TTAETSC Chapter 31.2 - Two Flowers Blooming Together

In the ruins, wet, sticky moss covered the ground, while wrist-thick vines climbed along the rusty steel bars and buildings. They wove through the damaged steel framework suspended in midair, intertwining until they almost formed an aerial forest.

These things almost completely swallowed up the intense summer sunlight.

Therefore, after entering the occupied area, the surrounding light was very dim, making one feel an eerie chill even at this midsummer noon.

"Captain, I... I seem to have heard some strange sounds."

Jon subconsciously reached for the gun at his waist. This habit was something he had learned from the captain.

The little octopus's ears were always alert, so he also heard a rustling sound, as if something were hiding in the dense vegetation.

And that thing was staring at their car.

"That should be an evolved species, or possibly an otherworldly creature."

Chen Xinyue's tone was very calm, as if everything around them were nothing out of the ordinary.

"Otherworldly creature?!"

Jon, this time, gripped the gun in his hand firmly with both hands.

"But shouldn't they attack as soon as they discover us?"

As is well known, the thirst for flesh among otherworldly creatures borders on madness. Once they spot humans, they launch an immediate attack, tearing them to shreds, breaking their bones, and devouring them.

The little octopus also turned his head toward Captain Chen. He found it strange that the otherworldly creatures they had seen in the sea before had indeed acted as though they had gone mad, biting onto him the moment they spotted him.

Chen Xinyue drove steadily while she patiently explained. After all, Jon had not had rigorous formal training, so she had to teach him these things herself.

"Because the otherworldly creatures here don't need to endlessly devour flesh to hatch a king creature. Many of them are only indirectly contaminated and turned into otherworldly creatures, rather than coming out from the door, so they won't be as frenzied as those underwater ones were before."

They don't need to hatch the king creature?

The little octopus tilted his head, understanding a little.

Evolved species are roughly equivalent to wild beasts. They may attack humans, or they may not, and some can even be tamed as pets.

Otherworldly creatures are like wild beasts infected with rabies or a zombie virus, with the king creature as their leader.

The leader is like an exploitative capitalist, insisting on controlling all the otherworldly creatures and endlessly demanding flesh offerings from them.

Without the leader, the otherworldly creatures will still kill and devour humans, but they won't be as berserk, and they won't slaughter endlessly.

At that moment, Ye Yunfan truly appreciated Jon's lack of knowledge and his eagerness to learn and ask questions. Jon was like his mouth: he could always ask for the information Ye Yunfan wanted.

The car was moving very slowly, so Ye Yunfan had time to observe the desolate ruins of the city carefully.

He wanted to understand what this world used to be like, whether it was similar to his own, and what had happened to make it the way it was now.

Buzz, buzz, buzz~~~

The little octopus heard a buzzing sound like a bee flapping its wings. He followed the sound and saw a red flying bug the size of an adult man's fist, with many white circular patterns on its back.

It looked a bit like the seven-spotted ladybug Ye Yunfan had seen when he was young, but much larger, with a long proboscis like a mosquito's, as pointed as a needle.

It hovered over two snow-white flowers that bloomed together, as if hesitating, deciding between them.

Ye Yunfan noticed that the one on the left was obviously larger and more beautiful, while the one on the right was much less so.

After a moment, the bug did land on the flower on the left, extending its long proboscis into it, as if to suck the sweet nectar inside.

[Eat!]

[Hungry! Hungry!]

[Want to eat! Want to eat!]

As Ye Yunfan's gaze fell on the strange bug, his little tentacles began making noise and causing commotion once again.

But at that moment, the petals of the white flower on the right swelled, and the next second, the flower tore open down the middle, as if opening a gaping mouth.

Hiss…

Ye Yunfan unconsciously took a sharp breath as he clearly saw some bug wings remaining inside. In the next second, the gaping white flower snapped shut.

Then the entire flower began to convulse violently, as if in a spasm.

It seemed the flower was chewing on the bug, yet it also looked as though the bug inside was struggling desperately.

But after about ten seconds, it stopped shaking. The bulging part of the petals gradually flattened, returning to its original shape.

But the two originally snow-white flowers began turning red from the base, growing bright and vibrant, nearly matching the color of the bug from earlier.

Ye Yunfan suddenly realized that these two flowers were in fact one beautiful bait and one real killer.

Like the anglerfish in the deep sea, which lures prey with the small light on its head.

"..."

With this, the little tentacles that had been making noise fell silent.

The little octopus slowly took a few steps back, almost shrinking against the side of Yuan Ye's neck. He had seen only the tip of the iceberg of this occupied area, but he could already imagine how dangerous it was here.

Ye Yunfan felt that even the small flower from earlier could swallow him whole.

"Don't be afraid."

At that moment, the damp, soft touch on the side of Yuan Ye's neck made him unconsciously tilt his head. He reached out, picked up the long knife beside him, and spoke indifferently.

"I'm very strong."

...Ah?

The little octopus appeared confused for a moment, then turned around and tilted his head.

Soon, he understood Yuan Ye's words, which translated to:

"I'm strong. I will protect you, so don't be afraid."

"!!!"

Suddenly, the image of Yuan Ye in the little octopus's heart became more reliable and lofty.

Truly worthy of being the protector he had chosen, truly reliable.

So the little octopus immediately stuck himself to the young man's neck, showing how happy he was with the declaration of protection.

After that, the muscles in the young man's shoulders and neck tensed.

But the little guy only stuck and rubbed for a second or two before leaving. This made Yuan Ye silently breathe a sigh of relief.

Although he had simply stated a fact, he didn't understand why the little guy had suddenly become so happy.

In the past, when Yuan Ye said such words, others would become very angry, some even feeling humiliated, their bodies trembling.

Only his "little jellyfish" was delighted to hear it.

—Really strange.

But Yuan Ye pondered it and felt it wasn't that strange. After all, those people weren't "little jellyfish."

At that moment, he suddenly sensed something and furrowed his brows slightly.

"Stop the car—"

As soon as the words fell, Captain Chen slammed on the brakes, her expression suddenly alert. Jon also immediately raised his gun nervously, scanning the area back and forth, ready to pull the trigger at any sign of something unusual.

Yuan Ye opened the car door and swiftly jumped out. Chen Xinyue and Jon followed, standing with their backs to the car, their faces solemn.

The rustling sounds around them seemed to vanish, replaced by a penetrating, deathly silence.

[It's coming!]

[Meat! Meat!]

[Meat is coming!]

The little tentacles quickly sensed their surroundings, keenly detecting the smell of food.

The octopus crouched on Yuan Ye's shoulder, feeling a bit excited and nervous. But he quickly calmed down and followed the little tentacles carefully to pinpoint the source of the food.

Here, apart from the ruins of buildings, grew various strange flora. Ye Yunfan observed a multitude of vines, some as thick as a woman's wrist, winding and twisting, while others were knotted and tangled, resembling giant snakes at first glance.

Despite waiting and staying extremely vigilant, nothing happened, and they discovered nothing.

Jon was somewhat doubtful, but Captain Chen showed no sign of relaxing. Being a mutant, her sense of danger was extremely sharp.

From the moment Yuan Ye shouted to stop the car, the alarm in her mind had been screaming.

—Something had set its sights on them.

The little octopus's heart pounded. He sensed that the food was close, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pinpoint the exact location.

Ye Yunfan looked around nervously. His once beautiful blue eyes seemed to turn into scanners, sweeping through the dense vegetation around him one by one.

Just then, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the ground.

A tiny pebble trembled, though there was no wind.

The little octopus was momentarily stunned, as a lightning bolt flashed through his mind. At the same moment, the little tentacles screamed in his mind.

[Below]

[Below! Below!]

In a moment of urgency, Ye Yunfan reached out a tentacle and pulled Yuan Ye's earlobe. The latter's body trembled, and he quickly turned his head to look.

But in his anxiety, Ye Yunfan didn't know how to express the word "ground," so he simply jumped off Yuan Ye's shoulder.

The young man reacted quickly and reached out to catch him. But the little octopus extended a tentacle, coiled it around his finger to avoid the other man's palm, and insisted on jumping down.

The tentacles stretched out in midair and shortened at once when they touched the ground, much like the crouching motion humans make when jumping from a height, dissipating most of the force.

The little octopus wanted to tread repeatedly on the ground, but that meaning would be too unclear. So he took out the small knife from his bag and ruthlessly stabbed it into the ground.

Stab!

Yuan Ye's pupils dilated, and he instantly understood.

—Underground!

It was at that instant that the sound of a drawn long knife and the cracking of the ground rang out at the same time.

A pale hand broke through the ground, instantly grabbing at the little octopus. At the same moment, the arm was chopped off at the base, leaving a pile of flesh from wrist to shoulder.

The little octopus wriggled out of the gap at once. He shrank himself quickly as the hand approached, so he suffered no harm.

He even had time to grab a bite to eat.

[Stamina Value +10]

[Not enough! Not enough!]

[Meat! Meat!]

The little tentacles screamed excitedly!

[Eat! Eat!!]

The little octopus wanted to eat more, but as soon as he wriggled out, Yuan Ye picked him back up with the knife.

"Don't run around!"

His tone was unusually urgent.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several bullets hit the cracked ground accurately, penetrating several of the arms below at once.

It was Chen Xinyue who had fired the gun.

She quickly pulled a thick iron chain from under the car, yanked it, and retreated swiftly.

"Back off! The ground is collapsing!!!"

Without a word, after fishing up the "little jellyfish," Yuan Ye immediately flew back more than ten meters. He climbed the rugged, steep remains of a building and quickly found a safe vantage point.

Jon's movements were quick too. Knowing his marksmanship was poor, he tried not to hold back the captain, and quickly found a safe position.

The whole ground began to tremble, and each inch of cracking produced a sound like a series of anguished groans.

Rumble—