Chapter 20

Chapter 20

East Xin Lake, where the mutated lotuses resided, was a 400-acre freshwater lake. Before the apocalypse, it was a park frequented by local residents for leisurely walks and by tourists year-round.

After nearly three years of desolation, the stone arch bridges spanning the lake were overgrown with weeds and moss. The stones, weathered by wind, rain, and sun, were marked by uneven cracks.

Under the scorching sun, a red tricycle incongruously entered this green-dominated landscape, nimbly maneuvering along the lakeshore. It deftly avoided a few scattered Polluters blocking the way, heading straight for its destination.

The mutated lotus, identified as PL09, was a rare, docile mutant plant with distinct awareness and preferences. The researcher who discovered it even named it "Little Beauty," noting in the research report that it seemed to like this name very much.

Usually, the little beauty quietly nestled in its lair, rooting and basking in the sun. Happy, it would bloom; displeased, it would withdraw. Even when the occasional white-coated figures came to cut and probe, it couldn’t be bothered to care.

Before reaching the East Xin Lake observation area, Wu Yin was curious how a lotus could exhibit anxiety and restlessness. That was until their tricycle skidded to a stop at the shore, and he saw a pond of round shield-shaped leaves, its tender buds, and its enormous roots, all dragging mud and water as they epically relocated onto the shore.

The lotus’s rhizome, also known as the lotus root, even wrapped in mud, was enough to make Wu Yin hungry.

After observing the magnificent scene of the lotus spirit emerging from the lake, he asked, "What’s it doing? Moving house? Polluters won’t eat it, why does it flee?"

How could anyone guess the thoughts of a mutant lotus? It was the black-haired young guard from Squad 18, flipping through the documents, who reminded, "The file says the ‘little beauty’ despises polluters. It has changed habitats several times for a cleaner environment. This behavior suggests it senses a large wave of polluters coming this way, deeming the entire lake untenable, likely wanting to find another lake to inhabit. The document also mentions that if you help it by removing polluters floating in the lake, it will gratefully offer its roots."

"Is it tasty?" Wu Yin asked.

The young man pointed to a line in the document, pushing it towards Wu Yin’s face: We fed its roots to four prisoners, both raw and cooked, all of whom were infected. Toxic, inedible for humans.

...Helping it clean only to be rewarded with toxic food, truly a case of repaying kindness with enmity.

“Aren’t you the expert on mutant lotuses... How do you not know this?” the black-haired young man asked skeptically. Of course, he couldn’t imagine that the professor in front of him had been replaced, thinking either there was a mix-up or this expert was inept.

Wu Yin, accustomed to suspicion after misspeaking, smoothly lied, “With so much experimental data to calculate and research every day, who can remember all these trivial details?”

No sooner had he spoken than Zhao Zhiyong let out a snicker, implying with his laughter: If I didn’t know about the three lovers you brought back from your three-month assignment, both men and women, I might have believed your nonsense.

But by the time Wu Yin’s warning gaze turned his way, Zhao Zhiyong was already acting nonchalant, busy with his own affairs.

Out of the corner of his eye, Wu Yin caught a glimpse of the driver, Xiao Yang, giving him a sarcastically amused smile, quick and fleeting.

...It seems Palmer's notorious nature is well-known to all.

Seeing the situation turning awkward, Zhao Zhiyong quickly steered the conversation back to the main topic: "Enough chatting, Professor, let's quickly take that sample."

Wu Yin nodded, approaching the mutant lotus with solemnity.

In everyone's mind, scientific sampling inevitably involves plastic gloves, masks, tweezers, sharp scalpels, and petri dishes, meticulously extracting the perfect part and carefully placing it in a culture medium.

However, in reality, the blonde researcher stood next to the mutant lotus, casually picked the most brightly blooming one, broke it off, and said, "Let's go."

Zhao Zhiyong, Xiao Yang: "..."

"Are you sure?!" The black-haired young man reacted the most.

"Sure." Wu Yin expressionlessly prepared to leave, but felt a strange resistance at his feet. Looking down, he saw a lotus root with floating leaves entangled around his ankle, trying to climb up.

Wu Yin tugged but failed to pull his leg out from the "little beauty's" embrace.

"What are you doing?" he exclaimed angrily.

The root tightened further, a deep green lotus leaf wrapping tightly around his leg, refusing to let go.

A few ethereal and vague words intermittently entered Wu Yin's mind, making him increasingly impatient: "Polluters might stink and disgust, but they don't bite you, what's there to fear?"

"No taking, no taking, stay in the pond where you belong."

……

The other three onshore watched Palmer arguing fervently with the lotus leaves entwined around his leg.

But with this display of arguing with a lotus, did he again look like an expert in researching mutant plants?

They didn’t believe Palmer could genuinely communicate with the "little beauty"; the scene more closely resembled a pet owner talking to their pet in solitude.

Zhao Zhiyong was about to remind Palmer to focus on work instead of indulging in childish antics when suddenly he heard Palmer utter in confusion, "The bottom of the lake? What’s at the bottom? Some hideous thing? What could possibly be at the bottom of the lake—”

A loud explosion suddenly shattered his retort. Behind the lotus cluster, a towering water column burst forth, dousing everyone's faces and bodies with the foul-smelling lake water. Then, a swollen, gigantic human head emerged behind the spray, excitedly gaping at the people on the shore with a mouth so large it could almost swallow two basketballs whole.

A mutant.

A diving mutant, resembling a giant toad.

Without a second thought, everyone turned and ran towards the tricycle, "Little Beauty" no longer hindering Wu Yin, quickly retracting all the flowers, leaves, roots, and stems back into the lake.

Just as the black-haired boy running at the front was about to reach the car door, the monster suddenly descended from the sky, landing precisely on the roof of the tricycle, instantly denting the metal shell. It seemed to know this was an important means of escape for its prey, firmly occupying it. Mud and seaweed dripped down the windows, while it drooled over its prey from atop the roof.

Wu Yin's instinct to flee was always the quickest. When he noticed the huge shadow of the toad mutation heading towards the tricycle, he decisively abandoned the idea of taking the car and ran in the opposite direction.

Murmuring unintelligibly.

After sending out an emergency distress signal, Zhao Zhiyong quickly aimed at the mutant's face and fired two shots, buying time for the boy lagging behind to escape.

The four of them then lined up and sprinted along the lake shore, with a mass of duckweed swimming frantically alongside them, containing a few flower buds and a disheveled lotus flower.

While running, Wu Yin quickly looked for a place to hide. Among a row of antique buildings with clanging, dilapidated doors and windows, he soon spotted a reinforced store across the lake.

Without hesitation, he made a sharp turn before the arch bridge and leaped up the three steps.

Driver Xiao Yang followed closely behind, both panting heavily as they climbed the steps, suddenly hearing roars and gunshots behind them.

Wu Yin turned around to see the black-haired boy must have tripped and was instantly caught up by the toad mutant, now lying on the ground screaming, frantically firing at the mutant looming over him.

The delicious prey was within reach, the toad mutant's swollen, bloated face shaking incessantly, not even flinching from the bullets, determined to feast.

Zhao Zhiyong cursed loudly, turned around, and lifted his carbine, walking towards the black-haired boy while unleashing a barrage of bullets at the mutant without restraint.

Xiao Yang, in desperation, looked around, picked up a piece of broken brick, and threw it at the mutant.

Everyone knew that the wisest action at that moment was to immediately abandon the black-haired boy, using the mutant's feeding time to escape, and lock themselves in a safe and secure place to wait for rescue.

Yet, none of them left. Xiao Yang helplessly threw stones, while Zhao Zhiyong, instead of retreating, moved closer to the mutant, attempting to pull the boy to safety.

To every hero willing to selflessly contribute to the public good, to every hero willing to bleed and sacrifice for the continuation of human civilization!

A delicate lotus leaf silently climbed up the arch bridge's pillar, intimately clinging to Wu Yin's foot.

For him, today was just another ordinary day, but for these three people before him, today might be their last day alive...

Never mind... Wu Yin smiled good-naturedly, his left hand at his side subtly waving towards "Little Beauty's" tentative little paws... as a parting gift.

The stem grew rapidly, the tender lotus leaf struggling to reach Wu Yin's fingertips.

Xiao Yang ran out of stones to throw and turned to see Palmer standing still, a smile on his lips, watching from afar as the black-haired boy and Zhao Zhiyong desperately struggled to escape the toad mutant's attacks.

He paused, his expression suddenly turning cold: "Professor Palmer, do you remember a woman named Yang Xiangxue?"

Wu Yin's attention was all on the stubbornly growing lotus leaf. He bent slightly, lowering his hand to facilitate the leaf's touch. Distracted by Xiao Yang's abrupt question, he almost reflexively answered: "I don't remember."

Xiao Yang's eyes instantly reddened, and his nostrils flared: "She was my sister."

"Hmm," Wu Yin responded noncommittally. The moment the lotus leaf touched his fingertip, countless lotus roots and stems burst from the mud in the lake, like heavy ropes, fiercely striking the toad mutant, entwining and binding it, restricting its movements.

Zhao Zhiyong finally managed to grab the boy's hand, pulling him up from the ground, and then the two, covered in foul-smelling mud, ran off without looking back.

The brief possession ability only tired Wu Yin a bit, but the moment it ended, the wailing and screaming of "Little Beauty" in his mind caused him an exceptionally intense mental shock.

I'm not clean anymore!!!

Its voice was so loud that it drowned out Xiao Yang's nearly tearful confession.

"Palmer, a year ago, you forced yourself on my sister, and then left her alone in a pile of contaminators when she was unconscious from fever due to infected wounds. And you're telling me you don't remember at all?"

The black-haired boy and Zhao Zhiyong rushed towards the arch bridge, and then they heard a heart-wrenching roar. Looking up, they saw Xiao Yang's furious, fierce face, and Palmer being kicked by him, tumbling down the steps.

Amidst two pairs of shocked eyes and one pair of furious ones, the toad test subject opened its massive jaws and bit Palmer's head off in one gulp.