Endless Throne - Chapter 18

Lin Yebai had never seen cigarettes before, so he instinctively maintained a cautious attitude.

He looked at the cigarette between his fingertips with a serious expression, and also with some curiosity.

It didn’t smell very comfortable and stung his eyes a bit.

The dark red moonlight was filtered into many fragments by the broken truck window glass. Under the interplay of light and shadow, slender fingers held the cigarette, his profile cold and aloof, his temperament frigid. The thin wisps of smoke somehow made the scene evoke infinite imagination.

Some people holding a cigarette looked like a world-famous painting, while others holding an entire pack of cigarettes still looked like street punks.

Zhou Yuan was undoubtedly a stunning beauty, but unfortunately he had a mouth and could speak. He said excitedly:

“Brother Lin, I really want to get you a big gold chain and some black sunglasses – you’d look so cool!”

“What kind of feeling?” Lin Yebai asked puzzledly.

“The feeling of a big boss!” Zhou Yuan gave a thumbs up, especially hoping Brother Lin would do some freestyle.

“I actually have sunglasses here. Brother Lin, do you want to wear them? Once you put them on, you’ll be the most dazzling guy in the whole place…”

“Are you a devil?” Coach Wang hadn’t expected Zhou Yuan to be so terrifying as to want to corrupt Lin Yebai.

“When was my identity exposed?” Zhou Yuan’s eyes suddenly became profound, his temperament changed dramatically, as if he had instantly become a different person.

Coach Wang thought for a moment and analyzed seriously:

“Probably when Zhang San confessed to you. When he said, ‘Woman, you have successfully aroused my…'”

Zhou Yuan let out a miserable scream and frantically shook his head:

“Don’t say any more, please don’t say any more…”

[Uchiha Boba Milk Tea]: Damn! I almost got fooled by that bastard Zhou Yuan!

[Konjac Vegetarian Tripe]: I’m cracking up

[Soft Cat Ears]: Yebai baby can’t smoke

[Braised Spare Ribs]: Smoking is harmful to health

[The Ordinary Me]: Cigarettes, the best companion for sage mode. Unresolvable sorrows, unbearable decadence, materialistic society, miserable life – in the short time of a single cigarette, everything turns to bubbles…

[Literary Mentor]: Brother Ordinary is so talented, I almost thought it was my alt account

Lin Yebai looked at the cigarette in his hand that had burned down by a third, still not quite understanding.

“What’s that thing ahead?”

Zhou Yuan had sharp eyes and spotted a large patch of black shadows ahead on this road, seven or eight meters tall and still moving – it should be some kind of living creature.

“What is it? I can’t see clearly…” Coach Wang’s vision wasn’t good at night. That he hadn’t crashed after driving for so long was purely due to his veteran driver instincts.

When passengers were in a hurry, taxi drivers acted like their butts were on fire. Over time, their driving skills spoke for themselves.

There were no other moving vehicles on the road – they only needed to dodge aberrants. Occasionally dangerous, with Zhou Yuan’s timely reminders, they could safely get through.

They had already driven out of the city center and reached the suburbs. They were on a downhill road with forests on both sides and no place to turn.

The truck charged toward that patch of black shadows like an unrestrained wild horse, followed by a mighty procession of aberrants.

“Is it too late for me to brake now?”

Getting closer, Coach Wang finally saw some strangely shaped things ahead. Their outlines were blurry, a pitch-black mass, like a group of giant beasts patiently lying in wait for prey.

“Give it a try.” Zhou Yuan shouldered his backpack, which contained things he and Coach Wang had rescued from the fire: USB drives, drones, common medicines, tablets, phones, power banks, data cables, etc.

The little spiders were placed in a cat carrier after falling asleep.

Coach Wang thought for a moment and motioned for Zhou Yuan to give the cat carrier to Lin Yebai:

“Mr. Lin, please help me look after this.”

“Okay.” Lin Yebai learned from Zhou Yuan’s example and shouldered the cat carrier. Inside were seven little spiders sleeping soundly. Even though music had been playing the whole way and Zhou Yuan had screamed several times, none of it had woken them up.

[Braised Spare Ribs]: Yebai baby is carrying the hope of the whole family

[I Am a Little Green Dragon]: At this moment, Yebai baby’s shoulders unconsciously grew heavy

Coach Wang stepped on the brake. The car suddenly convulsed and shook twice, then quickly lost steering and braking power.

The truck had been going downhill to begin with, so even after completely stalling, its speed didn’t decrease.

It was completely out of control!

“The engine’s dead. If we crash like this with the momentum, we might be able to break right through.” Coach Wang’s voice was slightly heavy – he was already prepared for the worst.

The peace charm hanging inside the truck read “Safe Coming and Going” on the front and “Smooth Sailing” on the back. Coach Wang looked at it several more times.

Bang——

Before the truck could crash into the black shadows ahead on the road, the tires blew out.

The entire vehicle shook violently. The rear door broke, and a bald old hen fell out of the cargo area. Its belly was stuffed round and full. After landing, not only was it uninjured, it even bounced.

The old hen turned to look and saw countless aberrants charging from behind!

“Cluck cluck cluck!”

Even though its legs could barely support its weight, under the life-and-death crisis, it ran frantically.

“I almost forgot about this chicken. If I could do it over again, the first time I met it, I would definitely stew it…”

Zhou Yuan heard the chicken’s clucking and his fists clenched.

At this moment, Lin Yebai finally saw clearly what the black shadows ahead were——

Fruits and vegetables had grown into twisted shapes and been magnified hundreds of times. Dark-colored vines of different varieties intertwined like giant pythons.

Zhou Yuan had originally thought he was well-traveled and wouldn’t be shocked anymore.

When he saw a cucumber three or four meters long, he subconsciously uttered crude language:

“Holy sh*t——”

The truck crashed into the vines and immediately overturned. Explosion sounds rang out one after another around them.

Directly below the highway was a pepper grove.

Each pepper plant was seven or eight meters tall, with branches full of red peppers one or two meters long. Affected by the truck’s impact, all the peppers on the nearest pepper tree exploded with considerable force, spraying juice everywhere.

Peppers on other trees also began exploding. Light red mist filled the air, and the pungent, spicy pepper smell spread. The people inside the vehicle couldn’t escape it either.

The moment he was enveloped by the pepper mist, Lin Yebai’s vision became completely blurred.

“Brother Lin, put on sunglasses!” Zhou Yuan fumbled a pair of sunglasses from his backpack and helped Lin Yebai put them on, which could block the pepper mist somewhat.

There weren’t just peppers here – there were other plant varieties too. Thick vines quickly wound over, trying to catch some living things as nutrients.

With the pepper trees as cushioning, all three people were uninjured and crawled out of the truck. Coach Wang and Zhou Yuan weren’t good at dealing with vines, so Lin Yebai used his bone knife to clear the way.

That old hen seemed to see its savior and charged over frantically toward Zhou Yuan, extremely affectionate:

“Cluck cluck cluck——”

Zhou Yuan was in a hurry to escape and had no time to discipline it.

But the old hen was fixated on him, its calls mournful and extremely aggrieved, like it had been abandoned by a heartless lover.

Left with no choice, Zhou Yuan could only let the old hen jump into his arms.

“Damn, it got heavier again.”

“I’ll stew you sooner or later…”

Zhou Yuan held the chicken while cursing under his breath and using his tail to swat at the approaching vines.

A large wave of aberrants quickly arrived, and their pressure instantly lightened.

“The truck might explode, Mr. Lin, hurry!”

Coach Wang smelled something burning. His eyes were already swollen from the spice and he couldn’t see the road at all, so he followed Lin Yebai by instinct, stepping unsteadily.

“Old Wang, I’ll pull you.”

Zhou Yuan held the chicken’s neck with one hand and pulled Old Wang with the other, following behind Lin Yebai.

There were too many vines, slowing their escape.

The pepper grove wasn’t large, but it took them several minutes to get out and enter a tomato grove. Ripe tomatoes hung from branches, full of juice, as if they would explode with the slightest touch.

Having been tormented by the pepper mist, all three didn’t want to repeat that tragic experience, so they carefully avoided those mature fruits.

Heavy rolling sounds came from ahead. Lin Yebai adjusted his sunglasses and saw a cucumber several zhang long rolling toward them. That cucumber was like a rolling stone – magnificent and carefree, flattening everything in its path.

“Oh my god, Your Highness Cucumber, the world’s number one!” Zhou Yuan’s pupils dilated in shock.