Apocalypse Chapter 14: Newcomer Starter Pack

Chapter 14: Newcomer Starter Pack

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

This Eyries cactus was moved back from the office to the old house. At that time, it was only the size of a fist with its pot. Initially, Jiang Rong put it in the car, but fearing it would die from sun exposure, he took it out of the car and casually placed it outside the garage.

During that time, he was busy building the house and stocking up, and in a few days, he forgot about this small pot of Eyries cactus. Previously, Jiang Rong thought this small Eyries cactus looked very unique, resembling a small mountain peak. Never did he expect it to actually grow into a small mountain, standing outside his own courtyard wall.

Now, the identity of the “needle” stuck in Lele’s body was finally revealed. It’s none other than the thorn on the Eyries cactus. Unexpectedly, the fine hairs have turned into such terrifying spikes after the crisis, with thousands of spikes on a single Eyries cactus. Who could withstand a wave of spikes?

This reminded Jiang Rong of his past life, when a mutated Eyries cactus occupied a central office building in City C. The spikes shot out by the Eyries cactus could easily penetrate the bodies of most people and animals, and several blocks near the office building were piled with bodies.

Such an Eyries cactus also exists outside his home. What should he do? Should he let Lele go out to test the strength of the Eyries cactus? Jiang Rong lowered his head and looked into Lele’s eyes, but Lele turned around in distress and placed his patched bottom in front of Jiang Rong.

Jiang Rong: …Forget it, Lele, who is so agile, was still pricked by the spikes. If it were him or Xiaoheng going out, they would definitely be pierced like a sieve.

Moreover, it’s only the fifth day after the crisis, and the Eyries cactus has grown from the size of a thumb to a height exceeding the courtyard wall. If it continues to develop, how big will it grow? Having such a deadly weapon at the doorstep… Jiang Rong clenched his lips and lightly tapped the bulletproof glass with his fingertips.

Now there were only two options in front of him: one is to find a way to live peacefully with the Eyries cactus, and the other is to eliminate it before it grows further.

Thinking of this, Jiang Rong realized that he still had a blind box unopened. In his past life, he was just an ordinary person with no abilities. After running a high fever for four or five days in this life, he should have awakened some kind of ability.

In his past life, those who awakened their abilities said that abilities were part of their bodies, like eating and sleeping, naturally without the need for deliberate testing to know which type of awakened person they belonged to. Although they said it lightly, Jiang Rong was still a bit confused. Besides being more sensitive to the five senses, he didn’t feel any changes in his body.

In his past life, he saw water-based espers effortlessly produce clean water, and fire-based espers could conjure up fire with a snap of their fingers. Jiang Rong subconsciously looked at his fingertips. He wanted to see if he could concentrate and produce some kind of movement.

It’s strange to say that when he focused on his fingertips, he could actually feel something surging inside his body. That force flowed from his lungs to his fingertips, and soon a glowing green sphere appeared at the tip of Jiang Rong’s index finger. Green light?

At this moment, there was a slight tapping sound outside the window. Jiang Rong opened his eyes and saw several Eyries cactus spikes bouncing and falling to the ground. A more cheerful call sounded in his mind, “Master Jiang~ Master Jiang~ There’s a problem~”

Jiang Rong’s mind stirred, could he be a wood-based esper? It is said that wood-based espers can attract mutated plants, and some high-level espers can even manipulate mutated plants in battle. Is this Eyries cactus being attracted by his ability, and is it emitting goodwill towards him?

As if to prove his thoughts, a grayish thing trembled and stretched out from the Eyries cactus on the west wall. It crossed the courtyard wall towards where Jiang Rong was standing by the window, growing rapidly, and in no time, it grew several meters long. As the pillar spread, the top of the pillar swelled even more.

However, its length was limited after all, and the gray pillar finally stopped in mid-air several meters away from the window. Jiang Rong finally saw the full appearance of the pillar. It was actually a long flower stalk.

The flower stalk was surrounded by gray fluff, and the top became more and more swollen. Gradually, a large flower bud appeared in front of Jiang Rong. In an instant, a flower as big as an umbrella bloomed in the air.

The golden-red flower resembled a lotus, with the outermost petals shining golden and becoming more red towards the center. The layers of petals felt like velvet, so beautiful that one couldn’t move their eyes away.

In his mind, the cheerful voice sounded again, “Master Jiang! There’s a problem!” 

With that voice, the gorgeous flower shook. If this still couldn’t express goodwill, then Jiang Rong couldn’t think of anything else that could.

Jiang Rong was dazzled by the large golden-red flower, and he closed his eyes. It’s strange to say that usually when he closes his eyes, it’s always dark. But this time, he clearly saw many twinkling dots in front of him, most of which were green, and the largest and brightest dot was jumping in front of him.

Looking around, Jiang Rong saw a chaotic mist. He understood that this should be what the abilities referred to as the consciousness space. And the green dot appearing here corresponded to a mutated spirit plant.

In the consciousness space, he also had a form. For example, now, he could reach out and touch the green dot. The moment the dot touched his fingertip, a gentle force quickly spread from his fingertip.

At that moment, he clearly knew the identity of this green dot: it was the Eyries cactus stuck outside the west courtyard wall.

The newly awakened Eyries cactus was like a newly hatched chick, extremely dependent on Jiang Rong. Whenever Jiang Rong reached out his hand, it obediently hopped into his palm, transforming into the familiar appearance of an Eyries cactus. It was still so small, so soft, standing in Jiang Rong’s hand as a tiny bundle.

It stretched its furry little spines, clumsily twisted its cylindrical body, and a soft voice continuously emanated from it, “Master Jiang~”

Jiang Rong had heard from other espers that after the crisis, mutated animals and plants would have their own thoughts. The stronger the mutation, the clearer their consciousness. At this moment, he felt as if he had merged with the Eyries cactus, seeing all of its memories.

In the beginning, it had no thoughts, unable to see the outside world, just feeling the hustle and bustle around it. Like all plants, it longed for rain and sunlight, but no matter how it tried to grow upwards, it could never reach water or sunlight.

Then one day, it felt warm sunlight falling on it, and its cells absorbed water. Its skin was no longer wrinkled, no longer needing to grow upwards. At the same time, a gentle voice appeared around it. Whenever it heard this voice, the little Eyries cactus inexplicably felt comfortable, even more comfortable than basking in the sun all day.

The owner of the voice had warm hands, which would remove the caterpillars attempting to climb on it and loosen the compacted soil. Gradually, the Eyries cactus had a thought: it wanted to see what the owner of the voice looked like.

Many people believed that plants couldn’t see, but after sinking into the world of the Eyries cactus, Jiang Rong clearly saw his own appearance. He saw himself busy at his desk, possibly because of the perspective, there was a layer of misty halo around him, his face and figure somewhat blurred.

The little Eyries cactus’s favorite time was when Jiang Rong was working at the computer. Even if covered by drawings, the spines on its body felt comfortable. Its least favorite time was when it was nighttime and other colleagues came over to call Jiang Rong.

After squatting on Jiang Rong’s desk for more than a year, the little Eyries cactus had only learned two words, “Master Jiang” and “there’s a problem.” It knew that whenever someone called “Jiang,” Jiang Rong would look up and respond to them. Whenever someone called him saying “there’s a problem,” Jiang Rong would follow them.

It also wanted to attract Jiang Rong’s attention like everyone else. During this time, it tried to grow bigger every day, wanting Jiang Rong to notice it. And now, its call finally caught Jiang Rong’s attention. It felt good that Master Jiang finally responded to its call.

The Eyries cactus satisfactorily rooted itself in Jiang Rong’s palm, and Jiang Rong felt a slight tingling in his palm, while his mind seemed to gain something. Jiang Rong opened his eyes and looked at his palm. A small green light appeared in his palm. After flashing a few times, it disappeared, but Jiang Rong could still clearly feel its presence.

Outside the window, the big flower was bright red, and Jiang Rong couldn’t help but open the door and walk towards the beautiful flower. Sensing Jiang Rong approaching, the spikes on the Eyries cactus outside the courtyard swayed a few times.

Jiang Rong reached out to touch the silky petals, feeling a complex emotion in his heart. He didn’t expect that under his own eyes, there was a little Eyries cactus so persistently wanting to be with him. At this moment, he was very grateful that he took it away when he resigned, otherwise, how angry and sad would it be if he couldn’t find him?

At the same time, he was also somewhat surprised. He didn’t expect that on the first day of awakening his ability, he would have his first mutated spirit plant as his little brother.

In the previous life, wood-based espers had to pay a huge price to subdue a mutated plant for their own use. In comparison, he felt like he had opened a newbie’s gift pack, incredibly lucky.

Jiang Rong quickly walked out of the courtyard, wanting to see where this Eyries cactus was growing. If he remembered correctly, outside the west courtyard wall was the parking lot, with a hardened ground several meters wide. Where could it root itself?

When he walked to the other side of the parking lot, he was stunned. He saw a majestic Eyries cactus standing on the hardened ground outside his west courtyard wall, its powerful roots arching over the concrete ground several centimeters thick.

The ground of his house was hardened with C80 concrete, and even ordinary drill bits couldn’t penetrate it. At the time, Jiang Rong didn’t lay steel bars outside the courtyard to save budget. He thought that this level of ground strength could resist the erosion of most mutated plants. Unexpectedly, on the fifth day after the crisis, the mutated Eyries cactus showed its terrifying destructive power.

The tall and verdant main trunk of the Eyries cactus leaned towards the direction of the courtyard wall. Seeing Jiang Rong approaching, the Eyries cactus shook the elongated small cactus on its west side, looking like it was beckoning to Jiang Rong.

Could it be that if the Eyries cactus continued to grow, it would fall into the courtyard wall?

The closer Jiang Rong got to the Eyries cactus, the louder its voice became. At this moment, the spines on the Eyries cactus collided with each other, making a rustling sound. A fervent voice came from his mind, “Master Jiang, Master Jiang! There’s a problem~”

Jiang Rong looked up at the dark green trunk of the Eyries cactus and said slowly, “I see.”

 

 

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