Chapter 19: The Alien Plant Radiates Light

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Unexpectedly, when she tried to break a branch, the chili pepper tree actually trembled.

Aunt Jiang was shocked and couldn’t believe it.

She tried breaking off another branch, and it shook again—this time even more violently. The peppers on the tree seemed to lean dangerously, as if about to attack her.

Aunt Jiang: !!!

“Oh my goodness, this chili pepper tree has come to life!” Aunt Wang screamed in fright and ran straight back into the house.

Her piercing scream was heard clearly by everyone in the Qin family’s yard, who looked up in alarm.

“What happened?”

Everyone felt uneasy, fearing something bad might have occurred.

“It’s not a big deal. It’s just that the chili pepper tree at Aunt Jiang’s doorstep moves—every time she pulls it, it shakes—and that scared her off,” Qin Xiaoyu explained.

No sooner had she finished speaking than Uncle Jiang appeared with a machete, his face serious.

“What’s wrong with the chili pepper tree? This isn’t right...” Uncle Jiang hadn’t finished speaking when he saw the tree towering two heads taller than him, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

Aunt Jiang hid behind, trembling with fear. “The chili pepper tree has come alive—it moves.”

Uncle Jiang skeptically tapped the tree trunk with the back of his machete; the tree didn’t respond at first. He was about to turn back and tell his wife it was nothing, when out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the entire tree’s chili tips slowly pointing at him.

Uncle Jiang: …

Damn it, it really has come alive.

Qin Xiaoyu thought the tree was emitting a faint red glow, surely very aggressive. If it kept growing, it might actively attack people.

Red glow?

Rubbing her eyes, Qin Xiaoyu confirmed she wasn’t imagining it. The chili pepper tree indeed gave off a subtle red aura, barely noticeable under the sunlight.

Turning to look around the yard, the first thing she saw was the papaya tree.

The papaya tree had grown much larger—too big for one person to hug, needing two. The whole tree radiated a faint greenish glow.

Most vegetables in the garden didn’t glow, except for a few with a subtle light, like the sunflowers and a cluster of bitter wheat greens, which emitted a faint red aura.

That plant… hmm? What is that?

Judging by its location, it should be the old vine she planted. New vines were growing, resembling a melon vine, though the type of melon was unclear.

The vines glowed faintly green and were climbing up the wall.

Qin Xiaoyu climbed down from the wall and leaned closer to get a better look.

“Ah ah ah, Xiaoyu, come quick, it’s so much fun!” Big Shrimp was circling the sunflower, and the flower head silently followed his every move, always facing him.

Turning round and round, the whole plant finally twisted.

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At that instant, Qin Xiaoyu saw the red glow intensify.

Her eyelids twitched involuntarily.

“Mom, Brother Big Shrimp is teasing the sunflowers, and I think they’re getting angry,” Qin Xiaoyu immediately called out to An Xian.

An Xian was observing the bitter wheat greens, which were almost taller than her head. Hearing this, she instinctively turned to look, completely unaware of the giant leaf nearby—larger than a regular banana leaf.

[Die, you!]

Smack!

With a sharp whooshing sound, the leaf slapped An Xian squarely.

An Xian: …

She touched her face—not hurt, but feeling insulted.

Qin Xiaoyu laughed heartily. “I told you, after the rain stops, if you come to pick vegetables, the bitter wheat will slap you.”

“Qin Baisong, bring me the hoe,” An Xian said expressionlessly to her husband. Plants that hit people cannot be tolerated; while still weak, they must be uprooted.

Qin Baisong came quickly. Before An Xian could move, he took the hoe and swung it himself.

Crack!

The bitter wheat greens fell to the ground, their leaves still flailing as if struggling for life. After several seconds, they finally stilled.

“Any other mutated plants? Cut them down while they’re still weak,” Qin Baisong said, then added, “Not just cut, dig out the roots too.”

Looking at the vigorous gourd vines, it was clear that in this world, even a plant near death with just a little root left could revive.

“This gourd vine looks suspicious. Should we cut it too?” Qin Baisong asked their daughter.

“It’s a gourd?” Qin Xiaoyu was surprised.

“You didn’t know?”

“I thought it was an old grapevine.”

“That’s wishful thinking. No grapes here.”

“...”

Qin Xiaoyu wasn’t particularly eager to eat grapes; she just assumed it was grapes before. Being told grapes were gone was a bit disappointing.

But gourds were fine too.

“We’ll wait and see. Gourds are actually quite useful, and as long as it behaves, it’s good to keep it,” Qin Xiaoyu considered and shook her head, deciding to preserve the gourd vine and explaining her reasoning.

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“The plant world is strange. Some things look small but actually contain a space inside. Gourds are very promising plants—they might grow into spatial gourds. As long as it stays obedient and doesn’t cause trouble, we can keep it.”

If it misbehaves, then it must be cut down.

Qin Xiaoyu had a premonition that the light she could see might help her discern whether the mutated plants were hostile or malicious.

For example, those sunflowers, the bitter wheat greens, and the chili pepper tree next door.

But all this still needed verification.

Though spatial gourds were valuable, the family was still uneasy.

Qin Xiaoyu hesitated, then revealed the fact that she could see the light surrounding the plants but kept the knowledge that she could hear their thoughts to herself.

Everyone was surprised; after all, the plants they saw looked mostly the same, and detecting abnormalities required careful observation.

This was good news but required further confirmation.

Fan Zhenzhen came out of the room holding a piece of paper and overheard Qin Xiaoyu’s words. Her eyes lit up.

“Let’s verify it! While the mutated plants are still weak, let’s make a trip to the back mountain. There must be a lot of plants there, and they’ve been growing for years—there will definitely be more mutations.”

Qin Xiaoyu glanced at the paper in her hand and took it.

Opening it, she saw a map.

The circled area was immediately recognizable as the mountain peak in the back mountain.

“You want to go find your pet beast egg, don’t you?” Qin Xiaoyu rolled her eyes.

Fan Zhenzhen sheepishly scratched her nose. The system only transmitted a map to her mind without a physical copy. If it weren’t for her elementary school drawing skills, she wouldn’t have been able to sketch it.

An Xian also looked at it and addressed everyone hesitantly, “Shall we go?”

The bitter wheat greens, only planted for a month, had already mutated and were boldly attacking people. Plants growing for years on the mountain must be even more dangerous.

Would going up the mountain be risky?

“Yes, let’s go. If we start being timid and refusing to leave the house now, when the mutated plants get stronger, we’ll be as good as dead,” Qin Bainian said, pausing before adding, “But remember to bring the chainsaw.”

This weapon should be very effective against large trees.

Qin Xiaoyu gave him a thumbs-up. In the early days of the apocalypse, this weapon was truly powerful.

The group set off immediately, with both people and pets.

Even the two elders came along, curious about the changes in the back mountain’s plants and unwilling to fall behind.