Chapter 38

The gaze behind her was as real as if it were real. Feeling that Nan Tingjin was still looking at her, Qian Hui ignored him.

After the battle, the plants habitually gathered around Qian Hui, asking him to wipe their faces.

There were not many zombies this time, and with Nuts helping them, they were not dirty, except for Nuts, which had rolled twice on the ground and was covered in dust.

Qianhui carefully wiped the nuts several times with a towel, and then wiped the leaves of other plants.

Chili squatted aside, breaking the dug-out crystal cores into small pieces, trying to distribute them evenly.

At this time, a game prompt finally appeared in front of Qian Hui.

[The sixth faction conflict has ended. Congratulations on our victory! Reward: 400 Prestige Points]

so much……

Qian Hui thought she had seen it wrong, but after checking carefully, she found that it was indeed 400.

Each time he kills a zombie, he gets a notification that his balance is increasing. Even though there are only eight zombies in total, he has 400 prestige points, whereas his last victory only rewarded him with 500.

Is it because these zombies are related to a hidden mission?

Or perhaps it's because there were members of the human faction present...

Qian Hui couldn't quite understand it, but in any case, a reward was a good thing.

However, even though he's been here for so long, the [Host Strength] section on the game's main interface has changed from "weak" to "relatively strong," while the [Faction Strength] remains "weak," ranking third.

The number of mutated plants around him is increasing, and their overall combat strength is also growing stronger, but it seems that the plant squad alone cannot affect the overall situation.

After promising to go and rescue the mimosa, Qianhui realized that more mutated plants were in danger, and she was secretly worried.

Since there are far fewer plants than zombies, shouldn't we gather them in large numbers and establish bases like humans do...?

But can mutant plants also have a base?

If it existed, what would it be like?

With less than 3000 prestige points and the new shop not yet open, Qianhui had no idea how to establish a base.

He subconsciously thought of Nan Tingjin again. As the leader of the Black Ridge Mountain base, Nan Tingjin must know a lot.

Qian Hui pursed her lips, resisting the urge to turn around and look at him.

Let's go rescue the plants that are trapped first... I don't have enough prestige points, so asking won't help.

—

Before they knew it, it was noon. The carnivorous plant found a safe spot to stop and rest, and also had lunch.

The plants lined up to receive their food. Qian Hui had Xiao Baocai deliver Nan Tingjin's portion to him.

The journey is long, and based on the direction and distance determined by the scent, the mimosa plant is estimated to take two days to arrive.

But these two days did not include rest time.

Even if it has to make do with food on the road, the man-eating plant still needs to sleep, and since it is exposed to the elements alone, it needs to maintain enough energy to deal with emergencies in a timely manner.

So, including sleeping and occasional breaks for rest, it will take at least three days.

But Carrot felt that they couldn't delay. Once they arrived at their destination, they would need to investigate the situation and refine their battle plan. The sooner they arrived, the better.

So it suggested that when the man-eating flower rested, everyone could fly together on radish thorns.

Carrot, hands on hips: "Ooh!"

Upon hearing this, all the plants, including Qianhui, fell silent.

Let's fly together on radish thorns... How do we fly? Like before, do we grab one another and string them together?

The plants might be fine, but there are also fennel and gentian in the group.

Carrot was still confident, pointing to the small cabbage.

Its radish thorns are very strong and can be used to precisely control the direction. Then, with the help of the soft vines, you can simply tie the cabbage shells to them.

The only slightly troublesome thing is that the radish thorn has a limited flight time. Every once in a while, it has to find a good spot to land and then take off again.

Durian was the first to raise its hand in agreement, and the other plants looked at each other and thought it seemed like a good idea too.

Qianhui looked hesitant, still not quite at ease.

At this moment, Nuts jumped out as well.

It grew a little bigger, hopped around with the small cabbage on its head, and came to Qianhui.

Nuts jumped up and down: "Hmm!"

It wanted to say that it could also help by simply placing the cabbage shell on its head.

However, the nut could only hop around, which made quite a noise and wasn't very stable.

The little cabbage almost fell off several times earlier, and it's still clinging tightly to the top of the nut's head, too afraid to move.

Compared to this, Carrot's suggestion is still the safest option.

Other plants have limited capabilities, and there's no better way.

Qianhui picked up the little cabbage, then picked up the nut, and first praised, "Little Fruit is very capable! So it needs to protect everyone."

Two combat-type super-grade alien plants took turns traveling, and part of the task of ensuring safety was assigned to Nut.

Qianhui put it tactfully, suggesting that the nuts should simply stay by the plants' side.

Nuts thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up slightly: "Mmm!"

That was settled. If we traveled continuously, we would definitely arrive in two days.

During the short break after the meal, Carrot called Soft Vine and opened the cabbage shell to try it out.

However, cabbage husks tied together cannot maintain stealth when flying, and would be very conspicuous during the day, so carrots were arranged for nighttime use.

After crawling into the mouth of the carnivorous plant and setting off again, the carrot quickly went to sleep.

The mimosa plant grew larger and came to Qianhui's side.

Qian Hui fed it a few pills and stroked its leaves: "Why don't you go and rest too? Little Purple knows the way."

In fact, the mimosa plant is the one that works the hardest. In order to determine the direction and distance, it needs to concentrate at all times, otherwise it may be disturbed by other scents along the way, affecting its judgment.

The mimosa plant shakes its leaves to indicate that it is fine.

It only takes two days without sleep or rest. In the past, when it was in the hands of human superhumans... it could go up to four days without sleep.

Although it was tiring this time, it was very happy and looking forward to it.

The mimosa rubbed against Qianhui's hand again, rolled up its leaves, ate the pill, and went outside again.

Qianhui couldn't stop it, and felt a pang of heartache.

He casually opened the encyclopedia to check the status of the mimosa plant and found that its loyalty had increased to 50%.

The desire to rescue her imprisoned friends was a secret that Mimosa had kept hidden for a long time. Even though the outcome was still unknown, she still trusted Qianhui and the plant team very much.

—

We continued our journey in the afternoon. The plants, increasingly bored inside the carnivorous plant's mouth, began to playfully fight.

For the sixth time, Corn told Potato about its experience using its charged attack. Potato, unable to bear it any longer, punched it and ran off to play with Nut.

Nuts blinked as Potato approached.

Although the nut doesn't make much noise and doesn't seem to care much about other plants, it doesn't prevent other plants from approaching.

The carrot is sleeping, guarded by the durian, with a quiet sunflower and bamboo shoots nearby.

The soft vine needed help at night, so it quietly wrapped around Qian Hui's wrist and fell asleep.

The succulent quickly became friends with the cabbage and apple, and the three of them got together, along with the money tree.

The money tree made a mini defensive shield, and the apple kept blowing smoke into it while playing hide-and-seek.

Chili sat by the gap between the carnivorous flower's teeth, peeking out every now and then.

When the carrot rests, it becomes the "substitute captain," helping the carnivorous plant keep an eye on the outside world.

After dark, the carnivorous plant burrowed into a forest and found a lake.

At night, Xiao Baocai took out a cabbage bowl, and Qianhui took a bath in the lake water.

Once they left the base, without items like a hair dryer, Chili, as usual, used chili seeds to dry his hair.

Chili's movements were meticulous, and she even imitated Nan Tingjin's earlier actions, frequently tidying her hair with her hand.

Several days have passed, and most of the dye on my hair has gradually faded, revealing its original color.

Qianhui called over Xiaobaocai and asked it to take Nantingjin to the cabbage bowl.

Since Nan Tingjin did not leave, he stayed in the group, so we couldn't treat him too badly.

Little Cabbage nodded and quickly ran to the tree not far away.

It tugged at Nan Tingjin's sleeve, then pointed to the lakeside and let out two "woo-woo" sounds.

The carnivorous plant had already refilled the water in the cabbage bowl, and the newly bought clothes were laid out on the grass nearby.

Nan Tingjin raised his eyes, and after a moment got up and walked over.

After the two of them and all the plants were finished, they went into the cabbage shell. The carrot, looking energetic, pulled out a radish thorn.

The soft vines sprouted four branches, tightly binding the cabbage husks and radish thorns together.

The mimosa plant stuck to the carrot's forehead, grabbed the carrot's thorns and suddenly waved its hand, sending the thorns flying with the cabbage husks.

The cabbage shell suddenly rose into the air, swayed for a while, and then returned to stability.

The carrot stands on top, holding the carrot thorns to adjust its direction.

It looked calm and relaxed, but the plants inside the cabbage shell were in a panic, afraid of falling out.

Although the initial shaking quickly stopped, the nighttime wind still caused the cabbage husks to tremble slightly, and the plants inside would shake if they moved even slightly.

Potato was a little afraid of heights, so it huddled tightly in Qianhui's arms along with the little cabbage.

The carnivorous plant was sleeping in the corner, while the money tree was protecting a few others.

Gradually, the plants breathed a sigh of relief once they confirmed that the cabbage husks were flying steadily.

Qian Hui did the same; he moved his leg and accidentally bumped into Nan Tingjin.

Nan Tingjin was also taken away, making the space inside the cabbage shell even narrower.

Qian Hui pretended not to see him, closed her eyes, and prepared to sit and sleep.

Time passed by, and the plants around us gradually fell asleep.

Qianhui didn't sleep long and was awakened by the shaking. It must have been that the carrot thorns had reached their limit and the carrot had stopped to land, ready to be replaced with a new one.

Qian Hui yawned and rubbed her eyes.

The carrot stalks on the outside must have been replaced with sharp spikes, and the cabbage husk took off again, causing another sway.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, Nan Tingjin opened his eyes and moved closer to Qian Hui.

He touched Qian Hui's palm and gently took her hand: "Want me to hug you?"

Afraid of disturbing the other plants, Qian Hui didn't push him away directly, but turned her head and said, "No."

Even though he refused, Nan Tingjin still picked him up and carried the sleeping plant in his arms with great gentleness.

Qian Hui moved slightly, then gave up struggling.

The view inside the cabbage shell was dim. He looked up and smelled the scent of lake water on Nan Tingjin's collar.

Qian Hui whispered, "You...you think I lied to you, don't you?"

Nan Tingjin stroked his hair: "No."

“But you also said,” Qianhui added, “that you don’t remember liking me.”

Nan Tingjin still answered, "No."

He leaned down and kissed Qianhui's cheek.

It wasn't a good time to push him away. Qian Hui was still angry and couldn't help but bite Nan Tingjin's chin hard.

After biting him, she regretted it a little and asked nervously, "Will you get infected by me?"

Strictly speaking, I should be considered a zombie. If I get bitten by a zombie, I might turn into one too...

Nan Tingjin smiled, raised his hand and touched Qian Hui's blunt canine teeth with his fingertips, then kissed him again: "No."

Qian Hui was relieved, but said unhappily, "You're not allowed to kiss me anymore."

Nan Tingjin replied with an "okay" and pulled him into his arms: "Go to sleep."

Qian Hui leaned against him, unconsciously nuzzling him, and quietly closed her eyes.

As the night passed and dawn broke, the carrot found a place to land and took over from the carnivorous plant.

They continued on their way without encountering any further problems. Moreover, flying with radish thorns saved them some time spent taking detours, allowing them to reach their destination faster than the mimosa had anticipated.

—

A day and a half later, around 3 p.m.

Inside the Sky Base, three squads quietly emerged from different directions, taking a longer route, all heading towards the same target.

Wen Jue had foreseen that the cabbage had not left, so the base sent people to search secretly, and sure enough, they found it in the southeast direction.

It lingered there for a long time, seemingly observing the base and looking for another opportunity to act.

In order to capture this exceptional plant alive, the base first set up a trap inside, waiting for the cabbage to come to them on its own.

However, perhaps sensing something, the cabbage only appeared once more after that.

It injured several members of the outer patrol team before quickly fleeing without choosing to re-enter the base.

Worried that the cabbage might choose to leave and go to a more distant place where it would be difficult to move around, the team at the base discussed the matter and decided to take the initiative.

The afternoon sun was warm, and the cabbage stretched out its arms, peeling off two leaves from its outer shell, and half-lying on the stone to bask in the sun.

It decided to wait until sunset, then go outside the base, beat up a few more people, and then leave.

Unable to save the plants in the base, the cabbage sighed silently.

There's nothing we can do, it did its best. If there's a chance in the future, it will come back to visit...

Wait, something seems to be happening.

The cabbage instantly flipped over and stood up, its outer shell, leaves, and boxing gloves restored to their original state, and it warily surveyed its surroundings.

It seemed to hear faint footsteps, and the scent carried on the wind seemed to have changed.

The cabbage sensed something was wrong and wanted to find another place to hide and observe the situation.

It jumped off the rock and had only taken a few steps when two huge fireballs came hurtling towards it from a distance.

The cabbage nimbly dodged, and the fireball slammed into the ruins behind it with a "bang".

At the same time, the previously clear sky suddenly became covered with dark clouds, and lightning flashed and thunder roared.

The cabbage dodged the third fireball, but several wind blades attacked from another direction.

Dark clouds gathered overhead, and several bolts of lightning struck in an instant.

The cabbage-shaped menu holder raised the stone slab to block the wind blades, running to evade the lightning's pursuit.

It quickly found cover nearby and finally got a temporary respite.

Oh no...it seems to be a human with superpowers.

Moreover, they must have discovered that the cabbage was better at close combat, so they deliberately surrounded it from a distance and only used ranged attacks, hoping to wear it down first.

Before long, more than a dozen fireballs came crashing down, damaging the ruins where Cabbage was hiding.

Cabbage was forced to leave, and while looking around, she judged which side had the fewest people and was the best place to break through.

In a short period of time, more dark clouds gathered in the sky, and the thick clouds flickered from time to time, looking like they were about to erupt.

Suddenly, a large amount of orange "radish rain" flew in from one side of the sky and crashed straight into the dark clouds.