Care Guide to Raising a Max Level Leaf in Apocalypse - 27
Undead birds
Si Yin Yuan opened his eyes and looked down at Ji Jiu, who was sleeping peacefully in his arms.
Ji Jiu usually tossed and turned in his sleep, waking up with either himself or the blanket on the bed, but when he was held by Si Yin Yuan, he would behave exceptionally well, maintaining the same position in his embrace throughout the night.
The sky outside was still dark, with a faint gray hue.
He gazed at Ji Jiu, feeling reluctant to wake him up. Si Yin Yuan got up quietly, planning to change shifts with someone outside. However, as he stood up, he felt a slight tug from the corner of his clothing.
When he turned around, Ji Jiu was sitting up with half-open eyes, looking at him. His mind was still not fully awake, but his hand had already instinctively gripped the hem of Si Yin Yuan’s clothes.
Thinking about the mushroom soup from last night, he subconsciously said, “I want mushroom soup.”
Si Yin Yuan turned and rubbed his head, his voice carrying a hint of hoarseness from just waking up, “Alright.”
Hearing the movement from their tent, Third Sister, who had been on night watch for two hours, walked over and asked through the curtain, “Squad Leader, are you changing shifts?”
“Yes,” he replied, leading Ji Jiu away.
After a simple wash, Si Yin Yuan took out a sample of coral-shaped monkey head mushroom from the car and cut a piece to add to the thick soup he was cooking.
The aroma filled the air, and Ji Jiu, now fully awake, held his own small bowl, waiting quietly by the side.
They were facing the direction where the sun would rise. Ji Jiu wasn’t particularly interested in watching the sunrise, but having his owner by his side made it different, especially when his owner was preparing a hot bowl of mushroom soup for him.
When the first rays of light appeared, Ji Jiu had just finished the last sip of soup. The golden morning light fell into his eyes, giving him an ethereal golden veil and making him look extremely gentle.
While the clouds began to be painted with beautiful colors by the sunrise, Si Yin Yuan’s gaze didn’t land on that sunrise. Instead, he was looking at Ji Jiu, feeling as if the emptiness in his heart was being filled.
Before he could delve deep into the inexplicable impulse within him, Ji Jiu suddenly moved his hand and pointed, asking, “What’s that?”
He saw a faint point of light above the clouds, which became even more difficult to capture after half of the sun had risen. If not looked at carefully, it could easily be mistaken for a strange star.
Little Grass had a much stronger perception of such strange things than humans, and it immediately sensed that something was amiss.
Si Yin Yuan followed the direction he pointed and gradually became serious. “Lighthouse.”
He urgently woke up the others, and a few well-trained individuals immediately entered combat mode.
Guan Yin squinted her eyes and confirmed, “It’s a lighthouse, no doubt about it. I didn’t expect it to appear during the day.”
Third Sister pursed her lips. “I was just about to fall asleep.”
Complaints aside, they quickly put on their large black witch hoods and used their abilities as “witches.”
Second Sister held a broom. “We must hurry; the lighthouse may disappear soon with the day getting brighter.”
Guan Yin swallowed nervously. There were still marks on his hands from the scratches made by Second Sister’s broom. He hesitated, saying, “I won’t ride on your broom.”
He couldn’t recognize people, but he could immediately identify the broom.
The one with the worst temper, just like a cat, was the Second Sister with the broom.
Second Sister pulled Ji Jiu over. “I’ll ride with Ji Jiu.”
The “witches'” brooms could only carry two people at a time, but they were extremely agile.
The reason Si Yin Yuan called them was to utilize their abilities to reach the lighthouse when needed.
Not everyone had the experience of riding a broom, and Ji Jiu seemed fascinated, like a child experiencing a roller coaster ride for the first time, looking extremely delighted.
Si Yin Yuan had originally wanted to caution him not to look down, as it could be frightening for someone afraid of heights, but as soon as he saw Ji Jiu’s eyes, he knew that he was having a great time.
Among those present, he was the most relaxed, not at all like someone about to enter an S-level vanishing enclave. Instead, he looked like he was going to an amusement park.
He was also curious about the possible presence of ghosts in the vanishing enclave.
Although the broom was shaky, it was surprisingly fast and precise, swiftly ascending in the direction of the lighthouse as if riding an elevator.
Below, the tents and modified vehicles they set up looked like tiny ants.
They only realized after reaching the lighthouse that this tall tower was actually the lowest point in the entire vanishing enclave. They had to ascend along the lighthouse to reach the realm, which was why it was known as the entrance and exit of the vanishing enclave.
Guan Yin sat on Third Sister’s broom, feeling frustrated. “That millipede climbed up this lighthouse while holding onto me.”
The lighthouse, built with white stone walls, rose high into the sky, directly into the clouds. Apart from the light coming from above, they couldn’t see what was happening up there.
Ji Jiu’s feet playfully dangled on the broom, and suddenly, he sensed something and listened attentively.
Si Yin Yuan, quicker than him, issued a warning, “Something is coming!”
The triplets immediately increased the broom’s power and sped upward.
But it was too late; a large group of undead birds flew in from the other side of the lighthouse. When they saw the group, they flapped their wings incessantly, producing a grating and ear-piercing noise.
The undead birds were a type of avian mutation, initially identified as a type of hawk based on their skeletal structure. They were bone-white birds with no feathers, no flesh, and no internal organs, only lifeless skeletons.
The undead birds were also known as skeletal birds.
They flocked and attacked in groups whenever there were warm living creatures nearby, but they got along well with plant-based mutations that lacked body heat.
They had no vocal cords and couldn’t make sounds like other birds. The eerie noises they produced while flying were actually the result of their skeletons rubbing against each other, similar to the buzzing of bee wings. Creak! Creak! Creak!
A large group of them came flying over without giving anyone time to react.
Si Yin Yuan’s expression instantly darkened, and his first reaction was to turn and shout at Ji Jiu, “Hold on tight and don’t fall!”
The beaks of the undead birds had tiny teeth, and when they pecked, they could bite off a piece of flesh.
The triplets all screamed in unison, and their brooms were scattered in all directions. To avoid the undead birds, they had to fly at tricky angles.
Even though Si Yin Yuan responded quickly and burned a large area with golden flames, the surrounding area was engulfed in a golden blaze, but it couldn’t stop so many undead birds at once.
Scattered like being hit by a white wave, the triplets got farther and farther apart. Second Sister’s broom had its tail branch pecked, causing it to fly uncontrollably, like a flying machine running out of fuel. A large group of undead birds surrounded them tightly without showing any gaps.
To prevent falling and being shattered, Second Sister could only throw out corrosive witch’s potion, seizing the opportunity to fly up. Using the last of her broom’s strength, she made it to the top of the lighthouse. The broom lost its magic and fell to the ground, becoming an ordinary broom. Second Sister also lost her strength and fell to the ground in the vanishing enclave. Without time to feel the pain in her back, she hurriedly looked around. “Ji Jiu, are you okay?”
She widened her eyes, looking incredulously at the empty area nearby.
…
Creak! Creak! Creak!
Ji Jiu raised his head and watched as the undead birds that had grabbed him ran away. Slowly, he realized that he had been abducted.
Experiencing this for the first time, he found it somewhat amusing.
The undead bird grabbed his upper arms with bony claws and flaunted him as a trophy in the air towards its companions. It was the largest among this group of undead birds, and even though the other undead birds were jealous to the point where their skeletal eyes were burning, none dared to come and snatch him away.
Perhaps it wanted to find a quiet place to enjoy this meal. Despite its meandering flight, it ended up bringing Ji Jiu to the vanishing enclave atop the lighthouse.
Ji Jiu made a symbolic attempt to struggle but couldn’t break free.
The undead bird lowered its head to look at the uncooperative prey, flapped its wings angrily as a warning, and tightened its claws slightly.
This made Ji Jiu wince in pain. He had been enjoying the aerial scenery leisurely, but now he felt like giving this naughty bird a good beating.
With a “plop,” Ji Jiu disappeared, leaving only a tuft of grass clutching the undead bird’s bony claw.
The undead bird urgently landed on top of a tall building, looking puzzled, and glanced at its claw.
Where did the person go? I just had this big person here a moment ago.
It noticed a small green object on its claw and raised its claw closer to its face, peering with its hollow skeletal eye.
Creak! Creak!
In an instant, Ji Jiu conjured a sandbag-shaped black mist and forcefully struck the undead bird’s face. It was hit off balance, and the next moment, the sandbag-shaped black mist rained down on it like a storm.
One punch after another, Ji Jiu lightly jumped down while using the black mist to pummel the audacious undead bird, leaving it almost falling apart before he stopped.
The undead bird lay motionless on the ground, pretending to be dead, trembling uncontrollably all over while making creaking bone sounds.
It realized that it had caught something extraordinary, something it could never contend with.
Ji Jiu arrogantly used the black mist to pull out two bones from its wings, rendering it incapable of flying anymore.
With small leaf blades, he pushed and pushed the bones until, exhausted and gasping for breath, he finally managed to get them to the edge of the rooftop. If it weren’t for the bird’s bones being hollow, he wouldn’t have been able to move them.
The tuft of grass cheekily patted the bones with leaf blades. In the end, with one last push, it sent them down from the high building, shattering them into pieces.
However, given that Ji Jiu was only three centimeters tall and the leaf blades were round, the action was not so much arrogant as it was endearing.
The undead bird trembled as if it sensed something and watched helplessly as the two most important bones from its wings were tossed aside, not daring to hold any grudge against this little tyrant.
Ji Jiu, who had avenged himself, initially intended to swallow it whole with the black mist. However, a sudden gust of wind blew by, and the little tuft of grass, which had been standing on the edge of the skyscraper, was unexpectedly blown away.
Ji Jiu: ?
He had always laid down wherever he fell, so after being blown away by the wind, he didn’t panic. He floated in the air, taking the opportunity to preview the entire vanishing enclave.
As expected, this vanishing enclave was indeed an abandoned town. There were many slogans on the streets, once carrying the hopes of humanity.
“Everything for humanity!”
“Humans are the most noble!”
“Hope will rise with the next sunrise!”
These slogans covered the streets and alleys, bearing the hopes of the base’s leaders for the future of humanity.
Unfortunately, this base was eventually wiped out by mutants, and not a single person escaped. They hadn’t received any news about how the base had fallen. At this moment, these slogans became rather piercing.
Ji Jiu was just a small tuft of grass, and he didn’t understand the complex emotions of humans. He silently looked at those slogans, and when the wind stopped, he followed and fell with a “thud” onto a hard piece of steel.
It was a moving piece of steel.
Ji Jiu, the little tuft of grass, struggled to lift his leaf blades to look up at this colossal entity. He realized that he hadn’t landed on a piece of steel but on one of the legs of the terrifying thousand-legged milipede mentioned by Guan Yin!
Compared to his tiny three-centimeter body, the thousand-legged milipede was incredibly massive, to the extent that he couldn’t see its beginning or end.
Ji Jiu let out a slow exclamation, “Wow! OvO”
Unbeknownst to the overly relaxed Ji Jiu, somewhere in this vanishing enclave, a certain human was searching for him with increasing frustration.