From beginning to end, Shen Shanwu had not slept at all. Tonight’s night watch was assigned to the lieutenant, but in this remote wilderness, Shen Shanwu couldn’t rest easy letting him stay awake alone.
Because he was held in Jiang Huan’s embrace, Shen Shanwu maintained a pretense of sleep. Around one or two in the morning, he felt the arms around him tightening gradually. He faintly heard Jiang Huan mumbling something, the sound like a whisper, nearly inaudible.
Shen Shanwu wasn’t particularly fond of hearing someone talk in their sleep. Right now, all of his attention was focused outside the temple—
It was far too quiet, terrifyingly so. The rain had completely stopped half an hour ago, and with it came a deathly silence.
It was as if this small temple was completely isolated from the world, trapped in a pure, soundless space.
The lieutenant rubbed his stiff neck, and the protective suit made a slight rustling sound with his movements. He seemed unaware of anything unusual; after all, the deep night following the rain was typically very quiet.
But if even the enhanced hearing of a mutant couldn’t detect anything, then that would be quite abnormal.
After waiting for about another quarter of an hour, Shen Shanwu decided he needed to go out and take a look. He slowly raised his head from Jiang Huan’s embrace and touched the hand that was clasping his lower abdomen from behind.
Jiang Huan instantly woke up. “What’s wrong?”
“…I need to go to the bathroom,” Shen Shanwu replied, only to realize that this flimsy excuse had served him well over the past few days, yet he hadn’t actually pulled his pants down even once.
The lieutenant noticed the movement between the two and made a calming gesture toward Jiang Huan. He stood up first, then helped Shen Shanwu up from the ground and put a helmet on him. “I’ll go with you.”
Naturally, Shen Shanwu couldn’t refuse. He nodded and even took the initiative to grab Jiang Huan’s hand, hurriedly heading outside. In this moment, Jiang Huan was quite considerate; he held Shen Shanwu back and bent down to pull a tube of anti-radiation cream from the side pocket of a small backpack. “Put this on.”
“Ah?” Shen Shanwu looked at his fully armed face with a mask, hood, and helmet, as well as his gloved hands, and awkwardly said, “I don’t think it’s necessary. I’m quick, it’ll be over soon.”
Unexpectedly, Jiang Huan traced a circle below Shen Shanwu’s waist with his index finger. “Your skin will be exposed. Remember to apply it in the front and back.”
Shen Shanwu: “…”
Jiang Huan pushed the anti-radiation cream forward again and urged, “Hurry up.”
“…” Shen Shanwu, enduring his embarrassment, removed his gloves, squeezed a bit of cream into his palm, and then awkwardly pulled down his belt to smear it on himself. He shot Jiang Huan an annoyed glare. “Is that enough?”
Jiang Huan felt a bit helpless about the child’s rebelliousness and refusal to be disciplined. “I’m doing this for your own good.”
“I know, but I just like to be unreasonable,” Shen Shanwu said, raising an eyebrow. The defiant tone in his words was impossible to hide. If Yao Wuque were here, he would undoubtedly want to hit him again, but Jiang Huan, as the captain of the team, was steady and didn’t bother to argue with a little brat. Holding a flashlight in one hand and holding Shen Shanwu’s hand in the other, he led him around to the back of the lonely temple, choosing a small hill densely covered with grass and trees. “Let’s do it here.”
Shen Shanwu didn’t immediately pull down his pants. From the beginning, his gaze hadn’t left the exterior walls of the dilapidated temple. Every corner of the wall was covered in lush green ivy, the dense branches creating a thick canopy. The tips of the leaves all pointed downwards, layered and arranged neatly, resembling a heavy, enormous vine garment that enveloped the entire temple beneath its body.
The scouts in the team had reported the presence of ivy first, suggesting that the aging and dilapidated walls might collapse due to the excessive growth of the vines.
It was quite normal for abandoned human structures to be overtaken by wild plants; it wasn’t surprising that the inside of the broken temple was filled with ivy. Shen Shanwu hadn’t paid much attention to these things at first, but now, with a mindset of skepticism toward everything, he found himself increasingly suspicious as he looked at the ivy that crept into every crack and crevice between the stones and tiles.
Following Shen Shanwu’s gaze, Jiang Huan also looked at the wall. He raised the lantern, evidently misunderstanding the reason for Shen Shanwu’s prolonged stare. “This plant is called ivy; it thrives in warm and cold conditions and has very strong vitality.”
“…” Shen Shanwu fell silent and took two steps closer. It was he who had rushed to the bathroom, yet now he was the one lingering without pulling down his pants. Jiang Huan faced the wall and didn’t notice the fleeting red light that flickered in Shen Shanwu’s eyes. Suddenly, Shen Shanwu asked, “Does ivy… have flowers?”
“Yes,” Jiang Huan replied quickly. He turned his gaze back to Shen Shanwu, whose eyes showed no signs of abnormality; he merely stared unblinkingly at the small temple’s wall.
Shen Shanwu moved a little closer to Jiang Huan. “…How big are they?”
“Hmm?” Jiang Huan furrowed his brow. Following Shen Shanwu’s gaze, he looked to the dim corner near the ground, where two yellow flowers, as large as basketballs, were unexpectedly blooming. Their stamens faced the two of them, and at a glance, it seemed as if the lush green vines had grown two eyes that were staring straight at them.
Or perhaps, it wasn’t an illusion at all.
Suddenly, a third “eye” emerged from among the ivy leaves. It unfurled its delicate petals in the wind, then slowly lowered its stamen, resembling a drooping eyeball, directly aimed at the two uninvited guests.
“No…” Jiang Huan lowered his voice, slowly grasping Shen Shanwu’s arm. “These aren’t ivy flowers; this plant is problematic.”
The person beside him didn’t respond, but a hand tightly gripped his wrist. Shen Shanwu was like a child who had been frightened into silence, instinctively seeking the protection of an adult.
However, in reality, Shen Shanwu was thinking about how to protect Jiang Huan without exposing his own identity if the mutated ivy suddenly launched an attack.
The thing that mutants despised the most: mutated plants.
What humans feared and loathed the most—the zombies—were seen as obedient and “communicative” creatures by the mutants. They sensed the mutants’ presence from afar, recognized that these were tough characters they couldn’t mess with, and had long since taken a detour to flee.
The same went for mutated animals; their sense of smell was even more acute, their agility greater, and they ran faster.
Only mutated plants were those foolish, oblivious creatures that understood nothing and didn’t care. They attacked whatever living being they encountered without a second thought. Yet, the weakness of mutated plants lay in their roots and stems; to turn them into dust, one would first have to dig up the soil. The lazy mutants found this incredibly tedious.
“Don’t make a sound.” Jiang Huan gripped Shen Shanwu’s hand in return, drawing a knife hidden in his waistband, and said softly, “Stay behind me and don’t run around.”
“We need to get them out quickly; it’s dangerous inside the building.” Shen Shanwu tilted his head up, his voice calm and collected, completely unlike a child.
Jiang Huan reluctantly released Shen Shanwu’s hand. He activated his communication device and lowered his voice. “Lieutenant, carefully wake everyone up. Once they’re awake, they must stay quiet and leave the building in an orderly manner, one by one, as quickly as possible.”
He only needed to say it once; the Shanhai Unit’s responsiveness and execution had always been such that their captain’s orders didn’t need to be repeated.
In less than three seconds, the first team member emerged from the building. He had a light source clipped to his chest, and judging by his build, it was clearly Yao Wuque. He cautiously held a gun with both hands and scanned the surroundings, quickly spotting the two figures standing like statues behind the temple.
Remembering the lieutenant’s earlier gesture to maintain silence, he silently signaled to Jiang Huan in the distance, asking if it was safe to approach.
Jiang Huan slowly curled his fingers, and Yao Wuque immediately began to walk toward the two of them.
During this time, Shen Shanwu had been observing the movements of the ivy. Just as Yao Wuque was leaving the building, he keenly noticed that two yellow flowers had bloomed again. This time, however, the direction of their stamens was not aimed at them but rather at Yao Wuque.
As Yao Wuque walked, the stamens slowly adjusted their direction, truly resembling a pair of eyes intently watching their prey.
“It has noticed,” Shen Shanwu said. Without needing to elaborate, Jiang Huan naturally understood who the “it” referred to.
Another team member appeared in view, turning his face to indicate the direction to the teammates following behind. But at that moment, Shen Shanwu tightened his grip, holding onto Jiang Huan’s left hand with all his strength.
The ivy didn’t bloom just two yellow flowers as before; instead, it suddenly erupted from beneath the leaves with countless stamens, all of which bloomed in the blink of an eye. The emerald-green wall instantly transformed into a golden hue. Shen Shanwu cursed under his breath, realizing it was bad news, while Jiang Huan’s voice rang in his ear: “Spread out! Watch out for the ivy!”
Yao Wuque reacted swiftly. Before Jiang Huan’s words had even finished, he had already jumped, instantly leaving his original position. While his body was still suspended in mid-air, a chilling sound of corrosion reached his ears. When he turned to look, he saw a greenish-black slime emerging from the spot he had just vacated, rapidly sinking into the soil and corroding a deep pit the size of a human face.
If Yao Wuque had been even a moment slower, it wouldn’t have been a pit that disappeared but rather his head.
“Damn!” He dashed to Jiang Huan’s side, his heart still racing. Turning around, he saw the enormous yellow flowers crawling up the walls and ceiling, a dizzying and repulsive sight. The slender white stamens resembled countless teeth, maliciously opening toward the humans on the ground.
Suddenly, all the flowers quivered at once, and the decaying temple itself trembled in unison.
After years of erosion, the mutated ivy had filled every crack of this temple, and at this moment, it was undoubtedly set on completely destroying it.
In the distance, a few shouts echoed; Shen Shanwu recognized it as Xiaowen’s voice, indicating that there were still some people left inside who hadn’t managed to escape.
“Not good!” Yao Wuque drew his umbrella knife, ready to rush back, but before he could take a step, something was forcefully shoved into his arms.
Shen Shanwu felt a blur in front of him as he was thrown into Yao Wuque’s embrace. Above him, Jiang Huan’s cold and commanding voice rang out, “Protect him here.”
“Captain!” Yao Wuque was certainly reluctant to stand by on the battlefield, especially while having to look after an annoying brat, but Jiang Huan didn’t give him a chance to object. Before Yao Wuque could respond, Jiang Huan had already moved five meters away.
Yao Wuque’s hand trembled with urgency as he gripped the knife, the veins beneath his gloves bulging visibly. However, he couldn’t really abandon Jiang Tong, so in the end, he could only angrily grasp Jiang Tong’s hand, keeping him protected within his range.
The author has something to say:
Ivy: Trembling in fear
Seeing the comments, many are confused, so here’s a timeline clarification:
- Year one of the apocalypse: Human 35 died.
- Year three: 35 mutated and came back to life.
- Year four: 35 and Huan met for the first time.
- Years five and six: Huan has been following 35.
- Year eight of the apocalypse: They lost contact.
- Now it is year eleven of the apocalypse.
So, Huan has always known that 35 is a mutated human; the misunderstanding about 35’s death is not due to this.
![The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao](https://www.freenovels.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image_2021-09-11_143139.png "The Rebirth of the Last Days and Return to [Fang] Hao")
