Chapter 1
It's one o'clock in the afternoon and the sun is shining.
"call out--"
In the courtyard, a chili bullet grazed Qian Hui's hair and accurately struck a zombie behind her.
The zombie tilted its head and fell to the ground, its emaciated body disappearing within seconds.
The carnivorous plant in front of him poked Qian Hui's arm with its leaves, signaling him to lie down quickly: "Woo."
Qian Hui looked up and found that her health bar was almost empty.
He quickly closed his eyes and pretended to be dead, buried his head in the soft grass, moved to the side, and quietly waited for his work for the day to end.
At the same time, the horn sounded for the third time, and more zombies poured in. They moved slowly, dragging their stiff bodies forward, trying to eat all the plants in their way.
Behind the Piranha Plant is the Chili Shooter, with a pair of serious and sharp black eyes, and the bullets he throws hit the target continuously.
There are more plants squatting on the lawn of the courtyard, including big nut wall, grapefruit bowling, cabbage boxer...
Qian Hui, who was lying in the corner, quietly opened his eyes. The sunflower diagonally opposite him waved its leaves and greeted him.
After more than ten minutes, all the zombies that invaded the courtyard were eliminated except Qian Hui.
The victory horn sounded in front of the courtyard gate, and the plants, having put away their fighting stance, swayed their leaves in celebration.
Qian Hui also got up from the ground.
——The work for the day is over, it’s time to rest.
His health bar was almost empty when he stepped on a zombie's severed arm and tripped as soon as he entered the courtyard.
Although the fall didn't hurt, he still lost a lot of blood. Fortunately, the plants didn't attack Qian Hui, so he relied on this little blood to come in unhindered.
Now that the work is done, the zombie remains on the lawn have disappeared, and the health bar above Qianhui's head has begun to slowly recover.
He sat by the yard, and a sunflower came close to him affectionately, plucked a petal and placed it in his palm.
In an instant, Qian Hui's health bar recovered by more than half.
The petals in her palm were withered. Qianhui touched the sunflower leaves and whispered, "Thank you, Xiaokui."
Several plants in the yard were injured. The sunflower leaves brushed against Qian Hui's fingertips before turning away.
In the center of the yard, the injured plants automatically lined up, waiting for Sunflower's treatment.
Qianhui followed behind the sunflower to help, and saw that the carnivorous plant and carrot in the back were fighting for no reason.
Except for the sunflowers, most of the plants in the yard are irritable and aggressive, and their tempers are not very gentle. It is normal to have some minor frictions when living together.
Qian Hui ran over and grabbed the leaves of the Piranha Plant: "What's wrong..."
Seeing him coming, the Piranha Plant retracted its fangs and snorted.
Carrot stopped fighting with it. He moved closer and rubbed Qianhui's palm with his head, then turned around and went to queue up for treatment alone.
Qian Hui also brought the Piranha Plant to queue up, and when she turned around, she saw the cabbages by the yard.
Cabbage, with a large bite taken out of its right arm, was venting its anger by stepping on the grass where the zombie had disappeared.
When it saw Qian Hui, it stopped, hummed and moved closer, then jumped into Qian Hui's arms.
Qian Hui felt extremely distressed and bandaged it with a bandage made of flower petals. She said slowly, "Xiao Juan, next time... hide behind me."
Cabbage agreed vaguely and moved his bandaged arm.
Suddenly, a pink shadow quickly ran out of the grass, jumped onto Qianhui's shoulder, and gave him a kiss.
The little mushroom was hiding in the house and didn't come out just now, but it is the youngest and the smallest, so it is not needed to help in the battle.
After kissing Qianhui, Little Mushroom also kissed Cabbage on the forehead and jumped away again.
It walked around the yard and finally climbed onto the top of the carnivorous plant.
The Piranha Plant lifted its leaves and gently touched the little mushroom.
All the plants were quiet. Qian Hui put down the cabbage in her arms and walked to the small wooden board at the gate of the yard.
There are many "1"s carved on the wooden board, representing the number of times the work has been completed. There is a small circular mark under every six "1"s and the seventh "1".
Qian Hui picked up a branch and scratched a small line on the wooden board. Then she counted the ones in front of her and it was exactly the seventh one.
He smiled slightly, poked a mark under the "1", and happily ran into the yard.
The wooden house behind the courtyard is a storage room. Qian Hui took out her small cloth bag and went to look for the carnivorous plant.
"Today, I'm going to..." Qian Hui pointed in a direction, "I'll be back later."
The Piranha Plant nodded and told him to be careful: "Woo woo."
Chili wanted to see Qian Hui off, but Qian Hui shook her head and said, "No need." She quickly left, waving to the plants in the yard as she went: "I'm leaving!"
Outside the botanical courtyard is a wide lawn with several paved paths extending into the distance.
It was quiet and deserted, Qian Hui walked alone in one direction for several minutes and saw a forest.
The sun is shining brightly at this moment, but the forest seems to be shrouded in a layer of gray and dark light, dull and mysterious.
Qianhui quickened her pace and followed a path into the woods.
The further you go in, the dimmer the light becomes, with sparse sunlight filtering through the gaps between the leaves.
In the heart of the woods stood a simple stone hut, with a man standing in front of it.
He was extremely tall, with a face as cold as ice. His dark clothes almost blended in with the dark blue stones behind him, giving off an aura that kept strangers away.
Hearing faint footsteps ahead, Nan Tingjin looked up.
The coldness in his eyes dissipated somewhat, and his expression softened considerably.
Qian Hui ran over here quickly, stepped onto the stone steps, and threw herself into Nan Tingjin's arms.
He hugged the warm body tightly and raised his head: "Am I... late?"
“No,” Nan Tingjin replied softly, raising his hand to stroke the silver hair on Qian Hui’s side. “She woke up earlier this time.”
The door to the hut was open, and a faint, bitter smell of herbs wafted out from inside.
Qian Hui twitched her nose and gently sniffed Nan Tingjin's collar, which had the same scent on it.
Nan Tingjin woke up early and started cooking the soup earlier than usual, so the temperature was just right now.
Qian Hui sat on the stone steps, took the small bowl from Nan Tingjin's hand, and took a small sip first.
The medicinal soup in the bowl was pitch black in color. I had no idea what was in it, and it smelled bitter.
Qian Hui seemed to like it very much, holding the bowl and whispering, "It smells so good."
Nan Tingjin remained silent, his lowered eyes focused intently as he watched the other slowly finish the medicinal soup.
After drinking the medicinal soup, Qian Hui licked her lips, put down the bowl, moved closer, and grabbed a small piece of Nan Tingjin's sleeve.
Nan Tingjin took the opportunity to hold him on his lap, and the two of them were very intimate.
“I missed you so much,” Qian Hui rubbed her cheek against Nan Tingjin’s collar and hugged him. “I haven’t been hurt these past few days, I’m safe.”
The last time he came, Nan Tingjin noticed a small wound on his palm.
Although Qian Hui tried hard to explain that he accidentally bumped into the weapons in the hands of other zombies, not the plants, and the pain had long since stopped.
But Nan Tingjin's face remained gloomy for a long time. He applied crushed herbs to Qian Hui twice and confirmed that he was safe and sound before his expression eased slightly.
Nan Tingjin didn't seem to like the plants in the courtyard and never left the woods.
The plants also would not approach this forest. Carrot had once brought Qianhui here, but he only walked halfway before turning back.
Upon hearing Qian Hui's words, Nan Tingjin gave a low "hmm".
He took Qianhui's hand and gently massaged her wrist and finger joints.
Qian Hui is completely different from the other zombies in the courtyard. Except for her silver hair and a pair of red eyes, her appearance is more similar to that of a human.
He was handsome and delicate, with pale and fragile skin. The joints of his hands were slightly bruised and occasionally felt stiff and dull.
So when Nan Ting came to the court, he would often massage his hands, which should have some effect.
Her fingers felt warm and comfortable. Qian Hui snuggled closer to Nan Tingjin, squinting her eyes like a cat.
He then went on to talk about what had happened during those six days.
From big things like a hole in the yard wall being hammered by cabbage to small things like how many cherries he ate after dinner, all kinds of trivial matters, no matter how big or small, had to be told to Nan Tingjin.
This was something Nan Tingjin had requested before, because the two of them had limited time together and couldn't be together all the time.
Qianhui spoke rather slowly, and many words were not yet familiar to her, so her pronunciation was unclear and halting.
Nan Tingjin listened attentively, occasionally giving guidance and asking questions, and was very patient.
As she finished speaking, Qianhui suddenly became nervous.
"The day before yesterday," he quietly pinched the small cloth bag in his pocket, "I made a gift for you."
Nan Tingjin raised the corner of his lips: "What is it?"
Qian Hui lowered her head, took out a small cloth bag, and opened it layer by layer to reveal a wooden ring.
He looked nervous, yet a little proud: "I did it myself."
There were several picture books in the wooden house in the courtyard, their origins unknown. Jian Guo, who was skilled in carving, made quite a few things based on the pictures in the books.
Qian Hui also wanted to learn. He flipped through the picture album for a long time and originally planned to make a small pendant.
The wood soaked in the backyard spring was very soft, and he learned very quickly, but he accidentally whittled it crooked in the end, so he simply hollowed it out and made it into a ring.
Nan Tingjin took the ring and looked at it carefully in his hand.
Qian Hui asked expectantly, "Do you like it?"
The ring has a rough surface, a wide, flat front, and two interlocking circles are crookedly engraved, with a small leaf on top.
Qian Hui pointed at the circle and leaves: "This is me."
Two circles plus a leaf make up the character “茴”.
Nan Tingjin paused slightly before replying, "I like it."
He asked again: "Does your hand hurt?"
Qian Hui was very happy and shook her head: "I'm wearing gloves."
He wanted to put the ring on Nan Tingjin's finger, but found it was too small, so he could only put it on her little finger.
Qian Hui fiddled with the ring. He held Nan Tingjin's hand and could clearly feel the other's constant body temperature.
He raised his head again and carefully looked at Nan Tingjin's expression to confirm that he was in a good mood.
Nan Tingjin touched Qian Hui's hair and took him to the stone bench on the side of the cabin.
The stone bench is in a sunny spot, and there are a few books placed next to it.
Nan Tingjin picked up a book at random, still holding Qian Hui in his arms, and taught him to recognize words.
Having already recognized most of the words in the book, Qianhui became less attentive, focusing instead on the pictures that appeared from time to time.
Nan Tingjin was not demanding, and spoke in a low and gentle tone.
There was a potato bread in Qianhui's pocket, which was stuffed into his pocket by Lajiao before he left.
He peeled off the outer skin and first presented it to Nan Tingjin, but Nan Tingjin refused to eat it.
Qian Hui buried herself in her food, and when she couldn't finish half of it, she handed it to Nan Tingjin again.
This time, Nan Ting received him and wiped his face for him.
Gradually, Qian Hui felt sleepy and fell asleep in Nan Tingjin's arms.
He didn't sleep for too long. When he woke up in a daze, the book was back in its place.
Nan Tingjin leaned back against a stone chair with his eyes closed, his handsome profile covered with a layer of warm sunlight.
Qian Hui quietly reached out and stroked his eyelashes, the corners of his eyes, and his sun-kissed skin.
The next second, his wrist was grabbed.
Nan Tingjin opened his eyes and held Qian Hui's palm.
After waking up, Qian Hui continued to read and talk with Nan Tingjin.
Until the wind started to blow in the woods and the sun was about to set, the surroundings gradually became darker.
Before dark, Qian Hui must return to the botanical courtyard, otherwise she will continue to lose blood.
Reluctantly, he hugged Nan Tingjin and said, "I have to go back now."
Nan Tingjin's awakening time is limited; after Qian Hui leaves, he will fall into a long slumber again.
Nan Tingjin's lowered eyes were filled with unclear emotions. He slowly loosened his grip on Qian Hui's hand: "Okay."
Qian Hui touched his wooden pinky ring and said, "I'll come with you next time."
"good."
Before leaving, Nan Tingjin lifted the loose hair from Qian Hui's forehead and leaned in to kiss her.
He then slowly moved down and kissed her cheek again.
Qian Hui touched the remaining warmth on her cheek and looked back every three steps.
Soon after, his figure completely disappeared into the woods.
Nan Tingjin stood still, still gazing in the direction Qian Hui had left.
The woods were shrouded in the gradually darkening night. Only when they were completely absorbed into the darkness did he turn around and return to the stone house.
Qian Hui returned to the plant courtyard before dark and saw the carnivorous plant waiting at the gate from afar.
The man-eating flower looked anxious and waved its leaves at Qianhui.
The little mushroom on its head also made a few "humming" sounds and released a bubble.
"I'm back!" Qian Hui ran towards them and reached out to catch the little mushroom that jumped over.
The Piranha Plant closed the gate and went to the backyard with Qian Hui.
The plants rest in the back of the yard, and a large pot in the open space is cooking dinner, waiting for Qianhui to come back so they can eat together.
Qianhui approached with the little mushroom in her arms, took a tomato from the carnivorous plant, and served it a bowl of fruit porridge.
The other plants gathered around one after another. Sunflower came close to Qian Hui and only felt relieved after confirming that he had returned safely.
After dinner, Qianhui helped wash the pots and pans, then went to the stream to wash up. When she returned to the giant tree in the middle of the lawn, she found that the carrots and cabbages were fighting again.
Qian Hui quickly stepped forward to mediate, blocking Cabbage's path: "Your injury has only just healed..."
Cabbage waved her fists and bared her teeth, barely managing to calm down.
The carrot wasn't satisfied yet; it got punched by the man-eating flower and became obedient.
Qianhui pulled the carrot over again, patted the leaves on its head, and said a few comforting words.
Carrot hummed a few times, rubbed Qianhui with his head, and turned back to his own territory.
Most of the plants have gone to rest and found their favorite spots to sleep. On the side there is a bed of cabbage leaves, which belongs to the fennel.
The little mushroom stood beside the pillow, emitting a soft light, like a night light.
Qian Hui sat down on the small bed, and a big pea rolled over and extended its leafy arms and legs.
Qian Hui picked up Wandou, yawned, tidied her clothes and lay down.
The plants that had been wandering outside gradually returned to sleep, and the area around the giant tree became quiet.
Finally, the carnivorous plant curled up its stem and lay beside Qian Hui.
The little mushroom flashed, jumped onto the leaves of the carnivorous plant, and slowly extinguished its light.
—
In the middle of the night, Qian Hui was awakened by a loud noise.
He opened his eyes with difficulty and felt his body was heavy. There were many blurry figures swaying around him, which should be plants.
It was as if leaves were wrapped around his arms, pulling at him anxiously.
Qian Hui felt dizzy, the red light in the sky was dazzling, and she fainted.
...
...
After an unknown amount of time, Qian Hui woke up again.
He was slow to think, staring blankly at the object in front of him.
It was half a piece of metal embedded in the wall. With an inexplicable tremor, some gravel and rock fragments fell onto Qian Hui's side.
Qian Hui stirred, and a slightly noisy sound entered her ears.
He was somewhat bewildered, and turning his stiff neck, he found himself in an unfamiliar, narrow space.
There was constant movement outside. Qian Hui propped herself up and slowly crawled towards the place where the light was coming from above her head.
Several broken sections of the wall collapsed onto the ground, and the tremors had created an opening.
Qian Hui emerged from inside, and a strong aroma instantly filled her nostrils.
The smell was a mixture of dirt, rotting flesh, and dried blood—murky and dangerous.
Qian Hui raised her head and saw several zombies wandering around.
These zombies are very similar to those that invaded the plant garden; their skin is bluish-black, their bodies are twisted and emaciated, their swollen eyes are bloodshot, and their white hair is covered with mottled mud or blood clots.
However, they do not have blood bars on their heads, making them look more ferocious and alive, and their shapes and appearances are also different.
Even though Qian Hui was still in a state of dullness and confusion after just waking up, she was still the first to notice the abnormality of these zombies.
He instinctively felt fear and took a half step back toward the side of the broken wall ruins.
The nearest zombie heard the noise and turned its head to look over.
It discovered Qian Hui and stared at her intently, as if trying to confirm whether Qian Hui was of the same kind as itself.
Qian Hui became more and more frightened and tried to look for familiar plants around her.
Qian Hui has always known that she is different from other zombies.
He can speak, read, and has normal behavior and emotions.
At the same time, the plants accepted him and took care of him, never attacking him while working, and never letting other zombies hurt him...
However, Qian Hui looked around and her expression became even more confused.
He should not be in the botanical courtyard, or even any familiar place.
There were ruins and wreckage of buildings, broken and collapsed walls everywhere. The ground was covered with dust, with sparse green plants stuffed in the gaps, and the air was filled with an air of desolation and desolation.
The end of the sight is connected to the gray sky and there is no wind.
Where is this...?
Before Qian Hui could react, the ground shook again.
The zombie looked away, roared loudly in the direction behind him, and rushed forward quickly.
The rest of the zombies around seemed to have received instructions, following its actions and heading in that direction together.
Qian Hui turned around and her pupils suddenly shrank.
Just a hundred meters away, a giant carnivorous plant flew around the ruins of the building, covering the sky like a dark cloud.
It was as tall as seven or eight stories, with a row of sharp fangs. It opened its mouth and bit several zombies, tearing them into pieces in an instant.
More zombies gathered around the carnivorous plant, crowded together and attacked it frantically.
It spat out the remains in its mouth, and with a flick of its thick flower stem, it forcefully swatted away the remaining zombies that surrounded it.
On the top of the dark purple head of the Venus flytrap, there are four white spikes and a flame-shaped gray spot on the side.
These characteristics were very familiar to Qian Hui, yet at the same time extremely unfamiliar.
He looked stunned and muttered, "Xiao... Zi?"
At the same time, a crisp mechanical voice rang in Qian Hui's mind.
[Ding—You have now bound your account to the Plant Encyclopedia System]
[The apocalypse has arrived! A three-way war between superhumans, a bizarre zombie king, and rampaging mutant plants is imminent! Enjoy the game!]
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