Chapter 45 Mutant Snake Soup with Salt and Pepper Snake Meat
Cheng Zhiyu had already determined that the small curly was a vine-like plant. At this moment, the small curly's vines suddenly became thicker and longer, but he had not yet realized the problem.
Suddenly, his waist was wrapped in vines, and then he was thrown into the air—yes, thrown into the air by Xiao Juan's vines.
Cheng Zhiyu couldn't help but exclaim, "Ahhh!"
He really hadn't expected Xiao Juan to be so mischievous, so he was completely unprepared and his head was spinning from being shaken so much that he yelled, "Xiao Juan, put me down!"
Little Curly seemed puzzled. Did Cheng Zhiyu not like this? So it changed its swaying method.
Cheng Zhiyu, who suddenly started swinging on the swing: "..."
He said weakly, "Put me down quickly."
He didn't want to spend the whole day wandering around in that space!
Fortunately, Xiao Er and Xiao Tie suddenly floated over, one burning the small rolls and the other turning into a cleaver to chop and chop.
With a thud, Xiao Juan was forced to put Cheng Zhiyu down, and Cheng Zhiyu, who landed on his bottom, was speechless.
He got up, dusted himself off, and saw Xiao Er and Xiao Tie furiously beating Xiao Juan. Both of them were level three, and together they were dealing with Xiao Juan, who naturally couldn't withstand the attack and frantically tried to dodge.
Cheng Zhiyu, like an old father trying to mediate a fight, said, "Alright, alright, stop fighting. Xiao Juan knows she was wrong, right?"
Xiao Juan: ?
Xiao Er and Xiao Tie respectfully stopped what they were doing, but didn't leave. They stood guard on either side of Cheng Zhiyu, like two bodyguards.
Cheng Zhiyu took the opportunity to educate Xiao Juan: "Xiao Juan, do you know how dangerous your behavior was? You can't do that again."
Little Curly felt wronged and confused. It just wanted to play with Cheng Zhiyu, how could it be dangerous?
Cheng Zhiyu explained, "Falling from such a height is very dangerous. What if you break a bone?"
His butt is still a little sore. He has a lot to say about this.
Xiao Juan still didn't quite understand; it wouldn't let Cheng Zhiyu fall.
“Although I know you didn’t do it on purpose, look, I just fell down!” Cheng Zhiyu emphasized to him seriously.
Xiao Juan finally reacted, and guiltily wrapped her vines around Cheng Zhiyu's wrist, as if admitting her mistake.
Cheng Zhiyu resisted the urge to break free. He was still traumatized by the previous incident, so he smiled and said, "It's good that you know you were wrong. Don't do it again next time, okay?"
Xiao Juan nodded unsteadily, then cautiously pointed to the menacing Xiao Er and Xiao Tie.
Cheng Zhiyu said to Xiao Er and Xiao Tie, "Xiao Juan is just a little naughty. I've already told her that. Thanks to you guys just now. We should get along peacefully from now on, understand?"
Xiao Er and Xiao Tie then went back.
Cheng Zhiyu opened Xiao Juan's message and learned that the other party's attack was "strangulation." He knew what that word meant without even thinking about it, and he patted his chest with lingering fear.
However, after careful consideration, he felt that Xiao Juan should be quite suitable for defense.
There are still some dangers in the forest, not only from strange beasts, but also from ordinary wild animals. Having a defense would make you feel much safer.
So Cheng Zhiyu asked Xiao Juan if she would be willing to defend the outside of the treehouse.
Xiao Juan was very enthusiastic, happily using her vines to wrap around Cheng Zhiyu, which startled him. Fortunately, this time Xiao Juan didn't throw him into the air... Well, congratulations.
Since Xiao Juan was willing, Cheng Zhiyu decided to give it a try.
Before that, please claim the system rewards.
As usual, the system space has been expanded to 10*10, which looks much more spacious.
Then there's the storage space, which has been expanded to 20 cubic meters, almost the size of a small warehouse, freeing up a lot of space inside.
Cheng Zhiyu was in a good mood. With the storage space expanded, he could now store whatever he wanted. He had been worried that he would have to give up some things when the space was almost full.
Finally, it was another plant.
He skillfully dug a hole with a shovel, then planted the plant and watered it.
The plant's lifespan was still a pitiful 5%, so it couldn't be fertilized yet. It needed to rest in the ground for a while, so he carefully watered it.
Upon closer inspection, he noticed that this plant was different from other plants when they were young. It had no leaves, only a main body that looked round and about the size of a soybean.
Cheng Zhiyu immediately decided on a name for it: "I'll call you Qiuqiu!"
He had been in the space for quite a while without realizing it. When Cheng Zhiyu came out, everyone was asleep, but Xiao Hei was not asleep and seemed to be waiting for him.
Cheng Zhiyu felt a pang of tenderness and gently stroked Xiao Hei's fur: "You're still growing, go to sleep when you're tired, don't wait for me."
Xiao Hei was the most stubborn of all: "I'm not sleepy."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but yawn.
Cheng Zhiyu: "..."
He ignored the awkwardness and said, "I'll go out for a bit and then come back to sleep."
Little Black wagged its tail and followed Cheng Zhiyu.
As they passed by the living room, Zhou Min was fast asleep, completely unaware of their presence.
When Cheng Zhiyu saw Xiao Hei acting cheekily and about to slap Zhou Min with its paw, he quickly stopped it: "Xiao Hei, don't disturb other people's sleep."
Xiao Hei naturally retracted its paw, pretending nothing had happened, and followed Cheng Zhiyu.
Cheng Zhiyu found it amusing. Sometimes he really thought Xiao Hei was amazing. He was calm and reliable in critical moments, but usually he was silly and a bit mischievous.
He opened the door. The temperature outside the treehouse was much colder. Cheng Zhiyu could even see the white breath he exhaled. They had eaten plants that could keep them warm, and they also had the Xiaoqiang treehouse. They felt that the low temperature was nothing to worry about. He just wondered how other superhumans would cope.
Cheng Zhiyu shook his head, let Xiao Juan come out, and planted it in front of the treehouse door. He asked with some concern, "Won't Xiao Juan feel cold?"
Xiao Juan shook her head, looking like she was adapting well.
Cheng Zhiyu was relieved to know that it could adapt. He looked up at Xiao Hei, who was curiously looking at Xiao Juan, and called it back, as it was getting late.
Just as Xiao Hei was about to go back with him, Xiao Juan became restless again and tried to use her vines to wrap around Xiao Hei. However, before she could even touch Xiao Hei, it was as if the latter had eyes in the back of its butt. A bolt of lightning hovered above Xiao Juan's head, ready to strike.
Little Curly shuddered and immediately and timidly retracted its vines, at which point the lightning above its head disappeared.
Cheng Zhiyu didn't see this scene; he was genuinely sleepy.
Back in my room, after washing up, I lay down on the bed and went to sleep.
Xiao Hei leaned closer: "Why are you sleeping on your stomach?"
Cheng Zhiyu mumbled, still half asleep, "I just got tripped by Xiao Juan, and my butt hurts."
It's just a little sore, I reckon it'll feel better by tomorrow.
Xiao Hei regretted not chopping up Xiao Juan earlier. He walked to Cheng Zhiyu's buttocks and gently touched it with his paw. The injury wasn't serious, and Cheng Zhiyu didn't react.
Little Black, on the other hand, felt his paws burning hot, as if his whole body was on fire.
How strange, I should stay away from Cheng Zhiyu.
Xiao Hei lay down at the foot of the bed to sleep, but not long after, he snuggled up next to Cheng Zhiyu.
The next day, Cheng Zhiyu woke up to find Zhou Min flying outside—yes, flying.
He immediately came to his senses and ran out. He saw Xiao Juan carrying Zhou Min, throwing him into the air, catching him with vines as he fell, and then throwing him into the air again.
Zhou Min: "Aaaaaaah!"
Cheng Zhiyu's temple throbbed; Xiao Juan was really too naughty!
He quickly said, "Xiao Juan, put him down!"
Fortunately, despite being mischievous, Xiao Juan was quite obedient. She obediently held Zhou Min and put him down, her movements showing a hint of reluctance, as if Zhou Min were some fun toy.
Cheng Zhiyu quickly went to Zhou Min's side: "How is it?"
Zhou Min: "...My legs are weak."
Hearing the commotion, Tian Qiao and Tian Manman also rushed out in a hurry.
Tian Qiao looked at Xiao Juan: "What is this?"
Cheng Zhiyu explained that this was a newly matured plant: "It's a bit mischievous, it likes to throw people into the air."
"It scared me to death! I went out and saw this thing, and then it threw me into the air," Zhou Min said, still shaken.
Cheng Zhiyu said apologetically, "I left it at the door for defense, but I didn't expect it to..."
Tian Qiao laughed: "Zhou Min, you're really having a tough time! But this should be much more exciting than those drop tower rides at amusement parks."
Zhou Min: "...More than that, I feel like I'm bungee jumping."
The little vine swayed, feeling as if it had been praised, and was about to be happy when a bolt of lightning as thick as a bowl was suspended in mid-air above its trunk.
Xiao Juan froze, too timid to move.
Cheng Zhiyu seized the opportunity to lecture him: "What did I say yesterday? Whether it's me or anyone else, no one can do this, do you hear me?"
The little curl frantically shook the vines to indicate that it understood.
Cheng Zhiyu patted Xiao Hei: "Alright, take it back."
Little Black flicked its tail, crackling a few times on the main trunk of Little Curly, scaring the latter into trembling before it withdrew its lightning.
Zhou Min was deeply moved: "Brother Hei, you've risked everything for your beloved!"
Xiao Hei: "?"
Zhou Min: "I never imagined I was so important to you. I'm so touched."
Xiao Hei: "..." What's it to you?
He moved closer to Cheng Zhiyu and asked with concern, "Does your butt still hurt?"
Cheng Zhiyu asked awkwardly, "How did you know?"
Xiao Hei: "You said it yourself."
Cheng Zhiyu coughed lightly: "It doesn't hurt anymore. I wasn't seriously injured when I fell yesterday."
Seeing that he was walking normally, Xiao Hei was relieved.
Last night was safe. The mutated bird died. Cheng Zhiyu was worried that without the threat, other wild animals would come and take the opportunity to attack them. However, perhaps because Xiao Juan was there last night, nothing like that happened.
Regardless, Xiao Juan did deserve credit, so Cheng Zhiyu sent it back to its space to rest.
As a result, the small curl shrank and shrank, becoming more than ten centimeters long, and wrapped around Cheng Zhiyu's wrist.
At first glance, it looks like a uniquely shaped bracelet.
Cheng Zhiyu raised an eyebrow and poked it: "Not going back to the space?"
The little curl rubbed against me affectionately, as if to say: I'll protect you.
Cheng Zhiyu didn't listen to it entirely and asked the system: "Will there be any problems with the plants not being able to move around?"
After a while, the system replied: "No, combat-type plants mainly upgrade through battles or by absorbing crystal cores. Just return to your spatial dimension when absorbing crystal cores."
Cheng Zhiyu was relieved to hear this. Since there was no problem, Xiao Juan could keep it on her wrist.
Xiao Hei was very dissatisfied and bared its teeth at Xiao Juan. At first, Xiao Juan was a little scared, but it soon discovered that as long as it wrapped around Cheng Zhiyu's wrist, Xiao Hei was helpless against it, so Xiao Juan stopped caring at all.
Xiao Hei: "..."
It's so annoying.
This morning I finally got to eat garlic lettuce leaves. I just blanched the lettuce leaves in hot water, added minced garlic and a little salt, and it was delicious without any other preparation.
There weren't many, and they would get hot if they ate them, so they didn't eat much.
Fortunately, they were in the forest, where it wasn't as hot during the day as it is in the city.
As Cheng Zhiyu and his group traveled, they scanned safe areas. They moved quickly and hadn't encountered any danger in the first two days. After all, encountering strange beasts wasn't easy. In just two days, they had already covered more than half of their territory.
Compared to the quiet of the first day, on the third day, the communicator was frequently receiving distress calls. However, they checked the distance and found that the calls were not close enough for them to reach the affected areas. By the time they arrived, it was too late, and they were helpless.
"I reckon it'll be over the day after tomorrow." Zhou Min was exhausted these past two days; his physical condition was the worst among them.
I'm so tired every night that I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.
Cheng Zhiyu nodded: "Yes, I hope everything goes well."
Tian Qiao muttered, "Aside from the mutated bird, we haven't encountered any other strange beasts. It's quite boring."
As he was speaking, he suddenly felt something tangled around his ankle. He looked down and laughed, "Xiao Juan, can you stop messing around?"
Cheng Zhiyu glanced at the well-behaved little curl on his wrist, his expression changing: "Be careful!"
Fortunately, Tian Qiao reacted quickly and cut the plant off before it tightened around her ankle: "Damn it, I just said I didn't encounter any strange beasts!"
Zhou Min was still shaken: "Is this a plant-based alien beast?"
Cheng Zhiyu nodded: "It should be."
They frowned and looked around, but found nothing. Strange, it should be nearby.
Xiao Hei: "In the tree!"
Cheng Zhiyu immediately looked up and met a pair of clueless eyes, instantly feeling a chill run down his spine.
It was a grayish-brown snake, as thick as a wrist, flicking its tongue and staring at them menacingly.
"Damn, this gives me the creeps." Tian Qiao immediately shot an ice arrow at it.
A large, emerald-green net appeared before the snake, blocking the ice arrows, and then the net came toward them.
"Xiao Juan!" Cheng Zhiyu called out.
Countless vines immediately sprouted from Cheng Zhiyu's wrist, tearing the large net to shreds.
Only then did they realize that there were countless mouth-like things on the net, and if they accidentally touched them, they would surely be bitten.
With so many long beaks biting you... you can imagine what it must have been like.
"Oh my god, this is disgusting," Zhou Min said with disgust.
When the snake's attack failed, the previously quiet and harmless plants on the ground suddenly became agitated and began to attack them frantically.
Zhou Min immediately slashed with a dagger, while Tian Manman used a large knife.
Cheng Zhiyu immediately said, "Tian Qiao!"
As soon as he finished speaking, all the plants under his feet were frozen solid, unable to move, and naturally lost their offensive capabilities.
At the same time, a kitchen knife silently appeared behind the snake and slashed at it.
At that moment, the snake was struggling with the small coil. As a strangling vine, once the snake was wrapped in its tendrils, the thorns on the tendrils would pierce the skin. The thorns had a paralyzing effect, so no matter how much the snake struggled, it would be of no use.
Although the mutated snake was unclear about the situation, it knew it couldn't get entangled by the small coil. It frantically dodged the vines that the small coil was trying to wrap around, while attempting to bite the small coil.
The two sides were locked in a stalemate for a moment. The mutated snake was unaware that a kitchen knife had appeared behind it and slashed down instantly.
The mutated snake only then sensed the danger and frantically tried to dodge, but the cleaver still came crashing down.
In Cheng Zhiyu's prediction, Xiao Tie's attack would at least cut the mutated snake in two.
However, contrary to his expectations, Xiao Tie only left a deep wound on the mutated snake's body, exposing the bone.
The mutated snake collapsed, powerless.
"Dead?" Tian Qiao raised an eyebrow.
Zhou Min let out a breath: "Judging from its appearance, it's not moving at all, it must be dead, right?"
Xiao Juan stretched out her vines, intending to wrap the snake around and throw it to Cheng Zhiyu, when suddenly, the snake, which was only as thick as a wrist, grew larger and became as thick as a person could hug.
It straightened its upper body, blocking out the sky and the sun.
The little coil immediately coiled around the mutated snake, but a burst of fire shot over, instantly burning the little coil to a crisp.
Cheng Zhiyu frowned: "Xiao Juan, come back quickly!"
Little Curly didn't listen and continued to entangle the mutated snake, its poisonous needles piercing the snake's skin. The mutated snake struggled and shook Little Curly off.
Unfortunately, the mutated snake was too large, so even when poisoned, it only slowed down its movements.
Cheng Zhiyu swiftly stored the small scroll into his spatial storage, and then the small iron plates, mechanical guns, and countless bullets flew towards the mutated snake.
Xiao Er also appeared. It is a fire-type creature and is completely unafraid of the mutated snake's fire.
The mutated snake frantically dodged bullets while also trying to avoid the waiter.
It was hit by quite a few bullets, and its body was also charred by Xiao Er.
Tian Qiao and his group were not idle either. They shot out ice arrows one after another. The mutated snake tried to breathe fire. In the forest, once a fire starts, it is difficult to control. The mutated snake was also thinking of fighting to the death and had no scruples at all.
As a result, it spewed out a ball of fire, which was extinguished by water. It spewed out another ball of fire, which was extinguished by water again, making the mutated snake extremely irritable.
Lightning bolts would strike its head from time to time, making it wish it could roll on the spot in pain.
Lightning, bullets, ice arrows, and fire—Zhou Min even managed to sneak up with a dagger. If the mutated snake could talk, it would probably be cursing and wondering if it was being punished by heaven!
However, the mutated snake had a lot of blood, and it was able to hold on even like that, resulting in a stalemate for a time.
Just then, the mutated snake suddenly felt a weight on its body. It sensed a life-threatening danger and tried to throw off the person who was trying to climb onto its body.
Unfortunately, Tian Manman was very fast, holding tightly to the mutated snake as she climbed upwards.
As the mutated snake tried to dodge the attacks from its surroundings, Tian Manman climbed onto its head. It frantically lashed out at Tian Manman with its tail, and despite being hit several times, she gritted her teeth and clung to the mutated snake. Then, she picked up a large knife and forcefully stabbed it into the snake's head.
The mutated snake's skin was very tough, but fortunately, Tian Manman's knife was not an ordinary one. In addition, he was very strong and deliberately stabbed the ground that Xiao Tie had just cut. With a "thud", the knife was directly inserted into the mutated snake's head.
At the same time, lightning and ice arrows attacked the mutated snake's wounds relentlessly, and Cheng Zhiyu's mechanical gun transformed into a crossbow, firing an arrow at it.
The mutated snake had been roaring with its mouth open when the arrow pierced its throat. Tian Manman pulled out her broadsword and plunged it back in. The snake's wound was now a gruesome sight, and it collapsed, lifeless.
Cheng Zhiyu ran over: "Manman, where are you hurt?"
Tian Manman smiled foolishly: "It's nothing..."
When Tian Qiao saw that his arm was bleeding from being pulled, she almost burst into tears: "You're still okay? Look at the state you've become! Are you stupid? We'll wear this snake down sooner or later!"
Tian Manman's face was a little pale: "I want to help."
"You're doing great." Cheng Zhiyu patted Tian Qiao to calm him down. "But we also hope you don't get hurt."
Tian Manman scratched her head: "Hmm."
Zhou Min grimaced, having been slapped several times as well: "This snake is really tough to deal with. I only managed to leave a tiny wound after stabbing it with a dagger."
Tian Qiao kicked the mutated snake, which was practically dead: "Who would have thought it had dual abilities?"
"Manman, come here quickly, let me heal your wounds." Zhou Min quickly healed his own wounds and then called Tian Manman over.
“Right, I almost forgot Zhou Min is a healing type.” Tian Qiao quickly pulled Tian Manman to Zhou Min’s side.
Zhou Min placed his hand on Tian Manman's body, and the wounds on her body that had been slapped so hard they were almost torn open instantly healed, leaving her skin looking incredibly smooth, as if she hadn't been injured at all.
Even though Cheng Zhiyu and the others had already seen it, they still found it amazing.
Zhou Min felt tired after using his superpower and needed to rest.
He didn't care about the dirt, sat down on the ground, looked at the snake that was dozens of meters long, and muttered, "This should be edible, right?"
Everyone looked at Cheng Zhiyu, including Xiao Hei.
Cheng Zhiyu: "..."
He said, "Let's peel off the snake skin first. This snake skin has good defensive capabilities, and we can make vests or something for it later."
Everyone agreed that this made sense and immediately began to skin the snake.
It took a lot of effort to get the snake, which was several tens of meters long. During the process, Cheng Zhiyu dug out the crystal core from the snake's head. The dual-elemental beast had two crystal cores in its head, one fire-elemental and one plant-elemental.
No one else needed them, so he gave one to Xiao Er and the other to Xiao Qiang.
Xiao Er is currently at level three, and it will be very difficult for him to advance to level four; it would probably require a lot of crystal cores.
Xiaoqiang estimated that with this one, he could upgrade to level two, but he didn't know what would happen after level two.
After skinning the snake, they chopped the meat into pieces. While the others were busy, Cheng Zhiyu pondered and, after confirming that the snake meat was not poisonous, decided to make a snake soup and then a salt and pepper snake dish.
The former is simmered slowly, while the latter is coated in flour and deep-fried. Once fried, it is taken out, sprinkled with seasonings, and ready to eat.
Cheng Zhiyu called out, "Xiao Hei, come over and try it, how is it?"
Little Black immediately came over on its short legs, its tail wagging involuntarily. Snake meat has no bones, so you can bite and eat it directly.
Cheng Zhiyu stuffed it into Xiao Hei's mouth. The latter took a bite and thought it tasted good. The meat had been marinated in advance, so it didn't have any strange taste. The outer shell was crispy, and the meat inside was very tender.
Moreover, because it is a mythical beast, each bite is packed with energy.
"I want to eat too! I want to eat too!" Zhou Min stretched out his hand like a zombie, with Tian Qiao and Tian Manman following closely behind.
Frying meat doesn't require much skill; it doesn't matter if it's a little charred or a little tender. So the group took turns frying, and Cheng Zhiyu squatted down to eat as well.
After we finished eating most of it, we fried the rest and stored them in our spatial storage. We can keep them as snacks whenever we have free time.
Then each of us drank a bowl of hot snake soup, and our stomachs felt warm instantly. After eating too much salt and pepper snake meat, we were feeling a bit greasy, but the snake soup was just the right thing to cleanse us. One bite was so comforting; it felt like we hadn't eaten anything this good even before the apocalypse.
I've spent a few days in the forest, and I estimate that it will be about time to leave tomorrow or the day after.
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