Chapter 23
The fact that sunflowers appear in the guide for bamboo shoots means that bamboo shoots must have seen them before, and may even know where they are.
Qian Hui was extremely excited and immediately went in the direction indicated by the mimosa.
The other plants were unaware of what was happening. The carrot, manipulating its radish thorns, followed behind him, observing the surroundings with unwavering vigilance.
The chili pepper hanging upside down at the bottom was hooked by the potato's tail. It lowered its head and threw out two crystal cores, which the corn and potato caught with their open mouths.
Despite being injured, the little bamboo shoot scurried away very quickly. Qianhui followed the path between the ruins and returned to the original forest.
The mimosa plant sniffed carefully, its leaves pointing to a certain spot in the woods.
The little bamboo shoot was exhausted and could no longer run.
It hid in a bush, peeled back the three layers of its outer shell, and carefully took out a sunflower petal from inside.
This was given to them by the sunflower before they escaped last night; it contains energy that can help wounds heal quickly.
The little bamboo shoot touched the flower petals and looked at them again and again, still reluctant to use them.
As long as it doesn't get found by the zombies, it will hide in the woods for a few days, scout out the situation again, and then find an opportunity to rescue the sunflower and the apple.
So the little bamboo shoot stuffed the petals back in, preparing to rest for a while before going to find a nearby water source to clean its wounds.
However, just as it finished stuffing the petals in, it heard a slightly familiar sound of footsteps.
The little bamboo shoot was very nervous, shrinking back and remaining motionless, praying that it would not be discovered.
As it heard the footsteps approaching, it stopped in front of the bushes, and some rustling sounds followed.
"...Huh?"
It's as if the plants are asking who's inside.
“It’s a bamboo shoot,” Qianhui said, peering into the bushes. “I saw… something. It might have seen Xiaokui before.”
Upon hearing the name sunflower, the carnivorous plant and carrot immediately perked up.
In the past, most of the plants in the courtyard loved to fight, but the sunflower was the gentlest one, always healing them after the zombie invasion.
However, like the little mushroom, it doesn't have much fighting power, and it's easy for it to be bullied by humans and zombies when it comes to this place.
The carrot once had the idea of looking for sunflowers, but it had no clue where to start.
The little bamboo shoots in the bushes also heard Qianhui's words and became even more uneasy.
Does "小葵" refer to sunflower?
Zombies are ferocious and cold-blooded, and humans are no better. Is Qianhui also coveting the sunflower's abilities and wanting to capture it and lock it up?
Before the little bamboo shoot could continue thinking, the leaves outside the bushes were stirred.
“Hello,” Qianhui tried to communicate with the little bamboo shoot, “Have you seen Xiaokui? It’s a sunflower, and it’s my friend…”
Friend? I don't believe it.
The little bamboo shoot looked wary, quietly gripping the bamboo knife behind its back, while its other hand prepared to take out the hidden flower petals again.
This strange human is surrounded by highly powerful mutated plants, and there's more than one of them.
There's no way to win in a fight; I need to find a way to escape. Besides, it ran so far and hid here, yet it still managed to be discovered...
The bushes were quiet and seemingly empty, but the mimosa was quite certain that the little bamboo shoots were inside.
While Qianhui hesitated, Carrot lost patience and couldn't wait any longer.
It pulled out a radish thorn and swung it, cutting off the top half of the bush.
Without the dense foliage to conceal them, the small bamboo shoots inside were suddenly exposed.
Corn casually tossed a corn cob over, and Little Bamboo Shoot reacted extremely quickly, drawing his knife and slicing the corn cob in half.
When it raised its head again, a circle of mutated plants surrounded the half-shrub.
The silver-haired, red-eyed boy was squatting in front, and another human was standing not far behind him, who also looked formidable.
The little bamboo shoot held the bamboo knife and didn't move for a moment, trying to wait for an opportunity to escape.
Qian Hui said patiently, "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you. I just want to find my friend."
Chili nodded, and Potato nodded in agreement, hiding the mini time bomb in his hand.
Qianhui tried her best to be friendly, taking out the few pills she had picked up and placing them again not far from the bamboo shoot.
The little bamboo shoot stared at the pill, then at Qian Hui, without any reaction.
It was injured, and Qianhui knew it wouldn't trust her so easily. Normally, she would probably just put down the pill and leave it alone, giving the little bamboo shoot more time to adjust.
But Qianhui wanted to know more about where the sunflower was, worried that the little bamboo shoot might escape again and cause her to miss the opportunity to find it.
He waited for a while, and gradually lost patience.
Looking at the still wary little bamboo shoot, Qian Hui said resolutely, "...catch it."
The carrot had been waiting for those words, and it leaped up from the grass.
Chili and the other two, used to fighting zombies alongside Carrot, reflexively switched to combat mode and pounced on the center of the bushes.
Qian Hui quickly added, "Be careful not to hurt it!"
The carrot was careful; it avoided the wounds on the bamboo shoot and grabbed it by the lower part of its body.
The little bamboo shoot was still fighting back, throwing out a bamboo knife to attack the carrot, but was stopped by the corn kernels.
Then, several plants held it down tightly, while the potato pried open its mouth and forcibly stuffed several pills inside one by one.
The pill melted in the mouth and was swallowed in the blink of an eye. Even if you didn't want to eat it, you had to. The little bamboo shoot whimpered angrily and glared at you fiercely.
The potato glared back, looking even fiercer than the dog.
As the pills took effect quickly, the pain from the wounds subsided, and the little bamboo shoot's voice gradually faded.
So it turns out it's something that can cure... but it probably has some side effects, or it's meant to be coerced into doing something...
Qianhui, unaware of what the little bamboo shoot was thinking, placed her right sleeve beside it.
“Little grass, smell it quickly,” he asked. “Does it smell like a sunflower? It’s a sunflower… and it’s top grade.”
The mimosa on the cuff grew slightly larger, lifting its leaves to explore the small bamboo shoot.
The little bamboo shoot had spent the night with the sunflower and was still carrying a petal; its aura as a rare, exotic plant was very strong.
Moreover, the mimosa plant sensed some danger from it.
It seems there are other plants... that were also injured.
It immediately raised its head, and the leaves turned in another direction.
"Found it?" Qian Hui asked in surprise. "Is it far from here?"
It's getting late. If it's far away, we can set off again tomorrow to search for it.
The mimosa shook its leaves to indicate that it wasn't far away, and then hooked its fingertips around Qianhui's and patted them, seemingly in a hurry.
Chili pepper was the first to guess the meaning of the mimosa plant and let out a soft "woo".
Another friend of Chihiro's...is not doing well?
Upon learning that Sunflower might be in danger, Qianhui was anxious and didn't want to wait a moment longer.
He ignored the bamboo shoots and hurried in the direction the mimosa plant was pointing.
Carrot tossed the bamboo shoot into the grass and quickly followed.
When the little bamboo shoot crawled up, Qianhui and the surrounding plants quickly left, including another human who had been standing quietly not far away.
It was a little dazed, then looked down at its wounds and saw that they were almost completely healed.
Looking in the direction Qian Hui left, Xiao Zhusun hesitated for a moment, then picked up his bamboo knife and ran after her.
Following the mimosa's guidance, Qianhui left the woods and returned to the abandoned street.
To speed things up, the carnivorous plant grew larger, allowing him and Nan Tingjin to ride on it, carrying all the plants as they quickly traversed the ruins.
The sunflower was indeed not far away. The carnivorous plant walked forward for less than twenty minutes and stopped in front of a collapsed low building.
Carrot looked around and realized that this place was very close to where he had just encountered the zombies.
The man-eating flower lowered its head and put Qian Hui down. He stood in front of the low building, looking at the tall ruins: "Is Xiao Kui here?"
Then he saw that the mimosa leaves were pointing towards... the ground.
At that moment, three or four wandering zombies smelled the scent of unfamiliar living beings and roared as they charged over.
Carrot slapped his forehead, raised his hand and split off dozens of sharp spikes, all of which attacked the zombies.
It vaguely realized that things weren't so simple, so it abandoned its usual nonchalance and turned to Qian Hui, making a "woof" sound to urge him to focus on the search.
This is likely a hiding place for zombies at night. As it gets dark, more zombies may appear.
The mimosa was also getting anxious. It smelled more of the scent that indicated injury, which had been increasing over the past few days, layer upon layer.
It deliberately left Qianhui's sleeve, jumped to the ground, and grew larger and larger, clearing away some debris below the low building.
The carnivorous plant approached to help, using its massive head to smash open the ruins of the low building, picking up some stones and throwing them elsewhere.
Carrot single-handedly dealt with three mid-level zombies, while several more rapidly approached from another direction, only to be driven back by a burst of exploding chili seeds.
Just then, the little bamboo shoot came from a distance and quietly peered out.
The mimosa plant next to Qianhui is amazing; it must have been the one that found herself and the sunflower.
However, Little Bamboo Shoot felt that the current situation was a good thing. No matter what Qian Hui's purpose was, if they fought with the zombies, it would be best if both sides were injured, and then he would have a chance to rescue Sunflower.
The little bamboo shoots stealthily approached, waiting for their chance to strike.
On the other side, the gap beneath the low building widens, revealing a section of a staircase leading to the basement.
The mimosa sniffed at the top of the stairs and crawled inside. The carnivorous plant pushed aside a section of the broken wall, making the entrance wider, and Qianhui quickly followed.
The view below was dim, and a small cabbage popped out of the pocket, emitting a cabbage lamp.
Nan Tingjin stayed outside, while Carrot and Chili pepper were responsible for holding off the zombies. Qian Hui was left with only Little Cabbage and Money Tree.
The carnivorous plant shrank its size and followed.
As you descend the stairs, a basement with a faint light comes into view.
The source of the light was a corner not far away.
Qian Hui excitedly ran over, paused for a moment, and then hurriedly stepped forward.
"Xiao Kui, it's me..." He bent down, his breath trembling as he looked at the hard iron cage. "How could this happen..."
A familiar sunflower stands in the corner, locked in a steel cage, confined to a narrow space.
Qianhui originally thought that the sunflower might be injured and was hiding in a secluded place to heal, but she did not expect that it was imprisoned.
Sunflower was also very excited to see Qianhui.
It approached silently, its soft leaves peeking out from the gaps in the iron cage and touching Qianhui's hand.
"Don't be afraid, I'll take you away right away..." Qian Hui comforted him. He tried to open the iron cage but couldn't find any switch. His fingertips were immediately burned when they touched the dark red steel bars.
The carnivorous plant squeezed in just in time, its sharp teeth biting into several steel bars, and pulled them out with force.
"Bang--"
With a muffled thud, the steel bar imbued with supernatural power was torn apart.
Qian Hui quickly took the sunflower out and looked down to find a mutated red apple in the corner.
Outside, more and more zombies are approaching.
Carrots unleash a group attack, sending a multitude of carrot spikes flying through the air, while potatoes occasionally drop a bomb, which is enough to basically take care of the zombies.
Chili peppers and corn stood guard at the stairwell to ensure no one escaped.
Nan Tingjin was also nearby. He was still bound by soft vines and did not need to take action or be protected for the time being.
When the iron cage in the basement was damaged, the ground shook slightly, almost imperceptibly.
Immediately afterwards, the angry roars of zombies came from afar.
—It's a high-level zombie.
The carrot has a serious look in its eyes, preparing to split off more spikes.
Under the dim sky, a robust and tall zombie appeared on the horizon.
It let out two more hisses as it ran toward the low building.
In the blink of an eye, seven or eight more mid-level zombies appeared, seemingly returning from a hunt alongside the high-level zombies.
Dozens of sharp radish thorns flew over, launching a fierce attack, but were suddenly blocked by a red light halfway through.
The red light acted like a hard glass dome; the spikes only penetrated half of it, while the remaining half was corroded by the red light, greatly reducing their lethality.
It turns out it was a zombie with defensive abilities.
The carrot remained calm and composed, directing the other three plants to cooperate.
It's just a high-level zombie; it's easily dealt with...
Thinking this, another roar was heard, and a second high-level zombie appeared.
The carrot's expression became even more ferocious, and it burst forth with even more sharp spikes.
The second advanced zombie was noticeably faster, weaving through the ruins, and with the help of the red light, ranged attacks couldn't stop it.
Its target was the carrot, and it tried to pounce from the side.
Just then, a loud "bang" was heard, a large number of rocks were blown up, and a giant carnivorous plant emerged from underground and bit the zombie's right leg.
The zombie screamed and broke free, retreating to the back, where it saw Qian Hui carrying a sunflower as it emerged from the basement.
Its bloodshot eyes grew even angrier, and it roared loudly, commanding the remaining zombies to snatch back the sunflower.
With the addition of the man-eating flower, the plant team's combat power increased significantly, and the previous high-level zombie was also injured by the radish thorns.
Qian Hui was protected by the leaves of the money tree, with Nan Tingjin beside her, her gaze sweeping around.
The sunflower nestled in Qianhui's embrace, its radiance spreading out to instantly replenish the energy of all the surrounding plants.
At that moment, a thin, short, mid-level zombie silently approached.
Potato was busy preparing a bomb when the zombie, hiding behind the rubble, kept a close eye on the sunflower.
Just as it was about to launch its attack, a green shadow suddenly descended from the sky.
The little bamboo shoot swung its bamboo knife and sliced open the zombie's forehead and throat.
The zombie collapsed, badly wounded, and Little Bamboo Shoot jumped down to deliver the final blow.
After dealing with the zombies, it sheathed its knife and turned to look at the sunflower.
So... was it a misjudgment on my part?
Sunflower was nestled in Qianhui's arms, clearly relaxed and dependent, so they must know each other.
Recalling what Qianhui had said, Xiaozhusun felt a little annoyed.
I should have believed him; thankfully, it didn't delay the time to save the sunflowers.
There were still many zombies around, so Little Bamboo Shoot gripped his two knives and continued to go and assist.
Qian Hui found the sunflower, and a game message popped up, indicating that she had formed a bond with a top-tier mutated plant and increased its loyalty to 100%, rewarding her with 20,000 coins.
He protected the sunflowers and hid them, then received a new notification.
"[Dwarf Bamboo Shoots] loyalty has greatly increased, reaching 50%~"
Huh?
Qian Hui was astonished, because when she found the little bamboo shoot before, its loyalty was 0.
Through the leaves of the money tree, he looked around and sure enough, he saw the familiar figure of the little bamboo shoot, who was also helping to attack the zombies.
Including the bamboo shoots, all the offensive plants have a lot of combat experience and are very brave.
The two advanced zombies were dealt with by Carrot and Man-eating Plant. They worked together seamlessly, forcing the two zombies to the same spot. The Man-eating Plant bit through the red light used for defense, and a large number of carrot thorns fell like raindrops.
As darkness fell and the battle essentially ended, Little Bamboo Shoot killed the last low-level zombie, and Qian Hui received a game notification.
[The third faction conflict has ended. Congratulations on our victory! Reward: 80 Prestige Points]
There were more than twenty zombie corpses lying nearby, the air smelled terrible, and the noise they made was quite loud.
The carnivorous plant carried the two people and all the plants back to the forest to spend the night.
On the way back, Qianhui looked back and saw that Xiaozhusun was following closely behind, which put her at ease.
Half an hour later, the carnivorous plant stopped by the lake.
They returned to their original resting place, where there was water, making it easier to wash off the dirt.
The little bamboo shoot also came running over, panting. It didn't get too close for the time being, but hid at a distance and observed carefully.
Qianhui sat under the tree, and all the plants surrounded her.
The carrots and man-eating flowers were the most excited, and the other plants were also seeing the special exotic plant that was the main healer for the first time, so they were curious and excited.
Corn was the boldest; it secretly touched the sunflower's petals, which felt warm.
The sunflower leaves touched each of the plants in turn, greeting them.
It was quiet, its soft, dim light like a night lamp, conveying friendliness and joy.
This is probably a unique skill of sunflowers: communicating with light and energy, and possessing an innate affinity.
Qian Hui also brought back an apple, which she timidly peeked out of her pocket and looked around.
It should be safe now. Qianhui hugged the sunflower, tidied its slightly messy petals, and fed it a panacea.
Sunflowers can heal all living things, but they themselves need time to recover their energy.
Thinking of what had happened to it, Qian Hui felt very sorry for it: "Xiao Kui, don't be afraid, we will protect you... Luckily we met bamboo shoots this afternoon, otherwise I wouldn't know where to look for you."
He shared some of his experiences with the sunflower, but didn't mention the little mushroom.
The sunflower probably doesn't know about the little mushroom yet, and Qianhui doesn't want it to be sad, so she plans to find another opportunity to tell it later.
Upon hearing the name of the little bamboo shoot, the sunflower raised its head.
Qian Hui quietly pointed in a direction and lowered her voice: "It's over there, but it doesn't dare to come over yet."
Knowing that the bamboo shoot was alright, the sunflower was relieved, and its leaves gently curled around Qianhui's palm.
The little bamboo shoots hiding behind the tree, who had been secretly watching, were finally relieved.
Thank goodness, Qianhui really is Sunflower's friend, not a bad guy.
It looked around at the other plants around Qian Hui, then at the sunflower in his arms, its eyes filled with envy.
Most mutated plants rarely even come into contact with their own kind, let alone humans or zombies.
It's unimaginable for a group of plants to cooperate; since the apocalypse, the only time a bamboo shoot has been close to a sunflower is...
But looking at the plants around Qianhui, the little bamboo shoot thought it looked pretty good too.
Having companions around makes it less likely to be bullied.
Little Bamboo Shoot still felt a bit angry when she thought about the time she was locked in the basement.
However, escaping now doesn't mean it's completely safe; it remembers seeing a few particularly powerful zombies...
The little bamboo shoot thought for a moment, then retreated to a more distant spot, climbed a tree, and prepared to keep watch for Qianhui and the sunflower.
Meanwhile, three modified cars stopped on the side of the road.
Someone climbed out of the sunroof on top of the modified car and raised a pair of binoculars.
"There are so many dead zombies over there... What happened? Did someone steal that sunflower?"
They're from Sky Base. A few days ago, a team passed by and discovered the energy emitted by the sunflowers.
However, Sunflower was guarded by a large number of zombies, and the team lost two members, almost failing to return.
Upon learning of the sunflowers' existence, the base immediately sent people to investigate.
They deliberately chose nighttime, taking advantage of the zombies' dormancy to avoid being discovered, and planned to first roughly estimate the number of zombies before making any plans or deployments.
Now it seems... we're too late?
"Robbed? Who robbed us..." His companion frowned. "Is there any base nearby? Could it have been robbed by other zombies?"
"Let me check the map... It's definitely not zombies, they wouldn't do that."
Although different groups of zombies lead different hordes, they will never kill their own kind, no matter what happens.
While his companion in the back seat was still examining the map, the energy detector in his hand suddenly started moving.
His expression changed drastically: "It has extremely high energy... It might be the Zombie King! Get out of here!"
The appearance of the zombie king may also be for the lost sunflowers; once discovered, they will most likely die here.
The three modified vehicles retreated silently and quickly disappeared into the night.
Amidst the ruins strewn with corpses, a few pieces of rubble lay scattered on the ground.
Above the completely collapsed low building stood an unusually tall figure.
Its skin was jet black, its limbs and head were excessively long, and its scarlet pupils had no whites.
Looking at the corpses scattered all over the ground and the empty basement, the zombies' bones and joints made a soft cracking sound, their low growls filled with anger.
—
After a battle, the plants were covered in dirt and jumped into the lake to wash themselves.
Corn found the little bamboo shoots hidden in the tree and called to them to come along, as if they were old friends.
The little bamboo shoot remained silent with a tense expression, and only slowly slid down the tree long after the corn had left.
Sunflower was a little tired and curled up in Qianhui's arms with Apple, falling asleep.
Qianhui was still not entirely at ease, so she sent the man-eating flower to the lakeside to urge the plants to finish their bath before they went to a more distant place to rest for the night.
The man-eating flower nodded and left, then footsteps approached again.
Nan Tingjin sat down next to Qian Hui. His familiar, warm body was so close that Qian Hui couldn't help but move closer and snuggle into his arms.
Although she successfully rescued Sunflower, Qianhui was still very frightened.
He held the plant in his arms and nuzzled against Nan Tingjin's neck.
Nan Tingjin embraced Qian Hui and gently stroked her silver hair: "Are you looking for a top-grade exotic plant?"
Qian Hui hummed in agreement: "They are all my friends."
Nan Tingjin added, "There is also one in Black Ridge Mountain."
Qian Hui froze, then looked up: "R-really?"
“Really,” Nan Tingjin touched his cheek again, “Come back to the base with me, I’ll take you to find it.”
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