The trees can actually run?!
Watching the countless roots on the ground move in a manner resembling human running, the two individuals who had just escaped death were once again dumbfounded.
The tree, of an unknown species, stood with its lush green leaves and pale yellow flowers. Its trunk wriggled and trembled as if it wanted to shake off the entwined vines clinging to it.
And those vines, like vicious wolves, tightly wrapped around the poor little tree. Not only that but the remaining branches and tendrils were sliding up and down its trunk, resembling the roaming hands of a pervert…
If it weren’t for the possibility of endangering their lives, the two would almost believe they were witnessing a live version of inter-species plant intimacy, mutated and engaging in forest escapades…
Seemingly frustrated by the fact that the two were only spectating without intervening, the unfortunate large tree, entangled by the vines, lost its stability and collapsed with a resounding crash. The roots kept struggling on the ground, attempting to rise again, but they were entangled so tightly by the vines that they were utterly powerless. In their struggle, the two intertwined plants rolled toward the direction of the two individuals.
If it were just a single branch, Yue Zheng would have found a way to endure a hit and chop it off. However, facing an entire tree with a diameter of at least 1.5 meters, along with a mass of vines rolling towards him, even if he exhausted his abilities, it would be impossible to instantly turn them into firewood.
Seeing the gigantic plant rolling closer and closer, Xu Song took a sharp breath and extended his hands. His face turned purple, whether from holding his breath or from anxiety. “Huff, huff, huff!” A massive fireball spewed forth, engulfing the two entangled plants.
In an instant, the two plants were enveloped in flames, crackling and contorting. They rolled in the opposite direction, but the fire continued unabated, completely disregarding the abundant moisture within them until they turned into charcoal…
With a thud, Xu Song sat down on the ground, feeling like his hands no longer belonged to him. His eyes stared blankly, and dizziness swept over him as if he could faint at any moment.
“Come on, I’ll carry you…” Yue Zheng bent over, waiting by his side. The mountain had become increasingly dangerous. If even the trees could run, what else could possibly happen? Xu Song’s mental energy was severely depleted, so now Yue Zheng had to carry him on his back and run down the mountain. It was better than waiting in place for death.
In just two days, this was already the second time Yue Zheng had to carry him. Xu Song’s sense of male pride made him want to refuse, but he also understood that the situation in the mountains was too bizarre. Now wasn’t the time to be stubborn. Besides, he was concerned about his parents back in City Y. The sooner he received news from them, the sooner he could feel at ease.
“I’m really sorry, my stamina…”
“It’s normal to feel dizzy when using that ability excessively. It’s not your fault.” Feeling that Xu Song had settled on his back, Yue Zheng firmly embraced him and prepared to carry him down the mountain. Although his physical fitness had decreased significantly since joining the city criminal police force compared to his time in the military, he still had better physical condition than an ordinary person like Xu Song.
The two of them stood up, preparing to leave the mountain, when they suddenly heard a series of crackling sounds coming from the ashes that had been burned to charcoal by Xu Song’s fire.
Could it not be completely dead?!
The two of them were greatly surprised, their eyes fixed on the pile of charcoal.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Jgjmxif, mgjmxif…” Ktf mtjgmbji agfwyifv fggjalmjiis, jcv j rwjii rjqilcu, mbwqifafis yjgf klat bcis atgff bg obeg ifjnfr bc abq jcv j mbeqif bo rmjaafgfv sfiibk oibkfgr, jybea atf atlmxcfrr bo j mtliv’r jgw jcv jgbecv bcf wfafg ajii, ribkis fwfgufv ogbw atf jrtfr.
Kklralcu ifoa jcv gluta, lar ffglf wbnfwfcar rffwfv ilxf la kjr ibbxlcu jgbecv. Dea la kjr j agff, klat cb fsfr batfg atjc rmjgr jcv agff tbifr. Lbk mbeiv la ibbx jgbecv?
When the sapling twisted it’s way to where the two were, its movements suddenly froze, as if “seeing” them.
The two men and a tree stood there, staring at each other in this eerie forest. For a while, no one dared to move.
After a while, the tree remained motionless in its upper body position. It sent out roots one by one from the ashes below, and then as if its roots were legs, it took a step back, then another step back, suddenly turned around, and rushed away from the two, disappearing into the distance.
…
“It… is it afraid and running away??” The movements of the small tree were incredibly anthropomorphic, and Xu Song felt like he was in a dream.
“Seems like it.” Yue Zheng was also unsure, but one thought lingered in his mind, “That tree has become sentient!”
Heavy breaths sprayed onto Yue Zheng’s neck and Xu Song finally completely lost his energy and fell asleep.
Yue Zheng felt a slight itch on his neck due to his breath, but he didn’t dare to push Xu Song’s head away, afraid that he might accidentally drop him. He glanced at the direction on the compass and silently walked toward the direction where the two giant trees had rolled from.
Perhaps the commotion caused by the two plants was too significant, as they didn’t encounter any aggressive plants along the way.
As the ground swayed beneath them, Xu Song felt exceptionally comfortable in his sleep. In his dream, he was immersed in a swimming pool surrounded by waves of bikini-clad beauties with revealing and sexy swimsuits. They walked with long legs, swaying left and right around him.
The water in the pool was warm, making people feel completely relaxed. It was as if every pore had opened up, just like being in a hot spring.
Wait, if he was in a hot spring, then he wasn’t swimming but bathing, right?! In that case, why were those beauties still wearing bikinis?
With this thought in mind, he noticed the gradually fading and diminishing fabric on the playful and laughing beauties…
“Xu Song, Xu Song, wake up!”
The ground shook as if there was an earthquake, coupled with a series of calls. The women in front of him gradually disappeared, leaving only the golden-red land illuminated by the sun and the excessively lush green vegetation…
“Mmm…” His consciousness was still somewhat unclear, and he only felt a sense of dissatisfaction.
“My group of beauties…”
Yue Zheng was speechless. He was carrying Xu Song down the mountain, and instead of resting properly, Xu Song had the audacity to daydream!
“When we reach City Y, you can go find any beauty you want! But first, let’s see if this is the Zhao Village you mentioned.”
“Zhao Village?” Xu Song finally fully awakened, and his chin bumped against Yue Zheng’s shoulder, his face pressed against his soft and black hair. He looked ahead with a somewhat dazed expression.
A huge eggplant was not far away, shining with a dark purple color. Xu Song couldn’t help but blurt out, “Damn, this eggplant is enough to last me a week!”
“Don’t just look at the eggplant, look at the village.”
Village? What village was there in front of them?!
They were standing at the entrance of the village, by the side of the road. The road was still relatively normal, with only cracks and overgrown weeds, not much mutation. However, in the village, every household had decent-sized yards, and it was common for each family to grow pesticide-free vegetables for their own consumption.
But now, due to some unknown stimulus, not only had the vegetation in the mountains mutated, but all the vegetables grown by the families in the village and the trees in front of their houses had also mutated!
The eggplants were the size of a ten-year-old child, and the cucumbers were thicker than the water buckets usually used! Not to mention the coriander and green onions that were a meter tall, growing wildly.
“It should, maybe, probably… be Zhao Village.” Xu Song looked at the crooked signboard at the village entrance that said ‘Welcome to Zhao Village’, his lips twitching uncontrollably.
That signboard had been constructed by the villagers as part of a large-scale event in the country before his grandfather passed away. He had never seen the sign before, but now, it had become the best signpost.
“Is your house in that area?” Yue Zheng asked while continuing to carry Xu Song inside.
“The fourth house at the eastern entrance of the village, with nothing planted in the yard… that’s my house.”
“Is there a telephone at home?”
“Yes, it was just restored before the summer vacation.” Xu Song’s mother had specially come back to take care of the procedures because he needed to use the internet and had told his parents that he would come back for a vacation during the summer.
Yue Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and strode forward.
“Brother Yue, are we really… going in?” Even crops could grow into a primitive forest-like appearance, and Xu Song was genuinely afraid that these plants, which had once been regarded as dishes by humans, would turn around and eat him alive as fertilizer.
“I need to contact the city first,” Yue Zheng paused and explained, “When we were outside and you were asleep, I tried it out. These plants don’t seem to have any attacking capabilities, and I even heard chicken noises from inside.”
Perhaps because they were artificially cultivated varieties, these plants didn’t seem as wild as those in the mountains, and no signs of aggression were observed.
Upon hearing about the chicken noises, Xu Song also felt relieved and suddenly realized that he was still lying on Yue Zheng’s back!
His face flushed, and he quickly said, “Brother Yue, um… I’ll walk on my own. I’m already awake.”
Yue Zheng paused his steps. In fact, he had forgotten too, but for some reason, his physical stamina seemed to have improved significantly compared to before. Carrying Xu Song for such a long time, he didn’t feel tired at all. It seemed that even without using his mentally taxing abilities, his physical fitness alone had improved significantly.
“No dizziness anymore?”
Xu Song quickly shook his head, “No, really, not at all.”
Although he had only slept for a short while, all the aftereffects of using his abilities seemed to have completely disappeared.
Setting Xu Song down, the two walked side by side. Xu Song pointed to the neighboring houses that were overtaken by plants as they walked, trying to guess which family lived in which house. He didn’t know many people in the village, mostly acquaintances rather than close friends. Now, with the intrusion of the rapidly growing plants, it was even more difficult to recognize who lived where.
The two forcefully separated a bottle of gourd vine blocking their path, and Xu Song suddenly remembered something, pulling Yue Zheng’s arm, “I felt something was off even before entering the village, and now I remember…”
“What’s off?” Yue Zheng also stopped and looked at him.
“People! How come we haven’t seen a single person? And we haven’t heard anyone calling for help!”
Although Yue Zheng had mentioned hearing chicken noises before, and they had also heard distant barking after entering the village, until now, they hadn’t encountered a single human being!
Uh oh, let’s hope this hasn’t become zombie town! 😬
Thank you for the update!
Giant zombie chickens and dogs?!? Zombie neighbors? Next chapter!
Thanks for translating this crazy zombie/mutation story! 🤣🤣🤣❤️❤️❤️
” What a soft and lucious petals, strong sturdy trunk, tender leaves… And such fragrant scent… Hmmm… Want… to.. eat!!!” The vine probably🤣
Poor tree… it was just asking for help!
Zombie chickens? Mutant chickens haha
Cant wait
For one reason or another I found myself laughing a lot this chapter. The tree. The baby tree especially
Thanks for translation