Chapter 360: Wu Zhen’s Advancement
“I just saw the house across the street with its door open. The interior decoration and furniture are no worse than ours. Also, think back to Su Tao’s two-story loft—isn’t it also decorated very well?”
Wen Man suddenly realized something.
“And when we came in, it felt cool everywhere. I doubt it’s just air conditioning, and it’s definitely not the work of some powerful ability user.”
Wen Man nodded blankly.
Indeed, whether indoors or outdoors, she had felt cool and comfortable all day long. Such large-scale, seamless temperature control was unlikely to be the work of an ability user.
Lying back on the bed, Luo Yan sighed, “We underestimated Taoyang. When I first heard the rumors, I thought it was just a publicity stunt or a scam. But it’s clearly not. In this post-apocalyptic world, there’s no shortage of capable people.”
Wen Man stared at the ceiling. “Don’t lump me in with you. I never underestimated Taoyang. Remember, when you had no powers or background and suddenly, one day, it was like you ‘leveled up’—building base vehicles, organizing people, and within a few years, you had pulled together the whole Qian’an operation. I’ve never underestimated anyone since.”
Luo Yan felt a little awkward.
He had a cheat—a black-tech system that allowed him to modify vehicles and the ability to manipulate metal. That was how he had achieved his current success.
But Wen Man’s words made him think.
If he could get such a fortuitous opportunity, why couldn’t others? Maybe Taoyang was the result of a similar kind of luck…
The thought kept him awake all night.
For the first time in years, he felt that Su Tao—or whoever was behind her—was like him. The last person to give him such a feeling was the old master of the Xiao family, who could build warplanes…
The next morning, Luo Yan’s eyes were more swollen than Wen Man’s.
“Did you cry secretly last night?” she asked, surprised.
Luo Yan refused to speak to his heartless wife.
After some half-hearted comforting, Wen Man rushed off to find Su Tao and stood outside the cat room watching the little flame-colored kitten.
Meanwhile, the mother cat, Chilli, was acting as crazy as ever, scaring even White Sesame into calling a truce for the day.
As Su Tao hurried off to work, she reminded Wen Man, “Feel free to watch, but don’t get too close. This afternoon, I’ll take you to see Wen Yu.”
Without taking her eyes off the yawning kitten, Wen Man just nodded absentmindedly.
Su Tao handled her daily affairs, attended a quick emergency meeting in Dongyang, studied management techniques, and consulted Grandma Yu about weapon supplies. She was finally catching her breath when Qian Lin rushed in, breathless.
“Boss, you need to check the plantation—Wu… Wu Zhen…”
Su Tao nearly dropped her cup. “Did something happen to him?”
“I—I think he’s caused trouble. You should see for yourself!”
Trouble? What kind of trouble could the quiet, plant-obsessed Wu Zhen possibly cause?
When Su Tao arrived at the plantation, she was stunned.
Two enormous plants—over three meters tall—were chomping through the greenhouse, leaving two gaping holes. Workers were running around in a panic.
Wu Zhen had definitely caused trouble.
Su Tao, still in shock, grabbed Qian Lin and demanded, “What the heck are those? Did Wu Zhen create them?”
Shaking, Qian Lin—who had a fear of giant things—stammered, “Y-yes. Those are mutated Venus flytraps… and they eat everything.”
Spotting Wu Zhen standing nearby in a daze, Su Tao ran over.
“Wu Zhen! What’s going on?!”
It took him a while to process her words before he finally murmured, “Boss Su, I advanced. I did it… I succeeded…”
Realizing he wasn’t much help, Su Tao called Qi Yunlan to send reinforcements and had Xiong Tai use his “Cage” ability to trap the monstrous plants.
The chaos finally settled. Thankfully, the damage wasn’t too severe.
By the afternoon, after skipping lunch, Su Tao dragged Wu Zhen to her office for a talk.
Wu Zhen had calmed down but still had red-rimmed eyes.
“I’m sorry for the trouble. I just advanced and couldn’t control my powers immediately. My excitement clouded my judgment, and I couldn’t stop the plants from damaging the greenhouse. I’ll accept any punishment.”
Su Tao waved him off. “It was a bit chaotic, but no major harm done. But tell me—when did you advance, and what’s with those terrifying plants? You need to handle them.”
Rubbing his eyes, Wu Zhen explained, “I advanced last night. I was too excited and decided to test my powers on two ordinary Venus flytraps. But when I catalyzed them… well, they turned into that. If you hadn’t arrived in time, they could have eaten someone. They’ll devour anything—glass, metal, wood… even zombies.”
Su Tao was speechless.
“So, you’ve gone from happy farmer to mad plant scientist?”
“…I guess that’s one way to put it,” Wu Zhen admitted.
Before his advancement, he could only optimize crop genes for higher yields. Now, he could manipulate plant genes to create dangerous mutations.
“But,” Su Tao pressed, “can you control them? I really don’t want my tenants becoming plant food.”
Wu Zhen nodded firmly. “I can. I’ll make them return underground. My original goal was to create guard plants for Taoyang. We don’t have enough people for regular patrols like Dongyang does. With these man-eating plants, we could circle Taoyang with living defenses. Zombies—or anyone else—wouldn’t stand a chance.”
His only regret was that if he’d had this power earlier, he might have saved his wife and child back in Shou’an. But that was a regret he would have to live with.
Su Tao was still in shock.
She looked up at the sky, then back at Wu Zhen.
How had she gotten so lucky? What had she done to deserve such an invaluable asset like Wu Zhen?
