Chapter 81
As the cave entrance was sealed, the light was blocked outside the swimming pool, and Tang Yu'an and Zhou Qi were suddenly plunged into pitch darkness.
In the almost completely dark swimming pool, besides the creepy sound of aquatic creatures scrambling to gnaw on the corpse of the giant lizard, there seemed to be the strange sound of vines and plant roots wriggling.
These sounds came from all directions, gradually growing louder and louder, wrapping around them like a tide, as if to pull them into an endless abyss.
The voices of both boys became more urgent.
"Brother Xiaoqi..."
The immense pressure made Tang Yu'an unable to help but hug Zhou Qi tightly. Fortunately, the remaining trace of rationality prevented him from throwing the umbrella in his hand away.
They were drowned in darkness, but for the moment they were safe from attack.
There was a soft "puff" sound.
A small flame ignited from Zhou Qi's hand, illuminating the space under the umbrella.
At this moment, they stopped a few meters away from the cave entrance. Although they were trapped in the swimming pool, they were temporarily safe because of the umbrella.
The appearance of the light source made Tang Yu'an feel more at ease.
He closed his arms again and hugged Zhou Qi tightly. The warmth coming from Zhou Qi made him try hard to overcome the fear in his heart.
It’s okay…Brother Xiaoqi is here, so there’s no need to be afraid.
Tang Yu'an glanced at the red dot on the map and whispered, "Brother Xiaoqi, that dangerous creature... seems to be the mutant vine."
The red dot has been motionless since it appeared, and the entrance to the cave is blocked by overgrown vines, so this can be basically confirmed.
Tang Yu'an didn't expect that in this world, in addition to animals and mushrooms, even plants are so dangerous!
Looking back now, the vines at the entrance seemed to be much denser than yesterday before they entered the swimming pool.
Zhou Qi nodded and stared at the exit with a serious expression.
The appearance of this mutant vine as a red dot on the map definitely indicates its danger. It is very likely that the death of the female lizard alarmed it.
Zhou Qi remembered that the red dot appeared yesterday after the female lizard transformed into a mouse...
Is there any connection between the two?
But no matter what, they must leave here as soon as possible!
“Boom—”
Suddenly, Zhou Qi felt the ground beneath his feet shake slightly, and he hurriedly jumped away with Tang Yu'an on his back.
The shadow umbrella gathered the light from the small flame, making the surrounding environment even darker and nothing could be seen clearly.
Zhou Qi and Tang Yu'an floated in the air and slowly fell down like a feather.
Even though it's moving very slowly, it will eventually fall to the ground. If it falls into the pool, that would be terrible...
Looking at the seemingly endless darkness beneath his feet, Zhou Qi gritted his teeth and threw the flame in his hand away.
A faint light suddenly appeared in the swimming pool.
In the light of the fire, he saw a thick vine rapidly rising from the ground, covering the place where he had been standing.
With the light from the flames, Tang Yu'an and the others could finally see the situation inside the swimming pool.
The ground was covered with vines and roots, which did not look like newly grown ones. Perhaps this mutant vine had already erupted once after they left yesterday.
With a snap, the flame that fell to the ground was extinguished by the vines.
The swimming pool fell into darkness again, and the sound of vines and plant roots rioting everywhere was heard. No one knew what had stimulated them, but they were as furious as mad animals.
Zhou Qi, floating in the air, reached out again and ignited a cluster of flames.
Tang Yu'an lay on his shoulder, watching the small flame slowly burning in his hand, feeling it was magical.
How did the fire start without fuel?
"An An, let's exchange the fuel." At this time, he heard Zhou Qi say in a low voice.
"Plants are afraid of fire. Let's pour fuel on the vines at the entrance of the cave and then ignite them." Zhou Qi said his plan, "When they are almost burned out, we will rush out!"
Although the mutant vines may struggle even more violently during this process, and the entire swimming pool may collapse, as long as we act quickly enough, safety should still be ensured.
Apart from this, I guess I can only find another way out...
Zhou Qi glanced at the door they came here yesterday, and frowned when he recalled the mutated mushrooms he encountered on the road.
That route required entering the room through a narrow corridor, which greatly increased the danger.
Moreover, the exit of that room might not still be there, so Zhou Qi didn't want to adopt this plan unless he had no other choice.
But what surprised him was that Tang Yu'an had other ideas.
"Brother Xiaoqi, can you tell me... can I keep this mutant vine as a pet?"
Hearing the boy's suggestion, Zhou Qi was stunned, "Pet?"
"Yes, the task of clearing the giant lizard's nest is completed, and I have another pet slot to use." Tang Yu'an said.
Since mutated plants are also intelligent life forms, why can't they be kept as pets?
Zhou Qi felt that what he said made sense, but the problem was...
“Are cat toys and dog Frisbees good for plants?” he asked.
ah?
"That shouldn't work, right?" Tang Yu'an tried to imagine it, and then found that he couldn't imagine it.
Turning plants into cats or dogs or something... How is this possible!
"If not, how can I take it as a pet?" Zhou Qi frowned. "I remember you need to touch it with your hands before you can take it as a pet, right?"
The mutant vines are now in a state of riot, and it would be too dangerous to touch them rashly.
Tang Yu'an scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said, "Its vines and roots are everywhere here. If I just gently touch a thin vine or a leaf, it shouldn't be noticed, right?"
Of course, the main reason was because of the cover of the umbrella. If anything went wrong, he could run away quickly. Otherwise, he would not dare to take the risk.
Zhou Qi pursed his lips and didn't speak for a while.
It was not until they gradually floated to the ground that he touched the ground on tiptoe again and jumped into the air with Tang Yu'an on his back.
"Then give it a try."
In the end, Zhou Qi nodded and did not stop Tang Yu'an's bold attempt.
"But if that doesn't work, retreat immediately!"
Tang Yu'an nodded quickly and made assurances repeatedly.
So after briefly discussing the action plan, Zhou Qi threw out clusters of small flames, lighting up the entire swimming pool.
The mutant vines must indeed be afraid of fire. The rioting vines began to wave, constantly extinguishing the small flames.
Because the environment inside the swimming pool was dark and damp, these flames did not cause a large-scale fire, which made Zhou Qi feel a little regretful.
I don’t know if it’s because of the threat of the mutant vine, but the movement in the swimming pool has long since stopped, leaving only the female lizard’s corpse floating in the smelly and dirty water.
While the mutant vines were busy putting out the fire, Zhou Qi and Tang Yu'an quietly landed on a protruding steel bar.
"An An."
"Um!"
At his signal, Tang Yu'an cautiously reached out and grabbed a thin vine hanging from the wall.
Then, he clicked on the panel to add it as a pet.
[This creature is currently rioting and cannot be taken as a pet. Please calm it down before trying again.]
Ah... failed?
Tang Yu'an was a little disappointed. Just as he was about to let go of his hand, he vaguely heard a rather violent and mad sharp voice.
“It stinks! It stinks!”
Tang Yu'an couldn't help but blink.
This sound is...
He looked at Zhou Qi, who was frowning and alert, his whole body tense. He was ready at all times. If the green vines around him moved unusually, he would immediately take Tang Yu'an and run away.
So the sound he heard was...
Tang Yu'an's slightly loosened hand tightened again. He held the green vine and heard the voice again, which sounded childish yet full of rage and frenzy.
"Bugs! They stink!"
"Bugs! They stink!"
This time, he felt the sound was clearer.
It was a very strange feeling. It wasn't that the mutant vine could speak Chinese, but when he heard the voice, he automatically understood its meaning.
So this mutant vine is so violent and angry because the swimming pool is too smelly?
Tang Yu'an let go of the green vine and tried a few more times to confirm that he had heard correctly before telling Zhou Qi the latest information he had obtained.
"The sound of mutant vines?"
Zhou Qi was surprised and tried to grab a vine, but before he could listen carefully, the green vine that Tang Yu'an had grabbed several times without any problem began to twist wildly in his hand.
He quickly let go, then jumped away with Tang Yu'an on his back.
After they moved away, the thin vine that Zhou Qi had grabbed had grown as thick as his wrist. It swung violently in place, whipping the surroundings as if venting its anger, raising a cloud of dust.
"If we keep going like this, this swimming pool won't last much longer!"
Although they knew the reason for the mutant vine rebellion, it was not something they could solve, and the mutant vine did not seem to be able to communicate.
Zhou Qi said in a deep voice: "Since there is no way to keep it as a pet, let's burn it!"
They had to escape as quickly as possible, otherwise the swimming pool would collapse and they would be buried alive.
Fuel exchange starts from this week.
Tang Yu'an was a little unwilling, but he really couldn't think of any good solution...
Just as Zhou Qi was about to pour the fuel on the mutant vines, Tang Yu'an suddenly had an idea and spoke again: "Brother Xiaoqi, wait a minute!"
Zhou Qi paused.
"Let me try first..."
When Tang Yu'an said this, a ball of white light appeared in his hand. As soon as he finished speaking, he threw the ball of light towards the cave entrance.
Purification, activate!
Yes, purification can remove filth, so maybe it can do the trick!
As Tang Yu'an threw out the ball of light, the swimming pool, which had been plunged into darkness due to the extinguishing of the flames, became bright again.
In such a foul-smelling and dirty environment, the ball of light from the purification technique appeared so bright and holy that, in the process of being thrown out, it seemed that even the foul air along the way was purified.
Finally, the ball of light gently fell to the ground.
The swimming pool's floor, which had been covered with who knows how much mud and dirt, suddenly became as clean as new. The change expanded outward for about two meters with the point where the light ball landed as the center before stopping.
As a result, a clean circle with a diameter of four or five meters appeared on the floor of the swimming pool.
The unusual movements in the swimming pool suddenly stopped.
Then, in the "circle" purified by the purification technique, a thin and young green vine cautiously emerged from the cracks in the floor.
Tender leaves soon appeared on the green vines.
Seeing such changes happening before his eyes, Zhou Qi couldn't help but be stunned.
Purification actually works?
However, as the light of the purification technique dissipated, the surrounding stench quickly invaded the "circle", and the stagnant vines began to become restless again.
Seeing this, Tang Yu'an quickly cast another purification spell.
When the ball of light fell into the circle again, the restless mutant vine calmed down again. Its vines and leaves grew quietly in the circle, and the thin vines made small circles briskly, looking somewhat cute and adorable.
Of course, that's if you can ignore its massive body that covers the entire swimming pool.
And Zhou Qi obviously cannot be ignored.
"Let's go?" he whispered to Tang Yu'an.
The light ball of purification can last for about ten seconds. If the mutant vines have been pacified, they may be able to use this time to get out of the cave.
"But the hole is still blocked." Tang Yu'an said.
The big hole on the wall of the swimming pool was still covered by dense vines. If they wanted to get out, they would have to pass through the body of the mutant vines.
Whether using a knife or burning, it is likely to anger the mutant vines again.
"Let me try again."
Tang Yu'an struggled to get off Zhou Qi's back. He stood on the ground and cast the purification spell again.
This time, he did not throw the ball of light away, but held it in his palm, allowing the light of purification to cover his entire palm.
Then the boy stretched his hand outside the umbrella and reached out to grab a vine on the ground.
Zhou Qi was on high alert, his nerves tense.
However, he found that after Tang Yu'an took action, the mutant vine remained quiet and not as agitated and violent as it was when he caught it just now.
Thin, tender leaves continued to grow from the vines at their feet.
As Tang Yu'an cast the purification spell again, the light spread outward with them as the center. The air became clean, and more and more soft and tender leaves emerged from the vines, vying for the first place.
In the filthy darkness, the boy is the only light.
He was shrouded in this holy light, among the wildly growing plants, like an angel fallen into the mortal world.
Zhou Qi watched this scene and was stunned.
Tang Yu'an didn't feel anything. He held the vine tightly and found that a feeling of joy and closeness was constantly coming from the vine.
This should be okay, right?
Tang Yu'an called out the panel and chose to take this mutant vine as a pet.
【Want to adopt as a pet? 】
【whether】
As Tang Yu'an selected [Yes], the system prompt changed again.
[Pet adopted successfully, please name it]
It really worked!
Seeing the system asking him to name his pet, Tang Yu'an couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Great! I really took it as a pet!
He thought about it and entered in the name column: Emerald.
As he successfully named his pet, a plant icon appeared on his pet panel.
Tang Yu'an couldn't help but grin, looked up and said to Zhou Qi: "Brother Xiaoqi, I succeeded! I took Emerald as a pet!"
Then he found that Zhou Qi seemed to be in a daze.
"Brother Xiaoqi?"
"Ah, well..."
Zhou Qi came back to his senses and nodded, "Emerald? Are you talking about this mutant vine?"
"Yeah, that's the name I gave it."
Then, Tang Yu'an bravely walked out of the umbrella.
In the light of the purification technique, the mutant vines did not make any move to harm him. Instead, they touched his cheek affectionately with their thin vines.
Zhou Qi: “…”
He withdrew his hand that was about to hold Tang Yu'an, and instead put away the umbrella.
Just as he put away the umbrella, Zhou Qi felt the floor beneath his feet rumble and shake, as if something was about to break out of the ground.
"Emerald! You are not allowed to hurt Brother Xiaoqi!"
As Tang Yu'an finished speaking, the ground beneath Zhou Qi's feet instantly returned to calm, allowing the young man, who had broken out in a cold sweat, to breathe a sigh of relief.
Although the mutant vines were temporarily well-behaved, Zhou Qi did not forget that the purification technique had a limited number of uses, so for safety reasons, they had to leave as quickly as possible.
Tang Yu'an climbed onto Zhou Qi's back and turned on the flashlight.
Zhou Qi carried him on his back and jumped again to the cave entrance blocked by vines.
Tang Yu'an reached out and touched the thin vines.
"Emerald, we want to get out."
Then Zhou Qi watched helplessly as the thin vine that had been used to seal the entrance of the cave like a rice dumpling with three layers inside and three layers outside actually started to split open to the sides from the place where Tang Yu'an reached out to touch it.
The light from outside suddenly poured in, making the two young men feel like they had seen the light of day again.
Zhou Qi looked at the scene outside the cave in a daze. At this moment, he finally realized that "Tang Yu'an had kept a mutant vine as a pet."
It turns out that plants... can really be pets?
"Brother Xiaoqi, let's go." Tang Yu'an urged.
Zhou Qi responded and carried Tang Yu'an on his back and crawled out from the gap between the vines.
The fresh air outside hits you in the face, making you feel as if you are back to the beautiful world.
But just as they landed, a thin vine stretched out from the side and wrapped around Tang Yu'an's calf, forcing Zhou Qi to stop.
He stared at the mutant vine warily again.
Now that they are outside the swimming pool, his vision and movements are not restricted. If this mutant vine really wants to do something, Zhou Qi is still confident that he can evacuate with Tang Yu'an.
"Emerald can't bear to leave us." Tang Yu'an said.
Feeling the attachment and grievance coming from Xi Teng, Tang Yu'an didn't know what to do.
"Can I receive the pet?" Zhou Qi asked.
If it can be put away, there will be basically no threat.
"Of course you can..."
Tang Yu'an looked at the swimming pool in front of him, but he couldn't help but have a new idea. He said: "But if this happens, this swimming pool may be ruined."
After the mutant vines erupted, the entire swimming pool is now completely covered with vines, and almost no trace of the original walls can be seen.
Zhou Qi nodded. Although the vines put a burden on the wall, they also played a supporting role.
If they took away the entire mutant vine, the swimming pool would definitely collapse, but... so what?
The lizard eggs have been moved away by them. What value does this swimming pool still have to them?
"Brother Xiaoqi, there are fish in the swimming pool."
“…”
Zhou Qi recalled the dirty and smelly big pool, and cold sweat couldn't help but seep out from his forehead and slowly drip down his cheeks.
He paused for a moment before saying, "So, you want to...?"
"Anyway, I have the purification skill, and now we have the emerald protection. How about we clean up this swimming pool and use it to raise fish in the future?" Tang Yu'an expressed his thoughts.
Zhou Qi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief after hearing this.
As long as I don't go to the pond to catch those fish now...
He began to think seriously about Tang Yu'an's idea, and then he found that it was indeed a good idea.
The main store is in Huangcheng, and their foundation is here. No matter how many branches they open in the future, Huangcheng will still be their base camp.
In this case, it is particularly important to operate more industries and improve the ability to resist risks.
If he could run a fish pond, he would have a stable source of meat... However, Zhou Qi quickly calmed down.
"If there's a big flood, those fish might get washed away."
“But there will be new fish left!”
This swimming pool has existed here for so many years and is still standing, proving that floods do not pose a big threat to it. The creatures in the pool were probably also brought here by the floods.
Zhou Qi found himself convinced.
Tang Yu'an chuckled, "Is that right! Then I'll use up all my purification spells today, and then we'll go back."
I used it four times just now, and now there are six times left.
Tang Yu'an didn't use it casually, but asked Green Vine: "Emerald, where is your main vine? Can you take us there?"
Then he stretched out his hand toward the mutant vine.
The thin green vine released its grip on his calf and wrapped itself around his wrist, then gently pulled him, guiding them towards its main vine.
Zhou Qi always felt that this scene was a little unbelievable.
He originally thought that he would engage in a fierce battle with this mutant vine, but he didn't expect that the final outcome would be like this...
Maybe this is An An's charm.
Not only animals, but even mutant plants like him.
Well, his An An is so likable.
Zhou Qi followed Tang Yu'an and, guided by the mutant vine, entered the swimming pool from another direction.
Just as Tang Yu'an guessed, the emerald was growing inside the swimming pool, and its huge vines almost occupied half of the room.
The room was right next to the swimming pool and was filthy inside, filled with mud, foul-smelling water, and lizard excrement. The cramped space made the smell even more suffocating.
Although this environment should be conducive to plant growth, otherwise the mutant vine would not have grown so big, but after it awakened its wisdom, it became quite torturous.
Feeling the emerald's even more aggrieved emotions, Tang Yu'an quickly reached out and cast a purification spell on it.
Although he couldn't clean the entire swimming pool at once, he could still make the Emerald's main vine live a little more comfortably.
After six purification spells were performed, this room of only twenty or thirty square meters was finally cleaned up, and the part of the room where the vine tree was located was also brand new.
Even Zhou Qi felt that the mutant vine had obviously calmed down.
Just after the light of the purification spell completely disappeared, a ray of light came in from the direction of the window. It turned out that the mutant vines had actively removed the vines outside the wall, allowing the light to shine into the room.
At this time, the thin vine wrapped around Tang Yu'an's wrist loosened, and then it dug out a shiny stone from the vine body, and held it in front of Tang Yu'an with the vine leaves.
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