Chapter 79 - 78: Pspsps!

Chapter 79: Chapter 78: Pspsps!

"Then I won’t do it." Huai Yu placed Little Brother Zhu on the ground and shook her head in refusal. "The safe zones have been specially cleared out. If you go in, wouldn’t the Defense Army’s efforts have been for nothing? Uncle, you’re too danger—I mean, you’re too powerful. If you enter the safe zone, everyone else will be unsafe."

The bamboo trembled. "What do you mean unsafe? What use do I have for humans? Do I need them to fertilize me or water me? I’m all about being nurtured by nature!

"If someone kicks the bucket next to me, their rotting bodies would ruin my nutrition... Do you think I actually want you guys around?

"I just want a couple of acres of land to put down some roots. Is that too much to ask?"

He had been chattering incessantly along the way. She knew Kuang Biao had no intention of hurting anyone—or perhaps, he just didn’t want to hurt *her*?

After a moment of thought, Huai Yu said to him, "Then I’ll go ask the Rose Corridor. I have a piece of land you can use—are you sure you only need two acres?"

If the Rose Corridor even slightly shifted, the nearby Mutant Value alarm would blare crazily. If this eight-year-old Little Brother Zhu was right at her doorstep...

Ahem.

Huai Yu actually had an ulterior motive.

The bamboo answered firmly, "I don’t even need two acres! I just need to put down roots and grow a bit, that’s all."

So, Huai Yu stepped away to ask the Rose Corridor.

If she ran out right now, with the Rose Corridor’s help, she could definitely shake off Kuang Biao. But... if she had the chance to run right from the start, she would have done so without hesitation. Now, however, she had spent hours grunting and panting in the dark to drag him down the mountain. With such a massive sunk cost, she couldn’t bear to just leave him behind.

As soon as she approached, the flowering vines began to tremble vigorously before swiftly lashing out at her!

Huai Yu froze, watching helplessly as the nearby Mutant Value alarm suddenly shrieked in the dead of night.

[Mutant Value in Zone 8 of the Rose Corridor is rising rapidly—]

[Mutant Value in Zone 8 of the Rose Corridor is rising rapidly—]

[Mutant Value in Zone 8 of the Rose Corridor is rising rapidly—]

Huai Yu was speechless.

She sighed helplessly, but then realized the lashing vines weren’t hitting her hard at all. It felt more like a parent using a towel to dust off dirt and grime from their child’s clothes. Thinking about how she had dragged Kuang Biao the bamboo all the way down, she fell into a guilty silence.

Once the lashing subsided and the leaves retracted, Huai Yu finally asked, "I brought a bamboo down from Sanqing Mountain, and he wants to be planted not too far from you... Can you beat him in a fight? Is it okay to plant him here?"

The Rose Corridor rustled, conveying a very clear message.

Relieved, Huai Yu hurriedly said, "Then let me out right now. The alarm went off, so the Defense Army will be here soon. I need to ride my bike back first so they don’t spot me." After a thought, she added, "Okay?"

Zone 8 was quite a distance from Zone 69, but it was only a few minutes’ drive away. She had to hurry.

Fortunately, the Rose Corridor didn’t make things difficult. The dense vines swiftly parted to create a path wide enough for one person, and then the branches shot off into the distance like lightning.

In no time, they dragged over a thick, glowing green bamboo that was groaning, "Ouch, ouch!"

Huai Yu didn’t even have to lift a finger. The slender vines were as sturdy and powerful as steel cables! With two swift flicks through the air, they hurled the bamboo straight over the towering wall of flowers, sending it crashing heavily onto the ground.

This time, the bamboo didn’t utter a single peep. He was exceptionally obedient.

Huai Yu, who had just laid her hands on her bicycle, watched in stunned silence. She turned to look at the Rose Corridor, her eyes filled with envy. She wished she had that kind of power! It was clearly perfectly suited for manual labor.

But with only that passing thought, she quickly hopped onto her bicycle and pedaled home before the Defense Army could arrive.

Her new house was, after all, several times larger than the treehouse. Huai Yu wheeled her bike inside and shoved the bamboo-shoot-filled basket into a corner. She changed her clothes, combed her hair, wiped her face, and then started a fire to boil water...

Just as small bubbles began to form in the pot, she heard someone calling out to her from a distance.

"Little Yu!"

Huai Yu stepped outside and saw several vehicles parked a short distance away. They seemed to have an unspoken boundary with the Rose Corridor and refused to come any closer.

Zhou Qian was sitting in one of the cars. He scrutinized her from afar and let out a small sigh of relief. "You’re still awake this late?"

Huai Yu felt a wave of immediate regret. She had been so focused on creating the illusion that she was busy at home, she completely forgot that it was already the middle of the night.

Thankfully, Zhou Qian had only asked casually. "Don’t go near Zone 8 recently. The Rose Corridor just dragged a mutated bamboo out from the Wilderness. Its Mutant Value is at least over 50.

"I can’t figure out what it’s thinking... but the bamboo probably wanted to spread into the city... Still, why did the Rose Corridor drag it over?"

Zhou Qian couldn’t make sense of it and looked perplexed. "Anyway, don’t go near Zone 8. We need to head back and write up a report now. See you."

Huai Yu earnestly thanked him and watched Zhou Qian leave. Only then did she belatedly realize something: if the Mutant Value was over 50, then what about the bamboo shoots she had been carrying on her back?!

However, she had to leave the no-longer-fresh bamboo shoots for later, because she still hadn’t fulfilled her promise to Uncle Zhu!

Huai Yu got back on her bike and rushed over again. Hearing the bamboo groaning "Ouch, ouch" on the ground, she stood there in a daze. "Um... Uncle Zhu, where do you want to be planted?"

The bamboo’s leaves ruffled as if his spirit had been instantly revitalized. "Great, great, great! I knew you were special the moment I saw you on the mountain, and I was right! Even this rose listens to you... Uh, well... ahem..."

He acted coy for a brief moment. "New master, please move me, Kuang Biao, to the side of your residence.

"I can guard your house! Bamboo shoots, bamboo leaves, bamboo rice—you can use all of them!"

Huai Yu was speechless again. She didn’t understand, but she was profoundly shocked!

She straightened her back, as if her exhausted body had suddenly been injected with strength. "Here, boy!"

The bamboo immediately shook his leaves. "Yes, I’m here! At your command!"

Huai Yu grinned. "Alright, Kuang Biao, you’re young so I won’t hold this against you... How about this: I’ll take you back and plant you right behind my house, okay?

"Of course, we still need to keep a bit of distance. You can’t grow your roots toward my house, but you can go crazy in any other direction."

"Yes, yes, of course, of course!" Uncle Zhu... or Little Brother Zhu... Anyway, Kuang Biao immediately shook his leaves again.

"Yes, ma’am!

"The spot you chose is definitely the best! It’s perfect for me!

"Don’t worry, I’ll evolve a little later on, and I guarantee I won’t attract a single mosquito!"

His sudden sycophancy was a bit too much for Huai Yu to handle. After a long pause, she could only mutter, "A-Alright, then!

"Forget it! Just call me by my name... I’m Huai Yu, just call me Little Yu."

She raised her wrist to check her watch, and the bamboo next to her immediately lit up with a fluorescent green glow.

It was already one o’clock in the morning!

Huai Yu sighed. Remembering the bamboo shoots waiting to be dealt with—the ones with a possible Mutant Value of over 50—she figured she wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight.