As they walked into the city, they discovered that S City was not just a dead city. In addition to the high level of greenery in other cities, the trees along the roadside were growing better and better, some even reaching a height of ten meters, blocking out the sun.
Many trees even grew in strange shapes, with vines entwined around them and bare branches pointing to the sky, surrounded by a deathly silence.
The city roads were covered with the same marks as those outside the city, as if something had broken out of the city. There were many cracks in the road surface, and Ruan Qing'an and Zhou Ziqi could only carefully avoid them to prevent falling into the dark cracks.
The entire sky above was blocked by trees.
Ruan Qingan couldn't help but frown: "Boss, are you sure we won't run into trouble if we keep going like this?"
"uncertain."
Zhou Ziqi spoke quite honestly.
Ruan Qingan paused, holding his knife, and looked at the researcher behind him who had his hands in his pockets and looked as relaxed as if he were on vacation.
She had something to say, but she wasn't sure if she should.
The surrounding area still maintains its normal urban appearance, but strangely, no matter what it is, there are various dents on it, and a rough comparison shows that the diameter of each dent is several meters wide.
The closed storefront was filled with vines that seemed to have swallowed the human-made structure whole among the trees and plants.
Zhou Ziqi seemed oblivious to the slightly resentful look in his bodyguard's eyes, and went straight to the tree trunk by the roadside—this tree was over ten meters tall, looked like a person, and looked like something from the underworld.
"Actually, there's no need to worry too much. I've already done my research. Mutant animals and zombies are more mobile, but conversely, they rarely have a core; they're mostly scattered."
“Mutant plants are different. They basically only grow in one place and then spread outwards. The core absorbs the surrounding nutrients and expands the root system, controlling more and more mutant plants and their own territory. This is different from zombies.”
As Zhou Ziqi spoke, he tapped the tree trunk with his finger: "Zombies control their groups by suppressing them through hierarchy, but mutated plants do not."
"So, boss, you really did come here for the mutated plants."
Ruan Qing'an could roughly guess what Zhou Ziqi was up to after leaving the Third Human Base. No wonder she didn't try to sneak back after being kidnapped by her; it turned out that this was exactly what he wanted.
Zhou Ziqi smiled and did not refute. Instead, he squatted down and took out a new glass test tube from his bag. Inside was a dark green substance that seemed to be alive, bubbling and surging.
Ruan Qing'an, holding the knife, stepped forward and asked, "Boss, what's this?"
"The mysterious substance I'm tinkering with, 'too lazy to name it 7'."
So what's in this test tube?
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ziqi looked at Ruan Qing'an strangely: "Didn't I say, Little Ruan, 'Too lazy to name 7'?"
"..."
Ruan Qing'an stared blankly, "Is this really the name?"
After a flash of cold light, the small scalpel twirled between Zhou Ziqi's slender fingers, so beautifully that it was as if he were playing with a work of art. Even his hands, which were used for experiments, were beautiful.
Of course... as long as it's not used to hook her chin.
Zhou Ziqi held the scalpel and gently made a cut on the tree trunk. Green sap flowed out along the trunk and dripped into the test tube. The green liquid, like a living organism, instantly absorbed it.
"Boss, are we really not going to get whipped to death by these vines?"
"It's not a big problem."
Zhou Ziqi didn't look at her, but instead fiddled with what he was holding. His narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes widened, revealing a slightly distorted excitement and fanaticism, but his hand holding the knife didn't tremble.
He explained, "The base sent people here before, but they all died in S City. The mutated plants here have been temporarily fed, and we are now like little insects growing on tree trunks."
Do you think it would care?
Zhou Ziqi's tone remained gentle, with a smile.
But Ruan Qing'an could sense the coldness and madness beneath that smile. Why did the action team dispatched by the Third Human Base suddenly come to this dead city? Judging from Zhou Ziqi's enthusiasm for coming to S City, he had clearly planned to come here long ago.
So, the action team that was dispatched was most likely sent because Zhou Ziqi had instigated them, just to feed it...
037: [Holy crap, this is terrifying when you think about it.]
"Heartless, that's always been this dog of a man's virtue."
Ruan Qing'an gave a cryptic chuckle and became wary of Zhou Ziqi again, observing the surrounding situation.
Zhou Ziqi was like a child who had found a toy, having a great time messing around with it, even though what he was doing was really neither solar nor very friendly...
Ruan Qing'an simply held the knife and waited, but just then—
"Boss, it smells burnt."
As she spoke, she had already gripped the hilt of the Tang sword. Her previously dull and sullen demeanor suddenly transformed into a fierce and imposing one, her leaden-gray eyes fixed on the distance.
Soon, Nguyen Thanh An saw clearly that it started from a street not far away, where a faint glimmer of fire could be seen, and then it quickly spread towards him, instantly setting the surrounding trees ablaze!
Zhou Ziqi then straightened up, his expression slightly somber.
"Tsk, how annoying, causing trouble at a time like this."
"Boss, let's get ready to run."
Ruan Qingan sheathed his knife: "In this situation, the mutated plants around us will definitely become active, so we need to hide first."
As they spoke, the two quickly moved away from the area where the fire was spreading, but the mutated plants around them reacted even faster, and all the trees began to stir, frantically trying to extinguish the flames.
The strangely shaped trees twisted in the flames, and eerie sound waves emanated from them, as if they were wailing.
Immediately afterwards—
The ground suddenly shook, as if something was surging beneath the road surface, and a strong sense of unease arose.
Looking at the crack in the ground, Ruan Qing'an suddenly realized something. Her face darkened, and she tossed the bag on her back to Zhou Ziqi: "Boss, you run first. They've started clearing out the intruders."
"Starting from this range, we need to run far away first to have a chance to leave their root system's range, and ideally, run out of S City!"
The moment Ruan Qing'an finished speaking, the road surface cracked again, with large cracks appearing—Zhou Ziqi hugged his bag, frowned, and turned around, only to see the petite girl holding a knife in one hand, her back to him.
Several meters wide vines meandered, and thick roots burst forth from beneath the road, like countless giant snakes soaring into the sky, then—completely enveloping her petite figure within them.
"Boss, let's hurry up and get going. We'll get extra pay if we finish this order."
“…Xiao Ruan, you’re a bit slow.”
Zhou Ziqi paused, his eyes filled with an unreadable emotion, as if he were somewhat displeased. He regretted not having strangled those little mice.
His knife shouldn't have broken here, what a pity...
【Affection Level: 15】
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