Care Guide to Raising a Max Level Leaf in Apocalypse - 13
Si Yin Yuan admitted that his heart tightened when he saw this scene.
Because the young man before him was covered in red marks that resembled a crime scene.
Ji Jiu had flower petals stuffed in his mouth, and upon hearing a sound, he lifted his head in alertness, resembling a little squirrel hoarding food. His fair cheeks were stained with red from the juicy petals.
In his gaze toward Si Yin Yuan, aside from shock, there was a hint of imperceptible guilt.
“Mmm mmm mmm! I wasn’t eating them secretly!”
Si Yin Yuan strangely understood what he said. He felt that this scene in front of him was somewhat excessively familiar, and it wasn’t until he saw Ji Jiu’s guilty and fluffy dumbfounded look that he remembered where he had seen this scene before.
Before the apocalypse, he had watched a video on someone else’s phone. It was a dog that fell asleep after stealing and eating a red-fleshed dragon fruit, and its face was covered in “bloodstains,” scaring its owner nearly to scream.
Si Yin Yuan: …
Among all the Ji Jius he encountered, he couldn’t understand why he had a strong intuition that this particular Ji Jiu was real.
Ji Jiu finally managed to swallow the flower petals in his mouth and lowered his head, pulling on a innocent blue flower in his hand while guiltily speaking, “I wasn’t stealing food!”
Before he could finish his words, Si Yin Yuan held his cheek, his gaze stern. “How did you follow us?”
Ji Jiu couldn’t speak with his cheek being held. “Mmm mmm mmm!”
He looked pitiful, completely unlike someone who would take the initiative to secretly come to such a dangerous place.
But he had done so.
After releasing his cheek, Ji Jiu covered his face and moved backward, making sure he wouldn’t be pinched again. Then he spoke with a touch of grievance, “I followed you guys here.”
“How…” Si Yin Yuan suddenly realized something, furrowing his brow. “You weren’t hiding in a nutrient pod, were you?”
Nutrient pod?
Was it the white hard-shell thing he saw when he was secretly drinking nutrient fluid?
His body was quicker than his mind. Ji Jiu nodded earnestly, “Yeah.”
Because in the “Dream Garden,” where the hunters were all considered missing, according to the Hunter Code, if you encountered a missing comrade outside, you had to find a way to bring them back. Nutrient pods were the most suitable for transporting the injured.
If the youth had been hiding in a nutrient pod and followed them here, then everything became easier to explain. Nutrient pods could provide certain isolation from the outside world, and it made sense to be placed on Feng Chuyao’s vehicle without Si Yin Yuan noticing.
Si Yin Yuan fell into silence for a moment but chose to extend his hand and pinch the youth’s soft cheek a few times.
Only when Ji Jiu protested with a whimper did he casually retract his hand.
Bad pet owner, always bullying the little grass.
Ji Jiu pouted unhappily, picking up a flower and stuffing it into his mouth while muttering.
There was nothing more soothing to the soul than food.
He was eating happily and naturally, to the point that Si Yin Yuan almost didn’t notice what was wrong until he reacted. By then, Ji Jiu had already chewed and swallowed several flowers.
The area with flowers seemed noticeably sparser.
And the culprit was still reaching out its guilty hands toward other flowers.
Si Yin Yuan frowned and stopped him. “Don’t eat them. We don’t know if these flowers are poisonous.”
Ji Jiu blinked innocently and confidently said, “But my ability is ‘Toxin Resistance,’ and these flowers taste sweet and delicious.”
Each color even had a different flavor, and eating them together was like a colorful sweet feast.
Si Yin Yuan plucked a petal from his mouth, calmly saying, “Don’t eat these flowers. You can have all the strawberry-flavored nutrient fluid you want when we go back.”
“Okay,” Ji Jiu reluctantly put down the half-eaten flower in his hand.
If this flower field had consciousness, it would probably be crying from being frightened by Ji Jiu.
But no matter how you looked at it, these flowers were just ordinary flowers. Aside from the unknown variety and vibrant colors, they didn’t have any peculiar features.
Just as they continued forward, Ji Jiu suddenly looked up at the sun in the sky. “The sun looks a bit strange.”
As an mutant creature, his intuition was also sharp.
Si Yin Yuan raised his head, his golden eyes fixed on the sun.
“It does look strange. Our shadows are on the left, and the sun is also on our left…”
Ji Jiu tilted his head in confusion. “So, which one is wrong?”
“Maybe everything has been wrong from the beginning,” Si Yin Yuan paused, “Since we stepped into this flower sea, we’ve been trapped in a dream.”
It was just unclear why both he and Ji Jiu entered the same dream.
Dreaming together was never supposed to happen, but with the apocalypse having lasted for so long, Si Yin Yuan’s tolerance for these inconceivable things was gradually increasing.
He spoke out the illusion of this world, and suddenly, large areas of distorted air and black cracks appeared.
Si Yin Yuan opened his eyes, awakening from his slumber. He saw the real “Dream Garden.”
Ji Jiu lay not far away, easily found by pushing aside the flowers. He rubbed his eyes and got up, still groggy and murmuring something.
The real garden had many horrifying and eerie void cracks, from which numerous sounds emerged.
There were sounds filled with fireworks and sounds of war and gunfire everywhere.
Each crack represented a dream.
From some point on, Ji Jiu again held onto Si Yin Yuan’s clothes, following closely behind like a little tail.
Si Yin Yuan walked past these cracks, peering into reality from the void. In these cracks, he saw countless futures of this world, where misery and hope coexisted.
The rise and fall of humanity were displayed in countless possibilities within these cracks.
The flapping of a butterfly’s wings could lead to the disappearance of an entire crack, but then more cracks would emerge with different possibilities.
Si Yin Yuan stopped his steps at an ordinary-looking crack. From within the crack, he saw a familiar face — Og.
Ji Jiu noticed something and poked his head out, looking with him. “Is there someone you know in there?”
“Yeah,” Si Yin Yuan’s tone was complicated. “He’s the S-rank hunter who went missing in the ‘Dream Garden.'”
When he saw Og just now, even though it was only a fleeting moment, he could tell that Og was alone.
Og had never been separated from his sister, even during this mission, they went together. The missing S-rank hunter and his companion referred to the two of them. Considering the uniqueness of Og’s awakened ability and his infatuation with his sister, Si Yin Yuan found it hard to imagine Og appearing alone in the crack.
The situation didn’t look optimistic.
But it was fortunate enough to see that he was still alive.
Without any hesitation, Si Yin Yuan had already decided to jump in and save him.
He turned to Ji Jiu. “Can you stay here obediently?”
The crack was unknown, and at least for now, there didn’t seem to be any danger in this flower field.
Bad pet owner wanted to leave him behind again!
Ji Jiu’s mind was filled with only that sentence, and he pouted unhappily. “I’m going with you. Otherwise, I’ll eat all the flowers here by myself.”
If this threat came from someone else’s mouth, Si Yin Yuan would probably dismiss it with a smile.
Coming from Ji Jiu’s mouth, there was a 99% chance.
Si Yin Yuan helplessly said, “Then you have to stay close to me.”
He even took out a retractable rope to tie themselves together, but when he thought of Feng Chuyao and Yu Feichen getting separated this way and gave up on the idea. Instead, he took the initiative to hold Ji Jiu’s hand and instructed him with concern, “Make sure to stay close to me.”
“Okay,” Ji Jiu happily agreed.
He eagerly reached out with his other free hand to touch the crack, like a child eager to go on an outing with an adult. The moment their hands touched the crack, they both entered that dream.
An irresistible drowsiness swept over them, and their figures gradually lost themselves within the cracks.
…
“CEO Si, here is your schedule for tonight.”
The man had long legs and walked fast, so the secretary had to quicken her pace to keep up with him.
Si Yin Yuan lowered his head to accept it and glanced at it, his gaze freezing on one of the entries about an evening party.
The secretary followed his gaze and explained, “It’s a charity gala. I’m not sure if you will find your own dance partner tonight or if I should arrange one for you.”
She looked at the tall man beside her with a hint of teenage infatuation in her eyes.
This newly emerged nobleman had left the military about three years ago, still exuding a resolute and efficient demeanor. Initially, many people didn’t have high expectations for him, but no one expected that he would take the company public and greatly increase his net worth in just two years.
Si Yin Yuan declined, saying, “I don’t need a specific dance partner.”
He never liked attending social events under various pretexts, let alone forcing himself to find a partner to fit into their rules.
“Alright,” the secretary’s voice carried a barely noticeable hint of disappointment.
The more virtuous a man appeared, the more difficult it seemed to approach him.
The charity gala was held at a business-like hotel. The organizers had booked the entire venue for this dance. Si Yin Yuan, who arrived late and alone, drew the attention of many people present.
They approached, holding their glasses with false smiles on their faces.
Si Yin Yuan also curved his lips in response, raising his champagne glass.
He had been through these kinds of days for three years, and there shouldn’t have been any waves anymore. However, today felt particularly restless.
He suddenly remembered the glimpse he had caught earlier when he left his bedroom. A small potted plant had remained calmly on the windowsill the whole time.
The tiny three-centimeter plant had withered one day three years ago, but he had kept the habit of not throwing away the potted plant, always giving it a glance before going out.
This restlessness was completely baseless. He declined a person who wanted to propose a toast to him and silently left the dance floor, coming to a corner to get some fresh air.
Because of the angle, he noticed something amiss at the party.
Why were the things on the buffet table so scarce??
Nobody came to this kind of event for the food, but the organizers would usually prepare a lot of visually appealing dishes to maintain appearances. It wasn’t like now, with only empty plates on the buffet table.
Surveillance had practically become instinct for him. He discovered that a large amount of food had been deliberately moved and hidden by someone in this bustling gathering, like a hibernating little hamster repeatedly transporting its food.
Perhaps due to greedily taking too much at once, something resembling grapes fell onto the exquisite carpet. He instinctively followed the traces left by the sneaky little creature.
Finally, he found the little hamster on a small balcony.
The youth stared with round eyes, his mouth still stuffed with a mouthful of cream cake. Caught red-handed, he instinctively ran away.
“Mmm mmm mmm! I didn’t steal it!”