LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 70—Bye, bye Rose
Chapter 70—Bye, bye Rose
By Bocchan13
The ride back was uneventful and everyone decided to sleep off their exhaustion with only a change of shift one time in the night. Lan Zhou slept deeply, his arms tightly wrapped around Song Yu’s waist. They were still a little shaken up by the events in N City. If it hadn’t been for the rose, they most definitely would have died.
Some might have made it out, but the majority would have been killed. In their past lives, they had the support of the Military Base, and despite their levels, they were not omnipotent. It goes to show that numbers did play a big role in fighting in the apocalypse.
This gave food for thought to Xiao Zi, who wanted to create the cure, but also create a way to extend abilities by either leveling them up faster or strengthening their core abilities. Take Lan Zhou as an example; his main ability was fire with a variant blue ability. Despite its high rewards, it also consumed a lot of energy and depleted his ability much quicker.
At his level 10 status, he could fight continuously for a very long time, but in the situation with fighting the mole, he expended too much energy and almost suffered a backlash.
Abilities were experimented on in the early days until it got too inhumane, but that didn’t stop many scientists who also had the same thoughts as Xiao Zi. Abilities came from the airborne zombie virus, taking it in small doses and shaping the various characteristics of the wielder into a physical or mental manifestation.
Xiao Zi was a healer and could only fight barehanded. He was frustrated with himself for not being able to help. Xiao Zi held Lu Jingxiu’s exhausted head and gently parted his hair. A small yellow glow illuminated his hands as he healed Lu Jingxiu’s exhaustion.
Looking in the safe house to the exhausted members, Xiao Zi extended his healing abilities to everyone, making sure they had a well-deserved rest.
Song Yu felt the gently caress as his sleepiness ebbed. He opened his eyes to see Xiao Zi who was sitting up, cradling Lu Jingxiu’s head in his lap. Song Yu checked the time to see that it wasn’t 2 in the morning.
“Can’t sleep?”
Xiao Zi nodded. He kept stroking Lu Jingxiu’s hair as he whispered quietly, “Today was really scary. I’ve never seen such a terrifying zombie animal. Even in the past, the biggest thing we ever encountered was a level 5 giant pig.”
Song Yu agreed. He had heard of zombie animals and how ferocious they were, but the mole took the cake as the scariest.
“It’s because it’s extremely smart. It knew how to trap us, how to make us tired by sending out a hoard of zombies, and how to come at us when we were at our most tired. If we had met it head on, we might have survived, but it outsmarted us.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. It’s only been 2 ½ years in the apocalypse and we are seeing zombies and animal zombies that should have leveled up in ten or twenty. Humanity isn’t strong enough yet.”
Song Yu looked down at the sleeping Lan Zhou. His fire ability was the highest out of everyone in the world right now. He could definitely break through to S Level if he continued to work hard, but that could take a very long time.
“Have you studied on how to level up our abilities?” Xiao Zi adjusted his glasses and nodded.
“I did. It was one of my main purposes besides the cure and healing. The airborne version of the zombie virus is different than the one from the meteor. Its chemical makeup changed once it connected with the oxygen and carbon monoxide and relatively dispersed. That’s why it doesn’t turn people to zombies. There is a certain concentration that people inhaled that created these abilities.
“Either a certain temperature, a certain percentage of O2 or even a smell defined their abilities. It’s a fascinating yet utterly monstrous virus. I spent 20 years trying to figure it out, but the government and military prevented research in favor of creating a stronger army.”
Song Yu listened carefully to Xiao Zi’s dialogue, his eyebrows furrowing. He wasn’t a biochemist, but he got the gist of what Xiao Zi was talking about. Looking at abilities from a scientific perspective, it could be said that Earth was just the right amount of everything for the virus to bloom.
“…that’s why we needed the pure ability user. If he could purify water, he could purify other elements, like air. If air was purified, would that mean that our abilities would dissipate? Or would the virus in zombies stop multiplying causing real death.”
Xiao Zi sighed sadly, “It’s fascinating just how much potential could the pure ability user make for mankind. If we had reached him in time, we might have found both a cure and a way to turn our lives back to how it used to be.”
Song Yu felt extremely uncomfortable. It was as if he had heard this conversation before. Xiao Zi wasn’t like those dangerous scientists that tore out his flesh and hurt him. Xiao Zi’s approach was much calmer, collected and straightforward.
“What if…what if you found the pure ability user? What would you do to him?”
Xiao Zi tapped his chin in wonderment, and then shrugged.
“I can’t force someone who doesn’t want to do it. Sure, I could guilt trip him into using his ability for experimentation, but the best results always came from those who volunteered. Since we never found the pure ability user in B Base, that might have meant he was reborn like us and Wu Ding, leaving everything behind. I’m sure he didn’t like his previous life and wanted to be happy in this one.”
Song Yu lowered his eyes, trying his hide his guilt.
What guilt? You did your best. You lived 23 years in the apocalypse helping mankind.
I could have done more.
No you couldn’t have. You were dying every day, over exhausting yourself to the point of coma’s and starvation.
If I had met Lan Zhou and Xiao Zi earlier, I might have gone with them. I might have helped them make a cure.
…
Song Yu hesitated before speaking, “The experiments…will they hurt?”
Xiao Zi turned to stare at Song Yu. His eye hidden behind the lens analyzed Song Yu’s face. An inkling sparked in his mind. He saw Song Yu’s guilt, confusion, and…fear. Song Yu was scared.
Xiao Zi gently reached out and touched Song Yu’s hand. Song Yu flinched a little but allowed it, realizing no other person besides Lan Zhou touched him so intimately.
“No…no it won’t hurt at all. I promise.”
Song Yu looked straight into Xiao Zi’s eyes, and saw its clarity and calmness. Xiao Zi promised. Song Yu slowly nodded his head, signaling the answer to Xiao Zi’s questioning eyes.
They both understood that at that moment, they were going to save the world.
…
Morning came all too soon and everyone who had slept was now well rested and ready to go back home. Their abilities were now at full battery again, so they went on their way to drive back. Lan Zhou took the wheel with Yu Ci holding Wu Ding once again in his arms. In the back; Xiao Zi, Song Yu, Wang Cheng and Lu Jingxiu were talking amicably.
They stopped once again at the gas station, taking a few liters of gasoline for home purposes. Du Win was chattier than last time, hovering over Wang Cheng, asking him about what they scavenged in N City. Lan Zhou told them the situation in N City, making sure to tell everyone that it can be used as a base now, if they so wished.
Du Win nodded and glanced at Song Yu. For some reason, the white aura swirling around him was somehow brighter than he remembered. It haloed around him like an angel descending from heaven.
“You leveled up?”
Song Yu snapped his head to Du Win and shook his head. “No, I didn’t. Why?”
“Nah, nah. It’s just that I can detect abilities. Your aura seems to have gotten brighter. So I thought you leveled up.”
Song Yu could only shake his head, “I’m sorry. I would have known if I leveled up.”
Du Win could only divert the conversation elsewhere. Song Yu puzzedly looked at Du Win and noted down this weird conversation. He would have to check himself if he somehow upgraded.
Levels were a noticeable difference. A person who is in on the verge of upgrading would feel lethargy, aches, pains, and would have to stay at home for at least 2-3 days. The higher your level, the higher the pain. So Song Yu who was a Level 10 space ability user with a pure variant, he would have been incapacitated for quite a while.
Luckily, when he was reborn he was already a Level 10, so he didn’t feel all of that pain when he upgraded.
It also took a lot of effort to upgrade. Even Lan Zhou who was considered the world’s strongest, took over a decade to reach Level 10 and then self-destructed after reaching the threshold for Level A.
The group quickly took the gasoline and headed back to their base, making sure they weren’t being followed by the three small bases. After driving for a few hours, they stopped at a lake an hour away from Song Yu’s home.
Song Yu recognized the area and told everyone to take a small rest. He nodded towards Wang Cheng, who looked downcast, carrying the potted flower tightly in his grasp.
Song Yu patted his shoulders, “It’s okay. You can come visit this place whenever you want to. Just as long as you don’t bring any infections back.”
Wang Cheng nodded.
The group watched as Wang Cheng moved to find a good spot to plant the rose. Song Yu sighed and turned to Lan Zhou.
“Do you think I’m too harsh?”
Lan Zhou shook his head, “I would have done the same thing. Despite the advantages it has, Wang Cheng deliberately harbored a threat to the safety of the group.” Song Yu looked at the forlorn man, who looked like he was digging a grave rather than a gardening spot, his thoughts becoming guiltier.
Wang Cheng liked the location Song Yu provided for Rose. There was a lake that wasn’t as clean as the one in the base, but it would still suit Rose well. The ground was also softer than the outside. Wang Cheng chose a semi-sunny and shady spot for rose. He gently dug out Rose from the pot.
Rose felt anxious. His vines wriggled around the pot, trying to keep his roots inside. Unwilling to get out of the pot, Wang Cheng sighed.
“You can’t live your entire life in this small pot.” The rose refused, shaking its petals in protest. The yellow pot was being held onto so tightly, Wang Cheng had no choice but to let it be.
“Well, I’ll just bury the pot then!”
Wang Cheng dug 6 inches into the ground, big enough for the pot to enter in. He suddenly felt the vines circling his arm. The thorns had retreated into the vine, so he could only feel the smoothness of Rose as it tried desperately to hang onto Wang Cheng.
“Be good.”
Wang Cheng felt his heart breaking.
Before the apocalypse, Wang Cheng was diagnosed with ADHD. And although it wasn’t the end of the world for him, it put him into a bad predicament with his family, causing him to be ignored. His ADHD treatment was short-lived, and his circumstances went from a mildly spoiled son to a black sheep in an instant.
So when Lan Zhou told him he would go abroad to build a business, Wang Cheng jumped at the chance. It would separate him from his family, and he could get the proper treatment. That treatment included Rose.
Wang Cheng tended to talk a lot. He forgot things a lot too, so in order to remember things, he would repeat actions and data to objects. At first it was a teddy bear, but he was a green thumb and settled on the roses that were planted in his yard. Roses only bloomed a few times a year, so Wang Cheng bought a rose bush.
It became such a habit, that eventually, he chose a singular rose and potted it.
And that rose was the rose in the yellow pot now.
When the apocalypse happened, Wang Cheng’s disorder went slightly off kilter. With no medication, Wang Cheng brought the rose into his space for comfort. To his surprise, not only did it not die, but it stayed blooming for over 20 years.
In this life, when he woke up inhabiting his young body, the first thing he checked was the rose bush, trying to find the familiar petal patterns of his plant friend. When he couldn’t find it, he checked his space to see the rose in his yellow pot, gently waving at him.
Wang Cheng was happy.
And now, he had to abandon a friend. Tears slid down Wang Cheng’s face. He blinked them away and wiped his nose before taking Rose and placing it in the hole.
“Thank you for listening to me talk for so long. It might have been boring, but you really helped me. Talking late at night, playing together…it was really fun.”
The rose could feel this sense of parting. The vines once again furled onto Wang Cheng’s wrist, tugging him to take him back.
“I’ll come see you whenever I can.”
Wang Cheng pried the gentle vines from his arm and pet his rose a final time. In a blink of an eye, Wang Cheng was gone.
The rose stayed in the spot, its petals pointing at the direction Wang Cheng left. It stayed that way as night fell and the sun rose once again. It felt a feeling called ‘loneliness’. The rose got a little bigger, the vines easily taking the pot out of the soil from the shady spot.
“I can’t bring you with me anymore.”
Why? The rose wondered.
“If only you were a person, we could communicate like normal people.”
Did that mean, if Rose became a human, Wang Cheng could keep him?
The rose started moving, the vines elongating, trying to find a sign of life. It captured a bird, tasting its blood, feeling the DNA as it entered its body.
This was wrong.
The rose continued to crawl, trying to find that thing. Another bird, a snake, a zombie wolf, a zombie human.
Not right. Not right. Not right. Not right.
The rose didn’t know how long it moved, how many days or nights. Its mission was clear as it tried to find it.
One day, the rose smelled the scent of something. It crawled down crevices, mountains, and finally saw it.
The thing that would make Wang Cheng stay with Rose forever.