Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The moment Cheng Zhiyu entered the system space, his eyes fixed intently on Little Two.

Yet, no matter how closely he observed, Little Two seemed largely unchanged from yesterday. If there was any difference, it was perhaps that its colors appeared a touch more vibrant.

As he watched, Little Two swayed its branches and leaves, seemingly overjoyed.

It was as if it were proclaiming: "I've finally matured!"

Cheng Zhiyu couldn’t help but smile, reaching out to gently stroke Little Two’s leaves. Just then, a system notification chimed.

"Little Two senses the host’s impending actions and requests to accompany you. Please choose whether to bring it along."

Bring Little Two? Cheng Zhiyu was surprised, and a thought immediately sparked in his mind—perhaps Little Two possessed an unknown ability?

"Hold on, didn’t you promise me a reward for successful cultivation?" Cheng Zhiyu muttered, not having forgotten. "So, where is it?"

This time, the system responded without delay: "Congratulations, host, for completing the novice task. The reward has been sent. Please check your system panel."

Huh? The reward was already sent?

Cheng Zhiyu rubbed his nose, grumbling, "Can’t blame me—you didn’t remind me."

"……"

After a moment’s thought, Cheng Zhiyu gently stroked the anxiously swaying Little Two before choosing to view his reward.

"Reward contents: One unknown plant, health status 5% (Warning: Critical level reached. Please plant it as soon as possible); Cultivable land expanded to 2x2 meters; Storage space of 1 cubic meter."

Upon seeing the critical health status of the new unknown plant, Cheng Zhiyu immediately disregarded the other two rewards.

Muttering curses at the "scam" system, he grabbed a shovel and quickly tilled the newly expanded plot. After allowing the soil to sun-dry, he hastily planted the unknown plant, whose vitality had already plummeted to 4%.

Fortunately, once planted, the unknown plant’s health stabilized, much like Little Two’s had before. Cheng Zhiyu then watered it, and its health increased by 2%.

This was a smaller boost than Little Two’s initial 5%, suggesting this plant might be more challenging to cultivate.

Sighing with a hint of worry, Cheng Zhiyu noticed the unusually lively Little Two straining its red "body," extending its small, hand-like branches, and mischievously attempting to poke the unknown plant.

Alas, Cheng Zhiyu had planted them too far apart; no matter how much Little Two stretched, it couldn't reach.

Cheng Zhiyu chuckled at its efforts, patting Little Two’s leaves. "Be good, Little Two. This is your little brother. He’s too fragile to play right now."

Little Two seemed a bit abashed, obediently retracting its leaves and gently rubbing against Cheng Zhiyu.

Cheng Zhiyu whispered to Little Two, "Since you have a name, your little brother should too. What should we call it?"

Cheng—terrible at naming—Zhiyu poked Little Two. "Any ideas?"

Little Two shook its leaves, as if to say it didn’t know.

Cheng Zhiyu propped his chin in his hand, gazing at the unknown plant with only 6% vitality. Deciding to compensate for its weakness, he declared, "Let’s call it Little Iron! It needs a will of steel."

He entered the new name into the system panel, and in the plant’s information, the name changed from "Unknown Plant" to "Little Iron."

Highly satisfied, Cheng Zhiyu gently tapped Little Iron’s leaf. "Grow up strong, Little Iron."

Then, he intently watched Little Iron’s health status, observing it slowly climb from 6% to 7%.

He smiled. "It seems Little Iron really likes its name."

With Little Iron now stable, Cheng Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to Little Two. "You want to come outside with me?"

Little Two nodded its leaves in affirmation.

Cheng Zhiyu stroked its leaves. "But it’s dangerous out there."

Little Two’s leaf-waving intensified. Though it couldn't speak, Cheng Zhiyu inexplicably understood its message.

Little Two was saying: "I’m not afraid."

Cheng Zhiyu smiled but didn’t immediately agree. Instead, he decided to check Little Two’s current stats first.

"Plant Name: Little Two

Current Status: Level 1 Mature

Attack Skill: Fire"

Cheng Zhiyu’s gaze immediately fell upon the "Attack Skill" section. If he recalled correctly, this entry hadn't been there yesterday.

Intrigued, he promptly asked the system, "System, how do I use Little Two’s attack skill?"

"Does the host wish to extract Little Two?"

Cheng Zhiyu: "?"

He selected "Yes."

Then, his vision blurred, and he found himself back in the rental room. But this time was different from all previous occasions—Little Two had appeared in the palm of his hand.

Cheng Zhiyu: "!!!"

He reached out and poked Little Two.

Little Two swayed its branches and leaves, looking very happy and seemingly unharmed.

Recalling the "Attack Skill," Cheng Zhiyu focused his thoughts and instructed Little Two, "Little Two, attack."

He waited for a moment, but nothing happened.

Cheng Zhiyu was puzzled. "Am I using it incorrectly?"

He questioned the system, "System, what’s going on?"

"...Please choose a target."

Only then did Cheng Zhiyu realize—oh right, he had told Little Two to attack but hadn’t specified what to attack.

He scanned the rental room. Remembering Little Two’s attack skill was "Fire," he cautiously decided against using it on anything inside.

After a moment’s thought, he first returned Little Two to the system space, then walked to the door and peered through the peephole.

Outside the rental unit, a zombie was lurking.

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t know how this zombie had appeared there. All he knew was that it had been banging on the door since the day before yesterday.

Perhaps the scent of a living person was attracting it; it relentlessly tried to force its way in.

However, it possessed no intelligence, merely banging around haphazardly. Even after more than two days, it still hadn’t managed to break open the door.

Cheng Zhiyu had gone from tense and alert when it first appeared to much more relaxed now. In the short term, given its strength, it clearly wasn't going to breach the door.

But it showed no signs of fatigue or pain, making it highly unlikely for it to leave on its own or simply wear itself out.

Therefore, whenever Cheng Zhiyu needed to go out, he would inevitably have to confront it.

Originally, he had planned to immediately slash at the zombie with his knife the moment he opened the door. Zombies moved slowly, and as long as he was quick enough, his chances of success were quite high.

But now, Cheng Zhiyu had no intention of engaging in a direct confrontation. He wanted to let Little Two try.

This zombie was clearly the most suitable target for Little Two’s attack.

Having made up his mind, Cheng Zhiyu gripped the doorknob, summoned Little Two, and simultaneously readied his knife—just in case Little Two failed, he would immediately step in to attack the zombie.

With everything prepared, he opened the door.

The moment the door opened, the zombie predictably lunged forward. But Cheng Zhiyu was prepared and reacted swiftly, immediately commanding Little Two, "Little Two! Attack it!"

In the next instant, to Cheng Zhiyu’s astonishment, Little Two transformed into a palm-sized fireball and hurtled towards the zombie.

Almost immediately, the zombie’s body ignited where the fireball struck.

Cheng Zhiyu had never imagined Little Two could become a fireball. He had seen its attack skill listed as "fire" and wondered if Little Two could breathe fire, even pondering how it would do so without a mouth.

But as it turned out, Little Two had directly transformed into a fireball!

Still, Cheng Zhiyu didn’t get carried away with excitement. From the moment the zombie was struck by the fireball, he kept a close watch on its every move.

He quickly noticed that although the zombie was roaring, it seemed to feel no pain. Even as its body burned, its movements remained completely unaffected.

It continued its slow advance toward Cheng Zhiyu.

Frowning slightly, Cheng Zhiyu tightened his grip on the kitchen knife. Indeed, his worries were justified—the zombie had completely transcended human limitations. It felt nothing, and Little Two’s attack inflicted minimal damage.

Did this thing truly have no weakness?

No, everything had a weakness. Cheng Zhiyu forced himself to remain calm, dodging while observing the zombie’s every action.

He tried to lure the zombie further outside the apartment, then fixed his gaze on its head.

The human brain controls bodily actions—what about zombies? Was it the same for them?

If a virus aimed to fully control a person, the first thing it would seize… should be the brain.

Cheng Zhiyu’s gaze sharpened, and he immediately instructed Little Two, "Little Two, attack its head!"

Little Two received the command, and the fireball instantly struck the zombie’s head. Immediately, the zombie let out a piercing, agonizing shriek, flailing wildly on instinct, no longer appearing completely unaffected as it had moments before.

Whew… he'd been right on the money.

Listening to the zombie’s ear-splitting shrieks, Cheng Zhiyu struggled to maintain his composure, repeatedly reminding himself that it was no longer human.

Little Two’s attack power was limited and couldn't instantly incinerate the zombie. But Cheng Zhiyu didn’t step in to help—he needed to gauge Little Two's offensive capabilities if they were to venture out together.

He needed to understand how to coordinate with Little Two.

Cheng Zhiyu waited patiently. Soon, the zombie’s entire head was completely reduced to ash, and its body slumped lifelessly to the ground, motionless.

Cheng Zhiyu calculated the time—Little Two’s attack took two minutes to burn the zombie to death.

This wasn’t exactly quick, but it certainly wasn’t short either. Even with Little Two’s help, he couldn’t rely entirely on it. He needed to possess self-preservation skills as well.

Now that he had a clearer understanding, he dared not linger outside, fearing another zombie might appear from nowhere.

He recalled Little Two, quickly closed the rental unit door, let out a sigh of relief, and smiled at Little Two. "Little Two, you were amazing!"

Little Two swayed its leaves, still full of vitality. It seemed the attack on the zombie hadn’t significantly depleted its energy.

Cheng Zhiyu sat down cross-legged. Even though he had remained calm, his legs still felt a bit shaky. After taking a moment to compose himself, he picked up a cup and took a small sip of water before saying to Little Two, "Since we’re going out together, let’s first discuss how we’ll coordinate our actions."

With Little Two by his side, he had undoubtedly gained a valuable ally. He could now subtly adjust his original plans.