Chapter 56: Abduction
A moment later, Evan Olson patted Miles Dawson’s shoulder, his heart still pounding. "Good thing you didn’t manage to burn it just now."
Miles Dawson swallowed, his legs still trembling. He forced a calm facade. "Heh, I guess I just have a bit of luck on my side... I’ve never seen a plant this deadly in my life. It scared me to death."
Kevin Keane chimed in leisurely, a hint of admiration for the small vine in his tone, "See? This is why you should be kind. Don’t go around messing with random flowers and plants by the roadside. You never know what’ll kill you."
Rhonda Dawson was also shaken and didn’t dare to look directly at the vine. "So what do we do now? If we don’t hurry up and get the supplies, it’ll be dark soon..."
Blake Blue looked perplexed and said in a deep voice, "If we can’t fight it, does that mean we have to talk to it? I’m not exactly good at that..."
Luna Dawson blinked, then retrieved a cup of spirit spring water from her dimensional space. "Let me try to lure it away. With so many zombies staring at it, this little guy must be special."
The moment the tender, pale little wisteria saw the water, its small, young leaves immediately started to sway back and forth. It even made a soft, mushy sound, "Ah~ ah~ want~" and urgently plunged its vine tip into the cup, drinking it dry in moments.
Luna Dawson tapped its little vine tip and negotiated in a deadpan tone, "You drank my water, so now you have to listen to me. Pull back your vines. I need to get behind that counter."
’She was already scheming. In my past life, I heard that at Southen Base, High-level Superpower Users could tame mutated plants and animals as support. It was incredibly cool, and a small, vain part of me wants to experience that.’
’Besides, even when it was on a killing spree, this little wisteria was still kind of cute.’
’It’s the apocalypse. If you dare to make the first move, you have to be prepared to be killed in return.’
Seeing the little vine tip tilt as if it were thinking, Luna Dawson immediately pulled out another cup of spirit spring water, striking while the iron was hot to coax it. "Come with me. I’ll give you food and shelter, and you can drink this good water every day. How about it?"
’I have to snatch it up while it’s still young and naive. If I wait, I’ll lose my chance!’
Kevin Keane and Blake Blue exchanged a look. ’That sales pitch?’
’Why does it sound so familiar...’
The little wisteria’s vine tip darted left and right, curiously scanning its surroundings.
The next second, its branches and leaves rustled and retracted, its form shrinking smaller and smaller until it had transformed into a sweet potato the size of a basketball!
The edges of the sweet potato were adorned with over twenty thumb-sized mini-potatoes that glowed with a soft luminescence, like a string of little stars.
Then, a tender, pale little sprout popped out from the top of the sweet potato with a "BOING." A soft and strangely coquettish voice drifted out, "Hold~ hold~ hold~"
Luna Dawson’s eyes lit up. She immediately bent down, picked it up, and squeezed the soft sweet potato body before handing over another cup of spirit spring water. "Drink up. You’re with me now, so no more drinking human blood!"
The little sprout immediately plunged into the cup and began to "GLUG GLUG GLUG." The water flowed down the vine and into the sweet potato, and the sound was enough to make anyone thirsty.
After finishing the water, the little wisteria swiftly wrapped its vines around the very dead Harvey Wright and Jane Rhodes, pried out their Crystal Cores, and carefully carried them over to Luna Dawson’s hand, even giving her fingers a gentle rub.
"Take... you... take..."
Luna Dawson smiled and patted the sweet potato’s "head." "I’ll take them. From now on, I’ll call you Little Sweet Potato! Now, I’m taking you to a comfortable place. Stay put inside and don’t touch anything, okay?"
As soon as she finished speaking, with a mere thought, Little Sweet Potato and the Crystal Cores vanished from the spot and entered her dimensional space.
The moment Little Sweet Potato entered the space, it felt the abundant life force, comfortable temperature, and perfect lighting. It was like heaven!
It let out two "Mmm~ mmm~" sounds, immediately took root in the soil, and obediently closed its "eyes" to enjoy the sensation.
’I’ve latched onto the right person!’ it thought happily.
Luna Dawson sensed the little guy peacefully taking root in her space and was finally able to relax. With unconcealed joy in her voice, she said, "Alright, let’s get to work!"
The others hadn’t yet recovered from what they had just witnessed and stared at Luna Dawson in shock.
’She just recruited a new underling?’
’A plant underling that just killed two people?’
’Unbelievable!’
Miles Dawson scratched his head, his face full of confusion. "Sis, aren’t you afraid it’ll cause trouble in your space?"
The others nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with curiosity.
Luna Dawson shook her head, a confident smile on her face. "Don’t worry, it went to sleep as soon as it got in. It’s being very good. I can sense it."
Kevin Keane raised an eyebrow, his tone full of admiration. "Not bad. The little thing knows what’s good for it."
Blake Blue couldn’t help but laugh. "Of course it does. After all, with food and shelter provided, the benefits are great."
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
The sound of their laughter shattered the eerie atmosphere of the mall. Composing themselves, they immediately threw themselves into the grand task of looting.
After they had cleared several floors of supplies and were heading downstairs, they glanced at Eugene Palmer and Hannah West, who had fallen into the sea of zombies at the bottom of the stairs. It was unclear if they had fainted from fear or from the fall.
The group curled their lips in disdain and walked away without a hint of hesitation.
Everyone was eager to get home. They had reaped a huge harvest on this trip and were anxious to share the good news.
In the two-plus months since human civilization had ground to a halt, the pitch-black night sky was studded with brilliant stars. In a quiet residential villa area, the sound of a car engine grew from a distant hum to a roar, shattering the night’s silence.
The Dawson Family, having already received the message that they were coming home, had gathered in the yard, craning their necks in anticipation. Their eyes were locked on the direction of the sound.
Mrs. Dawson’s eyes were red as she stared intently into the distance. As the vehicle pulled into the yard and she saw her children and their friends get out, all full of life, the weight on her heart finally lifted.
She rushed forward to touch Luna and Miles Dawson, murmuring, "It’s good you’re back. It’s good you’re back."
Grandpa, on the other hand, put on a nonchalant air. "See? I told you the kids were more than capable. Nothing to worry about!"
But in reality, he had been so worried last night he couldn’t sleep a wink.
He had watered the soybean tree in the yard who knows how many times, and he’d just stared blankly at the vegetables in the greenhouse, completely forgetting to use his superpower to make them grow.
Wayne Dawson and Mrs. Dawson had spent the last two days washing and preparing braised dishes, filling both of the large freezers Luna had left behind.
Little Tiger had heard the noise long ago, leaped off Lynn Shelby’s head, and came sprinting out, meowing nonstop. "MRAOW! MEOW! MEE..."
Luna Dawson could tell from its tone that it was cursing up a storm. She quickly scooped it up, smothering it with kisses and nuzzles. The feline master had to be appeased.
When Luna Dawson let Rollo out, Little Tiger immediately went up and gave Rollo a few "THWAP THWAP" kitty-punches. Rollo was so scared it didn’t even dare to open its doggy eyes.
"Brother Finn, you’re finally back! I missed you guys to death! When not everyone’s here, even the food doesn’t taste as good..."
Aaron Palmer let out a howl and then started whimpering.
It was true that the house was only lively when it was full of people. For the past two days, he felt like the villa had become infinitely large—so large it felt empty.
"Mommy, I missed you so much too."
Rhonda Dawson had already picked up Hector, who had thrown himself into her arms, and was positively radiating motherly love.
Lynn Shelby, sporting an incredible flat-top haircut that had been squashed flat from Little Tiger sleeping on it, squinted his eyes and reminded them, "Alright, that’s enough mushiness. Uncle Verne and Auntie Lynn have prepared a huge welcome-back feast. If you’re not going to eat, I’m going to start without you."
Kevin Keane stared at his hairstyle for a moment, stunned. ’Looks like taking care of things at home isn’t easy.’
"We asked you to look after the family for a couple of days, not hole up for your own postpartum confinement."
Lynn Shelby couldn’t help but throw a fake punch. "What the hell do you know? This is a mark of love! Little Tiger~" He then put on a high-pitched voice and went back to being a cat slave.
The family bustled back inside, greeted by a wave of warm air mixed with the aroma of food.
Luna Dawson felt a sting in her nose, and tears nearly fell. ’This was a scene she could only dream of in her past life.’