Chapter 60
Upon learning that Bell Pepper had arrived at the base, Qianhui immediately asked Carrot to take her there.
I heard that the chili pepper has been kidnapped by a strange, top-tier exotic plant, and several other plants want to go check it out.
Potato even secretly pinched two missiles and held them quietly in his hand, just in case something happened...
Along their journey with Qianhui, they gradually met many other exceptional exotic plants. Only the giant pea was a bit mischievous and liked to tease other plants; the rest were all very friendly, even the man-eating flower was very gentle.
This guy, who's some kind of different pepper, started by kidnapping someone; he's definitely not someone to mess with!
Big Cherry followed Potato closely, burying its head in Potato's hand to smell it, thinking it was for itself.
Potato quickly pushed it away, saying that it couldn't be eaten right now.
So, a large group of plants followed Qianhui to the Black Ridge Mountain base. Apart from the sleeping little mushroom and the sunflower that helped build the wall, all the other top-grade exotic plants came.
A large pea hangs from the carrot's leg, a cabbage scoops nuts into its arms, its face still smeared with green cement, and stands atop the carnivorous plant, peering out.
It caught sight of two figures, one red and one green, in the distance and quickly pointed: "Woo!"
The bell pepper's stealth ability had failed, and the carnivorous plant had also caught its scent. With a powerful sway of its stem, it darted around a corner.
Qianhui gripped the sharp thorns on the head of the man-eating flower tightly and looked up.
The durian grew to a large size and stood guard at the intersection. Beside the railing in front of it, there was a red bell pepper and a green chili pepper.
The bell pepper was rounder and stood up a little taller than the chili pepper next to it. A small strip of black cloth covered its face, with a few small holes poked in it, revealing its eyes and mouth.
However, the mask is not very effective; you can tell it's it at a glance.
When Sweet Pepper saw Qian Hui appear with the plants, he looked dazed, and the knife he was using to threaten her fell to the ground.
When the carnivorous plant reached the narrow intersection and lowered its head, Cabbage helped Qianhui down.
Qian Hui took two steps forward and tried calling out, "Sweetie?"
Bell pepper couldn't believe it and rubbed her eyes again to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.
Six years... It has been six years since it last saw Qianhui.
"Waaah..." Sweet Pepper immediately ran towards Qian Hui, tearing off her mask as she did so, and dropping the bundle behind her.
It rushed forward like a red lightning bolt, suddenly plunging into Qian Hui's arms.
Qian Hui was knocked back half a step by the impact, but the carnivorous plant used its leaves to protect him in time, allowing him to regain his balance.
“Sweetie,” he hugged Sweet Pepper tightly, also very excited, “It really is you…when did you find us?”
Bell Pepper kept whimpering and babbling incoherently. Since Sunflower wasn't around, Qianhui couldn't understand her. She gently touched the little leaves on Bell Pepper's head to comfort her: "Okay, okay, I missed you too."
He hadn't forgotten Chili, who had been "kidnapped," and looked up again: "Is Little Chili alright too?"
When Qian Hui called out "Little Pepper", Sweet Pepper's body stiffened slightly.
It still felt a little wronged and a little guilty.
The bell pepper had originally planned to wait until the carrot gathered all the plants, then fight the pepper in front of them and show them who was stronger.
After it was hit, it left, and even if the carrots and the others wanted to stop it, it was no use.
Now... Waaah, if it had known Qianhui was here too, it wouldn't have bothered with that chili pepper.
Chili let out a "whoosh," raised her hand, and waved to indicate that she was alright.
Then, it bent down and picked up the small knife that the bell pepper had left on the ground, and examined it carefully in its hands.
Darts made from chili seeds, then assembled into a knife?
Wow……
Realizing the crisis was over, the durian shrank back to the carrot's side, and the potato breathed a sigh of relief, quietly feeding the missile in its hand to the cherry.
As Chili walked along, she picked up flatbreads, bundles, and face masks from the roadside...
As it approached, Qianhui bent down and squatted down. Sweet Pepper turned around and snatched the things away, stuffing the mask and the unfinished flatbread into the bundle, while glaring at Chili.
Chili stood to the side, somewhat at a loss.
It sensed that the bell pepper didn't like it... Why? Because they were both peppers?
Qian Hui didn't see the glare from Sweet Pepper. Seeing that both plants were alright, she said softly, "Why did Sweetie take Little Pepper away?"
He vaguely guessed the reason and sighed silently: "We all miss Tian Tian, but we don't know where to look for you."
Back in the plant garden, Sweet Pepper's personality was sometimes awkward; she liked to overthink.
But it doesn't have any bad intentions; in fact, it's quite obedient, and Qianhui knows it won't really hurt the chili peppers.
Upon hearing this, the bell pepper immediately raised its head.
Really?
So Qianhui didn't forget it, and the green chili pepper that appeared beside her wasn't there to replace her.
With just a few simple words, Sweet Pepper was coaxed into burying herself in Qian Hui's arms and rubbing against her, then started whimpering again.
A group of people arrived at the outer intersection, indicating an unusual situation. A captain from the base led a team to investigate.
Seeing that the plants were behaving themselves, the bell pepper in the report was now docilely nestled in Qian Hui's arms, and should have been "tamed".
But the captain dared not relax and whispered to his men to strengthen the base's patrols and defenses in the next few days.
A strange, top-tier alien plant infiltrated the base, catching them completely off guard...
Although this exotic plant did not cause any damage or injure anyone, it's hard to say what might happen if a similar situation occurs again.
In any case, it's always best to be cautious. Any unusual plants discovered outside the base should be reported to Qianhui immediately.
I just heard that Yuanji and a... mutated chili pepper exchanged communication numbers, and the two can now "exchange" information.
The captain silently led his men away. Qian Hui stood up, holding Sweet Pepper: "Let's go back to the courtyard. Little Pink misses you too. She mentioned it once this morning."
The courtyard? Little Pink is here too?
Sweet Pepper was thrilled and clung tightly to Qian Hui, sitting with him on the back of the man-eating flower's neck.
The carrot pulled out its thorns and pointed at the bell pepper, making a "woo-woo" sound as if it were cursing it.
Cabbage quickly pulled Carrot's hand away, "Never mind, it's good that the bell pepper is back, the chili pepper is fine too."
The carrot snorted again, while the bell pepper kept its head down and pretended to be dead, acting as if it hadn't heard a thing.
Before returning to the new base, Carrot took Durian and a few plants to the low building one more time to retrieve the backpack and items they had left behind. The remaining plants left first with Thousand Fennel and the Carnivorous Flower.
On the way, Big Pea curiously untied Bell Pepper's little bundle, put its mask on its own head, and chuckled mischievously with its hands on its hips.
The bell pepper was unhappy and threw a dart at it, which the big pea easily dodged.
Big Pea, wearing a mask, took out half a hard, flatbread, sniffed it, and quickly put it back in disgust.
Sweet Pepper, however, snatched the flatbread back like a precious treasure and put it back in the bundle.
It stole this from a human group it encountered outside. Although the taste is just so-so, it can be preserved for a long time, so it doesn't have to search for food everywhere when it's hungry.
"What's this?"
Qian Hui looked down at him, and he froze for a moment, then hugged Sweet Pepper with heartache.
He immediately bought a pack of biscuits and a pack of jerky from the game, opened the packaging, and fed them to Bell Pepper.
The bell pepper took a bite, its eyes lit up, and it buried its head in the food, wolfing it down.
Chili sat down beside her, clutching Qianhui's clothes and secretly observing her.
After arriving at the new base, Bell Pepper had already finished three packs of biscuits and two packs of jerky.
It burped, jumped off the head of the man-eating flower, glanced at an empty bag that had once contained cement by the roadside, and threw the bundle containing the flatbread directly down.
The mask was taken by Big Pea, who still wore it on his head and sneakily climbed up a tree.
Sweet Pepper followed Qian Hui through the base gate, looking around curiously.
The little bamboo shoots came running quickly from not far away, and the little mushrooms behind them woke up and waved excitedly at the bell peppers.
Qianhui and the plants returned, bringing back a new friend.
The plants by the wall temporarily put down their tools and all gathered around, greeting the sweet pepper one by one as Qianhui introduced them.
Sweet Pepper wasn't wearing a mask and seemed a little shy at this moment. She stood close to Qian Hui, her round, dark eyes slightly wide open.
So many plants I've never seen before...
It was too dark last night, so it only saw a few plants enter the base, and didn't notice Qian Hui and several others hiding in the mouth of the man-eating flower.
Now, it has completely given up on the idea of new chili peppers replacing itself. With so many unfamiliar plants around Qianhui, where would chili peppers even be ranked...?
Sweet Pepper pursed her lips, tightened her grip on Qian Hui's sleeve, and stayed close to him.
But the plants all seemed friendly, especially a few small plants that followed the little mushroom and called it "Sweetie".
The bell pepper saw the small cabbage, then turned its head to look at the head cabbage.
The little cabbage, without making a sound, skillfully pulled out leaf-shaped boxing gloves from the gaps between the leaves on top of its head, put them on its hands, and walked around.
The bell pepper looked at the two very similar plants, then turned its head and saw the chili pepper not far away beside it.
They don't look alike at all, but they are all peppers, and their relationship to small cabbage and bok choy is similar.
Just then, the chili pepper took the initiative to approach and slowly walked over.
It held something in its hand and carefully handed it to the bell pepper: "Mmm..."
Bell Pepper looked down and saw a small packet of diced meat patties, packed in a clean bag.
Chili said that this was breakfast that humans brought this morning. It thought it tasted alright, so it packed up the leftovers, thinking it could eat them if it got hungry during the day.
If the bell pepper is still hungry, give it to it.
The bell pepper was still a little hungry and, smelling the aroma of the meat patties, was itching to try them.
But not long ago, it also snatched a chili pepper and threatened to fight it with a knife.
Bell pepper seemed a little embarrassed and stammered without answering.
Chili peppers could tell it wanted to eat, so it grabbed its paw and stuffed the meat pie into its mouth.
Now there was no way to refuse... The bell pepper opened the bag; the meat patty wasn't much, and it was gone in a few bites.
The little mushroom came over halfway through and took two bites.
After eating the meat patty, the bell pepper felt that the chili pepper was now its friend, and its eyes became much more innocent.
Chili took another step closer, pointed to the wall in the distance, and said she wanted to take Sweet Pepper for a tour of the new base.
Sweet Pepper looked at Qian Hui, just as Nan Tingjin came over, diverting Qian Hui's attention.
Staring at the somewhat familiar face, Sweet Pepper muttered in dissatisfaction.
Nan Tingjin seemed to sense something, his gaze sweeping over them indifferently. He then took Qian Hui's hand and was about to lead him to see the small wooden house with its roof repaired.
Before leaving, Qianhui waved to the plants and the two chili peppers: "Go play by yourselves, but no fighting!"
Sweet Pepper had only seen Qian Hui for a short time and was still very reluctant to part with her, eager to go with her.
However, when it turned its head, it saw that the little mushrooms and peppers were beside it, the carrots had returned with the durian, and the sunflowers were waving their leaves at it from a distance.
Bell pepper hesitated for a moment, then decided to go play by herself for a while and take a look at the new "plant garden".
It followed the chili pepper and a few newly acquainted plants, wandering around for a while before helping to build the fence.
As an assassin, the bell pepper moves quickly and can apply cement to bricks incredibly fast. While other plants have just finished applying cement to one brick, it has already finished applying cement to three.
Cement-coated bricks were neatly arranged on the grass, and then placed on the fence by human superhumans, or by soft vines and morning glories.
—
The morning passed quickly. The human superhumans left temporarily, and lunch was delivered from the Blackridge Mountain base.
Qianhui's cabin was basically completed. A table was moved from Nantingjin's residence. With windows on all four sides, it was bright and could be used as a temporary dining place.
After a busy morning, most of the plants were very hungry. In addition to the human food on the table, Qianhui bought a lot more from the game store.
He thought to himself that the base could also have a vegetable garden and an orchard, and with a lake, some fish could be raised...
There are stools next to the table, and the plants stand on them, sit on them, or simply squat on the table.
Sweet pepper sat close to Qian Hui and opened her mouth to eat the vegetable ball he fed her.
The little mushrooms and succulents walked around the dining table together, and almost every plant fed them.
When he returned to Qian Hui's side, Little Mushroom was already full and was yawning as she snuggled into his pocket for a nap.
Qian Hui then opened the encyclopedia and checked it, confirming that the little mushroom was in good condition.
The afternoon was still spent building the wall and perfecting other arrangements.
A bed was moved into the cabin, curtains were hung, and the base gate was installed.
Qian Hui quietly took the well-digging tools out of her game backpack and placed them in a secluded, deserted place, then asked Nan Tingjin's subordinates to come and help.
Carrot took some time to fly around the two mountains several times, roughly determining the location of the training ground and lake.
As darkness approached, the Blackridge Mountain base's perimeter wall was moved first, significantly reducing its area.
The wall around the "Plant Courtyard" was mostly finished, and Yuanji and his subordinates prepared to leave, planning to come back the next morning to continue helping.
Before leaving, he spoke with Nan Tingjin at the main gate of the new base.
“I’ve made contact with a few people I know, and everything is calm outside today,” Yuan Ji said, glancing down at his feet. “There’s no reaction from Sky Base yet.”
The attacking forces returned safely to their respective bases and are likely still resting and recuperating. The people at Blackridge Mountain base suffered few injuries and recovered the fastest.
Later in the afternoon, at Qianhui's suggestion, the base sent another group of people to receive the healing power of sunflower light.
After all, it took away a large area of land, and the sunflower helped treat some human superhumans, which was easy for it.
"After the Zombie King Black Reef died, the number of zombies near Sector 5 decreased significantly, but something seems amiss in Sector 7..."
Black Reef was the codename for Zombie King 03. With its death, no advanced zombie has been able to evolve successfully since.
As Yuan Ji was speaking, he couldn't help but look down again.
A small mango stood at his feet, vigorously waving its fist and punching his ankle repeatedly.
Nan Tingjin looked at him and asked, "How are you feeling today?"
Yuanji recalled carefully: "I had a bit of a headache in the morning, but I was fine after taking a few energy pills."
After taking an energy booster, I also encountered an adorable little pink mushroom.
“Alright,” Nan Tingjin replied, “Leave one more carriage.”
Yuan Ji knew he wouldn't be traveling with the people from the base and would be returning later, so he nodded and said, "Okay."
As Nan Tingjin turned back to the "Plant Courtyard," Yuan Ji bent down and squatted down, looking at the mangoes at his feet.
He patted Little Mango's head and said with a smile, "See you tomorrow."
Mango stopped, panting, glanced at him, snorted, and ran away.
There was no need to build a wall now. Big Pea, wearing a bell pepper mask, was hiding in the tree by the door. When he saw Mango come in, he suddenly jumped down: "Ha!"
Mango wasn't scared at all. After seeing that it was Pea, she happily told it that she had just defeated the human in gray clothes.
Pea recalled carefully, and realized that the one in the gray clothes... was Yuanji. Apart from Nantingjin, this human was the most powerful-looking one at the Black Ridge Mountain base.
It gave Mango a loving look and patted its head: "Woof!"
Mango was even happier, looking proud, and followed closely behind Big Pea.
On the other side, Qianhui held a string of cabbage lanterns and hung them on the repaired wall.
A dozen miniature cabbage lanterns were tied together with thin straw ropes, forming a light strip that glowed in the night.
Some were also hanging on the side wall. The little cabbage patted itself, and all the cabbage lights went out at the same time, then came back on together.
Cabbage hugged it and fed it two mana-restoring pills.
The little cabbage had produced too many cabbage lights and was almost exhausted, but it was still full of energy and turned to look at the inside of the base.
We can also hang some cabbage lanterns in the mountains and forests...it will look really nice then.
The other plants played and swayed in the breeze on the grass. Potato, beaming with joy, told Corn and Clover that once the base was completely finished, Qianhui wanted to buy herself an airplane!
Bell pepper and chili pepper sat alone under a tree, listening to chili pepper tell the story of being captured by humans and then meeting Qian Hui. Bell pepper wiped away her tears and reached out to hug it tightly.
After a whole day, the new base was still a work in progress, with no water source, making it inconvenient for the cement-smelling plants to take a bath.
Qian Hui, however, was very reluctant to leave. She buried herself in Nan Tingjin's arms and said in a muffled voice, "I want to sleep here..."
Nan Tingjin agreed with a "okay" and hugged him, saying, "Go back first, then come back."
Qian Hui immediately cheered: "Mmm!"
So, a group of plants followed Qian Hui and Nan Tingjin back to the low building at the Blackridge Mountain base.
To save time, the plants all went into the bathroom, and after washing up, they came out one by one, wiping themselves with a towel by the door.
While waiting for Qianhui to shower and dry her hair, I'll open my backpack and grab a late-night snack.
After packing everything up, they returned to the new base.
Qianhui turned on the protective netting and detectors that had been placed there, so that she could be alerted immediately should any situation arise at night.
After confirming that the voice alarm was on, he was so sleepy that Nan Tingjin led him to the cabin to sleep.
Most of the plants were still quite excited, playing by themselves nearby.
Not long after, Sweet Pepper got sleepy and went to find Qianhui.
When it arrived at the cabin, it found that the windows and doors were blocked by several trees, and it could not get in through the narrow gaps.
The bell pepper circled the cabin, clinging tightly to the tree trunk, but couldn't move it no matter what it did.
The carrot swayed over, telling it not to waste its energy, that it would open tomorrow morning.
Bell pepper knew it must have been Nan Tingjin who did it, and in a fit of anger, it kicked a tree trunk and turned to look for chili peppers.
—
The next day, the walls surrounding the new base were completely completed, forming a full perimeter around the outside.
The game simultaneously displayed a message.
[Congratulations on successfully reinforcing your base! You have gained 100 faction points and the hidden item "Plant Dictionary"!]
Qian Hui's eyes widened slightly as she looked at the contents of the message.
Huh?
He opened his game inventory, and sure enough, there was a new item inside—a book.
[Plant Dictionary]
[Price]: Hidden Item
[Usage]: It is a translation book that can translate all Chinese characters used by humans into characters that mutated plants can understand.
Qian Hui took out a dictionary from her backpack and flipped through a few pages.
The dictionary was quite thick, and indeed, every character had a corresponding symbol.
But what can this be used for?
Write a letter to... a plant?
Bell pepper sat next to Qianhui, munching on a biscuit, while carrots and peppers leaned closer to examine her.
Chili curiously flipped through the pages, then looked up at the still empty new base.
If only we could send messages to unfamiliar plants outside...
Moreover, there are three exceptional exotic plants that have been lost outside, and they may be able to see them.
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