Chapter 188: Raising a Little Zombie 6

The strange fragrance from the white flowers made Xie Hui, who had just opened his eyes, feel drowsy again. His eyelids felt heavy, as if they were fighting to close.

He bit the tip of his tongue to force himself awake, then used Ice Cone to slice through the vines wrapped around his body.

Once free, his instincts immediately drove him to look for the little one.

Before he had fallen asleep, the kid had solemnly promised to protect him. Now, he had already run over to the balcony, standing on tiptoe to peer into the flowerpot at the little sapling.

From the way he was staring at it so intently, it was clear he hadn’t noticed the changes behind him at all.

“Yunyun?”

Xie Hui’s voice made the little one turn his head instinctively. When he saw the scene inside the room, he jumped in fright.

“Daddy!”

The vines, after being partially severed, seemed to lash out in anger. They flailed wildly, but before they could reach Xie Hui, Ice Cone struck again, slicing them down. The severed vines fell to the ground and quickly withered into a dull yellow.

Even though Xie Yun had seen many strange things since the apocalypse, this sight still made him uneasy. Without thinking, he wanted to run to his dad.

But before rushing over, he remembered the sapling he was so interested in. He reached out, picked up the flowerpot, and hugged it to his chest, planning to examine it later.

Xie Hui noticed that when Yunyun picked up the flowerpot, the flailing vines suddenly froze for a moment.

If it had just been one or two vines, he might not have paid much attention. But when all the vines stopped in unison, then resumed thrashing even more violently, it was impossible not to notice.

To Xie Hui, these vines posed no real threat. But they were certainly interesting to watch.

Yunyun ran over to his dad, hugging the flowerpot tightly. When he saw the vines, he was so angry he wanted to eat them.

They had sneakily acted up while he wasn’t paying attention. What if, after all this, his dad thought he was just an unreliable little zombie?

Thinking of that, Xie Yun moved to swat at the vines. But just as he took a step, Xie Hui reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“Daddy?”

“Yunyun, how about I burn this thing?”

Xie Hui pulled a lighter from his clothes and brought it close to the sapling in the flowerpot.

Yunyun had been staring at this thing for quite a while, which showed how much he liked it.

But since it was his dad who said it, after a moment of hesitation and inner struggle, he obediently nodded.

“Okay.”

At that moment, the frenzied vines all bent toward Xie Hui, as if begging for mercy.

“Daddy, what are these things?”

Yunyun was completely baffled now. His eyes were wide, and he couldn’t make sense of what was happening.

Did the vines become sentient?

Xie Hui put the lighter away, returning it to his pocket. He stared at the vines for a moment, and when they began to tremble, he finally spoke.

“Retract.”

Immediately, all the vines in the room vanished.

Only then did Xie Hui turn his gaze to the sapling in the flowerpot. The two leaves were pressed tightly together, as if frightened. He casually handed the pot to his son.

“This was the vine from earlier. Not a bad toy for you.”

Though the vine was unusual, it was of no real use to Xie Hui. It wasn’t sturdy, lacked intelligence, and didn’t know how to assess danger or opportunity.

“Daddy, can it really grow that many vines? Its hair is so thick!”

“Mm.”

Xie Hui usually didn’t harm things that had gained self-awareness, unless he had no choice or they attacked him first.

When they first entered this small town, he had sensed something was off. Now he had found the source.

“Daddy, can we eat the vines? Maybe it can grow one a day.”

“Good question. We can try that sometime.”

Looking at the sapling now lying flat in the pot, Xie Hui reached out and ruffled his son’s hair.

They were lucky to have encountered this sapling during its juvenile stage.

Even though it could grow many vines, its level was too low to pose any real threat.

The reason they hadn’t encountered many zombies in the area was likely because of this sapling.

When Xie Hui explained this to Yunyun, the boy, who had been playing with the sapling’s leaves, suddenly froze. His big round eyes stared in shock.

“Daddy, it’s the reason I didn’t have anything to eat?”

“Most likely.”

After confirming the plant couldn’t harm Yunyun, Xie Hui decided to search the area thoroughly to see if there were any other mutated plants nearby.

If a mutated plant was strong enough, it could be even more troublesome than a zombie. Its plant form served as a natural disguise and defense.

They were good at hiding, and most people wouldn’t be able to spot them.

It was just their luck that this one hadn’t had time to grow smarter. Seeing something that looked like food, it had tried to eat him—and ended up getting caught instead.

After checking the area, Xie Hui confirmed there were no other mutated plants in the town.

They had encountered many mutated plants on their journey. But one that actually planted itself in a flowerpot and picked a sunny spot to grow in—this was a first.

When Xie Hui returned, he saw Yunyun sitting on a stool, hugging the flowerpot and scolding the sapling’s leaves.

“It’s your fault I didn’t get enough to eat! Spit out the zombie crystal core! If you don’t, I’ll eat you tonight!”

Xie Hui found the scene amusing. But the next second, he saw the plant tremble its leaves and actually spit out two crystal cores.

He had originally kept the plant because Yunyun didn’t have many playmates. He thought having a self-aware plant around might keep the boy from getting too bored.

He hadn’t expected the plant to be able to produce zombie crystal cores.

Once it matured, it might actually prove useful.

Most people would probably be scared of something like this. But to Xie Hui, as long as it was under his control, it was nothing more than a toy.

“Daddy, look! I’ve got dinner now!”

Hearing his father’s footsteps, Yunyun jumped up and ran over, holding out a crystal core for him to see.

It was bright red, glowing faintly under the moonlight.

The flowerpot Yunyun had set down trembled again, and more vines suddenly sprouted from it.

Before they could start flailing, Ice Cone aimed straight at the sapling’s roots. The vines immediately dropped back down.

“Not behaving?”

Yunyun, who had just run over to show off to his dad, was stunned by the question. He shook his head instinctively.

“No, I’ve been very good!”

After speaking, he tilted his head up and only then realized that his dad wasn’t looking at him. Following his father’s gaze, he saw the extra vines growing in the house. Fuming, he clenched a Crystal Core in his hand and stormed back.

Xie Hui took out a self-heating hotpot, planning to make himself some dinner.

Yunyun sat there, seriously flicking the leaves of the Sapling with his index finger—once on the left, then again on the right.

“That’s for not listening.”

“And that’s for daring to lay a hand on my dad!”

“Oh wait, I mean, lay a leaf on him!”

Sitting beside him, Xie Hui listened to his muttered complaints. In the unusually quiet nights of the apocalypse, it brought a rare sense of warmth and liveliness, like a real home.

The Sapling, which had planted itself in a flowerpot, ended up with both of its leaves drooping flat against the ground, refusing to lift no matter what.

Xie Yun didn’t dare hit its roots, afraid he might accidentally break them. If that happened, the toy his dad had prepared for him would be ruined by his own hands.

The more Yunyun thought about it, the angrier he got. He reached out and grabbed the Sapling’s fragile stem, gave it a little shake, and said:

“I’m hungry! Should I eat a Crystal Core or eat you?”

The next second, the stem trembled, and three Crystal Cores dropped to the ground.

Xie Yun picked one up, rinsed it with water, cleaned it off, and popped it into his mouth. After finishing it, he shook the Sapling’s leaf again.

“Ahem.”

This time, before Xie Yun could even finish speaking, the Sapling sensibly spat out another Crystal Core.

After dinner, Xie Hui looked at his son, who was sitting there and let out a satisfied burp. He was a little surprised—this was the first time he’d seen him burp since becoming a zombie.

“Full?”

“Mm-hmm! Daddy, it has so many yummy Crystal Cores!”

Yunyun hugged the flowerpot, grinning with delight. The Sapling’s two leaves drooped pitifully—it clearly wasn’t very happy.

In the darkness, Xie Hui looked at his son’s glowing eyes, then at the wilted Sapling. For some reason, he felt that if this Sapling was going to be with them for a long time, maybe it deserved a name.

“Yunyun, do you want to take it with us from now on?”

Xie Yun thought seriously about his dad’s question. He stared at the Sapling for a moment. He thought it was fun, and it could even spit out Crystal Cores for him to eat.

But…

“Forget it, Daddy. Let’s just eat it tomorrow. It’s too heavy.”

Xie Hui glanced at the trembling Sapling, then casually picked up the empty mineral water bottle Yunyun had used to rinse the Crystal Cores. He cut it in half, scooped a bit of soil from the flowerpot, and transferred it into the bottle.

“Would you be okay living in here?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Sapling’s two leaves drooped even lower. It clung to the edge of the flowerpot, pulled itself out, shuffled over to the bottle cap, and replanted itself.

The freshly transplanted Sapling’s leaves had already started to yellow. Seeing this, Xie Hui used his ability to water it a little, but it gave no further response.

“Daddy, what’s wrong with it?”

“It probably just needs to rest.”

“Yunyun, do you want to give it a name? Something like Da Huang?”

Xie Yun frowned and instinctively shook his head.

“No way, Da Huang sounds like a puppy name.”

“Daddy, let’s call it Fugui’er~”

————

Da Huang (大黄) → “Big Yellow,” a common rustic pet name, usually for dogs.

Fugui’er (富贵儿) → “Little Wealth-and-Honor,” a cute, auspicious nickname implying prosperity.