And so, the two walked through the park, one after the other.
Da Zhuang followed beside Jiang You, warily watching Fang Mu.
It held no good feelings for this human approaching Jiang You.
It wasn't targeting Fang Mu specifically; it just hated all humans equally. Humans were all bad!
Of course, Jiang You was an exception.
Especially males who were good-looking, they were even worse.
Da Zhuang didn't understand human aesthetics, but it knew this man was probably the equivalent of a calico cat in the feline world – quite distinguished.
Wait, did he have some kind of ulterior motive?
Da Zhuang, who had intended to wander elsewhere, suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of crisis. It stepped forward a couple of paces, sticking close to Jiang You.
It couldn't let anyone else snatch away the human it was protecting!
As expected, these cunning humans were all bad!
Whenever Fang Mu got a little too close, the cat would bare its teeth at him, as if it wanted to eat him.
He looked at the calico cat with a baffled expression, feeling a bit awkward. "Your cat is quite... spirited, huh?"
"Un-neutered male kittens are all like this," Jiang You said without looking back.
Da Zhuang: "????"
It immediately clamped its butt cheeks together, using its tail to shield its two lychees.
"What kind of mutated plant are you talking about?"
Jiang You continued to ask as they walked.
"I'm not sure if it's the mutated plant you're looking for, but it certainly looked strange."
Fang Mu had a sunny disposition, a very comfortable appearance. Simply put, he exuded an aura of righteousness.
His eyes were clear and pure; even after the apocalypse, they hadn't been tainted.
Someone like him, you could tell, grew up in a happy family environment.
Jiang You envied people like that, comparing them to sunflowers growing in the sunlight.
As for herself, she was probably just weeds growing by the roadside ditch.
Fang Mu recalled for a moment and continued.
"I discovered it by chance when I was passing through a small bamboo forest in the park. As for what exactly it is, it's hard to say in a few words.
Anyway, you'll know when you go see it. Maybe it's the mutated plant you're looking for."
Speaking of that thing, Fang Mu's expression was strange, as if he had mixed feelings.
Jiang You noticed his expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
Fang Mu pursed his lips and repeated, "I don't know how to describe it. Anyway, you'll know when you see it. We're almost there."
As they spoke, the two had already approached the bamboo forest.
But before they got close, Jiang You caught a faint, elusive stench.
Just then, a gust of wind blew.
"Ugh~"
Da Zhuang behind her gagged, vomiting up the fish meat it had just eaten before it could even digest.
Jiang You's head also felt a bit foggy from the fumes.
Compared to this place, the smell from the glass room earlier was nothing, like a grandchild to this smell's grandfather.
At that moment, Fang Mu quickly handed over two leaves.
"Quick, plug your nostrils. This patch of bamboo forest is very smelly, extremely smelly."
"When we first entered the park, this was the only area that didn't require clearing zombies. It was too smelly, so smelly that even zombies didn't want to come near it.
The source of the stench is that thing that looks like a mutated plant."
Jiang You turned to look.
Fang Mu had already rolled the two leaves into balls and stuffed them into his nostrils.
At that moment, the two green lumps in his nostrils looked like giant boogers.
The usually refreshing young man suddenly looked foolish.
He gestured with the leaves in his hand towards Jiang You. "Quick, plug your nostrils.
Don't be brave, this thing is unspeakably smelly, even worse than my second uncle's outhouse in the countryside!"
Jiang You refused his leaves.
Just as Fang Mu was inwardly mocking her for overestimating her abilities, the next second he saw her take out a pig-nose gas mask and put it on her head.
He looked at Jiang You's gas mask, then at the two leaves in his own hand.
She subtly pursed her lips.
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What's so great about a gas mask?
Is it as useful as her leaves?
They can be found anywhere, not only for plugging nostrils but also for wiping your butt in a pinch.
So eco-friendly!
Da Zhuang, after being gagged and about to throw up, immediately retreated, scurrying up a tree and shaking its head, indicating it wouldn't go in.
Jiang You instructed, "Da Zhuang, wait for me outside. Don't wander off."
"Meow!" Got it! Hurry up and go!
Da Zhuang perched on a branch, burying its head in its belly.
All its swagger was gone.
It, which had always feared nothing and dared to confront anyone, never dreamed it would be defeated by a smell.
Fang Mu led Jiang You into the bamboo forest. "Follow me. I know this place well. Don't wander off. The ground near the water over there has softened, and you could easily fall in if you're not careful."
Under Fang Mu's guidance, they quickly found the so-called mutated plant, the source of the stench.
He pointed to a mushroom about half a person's height. "Look, it's this one!"
The mushroom was a plump, round stalk, about a meter tall, entirely white, with a large, hollowed-out cap on top.
It looked a bit like a giant morel mushroom.
But the cap was black and red.
The closer they got to the thing, the more pungent the smell became.
It was an indescribable stench that drilled straight from the nose into the forehead.
Fang Mu, breathing through his mouth with his nostrils plugged, found it unbearable.
Jiang You glanced at him. "I have a gas mask. Do you need it?"
Fang Mu stubbornly shook his head. "No, my leaves work fine. I can't smell anything at all. Yeah, nothing."
This guy, his mouth was the hardest thing on him.
He pointed at the mushroom. "Is this the mutated plant you're looking for? I remember when I was little, this stuff grew in the bamboo forest behind my house, but it wasn't this big, and it didn't smell this bad.
We called it chicken dung mushroom.
This mushroom is so big, and its smell is so extreme, it must have mutated, right?
There are several of these chicken dung mushrooms in this bamboo forest!
The stench is coming from these things."
Jiang You, wearing a gas mask, couldn't smell anything.
But as everyone knows, mosquitoes are most prevalent in bamboo forests during the summer.
Yet, in this bamboo forest, let alone mosquitoes, not even a single small insect could be seen.
Fang Mu continued, "It stinks to high heaven here. Forget zombies; even flies have to go around it! Look, you can't even see a mosquito in this bamboo forest. This stench is indiscriminate!"
Jiang You couldn't agree more.
She slowly approached the mushroom and poked it with a stick. White, viscous liquid immediately clung to the branch, dripping down.
Jiang You wanted to find a mutated plant to bring home and see how much her blood could help it evolve.
But this thing...
She first used her Miao Saber to cut off a mushroom.
The moment the mushroom was cut, Fang Mu felt the stench in the air intensify slightly.
Seeing her rummaging through the sticky mushroom juice with her saber, he didn't know what she was looking for.
He could only cover his mouth with his hand.
Jiang You searched inside. Most plant crystal cores were at the roots.
But some were in the main stem. She looked inside the stem first but found nothing.
So she dug into the ground, and at the root, she indeed found a crystal the size of a rice grain, confirming it was a mutated plant.
But...
Never mind, let's try it first. It was a mutated plant she'd finally found. Giving up because of a little smell.
That would be too unreasonable.
She hesitated, took off her gas mask, and decided to test if she could tolerate the smell first.
Since Fang Mu had been inside for so long without any issues, it proved that the smell, apart from being a bit foul, was likely not poisonous.
Seeing her walk up to the chicken dung mushroom to take off the mask, Fang Mu wanted to remind her not to get too close.
It was quite potent.
After all, he only dared to look from afar, not daring to approach that thing.
But Jiang You moved too fast; before he could even advise her, it was already too late.
She took off the gas mask and took a deep breath.
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