Chapter 409: Reunited With The Mutated Woman
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Although Luo Yuan only traveled with the mutated woman for a few days, it was during the loneliest period he had ever experienced in the wilderness. With her companionship, the whole trip had become rather enjoyable and fascinating. However, these days the pressure of the invasion of the extraterrestrial civilization had been lingering in his mind. He was kept awake every night with tremendous pressure, hence, he had forgotten about her until he came to this place.
He knew that it was irresponsible to leave her alone at that strange and treacherous place but he did it to protect her. He wondered if she was still here or not. Since he was here now, he decided to look since it would not take much of his time. He stopped searching for level seven mutated beasts and untied the strap on his forehead to start his space-time bubble flight. He flew towards Guizhou.
He still remembered the route that he passed through and by referencing the coordination of the mountain, he reached his destination in a flash without straying off track. Luo Yuan looked at the familiar scene and recalled his memories of her from some time ago. This was the area where he had left her. He walked slowly towards the cave that he stayed in before and found that there was no one there. He sniffed the air and his heart sank.
The scent left behind by the mutated woman had faded. To his horror, she had already left the place at least a few days ago if not more. Luo Yuan carefully looked around the cave again. There were some changes in the cave since he had left. Most notably, there was a stack of grass with a human shape imprinted on it. Apparently, this was the nest of the mutated woman. It seemed like she had stayed here for a few days after he left but had also left for some reason.
There were many reasons for leaving. Perhaps she felt threatened by the mutated beasts in the surrounding or she went back to her original place after she had waited too long for his return. Or perhaps she had been killed on the way back from hunting. He thought that he should not let her follow him in the first place because it was harmful to her. So, his heart was heavy when he had this thought. However, after walking only 50 to 60 meters away from the cave, he suddenly picked up something with his nose. He stopped and sniffed. He smelled a clear scent of her nearby. Seemed like she was here quite recently.
Luo Yuan's face lighted up and his heart was racing. It seemed like she never left and just stayed somewhere nearby but not in the original cave. He was confident about this prediction. He suspected that the spacious cave had somehow made her more anxious and insecure so she might have found another place to stay. He immediately followed the scent and began to look for her. A few minutes later, he climbed over a hill and came to a cliff that was full of vines. The scent of the mutated woman was even stronger here so it was obvious that she was living in this area. It was around five to six kilometers away from the original cave. There were many thick vines that hung down from the top of the cliff which naturally formed a ladder for climbing.
Luo Yuan extended the use of his Sense to scan the whole area and found that all the rocks and cliffs that were shaded by the vines immediately revealed themselves in front of him. Soon, he locked a location and slowly flew towards there. He pulled off the thick and heavy vines and sneaked into the cave. It was a very small entrance so Luo Yuan had to crouch to enter. It was humid inside with occasional drops of water leaking out from the walls. Other than this, it was generally clean and well-arranged inside. He did not see any small rocks or bones inside the cave and even the mosses that grew on the walls had been carefully cleaned.
Luo Yuan also found some transparent stones at a corner. Most of the stones were crystal minerals and some jewelry that was abandoned before the apocalypse. He did not know that the mutated woman had such a strange hobby to collect jewelry. It seemed like she kept rummaging around during her free time. However, the thing that affirmed him that this was the nest of the mutated woman was the bottle of mineral water lying on the ground. This was the water bottle that Luo Yuan gave her before he left. It was placed under the place where the water leaked from the wall and had now overflowed.
The living environment here was rather atrocious. It was dark, humid and stifling. Luo Yuan had been feeling uncomfortable though he had just stayed inside for a while. However, this place was apparently more secure compared to the spacious cave. Since she was not here now, Luo Yuan guessed that she could be hunting so he waited. Approximately half an hour later, the mutated woman was back.
She was as flexible as an ape on a tree and headed back to the cave at a shocking speed. She was holding the knife that Luo Yuan gave her in her mouth while her hands were empty. If Luo Yuan did not notice the blood stain on her mouth, he would have thought that she failed to hunt for any food today. Apparently, she was just very cautious not to bring any danger back to her home. She finished her food before she went back to the cave to avoid leaving any smell of blood that could bring unnecessary danger.
When she was close to the cliff, she let go of the branches, stretched her body and soared like a bird for 10 meters. Just before she landed, she grabbed the hanging vines in reach and quickly climbed upward to the cave.
Suddenly, her body stiffened and she jerked to a stop. She noticed that her house had been invaded by an unknown creature so she was on high alert. Her breath became long and soft, and at the same time, her tiny fangs were slightly exposed. She was like an experienced hunter slowly crawling towards the cave. While she was halfway through climbing the vines, a familiar face appeared in front of her.
When the mutated woman saw Luo Yuan's face, she quivered as if she saw a ghost or evil spirit. She quickly leaped and jumped down. She was about 100 meters above the ground so jumping from a height like this would kill just about anything, however, she was already familiar with the plants and trees here, and her body was extremely agile. By the time when she was close to the ground, she grabbed on a vine timely and flew to another branch 100 meters away by leveraging on the force of the swing.
Her heart was racing. Still worried, she quickly continued to run for another 10 meters and then sneaked into dense bushes and disappeared. After a long pause, she stretched out her head and stared at Luo Yuan without blinking. Luo Yuan was dumbfounded and wondered if he was really that frightening.
Perhaps he was too harsh when he left her and it still frightened her to the point where it had become a phobia.
Luo Yuan jumped down from the cave as well. The mutated woman saw it and immediately hid again but her eyes were still staring at Luo Yuan through the gaps between the leaves.
"Come!" Luo Yuan instructed with a wave of his hand. The mutated woman refused to budge and continued to be vigilant
"Come here." Luo Yuan said again.
Only now did the mutated woman seem to understand what he said. But, she still hesitated. After a while, she reluctantly walked out from the bushes. It felt like the relationship between them had not been as close as it had been last time.
"Come further." Luo Yuan continued to wave.
The mutated woman slowed down her steps as she was very cautious by nature and had a simple mind like that of a little girl. She wanted to be close with Luo Yuan but was scared to get hurt. When she was about 30 to 40 meters away from Luo Yuan, she refused to walk any closer.
"If so, then I will go." Luo Yuan remarked and pretended to leave her. After this, he turned over and flew away. The mutated woman suddenly looked nervous and gave out a hissing sound which seemed like she wanted to stop Luo Yuan from leaving. However, Luo Yuan pretended he did not hear and kept flying away.
The mutated woman was now anxious and quickly ran in Luo Yuan’s direction to try to catch up with him. However, no matter how fast she ran, it was impossible for her to catch up with Luo Yuan’s speed. Even if he did not initiate his space-time bubble flight, he was still 10 times faster than her. In just a second, he vanished from her sight.
The mutated woman was finally in great panic and rushed after him without any second thoughts. After running for 10 minutes, she carelessly stepped on a dried branch and fell from a tree. She rolled over in pain on the ground and immediately stood up to climb the tree to continue running. The branches on the tree kept scratching her face and soon there were blood stains and scars on her face.
After some time, she was not able to run anymore. She stopped disappointedly; wheezing and unable to breathe. She squatted down on a branch helplessly like an abandoned kitten. Luo Yuan was quietly watching her from afar. He felt mixed feelings in his heart. After all, he was still a human being with feelings.
At first, he just wanted to visit her and check on her current state. He could still occasionally come visit her whenever he thought of her since he would train here. As a mutated human, the wilderness was the place that she should stay at after all. If he brought her to the Reconstruction Area, it could be very difficult for her to adapt.
But looking at her now, Luo Yuan felt guilty to leave her alone again. He sighed and landed on the ground. Step by step he walked towards the mutated woman. When he drew closer, the depressed mutated woman immediately looked up. When she saw Luo Yuan, her depressed look changed to a look of content. Her eyes were now flashing with excitement.
The mutated woman hissed a few times with a look of excitement and quickly ran to Luo Yuan. She stared at Luo Yuan without blinking, seemingly worried that he would suddenly vanish again.
"Such a troublemaker." Luo Yuan scolded jokingly, though she might not have understood what he was saying. He continued and asked, "Do you really want to follow me?"
Luo Yuan had decided that he could bring her back as a pet. This mutated woman was smarter than expected and gentle so if he did not hurt her, she would not hurt him as well. With his current position at the Reconstruction Area, it should not be a big deal to bend or even break the rules. The mutated woman did not understand and scratched her head in confusion. But when she saw the smile on Luo Yan's face, she smiled back awkwardly. This was the first-time Luo Yuan saw her this way.
Luo Yuan stretched out his hand and whispered, "Come, hold me."
He repeatedly said this several times, "Come on."
The mutated woman was smarter than normal mutated beasts so she quickly understood this gesture. After hesitating for a while, she decided to comply. Perhaps Luo Yuan’s sudden departure earlier had scared her. This time, she did not dare defy Luo Yan's orders.
She walked slowly towards Luo Yuan and raised her hand. Just when as their fingers touched each other’s, she was scared and retracted as if she experienced an electric shock. But this time, she did not run away.
"Relax, don’t be afraid!" Luo Yuan tried to calm her down.
She then boldly held out her hand even though Luo Yuan was not too sure that he understood her. When she touched Luo Yuan’s palm, she wanted to retract her hand again but Luo Yan held on tight.
"Hiss!" The mutated woman was scared and tried to struggle. After a while, when she realized that Luo Yuan did not want to hurt her, she calmed down and looked at Luo Yuan. She saw his two hands that were holding hers and her face lit up with an excited look.
Her hand was not as rough as Luo Yuan expected. Not only was her palm delicate, even the scaly part of her hand was very smooth. However, her body temperature was slightly lower than average. It was only about 30 degrees. Thus, when Luo Yuan held her hand he felt a little uncomfortable.
She was petite in size, but she wasn't light. It was very difficult to fly with her. Luo Yuan held her hand and brought her to a higher place to start his space-time bubble flight immediately. In just a moment, a light shot across the sky silently. He flew rapidly towards the Reconstruction Area and within half an hour, they landed. Hope City was right in front of them.
After landing, Luo Yuan looked at the mutated woman awkwardly. The mutated woman was still hugging Luo Yuan tightly and did not want to let go. Her naked body was shivering vigorously. Luo Yuan did not expect that she would be scared. He just realized that it was slightly embarrassing that she was naked as it was not far away from Hope City. There were always people who passed by and if they were seen, it would be a complete disgrace to Luo Yuan. He tried to let go of the hands and legs of the mutated woman but failed. She was simply too stunned by the speedy flight.
At last, Luo Yuan had to use his Will to control her to reluctantly step away. She walked wobbly in a circle and finally sat on the ground as if she was drunk. Luo Yuan looked at her naked body and felt his head throbbing. He did not care much when they were in the wilderness but it would be immoral when they back at the Reconstruction Area. He thought for a moment… and then took off his clothes and draped it on her regardless of her struggles.
Luo Yuan looked at her from top to bottom and was satisfied with her look. He was 1.8 meters tall while she was only 1.5 meters tall so his shirt looked more like a dress when she wore it. At least it covered her scaly and naked body. She looked just like any other human apart from her calves and eyes.