Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Cheng Zhiyu tried to protest, "That cleaver was just a random doodle of mine, and you didn't even confirm it with me. It shouldn't count."

The system's mechanical voice was devoid of emotion: [Apologies. Once the initial form is confirmed, it cannot be altered. Please strive to elevate the plant's level, Host.]

Cheng Zhiyu: "..." The problem was, he hadn't confirmed anything!

A wave of exasperation washed over him. Seeing the system's stubbornness, he knew there was nothing he could do for now. He seized upon a crucial piece of information from the system's words: "Are you saying that once Little Iron levels up, it can switch forms again?"

System: [Yes.]

Cheng Zhiyu breathed a sigh of relief. Good—it wasn't permanent. Well... so what if he had to temporarily use a cleaver as a weapon? It wasn't like he hadn't used one before.

He just felt a bit sorry for Little Iron. After all, who would want to be a cleaver when they could be an impressive, mighty weapon?

As Cheng Zhiyu was lost in thought, Little Iron vanished from its spot. The system then prompted: [Weapon production complete. Would you like to retrieve it, Host?]

Cheng Zhiyu wanted to see it immediately and promptly said, "Yes."

He held out his hand, and the next moment, a weight settled in his palm. A cleaver had appeared in his hand.

The cleaver had a rustic, ancient feel, entirely forged from metal. It was quite heavy, and Cheng Zhiyu felt that if he hadn't been practicing his cultivation technique lately, it would have been difficult to even lift.

Now that his strength had improved, handling the cleaver was fairly easy.

However, as he gazed at the cleaver before him, he couldn't help but worry: "Can Little Iron change back to its original form?"

Even though Little Iron interacted with him less compared to Little Two, it was just as dear to him. He didn’t want Little Iron to become a permanent, lifeless object.

The question didn't need answering because, the very next moment, the cleaver in Cheng Zhiyu’s palm transformed back into a plant.

Little Iron swayed slightly, as if reassuring Cheng Zhiyu not to worry.

Cheng Zhiyu let out a relieved sigh and broke into a smile. "That's great! Little Iron is amazing, able to switch forms at will and become a weapon. I happen to need a weapon right now."

Who said a cleaver couldn’t be a weapon? Anything that could kill zombies was a good weapon!

No sooner had he finished speaking than Little Two, not to be outdone, instantly transformed into a fireball and hovered in front of Cheng Zhiyu. The flames cast a warm, almost hot glow on his face.

Perhaps inspired by Little Two’s actions, Little Iron silently transformed into a cleaver again. This time, however, it didn’t land in Cheng Zhiyu’s palm but instead floated in front of him, spinning around like a little top.

Cheng Zhiyu couldn’t help but feel they were acting like playful kittens or puppies vying for attention. Just as he was about to laugh, out of nowhere, the cleaver and the fireball suddenly started fighting in mid-air.

He hurriedly tried to mediate: "Stop fighting! Both of you, stop!"

The cleaver paused mid-air, hovering motionless. But the fireball, being mischievous, slammed hard into the cleaver. Instantly, the cleaver flew into a rage and charged at the fireball.

Cheng Zhiyu felt like a weary parent, patiently pleading with the two to stop. But neither would listen. Frustrated, he raised his voice: "No more fighting! If you keep this up, I’ll get angry!"

That did the trick. The fireball and the cleaver stopped their actions, both reverting to their original forms and returning to the ground. They stood stiffly, ignoring each other.

Cheng Zhiyu massaged his temples. "I've raised you both. You’re like siblings. Can’t you just get along?"

There was no response from either. It seemed they were still sulking.

Seeing no other option, Cheng Zhiyu decided to leave them to it. They’d cool off eventually. He had Little Iron transform into the cleaver again and took it out of the spatial realm.

Outside the space, Little Black had been waiting. He hadn’t forgotten how Cheng Zhiyu, in the middle of eating, had vanished with an excited expression, likely heading into the space again. He wondered what could have made him leave his food unfinished.

Through careful observation, Little Black had noticed one thing: wherever Cheng Zhiyu disappeared from, he would reappear in the same spot. It seemed he couldn’t move his physical body while inside the space. So, after finishing his meal, Little Black hadn’t rushed off. Instead, he stayed, paws tucked, waiting for Cheng Zhiyu to reappear.

Finally, Little Black sensed something. The next moment, Cheng Zhiyu appeared in front of the coffee table.

Little Black, with his keen observation skills, immediately noticed that Cheng Zhiyu was holding... a cleaver?

Little Black: "?"

He thought he might be seeing things, but he quickly sensed that this cleaver was unusual—definitely not an ordinary one.

Still, using such material for a cleaver... Little Black glanced at Cheng Zhiyu, his expression shifting slightly.

Cheng Zhiyu, completely unaware, was eager to test the sharpness of the Little Iron Cleaver.

Since Little Iron wasn’t an ordinary cleaver but meant to be a weapon, it didn’t need sharpening, which saved a lot of trouble.

Cheng Zhiyu first tried using it to cut meat and found it incredibly effortless, slicing through effortlessly.

Hmm... could Little Iron cut through metal? Cheng Zhiyu wanted to test it. He dug through the storage room and found an unused table. The tabletop was made of metal and tempered glass, quite hard.

The landlord had said it was left by the previous tenant and asked Cheng Zhiyu to get rid of it eventually. But when Cheng Zhiyu rented this place, he had just graduated and found a job nearby, so he moved in for convenience.

Back then, he had just started working at the company. Busy with work on weekdays and wanting to rest on weekends, he never found the time. So the old table had been sitting in the storage room ever since.

Now, Cheng Zhiyu picked up the cleaver and lightly struck at the tabletop. He didn’t use much force, but it left a deep gash, a good two centimeters deep.

Cheng Zhiyu: "!!!"

He had expected Little Iron to be sharp, but not this sharp!

He chopped at the tabletop again, this time putting real force behind it. Almost without feeling any resistance, the tabletop was cleaved in two?

"Wow, Little Iron, you’re incredible!" Cheng Zhiyu exclaimed in amazement. "This is perfect. Zombie skulls can’t be harder than this table, right?"

With the Little Iron Cleaver, killing zombies would be like slicing fruit—one chop, one zombie.

No wonder the system had specifically told him to wait for Little Iron to mature. With Little Iron, his combat power had greatly improved.

No wonder so many martial arts novels described powerful weapons attracting countless contenders. A good weapon really made a difference.

Cheng Zhiyu then tried plucking one of his own hairs and gently blowing it toward the cleaver’s blade. The hair touched the edge and was instantly cut.

This must be the legendary "sharp enough to split a hair"!

So what if it’s a cleaver? Even as a cleaver, Little Iron was the finest cleaver around!

Cheng Zhiyu happily patted Little Iron, singing its praises. Little Black, who had followed him, looked on disdainfully. It’s only a blade, isn't it? What's all the fuss about?

It’s not even as good as his claws.

Thinking this, Little Black instinctively scratched the floor with his paw. The floor remained unscathed.

Little Black: "..." It’s only because he hasn’t regained his full strength yet!

Cheng Zhiyu told Little Iron to return to the system space, then took out his backpack, deciding to go out early the next morning to clear out the zombies in this building.

He estimated that there shouldn’t be too many zombies in this building, so it would be a good place to practice.

Clearing zombies was the main task, but if possible, he could also look for some supplies along the way. Although there were still some supplies at home, Cheng Zhiyu had a strong survival instinct—having too few resources made him anxious.

However, there was still a bag of flour he hadn’t used yet. Earlier, he had mixed it with yeast to steam some buns, but it got delayed. Later, Cheng Zhiyu discovered that the power had gone out, and worried that other things would spoil, so he decided to eat the perishable items first.

Flour could be stored for quite a long time, so he would eat the perishables first and then steam the buns.

Since he was going to clear zombies the next day, he couldn’t just come back whenever he got hungry. Cheng Zhiyu decided to steam some buns today so he could take them with him tomorrow and wouldn’t have to rush back when hungry.

After some thought, he realized he had red cabbage on hand. Red cabbage was larger than ordinary cabbage, and one head could last quite a while. He also had some glass noodles at home, so it would be perfect to make some red cabbage and glass noodle buns.

Recently, he had also discovered that eating red cabbage not only made him feel warm all over but also quickly restored his energy. Although he didn’t know the reason, red cabbage was undoubtedly a good thing.

With these benefits, even though eating it during the day made him particularly hot, it was still tolerable.

Bringing food made with red cabbage to fight zombies was undoubtedly the best choice.

That afternoon, Cheng Zhiyu was busy kneading dough and wrapping buns. Without electricity and with the daytime heat, the buns wouldn’t keep long—whatever he made today would have to be eaten tomorrow, so it was best to make fewer buns.

The system chimed in again: [Host, have you forgotten to check the reward for Little Iron’s successful planting?]

Cheng Zhiyu paused and said, "No rush, I’ll check after I take care of things tomorrow."

A reward meant there would be another plant he’d have to grow. He had noticed that once he claimed a plant, its health would keep dropping if he didn’t plant it, but if he didn’t claim it, nothing would happen.

It wasn’t that Cheng Zhiyu didn’t want to plant it, but there wasn’t much water left at home. Planting required water.

So tomorrow, he would also have to look for water. Searching door to door should turn up some.

Thinking of this, Cheng Zhiyu frowned a little but kept working.

He noticed that since practicing the mental technique, not only had his strength, speed, and perception improved, but he’d gotten a lot hungrier.

So Cheng Zhiyu made thirty buns at once, which should be enough for him and Little Black.

Whether it was because he hadn’t eaten in a while or because of the red cabbage, even though they were vegetarian buns, they tasted exceptionally delicious.

Cheng Zhiyu tried to eat sparingly but still had five, while Little Black ate three. Despite being so small, three buns were about as big as he was.

He knew Little Black wasn’t an ordinary dog, so he wasn’t feeding him like one.

The next day, before heading out, he left some buns for Little Black so he wouldn’t go hungry. He slung on his pack and prepared to go out alone, but Little Black suddenly stopped him.

Cheng Zhiyu: "?"

Little Black: I want to go too!