Chapter 4
It was the first time that Su Ran saw such a terrifying creature.
It was no longer a still, dead object. The two huge yellow lights were its compound eyes. Downwards, the four tires grew dense, sharp thorns, like the limbs of a large deformed creature.
Su Ran trembled with fear.
He held on to the branch, not daring to let go, like a still little rose.
Isn't it said that only living things can be infected?
How come the car is like this?
"Help, help..." He whispered softly, his eyes scanning the surroundings. The fog was thicker now, and beneath the thunder and lightning outside the cave, everything before him became a dark shadow, spreading to the edge of his own roots.
Without a second thought, he dropped the twig and ran in the opposite direction.
The monster's roar continued, and its yellow compound eyes stared at the little rose that was running forward.
It locked onto him for just a moment, and then it rushed towards him like a wild beast in the depths of the forest!
Just then—
A gunshot rang out.
Su Ran hugged his flower bud and slipped into the crevice of the rock. He heard Qiao Ran yell, and then there were several more gunshots.
In the limited field of vision, it was Si Chengyan who fired the gun.
Facing such a terrifying monster, he did not show much expression; on the contrary, he was very calm and composed.
He pulled the trigger decisively, and the bullet drew a straight line in the air and pierced the fuel tank.
In just a few seconds, a huge fire broke out in the sky, accompanied by the roaring sound of a monster. The whole car burst into sparks and burned violently, turning into a shell.
Su Ran was completely stunned.
He had never seen such a calm human being.
In this wilderness where the strong prey on the weak, almost everything is dominated by monsters. In Su Ran's opinion, the terror brought by those visible or invisible beasts cannot be simply described, and a single mistake can result in the loss of one's life.
But this human being.
He is so awesome.
Su Ran picked at the leaves and stared blankly at the fire in front of him.
When he came to his senses, everything in front of him - whether it was the armored vehicle parts or the frames, was burned to ashes.
Si Chengyan was squatting beside the armored vehicle, holding a transparent plastic bag and collecting something.
After an unknown amount of time, he looked over, put away the plastic bag, and placed Su Ran safely on the cliff.
"Qiao Ran has gone to collect radio signals." Si Chengyan pushed himself up onto the cliff with one hand, "I will stay here for a while to monitor the situation in the cave."
Su Ran looked at him and said nothing.
Under the mist of the cave, his flower buds were stained with a little polluted water, sticky and uncomfortable.
So he stretched out his little blade and rubbed it against the rock a few times, trying to scrape off the thick stuff. Just then, he heard a light clicking sound.
Si Chengyan bit open the lid of the kettle.
He looked at Su Ran and said calmly, "Come closer."
Hearing this, Su Ran walked forward obediently and sat down carefully beside him.
The Rose Elder once said that one should not talk to strangers, especially ferocious monsters, scary birds, or insects crawling on one's body - this is the survival rule of the little rose. Even if it grows up and can be pollinated, it still has to see clearly what kind of creature it is.
Although Su Ran didn't know which of the above categories "human beings", or just referring to Si Chengyan, could be classified into.
But now it seems that he is a non-hostile human being.
That's enough.
Su Ran thought about it, held up the small leaf, and when Si Chengyan was not paying attention, quietly moved a few centimeters closer to show his friendliness.
Before he could speak, Si Chengyan placed the kettle in front of him.
"There's still a little water in here." Si Chengyan said, "You can use it if you need it."
"Um……"
Su Ran said thank you in a low voice.
He really needs water.
Plants need spring water and sunlight so that they can grow quickly.
but……
Su Ran looked at the kettle which was much taller, tilted the small flower bud, and began to feel troubled.
He can't reach it at all.
However, this thought only lasted for a second before he heard Si Chengyan sigh softly, and then the kettle tilted slightly towards him.
Su Ran immediately felt the cool water droplets on the small leaves.
Si Chengyan's movements were gentle, completely different from the way he had just shot the aberration. He lowered his eyes and carefully washed all of Su Ran's small leaves.
The small leaves, which had not been watered for a long time, regained their green vitality.
With the nourishment of water droplets, Su Ran stretched out its roots, stretched lazily like humans, and stretched out its leaves to its heart's content.
The last time someone helped him water the plants like this was by the elder of the Rose Clan.
"Bud." Si Chengyan asked, "Do you need it?"
"Just a little water will do." Su Ran held up the flower bud and pointed with the tip of the leaf: "Thank you."
He didn't know what humans' attitude was towards mutants now, but judging from their attitude, he wouldn't be shot dead. They could live in peace with them temporarily and could even make some small requests.
After the flower buds were also sprinkled with water, he heard Si Chengyan ask, "Do you have anything you want to ask?"
"Just now..." Su Ran paused, "What happened?"
Si Chengyan did not answer immediately.
He put down the cup of water and turned on the flashlight neatly: "It's not clear at the moment."
Su Ran was stunned.
Don’t even humans know?
While he was stunned, he saw Si Chengyan take out a pistol, disassemble it neatly and decisively, put the parts on the ground, and began to check them one by one.
After what happened just now, Su Ran knew what he was worried about.
If the hand/gun is damaged, it may suddenly become conscious and attack people.
Su Ran watched as Si Chengyan disassembled the parts and placed them on the ground one by one. After confirming that there were no cracks or damage, he reassembled them one by one.
He asked quietly, "Has it been ruled out?"
Si Chengyan: "Almost."
Su Ran nodded: "Are there any other dangers?"
"Wait for a reply from the base." Si Chengyan said, "The Qualitative Change Research Institute is aware of this incident and will conduct research."
Having said that, Su Ran didn't ask any more questions.
He had never been to a human base and couldn't imagine how the cities or bases operated.
However, before this big car mutated, he already knew the existing human theory - "infection mechanism".
This has always been the theory held by humans, even though it had been overturned by armored vehicles a dozen minutes ago. So, he propped up the still-dripping flower bud and asked, "What is the Institute of Qualitative Change...?"
"One of the departments in the base," Si Chengyan said, "responsible for the identification of aberrations and their classification."
Seeing Su Ran's bewilderment, he added, "In the human world, aberrations are a very normal activity. During a catastrophe hundreds of years ago, we began to learn to coexist. Most, including your kind, are benign aberrations and do not need to be exterminated."
"...What about dangerous aberrations?"
"This type of bacteria can pose a threat and may also cause infection, so our military will regularly clean it up."
Su Ran took a breath.
He asked almost subconsciously: "Then, then wouldn't you be in danger?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Si Chengyan's gaze fell on him.
After a few seconds, he shook his head and said calmly: "I'm used to it."
"Many teams are wiped out every day. In this environment, we just have to accept it," he said. "It's just like you aberrations, isn't it?"
Su Ran thought for a few seconds and nodded.
It certainly seems so.
If he is not careful, he will be caught by the big monster and swallowed up in one gulp.
"Do you have any survival rules?" Su Ran took a few steps forward, looking up at the flower bud and asked, "For example, what kind of big monsters need to be eliminated? Or making some powerful weapons..."
For some reason, he began to worry about the fate of mankind.
Maybe it’s because Si Chengyan watered him, and he really was just like Elder Rose, even drinking tea.
Si Chengyan put the gun back to his waist and leaned against the stone wall: "Yes."
"This is also the level set by the Institute of Qualitative Change. It categorizes the hazards of mutants according to the degree of contamination." He said as he placed Su Ran in the palm of his hand. "This classification will change. Some benign mutants will be classified as dangerous, and some will be classified back. In short, the standards are issued by the Institute of Qualitative Change, and then our military will implement them."
Su Ran rolled up the leaf and looked at Si Chengyan.
Although this human looks cold, he is not like that when you meet him.
Maybe it's because he's a "benign aberration."
Su Ran thought for a few seconds and shook his head again.
No, no, although it is a simple benign aberration, it is also a lovely little rose.
That's him.
They didn't continue the topic.
Finally, Su Ran told Si Chengyan that they just needed to take him out of the cave.
As long as it is placed on the grass with the protection of the mushroom cap, it can fend for itself and quickly grow into a real rose.
Si Chengyan readily agreed.
Su Ran returned to his pocket.
The human's body temperature was really warm and made him feel at ease, but they were about to separate, so Su Ran decided to remember him and tell the other little roses that a human had saved him in the cave.
Just as he was making up his mind, he heard a very slight sound.
It was a very strange feeling, probably a living instinct. The chill suddenly spread throughout the body, causing Su Ran to subconsciously hug the leaves tightly.
The surroundings fell into dead silence.
In just a second, gunshots suddenly rang out.
Su Ran didn't have time to pull his head out of his pocket. He felt dizzy and fell heavily to the ground. In addition, several more gunshots were heard.
In the thick fog, he saw a huge black shadow, like an octopus, rushing out from the bottom of the green lake, attacking the fallen Si Chengyan with its tentacles.
Bang bang bang!
In an instant, the twisting tentacles were accurately knocked down.
Su Ran was blocked by Si Chengyan behind him and couldn't see what was happening.
until--
Only after the gun smoke cleared and the giant black shadow fell heavily back into the pool did he come to his senses.
Just one glance and Su Ran's eyes widened.
In the dim light, Si Chengyan leaned against the edge of a cliff, looking down at his injured arm. Although his face was expressionless and he showed no sign of pain, the wound was very long, stretching from his wrist to his elbow, and blood was dripping continuously.
After a while, he closed his eyes and seemed to fall into a brief coma.
"What’s wrong with you?"
There was no response, and Su Ran ran over anxiously.
Si Chengyan's wound was still bleeding, and the blood was flowing onto the ground, even his small leaves were stained with blood.
Seeing this, Su Ran became extremely anxious and started spinning around in circles while grabbing the leaves.
Do you want to find Qiao Ran?
No, he doesn't even know how to use a human walkie-talkie, let alone contact him.
How about... go find beetles or vines?
No, insects and plants can't help humans. All they can do is look for nutrient beads.
After thinking for a few seconds, Su Ran seemed to remember something and raised the flower bud.
Oh, and he also has healing powers!
Just consider it as a return gift for watering him.
However, he had never tried it on humans. The use of superpowers brought a lot of uncertainty. Whether it was him or Si Chengyan, if an accident happened, they might lose their lives.
But this is the only way now.
Su Ran grabbed his sleeve and climbed up with a grunt. He was very serious, as if he had mustered all his strength, and then he carefully stretched out the leaves.
In an instant, a faint white halo appeared on the leaf veins, covering the wound...
The author has something to say:
Come on, baby!
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