Care Guide to Raising a Max Level Leaf in Apocalypse - 30
Peace Lily
Si Yin Yuan’s gaze was cold and indifferent: “We’ll know if they’re human or ghosts when we go in.”
Hearing the possibility of ghosts, Ji Jiu became excited. He was eager to run inside but was restrained by the vigilant look from Si Yin Yuan. They stopped near the door, just one step away, and inside, a group of humanoid creatures sat diligently working at their respective positions.
Si Yin Yuan couldn’t help muttering, “It’s too scary. They worked 9 to 6 when they were alive, and now they’re still working as ghosts.”
This made him recall his own life, as he was also a 9 to 6 corporate worker before the apocalypse. Even after the world had changed, he had continued working tirelessly, and when he became an A-level hunter due to his exceptional performance, the feeling was akin to when he used to win sales championships.
The eldest sister chuckled self-deprecatingly, “Compared to our current dangerous life, I’d rather be a corporate worker.”
Ji Jiu tugged at Si Yin Yuan’s clothes and asked, “Are those really ghosts inside?”
Si Yin Yuan paused for a moment, then patted his head. “Not certain, but they’re definitely not living humans.”
Otherwise, their whispered conversation at the door would have already been detected.
He was slightly puzzled as he looked at Ji Jiu with his bright eyes. “Why are you so interested in these things?”
Ji Jiu thought for a moment. “Those are ghosts that can grow dragonfruit. I want to capture them and have them grow dragonfruit for me.”
He said this confidently, and Si Yin Yuan was tempted to agree for a moment. However, he quickly corrected himself, his expression serious. “No, we can’t bring them home.”
Ji Jiu visibly drooped, and his fluff wilted.
“…Ahem, well, we can capture one and take it to the research institute.”
Ji Jiu brightened up again, nuzzling Si Yin Yuan and conveniently ignoring the second part of his statement.
Guan Yin felt like crying, “Can we stop with the affectionate talk at a time like this? We’re dealing with ghosts!”
How could anyone think of capturing ghosts and bringing them home?
Ji Jiu, with his innocent curiosity, asked, “What does ‘affectionate talk’ mean? Humans have so many idioms, and I can’t remember them all.”
Sensing Si Yin Yuan’s gaze on him, Guan Yin hurriedly fabricated, “It means two friends have a very close relationship.”
Si Yin Yuan was satisfied and withdrew his gaze.
In his mind, he chuckled. “Friends, huh? Boss, your definition of friends is quite broad.”
He could only silently mock this inside his head because, in reality, Si Yin Yuan looked like he was ready to bravely sacrifice himself. He pushed the door open and shouted, “Don’t move!”
“Thousand Hands” was ready to attack at any moment, prepared to strike all the beings inside if anything seemed amiss.
Unexpectedly, there was complete silence inside. Even Si Yin Yuan fell silent for a moment when he saw the gruesome scene within.
These weren’t ghosts or spirits; they were clearly dead bodies, impaled on their respective office desks. They wore pre-apocalyptic work attire and had terrified expressions on their faces.
They appeared like puppets, manipulated to create a semblance of a bustling office environment, but it felt eerie and seemed like an endless abyss.
Si Yin Yuan muttered, somewhat dazed, “Is this hell?”
It was the hell of corporate workers.
What set them apart from typical puppets was that regular puppets had their limbs suspended from above, while these bodies were held in place by intertwined roots underneath. The roots below had bound their feet to the chairs and penetrated their clothes, securing their spines and arms.
It was because of this setup that they hadn’t noticed anything unusual when looking from the opposite side; they had merely seen numerous people sitting strangely at their desks.
The entire office floor was covered with entangled roots, leaving almost no room to step on. To move forward, they had no choice but to step on these roots.
Si Yin Yuan was the first to tread on them, but he found that the roots didn’t feel as sharp as expected; instead, they were soft, almost like stepping on flesh.
Instinctively, he tried to prevent Ji Jiu from coming closer, fearing that the unpleasant, sticky sensation would upset him.
However, it was too late. When Ji Jiu saw him walking forward, he instinctively followed, nearly stumbling on the soft roots.
Si Yin Yuan quickly turned around and grabbed him by the back of his collar, frowning. “Be careful.”
Ji Jiu wiggled a bit but then allowed himself to be carried, replying, “Okay.”
Observing this, Guan Yin, who had anticipated a romantic scene of a hero rescuing his beloved, fell into silence. He wondered how Si Yin Yuan, a straightforward and reckless straight guy, had managed to capture Ji Jiu’s heart.
Si Yin Yuan remained concerned, so he took the initiative to hold Ji Jiu’s hand and led him forward.
In the background, Guan Yin, who had just been fed a massive dose of dog food, thought to himself, “Fine, I’m the clown in this story.”
As they approached one of the corpses, they discovered that these were people who had long since passed away. Their bodies were covered in a thick layer of dust, and they had already decomposed entirely. Si Yin Yuan took out his knife and cut one of the bodies’ major arteries, but not even a drop of blood flowed out; only repulsive black pus oozed from the wound.
Ji Jiu really disliked damp decay, so he covered his nose and took a step back, completely hiding behind his owner.
He was quite disappointed; these things clearly had nothing to do with ghosts. They were just a group of ordinary corpses arranged to look like they were working. His patience had run out, and he pouted unhappily.
He began to long for the dragonfruit he had seen earlier, which looked quite delicious.
Unfortunately, his owner held his hand tightly, leaving him no chance to slip away.
Guan Yin picked up some documents from the table and searched for clues, saying, “These people should have been employees in the same office building. They died on the day this base was invaded. But why are their bodies preserved so perfectly?”
Apart from the terrified expressions on their faces, the corpses looked like they had died less than a day ago, and they still had some softness when pressed.
The eldest sister approached and commented, “It must be the work of these tree roots.”
The second sister, the most fearless among them, squatted down to examine the part where the tree roots connected to the bodies and said, “The fatal injuries were caused by these tree roots.”
The third sister looked puzzled and said, “But why, after killing these people, would it string them up like this? This doesn’t align with any of the two fundamental laws of the Tower Devouring civilization.”
All mutants under the Tower Devouring civilization have needs related to devouring, and they wouldn’t engage in such irrational behavior.
Si Yin Yuan put down the corpse, wiped his knife, and continued, “After these tree roots killed the people, they devoured a large number of nutrients from their bodies, including their internal organs. Only then did they release something from themselves to ensure the preservation of the corpses. We can be certain that their primary motive is still devouring. As for why they ate humans and then intentionally preserved empty shell bodies, we’ll find out once we locate that mutant.”
Finding that mutant was quite straightforward; they just needed to follow these entangled tree roots to their source.
The ends of the tree roots extended into a small tea room, and the tree roots became progressively softer the closer they got to the tea room. The tree roots blocking the entrance to the tea room were so soft that they were almost indistinguishable from direct contact with the human body.
It created an unpleasant sensation.
The eldest sister took out a brightly colored bottle of medicine. This was created using her ability as a witch. Compared to regular corrosive fluids, this witch’s potion had a potent corrosive effect on mutants.
She opened the bottle and slowly poured the liquid from inside onto the roots. It instantly made a sizzling sound and released an unpleasant odor.
The witch’s potion had a significant effect on these roots. The tree roots that were blocking the entrance were quickly corroded, revealing an opening for people to enter. The other roots stopped pretending to be lifeless and wriggled away from the liquid on the ground.
Moreover, some of the corroded roots lost their vitality and connected to the puppet corpses. Those corpses quickly began to decompose, no longer standing stiffly but rather displaying the appearance of long-preserved bodies.
This action angered the core of this mutant. The rustling sound came from the tea room.
They had expected to find a horrifying mutant inside, but instead, they found an ordinary-looking Peace Lily.
If it weren’t for the disgusting and ugly roots extending from it, they might have thought they were in the wrong place.
Ignoring the roots, the Peace Lily appeared completely normal, with no sign of its mutant nature.
Sensing the intruders, the Peace Lily angrily raised its roots to attack but was effortlessly grasped by Si Yin Yuan. He spoke a single word as he held it, “Leave.”
As the word left his lips, a golden flame ignited in his hand. Instantly, the roots of the plant withered and shriveled. The flames burned quickly, leaving the Peace Lily with no chance to struggle.
The Peace Lily, like a powerless general, had lost all resistance and was captured by Guan Yin.
“It used these roots to pose the corpses as if they were working? But why…” pondered Si Yin Yuan.
The third sister joked, “Could it be that mutants like to play house too?”
Guan Yin smirked, “If that’s the case, the cost of playing house is too high, especially for a plant.”
Implied in her words was the question of what intelligence a plant could possess.
Ji Jiu: ?
Grumpy Little Grass.jpg
Si Yin yuan stared at the Peace Lily in his hand, now devoid of all its roots, and contemplated for a moment. “Don’t underestimate plants. Perhaps you’ve heard of Baxter’s experiments on plants?”
The triplets all raised their hands simultaneously and said in unison, “I know!”
Guan Yin shook his head, indicating that he hadn’t heard of it.
Si Yin Yuan raised an eyebrow. “You should read more books regularly. It can save your life in critical situations.”
He was always articulate and had strict requirements for his hunters.
Curious, Ji Jiu looked up. “I don’t know about it either.”
Si Yin Yuan lowered his head with a slightly indulgent expression. “I’ll explain it to you.”
Their dual treatment seemed entirely natural.
Guan Yin sighed, “Fine.”
Si Yin Yuan spoke in a soft voice, “In 1966, Baxter conducted experiments on plants, and in his experiments, he showed that plants have some level of awareness of the external world. Plants can experience fear, even remember things, which overturned people’s understanding of plants.”
The third sister couldn’t help but interject, “But wasn’t that experiment considered pseudoscience?”
Si Yin Yuan’s gaze turned deep as he looked at the Peace Lily. “This is the post-apocalypse…”
In this post-apocalyptic world, where anything was possible, human science had already been overturned in many ways. Moreover, the most mutated beings in this post-apocalyptic era were once the most harmless plants.
Even though he knew that his owner was focused on that Peace Lily, Ji Jiu couldn’t help but shiver for a moment. There was a brief moment where he thought his true identity had been discovered under those scrutinizing eyes.