Logically speaking, a little vine that had only just taken human form should not have possessed such a wide range of human emotions.
But the man’s words were simply too humiliating… humiliating to the vine.
Ye Manman’s chest puffed up in anger. “I’m not dirty!”
“Heh.”
Zhou Zhou let out an ambiguous scoff. He looked down coldly at the “little beggar” sitting on the ground. A few seconds later, he abruptly squatted down, his tall, imposing figure instantly enveloping the pitiful girl.
His intensely invasive gaze traveled from the collar of her clothes, stained with the mucus of mutated plants, to her filthy little face.
“Where’s your protector?”
Unsure of what prompted him, Zhou Zhou raised his right hand and gripped the poor little beggar’s chin, his thumb pressing firmly as he wiped away a patch of black and gray grime.
“Did he abandon you? He threw you into a place like this to scavenge garbage, leaving you dirty and smelly.”
Ye Manman was truly furious.
This detestable man was hateful whether he’d lost his memory or regained it!
Being dirty couldn’t be helped, but she wasn’t smelly at all!
Her fair, delicate wrist was thrust indignantly in front of the man’s face. She had moved so close that a faint, clean fragrance wafted over uninvited, forcefully drifting beneath Zhou Zhou’s nose in an attempt to prove her “innocence.”
“I don’t stink!”
Zhou Zhou’s gaze rested on that soft, fair wrist. Its owner was truly stingy; after holding it out for only a few seconds, she withdrew it without mercy after he had taken just two breaths of its fragrance.
Did she stink?
He hadn’t smelled anything unpleasant at all. But he’d also forgotten the fragrance. If he could breathe it in a little longer, perhaps he would remember it…
“Were you using the same trick to seduce that black-charcoal ability user just now?”
Ye Manman’s anger paused for two seconds as her sluggish mind began trying to figure out who he meant by “black-charcoal ability user.”
But Zhou Zhou gave her no time to think. Instead, he pressed on. “How long did you let him smell you before he agreed to give you that junk?”
“Your protector only just died, didn’t he? Are you already in such a hurry to find someone else to keep you? Yesterday, and today too—every time I see you, why are those men surrounding you like dogs?”
Reminded by him like this, Ye Manman finally remembered who the “black-charcoal ability user” was.
The ability user who had given her the snake skin and wild boar tusks.
“What does that have to do with you!” She tipped her head back and retorted, her beautiful, clear eyes filled with unmistakable dislike. “Let me go!”
The man’s expression instantly turned cold.
He really had to admit that she was very good at choosing men.
Yesterday she’d chosen Xue Zikai, and today she’d chosen that black-charcoal ability user.
Was it because those two men looked easy to manipulate? Was that why she had deliberately approached them, even lifting her little face and shyly offering them hints?
Zhou Zhou gave a cold laugh. His interest immediately evaporated, and he finally released the girl’s face.
Even though she was temporarily at a disadvantage, the little vine remained as arrogant as ever. The man in front of her was clearly showing signs of letting her go, yet she was still brooding over the humiliation she’d just suffered.
Taking advantage of his distraction, she stretched out her leg and kicked him hard. Afterward, she didn’t linger for a fight and immediately turned around, trying to scramble away.
An ability user’s physical constitution was simply too strong. His sturdy build and solid footing meant that her kick didn’t move him at all, leaving only a conspicuous patch of dust on his black combat uniform.
Zhou Zhou laughed in exasperation.
Before the pretty little beggar could turn around, a broad, slender hand shot out and firmly seized her delicate ankle.
“Let me go!”
Zhou Zhou had never been a good man to begin with. After being provoked like this, he simply followed his instincts, dragging her in front of him and pressing his thumb hard into the hollow of her ankle, rubbing it deliberately twice.
“Why are you running?”
“Didn’t your former protector teach you what manners are? Or did he only teach you how to kick men?”
He was actually touching her ankle!
Ye Manman wanted to call him a pervert, but the moment she looked up and met the man’s eyes, she was frightened by those dark eyes and unfathomable gaze.
He was a Level 8 dual-element lightning-and-fire ability user. A single powerful attack from him could scorch all 108 of her tentacles.
More than half a month ago, when this man had still been suffering from amnesia, she had secretly eaten crystal cores someone else had fed her. Her mouth hadn’t even been wiped clean when she turned around and met that very gaze. That night, she had lain on the bed with red-rimmed eyes, her tentacles drooping from sheer intimidation.
‘‘Wah.’’
‘‘System, how can he have forgotten me after regaining his memory and still be exactly like this?’’
The system said solemnly, [Don’t panic. Someone’s coming.]
The moment it finished speaking, a commotion broke out at the entrance to the butchering site.
“Why is the main district guard team here?”
“They must have come to deal with that mutated plant.”
Their hushed discussion drifted into everyone’s ears. Several ability users in red uniforms entered the butchering site, their objective clear as they headed straight for the mutated plant’s corpse.
Once the guard captain at the front came to a stop, his eyes moved back and forth between the two sections of the withered vine. He tilted his head slightly, signaling his subordinates to inspect them, and only then turned his gaze toward the unfamiliar ability user crouching on one knee with his back to him.
“Code 006 was an experimental subject that escaped from the main district. Its strength was comparable to that of a Level 6 ability user. You subdued it with a single move, so I assume you’re at least Level 6 or above.”
Zhou Zhou had already heard the commotion caused by the imposing guard team. He merely squeezed Ye Manman’s ankle absentmindedly.
“Be good and stay still.”
“If you try to run, I’ll catch you and bring you back.”
Ye Manman said nothing.
She had originally been planning to run, but after hearing what the big man said, her curiosity immediately took over.
What code?
What experimental subject?
The “little beggar” in front of him was unusually obedient. Zhou Zhou looked at her a few more times before letting go and standing up to face the guard team.
“What do you want?”
The guard captain looked him up and down twice before stating confidently, “All ability users above Level 5 in the base are registered. You’re new here.”
The unfamiliar high-level ability user remained cold-faced and gave no response.
The guard captain didn’t take offense. He was accustomed to the arrogance of high-level ability users, and he had only come here to retrieve the escaped experimental subject.
Soon, the subordinate who had gone to inspect the withered vine’s corpse hurried back over.
“Captain, Code 006 is dead, and its crystal core has already been removed.”
Clearly, its crystal core was now in the hands of the unfamiliar ability user before them.
If someone killed a mutated plant by their own ability, there was no way to demand the crystal core back.
After giving it a thought, the guard captain abandoned the idea of asking for it. “Carry Code 006’s corpse back.”
The moment he finished speaking, a searing white flash of reflected blade-light shot into his eyes, accompanied by unmistakable killing intent.
When he turned his head, the culprit was merely raising his hand to wipe his blade, his tone extraordinarily calm. “I hunted this mutated plant. I’m afraid it isn’t appropriate for you to simply say you’re taking it away.”
Someone from the guard team shouted unhappily, “What do you mean, you hunted it? This clearly belongs to…”
He was stopped by the captain before he could finish.
“Enough.”
“It is true that we failed to supervise the area properly. Whoever removes the crystal core gets to keep it, but this mutated plant was an experimental subject. Even as a corpse, we have to take it back. As compensation, you can name your terms.”
Zhou Zhou neither agreed nor disagreed.
The hot-tempered subordinate spoke up again. “Don’t push your luck…”
Slap—!
The guard captain directly slapped him across the face. “Shut up!”
Zhou Zhou watched the scene coldly, giving them none of the reaction they wanted.
Perhaps realizing his attitude, the guard captain softened for once and pulled a metal token from inside his clothes. “This is a residential permit for the main district. With it, you can move directly into the core area of the main district and be assigned a room according to its level.”
The moment the item appeared, several onlookers drew sharp breaths.
“A residential permit for the core area of the main district, exchanged for the corpse of a Level 6 mutated plant? Isn’t that a little too generous?”
“Idiot! That’s a Level 6 or 7 ability user. What does one residential permit mean to the guard team? Recruiting a high-level ability user is obviously more important!”
The guard captain’s arm was almost aching from holding it out before the arrogant high-level ability user finally took the residential permit.
He really was arrogant.
“Then we’ll take the mutated plant’s corpse away?”
Zhou Zhou seemed quite satisfied with the token in his hand and casually hummed in acknowledgment.
The guard captain turned around and quietly instructed his subordinate, “Code 006 is dead. File the report.”
“Yes.”
Ye Manman, who had eavesdropped on the whole conversation had already raised her vigilance to twelve points in an unnoticed corner.
The system’s analysis poured continuously into her mind.
[Little vine, listen carefully.]
[The original novel says that, in its pursuit of power, the C City Base imprisoned a large number of mutated plants and beasts for experiments.]
[The Level 8 mutated plant, the man-eating flower, that we’re looking for must be imprisoned in the main district they mentioned.]
[You need to find a way to sneak into the main district…]
Since this concerned her grand plan for conquest, Ye Manman listened with utmost seriousness.
She had to sneak into the main district… but how was she supposed to get in?
Before she could think of a way, a calm voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Wait.”
The guard captain turned around warily. “What is it?”
Zhou Zhou’s gaze landed on the other section of the withered vine still standing in the soil and… an inconspicuous little red bucket lying in the shadows nearby.
“I have this habit when I do things. I always see them through to the end.”
Before anyone could react, the man suddenly swung his blade, and the remaining half of the massive withered vine slammed heavily onto the ground.
Bang—!
Smack—!
A large piece of red plastic fragment was sent flying by the impact to his feet, with only the iron handle remaining to prove what it once was.
Zhou Zhou tossed the blade to the teammate behind him and leisurely wiped his fingers, as though only a little of the dust kicked up had managed to soil them.
The guard captain: “……Thank you.”
This certainly would make it easier to transport back.
“You’re welcome.”
The sudden incident had been resolved perfectly, and everyone seemed quite satisfied.
Except Ye Manman, who was sitting on the ground.
She stared blankly at the remains of the half-withered vine’s corpse, as well as the soil cracked by its impact, and beside it, the boar tusks that were presumably shattered into pieces nearby.
Only when she met the man’s eyes did she finally speak in a daze. “The things I picked up…”
Zhou Zhou looked at her as though puzzled. Following her gaze, he noticed the scattered scraps and finally understood.
But what he said next contained not the slightest hint of guilt.
“Sorry.”
“I smashed your junk to pieces.”
The filthy little vine nearly burst into tears.
She tremblingly pointed at the man. “That was what I was going to exchange for contribution points so I could take a bath… Pay me back my contribution points!”