Chapter 3: Xiao Er is ready to go out.

The first thing Cheng Zhiyu did upon waking up today, as usual, was to enter the system space, loosen the soil around Xiao Er, and then water him.

After more than ten days of his careful care, Xiao Er has grown from a tiny sprout that was only two fingers tall to now reaching the middle of Cheng Zhiyu's calf.

The leaves are no longer just two solitary ones, but more than a dozen growing in an interlaced pattern, and the leaves have undergone a wonderful change.

Xiao Er's leaves were not like the regular leaves of most plants that Cheng Zhiyu remembered. Its leaves were shaped like fire, like three small, protruding peaks, with the middle one being higher and the two on the sides being lower.

In addition, the bright red color of the small pot makes it look like clusters of dancing flames if you don't look closely.

Cheng Zhiyu was certain that the leaves hadn't been bitten by any insects, because every leaf of Xiao Er's was in that shape.

Moreover, he discovered that Xiao Er felt warm to the touch. This was not his imagination. He hadn't noticed it much before, but now when he touched Xiao Er's leaves, he could clearly feel that they were warm.

Xiao Er's various behaviors forced Cheng Zhiyu to confront his suspicions—Xiao Er was probably not any kind of plant he had ever seen before, and might not even be a plant from Earth.

Fortunately, he's quite adaptable now. After all, it's the apocalypse, he's seen zombies, and now he's even bound to a system, so what's impossible for him? Haha.

However, Cheng Zhiyu's biggest concern was: "Is it really edible?"

As he said this, his fingers were touching the leaves of Xiao Er. As soon as he finished speaking, he felt the soft leaves of Xiao Er stiffen slightly, and then the leaves carefully brushed against Cheng Zhiyu's fingers.

Cheng Zhiyu: "!!!"

My God, this plant must be sentient!

No, maybe it was blown by the wind? Haha.

Then, he saw the waiter carefully rub his fingers again, and he could even sense a hint of flattery in the waiter's actions.

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." No, let me take a break.

Although he had accepted the apocalypse and the system, he still couldn't quite accept the idea of ​​plants becoming spirits.

Perhaps because he had rubbed against him several times without getting a response, Xiao Er visibly became listless. Before Cheng Zhiyu could react, he heard the mechanical voice of the system in his ear.

[Warning! Warning! The system has detected that Xiao Er is in a low mood. Please comfort him immediately! Otherwise, it will affect the health of the plant.]

What the hell is Plant Heart Health? You're not even going to install the system anymore, are you?

Despite his complaints, Cheng Zhiyu still listened to the system and comforted the waiter. After all, he had said he wanted to eat it in front of the waiter many times... It really wasn't Cheng Zhiyu's fault; how could he know that plants could become spirits!

It's all the fault of this stupid system; it didn't give us any warning at all!

However, he also bears some responsibility. Xiao Er is, after all, a minor, and he really frightened the child.

Cheng Zhiyu had no experience in coaxing plants. He thought for a moment, then reached out and touched Xiao Er's leaves. Xiao Er moved slightly. Seeing that he had a chance, he quickly coaxed, "Haha, Xiao Er, don't be afraid. I'm just joking. How could I possibly eat you? Even if I faint from hunger or starve to death, I would never eat you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Er suddenly perked up. One of its leaves rubbed against Cheng Zhiyu's finger. It... it would try its best to grow up so that its master wouldn't starve to death!

Unfortunately, Cheng Zhiyu couldn't sense the waiter's emotions. But when he felt the waiter's actions, he smiled. To be honest, the waiter was quite cute.

Cheng Zhiyu said softly, "Be good."

He has a younger sister who has extensive experience in soothing children, whether they are plant-based or human.

Sure enough, after he finished speaking, Xiao Er shyly rubbed against Cheng Zhiyu's fingers again.

Cheng Zhiyu: Auntie smile.jpg

He has completely accepted the fact that Xiao Er cannot eat.

After chatting with Xiao Er for a while, Cheng Zhiyu left the system space and began to think. Xiao Er couldn't be eaten, so it seemed he couldn't put all his hopes on the system.

Thinking of this, he frowned slightly and walked into the kitchen. In the corner of the kitchen, there was a basket containing all the food he had left.

This was organized by Cheng Zhiyu a couple of days ago. He put all the food together to make it easier for him to plan.

He then took out the items one by one, wanting to see how many days they could last at most.

There were two large potatoes in the basket. If Cheng Zhiyu ate half a potato per meal, these two potatoes would last for four meals.

However, considering that potatoes are vegetables and keep relatively long, Cheng Zhiyu dared not eat them at every meal. He would eat one potato for two days, with a one-day break in between to eat something else, and then eat the potato again.

Besides the potatoes, there were also three tomatoes, which weren't very fresh anymore. They needed to be eaten as soon as possible, otherwise they would spoil and I would have no one to blame but myself.

Cheng Zhiyu thought for a moment, then put one of the tomatoes aside, planning to splurge on a tomato and egg stir-fry later.

He had only one egg left.

At this moment, he was extremely grateful that he knew how to cook. Moreover, because he had seen the news recently, which exposed many dirty and messy kitchens, Cheng Zhiyu was reluctant to order takeout. For a long time afterward, he cooked for himself.

So some food was stored in the rented room.

Of course, there are others besides these.

There was half a bag of rice, two packets of snail rice noodles, and some cured meat that his mother had sent him a while ago.

Cheng Zhiyu hasn't dared to eat his fill lately. If he only eats half full at each meal, this food will only last him for half a month at most.

Not to mention, there's also the issue of water.

There is still tap water in the rented room, but Cheng Zhiyu didn't dare to drink it. If it gets contaminated, he will have lived in the rented room for nothing.

Clearly, living off his savings is not a solution. He can only wait another week at most. If there is no official rescue during this period, he will have to go out.

You either face the zombies head-on or starve to death in your rented room.

The former still has a glimmer of hope, but the latter... Cheng Zhiyu will not choose the latter.

Now that he had made a decision, his anxiety subsided, and he spent his days taking care of Xiao Er and researching routes to get out.

Blindly rushing in is obviously not the way to go. He is currently unsure of the zombies' combat capabilities, as well as how the zombie virus can spread besides being bitten or scratched.

Therefore, the route out is crucial.

He dared not take the elevator. Firstly, although the power was still being supplied as usual, he was not sure if it would suddenly go out like the signal had that day.

If the power suddenly goes out while he's in the elevator, he'll be trapped inside and die.

Secondly, what if there are zombies in the elevator? The elevator space is small, which greatly reduces the chances of avoiding zombies through agility. Moreover, he doesn't want to be in a small space with zombies at all; it's too much of a test of his endurance.

Therefore, Cheng Zhiyu planned to take the stairs.

Nowadays, everyone takes the elevator when they go out, and almost no one climbs the stairs, which means that there are basically no zombies in the stairwells.

Moreover, Cheng Zhiyu currently has no plans to leave the community to find food; he only intends to go to the first floor of his building.

On the first floor of the building where he was, there was a small shop, and Cheng Zhiyu was certain that the shop sold bottled water.

With the water problem solved, everything else is manageable. For one thing, the convenience store still has instant noodles.

However, just because he didn't leave the building doesn't mean there won't be zombies. He has to be prepared to face them head-on.

This is currently the optimal route; there is no other way. I just hope we don't encounter too many zombies.

Two days later, Cheng Zhiyu checked on Xiao Er's condition again, and its growth status had changed from "growing" to "about to reach first-level maturity".

What does Level 1 maturity mean? What will Xiao Er look like when it's mature? Cheng Zhiyu didn't understand either, and he couldn't get an answer from the system either, so he could only continue to water and loosen the soil for Xiao Er every day.

Although he didn't place his hopes on the system, he still hoped it wouldn't be too unfair, so he watered Xiao Er a lot!

Even though Xiao Er was quite adorable and would respond when Cheng Zhiyu spoke, he still couldn't help but feel sorry for him; water was the hope for survival.

A few more days passed. During this time, Cheng Zhiyu would sit by the window from time to time and observe. He didn't know what he wanted to see, but every night when night fell, his mood would drop a bit.

Forget about any official rescue efforts; he didn't even see a single living human being.

However, Cheng Zhiyu did not believe that all humans had turned into zombies. He thought that people's will to survive was incredibly strong and could not be so easily extinguished. He was more inclined to believe that others, like him, had gone into hiding.

After all, nobody knows the exact situation with the zombies right now, so hiding is the best option.

But it's obvious that we shouldn't expect to be rescued right now.

Cheng Zhiyu returned to his room and tried on the clothes he had prepared.

Wearing a hooded zip-up jacket, a hat, a mask, and gloves, he looked in the mirror to make sure that no part of his skin was exposed except for his eyes before he felt relieved.

After taking off his clothes, folding them neatly, and placing them aside, Cheng Zhiyu went to bed early to prepare for his departure the next day.

After waking up, he ate breakfast, which was unusually substantial, since he didn't know if he would be able to come back from this trip, so he wanted to at least have a full meal.

If they can't come back, all that food will be wasted. If they can come back, they'll probably have found supplies, so it won't hurt to have a good meal.

However, just as Cheng Zhiyu gripped his only weapon, a kitchen knife, and prepared to leave, the system, which had been silent recently, suddenly announced: [Congratulations, host. The assistant has reached Level 1 maturity. Please enter the space to check as soon as possible.]

Cheng Zhiyu was somewhat surprised, not expecting Xiao Er to have matured so much at this time.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to check on Xiao Er first. For some reason, he had a feeling that Xiao Er might play a significant role in his upcoming mission.

Thinking of this, Cheng Zhiyu put down the kitchen knife in his hand and said to the system, "Enter the space."

Then, in a flash, he found himself next to the waiter.