Chapter 169: Strange
The rose was focused on sensing the condition of its scouting body, so it didn’t say much for a while.
After waiting quietly for over ten minutes, the Golden Eagle flew back, swooping down and folding his wings as he landed.
Seeing him return to human form, Xia Lu Nong quickly unzipped his bag, pulled out a down jacket, and draped it over Kong Zhi. “How did it go?” he asked anxiously.
“Everything seems fine so far,” Kong Zhi replied. “Now let’s see what the rose says.”
Kong Zhi zipped up his jacket and reached out to touch the rose nearby.
The rose and Kong Zhi didn’t usually get along; whenever he touched it, the rose would typically withdraw its branches quickly, refusing to let him touch it. But this time, there was no reaction.
“I just asked, but the rose didn’t answer me,” Xia Lu Nong said.
The rose looked fine on the surface—its leaves were green, and its stems were firm, appearing healthy.
As they spoke, the rose suddenly said, “Stop worrying, I’m fine.”
Xia Lu Nong jumped in surprise. “Why didn’t you respond earlier?”
The rose huffed, “I was busy untying the ropes! You two tied me so tightly to the parachute, how could I answer?”
When the rose got impatient, it became irritable. Xia Lu Nong gently pinched the tip of one of its leaves. “As long as everything’s okay. Other than being tied too tightly, there were no other issues, right?”
The rose grumbled, “Your boyfriend threw me too far, and the parachute got blown away by the wind. I’ve been hopping bit by bit, and I don’t know how long it’ll take me to get there.”
Looking down at the rose’s swaying stems and leaves, Xia Lu Nong thoughtfully transferred a bit of his energy to it.
Finally, the rose quieted down.
The rose could split its consciousness into multiple parts, but shifting its focus between them took some effort.
Not wanting to disturb it, Xia Lu Nong turned to Kong Zhi and said, “Should we fly up to monitor things?”
Kong Zhi nodded, looking into the distance. “That’s what I was thinking.”
Xia Lu Nong tucked the rose into his backpack, transforming back into Xia the cat.
Kong Zhi reverted to his eagle form, grabbing Xia the cat with his beak, and they flew into the sky.
They were very close to the meteorite’s location, and from the air, they could see everything below in clear detail.
Xia the cat watched as the small rose clung to the remnants of grass and vegetation on the ground, struggling to move forward, advancing three steps and retreating one. Now he understood why the rose had been so bitter.
The mountain wind was especially fierce today, and the rose, being small, was almost blown over, its branches bending under the pressure. If it weren’t for its strong roots, which allowed it to grab onto things, it would’ve been blown out of the valley.
The Golden Eagle circled in the sky, and together with Xia the cat, they watched the rose inch forward, silently cheering it on.
They watched for what seemed like ages, until the moon was nearly out. Finally, the rose made it to the edge of the crater.
Xia the cat, no longer able to hold back his worry, wrapped his tail around one of the rose’s branches and hurriedly asked, “How are you feeling? Any discomfort?”
The rose took a moment to respond. “Tired.”
Xia the cat, almost meowing in distress, asked, “Other than being tired, do you feel anything else? Any harm?”
“Not yet,” the rose cooperatively replied. “This big rock feels just like any other rock.”
After a pause, it added, “Though it’s uglier than most.”
Xia the cat asked, “Do you still have energy? Can you move around the meteorite to check?”
“It’s not walking around; it’s hopping,” the rose complained, its leaves drooping. “One last hop… this rock is so huge, I’m exhausted.”
“Yes, just one last round. See if you notice anything and report back.”
As the rose hopped around the meteorite, it said, “This rock is ugly, full of cracks. The cracks are pitch black inside, and I don’t know what’s in them.”
Xia the cat asked, “Did you notice anything unusual? Other than being tired, does your body feel okay? No signs of harm, like energy drain?”
Rose said, “I don’t feel much. We just circled twice. You couldn’t tell from up there, and I couldn’t tell from down here either.”
Xia the cat replied, “Stick to the original plan and see if you can grab some meteorite fragments and put them into the space bamboo tube.”
Rose could help them with this task.
It had already discovered a layer of black fragments under the large rock.
With its abilities, it wasn’t difficult to use its roots to grab some fragments and stuff them into the space bamboo tube.
Rose quickly finished the task.
The space bamboo tube it carried was only about five centimeters thick, very light, and easy for it to roll up.
Rose asked, “The main part is done, now what? Should I retract the main body?”
“Yes, bring back the space bamboo tube, and we’ll come down to meet the main body,” Xia Lu Nong said. “Pay close attention, don’t let too much of your consciousness get affected by it.”
Rose replied, “No problem, I’m already on edge.”
With that, it began to retreat.
Its retreat was simple. After pulling back to a safe distance, a golden eagle swooped down and carried it away.
About twenty minutes later, they found a flat, open spot by the river to camp.
Xia Lu Nong looked at the unremarkable space bamboo tube in his hand, feeling a mix of emotions.
Rose had done so much, used up so much energy, it was nearly exhausted.
After handing over the space bamboo tube to Xia Lu Nong, Rose said, “I’m going to rest now. Don’t bother me unless it’s something important.”
Xia Lu Nong infused it with a bit of energy, covered it with dry grass, and sincerely said, “Thank you so much this time.”
Rose weakly replied, “It’s cooperation, it’s what we should do.”
As Rose went to rest, Xia Lu Nong started to worry about something else.
He looked up at Kong Zhi and said, “I’ve dreamt of this so many times, the inspiration was so strong, but now that we’ve found the meteorite, it feels so ordinary. There doesn’t seem to be anything special about it.”
Kong Zhi threw more dry wood onto the fire and said, “Whether the meteorite is special or not, it’s not for us to decide. We’ll know once the scientists at the White Tower examine it.”
Xia Lu Nong couldn’t suppress his curiosity, staring at the bamboo tube, “The meteorite is so black, do you think there might be some special metal inside waiting for us to discover?”
Kong Zhi, knowing what he was thinking, said seriously, “Whether there is or not, we’ll find out later. Just don’t take it out and study it on your own.”
Hearing this, the curious little cat in Xia Lu Nong’s heart immediately rolled over and half-died, but the other half was still itching to reach out with its paws, which he forcibly suppressed.
This was definitely not something to mess around with.
Rose went into hibernation.
While Xia Lu Nong and Kong Zhi kept watch during the night, they also monitored Rose’s condition.
Rose seemed perfectly normal, just like any other night.
Except that its flowers bloomed even more brilliantly.
Xia Lu Nong mused, “It seems like the meteorite might be helping the rose grow.”
“Whether it’s helpful or not will be clear after some observation,” Kong Zhi said. “These mutations are quite strong. We’ll know in about a day. If the meteorite is harmless, there shouldn’t be any significant changes to Rose’s main body after a day.”
At that moment, the two of them could only wait.
After a long day, they both sat by the fire, their minds relaxing, and Xia Lu Nong was starting to feel sleepy.
Kong Zhi patted him, “If you’re tired, go to sleep. We’ll take turns keeping watch.”
“I’ll stay up a bit longer, I’ll sit with you for now. If Rose doesn’t show any issues later, I’ll go to sleep.”
The night passed peacefully. Perhaps their strength deterred any mutant plants or animals from approaching.
Rose’s condition remained stable, with no changes by midnight.
The flowers were still the same, and the stems and leaves hadn’t changed either.
Xia Lu Nong let out a sigh of relief, yawning, “I can’t hold on anymore, I need to sleep, I’m exhausted.”
Kong Zhi opened his arms, “Sleep, I’ll hold you.”
Xia the cat felt safest when sleeping in Kong Zhi’s arms.
Once nestled into Kong Zhi’s embrace, he fell asleep within five minutes.
Kong Zhi held the cat in his arms, alertly watching the surroundings, occasionally stroking it absentmindedly.
The camp was quiet, with only the faint crackling of burning wood to be heard.
The sky gradually brightened.
As dawn approached, the sky turned a soft shade of pale blue.
Xia the cat woke up just before the sun came up.
After waking, he slipped out of Kong Zhi’s embrace, changed back into human form, and put on the warm clothes that had been by the fire, “It’s my turn to keep watch. You should go get some sleep.”
Kong Zhi asked, “Not tired anymore?”
“I’m okay.” Xia Lu Nong yawned, “Now that we’ve found the meteorite, let’s head back to the base today. Tonight, I want to sleep on our big bed. I’ll just hold out until then.”
Xia Lu Nong unrolled the sleeping bag, urging him, “Go sleep, get some rest. Overworking yourself isn’t good for your health.”
Kong Zhi kissed his forehead, “If anything happens, wake me up right away.”
Xia Lu Nong nodded. With dangers lurking outside, he would definitely call for Kong Zhi if something happened.
Kong Zhi was very tired, and he quickly fell asleep after getting into the sleeping bag.
Listening to his steady breathing, Xia Lu Nong felt a deep sense of peace.
After staring at Kong Zhi’s handsome sleeping face for a while, Xia Lu Nong finally remembered the rose beside them.
All eleven of the plants nearby were parts of the rose’s main body, and their flowers and leaves looked about the same.
But Xia Lu Nong immediately recognized the one that had gone near the meteorite the previous day.
This one was clearly stronger than the others.
Its roots were thicker, its leaves more robust. If it had been before the great disaster, anyone visiting a flower stall could have easily spotted it and known this one would grow better in the future.
The subtle change had occurred overnight, even though there hadn’t been much difference before yesterday.
Xia Lu Nong reached out to pick up the main body of the plant to take a closer look.
The rose, whether consciously or not, seemed to sense it, and as his hand neared, sharp black thorns rose defensively.
Xia Lu Nong had no choice but to put on a pair of leather gloves.
The rose’s consciousness was startled awake from its hibernation and asked, “What’s going on?”
Xia Lu Nong held up the main body and asked, “Have you noticed that this main body has grown better than the others? It’s already standing out.”
“Huh? What’s going on?” The rose was surprised and, after carefully sensing it, said in wonder, “It was still pretty weak yesterday.”
“Exactly,” Xia Lu Nong said. “Maybe something in the meteorite affected you, but we don’t know exactly what.”
“I have no idea either. I feel the same as usual,” The rose replied. “There’s no sign of suddenly absorbing a lot of energy and starting to grow wildly.”
“That’s odd,” Xia Lu Nong said, thinking it over. “Can I explore it with my powers?”
The rose, never missing a chance to extract some energy, replied, “Just give me your powers.”
They both happily reached an agreement.
Xia Lu Nong carefully examined it and discovered that The rose’s change wasn’t one of rapid growth but more like it had stolen time.
It seemed as though it hadn’t grown overnight but had been growing for five or six days in some hidden corner.
