Among the many cities in China, only city A maintained its power grid for such a long time following the apocalypse. Almost all other places stopped supplying within a few days after the end of the world. There were still some places with hydro, wind, and other renewal forms of energy, but city M is a small third-tier city, so naturally, there will be no electricity after the apocalypse. The convention and center is completely dark, and under the gray sky outside, it is almost impossible to see the situation inside.

The group of people approached the entrance cautiously. A giant pane of glass in the door has been shattered long ago. There were some dry black marks on the ground, most likely blood stains.

Both Mengzi and Liu Jiangfeng rushed in through the broken door, turned on the lighting equipment above their heads, and confirmed that there was no abnormality near the door. They then waved their hands, and the rest of the people swarmed in.

It seems that the zombies wandered out one after another at some unknown time, leaving the front hall empty.

A member of the Samsara team quickly opened the padlock tied to the entrance of the hall, and everyone again cautiously peeked inside.

Perhaps it was because the bad luck had already been used up when encountering mutant plants before, but everyone's journey in this time was exceptionally smooth. There was a strong musty smell in the hall - the smell of crops gone bad. Many seeds placed in various showcases and booths were rotten, exuding a nasty smell, and could no longer be used.

Because they have previous experience, before entering the hall, everyone used the lighting equipment to carefully check the ground and ceiling, before entering and checking to confirm it's safe.

The light in the hall is very dim, but some faint traces can still be seen. Since no survivors have been here after the end of the world, it still retains the appearance before the end of the world.

"Start on this side. Look for those tightly sealed and take them out. Don't worry about those in bulk." Chen Ning calmly ordered everyone. The light inside is too dim and there is no time to confirm their status in turn, so they can only take a part out first.

With nothing blocking their way, everyone's movement speed was naturally much faster. Many of the seeds on display on the side are improved, high-yielding crops. The main ones are various types of grain seeds, and there are also some improved vegetable seeds.

Everyone carried a big bag on their backs, selecting vacuum-packed seeds and stuffed them side. Before reaching the end of an aisle, almost everyone's backpacks were already full, and they even had a lot of things in their hands. Chen Ning and Le Tian's space was also packed about 70% to 80% full.

"Wait! Don't move!" Ding Minggang's flashlight suddenly flashed a certain direction. Everyone discovered that there was a huge black shadow on the other side of two aisles. And after the flashlight fell on the black shadow, it twisted twice!

"Turn it off, don't attract it!" He Zizhong suddenly took Ding Minggang's arm and whispered.

The flashlight was turned off.

"Turn off the lights above your heads too." It was still He Zizhong's low-pitched voice. "Be careful and move back."

Although they didn't know what it was, everyone slowly bent down and stepped back step by step.

"What's that?" Guo Bing approached He Zizhong, stepping back and asking in a low voice.

"Flower. Be careful if it blooms. The pollen may be poisonous." He Zizhong is not sure what kind of mutant plant it is, but once this kind of plant blooms, it will be fatal!

He Zizhong once met one during an outing in his last life. That time he was lucky enough to be upwind. He watched as the other team members, after inhaling pollen, walk as if cursed towards the flower in a daze. Then letting the roots stick out, grab them, and absorb them as nourishment!

Holding their breath, everyone stepped back to the gate, trying not to make any noise. When their eyes adjusted to the darkness in the room, everyone could vaguely see the huge black shadow protruding from the hall. It was entrenched there quietly, as if it part of a the dark background.

Just when they walked to the gate, there was a crash! No one knew who came across a big vase next to a booth.

"Run!"

In the darkness, the black thing suddenly became more than doubled in size and opened up instantly!

Several people rushed out of the gate, running out of the front hall being chased by the roots of the plants, and ran outside the exhibition hall.

The remaining team members were cleaning up zombies beside the motorcade. Seeing them rush out, they helped carry the things in people's arms.

"First drive out of here!" With the psychological shadow of the previous mutant plant, Guo Bing did not dare to stay for a long time, and quickly let everyone get in the car.

When they just started the car, somebody yelled from the walkie-talkie: "Something came out in the exhibition center!"

A thick root emerged from the gate where they escaped, making their scalps go numb. Small thorn-like bulging things stuck out of the vines, immediately blooming after they stretched out!!

The pale yellow flowers with bright gold rims and pink stamens rushed to bloom, adding a touch of style to this gloomy apocalypse. But this kind of style is by no means as simple as just letting people watch. Whether it is He Zizhong or the Samsara team, when everyone saw the weird plant, their scalps went numb. The drivers involuntarily increased the throttle and swiftly drove outwards to escape. Get away as far as possible from the strange plant!

"That plant just now... how does it attack?" After their car left the exhibition center and the weird flowering plant was no longer visible, Fang Hao was relieved, and asked He Zizhong with some fear.

He Zizhong shook his head in uncertainty. "It's likely that not only its roots will attack, but the flowers themselves should also be dangerous. Such as pollen that makes people pass out or causes hallucinations after inhaling it."

"My god... Fortunately we didn't go next to it." Fang Hao thought of his experience when they were just in the exhibition center, his scalp tingling.

"It's okay. It's not like can't avoid this kind of mutant plant if we're vigilant. If we see it from a distance, we can of course avoid it. What's more frightening is if we will accidentally encounter them in the building." He Zizhong comforted. Even his own heart was still pounding and hadn't fully calmed down yet. Those zombies are scary, but because they are similar to humans, they are easier to deal with once they've adapted. But mutant plants attacked people in many ways, which made them hard to avoid.

The convoy drove out of the city of M City in one go, and then stopped outside a gas station that was ruined in a mess.

After cleaning up a few zombies on the roadside,  everyone gathered together again. They took a break under the roof of the canteen next to the gas station, which was destroyed by more than half of the time.

It was dark now, and several people in the Samsara team were making dinner. Fang Hao also went to help. The rest of the people were checking the integrity of the seeds to see if there was any mold or rotten ones.

"That thing today is really weird. After this time, I won't dare to go to places with a lot of seeds." Zhang Xiaoming said while checking a packet of seeds in his hand with an emergency flashlight.

"Don't worry, I guess there won't be many such tasks in the future. We will be able to save seeds after crops are planted in the base." Guo Bing bit a cigarette painfully, cherishing it as he smoked it bit by bit. "I plan to hand in half the seeds and leave the rest in Chen Ning and Xiao Le's space. I always feel that these seeds will appreciate in the future. In case we have a plant ability in the future, it's also okay to let them plant it for food."

Everyone laughed, and the tense emotions finally relaxed.

He Zizhong also smiled and nodded: "I also think that maybe it will appreciate. Keeping it is also okay." Of course, it will appreciate. The crops used in the first stage of the apocalypse are still normal seeds, so the taste is relatively close to that of the crops before the apocalypse. Taste. But the crops grown from the seeds collected later... the taste is so 'real,' one can barely swallow it with water. If it weren’t for those crops being rich in nutrients and can be used as food, he's afraid many people would rather starve to death.

Suddenly, Guo Bing leaned over to He Zizhong's side, elbowed him, and asked with winking eyebrows: "Say, you and Fang Hao, are you this?" With his hands he made a very wretched kissing action.

The corner of He Zizhong's mouth twitched twice. "He is my lover¹Here, the term used is more of a spousal/partner relationship than mistress type of lover.."

"Ah?!" Zhang Xiaoming, who was checking the seeds, threw the seeds out of his hands with a 'pak' sounds. His eyes widened. "Love, love, love..."

"Love, you ghost²你个鬼 is a way for expressing someone being or doing something stupid (or an insult), such as parroting a word." The guy next to him checking seeds slapped him on the back. "Isn't it just gay couple? Do you need it be so excited?"

"I, I just have not seen one... "

"Bullshit, your original squad leader and the seventh squad leader were a pair. How haven’t you met one?"

"Ah—?!" Zhang Xiaoming was shocked. He had been with his squad leader for several years, and thought that his squad leader and the seventh squad leader were iron buddies. Who would have thought... After multiple revelations, Zhang Xiaoming's brain crashed, and was reluctantly restarting.

Guo Bing touched his chin. He also realized when he walked over to He Zizhong after blowing up the mutant plant earlier, and saw him holding Fang Hao in his arms. Although he usually makes jokes about not avoiding meat and vegetables³sex/sex partners, as a rough man, how could he honestly observe the gossip around him?

Chen Ning was not too surprised. He had noticed the pair of rings that He Zizhong and Fang Hao wore before, but he didn't think about it at that time. Who pays attention to the kind of clothes and jewelry people wear these days...

"You don't say, it's a good match." Since the person he was harassing didn't look embarrassed at all, Guo Bing naturally couldn't continue anymore. He said this in passing when Fang Hao helped bring the food out. This stunned Fang Hao was stunned for a moment, before he looked at He Zizhong. After understanding what Guo Bing said to him... he blushed.

God, there are still people who will blush these days?! It's so rare!

komorebi

Hey fellow readers,

Apologies for the slower updates. I've been going back and forth to make a decision, and have decided to migrate translations to a different site, so it's easier to keep track of comments and updates. Here's the next chapter, Chapter 83, for a dual update treat! You'll find new chapters going forward on KnoxT as well.

Appreciate your continued support, ko-fis, and hope to see some familiar faces over at KnoxT. 🤗

-komorebi