Chapter 285 'Tree Branches' - Branches and twigs.
After swallowing the level-five crystal core, Zhizhi was the first to fall into a deep sleep, but also the last to wake up...
"Sister!" Lu Beiye jumped up from the sofa: "Zhizhi is awake!"
Gangzi flapped its wings and shouted, "Beauty! That ugly tree branch moved!"
Lu Nange walked quickly towards the crib, and the others followed and gathered around.
"Smack!"
Upon hearing Gangzi's address, Zhizhi lashed out with a vine.
When it fully unfurled its leaves, the two round eyes on the trunk had changed from emerald green to a bluish-green...
The little guy waved his vines happily: "Chirp chirp chirp~"
[Master! Zhizhi has become stronger! She can protect you better now...]
Lu Nange stroked its wavy hair: "Congratulations to our little Zhizhi, we'll be relying on you from now on~"
The branches immediately nuzzled their owner's palm affectionately with their leaves, making cheerful chirping sounds.
[Master...don't worry, Zhizhi isn't like Gangzi's silly bird that only eats and sleeps...]
"Huh?" Gangzi instantly bristled: "You damned tree branch! I'll fight you to the death!"
Just as it flapped its wings to rush over, it was quickly and tightly bound by the vines, hanging upside down by the window and swaying back and forth.
Zhizhi: "Chirp chirp..."
[No, it also gets angry from time to time, and it's afraid of dying and afraid of the cold...]
Gangzi: "Gah, tree branch, I'll fight you to the death! Let me go if you dare, gah...#￥%*#@$..."
He Zhuo picked at his ear: "Although I can't understand it, the swearing sounds pretty vulgar..."
Ji Xian nodded seriously from the side: "I feel the same way..."
The vines continued to tighten, binding Gangzi into a colorful "bird-shaped dumpling," while two other vines began to pry at the window: "Chirp chirp chirp..."
Lu Beiye: "Zhizhi tells us to stay away from the window..."
Everyone moved aside, and Gangzi gave Lu Nange, who was retreating in unison, a resentful look: "Beauty...help...beauty, how could you let the tree branch bully me?"
"Swish—"
The window was opened a crack, and a biting cold wind rushed in instantly.
Zhizhi poked Gangzi out the window: "Chirp chirp chirp!"
[Dare to disrespect your master again, and you'll experience the extreme cold treatment—instantly turning into a frozen bird!]
He Zhuo, always eager for drama, said, "Sister, do you want to break up this fight? It's almost gotten to the point of death..."
Lu Nange calmly took a sip of tea: "It's alright, let's observe further. Zhizhi knows what she's doing... probably."
What she didn't say was, "If all else fails... Gangzi will be faster if he does what he wants..."
The next second...
"Caw! Zhizhi! I was wrong!" Gangzi's few feathers peeking out from among the vines were instantly ruffled by the cold wind, making it look like a colorful dandelion: "Caw caw caw... I'm going to freeze to death!"
Zhizhi: "Chirp chirp chirp..."
[Tell me...who is the master's darling? From now on, who will be the boss?]
"Y-you! Of course it's you!" Gangzi hurriedly admitted, "You're the boss! You're my darling! The parrot is freezing to death..."
Zhizhi was satisfied when she brought Gangzi back, who was frozen solid like a quail, and even carefully smoothed out each of his fluffy feathers.
The vines moved so gently, as if grooming a pet, showing no trace of their previous ferocity.
Gangzi slumped beside the radiator for a long time before shakily raising his wing and pointing at Lu Nange: "Beauty...you have such a cruel heart...you just watched me die..."
"Crack! Crack!" Two vines suddenly lashed out above its head, creating sonic booms.
Gangzi immediately buried his head in his wing: "Gah! Boss, shut up, I'll shut up! I'll shut up right now!"
Lu Nange suppressed a laugh and handed it ten level-two crystal cores: "To calm your nerves?"
Gangzi quickly pulled the crystal core to his side: "Gah... I forgive you..."
He Zhu shook his head and commented, "Sigh, he can't beat them in a fight, yet he insists on being a smart aleck and causing trouble. Isn't he just asking for trouble?"
Chi Yanzhou took the experimental data from Shi Xu and raised his head slightly: "Old He, you're quite accurate when you comment on yourself."
He Zhuo: "......"
The silence at that moment was deafening, as if you could hear his shattered self-esteem crumbling to the ground.
Everyone burst into laughter, even the usually serious Chi Yi had a smile on his face.
Lu Beiye tugged at the vines on the wavy branches, looked at the eyes on the tree trunk, and said, "Sister, it's level six cyan."
He Zhuo, picking up the pieces of his shattered pride, quickly changed the subject: "So... the crystal cores and zombie levels are ordered according to the color red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. Except for level one, which is a murky gray, do levels two and above evolve according to the rainbow's color gradation?"
He Zhuo felt uneasy under everyone's stares: "Wait... what's with those looks?"
Gu Wan rested her chin on her hand and blinked: "Look at that idiot's eyes."
He Zhuo: "You guys wouldn't...know everything, would you?"
Everyone nodded in unison, including Zhizhi and Gangzi, who had come to join in the fun...
He Zhuo covered his face and wailed, "I've seen it in your eyes, I'm the one who's missing a screw..."
Wen Qing patted his shoulder: "Xiao He, it's not that bad... how could you be so cruel to yourself?"
She paused for a moment, then said, "You're not just being a bit slow-witted, you're being wise in your apparent foolishness."
He Zhuo froze on the spot as if struck by lightning—a double kill today!
"Sister Wenqing...you know how to comfort people, but please don't do it next time, sob sob..."
......
At breakfast time, the steam from the food rose gently inside the RV.
Lu Nange put down her chopsticks: "Starting today, the streets we've cleared—including the area around this hospital—will definitely see more survivors."
Chi Yanzhou tapped his long, slender fingers lightly on the table: "Our RV is too conspicuous, and there are so many ice sculptures in the city that they're obstructing traffic. Why don't we just head out towards the outskirts of the city?"
He looked up at the crowd: "Perfect timing, we can continue clearing out the zombies and stockpile some more crystal cores."
Lu Xici: "If we're lucky, we might even encounter a level four or even a level five zombie."
Shi Xu: "After several days of this, we're still a major consumer of crystal cores... and we can't do anything inhumane."
Gu Qi: "Tell me more, what inhumane things did you do?"
Shi Xu: "The experimental data shows that high-level zombies can be raised solely by feeding them with live animals..."
Everyone: "..." [What a depraved and inhumane phrase...]
Lu Xici: "Then let's continue to rely on ourselves to fight them!"
Gu Wan flexed her wrists: "Perfect, I'll practice a few more times on the way and try to break through to level four in one go."
Ji Xian nodded in agreement: "With a little more combat experience, we should be able to advance to level four."
He Zhuo swallowed the bun in his mouth and said, "I have no objection. Anyway, we won't get cold wearing thermal suits. Besides, we still have a car to maintain. The more crystal cores we have, the better..."
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