Care Guide to Raising a Max Level Leaf in Apocalypse - 7
After a tedious and detailed inspection process, they finally entered the base smoothly.
A mechanical female voice broadcasted, “Welcome back. The base is always here waiting.”
Li Chao, reliable and steady, drove the car that was about to be taken for disinfection back. Yu Fei Chen explained as he fastened his seatbelt, “This perimeter is the outer circle of the base. Our Hunter’s Guild is in the inner circle. Those who acted arrogantly earlier are the forces of the base security team. In the future, stay away from people in uniforms like them.”
Ji Jiu nodded obediently and said, “Okay.”
The base was divided into seven factions, and each faction had a specialized area for testing and certifying abilities. Si Yin Yuan, without much thought, took Ji Jiu to the Hunter’s Guild for testing.
The hunters who were staying in the guild without any missions had already heard that the Chief had brought someone back with him. The ones who loved to join in the fun all rushed over, crowding the entrance and making it impassable.
However, at the first second when the people appeared, they all orderly separated, leaving a spacious path.
The emblem of a lion holding flowers on the white, tall building was the most representative symbol of the guild.
Ji Jiu became fascinated by the large lion and took a few steps forward before realizing that so many people were curiously looking at him. He still held onto Si Yin Yuan’s clothes, looking like a naive and harmless little animal.
Feng Chu Yao, wearing a red dress, rushed over in a hurry and stood in front of them. She cupped her face and exclaimed, “Oh my God! Is this my sister-in-law!?”
Even Si Yin Yuan was momentarily stunned by being called sister-in-law.
Ji Jiu blinked in confusion, looking like an innocent and clueless little creature.
Feng Chu Yao didn’t hide her adoration at all. She made a gesture as if she were holding her heart and said, “He’s so cute!”
Yu Fei Chen dared not look at the Chief’s expression and quickly interrupted Feng Chu Yao, saying, “Chun Hua, stop causing trouble. This is someone we saved on the way.”
Feng Chu Yao was so angry that she almost took off her high heels and smashed Yu Fei Chen’s face with them. “Don’t call me by that name! I changed my name four years ago. Now I’m called Feng! Chu! Yao!”
The last three words were said through gritted teeth.
Yu Fei Chen quickly said, “Alright, ChunHua, I got it, ChunHua.”
A nearby hunter immediately clapped his hands, saying, “Can you endure this? Hit him!”
“Yeah, punch him in the face!”
“Hey, be careful not to hurt anyone!”
The entrance immediately became lively. Si Yin Yuan, finding it neither strange nor surprising, led Ji Jiu away from the chaotic scene.
Deep inside the guild, there was a specialized group responsible for recording abilities. The person in charge of testing abilities was a bald monk. He stood up with a peaceful expression and greeted them warmly.
Ji Jiu curiously glanced at the monk’s bald head and then at the half-eaten mutated pork trotter on his desk.
The monk was very candid, saying, “As the saying goes, monks do not tell lies. I am a fake monk.”
His two sentences contradicted each other, causing Ji Jiu to tilt his head.
Si Yin Yuan said, “…There are many strange people in the guild. If you encounter someone too strange, just ignore them.”
The monk, who was now considered strange, continued to smile. He politely asked, “Could you roughly describe to me what your ability is like?”
Si Yin Yuan naturally took over the conversation and said, “He has resistance to venomous anomalies.”
The monk looked at Si Yin Yuan curiously, using a profound and mysterious tone, “Do you know what you resemble right now?”
“What?”
The monk spoke honestly, “You’re like a parent who insists on explaining to the doctor where the child is feeling pain when accompanying the child for a medical check-up.”
Si Yin Yuan:…
In just ten minutes after arriving at the guild, the relationship between Si Yin Yuan and Ji Jiu, as described by others, went from ambiguous to forbidden.
The monk didn’t question Si Yin Yuan’s words; he just felt a little regretful.
He thought he would be able to record a new ability, but he didn’t expect it to be a useless and mediocre ability. Nevertheless, he dutifully found some mildly toxic anomalies for Ji Jiu to taste.Facing these anomalies that were cleaned and cut into unrecognizable pieces, Ji Jiu accepted them readily, eating them one after another.
After finishing, he set his sights on the half-eaten pork trotter that the monk was gnawing on.
In fact, his attention had been on it since he entered.
Si Yin Yuan took out his own card and spoke in a flat tone, “Take this points card to the guild cafeteria. You’ll be able to eat larger trotters there.”
Ji Jiu’s gaze instantly returned to Si Yin Yuan, and his eyes curved with happiness.
Truly worthy of being my master!
The monk vaguely felt that he had been fed some invisible dog food. After confirming that Ji Jiu was fine, he stamped and recorded the file, and then handed him the guild badge.
He didn’t ask Ji Jiu if he wanted to join the Hunter’s Guild. Just by looking at how Si Yin Yuan protected the young man, he knew that Ji Jiu would be kept by his side often.
As for the young man who appeared weak and without any combat ability, he could still register as a hunter’s dependent affiliated with the guild. Many people joined the Hunter’s Guild without actually going on missions.
Si Yin Yuan indeed only glanced at the badge handed to him and said nothing.
When entering the final crucial information into the records, he looked up and asked, “Should he register as a ‘Pathfinder’ or a ‘Scavenger’?”
Ji Jiu tilted his head in confusion again, not understanding the difference between the two.
The monk explained, “A ‘Pathfinder’ refers to a hunter responsible for clearing the way and exploring anomalies. They usually take on dangerous missions outside the guild. The tasks of the ‘Scavenger’ are generally limited to the areas cleared by the ‘Pathfinders.’ They collect resources from those areas after the threats have been eliminated. Although their focuses are different, both the ‘Pathfinders’ and ‘Scavengers’ are heroes for the base, maintaining its operation and serving as the main force in advance defense against anomalies.” However, the tasks assigned to the two are rarely carried out together.
He didn’t directly state the last sentence.
Si Yin Yuan said calmly, “Arrange him as a ‘Scavenger.'”
Ji Jiu puffed up his cheeks and asked, “What are you? I want to be like you.”
It was an extremely willful statement, carrying a touch of innocence that didn’t fit with the world.
The monk’s eyes, resembling those of a demonic monk, showed a somewhat ambiguous smile. “I’m starting to wonder where you picked up such a naive little guy.”
Si Yin Yuan warned him with a glance, and the monk made a shut-up gesture, chanting “Amitabha.”
After leaving the registration area, Si Yin Yuan took Ji Jiu to the guild cafeteria. He stopped at the bustling entrance and said, “Go ahead.”
Ji Jiu tugged at his clothes, feeling unsure. “Aren’t you accompanying me?”
His voice was soft and youthful, and even a simple inquiry sounded like a coquettish act to those attentive.
Si Yin Yuan had never been coquettishly asked like this before. He originally intended to refuse decisively, but his words transformed into a somewhat stiff explanation, “I just came back, and there are many things waiting for me to handle. You should eat by yourself.”
Ji Jiu became unhappy. After his foolish owner got lost for three years, he had finally found him again, and now he didn’t want his owner to leave his sight.
Though he didn’t say anything, his facial expression resembled that of a child who couldn’t get any candy—simple and easy to understand.
Si Yin Yuan clenched his fist and then loosened it. He didn’t need to explain too much to the young man; their relationship was never a true intimacy.
The young man mistook him for someone else and developed an unwarranted sense of reliance on him.
That’s all there is to it.
Ji Jiu secretly released a wisp of black mist onto Si Yin Yuan’s clothes and then reluctantly lowered his head. “Fine, go and attend to your business.”
Apart from releasing a little black mist to monitor his master, he was just a well-behaved and self-disciplined domesticated grass.
He applauded himself in his heart.
Obedient, sensible, not noisy or troublesome—so well-behaved that it made people feel distressed.
Si Yin Yuan nodded and forced himself not to look at Ji Jiu as he turned to leave.
Ji Jiu, left behind in the same spot, blinked sluggishly. In the bustling crowd, he appeared particularly frail and helpless.
Several seconds later, when he caught a whiff of the aroma, he slowly turned to the stall with a wide variety of dishes. His eyes began to sparkle as if he had fallen into a galaxy of countless stars.
So many delicious things!
Even though most plants became inedible or toxic after the apocalypse, humans who ingrained eating in their DNA had still come up with various unique cuisines. They utilized greenhouses to cultivate precious non-anomalous flora and fauna. They didn’t even spare the anomalies, raising batches after batches of small creatures with low attack power and edible parts. Although the variety had become limited, the combinations had become more diverse.
For example, strawberry stewed with soybeans, braised pork elbow with sweet potato leaves…
The prices on the menu were actually not cheap, but the prices of nutrient solutions were even less affordable. Even the tasteless porridge-like nutrient solution was priced high. Many people had no choice but to try these meals that sounded unappetizing just by their names.
Ji Jiu counted the coins that trickled out from his points card using his fingers and realized that even if he bought the entire cafeteria, it would still be just a drop in the ocean. So, he opened up his stomach and began to eat.
Points were earned by contributing to the base, and now points had completely replaced money. The series of zeroes on Si Yin Yuan’s card were all earned by making significant contributions to the base. He had long upgraded it to the highest level points card.
Only three people in the entire base possessed such cards, so Si Yin Yuan’s action was equivalent to an invisible protection, a declaration of sovereignty to everyone.
…
Si Yin Yuan rubbed his temple. He glanced at the deep blue wristwatch on his hand and realized that it had been two hours since he left Ji Jiu behind.
He didn’t know if Ji Jiu had obediently stayed in the guild or if someone had bullied him.
After all, he was so weak and helpless that anyone could bully him easily.
Realizing that he was thinking about him again, Si Yin Yuan pressed down on the corners of his mouth. He shouldn’t let anyone affect his emotions. It was right to be free from attachments, just like before.
He would make time for Hu Yan to conduct a brain scan on the young man. Once the young man knew that he wasn’t the person from his memories, he would willingly leave him.
They shouldn’t have too much involvement; it wasn’t good for either of them.
That’s why he had walked away so directly earlier. The monk was right; he was currently acting like an annoying parent.
But the young man clung to him like this. Perhaps he had been too decisive when he walked away. He should be feeling sad.
When Si Yin Yuan returned to his senses, he was already on his way to the cafeteria, and his pace was even more hurried than when he left.
Even before reaching the cafeteria, he heard a loud cheer from inside.
It was noisy, accompanied by the clattering of bowls and chopsticks.
The guild was filled with energetic young men, so whenever there was a fight, there would be people cheering. Si Yin Yuan’s face instantly darkened.
In the corner of the cafeteria, a crowd surrounded a handsome young man and a burly man whose fists alone were larger than sandbags. Excited shouts erupted from the onlookers.
“San Mang! You were actually defeated by this kid?!”
“Amazing, bro!”
“What are you guys doing?”
Si Yin Yuan’s cold and stern voice sounded, and everyone present seemed to freeze like they had been paused. They all dared not speak, and they scattered away like quails, revealing the two people surrounded by them.
The expected scene of bullying did not unfold. Ji Jiu, his mouth stuffed and bulging like a little hamster, raised his head. “Huh?”
Beside him was San Mang, a heavyweight in the guild. When he saw Si Yin Yuan, he seemed to see a savior. With furry wolf ears on his head, he howled, “Captain, where did you pick up this little monster? He can eat more than I can!”
He then gestured to Ji Jiu. “I can’t eat anymore. I really can’t. If I eat anymore, I’ll vomit. You win.”
Even the big wolf’s tail drooped behind him, showing signs of genuine discomfort.
Only then did Si Yin Yuan notice the tall stack of plates here. The contents had been eaten clean.
San Mang was an ability user who could transform into a beast, and his transformation focused on attack power, resembling that of a lone wolf. He usually ate a lot, and it was no secret in the guild.
He didn’t expect Ji Jiu to be able to eat more than this big eater.
Si Yin Yuan:…
For the first time, he was grateful for his ability to earn points. At least he could afford to feed a delicate and gluttonous Ji Jiu.