Chapter 200: Chapter 200: Dangerous Vines
Seeing that Jiang Si wanted to investigate, Qin Shen told her, "You stay here. I’ll go."
Jiang Si saw an unusually serious look on Qin Shen’s face and immediately shook her head. "I’m going with you!"
Qin Shen thought for a moment. "Alright then."
Qin Shen wanted to take Bobby back to the cabin first, but he wasn’t willing to go. Instead, he was very curious about Niu Niu.
He kept circling Niu Niu.
Niu Niu immediately said, "You two go on. I’ll take good care of Bobby. If he tries to take his clothes off, I’ll stop him right away."
Jiang Si frowned, but Qin Shen said, "Let him stay. He won’t dare hurt anyone as long as I’m here."
Jiang Si nodded. "Okay, then I’m counting on you to look after Bobby."
"Mm-hm."
As Jiang Si and Qin Shen were about to head out again, Bo Xi asked in confusion, "What’s wrong?"
Jiang Si said, "There’s a situation up ahead. President Zhang is missing, so we’re going to look for him."
"Okay. You two be careful. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of things here."
"Mm."
Qin Shen lifted Jiang Si onto his back and, in a flash, vanished from sight.
Even though they thought they were used to it by now, everyone was still stunned by Qin Shen’s incredible speed.
A moment later, Qin Shen and Jiang Si appeared before Brother Qiu and Lao Er.
They were both frantic and rushed to ask, "Miss Jiang, President Zhang said he was coming to find you. Have you seen him?"
Jiang Si shook her head. "He didn’t come."
Brother Qiu and Lao Er started to panic, and Song Yufang and her son, who had just caught up, were even more frantic.
’If he didn’t go to find Jiang Si, where could he have gone?’
A terrifying thought suddenly occurred to Brother Qiu and Lao Er: ’Could President Zhang have been carried off by zombies?’
Qin Shen suddenly said, "This way!"
He lifted Jiang Si onto his back and leaped away. The others froze for a second before scrambling to keep up.
A moment later, they saw Qin Shen, still carrying Jiang Si, stop in a patch of snow.
’Is there something unusual about this snow?’
Song Yufang and Zhang Yiwen were extremely anxious. They asked Jiang Si, "Miss Jiang, what... what are you doing?"
Jiang Si waved her hand, signaling for them to be quiet. She reached into her coat and pulled out a few small stones.
She tossed them forward. The moment they landed on the snow, countless bizarre creatures erupted from beneath the surface, clearly visible to the naked eye.
They were a slick, oily green, their bodies covered in barbs. At first glance, they looked like strips of seaweed.
But Zhang Yiwen recognized them at once. It was the same type of grass he had seen the hairy rats eating before. The roots were crisp and crunchy, like miniature radishes, and they had even considered cultivating it.
He never imagined these things could come to life like tentacles.
The color drained from Song Yufang’s face. ’Could it be... could it be...’
’...that Zhang Aihua was caught and killed by these strange vines?’
She couldn’t bear the thought!
But tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.
Zhang Yiwen instantly realized what his mother was thinking and screamed in terror, "Dad! Dad, where are you?!"
Seeing the vines spreading relentlessly toward them, Brother Qiu and Lao Er yelled, "Run! Run!"
’This place is too dangerous.’
Qin Shen stared intently at a spot in the center of the snowfield. Suddenly, the countless vines that had been stretching outward all retracted.
Something even more terrifying began to emerge from the snow.
Brother Qiu’s and Lao Er’s hearts leaped into their throats. It was only when they saw Jiang Si pull out a gun and take aim that they remembered to draw their own weapons and duck behind her and Qin Shen.
At that moment, believing she had lost Zhang Aihua, Song Yufang was overcome with despair.
If it weren’t for Zhang Yiwen, she would have thrown herself in right after him.
The thing in the snow rose higher and grew larger, with vines wrapped tightly around it. Qin Shen caught Zhang Aihua’s scent. ’He’s still alive.’
The next second, the vines automatically unwound, revealing a grievously wounded Zhang Aihua to everyone.
There wasn’t an inch of unharmed flesh on his body. His clothes were shredded into strips that barely clung to his frame.
The moment Song Yufang saw him clearly, tears streamed down her face. She rushed forward recklessly and held him tight. "My love! My love! Wake up! Don’t leave us!"
She was choked with sobs, believing Zhang Aihua was already dead.
Zhang Yiwen joined her, clinging to Zhang Aihua and crying his heart out.
Qin Shen suddenly set Jiang Si down, stepped forward, and said, "He’s not dead yet."
The crying from both Song Yufang and Zhang Yiwen stopped abruptly. They snapped their heads to look at Zhang Aihua’s mangled body again. ’Could this person not be Zhang Aihua?’
Brother Qiu and Lao Er were also stunned. ’How could anyone survive injuries like that?’
Song Yufang tentatively reached out to check for breath under his nose.
Suddenly, Zhang Aihua’s emerald green eyes snapped open.
Song Yufang let out a terrified shriek.
In that instant, Jiang Si sensed the energy stone inside his body. She stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Aihua’s arm. As her power flowed into him, the energy stone inside his body began to emit a steady stream of energy, which she in turn absorbed.
A moment later, Song Yufang and the others witnessed the most incredible scene of their lives.
At a speed visible to the naked eye, the wounds all over Zhang Aihua’s body scabbed over and fell away, revealing pristine new skin underneath, as if he were being reborn.
It was an absolutely stunning sight.
As Jiang Si’s power flowed into him, Zhang Aihua also sensed the extraordinary change in his body. The moment his consciousness returned, the dangerous vines swiftly wrapped around him, weaving themselves into a strange set of clothes.
Zhang Yiwen cried out in alarm, "Dad! Dad, are you still my dad?"
Zhang Aihua, overjoyed at his newfound power, swept Zhang Yiwen into his arms. "Of course! If I’m not your dad, then who is!"
Even though the vines were covered in barbs, when Zhang Aihua wore them, all the sharp points retracted, so Zhang Yiwen didn’t feel any pain.
Brother Qiu and Lao Er, who had been about to flee, now asked in shock, "President Zhang, what on earth happened? How did you end up like this?"
Zhang Aihua shook his head. "To be honest, I’m not entirely sure myself."
He then turned his gaze to Jiang Si and Qin Shen. After his body’s transformation, he could also keenly sense that there was something extraordinary about them.
Seeing that he seemed to have gained the ability to control the vines and that the immediate danger was over, Jiang Si prepared to head back with Qin Shen.
Zhang Aihua suddenly called out to her. "Could I have a word with you two?"
’Jiang Si even took in that woman who was like a zombie.’
’Now that he had these extraordinary powers, he hoped his wife and son could live with her group too.’
Jiang Si saw what he was thinking and shook her head. "Maybe later."
’Too many people meant too many problems. Jiang Si was still considering whether she should take in more people and turn this place into a permanent settlement.’
’But she hated complications. Zhang Aihua had a whole group following him; if his family joined them, the rest would want to follow.’
’Besides, now that Zhang Aihua could protect himself, there was no real need for him to tag along with them.’
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