Chapter 55: Put Up or Shut Up
Eugene Palmer looked at the group across from them. Not only did they have more people, but more importantly, they were armed with guns!
He immediately backed down. "Arguing won’t get us anywhere. Harvey, let’s just go upstairs and search while there are no zombies."
When Jane Rhodes heard they were leaving, she grew anxious. "No! The supermarket’s storeroom is right behind the counter! I worked here for a summer job before, I know it!"
Howard Palmer looked at Jane Rhodes, then at Miles Dawson, and tried to negotiate. "Look, since you guys are armed, why not just kill it?"
Hannah West timidly tugged on Harvey Wright’s sleeve and chimed in, "Yeah, you have guns and all that impressive gear. You killed all the zombies downstairs, so what’s the big deal with helping us kill the mutated Wisteria? There aren’t many living people left. You’re so selfish!"
Luna Dawson glanced at them. ’They really have some nerve.’
Luna Dawson said flatly, "First of all, I think it’s kind of cute, so I don’t want to kill it. Second, even if I did kill it, I’d be taking all the supplies from the storeroom. What would that have to do with you?"
Jane Rhodes’s expression turned ugly, and her voice cracked. "Are you crazy? ’Kind of cute?!’ If we don’t kill it, how are we supposed to open the storeroom? Can’t you see its roots are all over the supermarket?"
Luna Dawson scoffed. "You do it, then."
With that, she pulled out a few camping chairs from her space, and her group sat down to rest.
Luna Dawson even crossed her legs, propped her chin on her hand, and waited for the show to begin.
’These people,’ she thought. ’They come in here, taking the moral high ground to criticize us, while also planning to mooch off our strength to clear the way for them.’
’They’re ignoring the supplies upstairs and just pestering us here.’
’It’s obvious they want the storeroom supplies and the plant’s Crystal Core, but they’re also wary of the guns in our hands.’
The mutated Wisteria seemed very curious. Its small tendrils drifted back and forth between the two groups.
Having grown so large, it had never seen so many living humans before. Its light purple leaves swayed from side to side inquisitively.
Seeing the other group’s indifferent attitude, Eugene Palmer actually felt a sense of relief. He suggested again, "Harvey, let’s just go upstairs. There are plenty of supplies up there."
Hannah West looked at the man beside her. In their entire squad, she was the only one without a superpower. In this situation, she could only rely on Harvey Wright, who had been interested in her even before the apocalypse.
Her timid voice piped up, "Brother Leo, what should we do? Upstairs..."
Before she could finish, Jane Rhodes’s voice cut in, laced with blatant accusation. "You have a space, too? Were you the one who took all the supplies from downstairs?!"
Jane Rhodes was shocked when she saw Luna Dawson take out the chairs. She had always thought Space Abilities were extremely rare.
For over two months, she had met many Superpower Users, but none of them had a Space Ability. And now this group in front of her had admitted to taking the supplies from the first and second floors.
’Does that mean this woman’s space is holding supplies from two entire floors?!’
’Isn’t her space much, much larger than mine?!’
Luna Dawson was growing impatient. ’Are these people going to fight or not? I want to see what this wisteria is capable of.’ She spoke coldly, "That’s none of your business."
Hearing the impatience in Luna Dawson’s voice and thinking about all the supplies she had hoarded for herself, Jane Rhodes’s jealousy burned hotter.
Just then, the Wisteria was dangling annoyingly in front of her face. She waved her hand at it, but a tendril immediately blocked her view again.
Fuming, she slashed out forcefully with the dagger in her hand, hacking at the mutated Wisteria.
The tender, pale white tip of the vine was severed by the dagger, writhing on the ground like a snake.
She shrieked, "What are you waiting for? If the supplies in the storeroom can fill my space and the RV, it’ll be enough to feed the four of us for ages!"
Harvey Wright hesitated for a moment. He hadn’t wanted to make a move, but seeing that Jane Rhodes had already attacked, he had no choice but to follow.
"Let’s go!"
Their team still needed a Space Superpower User, so he was forced into a corner. He pulled out a machete and charged forward. It was clear he had used his Gold Element superpower to lengthen the blade.
"AH! AH! AARGH!"
The purple Wisteria let out a pained cry after being cut.
But the sound came from Harvey Wright, which was terrifyingly bizarre.
Immediately after, the surrounding vines began to move wildly!
The enraged, dark-purple vines revealed bulging, flowing red veins within. Their bodies began to emit a crimson glow, looking utterly horrifying!
Countless small wisteria tendrils shot out in unison, all targeting Jane Rhodes, the one who had attacked it first.
"It was you!"
As the strange voice echoed, the vines pierced through Jane Rhodes’s calf, dragged her to the front of the counter, and hoisted her high into the air.
"AHHH!"
The entire second floor was filled with Jane Rhodes’s bloodcurdling screams.
The Wisteria didn’t kill Jane Rhodes outright. Instead, several of its tendrils burrowed into the bloody hole in her calf and the wound on the back of her hand, greedily sucking her blood.
Jane Rhodes’s body shriveled at a visible rate.
"Help me..."
Her eyes were wide open. Her once full, fair face became withered and wrinkled, as if all the blood had been drained from it. Then, she stopped breathing.
Eugene Palmer and the others were dumbfounded. They never could have imagined that the mutated Wisteria, so docile just moments ago, would suddenly switch into a blood-sucking mode!
Eugene Palmer’s hand, holding his knife, trembled uncontrollably. His teeth chattered, and his feet felt like they were filled with lead, unable to move even an inch.
Looking over at Harvey Wright, the ground was littered with severed vines. The vines that were previously lying on the floor were now like writhing snakes, rearing their heads and trying to bore straight into his mouth.
Harvey Wright was already scared out of his mind. He was screaming his head off while swinging his knife wildly. "Jane Rhodes! You crazy bitch! This is all your fault! Ah!"
He caught a glimpse of Eugene Palmer in his peripheral vision and roared, "Eugene! What are you standing there for?! Do something!"
Amid his terrified screams, the severed vines grew back again and again, surging toward him in waves like a tide.
Watching the endless flood of vines, Harvey Wright swung his knife so fast it left afterimages, not daring to stop for a second.
He cursed loudly, "What the hell is this thing?! It can’t be killed, can it?"
Apparently, the roomful of vines had lost its patience. They began WHAPPING against the walls like crazy, then twisted together and lunged at Harvey Wright in a dense mass!
It took only a second!
More than ten vines pierced straight through his body, leaving numerous dark-red, bloody holes!
The unbelievable part was that despite being so grievously injured, not a single drop of blood fell. It was all sucked clean by the vines!
After feeding on two Superpower Users, the mutated wisteria’s branches and leaves trembled with excitement, and it even let out a pleased laugh, "Ha... ah... haha..."!
Seeing this, Hannah West’s legs gave out. She collapsed to the ground, her mouth wide open in a silent scream.
Eugene Palmer snapped out of his daze, scrambled over to her, and dragged her toward the escalator. "Run! Any later and we’re done for!"
But both of them were terrified witless and couldn’t even stand properly. They had only run two steps before they both tumbled down the escalator. After two dull thuds, they went silent.
It seemed that because these two hadn’t attacked, the mutated Wisteria didn’t pursue them.
Instead, it slowly shrank back to its original form. The light purple vine, the tender white tips, and new leaves sprouted once more.
It slowly drifted over to Luna Dawson’s group, holding its tip high and straightening its "back," looking for all the world like a little kid showing off and desperate for praise, afraid that no one would know how amazing it was.
Luna Dawson and her group froze, exchanging silent glances, momentarily speechless.
This Wisteria’s combat power was truly not to be underestimated.