The verdant seed, upon touching the dry sandy soil, immediately came alive!
It rapidly burrowed into the earth at a speed visible to the naked eye, taking root, sprouting, and sending out tender green shoots!
In just a few short breaths, a small sapling, about half a person's height, shot up from the ground under everyone's astonished gaze!
The sapling's branches and leaves were lush and vibrant.
Even more bizarre was the apple-sized, translucent green fruit hanging conspicuously from the tender branch at the very top of the small sapling!
After completing this series of actions, Red Bean was clearly exhausted; her small body swayed, looking listless.
She stumbled to Su Wan's feet, rubbed her small head affectionately against her ankle, then burrowed into her pocket, found a comfortable position, and fell fast asleep, even emitting faint snores.
Su Wan slowly squatted down, extended her hand, and carefully plucked the verdant fruit hanging from the tender branch.
What exactly is this thing?
Su Wan held the verdant fruit in her palm, examining it closely.
The fruit was apple-sized, truly quite large.
"This... what is this thing?" Xiao Han leaned over, staring at the fruit in Su Wan's hand, "That mouse... Red Bean spat it out... then it grew into a small tree, and this big fruit grew on it?!"
A mouse absorbed a top-grade crystal core, then spat out a seed, which instantly grew into a tree, and the tree bore a fruit.
A Mo also took a few steps closer; he couldn't see anything different about this fruit, except that its color was quite pretty.
Li Kui also temporarily stopped crying, his swollen eyes looking at the fruit.
"This fruit... seems edible."
"Eat? Su Wan, don't be reckless!" Xiao Han quickly stopped her, "This thing's origin is unknown, what if it's poisonous? That mouse is already quite strange."
Su Wan hesitated, then looked at Lu Shiyan.
Lu Shiyan was also weighing his options.
Suddenly, there was a burst of disorganized gunfire and faint roars.
Everyone instinctively grabbed their weapons, quickly forming a defensive formation centered around the off-road vehicle.
Lu Shiyan pulled Su Wan behind him, sweeping his gaze towards the direction of the sound.
"What's happening?" Xiao Han lowered his voice, listening intently, "Sounds like they're chasing someone."
Under the twilight, visibility was obstructed, but the chaotic commotion was rapidly approaching their location.
Soon, a stumbling figure appeared in their sight.
It was a very young man, no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a torn and tattered windbreaker.
He was covered in blood, and one leg seemed to be severely injured, causing him to limp as he ran, each step leaving a varying depth of bloodstain on the sand.
Not far behind him, four or five men, armed with machetes and makeshift firearms, were chasing relentlessly with ferocious expressions, constantly cursing.
"Brat, stop running! Hand over the goods, and I'll give you a quick death!"
"Damn it, he's quite fast! When I catch you, I'll break your leg!"
The young man being pursued clearly noticed Lu Shiyan and his group, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes, but the pursuers behind him no longer gave him a choice.
He gritted his teeth, gathering his last bit of strength, and charged towards the off-road vehicle, "Help me..."
"Stop!" Xiao Han raised his gun and warned loudly.
However, the young man was already exhausted; he stumbled and fell heavily onto the sand a dozen meters away from them, stirring up a cloud of dust, unable to get back up.
The pursuers behind them were first stunned to see an off-road vehicle and a group of people here, then their faces showed even more greedy and ferocious expressions.
"Oh, an unexpected bonus?" The bald man leading them licked his cracked lips, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the well-maintained off-road vehicle and Su Wan, his lewdness unconcealed, "Brothers, it seems our luck is good today! We'll take both the car and the woman!"
Lu Shiyan's gaze suddenly turned cold, like ice that had not melted for ten thousand years.
"Seeking death," he uttered two words from his thin lips.
Before those people could react, A Mo's figure had flashed out like a ghost, and the gun in his hand made a dull, distinctive sound.
"Bang!"
A blood hole instantly appeared between the eyebrows of the bald man who was charging at the front; the greed on his face had not yet faded before his body fell straight backward.
The remaining few were terrified by this sudden scene; just as they were about to raise their guns to retaliate, Xiao Han had already made his move.
Several invisible Wind Blades flashed across the dim twilight, precisely slicing open their throats.
Blood gushed out, and the men clutched their necks, making gurgling noises, following in their boss's footsteps.
The entire process took only a few breaths, clean and swift.
The young man, who had been lying on the ground and had originally given up hope, was now staring wide-eyed, his face full of horror, at this group of people.
Having dealt with the trouble, Lu Shiyan didn't even glance at the corpses; his gaze returned to the verdant fruit in Su Wan's hand.
He stepped forward to the surviving young man, looking down at him, his voice devoid of any warmth.
"Do you want to live?"
The young man trembled all over under his gaze and subconsciously nodded; his lips were already bloodless due to excessive blood loss.
Lu Shiyan turned his head and extended his hand towards Su Wan.
Su Wan immediately understood Lu Shiyan's meaning; she did not hesitate and handed over the verdant fruit.
"A Shi, this..." Xiao Han was about to speak but was stopped by a look from Lu Shiyan.
Lu Shiyan squatted down and handed the fruit to the boy.
"Eat it."
The young man didn't understand why this man wanted him to eat this fruit...
These people were very powerful; taking his life would be as easy as turning over a hand, so there was no need to beat around the bush.
Thus, he took the fruit and took a bite.
Ugh...
What the hell is this?! Sour? Bitter? Astringent? Or an indescribable putrid smell?
Countless unbearable tastes exploded in his mouth, his stomach churned, and he almost uncontrollably wanted to spit it out.
Lu Shiyan, quick of eye and hand, covered his mouth, "If you want to live, you can only eat it."
A hint of despair flashed in the young man's eyes, but he ultimately endured the nauseating sensation that shot straight to his head and laboriously swallowed that mouthful of fruit pulp.
Then he glanced at the fruit, which only had a superficial wound...
Suddenly, he didn't want to live anymore; this was too disgusting...
He now seriously suspected that this group of people wasn't saving him, but rather torturing him in a more cruel way.
Xiao Han watched from the side, his mouth twitching; he couldn't help but take half a step back, letting out an exaggerated dry heave, and whispered to Su Wan, "Goodness, it looks really unappetizing..."
The young man's face was ashen, and he looked at Lu Shiyan with despair again.
Fine, if he had to die, then so be it! The sooner he died, the sooner he could be reborn!
He closed his eyes, displaying a tragic expression of heroic sacrifice and generous embrace of death, like a martyr going to the execution ground, and took another big, fierce bite.
That indescribable stench once again filled his mouth; he suppressed the urge to gag, almost relying on his determination to die to swallow the fruit pulp.
This time, he learned his lesson a bit; he tried his best not to let the terrifying fruit pulp linger in his mouth, held his breath, and tried to swallow it whole.
"Gulp."
He felt like he wasn't eating fruit, but swallowing a whole set of the Ten Tortures of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
With each mouthful he swallowed, his face grew paler, and his body trembled more violently.
He even began to wonder if he would become the first unlucky person in the apocalypse to die not from zombies, not from hunger, not from human malice, but from eating fruit that was too unappetizing.
For a moment, he suddenly didn't want to live anymore... Really, it would be better to just die.
