Chapter 29
Qian Hui didn't know what was wrong with him. It wasn't that he was afraid, but rather that he wasn't used to it.
It's possible that Nan Tingjin hasn't regained his memory yet and doesn't remember him.
On many occasions, Nan Tingjin had already been quite gentle. Even when he was entangled by the soft vines, he obediently massaged Qian Hui's hands every day.
Qian Hui could still sense some subtle differences in him, whether it was his aura, his style of doing things, or something else.
Even so, Nan Tingjin is Nan Tingjin, and Qian Hui likes him.
He is her boyfriend, there's no doubt about that.
As for his changes... it's probably because he lost his memory and came here, and stayed for too long.
Six whole years—a lot can change in that time, like that wooden ring that changed color.
Thinking of this, Qian Hui felt sorry for Nan Tingjin again and reached out to hug him.
He had just dodged, and now he suddenly took the initiative. Nan Tingjin's breath hitched slightly, and he seemed somewhat surprised. He lowered his eyes and asked, "What's wrong?"
“No,” Qian Hui replied vaguely, “I…I still want to see where you live.”
"Okay." Nan Tingjin couldn't help but lean closer, wanting to kiss her again.
But Qian Hui had already let go of him and was looking around the room again.
He had only glanced at them before, but this time he was much more serious, as if he were exploring a maze. He opened the wardrobe and drawers, and picked up any unfamiliar items to examine them closely, such as the communicator and the radio.
Unfortunately, the radio has been broken for a long time, and no one has come to fix it yet.
There was also a small telescope in the drawer. Qian Hui buried her head in it and observed, "What is this...?"
Nan Tingjin taught him how to use it, and he loved it so much that he held it up in front of his eyes and played with it for a long time.
Seeing that Qian Hui liked it, Nan Tingjin said, "It's for you."
"Really?" Qian Hui was very happy and didn't stand on ceremony with him. After she had played with it enough, she put it in the side pocket of her backpack and put it away.
What interested him most was the bathroom faucet, so Nan Tingjin taught him how to turn on the hot water and use the shower so he could take a bath in it.
Qianhui wasn't afraid of the cold, but she was afraid of the heat. The water temperature was only slightly increased, so it didn't feel too cold to the touch.
The durian next door was fast asleep, guarded by the carrots and sunflowers whose camouflage hadn't yet worn off, while the other plants gradually returned.
Upon seeing the novel bathroom, several plants also wanted to go in and take a bath with Qianhui.
Yumi rushed to the front, and Nan Tingjin glanced at her from the side: "No way."
His tone was calm, but it contained a hint of warning.
Throughout the journey, Nan Tingjin never interacted with the plants, and most of the time he almost forgot they were there.
But after that battle with the horde of zombies, not only Qian Hui, but the plants also gained a new understanding of Nan Tingjin's strength.
Yumi stopped in her tracks, quickly glared at him, wanting to ignore him but not daring to.
Qianhui waved to it from the bathroom: "Bring me a towel, I'll wash you first."
Corn was delighted and ran to rummage through her backpack to find a small towel. She deliberately held it up and walked around in front of Nan Tingjin.
Qianhui used cold water to bathe the plants, rinsing each one and then drying them with a towel, which was very quick.
When it was her turn, Qianhui slowed down considerably.
When Nan Tingjin knocked on the door outside to urge him on, he was still holding a handmade soap, wanting to carve words on it.
"Almost there!" Qian Hui hurriedly replied, carving a large "Hui" character on the soap with the other end of the toothbrush.
He put the soap away with satisfaction before quickly getting ready to get dressed.
At that moment, a game notification popped up.
[Triggering a story point, progress 5% (100% progress will unlock the story analysis)]
Huh?
Qianhui looked at the hints again and again, but still didn't quite understand their meaning.
The first two times I triggered the plot points, I directly obtained the original ending of two top-tier exotic plants, as well as a hidden mission to sneak up on a horde of zombies, which stated that completing it would give me a chance to obtain a plot analysis.
After the battle with the horde of zombies, the progress of that hidden quest was only 60%, and this time it was in a way that Qianhui had never seen before.
Furthermore, the prompts didn't explain what the plot points were about, nor did they issue any tasks, leaving me unsure how to complete the progress.
Qian Hui's first thought was, could it be the special-grade exotic plant that Nan Tingjin wanted to take him to?
Or perhaps something else, some humans, or an entire base?
In fact, Qianhui doesn't quite understand what "plot points" actually represent; there are many things in the game that he needs to figure out on his own.
He turned off the notification, silently made a note of it, and got dressed.
The pajamas were an extra set prepared by Nan Tingjin. They were a bit too big for Qian Hui, so he lifted them up and sniffed them. They smelled the same as Nan Tingjin's.
Qian Hui actually liked it very much, and after smelling it for a while, she finally opened the bathroom door.
He also washed his hair; the dye color was very stable and hardly changed.
Then, Qianhui used a hair dryer for the first time.
Nan Tingjin was drying his hair, and he deliberately held the hairdryer a distance away so that the air wouldn't be too hot.
Qian Hui sat on the edge of the bed, obediently closing her eyes, savoring the wonderful experience.
Chili squatted to the side and watched for a while, then snorted softly and ate the chili seeds in her hand.
After drying her hair, Qianhui asked, "When are we going to look for plants?"
“Tomorrow,” Nan Tingjin said, putting away the hairdryer, “the restricted area is not nearby.”
He raised his hand and stroked Qian Hui's hair: "Go to sleep first."
Qian Hui nodded and said "Mmm," watching Nan Tingjin stand up and go to the bathroom alone.
When he came out, the lights in the room were still on, and a cabbage shell was placed in the center.
The inside of the cabbage husk was dark, and there was a gap in the leaf opening, probably left for the carrots and sunflowers next door.
Nan Tingjin approached and, through the gap, saw Qian Hui lying inside.
He seemed to be asleep, surrounded by a circle of plants, with Chili curled up in his arms.
Nan Tingjin watched quietly for a long time, then turned around and turned off the light.
Carrot returned in the middle of the night.
Two hours later, it finally changed back to normal. It stood by the window for a long time in the wind, then went to the bathroom to rinse itself off, completely getting rid of the durian smell before returning to its cabbage shell.
The next day, Qianhui woke up early.
Worried that Durian's escape might be discovered, he quietly stood behind the curtains and saw three modified cars drive away through the inner door using his binoculars.
The modified vehicle has a white cloud-shaped logo, which is from the Yunchuan base.
Inside the car, Qi Yue used a communicator to contact the base and inform them that he was on his way back.
The cage was placed in the back seat, and a team member asked curiously, "Why is it so quiet? Does it need another tranquilizer dart?"
Qi Yue glanced in the rearview mirror: "No need, I'm probably hungry. Let's go back to base first."
He didn't notice anything unusual and felt he had slept well last night, waking up this morning feeling great.
As for the things Nan Tingjin asked him to help take to the Sky Base, they were placed in another vehicle; they were some supplies and medicines.
The subordinates who delivered the package claimed that they had failed to capture the man-eating flower and therefore wanted to return the reward deposit, including some that Liang Jie had given them along the way.
Qi Yue wasn't quite clear about this matter, so he asked the people at the Sky Base before accepting the items.
The heavy iron gate in front opened, and three modified vehicles left the outer gate, gradually moving away from Black Ridge Mountain.
On the way, Qi Yue was still thinking about the young man beside Nan Tingjin.
Anyone could see that Nan Tingjin and Qian Hui had a close relationship and were likely lovers.
He personally helped her get in and out of the car, which didn't quite match the rumored personality of Nan Tingjin.
However, Qi Yue felt that this was a good thing.
In the apocalypse, human superhumans with overly detached emotions are extremely difficult to heal once they fall into a state of confusion.
In any case, you must have your own preferences, people or things that you care about or are willing to accept.
—
Following the predetermined route, the modified vehicle traveled smoothly and arrived at the Sky Base before noon.
Two team members unloaded the supplies from the vehicle, and Qi Yue, carrying the iron cage containing the strange plant, was personally escorted to the attic by a guard.
The second floor of the attic is a research room, where glass boxes have been prepared. When new exotic plants are brought in, they will be fed and observed for a few days.
Qi Yue entered the research room and respectfully greeted, "Mr. Wen."
Wen Jue nodded gently: "Xiao Qi."
Wen Jue woke up the day before yesterday, and his condition was much better, with no signs of abnormality.
Qi Yue strode closer, took out the key from his pocket, and carefully opened the iron cage.
There were also several research staff members nearby. They had heard early on that this strange plant was very irritable, and they were holding tranquilizer guns, ready to take action at any time.
Qi Yue opened the front door of the iron cage and found that the exotic plant inside was not moving.
He frowned slightly, worried that she might have fainted from hunger, and put on gloves to grab her.
As soon as he grabbed it, Qi Yue immediately realized something was wrong.
He paused for a moment, then immediately tore open the foil wrapping the exotic plant, revealing the yellow durian shell inside.
Several stones were stuffed inside the shell to increase its weight, making it difficult to notice anything unusual when carrying the iron cage alone.
The staff member exclaimed in surprise, "This...this is that strange plant?"
“No,” Qi Yue said quickly, “this is its shell, it escaped! But clearly…”
He had kept the durian locked up fine yesterday, but before going to bed, he gave it an extra dose of anesthesia. Because he was worried that using too much anesthesia would have adverse effects, he only used half a dose.
Then...then this morning, a team member mentioned that Durian was very quiet.
So, it was lost at the Blackridge Mountain base?
The cage was intact, and he didn't notice anything unusual during the night. How did Durian escape...?
For a moment, Qi Yue's mind was in a state of confusion: "I'm sorry, Mr. Wen, this was my oversight..."
Wen Jue saw all of this, a hint of coldness in his eyes.
But he hid it well and didn't show it: "It's okay, I've run away, maybe we weren't meant to be."
Yun Chuan Base was unaware that Wen Jue needed live alien plants for what purpose. They assumed it was simply an attempt to tame and understand their habits and abilities, and to seek a way to cure the aliens' lost abilities through the alien plants.
Qi Yue lowered his head: "I'll take people to look for it right away..."
“No need,” Wen Jue waved for the staff to leave, then changed the subject, “You came back from the Black Ridge Mountain base?”
Qi Yue replied, "Yes, I ran into Chief Nan by chance yesterday."
With Nan Tingjin missing and many teams still searching for him, news of his return was immediately relayed to several bases.
Qi Yue recounted the events of yesterday, but did not mention that the exotic plant might have been lost in Black Ridge Mountain, and only referred to the boy beside Nan Tingjin as a "comrade".
Wen Jue still keenly caught the key point in his words and repeated, "Companion?"
"I think so," Qi Yue replied. "I'm not quite sure."
"Okay, I understand," Wen Jue said gently, instructing his subordinates to see Qi Yue off. "Don't worry about the lost exotic plants for now. Go back and get some rest."
Qi Yue thanked Wen Jue and turned to leave.
Watching his retreating figure, the smile on Wen Jue's face slowly faded.
After his subordinates saw Qi Yue's team off and returned to the attic, they saw Wen Jue sitting quietly on the sofa, resting with his eyes closed.
The subordinates did not approach to disturb him. After a long while, Wen Jue opened his eyes.
He tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers and said, "Get ready, we're going to Blackridge Mountain Base."
The subordinate quickly asked, "Are you going in person?"
Wen Jue stood up: "Yes."
Wen Jue's superpower is not offensive and requires close protection. He may even fall into a deep sleep at any time, making it very risky for him to leave the attic.
But he had made his decision and had to go in person.
Once the distance is closer, or there is contact, his superpowers will be more easily activated, and the results will be clearer.
Yesterday at noon, the team that went out to search for sunflowers returned, bringing back information they had found, as well as several photos.
The forest was a mess, and no one could tell what had caused it, except for Wen Jue, who thought of Nan Tingjin.
If it's his special ability, he should be able to do it.
These seemingly ordinary natural objects can disregard rules and are almost above everything.
Wen Jue was eager to confirm his guess, and he was also very interested in the "companion" that Qi Yue mentioned.
Furthermore, there have been far too many anomalies lately... Anything that cannot be seen or clearly seen using clairvoyance may be related to Nam Ting Jin.
There was also news from another small base some time ago that a team had personally witnessed a team of alien plants fighting together.
heterophytes... a team?
Hopefully, after he arrives, Nan Tingjin can tell him...
What exactly are those mutated plants trying to do?
—
With the sunflowers by its side, the durian in the next room slept soundly all night and hadn't woken up even after breakfast.
Qian Hui was eager to go to the restricted area to find the special-grade exotic plants, so she left the plants behind to guard the area, and only took chili peppers, carrots and bamboo shoots with her.
The three of them are small enough to be hidden inside Qianhui's large hood, making them completely invisible from the outside.
Just to be on the safe side, Qianhui also left a bottle of sleeping spray. If the durian still became agitated and attacked the plants after waking up, she would let it go back to sleep.
Corn took the sprayer and nodded emphatically.
The entire base is very large. The restricted area is located in the back mountain, which is a bit far from here. The car that Nan Tingjin had prepared is already parked downstairs.
He forbade anyone to follow him, and his subordinates brought the car over and left.
After Qian Hui put on the blindfold, Nan Tingjin carried her downstairs and directly into the car.
It was quiet outside. Not sure if there were any other strangers around, Qian Hui sat quietly in the passenger seat, nervously fidgeting with her fingers.
Even Nan Tingjin wasn't sure what kind of rare plant it was... but if it was from the old plant garden, it would definitely recognize him.
The vehicle started moving, and after more than ten minutes, Nan Tingjin said, "It's done."
Qianhui immediately took off the cloth strip, and the three plants inside the hat poked their heads out at the same time, all looking out the car window.
Now, far from the center of the base, on the edge, there was no human in sight. The ground around them was gradually becoming messy, with many fallen leaves and pebbles left behind.
Some completely destroyed and abandoned buildings flashed by. Qian Hui leaned against the window and saw a forest in the distance.
In the mountains and forests, a huge shadow stood quietly, its shadow barely visible.
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