Hui was taken aback. “Okay, fine… What about Skill Points? They can make you stronger too.”
Mimosa shook its leaves again, gently brushed Qian Hui’s fingertip, and retreated back into his sleeve.
Even though he had saved 3,000 balance and didn’t buy the Skill Points, Qian Hui felt a pang of disappointment.
Secretly troubled, he quietly sought out Xiaokui, the sunflower.
Using light to sense emotions and transmit messages was one of Xiaokui’s advanced skills. Qian Hui stroked its petals, hoping it could help.
Xiaokui shook its petals, and a soft, gentle light gradually spread, enveloping Qian Hui’s sleeve.
Inside, Mimosa simply felt warm and lay still, without moving.
After a while, Xiaokui told Qian Hui that Mimosa seemed unhappy and might have something on its mind.
Something on its mind? Qian Hui grew worried, fearing he hadn’t been good enough to Mimosa.
Sensing this thought, Xiaokui quickly reassured him that Mimosa liked him very much.
Qian Hui needed to find a chance to ask Xiaokui personally what was making him so gloomy.
Qian Hui nodded and hugged Xiaokui. “Thank you, Xiaokui.”
As night fell, Xiao Baocai emitted a ring of cabbage lights around the room, illuminating the entire space.
Qian Hui’s hair was probably ready. Lajiao had prepared a basin of hot water and called him back.
The dye was difficult to wash out. Qian Hui lay with a towel under his head for a long time, repeatedly changing the hot water in the basin.
He tried to wash himself, but the plants stopped him. Staring at the ceiling, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
Lajiao moved even more gently, finishing washing out the dye and helping to dry his hair.
The plants didn’t wake Qian Hui. Nan Tingjin approached and softly lifted him from the floor, carrying him to the cabbage shell.
Xiaozhi opened the door of the cabbage shell. Qian Hui was placed inside, and Xiao Baocai and Pigguo helped him remove his coat.
Midway through, he groggily opened his eyes, then turned over and continued sleeping.
The next morning, Qian Hui finally saw the results of his hair dyeing.
He picked up a strand of hair, tilted his head, and examined it. “What color is this…?”
The dye was made from mashed carrots, mixed with the darkest leaves from the Facaishu tree. Qian Hui’s silver hair had turned a rusty color, appearing even darker in the shadows.
Lajiao and Xiao Baocai had done a decent job. The color was fairly even, and they had deliberately applied a thick layer to the top of his head and the outer layer, ensuring no silver strands were missed.
Qian Hui stared at his reflection in the basin, feeling distinctly awkward.
He had always had silver hair. During that time with the Disguise Potion, he had been too nervous to pay much attention to his appearance.
“Does it look strange…?” Qian Hui fretted.
The surrounding plants shook their heads in unison. He hurried to ask Nan Tingjin.
“Does it look bad?” Qian Hui asked anxiously. “I…”
Nan Tingjin hadn’t yet recovered his memories. With his dyed hair, he looked completely different from before.
“It looks good,” Nan Tingjin replied.
He picked up a strip of cloth and blindfolded Qian Hui. The new hair color, combined with the eye covering, gave Qian Hui an air of mystery.
Nan Tingjin studied him for a moment, then took his hand. “All done.”
The physical disguise was nearly complete. If the dye faded in a few days, Luobo could easily make a fresh batch.
Now only one problem remained: how to smuggle so many mutant plants into the Black Spine Mountain Base.
The last bottle of Disguise Potion came in handy at this moment. Qian Hui could use it on the plants, causing the scent of all the surrounding plants to vanish.
Qian Hui bought a larger backpack and had the plants climb in one by one.
After Xiaozhi, the man-eating flower, shrunk down, Xiaokui, the sunflower, turned out to be the largest of the plants. The remaining plants arranged themselves in descending order of size, with the smallest and lightest ones stacked on top.
This arrangement kept the backpack’s weight manageable.
Once they successfully entered the base, they could find another place to hide the plants.
With everything prepared, it was time to set off.
Qian Hui consulted the map. When Xiaozhi had moved away from the forest, it had headed toward the side of Safety Zone 5, which wasn’t far from Black Spine Mountain Base.
Since Nan Tingjin didn’t have a communicator, Xiaozhi still needed to carry them for most of the journey. They would walk the final stretch as they approached the base.
Before leaving, Qian Hui hugged the now-larger Xiaozhi and fed it several pieces of its favorite dried meat.
“Thank you, Xiaozhi,” he said, stroking the plant’s nose. “You’ve worked so hard these past few days.”
Xiaozhi swallowed the meat and lowered its head docilely.
Once Qian Hui had put on the backpack and he and Nan Tingjin were settled, Xiaozhi turned its head, sniffed lightly, and quickly moved away from the area.
The journey proceeded smoothly. Xiaozhi deliberately chose secluded and difficult paths along the edges of the low-risk zone to avoid human contact.
By around six o’clock that afternoon, Xiaozhi had reached a point some distance outside Safety Zone 5.
The Black Spine Mountain Base had an unusual layout; its entrance wasn’t within the inner perimeter of the Safe Zone but required circling around from the edge.
Worried about encountering humans, Xiaozhi shrank slightly, lowered its head, and crept along the route, planning to set Qian Hui down later.
The plants in the backpack occasionally peeked out, eager to reach the human base. They showed no fear whatsoever, especially Yumi and Tudou.
After all, they had defeated the Zombie King and the Zombie Horde. With Lajiao’s special skills, what was there to fear from a group of humans?
Luobo, never one to stay still, pulled out a carrot spike and glided ahead to scout further.
As they drew closer to the human base, Qian Hui grew increasingly tense, nervously clutching the strip of cloth in his hand.
Nan Tingjin leaned in and wrapped his arms around Qian Hui from behind. “Don’t worry,” he whispered, his breath warm against Qian Hui’s ear like a comforting kiss. “Everything will be alright.”
Qian Hui forced himself to calm down and nodded. “Mmm.”
At that moment, Luobo flew back swiftly from afar.
It landed on Xiaozhi’s head, pointing sideways and whimpering, “Wuuu!”
Qian Hui grew even more tense. “Humans?”
Ahead lay a fork in the road, leading to different directions where humans might pass.
Xiaozhi was supposed to have dropped them off earlier, but seeing no one nearby, it had continued a little further.
The ruins in this area had long been cleared for vehicle traffic. Confirming they were about to encounter other humans head-on, Xiaozhi immediately stopped, shrank down, and burrowed into the backpack.
Its entry disrupted the carefully arranged positions inside, causing the other plants to jostle and shove each other haphazardly.
Qian Hui patted the backpack with his free hand, signaling them to quiet down, and hastily blindfolded himself with a strip of cloth.
He only needed to close his eyes, but covering them completely was safer, preventing him from instinctively opening them in case of an emergency.
The backpack fell silent. Nan Tingjin straightened Qian Hui’s blindfold and took his hand.
The cloth was thin, allowing Qian Hui to squint and perceive faint light.
In the distance, the sound of approaching modified vehicles grew louder—more than one, judging by the noise.
Qian Hui silently prayed they wouldn’t recognize Nan Tingjin, that they would simply drive past, and that the vehicles carried no detection equipment.
Inside the backpack, Luobo clutched a bottle of Disguise Potion, ready to open it at any moment.
If they were discovered, it wouldn’t matter. Drinking the potion would eliminate their scent, allowing them to claim it was a malfunction of the instruments or simply a mutant plant passing by. After drinking it, they could head to the Base. Time was tight, but they should still make it.
Qian Hui gripped the edge of his sleeve as Nan Tingjin led him forward a few steps.
Upon spotting two humans on the road, the lead modified vehicle gradually slowed down. The occupants seemed to recognize Nan Tingjin and slammed on the brakes.
Qian Hui held his breath. Inside the backpack, Luobo used his leafy hand to twist open the potion bottle.
“Leader Nan?!” A man emerged from the vehicle, his voice filled with astonishment. “Is that really you?”
Nan Tingjin stopped. Qian Hui immediately felt a probing gaze fall upon him.
Still holding Nan Tingjin’s hand, the man’s surprise deepened. He hesitated, “We heard the news… about you… And who might this be?”
Nan Tingjin’s voice was cold. “Who are you?”
“My apologies,” the man quickly replied. “I’m Squad Leader Qi Yue from Cloud River Base. We were returning and happened to pass by.”
All three modified vehicles bore the same emblem. Cloud River Base was one of the three major Bases, with the closest ties to Sky Base.
“I’m relieved you’re safe,” Qi Yue said sincerely. “After the incident, we alerted all our teams in the field to be extra vigilant, but unfortunately, they found nothing.”
Qi Yue had a square face and a gentle, upright demeanor, appearing genuinely concerned for Nan Tingjin’s well-being.
As the leader of one of the three major bases, Nan Tingjin’s death at the hands of mutant plants would undoubtedly cause widespread panic.
Nan Tingjin remained aloof, showing no inclination to converse with Qi Yue.
Qi Yue was well aware of Nan Tingjin’s temperament. Though intensely curious about his ordeal, how he had returned, and who this person accompanying him was…
He restrained himself from asking further questions and instead inquired, “Are you returning to the base? We’re in no hurry and would be happy to give you a ride.”
They were still some distance from the entrance of Black Spine Mountain Base. Qi Yue lacked communication channels with that base, and Nan Tingjin appeared to have no means of contacting his subordinates either.
Hearing this, Nan Tingjin turned to Qian Hui. “Shall we?”
Qi Yue was even more surprised to see Nan Tingjin consulting his companion. He discreetly glanced at Qian Hui before quickly averting his gaze.
After a moment’s hesitation, Qian Hui nodded slightly. “Mm.”
Being driven would save them from walking, and these humans likely weren’t carrying any detection equipment…
Clutching the Disguise Potion in his backpack, Luobo pondered what form to take.
Having decided, Qi Yue quickly opened the rear car door, instructing his subordinates to exit and transfer to another vehicle.
Two Human Ability Users emerged from the back seat, one holding a detection instrument.
The instrument’s needle fluctuated before settling at a high reading.
Blindfolded, Qian Hui couldn’t see anything. Nan Tingjin, seated beside him, glanced at the instrument before his gaze landed on Qi Yue.
They weren’t just carrying detection equipment; they had also picked up nearby energy signatures.
Noticing Nan Tingjin’s scrutiny, Qi Yue explained, “Oh, we captured a High-Grade Mutant Plant this time. We’re taking it back to Base.”
The mutant plant was inside the car, and the other subordinates assumed the energy signature originated from it, never suspecting Nan Tingjin.
As if to confirm Qi Yue’s words, a muffled thud suddenly echoed from the back seat.
Simultaneously, Qian Hui received a notification that an unbonded mutant plant was nearby.
A subordinate bent down and lifted a square iron cage.
The cage was compact and almost completely sealed, with only a few small ventilation holes at the top. Its exterior was covered in strange bumps and dents, like…
Thud—
Another muffled impact shook the cage from within, leaving a small dent on its surface.
“Grrr…”
Accompanied by a low growl, the plant inside the cage seemed agitated, slamming against the iron bars once more.
“This mutant plant is extremely volatile,” Qi Yue said apologetically to Nan Tingjin, instructing his subordinates to move the entire cage to another vehicle. “The anesthetic’s effects don’t last long. It must have just woken up.”
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