Chapter 26
Facing Si Chengyan, Su Ran hugged her knees tightly.
His rose-colored pupils were filled with confusion, and he still hadn't fully recovered. He could only maintain this posture, perhaps to make himself feel better.
The most important thing is...
He has nothing on!
As a rose, he could ignore everything and chase butterflies naked, but now it’s not possible, absolutely not possible, he is in human form and cannot be naked like this.
Why can’t the nutrition beads come with a piece of clothing?
Su Ran became distressed.
He tried to prop up the bud with leaves, but all he felt was soft hair, nothing like a rose.
The human body is really not used to it. Su Ran couldn't control it, and a thin layer of mist covered the corners of his long eyes.
At this moment, the footsteps behind him were getting closer, and Si Chengyan was walking towards him with a gun in hand.
Su Ran opened her eyes wide.
No, no, we have to find a solution quickly.
Oh, and he also has healing powers, maybe he can help!
Thinking this way, Su Ran stretched out his fingertips, and his slender index finger immediately gathered a faint white light. He exhaled softly, as if to calm himself down, and then focused all his attention on his fingertips.
A gentle light immediately enveloped him.
Not long after, a lightweight haori appeared, draped lightly around Su Ran. The pale gold color shone against her snow-white skin. Before Su Ran could tie the ribbon in front of her, she turned around and saw Si Chengyan.
Su Ran took a deep breath and quickly stood up by pulling on the vines beside him.
It was a very strange feeling. I wanted to tell him who I was, but when it came to my lips, it seemed as if I couldn't even speak human language.
But even so, Su Ran still tried to speak.
"I am--"
Before he finished speaking, there was a snap.
Several vines in his hands broke.
Su Ran, who had lost his support, swayed. In a panic, with his center of gravity unstable, he wanted to find a fulcrum. He hurriedly stretched out his hand, grabbed Si Chengyan's collar, and threw himself towards him.
*
Time passes by every second.
The sound of water falling in the cave was still clear and crisp, and in addition, there was the sound of small stones rolling down.
The green grass between the cliff walls emits a pale blue light. It is faint, yet very mysterious, vaguely outlining two slender figures.
Si Chengyan supported himself on his elbows and looked at the young man who fell on him. He saw that the other party had his eyes drooping, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and crystal tears hung in the corners of his eyes, probably because of the fall.
For some reason, just with this one glance, Si Chengyan had a bold guess in his mind.
"...Su Ran?" He spoke slowly, "Is it you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the young man in his arms opened his eyes wide.
After a while, he nodded and said softly: "...I am."
It was obviously a happy scene, as he finally met Si Chengyan as a grown-up cub. But perhaps it was because he had experienced too much that day, from a rose that almost became a test subject, to a carnivorous plant, and then to growing up adventurously.
Su Ran always felt aggrieved.
I almost didn’t see you!
It may even be disfigured and become an ugly carnivorous plant.
"Colonel, I'm really afraid of not being able to see you." As he spoke, he tried to stand up, but his strength was exhausted and he swayed a little but failed.
Si Chengyan: "No rush, take your time."
After saying this, he still maintained this posture, holding Su Ran in his arms, waiting for him to gradually gain control of his body, and then helped him onto a stone beside him.
Si Chengyan's body temperature was transmitted like this. As a cub, when he was rubbed before, he felt the hands and fingertips, and the warmth was only in the flower bud.
But now, he was pressed against Si Chengyan's chest, and the other's strong heartbeat seemed connected to him.
Still feeling so safe.
Now, Su Ran was no longer so panicked, and even calmed down, finally able to sort out some of his thoughts.
Just now, he was able to take advantage of the polluted environment and successfully absorb this nutrient bead because he turned into a very ferocious and cute carnivorous plant.
But Si Chengyan's reaction surprised him a little.
"You believe it so..." Su Ran paused for a few seconds, "Am I Su Ran?"
"Because your expression is exactly the same as his."
Su Ran: "Hmm?"
As soon as he raised his head, he saw Si Chengyan's gaze falling on him, and then he put a military jacket on him.
Su Ran still didn't understand. She tilted her head and looked at the other person in confusion.
"Look." Si Chengyan said, "It's exactly the same."
“It’s amazing.”
Su Ran sighed.
It seems that this is Colonel Si's unique authentication method, and he won't be able to learn it.
But... he had never experienced such a thing. After all, he had just transformed from a little rose into a human. However, in the future, no matter what the colonel became, whether in the abyss or in the city, he would be able to see it at a glance.
After all, she is the Colonel's lovely little rose.
And it’s been certified.
"I wanted to come see you, but, but..." Su Ran grabbed Si Chengyan's coat, "I was injured, so I went to the research institute and wanted to use nutrient beads for treatment."
"So this current form is the result of the nutrient beads?"
Su Ran nodded.
He raised his wet eyelashes and continued, "I am still that little rose, lovely and adorable. My essence will not change."
Si Chengyan sighed inwardly: "I know."
He couldn't even imagine what Su Ran had experienced during the day he was away.
"Where was it injured before?" Si Chengyan asked, "The root or the leaf?"
"Root." Su Ran said, bending down and pushing aside the gauze dress. "Maybe now that it has become a human, it's probably cured."
It should be like this.
When he lost consciousness and turned into a carnivorous plant, he remembered all the words that Elder Rose said.
The elders once said that a rose will encounter countless suitable nutrient beads in its life, but the first one is crucial. Just like pollination, finding the right bead will determine the abilities it will have when it grows up.
Now it seems that his healing power has not disappeared, but seems to be even stronger.
Afterwards, Su Ran told Si Chengyan everything that happened at the research institute and his story of meeting Stanler. Among them, he particularly highlighted the three beads.
"They must be plotting something," Su Ran said, "especially Dr. Tariel. Let's go."
After saying that, he waved towards the shadows.
The crying little mushroom came running over and snuggled into Su Ran's arms.
Just as he was about to straighten up and hurried, he heard Colonel Si say, "The nutrient beads are fine."
Su Ran: "Hmm?"
"I replaced it." Si Chengyan said, "For some reasons."
Seeing Su Ran open his mouth with a look of shock, Si Chengyan said, "I will tell you the reason when we get out safely."
"It's not advisable to stay here any longer." He looked at Su Ran and extended his hand. "Can you stand up?"
Su Ran: "I try my best."
Just like the touch when he was Little Rose, Colonel Si's fingertips were covered with thin calluses due to years of using guns.
After taking some effort to stand up straight, the boy breathed a sigh of relief, his eyes suddenly lighting up with joy.
That’s great.
It seems that he is still relatively capable of controlling the human body.
The octopus monster that was previously worried about did not appear, and it turned out to be a completely human being like the colonel.
I just don't know if I can change back.
Regarding this, Su Ran plans to wait a while and try it.
When he used the healing power just now, he felt the corresponding power. It was flowing continuously, starting from his fingertips and gradually spreading to his whole body - it seemed that the breakthrough to change back was here.
But now he really has no strength left, so he will stay with Si Chengyan in human form for a while.
"Where do we go from here?"
"We can't go to the eastern rift anymore," Si Chengyan said. "When I came here, it was already covered with white shells."
As he spoke, he tapped his watch a few times and the image immediately appeared on the screen.
Su Ran's eyes fell on it.
In this real-time monitoring, white, sharp shells covered the entire cave. They grew from a few centimeters at first to dozens of centimeters, and at the deepest point, they were already one or two meters high, densely packed together, filling the circular cave with spikes.
He looked at Si Chengyan, his eyes full of determination: "Then let's go west, to the place I just came from, before the distortion starts-"
Before he finished speaking, the entire cave began to shake.
The emerald grass beside him swayed back and forth, forming waves that swayed to Su Ran's feet. At this moment, a sudden chill came over him, spreading up his spine.
Immediately afterwards, an even bigger shake suddenly occurred!
At the same time, Poker's alarm echoed in the cave.
"Alarm! Please evacuate immediately!"
"Reporting again, due to an unknown distortion, please evacuate immediately!"
Si Chengyan took off his military vest and protected Su Ran's head.
"Where should we go?"
"Outside, there should be three branches on the west side." Si Chengyan said, "We can choose the best route."
They began to evacuate outside.
It has to be said that years of experience in the wild have given Si Chengyan a very keen sense of investigation and predictive ability. Although the rocks behind them kept sliding down and the rock walls around them kept growing white sharp objects, he avoided them all.
Su Ran was circled by Si Chengyan and ran forward.
He carried the little mushroom, and the colonel carried him. Although he knew that the colonel's speed was faster than that, it was still difficult for him to keep up, so he had to use a little healing power to inject physical strength into himself and the colonel.
Although it seems that Colonel Si has no need at all.
But Su Ran still wanted to do his part.
Regardless of whether the other party needed it or not, this was all he could do, so Su Ran became more serious, and the light of healing power continued to light up from his fingertips and then fall.
"Poke." Si Chengyan's voice was very calm. "What is the current distortion range?"
"About ten kilometers."
"What about the increase in distortion?"
"Wait a moment, calculating...unable to obtain accurate value at the moment."
Si Chengyan had no expression on his face: "Switch the energy wave value."
Poker: "Got it, please give me your instructions."
"Distortion energy." Si Chengyan ordered, "Begin testing."
"Wait a moment, calculating... Currently unavailable, please contact the Institute of Qualitative Change."
Su Ran opened her eyes wide.
What does it mean to be unable to obtain...?
Could it be that the distortion value exceeded the upper limit that Poke could predict, or that the distortion this time completely exceeded human expectations?
What on earth is it?
As he was thinking, Su Ran followed Si Chengyan and quickly passed the last fork in the road - that was the road he and Little Mushroom had taken to enter the cave. But now, compared to before, dense white objects covered the blood droplet, like moldy plaques, filling the entire passage.
At this moment, Su Ran felt Si Chengyan pause.
"what happened?"
He looked forward and saw an old man's figure appear before him near the cave entrance - it was Dr. Tariel.
At this time, Dr. Tariel was a completely different person. His back was bent to an indescribable degree, as if he had spent too much energy trying to accomplish something.
And those spots on the skin have now turned into brown dots.
Above this, there were many white spots, which started from Tariel's neck and spread upwards - this reminded Su Ran of the unidentified objects in the cave.
The blood-red light from the sky fell, and after just one glance, Si Chengyan immediately drew his gun and pointed it at the other party!
"Colonel, don't be so nervous." Tariel threw away his cane. "I have no ability to resist at all. I'm just an old man."
"What is your purpose?" Si Chengyan said, "I'll give you a chance."
Tariel didn't say anything. He seemed to be thinking about something. After a while, he picked up the crutch from the ground and said, "Nothing."
He slowly stroked the pattern on the cane.
The graceful and delicate lines contrasted with his withered fingers. Tariel raised his head and said slowly, "I just want a world that can resist distortion."
Su Ran stood there in a daze.
"From what I've heard, your military's attitude has always been to focus on handling incidents," Tariel said. "That's stupid, really stupid..."
As he finished speaking, he rolled up his sleeves—and saw that the waxy yellow skin was covered with torn wounds.
"What's going on?" Su Ran asked, "Is your arm injured?"
"During a previous major aberration, I was swept into the abyss of the wilderness," Tariel said. "Do you know how much pain I felt at that time?"
Tariel took a few steps forward. "Those octopuses, those tentacles that appeared out of nowhere, tore my skin apart inch by inch, chewed it, and then swallowed it. It's ridiculous to think about it. Why should such monsters, such freaks, get along with humans? Why should we classify them..."
Hearing these words, Su Ran's breathing became rapid.
At this time, Tariel chuckled and took a few steps towards Su Ran, but the next moment, Si Chengyan's bullet pierced his shoulder.
Tariel lowered his head, his gaze falling on a hole on the right.
"The military will spare your life." Si Chengyan fired two more bullets into his legs, accurately avoiding the artery, "until you confess everything."
Tariel watched the blood spread out, paused for a few seconds, and then laughed maniacally. "I don't care anymore. You can ask my purpose, just like that fool Stanner I just dealt with. He didn't understand my logic until he died."
When Su Ran heard this, he became anxious: "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing." Tariel shrugged nonchalantly. "I've already made it clear."
Su Ran was so anxious that she almost cried.
This is the human being who helped him.
Although his tone was not very friendly, he seemed like a good person.
Just then, Su Ran felt the colonel gently hold his hand and pat his thumb in a soothing gesture.
Su Ran turned and looked at him.
Although his expression remained normal, the colonel now seemed more like he was waiting for an opportunity.
"So," Si Chengyan asked, "you were the one who created the fog?"
"Yes," Tariel said readily, "It was mainly the natural disaster. I took advantage of it a little. The research institute has so many tools, and there are many creatures to choose from in the wild. As for those monsters that appeared after the natural disaster, I just strengthened them."
Si Chengyan: "What's the purpose?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Tariel said, "It's simple...survival of the fittest."
"Only those species that have experienced the aberration disaster and survived the selection of those monsters can survive in this era." Tariel's back became increasingly bent. "I'm just helping humans."
"But you can't catalyze it." Su Ran's eyes turned red instantly. Although the colonel gently signaled her not to waste words, Little Rose couldn't understand.
He had so many plant friends, a family of little mushrooms, and the nice humans he had met... He couldn't just sit there and do nothing.
"As long as they survive, we can initiate a research program to transform humans through external stimuli." Tariel clapped his hands. "By the way, we've already been experimenting on these aberrations."
In an instant, countless mushrooms with sharp tentacles leaped out from the ground and appeared before their eyes in a flash!
The little mushroom popped its head out of Su Ran's arms and shouted, "Gulu!!"
This is his mushroom friend!
But why did they all turn black and have long, sharp spider-like thorns behind them?
The scene became chaotic for a while.
These deformed creatures swarmed in, and in just a few seconds, the surrounding trees and vegetation were eaten clean, like a swarm of locusts, with huge destructive power.
And their ultimate target fell on Su Ran and Si Chengyan.
Tariel pulled a special pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Su Ran: "Little Rose, how about we start with you and your military boyfriend?"
Just then—
A white light suddenly lit up!
Special ammunition was fired from one of the planes, knocking the pistol/gun out of Tariel's hand.
A roar was heard in the distant sky. Su Ran looked up and saw countless military reconnaissance planes, like countless black flying birds, hovering right above them.
"Just because I keep you here doesn't mean the military will agree with this idea." Si Chengyan walked forward and pointed the gun at his forehead.
Tariel: "What do you mean?"
"I hope you can make real contributions to mankind."
The moment he finished speaking, Si Chengyan coldly pulled the trigger.
With a bang, Tariel's eyes widened, scarlet blood spurted out of his eyeballs and splashed onto the ground. His body shook a few times and fell forward heavily.
This withered body completely stopped functioning the moment the smoke cleared.
Su Ran looked at them blankly.
For a rose, the sight of wild fighting was something he had long since grown accustomed to, but this was his first experience of human conflict. It was a completely different feeling. He watched as warm blood flowed from beneath Tariel's robe, gradually dispersing like ordinary rain, being quickly absorbed by the earth as nutrients.
And during the time he was stunned, gunshots rang out one after another around him.
Countless soldiers jumped off the plane. They carried the base's latest weapons and cooperated with Si Chengyan's command to destroy all the mutants brought by Tariel.
By the time Su Ran came back to his senses, Si Chengyan had already walked to his side and wiped the blood and mud splattered on his arm with his fingers.
"It's over." Si Chengyan said softly, "Don't be afraid."
Su Ran shook his head: "It happens in the wild too, many animals fight. I'm used to it."
He seemed to recall something and asked again, "But just now, Colonel, your last words..."
"Yes." Si Chengyan said, "Since Tariel has been conducting secret experiments in the research institute, he must have also carried out some self-transformation."
"As far as I know, the wound on his arm wasn't caused by the Abyss, but by a chemical experiment," Si Chengyan said. "He might have experienced something in the Abyss, but I also reasonably suspect that he had some hallucinations due to the distortion experiment."
Su Ran: "Like this..."
So, the real contribution that the colonel just mentioned is that the military will study and dissect Tahrir?
But the Institute of Qualitative Change is no longer trustworthy.
Where can they go?
Perhaps it was Su Ran's pensive expression that made Si Chengyan ruffle his hair: "Don't worry about that."
"You know what I'm thinking?"
Si Chengyan said "hmm" and nodded.
"The military established a research support department a long time ago," he said, "for the Isolation Transformation Research Institute."
"you mean……"
"We don't rely entirely on the Institute of Qualitative Change, even though most researchers aren't involved in this," Si Chengyan said. "Ever since the distortions began a few years ago, the United Front Work Center has secretly established this department to conduct sample research."
"Of course, the Qualitative Change Research Institute will definitely reserve a certain amount of other forces to hedge against the base. The base will acquiesce to these, because they will restrain each other." Si Chengyan said, "Don't know too much, it's boring."
Su Ran opened her eyes slightly.
He never realized that there would be such complicated rights struggles among humans. In their Little Rose family, at most they would just say bad things about Magnolia or spread some romantic stories about Water Lily.
To be honest, he didn't understand such words.
It’s better to stay by Colonel Si’s side and be a cute little rose.
Thinking of this, Su Ran silently followed behind the colonel. Although his physical strength had not recovered, he still followed closely, just like the little rose before, he never hesitated about following.
So he held the little mushroom and followed the colonel to the first helicopter that landed in the abyss.
*
Base Area D, secret research support department.
Compared to the relaxed atmosphere in the past, today seems a little different.
When Qiao Ran arrived there, he saw researchers constantly coming in and out of the department. They looked hurried and serious, and were extremely busy.
"Dr. Triana." Qiao Ran swiped his card and strode into the research center. He looked at a serious woman with short hair and asked, "What happened?"
"Something's wrong," Triana said. "The readings there are strange after Dr. Tariel was killed."
"We've studied the data Colonel Si provided earlier," she said. "Even if Poke can't detect it, we can still make a rough estimate based on the intensity of the fluctuations."
She paused for a few seconds and said, "But, look at this."
Qiao Ran looked over there, and after just a second, he let out a low cry.
"Is it really that outrageous?" he asked. "It's now more than ten times stronger than before?"
"Yes, we haven't been able to detect any actual mutations, and we still don't know what they are," Triana said. "But the intensity has increased significantly since the very beginning."
"So what should we do now?"
"My suggestion is that we should not only evacuate as soon as possible, but also evacuate Area B and some residents of Area C." Triana said as she connected with Si Chengyan.
Waiting for the call to be answered, she lowered her eyes and spoke slowly, "We hope to preserve our new city, or rather, the existing human world. But now... something unknown is growing larger and larger, and growing rapidly."
She paused for a few seconds and said, "It's hard to say. We will all try our best."
*
Abyss, huge rift.
Su Ran was sitting on an irregular stone, watching Si Chengyan end the call.
He held the little mushroom in his hands, soothing its little tentacles from time to time.
"What happened?" Su Ran asked softly.
"It's a call from the research support department," Si Chengyan said, "asking us to leave immediately and evacuate to a safe area."
Su Ran responded.
He looked at the helicopter parked on a nearby platform, then at Dr. Tariel, who was covered in a white sheet a few dozen meters away, and asked, "Should we leave now?"
"Meet up with the support department first." Si Chengyan said, "Let's go to Anna's plane."
Su Ran agreed obediently.
After returning the neatly folded vest to Si Chengyan, he suddenly paused.
"What's wrong?"
"I...why not turn back into Little Rose?" Su Ran said, "It will be easier to move around."
Having said that, turning into Little Rose would also consume a huge amount of physical energy.
Judging from Colonel Si's current expression, he also realized this and showed the same look as Elder Rose.
But there is nothing we can do about it.
He couldn't be the little rose that held him back.
Moreover, when necessary, he could hide in the colonel's pocket so that he would not be caught by the monster and would not distract Colonel Si.
After saying this, without waiting for the colonel to answer, Su Ran began to use the healing power.
As usual, he stretched out his fingers, and his slender jade-like fingertips immediately glowed. But in just two seconds, his fingers were grasped.
Before he could react, Su Ran felt his body suddenly float into the air.
Si Chengyan directly picked him up horizontally.
Su Ran was stunned for several seconds: "Huh?"
"No need." Si Chengyan said, "This is fine."
"Ah?" The young man in his arms was obviously a little panicked, his cheeks flushed slightly, and he struggled a few times, but was held tightly in the colonel's arms. In the end, he could only grab the back of the other's collar and resist silently.
Su Ran was a little confused.
What on earth is going on here?
He's not ready yet! Why, why does he have to meet people like this?
The author has something to say:
Su Ran: My lifelong bully is wise qaq
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