7 Zombie Experience Cards 07

Zombie Experience Card 07

The ivy's tendrils are extending.

Some are climbing toward buildings near the apartment complex, while others are stretching forward along the road.

As they pass the small bookstore where Tian Yi is located, some tendrils wrap around the building, layer upon layer.

Standing inside the shop, Tian Yi is reminded of the image of a giant octopus coiling around a house.

But an octopus is fundamentally different from ivy.

And today’s ivy is very different from usual.

The ivy’s tendrils have completely submerged the nearby streets and are still reaching outward.

It is currently daytime.

Without being subjected to special stimuli, the ivy rarely goes to such... great lengths during the day.

Tian Yi stays sensibly inside the bookstore, not even thinking of trying to break through the cocoon of ivy.

He holds the small orange kitten—which he had finally coaxed into a state of unusual quiet—in his arms and sits on a chair next to the bookshelf.

Due to his long-term consumption of crystals, Tian Yi’s five senses have been greatly enhanced.

This allows him to hear things even when he cannot see far into the distance.

If he hasn't misheard, the ivy's tendrils have reached even further than its newly expanded territory.

And there, a chaotic sound is erupting.

The ivy is fighting.

It is not like its usual nighttime hunting.

This is a fierce, all-out brawl.

Ordinary zombies have no way of entering this battlefield, nor do the weaker mutated animals and plants.

Tian Yi cannot be certain exactly what is involved.

Because the sounds are a jumble of things he has never heard before.

Beyond the sounds of combat, there are the noises of damaged abandoned buildings or vehicles, accompanied by howls that he cannot attribute to any known creature.

The battle lasts for a long time, even spreading to the area near the ivy’s roots.

The sight of the dense, surging tendrils and the sound of them snapping make Tian Yi worry about whether the ivy will emerge victorious.

It is not until the violent sounds of combat finally cease that the tendrils wrapping the bookstore slowly loosen and retract toward the main body of the ivy.

Tian Yi knows the battle is finally over.

Tian Yi does not go out immediately; he simply observes.

Such an intense battle naturally leaves many traces.

The road is riddled with spiderweb-like cracks and craters.

The corpses of many ordinary zombies and relatively weak mutated flora and fauna are visible everywhere.

They didn't even need to be targeted; most were simply killed as collateral damage in the conflict. The mindless ones are one thing, but even those with brains couldn't escape if they wanted to.

Some creatures that look quite powerful are being slowly dragged back by the ivy.

Beyond that, there are even more.

Corpses left further away.

The ivy is stronger than Tian Yi imagined.

But the ivy is also more severely injured than he imagined.

Since arriving here, Tian Yi has never seen the ivy suffer such heavy damage.

Many tendrils are broken, and the leaves look sparse.

The ivy, which usually appears full of vitality, now seems listless.

It doesn't even have the strength to dig holes and bury the "fertilizer" it worked so hard to drag back.

The tendrils that would normally cover the adjacent buildings cannot even fully drape over a single wall now.

Thinking of the high-level zombies that once drooled at the sight of him—and would turn and run upon seeing the ivy—and comparing that to the ivy's current miserable state, Tian Yi is certain that his decision not to rashly leave the ivy's territory was the right one.

He knows that as the ivy grows and continues to expand its territory, a clash with the local "hunters" was inevitable.

It’s just that he didn't expect it to turn out like this.

The good news is that the ivy won.

He needs to help the ivy recover as quickly as possible.

Tian Yi does not choose to leave while the city’s danger level is currently lower; instead, he picks up a shovel, a bucket, and some twine and heads outside.

Tian Yi goes out to perform post-battle maintenance and repairs for the ivy.

...

The little orange kitten is a bit bewildered.

It doesn't understand why things have turned out this way.

It feels that its relationship with the ivy is not good.

It believes the ivy sees it the same way.

Yet just a short while ago, the ivy actually shared a portion of food with it.

—This happened right after the kitten, unable to bear watching Tian Yi work alone, helped by scratching at the soil a few times with its paws.

When it realized this was food specifically set aside for it by the injured ivy, the kitten was indeed stunned.

Food that an injured ivy manages to drag back is naturally not of ordinary quality.

The chances of the kitten getting to eat such things are usually very slim.

Moreover, the portion the ivy gave it was quite good.

Faced with this "flattery" from the ivy, the kitten did not accept it immediately but fell into "deep thought."

However, while it was pondering, Tian Yi picked it up, and a string of phrases like "my favorite/cutest kitty" flowed from his mouth, followed by a barrage of compliments.

With such sweet words, the kitten gradually lost its focus.

By the time it came to its senses, it had not only accepted the food from the ivy but was also following Tian Yi out the door without any protest.

The purpose of going out is to search the surroundings for any way to help the ivy recover faster.

The little orange kitten: "..."

Under normal circumstances, the kitten would certainly not take the initiative to help the ivy.

But...

The kitten glanced at the food pressed under its paw, then looked at the upbeat Tian Yi.

It let out a quiet "meow" and decided not to dwell on it.

Since the ivy had already "taken the initiative to show weakness," it wasn't an unreasonable little kitten.

After all, it is the "cutest" kitty.

Currently, the kitten is sitting in the basket at the front of a bicycle.

To ensure the kitten remains comfortable, Tian Yi has lined the basket with several layers of fabric.

All of them were scavenged from abandoned shops, specifically selected by Tian Yi to be the clean ones.

When he placed the kitten inside, he naturally didn't forget to include the food the ivy had given it.

This bicycle was also scavenged by Tian Yi from the various abandoned vehicles on the side of the road.

Apart from looking a bit old, all its functions are intact, and after patching the tires, it has proven very convenient to use.

At the very least, compared to other modes of transport, it is quite agile in this city where the roads are not entirely flat and are blocked in many places.

Tian Yi intends to ride around the ivy's newly expanded territory.

While familiarizing himself with the city streets and the specific situation, he wants to look for useful items, see if he can gather more information, and... look for any way to help the ivy recover quickly.

Given his current "relationship" with the ivy, only when the ivy is strong can he be safer.

It would be best to find some information on how to cultivate ivy, so he doesn't have to rely on his own "conjectures" and "take it for granted," bringing whatever he thinks of to the ivy every day.

It’s thanks to the ivy being a mutated plant that is naturally strong; otherwise, he truly suspects he would have already killed a normal ivy through his care.

Unfortunately, he hasn't found any cultivation guides in the small bookstore he is temporarily occupying.

...

The expansion of the ivy's territory and its victory over the surrounding powerful zombies and mutated creatures have many benefits.

First, the safe range in which Tian Yi can move has increased.

Second, Tian Yi has harvested many high-quality transparent crystals.

Those high-level zombies and powerful mutated animals killed by the ivy had their transparent crystals become Tian Yi’s loot before they could become fertilizer for the ivy.

As for the transparent crystals of the ordinary dead zombies and animals, Tian Yi isn't picky; he collects them all.

Added to the pile of crystals the ivy gave him, the small bookstore is now harboring quite a stash.

To ensure these crystals don't meet with any accidents, Tian Yi has truly started eating them like snacks.

So far, there haven't been any side effects.

Furthermore, Tian Yi no longer has to worry about that zombie that was coveting him.

Among the high-level zombies killed by the ivy was the very one that had been eyeing him.

The ivy’s territory expansion this time is significant, occupying nearly half the city.

The area covered by the battlefield with other zombies and mutated creatures is also very wide.

From what Tian Yi can see, it is almost as if the ground had been plowed.

It would be an exaggeration to say the city was destroyed, but the roads and buildings have indeed suffered significant damage.

Many of the vehicles that were originally blocking the roads have been overturned.

Such roads and the many dangerous buildings have had a significant impact on Tian Yi’s movements; in many places, he can only push his bicycle forward, searching carefully through abandoned houses.

He hasn't found anything to help the ivy recover, but he has scavenged some basic daily necessities and medicine.

Before heading home, the well-behaved kitten crouching in the bike basket is already wearing a small red garment.

The kitten doesn't like the feeling of wearing clothes.

But before it could meow a few times in protest, it fell into the trap of Tian Yi’s sweet talk again and started to think...

It actually looks quite good.

With that, Tian Yi took the kitten through a few streets and felt it was about time to head back, when he suddenly saw a black shadow dash past.

At this moment, there are no other living beings on the road besides Tian Yi and the kitten.

Not even wandering zombies can be found.

One can only see some half-dead, mangled zombies crawling in the corners.

Tian Yi almost thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

But there really was a black shadow darting through the shadows at the street corner just now.

And that shadow looked like... a child?

If he were back on Blue Star, seeing a child in a place like this, Tian Yi would certainly step forward to ask some questions.

But this is the world of the zombie apocalypse.

If he wasn't mistaken, this suspected child’s speed seemed much faster than that of a normal child.

Not only fast, but also almost silent.

This is not something a normal child could do.

Perhaps this area that has been "plowed" is not as safe as he thought.

Ordinary zombies might treat Tian Yi as nothing, but other existences will not.

Tian Yi does not want to linger any longer and prepares to take the kitten and leave.

But just as he turns around, that running shadow appears again.

It appears and runs, still within the shadows.

If not for the fact that Tian Yi’s senses are now much sharper, he might not have been able to see it clearly.

And this running figure, after darting back and forth several times, finally disappears.

But before Tian Yi can breathe a sigh of relief, a slightly unfamiliar voice sounds very close behind him.

"...Big brother... are you the one... Mommy called to come find me?"

Along with the voice comes a faint chill.

Tian Yi’s pupils constrict.

At such a close distance, with the ivy in its current injured state, there is no way it can save him.