Yun Huacen was sound asleep when he suddenly heard a series of meows. Groggily opening his eyes, he was startled by a pair of pitch-black eyes staring back at him, instantly jolting him awake. He turned to look at the alarm clock on the bedside table and rolled his eyes in annoyance.
“It’s only five o’clock. You might not need sleep, but I do.”
The cat raised its paw and typed on the tablet, “Yue Zirui is in trouble.”
Yun Huacen froze for a moment before sitting up abruptly. “Didn’t you say he was fine yesterday?”
“If we dawdle any longer, we won’t make it in time.”
Hearing this, Yun Huacen hurriedly got out of bed, changed into his clothes as quickly as possible, and without even washing his face, drove out of the villa. He sped all the way, arriving at the orphanage in less than ten minutes.
“What exactly happened?” Yun Huacen asked as he walked.
After waiting for a while without a response, Yun Huacen looked down at the cat and remembered it couldn’t speak. He couldn’t help but sigh: “When you’re worried, you really do lose your head.”
Yun Huacen reached the door and pushed hard, but it didn’t budge. The cat meowed, signaling him to step aside. Yun Huacen paused for a moment before understanding its meaning and quickly took a step back. The cat opened its mouth and spat out a stream of black liquid. The wood that came into contact with the liquid began to corrode, quickly eating away a large hole. With a creak, the door swung open. Yun Huacen picked up a branch, pushed the door open, carefully avoided the black liquid, and stepped inside.
The cellar was pitch dark, but fortunately, Yun Huacen had brought a flashlight with him. There was plenty of food inside, which he could take with him later. He cautiously made his way deeper inside and soon found Yue Zirui in a sorry state. Huddled in a corner, his body trembled uncontrollably, and painful whimpers escaped his throat.
Sensing something was wrong, Yun Huacen shone the flashlight into his eyes. It took a while for Yue Zirui to react, but when he did, he grabbed a nearby stick and swung it wildly. Yun Huacen was startled and took two steps back, putting distance between them. Yue Zirui flailed the stick around, his eyes wide open but unable to pinpoint Yun Huacen’s location. Looking closer at his pupils, Yun Huacen noticed they had turned somewhat pale.
Yun Huacen froze for a moment before realizing what had happened. He exclaimed in surprise, “You were bitten?”
Hearing Yun Huacen’s voice, Yue Zirui’s movements halted abruptly, and he glared in his direction. “It’s you!”
“You can still recognize my voice, so you must be somewhat lucid.” Yun Huacen knew Yue Zirui had antibodies in his system, so even if he was bitten, he wouldn’t turn into a zombie. “While you’re still conscious, I’ll give you a choice. Do you want to come with me, or do you want to stay here?”
“How did you know I was here?” Yue Zirui demanded loudly. “You were following me! You led those zombies here!”
“You could speak a little louder and attract all the zombies in the orphanage,” Yun Huacen retorted irritably. “Following you? With so many zombies outside, do I have a death wish?”
“Then how did you know I was here?”
“I came to collect food. How was I supposed to know you’d be here?” Yun Huacen said impatiently. “Fine, I don’t have time for this. You’re on your own.”
If Yue Zirui had been reborn, he would surely know he had antibodies in his system and wouldn’t turn into a zombie even if bitten. If Yun Huacen insisted on taking Yue Zirui back with him, Yue Zirui would undoubtedly suspect he had ulterior motives. That would be like raising a venomous snake by his side, one that was always ready to strike.
Yun Huacen looked at the food on the ground, there were still some potatoes and cabbage. One of the potatoes was particularly large and had even sprouted. Yun Huacen walked over, bent down to pick up the potato, thinking that if Yue Zirui ate it and something happened, it would be troublesome.
“Meow!” Just as Yun Huacen’s hand was about to touch the potato, the cat suddenly let out a cry.
Yun Huacen’s body moved faster than his mind. He instinctively withdrew his hand and even took several steps back. When he realized what he had done, he couldn’t help but feel a little amused. It was just a potato, what was there to be afraid of? He was being too sensitive. He turned to look at the cat. Its body was arched, and a low growl rumbled in its throat, clearly something was wrong.
“Don’t tell me this potato is also a zombie.”
The cat ignored Yun Huacen and pounced toward the potato. What happened next left Yun Huacen stunned, the potato actually rolled away, dodging the cat’s attack. The tender green sprouts rapidly grew, attacking in the cat’s direction. Upon closer inspection, the sprouts even had tiny, hair-like thorns. Yun Huacen was dumbfounded. He hadn’t expected that not only animals but even plants could mutate.
“What are you up to?” Yue Zirui, unable to see, thought Yun Huacen was playing tricks.
Yun Huacen ignored Yue Zirui, took out his phone from his pocket, and without hesitation pressed the record button. In the original host’s memories, there was no mention of plants being infected and mutating, he had to document this.
Yue Zirui couldn’t hear Yun Huacen’s response, but he could hear the cat’s low growls, along with the sounds of pouncing, biting, and collisions. “What’s going on? Answer me!”
“Who do you think you are? Why should I answer you? You’re seriously sick!”
“Awoo!”
The cat bit off the potato’s tender sprout and was about to press its advantage when the potato suddenly let out a whimpering sound. The bitten sprout wilted, as if crying.
“Wait a moment!” Yun Huacen called out to stop the cat.
The cat’s movements froze, forced to come to a halt.
Yun Huacen didn’t notice anything unusual, assuming it was the cat’s own decision. He turned to look at the potato and said, “Stay right there and don’t move!”
The potato’s body stiffly stood upright, unable to move even if it wanted to.
The cat turned its head to look at Yun Huacen and wrote on the ground, “What do you want to do?”
Yun Huacen’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “This is a mutated plant. Have you ever seen one before?”
“You want to study it?”
“Is there a problem with that?”
Yue Zirui interjected, “Who are you talking to?”
“Shut up!” Although Yun Huacen knew Yue Zirui was a reincarnator and that this kind of attitude toward him was perfectly normal, he still couldn’t help but feel annoyed.
Yue Zirui wanted to retort but found himself unable to open his mouth.
“Don’t you dare move!” Yun Huacen walked closer to the potato, examining it carefully. From this angle, it looked no different from an ordinary potato, just a sprouted one.
“Can you see me? If you can, move forward and backward. If you can’t, move side to side.”
The potato moved side to side.
“So you locate my position through hearing and scent? If ‘yes,’ move forward and backward. If ‘no,’ move side to side.”
The potato moved forward and backward.
“Then what special abilities do you have? Show me.”
The sprouts on the potato stretched outward slightly before retracting again, giving off a curious, peeking-around kind of vibe.
“As long as you don’t attack me, I promise you’ll be safe.”
Potato toppled over and rolled backward several times, putting distance between itself and Yun Huacen. The tender sprout on its head rapidly grew to about thirty centimeters, propping itself up on either side to lift its body off the ground. Then it emitted some incomprehensible sounds.
Yun Huacen stared blankly for a moment before asking, “What are you doing?”
Potato couldn’t speak and could only answer with actions.
Though Yun Huacen couldn’t figure out what it was trying to do, judging by its current behavior, it seemed to be exerting a great deal of effort. After about two minutes, he witnessed a shocking scene: Potato actually… well, Yun Huacen was at a loss for words. He could only say that Potato gave birth to a little potato. The cat was also stunned, its dark eyes wide open. Potato relaxed its effort, the sprouts retracted, and its body slumped to the ground, looking utterly exhausted.
It took Yun Huacen a while to regain his ability to speak. “Is… is this your special ability?”
Potato shifted its body and nudged the little potato toward Yun Huacen.
The cat also snapped out of its shock and wrote on the ground, “The little potato has no zombie virus.”
Yun Huacen was speechless for a moment before finally saying, “Are you suggesting I can use it to make spicy and sour shredded potatoes?”
“You could also make mashed potatoes.”
Yun Huacen: “…”
The cat walked toward the pile of cabbages in the corner and let out a low growl at one particularly large, green cabbage.
Yun Huacen paused, then said, “Don’t tell me this cabbage has also mutated.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the cabbage suddenly moved. Its green leaves tightened, the stem bulged outward, and then it abruptly opened up, spitting out a round, greenish cabbage. The cabbage’s two leaves, like hands, pushed the little cabbage toward the cat, perfectly embodying the phrase “knowing when to yield is the mark of a wise man.”
The cat: “…”
Yun Huacen: “…”
It took Yun Huacen quite a while to recover from the shock. “Alright, alright, now even vegetables have become sentient!”
Potato rolled over to the cabbage, stood up its round body, and snuggled against it. Its sprouts extended, gently rubbing against the cabbage stem, giving Yun Huacen the impression that it was acting coquettishly.
“Alright, alright, now they’ve even reached the stage of romance.”
The cat: “…”
Yun Huacen looked at the affectionate potato and cabbage and said, “You two can save the lovey-dovey act for later. I have something to inform you: you’ve been captured. You’ll have to come with me later, or else it will eat you.”
Potato and cabbage looked at the menacing cat and huddled together, trembling.
“Of course, as long as you behave, I guarantee your safety. If you agree, jump once. If you disagree, jump twice.”
Potato and cabbage each jumped once. There was no choice, this wasn’t a negotiation but a blatant threat. Disagreeing wasn’t an option.
“Since you both agree, let’s go.” Yun Huacen turned to leave but suddenly remembered Yue Zirui and paused. “Oh, right. I broke the door, so this place isn’t safe anymore. I won’t take these supplies. You’re on your own.”
Without hesitation, Yun Huacen turned and walked away. The cat glanced back at Potato and Cabbage and meowed at them. Potato and Cabbage hurriedly moved, hopping along to follow Yun Huacen.
Yue Zirui tried to open his mouth, only to find it still sealed shut. He hurriedly let out a few muffled “mmph” sounds. Yun Huacen ignored him and walked straight out of the cellar. Only after the cat had carried the potatoes and cabbage up to the roof of the car did he open the door and get in. As soon as he started the engine, Yue Zirui rushed over, stumbling and collapsing onto the hood.