Care Guide to Raising a Max Level Leaf in Apocalypse - 47
The song
Ji Jiu turned his gaze back to the sea. He could catch his own food, but he didn’t want to get wet in the sea, and the mutated creature was too cunning, always following their ship at a distance, never getting too close.
With no prior exposure to the sea in his life, being a land-based plant, he had little interest in this seemingly endless expanse of non-freshwater.
He leaned over the railing, staring at the big fish in the sea, his eyes reminiscent of a precious pet cat that was eager to catch fish but didn’t want to get its paws wet.
His eyes swayed as he fixed his gaze on the fish.
Occasionally, he took another bite of the starfish to satisfy his craving. The yellow starfish’s surface was somewhat smooth, and it felt like biting into a plump piece of meat, but it was salty.
Although the starfish appeared to be free from mutations, it had actually undergone minor changes.
Compared to the pre-apocalyptic era, it could regenerate its body more rapidly. It could break off a piece quickly when in danger, just like a gecko, and then regenerate at an incredibly fast pace.
This ability ranked quite low on the merciless food chain of the new ecosystem, which is the so-called food chain’s top.
It was very easy for it to be eaten by other mutated creatures.
This starfish couldn’t imagine that it would survive in this way.
Both Ban Tang and Ying Xiao had fallen into a coma. In order to reach the shore as soon as possible, Si Yin Yuan had to take the helm himself.
Yu Feichen and Li Chao patrolled the ship as if they were facing a great enemy. When they passed by Ji Jiu, Yu Feichen couldn’t help but ask, “What are you looking at?”
“Fish,” Ji Jiu replied, playing with the sea star and not looking back.
Yu Feichen walked over, took a glance at the sea, and muttered, “Clearly, there’s nothing.”
After guarding the entire day, they hadn’t discovered anything.
Si Yin Yuan grabbed a seagull, tied its legs, and threw it onto the sea not far away.
In an instant, that seagull was torn to shreds by dozens of mutant sardines that jumped out.
The pale pink spread on the sea’s surface for a moment and then dissipated quickly, with even the feathers eaten clean.
Yu Feichen felt anxious, “I never thought there would come a day when I’d worry because we weren’t being targeted by mutated creatures.”
All of this was just too abnormal. They had been traveling on the sea for a while and had encountered quite a few dangerous mutated creatures, including the ferocious sardines just now.
But not a single fish had attempted to attack them; instead, they were completely ignored.
Mutated creatures were not known to give up on their prey.
Yu Feichen had an idea, “Could it be that we’re cursed? A cursed ghost ship.”
Ji Jiu’s little hair moved slightly, and he raised his head, asking, “Ghost?”
Seeing that Yu Feichen was about to come up with another story to trick the child, Si Yin Yuan couldn’t help but give him a cold kick, “You can take the night shift together tonight.”
Yu Feichen clutched his butt and ran away, not daring to tease Ji Jiu again in front of Si Yin Yuan.
Li Chao said, “I’ll also be on the night shift.”
Si Yin Yuan nodded in agreement. They were both awakened, and staying up late wouldn’t affect them much.
Ji Jiu tilted his head, “I want to stay up too.”
Though he didn’t know why he wanted to do it, he just wanted to stick to his caretaker.
Si Yin Yuan stiffened his face, “No.”
“Why?”
“You’re still growing, and you can’t stay up late.” Si Yin Yuan was utterly justified in his double standards.
Yu Feichen, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation, hesitated. Ji Jiu had filled in his information as twenty-two years old. Well, there was indeed still room for growth.
Ji Jiu became upset again. When he was unhappy, he vented his frustration by pinching the starfish.
Starfish: Haha. :)
The moon appeared as scheduled, and its light shone more clearly over the sea, casting a faint glow on the deck.
Ji Jiu widened his eyes, refusing to sleep, and clung to his owner’s clothes, not allowing him to leave.
Si Yin Yuan tried to soothe him without success.
So, he let Ji Jiu come along. Si Yin Yuan cautioned, “If you get tired, go to sleep.”
“Okay,” Ji Jiu replied happily, clutching the starfish.
They patrolled around the deck, and Si Yin Yuan naturally held Ji Jiu’s hand, while the moonlight gently witnessed the scene.
In reality, the atmosphere was far from relaxed. Si Yin Yuan remained alert to any suspicious movements.
Yu Feichen and Li Chao stood guard in front of the nutrient depot to prevent their comatose companions from being threatened.
The singing arrived as expected. Ji Jiu could hear it clearly at this moment, and usually, he would be in his dreams at this time, so it was the first time he had heard it so vividly.
He instinctively looked at his owner, who seemed unfazed.
It was the sound of the mutated creatures, inaudible to humans.
To say it was singing was inaccurate; from a human perspective, it sounded more like meaningless monosyllables. After all, mutated creatures lacked the intelligence to engage in singing.
The meaningless monosyllables had an eerie pattern, making them sound like they had a melody.
But Ji Jiu didn’t understand; he just found it noisy.
Before Ji Jiu could figure out what was causing the noise, the hand holding his own was released.
He turned to look at Si Yin Yuan, who didn’t look at him but was struggling with his own hands.
The well-defined bony hand was lifted to Ji Jiu’s neck.
Unprepared for the singing, Ji Jiu exposed his vulnerable neck to his owner as if it were a willing sacrifice.
However, unlike a sacrifice, Si Yin Yuan raised his hand further past the fair neck and directly covered Ji Jiu’s ears.
Yet Ji Jiu’s gaze remained clear, unaffected by the singing.
This wasn’t a sacrifice; it was a redemption.
Because he had touched Ji Jiu, Si Yin Yuan’s rationality overwhelmed his desolation. He managed to speak with difficulty, “Don’t listen.”
In reality, he couldn’t hear the singing, but his subconscious told him something was manipulating them through sound.
While others instinctively covered their ears, Si Yin Yuan instinctively covered Ji Jiu’s ears, which is why he had let go of his hand.
Ji Jiu obediently covered his own ears and asked, “Are you feeling unwell?”
The singing intensified, and even though Si Yin Yuan couldn’t hear it, he still had an excruciating headache.
As if a voice in his mind was urging him to act against Ji Jiu.
How could that be!
A surge of determination suddenly erupted in Si Yin Yuan’s eyes, and powerful willpower allowed him to completely break free from the singing’s control. He drew his combat knife with great force, unsheathing it to reveal a blade gleaming with cold light.
He could be ruthless to others, and he never showed mercy to himself either. The instant the combat knife struck, there was no hesitation.
Blood gushed like a fountain, and the pain restored his sanity, dispelling the struggle in his eyes.
Ji Jiu was startled, not expecting his owner to suddenly hurt him. He stared wide-eyed and motionless.
With his uninjured right hand, Si Yin Yuan gently patted his head and said, “Don’t be afraid.”
He had fallen into a similar trap involving mutated mushrooms before, where, guided by spores, his limbs wouldn’t obey his commands. Back then, he had chosen to use pain to regain his senses.
It’s clear that the situation they’re currently facing is even more dangerous than the B-480 in the “Dream Garden,” similar to a B-480-type mutant capable of controlling thoughts.
This is yet another S-class mutant.
No wonder the nearby fish and crustaceans dare not approach; it turns out they’ve been marked by an S-class mutant. This mutant is quite clever; it sensed that there were powerful individuals on the ship and chose not to attack indiscriminately but to target them one by one.
Si Yin Yuan has an intuition that the reason they hadn’t detected it earlier was that they were ensnared by this singing. It seemed to possess the ability to manipulate human memories and simple thoughts, like converting what you see with your eyes into something entirely different in your brain through its song.
The most bizarre part is that he didn’t capture the actual sound with his ears. Even he didn’t realize that he’d been brainwashed by the song for a full two days, achieving a state of complete ignorance and intrusion into his thoughts.
While he was contemplating this, Ji Jiu finally snapped out of his daze. He lowered his head to look at the wound in Si Yin Yuan’s hand, and the red gash in his hand made his eyes sting.
The black mist unconsciously emanated from Ji Jiu’s body, and this group of black mist, infected by its master’s emotions, lost control, rolling around like a crazed beast. The calm sea was disturbed by the black mist, and the seabed emanated a foul odor. Countless mutants were devoured by the enraged black mist, scattering in panic.
“Ji Jiu!” Si Yin Yuan sensed that something was wrong. He reached out to embrace him, soothing him like one would calm a pet. “It’s okay, I’m fine.”
Ji Jiu, buried in his arms, had eyes that turned cold and lifeless, and the inherent ferocity of a mutant was unearthed in this moment, and he emanated an aura of hostility.
He couldn’t hear sound; all he saw were the bloodstains on his owner’s body.
The smell of blood signaled danger, and he instinctively wanted to eliminate all the threats around.
The black mist in the sea expanded suddenly, several times larger than before, large enough to swallow the entire ship. The agitated waves started pushing the ship from side to side, causing the hull to tilt, as if it had encountered a storm.
The out-of-control black mist domineeringly encircled the mutants in this area and slaughtered them.
Things on the deck began falling into the sea.
Si Yin Yuan felt as if he had grown roots under his feet and was not affected by the swaying. He firmly held Ji Jiu in his arms and reassured him, “It’s okay.”
The scent of blood kept lingering in Ji Jiu’s mind.
It was his owner’s blood.
The body is more honest than the brain, and Ji Jiu suddenly bit down fiercely on the arm in front of him.
Si Yin Yuan’s right hand also carried a hint of a bloody scent. He grunted but didn’t pull his hand away. Instead, he teased with a hint of a smile, “You little naughty dog.”
The taste in his mouth was akin to scorching flames, a unique blood flavor of Si Yin Yuan. Not only had his eyes mutated into golden color, but his blood and bone marrow were imbued with the taste of the flames.
An extremely domineering flavor began to plunder the taste buds in his mouth, much like Si Yin Yuan’s true personality.
The fierce glare in the eyes of the little naughty dog, Ji Jiu, gradually faded as he realized he had done something wrong. He released Si Yin Yuan’s arm and, after a moment of hesitation, lowered his head to give it a lick, displaying a bit of innocence in his attempt to make amends.
The man’s expression darkened instantly, as he seemed about to say something, when Yu Feichen and Li Chao came out of the room in a disheveled state.
The black mist around had already calmed down, lurking beneath the sea’s surface, no longer visible. The singing had ceased when the black mist had raged earlier.
Yu Feichen’s injuries looked worse than Li Chao’s. He had a gash on his head from something that hit him.
Si Yin Yuan frowned. “Did you encounter a mutant on the ship? The singing clearly came from under the sea.”
Yu Feichen pointed to the wound on his head, wincing in pain, “I was hit by something because of the strong shaking just now. The other injuries are from falling.”
Li Chao nodded in agreement. He seemed to be doing much better, having used his ability “Bone Spikes” to stabilize himself after regaining consciousness.
Yu Feichen gritted his teeth, “That damned mutant, it actually ruined my appearance! I’ll string it up and roast it!”
The main culprit, Little Grass Ji, felt somewhat guilty and shrunk into his owner’s embrace, acting like a little ostrich.
Little Grass knew nothing about what had transpired.