Care Guide to Raising a Max Level Leaf in Apocalypse - 79
Reality
Si Yin Yuan looked straight ahead, “Are you sure everyone died back then?”
Joker shrugged, “Of course.”
Without explicitly mentioning the Institute’s findings, as it would be too horrifying, Si Yin Yuan changed his approach, “The Institute detected significant traces of human life activity there, a large amount.”
Joker idly played with playing cards in his hands, “No wonder you’re in such a hurry. For the sake of the little lamb, I can go with you. This place had a road constructed a month before the outbreak. According to the map you have, you’d need to take a longer route to reach that high school.”
Si Yin Yuan frowned, his eyes carrying a faint sense of oppression, “Don’t call him that way.”
Joker hissed but continued in his casual tone, “Captain Yin is quite fierce.”
Yet, he dared not truly challenge the bottom line and did not continue to call Ji Jiu a little lamb.
They were released from the circus, and the eerie maze outside had disappeared, revealing a bare ground and a dismal scene of ruins. The entire landscape had been crushed by the colossal monster.
Although Joker was unconventional, he was one of the few S-rank hunters, even ranking high among them.
Ji Jiu sighed in relief, his hand no longer tightly gripping his owner.
Si Yin Yuan lowered his head, glancing at the released hem of his clothing. Unlike the usual inexplicable sense of loss, this time he raised his hand and actively held Ji Jiu’s hand.
Feeling the young man’s curious gaze, Si Yin Yuan’s expression remained unchanged, “This way, we won’t get separated.”
The naive Ji Jiu didn’t doubt his owner’s intentions at all.
Joker remained silent for a while but still didn’t point out that they wouldn’t get separated when in the car.
Yu Feichen, driving, gloated at him. Clearly, he was also fed some dog food, but seeing Joker joining in made him feel refreshed.
Joker, with an itchy feeling, considered enlisting him into his circus.
With Joker, a local guiding them, they compressed the remaining journey to only half a day, arriving at Sheng Sheng High School’s location before evening.
They parked their car at the entrance of the high school. The massive banyan tree inside had turned gray, and most of the hanging bodies had rotted and fallen on the ground, leaving only some bone fragments.
The roots of the enormous tree entwined visible parts of the teaching and accommodation buildings, filling the entire campus with a gray color. The three characters “Moral Education Building” were vaguely visible beneath the gray roots directly facing them.
Even just standing outside, one could imagine the hellish scene when the banyan tree distorted. Students who used to play under the banyan tree, unable to escape, were brutally killed. This gentle tree, which had witnessed many students graduate and grow, had turned into this grotesque appearance.
Joker stood outside his alma mater, silently watching inside. At this moment, he seemed to have detached himself from the role of a clown and became a normal person who could feel sadness.
This illusion lasted less than two minutes. Suddenly, he let out a sharp, thin laugh, “Look, there’s no way there are still humans alive here.”
The face paint squeezed into a lump.
This scene was expected, and Si Yin Yuan showed no surprise.
Or perhaps, the truly bizarre thing would be if they saw the scene that Hu Yan, with solemn vow, described in the video.
Feng Chuyao sighed, “Let’s go back.”
Ji Jiu still stood there, looking at the dilapidated campus.
“What’s wrong?” Si Yin Yuan rubbed his head.
Recently, Ji Jiu liked his owner patting his head, treating this action as a substitute for being touched like a little leaf.
Ji Jiu subconsciously rubbed against his head. Only then did he hesitate and speak, “I feel a bit strange. It seems like that banyan tree is already dead.”
It stood there in gray, but it was just a shell.
Si Yin Yuan turned around and carefully observed it. When the wind blew, it made a rustling sound as the gray leaves fluttered.
How could such a dense big tree have nothing to do with death?
But looking at it, Ji Jiu felt as if it were just an empty shell.
The true vitality wasn’t on it.
Guan Yin scratched his head, “But there’s a strong and intense mutant aura in the campus. Besides this banyan tree, what else could it be?”
Even if it wasn’t an S-rank mutant, it was close to the level of S-rank and could be recorded in the guild’s alert files.
Hearing this, Ji Jiu was scared, and tears almost flowed from the corners of his mouth.
He held his owner’s hand, “Let’s go inside and take a look.”
Si Yin Yuan lowered his head and exchanged a glance with him for a while before silently moving away, “Mm.”
Truly loves to act cute.
Luckily, he only teased himself. Si Yin Yuan, unaware of what he had imagined, was in a good mood and hooked his lips.
Ji Jiu, unaware that his image in his owner’s eyes had changed from a little delicate to a little coquettish, walked inside after receiving an affirmative answer.
Joker whistled, “Be careful, with your tender appearance, mutants would love to snack on you.”
His eyes were full of interest.
Initially thought that the little lamb was shielded from the harsh world by Si Yin Yuan, it turns out that his style is even more daring than Si Yin Yuan’s. He’s not afraid at all. Others had no objections to Si Yin Yuan’s decision, and they all followed into the campus.
At the moment everyone passed through the school gate, an invisible film in the air distorted for a moment and then returned to normal.
Unexpectedly, something happened. What they saw after passing through the school gate wasn’t the ash-ridden and desolate campus, but a lively and vibrant high school.
The red track on the playground, the clean teaching buildings untouched by distorted roots, emitted a peaceful atmosphere in the sunlight.
Yu Feichen couldn’t close his mouth, “Chunhua, am I dreaming right now?”
Feng Chuyao didn’t speak, and she unusually didn’t react to being called by her name. Instead, she reached out and pinched him hard.
A piercing scream echoed through the sky, successfully snapping everyone out of their shock.
No one expected that the campus, which looked like hell from the outside, would present a completely different scene once they entered.
It was as if the apocalypse had never started.
Si Yin Yuan was the first to accept the bizarre event before them. He turned around, attempting to push open the school gate.
This high school had just replaced its traditional doorman with an intelligent door equipped with facial recognition technology a month before the apocalypse. Even the doorman had been replaced by this technology.
However, before he could touch the gate, his hand was separated by a layer of hazy film, like a condensed barrier that he couldn’t touch.
Si Yin Yuan straightforwardly retracted his golden flame without trying again. “We need to find the source.”
The others felt uneasy, except for Ji Jiu, who felt a bit disappointed.
Because the air here was too clean, and he couldn’t sense that delicious, oh no, very powerful mutant’s aura.
Their sudden appearance in the campus was indeed strange. Soon, someone noticed them.
It was a seemingly serious PE teacher, and the class he was leading happened to be having a PE lesson.
He questioned them, “What are you here for?”
This was a strictly regulated private campus, and outsiders couldn’t enter casually.
Yu Feichen’s brain was still crashing, “Someone’s here; let’s ask what’s going on.”
Then he was grabbed by Feng Chuyao and unceremoniously thrown back, “Are you crazy? Look at these people. Do they look normal to you?”
The PE teacher was dressed casually, wearing a green whistle around his neck. The curious students looking over were wearing neat white and blue school uniforms, their faces not only showing curiosity but also uncontrollable excitement.
Girls thought Si Yin Yuan and Ji Jiu were handsome and matched well, while boys thought the things they wore were too cool.
The slightly audible whispers were transmitted to a few awakeners with excellent hearing through the wind.
“Hey hey, is this cosplay?”
“What kind of police are they? Seems like they have guns at their waists!”
“Could those be real guns? And where can you find such cool police uniforms, is this for a movie?”
“So cool.”
These people would have looked normal before the apocalypse, but now, after three years of crawling through the aftermath, they seemed to exude a strong sense of weirdness.
Faced with these people, they would rather go fight with mutants.
The PE teacher, seeing them just standing there with inexplicable expressions, became even more puzzled in his mind.
From his perspective, those individuals clad in black combat attire seemed even stranger, but when their eyes landed on him, it felt as if they were observing some extinct magical creature.
Unable to hold back, he furrowed his brow and took a few steps forward. “Who are you people, anyway?”
The voices of the students grew louder, and they all ceased their warm-up exercises to look over.
A thought flashed through the mind of Si Yin Yuan, echoing the words of a student from earlier. He smoothly continued, “We’re here to shoot a movie. We’ve already coordinated with the school in advance. You don’t need to worry; just continue your classes as usual.”
This explanation conveniently addressed the peculiar appearance of their attire.
The PE teacher’s expression shifted from wariness to sudden realization. “Oh, I see. You’ve done a good job keeping it under wraps. We’ve had film crews use our facilities before, disrupting classes entirely.”
It wasn’t that he was overly trusting, but the group’s outfits resembled those of a film crew, and the fact that they entered through the smart school gate indicated prior arrangements.
With a relieved heart, the PE teacher turned around, picked up his whistle, and blew it. “Alright, what are you all chattering about? If your warm-up exercises are done, head to the playground and run a couple of laps for me.”
The students’ attention had yet to completely shift away from the odd group, and upon hearing this, instinctively, they emitted groans.
Most students obediently turned towards the red running track, while a small number found some random excuses to avoid running.
Everything felt so lively.
Still finding it hard to believe, Yu Feichen mumbled, “Is this an illusion? Are we dreaming collectively or something?”
Feng Chuyao hesitated for a moment. “It must be a similar existence to the ‘Dream Garden.'”
A sentence from Si Yin Yuan shattered all their speculations, “No, this is reality.”