476: Chapter 472 Selling cakes in a cake shop.

Shen Mingyuan jumped out of the hole holding Su Muchen. As he landed, his knees buckled slightly to protect the person in his arms. He turned his head and looked up at the building.

Wei Ziqing and Ye Ouyang had already approached and were standing beside them, also looking up with their heads tilted back.

Flames surged out from every window, exploding from the inside. The windows of the entire floor were blown open simultaneously, and shattered glass fell outside along with charred vines.

The firelight reflected off the armor on their faces, turning it orange-red. Wei Ziqing stared at the ball of fire for a few seconds, a hint of admiration in his voice:

"Wow, that's a huge ball of fire." Ye Ouyang stood beside him, simply watching the burning building.

The fire gradually died down. Flames no longer spewed from the windows, leaving only pitch-black holes and smoking scorch marks around the edges.

Lu Jianchuan walked out from inside. His silver-white armor was covered in dust, and his steps were slower than usual, but every step he took was steady.

After taking a few steps, he deactivated his transformation. The armor receded from his body, revealing the pale face and sweat-drenched hair beneath.

He stood in place and panted for a few breaths without collapsing. He was much better than before, but he still looked quite weak. He raised his head and looked at the building.

The vines were retracting. The branches extending from the windows, the wall cracks, and the foundation were pulling back bit by bit, like fingers that had been burned, instinctively shrinking away.

The leaves drooped, the ears of wheat hung low, and the bulging pea pods shriveled up, hanging there like empty shells drained of moisture.

Ye Ouyang tilted his head and watched for a while. "It looks like it has intelligence. Is it scared?"

Lu Jianchuan took a breath. "It seems so. But Su Muchen said before that it indeed possessed some level of intelligence." He took a step forward, and the vines retracted even faster. The branches closest to him whipped back violently, dragging charred marks across the ground.

Su Muchen was placed on the ground by Shen Mingyuan against a half-burnt wall. His gaze followed the retracting vines as he muttered to himself:

"How does it distinguish things? Through scent? Or does it perceive through those tiny hairs?"

Ye Ouyang squatted next to him, also watching the vines. "Interesting. So it's afraid of Senior Lu now?"

Su Muchen nodded. "It seems so. That ball of fire just now caused it a lot of damage. Besides, most plants are afraid of fire."

Ye Ouyang stood up and turned to Lu Jianchuan. His claws were still gleaming at his sides, and his golden armor cast a gentle glow in the embers of the firelight. "Senior, can you accompany me inside one more time?"

Lu Jianchuan looked at him. "What do you mean?"

Ye Ouyang scratched his head, his movements appearing a bit clumsy under the constraints of the armor.

"I want to see its main body. It hasn't hurt anyone, and it had intelligence as soon as it was born—Su Muchen said just now that it only happened after its Second Evolution, right?

It was only born not long ago. If possible... I think it's very interesting. For a sentient plant like this, wouldn't it be a bit much to just destroy it?"

Lu Jianchuan looked at him for a few seconds, then fished a bottle of nutrient solution out of his pocket, unscrewed the cap, and gulped it down. As the cold liquid slid down his throat, he leaned against the nearby broken wall and closed his eyes for a moment.

Ye Ouyang stood by and waited without rushing him. About five minutes later, Lu Jianchuan opened his eyes and raised his hand, and the silver-white armor covered his body once more.

Ye Ouyang also stood up. His golden armor gleamed for a moment in the sunlight before returning to a gentle, warm gold.

The two of them walked side-by-side toward the building that was still smoldering.

The clump of charred vines at the entrance shrank to both sides, leaving a gap barely wide enough for a person to pass. Lu Jianchuan walked in front, with Ye Ouyang following behind.

Lu Jianchuan walked in front, with Ye Ouyang following behind. The charred ash on the ground rustled under his feet. Charred vines were everywhere—on the walls, on the ceiling—curled up like shriveled hands.

The branches that were still alive shrank into deeper shadows, silently retreating along the corners of the walls and the cracks in the ceiling.

Every step Lu Jianchuan took forward, they took a step back. When he stopped, they stopped too, like a swarm of insects startled by light, hiding in the darkness, motionless.

Lu Jianchuan stood in the middle of the corridor, his voice coming from behind that silver-white visor.

"I know you're in this building." He paused. "Now, come out and meet me. I promise not to burn you."

There was no movement. The branches hiding in the shadows pressed even closer together, and a few even began to burrow into the cracks in the walls.

"If you don't come out," Lu Jianchuan's voice dropped, "I'll burn the entire building down right now. I'll see where you can hide then." He paused for a few seconds. "I know you can understand. You have intelligence. Even if you don't have ears, I think you can probably understand what I'm saying through vibrations."

Silence. The only sound in the corridor was the wail of the wind blowing through the broken windows. Ye Ouyang stood behind Lu Jianchuan, his claws retracted at his sides, waiting quietly.

Crack. A crack split across the ceiling overhead. Debris fell, hitting the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

More vines reached out from the cracks, from the gaps in the walls, from the holes in the floor—from every place they could squeeze out of—surging out simultaneously.

They didn't attack or pounce; they simply extended, spreading out a green net in front of Lu Jianchuan and Ye Ouyang.

Ye Ouyang raised his hand, and his golden claws waved in front of that patch of green. "Oh, hello."

The vines were silent for a moment. Then one of them reached out from the tangled branches, slowly probing forward, pausing in the air, and swaying left and right. Like a wave.

Ye Ouyang chuckled. "It really can understand."

That vine retracted, retreating among its companions, and the entire mass of branches pulled back slightly, like a person taking half a step back. Lu Jianchuan looked at the huddled mass of green, his voice leveling out.

"Fine. Since you haven't killed anyone—" He paused. "And since you were only just born. Our stance is that we don't want to hurt you." The vines curled in the corner, motionless.

Ye Ouyang walked forward two steps and squatted down in front of the huddled vines. He reached out his hand, and his golden claws waved gently beside the leaves that were still covered in dust.

"Come with me." His voice came from behind that warm golden visor, carrying a tone slightly like coaxing a child. "Be my partner, let's be friends, okay?"

The vines didn't move.

Lu Jianchuan stood behind them, arms crossed over his chest. "Mainly, you've caused us a lot of trouble." He paused. "But we can—"},{

"We have fertilizer here!" Ye Ouyang cut in, his tone suddenly becoming enthusiastic. "And water! Mineral water, the kind collected from high mountains; we can even get water specifically gathered for you.

As for fertilizer, we can get whatever kind you want to eat. Do you want the expensive kind or the..."

The vine reached forward a bit. Then a bit more. The tiny branch at the very front curled, as if sniffing for something.

"Just come along with me," Ye Ouyang said.

That branch nodded. It was a very light movement, like a breeze blowing past.

Then it reached out from that tangled mass of green and slowly probed in front of Ye Ouyang, stopping. The tip of the branch touched his chest plate, retracted, then reached out again and poked the back of his hand.

Ye Ouyang was stunned for a moment. He looked down at the small branch lightly tapping the back of his hand and thought for a moment.

"You mean... if you want to go with me, you have to take root in my body?" He raised his eyes. "So it might hurt a little for me?"

The vine nodded. This time the movement was larger than before, and the entire mass of branches swayed along with it.

Ye Ouyang didn't hesitate and reached out his left hand. "It's fine. I don't care about that. The thing I lack least is Regeneration Speed."

That tiny branch wrapped around his wrist, probing inward through the gaps in the armor.

Needle-sized tendrils pierced his skin. The stinging pain lasted only an instant, like a mosquito bite.

Then that branch detached from the parent body, and a drop of transparent sap seeped from the break, hanging on Ye Ouyang's wrist and gleaming in the firelight before being absorbed by the armor.

All the vines in the entire building stopped moving at once. Those hanging from the ceiling, those reaching out from the wall cracks, and those crawling out from the floor cracks—all of them stopped where they were, as if a pause button had been pressed.

The leaves no longer trembled, the branches no longer retracted, and the ears of wheat and pea pods still hanging on the vines hung limply, swaying gently in the wind, just ordinary plants.

Ye Ouyang looked down at the small green mark on his wrist, then raised his head to look at the mass of vines in front of him that were no longer moving.

"Let's go." He stood up and nodded to Lu Jianchuan.