Chapter 42 - 40: The Sunflower Smiled at You

Chapter 42: Chapter 40: The Sunflower Smiled at You

"Nie Qianqian?"

In the faint light, the driver, Xiao Wang, witnessed a horrifying scene: Nie Qianqian’s face was growing from the disk of a sunflower. Framed by yellow petals and a green calyx, it possessed a terrifying beauty.

What was worse, she was smiling.

An unnatural feeling grew.

His skin crawled.

Fear exploded in his heart.

"AHHH!!!"

The driver, Xiao Wang, was just about to scream.

THWIP.

A thick object shot into his mouth.

Instantly.

His eyes flew wide. He went rigid and began to tremble, unable to make a sound.

Countless Roots pierced his feet and legs.

Blood flowed freely.

Then, he felt himself being lifted into the air. Countless Roots were "carrying" him, inch by inch, closer to Nie Qianqian’s face.

"Urk... urk..."

Xiao Wang’s face was a mask of terror. He struggled wildly, but it was useless.

Outside the glass greenhouse.

Xia Yu’s pupils contracted. She stared, transfixed, at the scene before her: Liu Daqing’s driver was being "delivered," bit by bit, to Nie Qianqian’s mouth.

Then, Nie Qianqian opened her mouth, revealing rows upon rows of densely packed sunflower seeds. Each one was incredibly sharp, lining the inside of her mouth in concentric circles, as if a human mouth were filled with sharp teeth.

And then, Nie Qianqian began to gnaw on the face of Liu Daqing’s driver, bit by bit.

"A Mutated Plant!"

Xia Yu’s heart sank.

This was the worst-case scenario she had anticipated!

’I remember the owner of that face was a Mutant. Does that mean this sunflower has the power to kill a Mutant on its own?’

’Isn’t its growth rate too fast? This is highly unusual.’

Taking a deep breath, she began to formulate a countermeasure, her expression grave.

At that moment, Nie Qianqian stopped feeding. Countless Roots pierced Xiao Wang’s body, forcefully dragging him underground in an attempt to bury him.

’It’s "storing" its meat.’

Xia Yu tightened her grip on the Blood Butterfly in her hand and decided to make her move.

She couldn’t let this thing live. As it continued to feed, its power would only grow. It could already kill a Mutant on its own. Soon, it would likely become an existence even more terrifying than a Mutated Beast.

By then, it would be impossible for her to eliminate it without causing a commotion.

It would inevitably expose her identity.

And ruin her plans.

The next instant, Nie Qianqian looked over at her!

’Did it sense my killing intent?’

’Such sharp instincts!’

This only strengthened Xia Yu’s resolve to eliminate it immediately. She was just about to charge.

And then...

Under the dim night sky, inside the transparent glass greenhouse, row after row of sunflowers turned their heads in unison, revealing human faces that all smiled at Xia Yu.

!!!

Xia Yu froze, her scalp tingling with dread.

’So many Mutated Plants?’

This...

This was far beyond her expectations.

’From now on, unless it’s a special situation, I’m never coming to a place like a greenhouse again.’

Although, this led her to deduce that a single Mutated Plant didn’t have the power to kill a Mutant on its own. Nie Qianqian’s death was likely the result of dozens of Mutated Plants attacking together.

That, at least, made sense. It didn’t exceed the bounds of Xia Yu’s understanding.

However, she still couldn’t handle this many Spiritual Transformation Plants.

Not unless she used firearms and had Xie Shaokun to back her up.

Even then, she would still get injured!

What should she do?

’Do I have to reveal my hand after all?’

For a rare moment, Xia Yu hesitated.

Because she really didn’t want to kill Wang Quanzhi!

She was cold-blooded.

But she didn’t kill indiscriminately.

Otherwise, after surviving ten years in the Apocalypse, she would have long since lost her humanity and become a madwoman who only knew how to kill.

A person in that state was no better than a walking corpse, and even more dangerous than a Mutant.

Liu Daqing.

Having just finished bandaging his wounds, he saw the rows of faces turning toward them. A shudder wracked his body, pulling at his injuries and jolting him to his senses. "Xiao Fan, I’ll give you a million. No, ten million! Can you do something for me?"

Xiao Fan’s face lit up with ecstatic joy.

Ten million?

For someone who earned just over ten thousand a month, that was more money than he could make in a lifetime.

He knew a job worth ten million would be dangerous, but the thought of his three-year-old daughter, who had neuroblastoma, made him grit his teeth and agree.

"Okay."

"Boss, what do you need me to do? As long as it’s not illegal, I’ll do it!"

A crazed light shone in his eyes.

"You... You kick me."

Liu Daqing didn’t know why Xiao Fan had suddenly become so earnest and crazed, but he didn’t have time to ask. He said, "Use all your strength! Try to kick me out of the glass greenhouse."

"Be careful not to kick me to death."

As he spoke, his hand was already fumbling for a broken piece of a brick nearby.

???

’Such a strange request?’

"Boss, uh... are you serious?"

Xiao Fan was dumbfounded.

He’d been a bodyguard for years. It was always the boss telling him to kick other people; he’d never heard a request like this.

"Hurry!"

"I guarantee my promise is real, as long as you do what I ask."

"If I’m lying, may my son get hit by a car the moment he steps outside. Is that enough?"

Liu Daqing saw the faces on the sunflowers turn to look at him. He even saw Nie Qianqian’s face. His heart seized with terror, alarm bells screaming in his mind. He trembled violently, but he didn’t dare to move.

It was too bizarre!

"Hurry!"

The feeling of death coiled around his heart, growing stronger and stronger until, in the next moment, his mind couldn’t take it anymore and he roared.

’Everyone knew the boss doted on his son the most. To swear on his son’s life now, he must be serious.’

"Alright!"

Xiao Fan decided to take the gamble and kicked out.

"Ah."

A cry of pain rang out.

Liu Daqing felt like his lower back had been broken by the kick.

However, the instant he was kicked, he pushed off with his feet, twisted his body, and lunged forward. Using the momentum from Xiao Fan’s kick, he viciously hurled the brick in his hand.

His aim was precise, hitting the corner of the tempered glass panel right behind him.

He was lucky; this section of the greenhouse glass was severely aged.

So...

CRACK.

The tempered glass shattered.

Countless small, rounded fragments rained down.

Liu Daqing shielded his head with his hands and emerged unscathed. He tried to stand up, fighting through the pain, but failed. So, he began to crawl on the ground like a fat worm, desperately trying to get away from those terrifying sunflowers.

Seeing this, Xiao Fan was stunned again. He couldn’t help but ask for confirmation, "Boss, I... did I just earn ten million?"

Liu Daqing had no time to answer him, and the pain in his abdomen left him unable to speak anyway.

"Boss."

Xiao Fan sensed something was wrong and started to follow, but something tightened around his ankle.

He was just about to break free.

An immense force suddenly yanked at his ankle, sending his legs flying backward and causing him to face-plant hard on the ground.

Hearing the noise, Liu Daqing turned to look, and his scalp went numb:

Xiao Fan had been dragged into the middle of the sunflowers, where countless human faces were now crawling over his body, gnawing on him.

"Ah."

"Help me."

His bloodcurdling screams sounded like the wails of a ghost.

It was absolutely chilling.

Xiao Fan realized he wasn’t going to make it. He finally understood why his boss had asked him for that kick. With the last of his strength, he shouted, "Boss, I don’t want the ten million! Just please, save my child... urk... urk..."

Before he could finish, a mouth bit clean through his throat.

He couldn’t get the last words out.

He could only watch his boss, hoping that he would make it out alive.