Chapter 69 Speculation

It was already noon when Qiao Yu and Jiang Zhan returned to the house.

Cheng Sinian sat cross-legged on the mattress, holding Luo Zhenzhen on his lap, his chin resting on her shoulder, his arms clasping her from behind. Beside him was a plate of half-eaten grapes.

"Sister Qiao...are you back?"

After a whole morning of mental preparation, Luo Zhenzhen finally dared to speak to Qiao Yu, though her face was still slightly red.

"Yeah, I'm back." Qiao Yu looked at the suspicious redness and swelling at the corner of Luo Zhenzhen's mouth, blinked, and jokingly said, "Zhenzhen, are the grapes sweet?"

“…”

Upon hearing this, Luo Zhenzhen immediately pursed her lips and her face turned redder.

When Cheng Sinian saw Qiao Yu teasing Luo Zhenzhen, he immediately turned his attention to Jiang Zhan like a hen protecting her chicks: "Brother Zhan, Qiao Yu is really jealous."

Jiang Zhan has always been very proactive.

Before Qiao Yu could refute, Jiang Zhan lowered his head and blocked her mouth. The next second, she was eating a peeled grape.

"Is it sweet?"

Jiang Zhan had an inexplicable desire to win, and his eyes sparkled. It was as if he was telling Qiao Yu: Don't envy others, you have it too.

"...Sweet." Qiao Yu felt that his face was getting thicker and thicker. He glared at Cheng Sinian unhappily and pouted, "Eat!"

During lunch, Jiang Zhan knew that Qiao Yu had something to say, so he set up a mental barrier in the room.

Qiao Yu and Luo Zhenzhen were force-fed food by two men, with blank expressions on their faces.

Why do I always feel that these two people seem to be competing with each other with great energy?

Is this an illusion?

Seeing that Qiao Yu remained silent, Jiang Zhan tapped her nose and chuckled, "Didn't you want to ask something just now? Why are you silent now?"

Qiao Yu thought Jiang Zhan might have secretly used his mind to probe her, otherwise how could he know everything? But she didn't dare say this out loud.

"Oh... just wanted to ask if you found anything in the village."

Hearing this and seeing Jiang Zhan setting up a mental barrier, Cheng Sinian finally regained some consciousness from the sweetness of love. "Did you just go for a walk in the village?"

"Yeah." Qiao Yu nodded and told him all her findings before turning to ask Jiang Zhan, "Zhan, do you have any other findings?"

"Yes." Jiang Zhan continued feeding the child, but his face looked thoughtful. "There are strong energy fluctuations in Dr. Yu's residence."

Qiao Yu was stunned, "How strong is it?"

Jiang Zhan never exaggerates. If he says he's very strong, it must be to the point where he can't be ignored.

Jiang Zhan's eyes were solemn, "It's comparable to Cheng Sinian's fluctuations."

The three of them frowned when they heard this.

After more than two months of practice and the improvement of crystal cores and fruit water, Cheng Sinian's supernatural powers have reached the peak of the first level.

He is the most outstanding person in the entire team after Jiang Zhan and Qiao Yu.

What exactly is hidden in there? It is actually comparable to Cheng Sinian's energy.

"Is it a human?"

Jiang Zhan shook his head, "No. It's not a foreign species either. It's most likely a mutant plant."

The population fluctuations of mutant beasts and mutant plants are basically the same, and he cannot distinguish them by relying solely on his mental perception.

But there is a simple way to distinguish between the two - the position of the mutated plant cannot be moved.

Although he and Qiao Yu were unable to get in just now, they wandered around Dr. Yu's residence for a long time. The position of that thing never changed, and it did not make any sound.

Qiao Yu's expression changed drastically. "Mutated plant? How is that possible?"

Seeing this, the three of them looked at Qiao Yu with some confusion, not understanding why her reaction was so intense.

Qiao Yu's brows were furrowed, and his explanation sounded more like a soliloquy. "It's only a few days away from the plants completely transforming. Even if some special plants have acquired abilities earlier, they can't have such great energy. Unless..."

"It devoured a large number of living people in a short period of time!"

Cheng Sinian suddenly realized, "Then...how many people does it take to reach this level?"

Qiao Yu's face turned pale. "...tens of thousands."

Luo Zhenzhen gasped when she heard this. "How is this possible? Are there so many people in Dama Village?"

yes.

Where do so many people come from in Dama Village?

Before the apocalypse, the total population of Dama Village was no more than 300. After the apocalypse, even if there were survivors passing through and coming to the village, it would be impossible for the number of people to reach that large in such a short period of time!

There was another point that Qiao Yu couldn't understand.

Naturally grown mutant plants will attack indiscriminately. So how did these villagers survive?

Why didn't the mutant plant attack them?

Could it be...

Cheng Sinian also thought of this. "These villagers... are they raising this plant? But why aren't they being attacked?"

Suddenly, Cheng Sinian had a flash of inspiration, and he said in disbelief, "Dr. Yu... Dr. Yu is helping them?"

Qiao Yu's expression was a bit complicated, but after thinking about it, he shook his head, "Dr. Yu must have been forced. He was imprisoned. The mutant who kidnapped Dr. Yu last night was probably trying to save him."

There are circles of footprints outside Dr. Yu's residence, which must indicate that someone often wanders there.

If Dr. Yu had stayed there voluntarily, there would have been no need for them to keep paying attention there.

So there is a high probability that it was left by the villagers who were guarding Dr. Yu during their patrol.

"But...with Dr. Yu's integrity..."

Cheng Sinian originally wanted to say that Dr. Yu was not a coward. He even had the courage to die for his country, so how could he be threatened to harm others?

But when he turned around, Cheng Sinian saw Luo Zhenzhen tilting her head slightly and listening to him carefully.

Cheng Sinian pursed his lips, but could not utter the following words.

Heroes are not afraid of life or death, but they have weaknesses.

Some things may indeed be more important than life.

When Qiao Yu saw Cheng Sinian shut up with a heavy face, he knew that he must have guessed it as well.

Qiao Yu looked at Jiang Zhan who was wiping her mouth with a tissue, and her hands gradually clenched.

If their guesses were true, then Dr. Yu's current experience would be similar to Jiang Zhan's torture in his previous life because of her.

Jiang Zhan noticed Qiao Yu's sudden downturn and thought she was worried about the mutant plant, so he kissed the top of her head soothingly and said softly, "Don't be afraid, Yu, I'll take care of everything."

Qiao Yu's nose suddenly felt a little sore. She didn't say anything, but just leaned into Jiang Zhan's arms affectionately.

He has always been like this.

No matter the reason, no matter right or wrong, as long as her will pointed to it, that was where his sword would go.

Seeing that Qiao Yu didn't even want to eat, Jiang Zhan put down the bowl, stroked her hair, looked at Cheng Sinian and said, "Get ready. After nightfall tonight, we'll go to see where Dr. Yu lives."

Cheng Sinian curled the corners of his lips lazily, "Alright. People are going to use us as fertilizer for their flowers, so we have to know what kind of flowers they are growing."

"Flower fertilizer?" Qiao Yu sneered, exuding a dangerous aura. "That depends on whether they have the ability."