Chapter 35
Blackridge Mountain Base, within the restricted area.
Yuanji stood in the forest, looking around at the mess all around him.
The man-eating flower escaped in full view of everyone, and the people sent to track it back returned empty-handed.
Of the more than thirty people who entered the restricted area from Sky Base, only Wen Jue and his four bodyguards remain; Zhao Xing's entire squad has perished.
The giant nut that was sleeping halfway up the mountain has also disappeared, presumably awakened and taken away by other exotic plants.
After receiving the news, Yuanji brought people over to investigate.
Even though they already knew there were mutated plants in the back mountains and that they were coming face to face with the people from the Sky Base, everyone was still shocked.
They originally thought that at most a few people at Sky Base would be seriously injured and suffer a bit, but they didn't expect that the entire team would be wiped out.
Wen Jue and his four bodyguards lagged behind for a while but managed to escape in time; otherwise, they would probably have suffered the same fate as the rest of the team.
Yuan Ji, with a grim face, ordered his subordinates to search everywhere for any useful information.
The other half of the team that remained outside the Sky Base also entered and joined the search, removing all the bodies from the ground.
Despite his physical condition, Wen Jue insisted on returning to the back mountain with the group and sat on the chair prepared just for him.
Upon noticing Zhao Xing's blood-stained face, he calmly withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes to rest.
With Zhao Xing dead, another subordinate took charge of the operation.
He found Yuanji, his gaze icy: "Someone saw the Southern Chief here, and he seemed to be with the alien plants. We hope you can provide an explanation."
“Explanation? What kind of explanation do you want?” Yuanji leaned against the tree trunk. “Does this place look like our leader used supernatural powers?”
The subordinate frowned and remained silent for a moment.
The area was roughly searched, and most of the remaining traces of battle were from ranged attacks, including not only alien plants but also Zhao Xing's team.
Nan Tingjin's special abilities are unique, and it's true that you can't tell anything from these alone.
“According to you, Chief Nan is fully capable of concealing his whereabouts,” the subordinate added. “In any case, Mr. Wen needs to see your chief.”
A squad of thirty men died in the mountains behind the restricted area. With such a major incident, Blackridge Mountain Base could not possibly remain uninvolved.
Yuan Ji sighed: "To be honest, I also want to know where our leader is."
His face showed worry, and his tone became serious: "I have a reasonable suspicion that the leader was kidnapped and taken away by those plants."
The subordinate sneered, "They've been kidnapped again? Chief Nan really is quite fond of exotic plants."
Yuan Ji retorted without backing down: "Whether you like it or not, I don't know, but you guys came at a pretty good time... Oh right, what exactly are you looking for with this search warrant?"
After a moment of silence, the subordinate asked Qian Hui, "What about the heterochromatic-eyed boy who was with Chief Nan? Was he also kidnapped?"
At that time, Wen Jue was some distance away from his bodyguard, and Qian Hui was standing under the shadow of a tree, her pupils were a bit dark, looking similar to the rust color of her hair.
Although Wen Jue had a gut feeling that his identity was unusual, he did not connect it to the characteristics of being a zombie.
Like Nan Tingjin, Wen Jue could not see anything related to Qian Hui.
There is no future to glimpse, nor is there a past to form our experiences.
The plants around him seemed to be protected by some kind of barrier, and they disappeared from sight, leaving him with no way of knowing where the man-eating flowers had gone.
"A boy with heterochromia?" Yuan Ji reacted quickly. "He hasn't officially joined the base yet, so I'm not sure."
"Alright," the subordinate said, knowing he wouldn't get any more information, but he forced a smile. "If you find out any trace of the Southern Chief or those alien plants, please let us know immediately."
“That’s what I wanted to say too,” Yuan Ji smiled. “If you need anything else later, feel free to contact me.”
The subordinate left as instructed, and the smile on Yuanji's face vanished.
He snorted coldly, then continued to look around.
He truly had no idea what had happened here or whether it had anything to do with Nan Tingjin.
But when faced with the Sky Base, he would naturally prioritize protecting his own people.
However, their decision to ignore the situation at the time now seems wise.
Otherwise, if their people come up, they will most likely be attacked by the alien plants.
Overall, apart from the disappearance of Nan Tingjin and the need to investigate the lurking of this alien plant, the Black Ridge Mountain base did not suffer any major losses.
When people wanted to enter the Sky Base, the door was opened; when they wanted to search the area, they were not stopped; even restricted areas were allowed free entry and exit.
However, no one expected that something like this would happen next.
Yuan Ji thought for a moment, then took out his communicator and sent a message to Nan Tingjin.
He had sent several messages before, but had not received a reply.
There was no reply after I sent that message.
Yuan Ji didn't care. He put away the communicator and told his men to hurry up.
—
The carnivorous plant continued its relentless advance, moving further and further away from the Blackridge Mountain base and the safe zone beyond.
It retraced its steps, choosing secluded ruins whenever possible. Once it was safe, it slowed down, occasionally stopping to sniff and search for nearby wooded areas.
Through the gaps in the carnivorous plant's teeth, the carrot peeked out a few times.
Qian Hui was still asleep. His breathing and body temperature were much more normal than before, and he was resting comfortably in Nan Tingjin's arms.
The sunflower stands in the very center, its petals slowly illuminating the surroundings.
Little Bamboo Shoot stood guard to the side, holding several pills that Qian Hui had bought in advance, and fed one to Sunflower.
Next to the little bamboo shoot, there is also a pink succulent.
The pink succulent is very miniature, about the height of an adult's finger, with thin branches as its "hands and feet," and a pair of tiny eyes, about the size of sesame seeds, located at the "root" position, which are almost invisible if you don't look closely.
The succulent petals on its head take up half of its height, but there are only three petals in total. They are small, plump, and squeezed together, and are a tender pink color.
The little succulent was timid and reserved, squatting in place, afraid to move.
It was discovered by a small bamboo shoot; it's probably a low-level mutated plant. The people from the Sky Base have it with them, but we don't know what its purpose is.
At that time, Qianhui was not feeling well and did not notice the unfamiliar plants nearby. Xiaozhusun asked Carrot and agreed to take the succulent with her temporarily.
Later, Qianhui kept sleeping, and Xiaobaocai and Apple comforted her for a while before going off to take care of other plants.
Soft Vine took out the food stored in her backpack and distributed it, with Little Cabbage and Apple delivering it to the plants that had participated in the battle.
Potato sneaked over and took half a bag of candy from the backpack.
The corn, exhausted yet excited, unleashed its first energy-accumulating attack, gesturing back and forth with the money tree beside it.
As it was talking, it couldn't hold on any longer, lay down, closed its eyes, and fell asleep instantly.
The durian was also tired, so it rested next to the carrot.
Chili peppers were lying comfortably in the other corner, stretching out their arms and legs.
Nuts were nestled in Qianhui's arms, and the little cabbage also brought it food.
Nuts didn't touch the two cookies in the little cabbage's hand.
Apart from the three exceptional exotic plants, it was unfamiliar with other plants and seemed unwilling to approach them.
When the little cabbage saw that it wouldn't take the biscuit, it scratched its head and then took the biscuit to find the carrot, hoping that the carrot would deliver it.
Carrot brought over the cookies, but Nut still wouldn't take them. It huddled inside Qianhui's clothes, its eyes silently watching her.
Carrot was used to this and ate the biscuit by itself, crunching it down in a few bites.
Back in the plant garden, this was the kind of personality Jian Guo had; you couldn't really call her timid.
After finishing the biscuit, the carrot patted the little cabbage's head and took it away.
Nuts remained quietly watching, then turned over and went back to sleep.
Qianhui finally woke up when the carnivorous plant arrived at an unfamiliar forest and prepared to stop and rest.
He was carried out by Nan Tingjin, and looking at the unfamiliar woods around him, he was still somewhat dazed.
There was a stream nearby. Carrot soaked a towel in the stream water, then asked Chili to help heat it up, and came over to wipe Qianhui's face.
After wiping his face, he finally came to his senses and stared blankly at Nan Tingjin.
Nan Tingjin sat under the tree, holding Qian Hui's hand: "Are you feeling better?"
Qian Hui was still half-leaning in his arms, and nodded slowly upon hearing this.
He had just woken up, and the Nan Tingjin before him almost perfectly matched the one in his dream; he could hardly tell which was real.
Qian Hui couldn't help but reach out and gently touch Nan Tingjin's face with her fingertips.
Upon touching him, he discovered that Nan Tingjin's body temperature was very high, which seemed abnormal.
No wonder he felt very warm when he was being held on the way.
Remembering that Nan Tingjin had briefly felt unwell in the back mountain, Qian Hui immediately snapped back to reality and asked anxiously, "Are you injured?"
Nan Tingjin pulled his hand down, paused, and said, "No."
He wasn't injured, but Zhao Xing must have used something.
In that instant, Nan Tingjin felt a splitting headache, and the supernatural power he was about to unleash was forced to stop.
Now that they have left the restricted area and come to this forest, the effects on him have not yet completely subsided.
But nothing is visible from the outside, and the superpower has returned to normal.
Qian Hui touched Nan Tingjin's cheek and forehead again, and bought three panaceas from the game to feed him.
At this moment, other plants also gathered around.
Qianhui checked on each of them, and fed them some of the newly bought food and pills.
This time, facing a significant number of human superhumans, the plant team suffered greater losses than before.
Several plants used energy-accumulating attacks, but the one that surprised Qianhui the most was the corn.
He picked up the corn and praised it highly: "This corn is exceptionally good now!"
Corn was very excited and wished it could perform the giant corn jelly again on the spot.
Potato, standing to the side, was a little envious and wanted to learn how to do it too.
It chewed the candy in its mouth and ran to find the small backpack that Qianhui had prepared for them separately.
There were still some crystal cores left in the potato's little backpack, which it took out and ate all of them in one go.
The nut successfully revived and became a member of the plant team, which Qianhui introduced to everyone.
“Xiao Guo was a friend of mine before,” he said, holding the shrunken nut, “and he was really amazing.”
Qian Hui took a moment to look at the nut's encyclopedia. Its ability allows it to change size at will, its shell has three different defensive layers, its large size does not affect its agility at all, and when it bursts into action, it can replicate ten of itself, which can last for twenty minutes.
It has both extremely high defense and the ability to attack actively. In its giant form, it rolls and crushes, even cracking the thickest walls.
That's why the horde of zombies that besieged Blackridge Mountain failed to succeed.
Nuts remained quiet and silent, looking somewhat dazed, and did not say hello.
Little Cabbage suddenly squeezed over, handed the biscuits in her hand to Qianhui, and then quietly gestured for Jian Guo to eat them.
Qianhui fed the biscuit to him, and the nut sniffed it before bending down to eat it.
Seeing this, the little cabbage was finally happy and ran to get another piece.
The surrounding environment was quite good; there were no wandering zombies, and there was a water source nearby.
The other plants went off to rest or play on their own. After feeding the nuts and biscuits, Qianhui put it in the grass so it could play too.
When the little bamboo shoot led the little succulent over, Qianhui realized that there was another new plant.
"Huh?" Qian Hui picked up the little succulent and examined it curiously. "Was it taken with those people?"
The little succulent stood obediently, seemingly quite fond of Qian Hui, and boldly rubbed against his fingers.
Its encyclopedia entry shows that it has formed a bond with a low-level mutated plant, which probably believes that Qianhui and the other plants saved it, and its loyalty is already 50%.
[Variety]: Pink succulent
[Rank]: Low-level (Gentle and Cute)
[Status]: Good
Loyalty: 50%
[Basic Skill]: Aura Concealment (Applies to self) (lasts 50 seconds)
[Advanced Skill]: Aura Concealment (Affects all creatures within a 2-meter radius) (lasts 50 seconds)
[Berserk Skill]: Unknown
[Preparation Details]: Unlocked at 80% loyalty.
Qianhui was shocked when she saw the skill description.
This... isn't this similar to the effect of the disguise potion? Within a certain range and time limit, it can hide the scent of strange plants around you, preventing them from being detected by instruments.
No wonder Sky Base was able to bring it into Black Ridge Mountain smoothly. If it had captured other exotic plants, it could still have secretly taken them away using the little succulent. Although its level was low, it was very useful.
Qian Hui touched the petals on the little succulent's head and asked, "Would you like to come with us?"
The little succulent hummed softly and hugged Qianhui's fingers, indicating its willingness.
Not far away, the carnivorous plant silently watched this scene.
There are new plants added, and they're pink too.
The little mushroom is also pink... If it were here, it would definitely love the little succulent.
It watched for a while, then turned its head and lay down to sleep.
Nuts was watching from the side. Sensing that Qianhui was a bit busy, he jumped to the stream by himself, bent down, and drank a few mouthfuls of water.
Potato curiously came over and lay down to observe the nuts.
The two are about the same size and color, and at first glance they look quite alike.
Potato quietly moved closer and sniffed the aroma of the nuts.
After the nut shrank, much of its powerful aura as a premium exotic plant remained; instead, it retained a very fragrant nutty aroma.
As the potato smelled it, it couldn't help but move closer, eventually nestling next to the nut.
The nut slowly rotated, glancing sideways at it.
The two plants stared at each other for a moment, and the potato almost pressed itself against the nut's face to lick it.
Nut suddenly jerked, pushing it away slightly, then quickly spun around a few times before standing still on the shore.
Potato leaned closer again and discovered that the nut's eyes and mouth were gone, as if they had been hidden inside its shell.
But this makes it look more like a big, fragrant nut...
The potato circled the nut, scrutinizing it furtively, glancing left and right as if trying to take the nut away.
It stretched out its thin hands and tried to hug it, but found it couldn't.
Potato stepped back in confusion, looked around again, and didn't see anything stuck there.
It tried again, but despite using all its strength, it couldn't move the nut an inch.
Soon after, Corn noticed the situation and came over to join in the fun.
So the two plants tried every method imaginable, pushing them directly and moving them from underneath, but all ended in failure.
Potato even borrowed a knife from the bamboo shoot, but found it couldn't pry it open. In the end, they grabbed the soft vine, tied one end of the branch to the nut, and had the plants grab the other end and pull hard.
Corn, potatoes, bamboo shoots, and then chili peppers and durians arrived, lined up holding onto their branches.
I tried pulling for several minutes, but the nut wouldn't budge.
Just as it was about to give up, the nut suddenly lay down, and several plants at the other end of the branch fell into the grass.
Then it stood up again, shook off the soft vines, and returned to its original state.
Nut glanced at the fallen plants, then turned and hopped away.
On the other side, Qianhui opened the game and checked the current information.
With the addition of nuts and durian, corn successfully unleashed its berserk skill, causing the team's combat power to surge to 16,000.
Faction value 3500, Prestige value 1540, Balance around 130,000.
3500 faction points can be exchanged for 70,000 in balance, which adds up to 200,000.
Still 100,000 short...
Unfortunately, the battle against human superhumans only rewarded me with prestige points, unlike the last time I fought zombies, which earned me a lot of points.
When the prestige value exceeds four digits, a line of small text appears below.
[Once you reach 3000 Prestige Points, you can establish a faction base and unlock a new Prestige Point Shop!]
Faction bases... Can plants have bases too?
Qian Hui was confused and clicked a few times, but she still couldn't see what the Prestige Points Shop looked like.
The game's regular store does sell some building materials, but they're all pretty basic, like bricks and cement...
As Qian Hui was flipping through the pages, Sunflower suddenly came to his side and touched his hand with its leaves.
Qian Hui looked up: "Xiao Kui?"
There was also a mimosa plant, a tiny piece, stuck to a sunflower petal.
It moved, leaped into Qian Hui's palm, grew slightly larger, and rubbed against Qian Hui's fingertips.
Through the light emanating from the sunflower, Qianhui sensed that the mimosa was not in a good mood.
Fearful and helpless, it finally mustered up the courage to ask Qianhui for help.
"A lot of plants have been locked up?"
Upon learning everything the mimosa wanted to say, Qianhui frowned, feeling both angry and worried.
He should have thought of that sooner... small mushrooms and carnivorous plants, chili peppers, mimosa, and durian.
Given the numerous misdeeds of humans, there must be many more plants that have suffered similar fates.
The leaves of the mimosa plant twitched slightly, looking uneasy.
This thought had been lingering in its mind for a long time.
From the moment he saw Qianhui rescue Sunflower and keep Apple by her side, he also managed to rescue Durian.
Until recently, the plant team encountered human superhumans from the Sky Base.
At that time, Mimosa hid in Qianhui's sleeve the whole time, trembling with fear.
There were too many familiar scents; several humans must have seen it before, and perhaps even used it as a "hunting dog."
If discovered, if caught again...
But the plants were very strong and successfully wiped out the human team, leaving only a few who managed to escape.
The mimosa could no longer hold back and quietly confided its secret to the sunflower.
Upon learning this, Sunflower immediately went to find Qianhui.
Qianhui stroked the leaves of the mimosa plant, her heart aching: "Let's go and rescue them."
He agreed so quickly that Mimosa was almost caught off guard.
It turns out it really is possible... to save your friends.
It raised its leaf, indicating a direction.
Even at considerable distances, the mimosa plant can accurately guide the way.
The other plants, unaware of what Qianhui was talking about, gathered around one after another, and learned the cause of the matter from the sunflower.
They were equally shocked and angry.
The corn waved its fist, indicating that it would hurry up and rescue the plants, and teach those humans a lesson!
Chili peppers weren't surprised by this, because of their special abilities, they were kept in separate captivity, and there were other plants that had been captured before.
Carrot picked up a twig from the ground and snapped it in two with a loud "Ooh..."
Go! Of course I'll go!
Durian beside him also picked up a branch, broke it off, scratched its back, and said fiercely, "Waaah!"
Seeing the plants' reaction, the mimosa was moved and happy, and clung tightly to Qianhui's fingertips.
However, it's getting late, and it will be dark in two hours. The plants haven't fully recovered yet.
Carrot made a decision: to rest in the woods for the night and set off the next morning.
The mimosa plant will lead the way, and once we arrive at our destination, we'll make a detailed battle plan.
A group of plants huddled together and offered some suggestions, such as whether to steal them or just rob them, and what to do when they ran away.
After waiting for a while, Nuts couldn't resist squeezing in to listen.
On the other side, Qian Hui came to Nan Tingjin's side.
“Xiao Jin,” Qian Hui asked, “would you like to come with us?”
In fact, he brought Nan Tingjin out of the base; there was no other choice. He couldn't just leave him stranded on the way.
Nan Tingjin did not refuse and replied, "Alright."
He reached out his hand, and Qian Hui hesitated for a moment before snuggling into his arms.
After taking the panacea, Nan Tingjin's body temperature gradually returned to normal. Qian Hui looked up and rested her chin on his chest: "Are you feeling better?"
“Yes,” Nan Tingjin replied, “Don’t worry.”
Qian Hui looked at him for a while, then hesitated to speak.
Night fell quickly, and the plants finished their dinner and went to bed early.
The carnivorous plant and carrot take turns keeping watch as usual, while the nut has only just awakened and can rest for a few more days.
A durian appeared behind the carrot. It was so sleepy that it wanted to come along too. The carrot couldn't get rid of it, so it had no choice but to let it be.
In the dead of night, in the dark and silent forest, the durian yawned, moved closer to the carrot, and asked it hesitantly when it would turn back into a durian.
Carrot's expression was indescribable: "...Ugh."
We'll see. Things might change when the need arises.
Durian nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
The carnivorous plant and the carrot switched shifts and went back to sleep in the cabbage shell.
Nan Tingjin stayed outside, while the rest of the plants lay haphazardly inside the cabbage husks, with two of them squeezing into Qian Hui's arms.
Only the mimosa plant was still awake; its leaves stirred quietly.
It was so excited that it couldn't sleep at all. It silently recited the names of all the plant friends it wanted to save several times, afraid that it might forget some.
Meanwhile, in the distance.
Several lights were still on in one of the bases, and the sign at the entrance was a white cloud, which was a small branch of the Sky Base used to imprison the alien plants.
It was late at night when the guards on duty suddenly received an alarm.
He immediately checked and found that the energy was detected by an instrument on the side of the wall.
The energy was unstable, rising and falling suddenly, suggesting that a high-level zombie or alien plant was approaching.
But it's nighttime now, so it shouldn't be a zombie.
The guards immediately contacted the patrol team over there and asked them to go and take a look.
A few minutes later, the patrol team reported back that they hadn't found anything; there might have been some alien plant passing by the base, approaching and then fleeing.
The instrument needle stopped moving, confirming safety, and the team continued patrolling in another direction.
After they left, a cabbage leaf quietly peeked out from the low wall of the ruins in the distance, observing from the shadows.
—
Inside the woods, before dawn, Qianhui woke up.
He had another dream, which seemed to be the same as the previous one, only clearer.
The plants beside her were sleeping. Qianhui slowly sat up and put the nuts and peppers she was holding aside.
He tiptoed out of the cabbage shell.
Nan Tingjin was under a nearby tree when he heard footsteps and opened his eyes.
He had just sat up when Qian Hui groped her way into his arms, hugging him tightly around the waist.
Nan Tingjin stroked his hair: "Awake so early?"
Qian Hui mumbled a reply: "I had a dream, I dreamt about you..."
Nan Tingjin kissed his cheek and asked, "What dream?"
“I…I dreamt that,” Qianhui said softly, looking confused and bewildered, “that you are not my boyfriend.”
Nan Tingjin was silent for a moment, his breath slightly tense: "What?"
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