The Max-Level Sacred Mountain Begs Me to Save the Interstellar [Apocalypse] - Chapter 3

When it comes to making money, you cannot expect to rush into a vault while wearing slippers.

Shen Ye opened the Star Net, preparing to first understand the prices of plants. The Star Ring featured a projection function with a touchable screen; it was no wonder it was worth 30,000 Star Credits.

Shen Ye found the trading section, entered “plants,” and clicked search with high expectations. Suddenly, glaring red text filled the screen:

“The Interstellar Alliance reminds you that your search involves illegal activities. Please close this immediately!”

Cutting off someone’s path to wealth is like killing their parents. How hateful! Shen Ye stubbornly entered terms like orchids, roses, and crops, but the results were all the same warning. In contrast, large-scale lethal weapons like laser knives and super mortars were everywhere on the Star Net, though their prices were all in the six-figure range.

This world was truly upside down. Plants would never have imagined that they would one day become luxury goods, even more precious than missiles.

Besides the trading section, the Star Net also featured discussion forums and panoramic live broadcasts. Refusing to give up, Shen Ye clicked on the forum. There were indeed some posts related to plants, but they were mostly introductions to the mist-dispelling abilities of plants sold by the Agricultural Alliance.

Shen Ye thought: Who is this Agricultural Alliance, and why are they the only ones allowed to sell plants? How hateful!

While he was fuming, a post caught his attention:

“Something huge happened!”

The post was published at 21:10, and by 21:15, it had reached the top of the forum’s trending topics.

Rich Pincers: “Starting a thread. As titled. I am currently a junior assistant researcher at the Central Star Agricultural Alliance branch. At nine o’clock tonight, I noticed a military vehicle quietly take away all the postdoctoral fellows at our institute.”

Sad Pig Large Intestine: “Is this something rare? Besides, why haven’t you finished work at nine o’clock? I am already lying in bed.”

Rich Pincers: “Go away.”

One Bite of Ten Children: “Doesn’t the Agricultural Alliance do this all the time? Whenever they encounter a problem they cannot solve, they transfer people from various branches.”

Rich Pincers: “Of course it is not that simple. I only heard this, but the Agricultural Alliance found a dark orchid that drinks human blood!”

As soon as these words were posted, the entire forum exploded.

Shen Ye was speechless. “Zhouzhou, you caused this trouble.”

Buzhou: “Hee hee, Zhouzhou, hungry.” It sounded shy.

Splendid. Shen Ye continued to check the forum.

Uchiha Slacker: “Holy crap, are plants starting to mutate too?”

Mei Ba: “No wonder there isn’t a single person selling plants on the black market tonight. I thought the Agricultural Alliance had tightened regulations.”

“Black market?” Shen Ye keenly sensed the significance of this place.

AAA Plant Field Master (Shen Ye): “Friend, where is the black market? Can you buy and sell plants there?”

Mei Ba: “Yes, as long as you are brave enough! But brother, don’t go lately. I saw that guy from the Xie family going to the black market to arrest people tonight.”

This was an unexpected harvest. The sales channel had appeared. Now, as long as Shen Ye could find a stable source of monster corpses, he could rely on Mount Buzhou to produce a steady stream of plants. He was going to be rich!

The next day.

Knock, knock, knock! An urgent pounding sounded at the door. It did not sound like someone delivering news, but rather like someone announcing a funeral. Under Xiao Liu’s guidance, Shen Ye found Xie Songnian’s residence; he lived on the top floor of the base building.

Shen Ye’s knocking continued for two or three minutes before Xie Songnian finally appeared.

“Brother-in-law! Brother… in-law, are you unwell?” Xie Songnian’s face was as pale as paper.

“Is something the matter?” Xie Songnian spoke coldly, showing none of the warmth expected toward a brother-in-law.

Shen Ye used his connections to his advantage. “I want to continue working with the cleanup squad. I want to serve the people of the base!”

Xie Songnian coughed. “If you want to go, meet in front of the gate at 12:00 noon.”

Shen Ye cheered, “Yay!”

Xie Songnian coldly closed the door.

Time flashed by. Shen Ye arrived in front of the building half an hour early. Xie Songnian was with seven or eight people in green protective suits, organizing supplies for the mission.

“This is your equipment,” said a crisp female voice.

“Hello, I am your guide, Cheng Fang. We are going to the territory of an elite-level monster called the Butcher. It is not very powerful, but it is quite cruel and likes to hang people out to dry. Are you afraid of bloody scenes?”

Shen Ye replied, “I am not afraid.” Being poor was scarier than monsters.

“Good! Put on your protective suit, let’s head out!”

The armored vehicle drove for a long time. Shen Ye stared blankly out the window. It was not the scenery that was passing by, but an increasingly thick mist. This world was completely different from Earth. The vehicle slowed down. Without the roar of the engine, the world seemed to fall into a dead silence.

The other team members got out of the car, but Cheng Fang was still watching a melodramatic romance drama.

“We are only responsible for disposing of the monster corpses. The cleanup crew will call us when they are finished. Getting out early just gets in the way,” Cheng Fang explained.

Shen Ye nodded obediently. It turned out to be an easy job, likely thanks to his brother-in-law. After one episode of the drama, a voice came through the communication channel: “Garbage team, come out and clean the floor!”

After getting out of the car, Shen Ye saw the legendary Butcher. It was a massive mountain of flesh made of countless severed limbs and chunks of meat. It had been split in two down the middle, and the cross-section was still stained with green plant juice, which made the Butcher sizzle.

Shen Ye curiously ran forward to observe. He was a bit puzzled; this thing had no mouth, so how did it eat people? Cheng Fang stood at a distance, watching silently. She had heard that Shen Ye was a very powerful well-connected person, but seeing his bravery now, he was indeed suited for this job.

At that moment, Xie Songnian was also standing not far away. Based on the coordinates Shen Ye had brought back, the technicians speculated that there was a rhenium metal mine here. Rhenium is the primary raw material for thermal weapons and combat equipment. The rhenium mine in Ceylon Town was about to be depleted, so humans had to find a backup mine in advance.

“The magnetometer signal is weak; we should probably head further north. Captain? Captain?” Wang Daye looked in the direction of Xie Songnian’s gaze; it was his brother-in-law.

“Did you tell Cheng Fang to keep the recorder on the entire time?” Xie Songnian asked.

“Yes, I told her we need to assess the compatibility between new members and the job, so she needs to record everything.”

“Good, let’s look for the mine first.” The cleanup squad slowly walked away.

Shen Ye did not know that his every move was being monitored. He took advantage of the moment his back was turned to throw a seed onto the corpse.

“Zhouzhou, follow my instructions when you act, okay?” Shen Ye muttered in his heart.

During the Tyrant Monarch incident, there were many people around, so no one suspected the plants were related to Shen Ye. But this time, only Shen Ye was nearby. If anything happened, it would be a major problem.

“Sister Fang, is it enough to just bring the plants near the monster?” Shen Ye used the survival rules he had learned in his previous life: call men “brother” and women “sister.”

“Yes, plants can disperse the ghost mist. Without the mist, they will quickly rot and melt.”

“Oh, then I will handle it, Sister Fang.” Shen Ye’s deer-like eyes crinkled into crescents.

Shen Ye spoke to Mount Buzhou in his mind: “Eat wherever my hand moves. Don’t let them see anything suspicious.”

Buzhou: “Mhm!”

What Cheng Fang saw: as Shen Ye’s hands moved, the monster’s body immediately corroded and melted. In reality, plant roots appeared faintly, greedily absorbing the Butcher’s flesh.

“Zhouzhou! A girl should eat in small bites!”

Buzhou: “Ugh, hungry.” It sounded aggrieved.

The monster suddenly collapsed. Shen Ye felt guilty and secretly peeked at Cheng Fang; luckily, she had not noticed. Cheng Fang was not in the mood to pay attention to Shen Ye; she was busy rescuing the corpses of comrades who had been hung upside down by the Butcher.

“61, 62… 66.”

Cheng Fang felt like having a cigarette. With so many people, she wondered whose father or whose wife they were.

“How did the Butcher catch so many people?”

“Uh,” Cheng Fang was startled. Why was the monster being cleaned up so quickly today?

“Most of these people came from small bases and villages to seek refuge. Don’t think every place is as peaceful as our base. Because of the Agricultural Alliance, we have four or five times the number of plants compared to bases of the same level. Also, your brother-in-law’s ability is top-tier even across all three stars.”

Shen Ye listened intently. His conclusion was that Xie Songnian was extremely dangerous, and he, as the brother-in-law, was set for life.

Buzhou: “Scared, Zhouzhou is scared.” This cowardly mountain was not only afraid of powerful monsters but also of people!

“Hmm? Sister Fang, do you smell something foul?” While Shen Ye was grumbling, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.

“No, you probably got some of the Butcher’s blood on you. You should wash up well. That kind of blood leaves a scent much longer than any perfume.”

Cheng Fang glanced over casually and suddenly froze in place. At some point, a shell-less, slimy, pale mollusk-like organism had twisted into a spiral. At its top, a giant mouth full of sharp teeth split open, slowly oozing corrosive slime, staring blankly at them.

“Don’t move,” Cheng Fang felt she had to remain calm. Both of them had taken off their backpacks. She tried to slowly raise her left hand; there was an emergency button on the Star Ring that would call the cleanup squad to save them.

“Huff, huff… ah!”

Shen Ye quickly pulled Cheng Fang away. The monster nearly bit through her chest.

Shen Ye quickly thought of a strategy. “Sister Fang, let’s run in opposite directions. Whoever isn’t chased goes for help.”

“No, I have experience. I should lead it away!”

“Now!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the two of them bolted in opposite directions. With Mount Buzhou as his backer, Cheng Fang was actually a liability. Shen Ye ran at top speed. He heard a rustling sound behind him, getting closer and closer. It was indeed chasing him.

“Buzhou! Apple!”

Shen Ye swung his left arm. As expected, the apple produced by Mount Buzhou smashed a large hole in the monster. Unfortunately, the small apple was corroded instantly.

“Rose!”

The moment Shen Ye pulled out the rose with roots, the monster froze. Just as Shen Ye was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Mount Buzhou’s scream suddenly rang out.

“Ahhhhhhh!”

Shen Ye thought: We are doomed.

This monster was unexpectedly powerful. Although half of the slime monster’s body had been corroded, it was about to reach the rose at the center. The moment it touched, the rose seemed to be charred by fire and instantly turned into black powder.

“Crouch down!” The voice rang in his head.

Shen Ye immediately grabbed his head and crouched down obediently. Generally speaking, monsters lacked the ability to think. However, at this moment, the slime monster felt something was wrong with the food in front of it. The food had shrunk into a triangle and emitted an aura that made the monster shudder. But the monster had already jumped, and gravity forced it to continue descending.

Sizzle!

A sharp scream woke Shen Ye. He only remembered Zhouzhou telling him to crouch down, and then his mind went blank. When he regained consciousness, the slime monster had melted, and in its blood, a green poppy had grown out of nowhere.

Shen Ye had seen it in his previous life; it was a protected plant that bloomed once in its life and withered as soon as the flowers fell.

“Great job, Zhouzhou, we are safe! You are the best!” Shen Ye cheered.

There was no response.

“Buzhou? Buzhou!”

Nothing.

“Shen Ye, who are you looking for?”

“Who? Brother-in-law? How did you suddenly appear here?”

Xie Songnian had appeared out of thin air.

“Never mind that. Tell me exactly what happened just now,” Xie Songnian said, staring intently at Shen Ye. An extremely powerful energy had just appeared, and Xie Songnian had used his ability to rush here ahead of time.

“Well, the monster was chasing me, and I suddenly saw a plant ahead. Look, that’s the one. Then the monster jumped over and melted.”

Shen Ye’s eyes darted around; he was clearly lying. Xie Songnian knew he wouldn’t get any answers, so he turned to the poppy to observe the strange plant closely.

“Watch out!”

The poppy’s leaves suddenly grew wildly, and hundreds of roots burst through the ground, stabbing into Xie Songnian’s body. They accurately found his blood vessels, and with a rhythmic sucking motion, Xie Songnian’s skin quickly lost its color.

Although it happened in the blink of an eye, with Xie Songnian’s abilities, he did not dodge at all. He seemed to be controlled, standing motionless as the poppy drained him.

Shen Ye had to save him. Even if not for his sister, he did not want to see a life fade away.

Support The Max-Level Sacred Mountain Begs Me to Save the Interstellar [Apocalypse]