Chapter 22: Wild Growth

The situation has become clear. Without the White Gloves, they cannot touch the Wishing Box. They must snatch the White Gloves from Xiang Wansi.

But Xiang Wansi no longer looks like a fragile school beauty. The power of alienation is concentrated on her, making it not easy to get the White Gloves from her.

Mo Qi stepped back. “I’ll protect the Wishing Box. You deal with her.”

Xiang Zhuo said, “Don’t mess around. Do you think I can handle her alone? Use your SSR-level skill!”

Mo Qi shook his head. “My skill might backfire.”

“I’ve only got one arm left, and I’m poisoned! How can I fight?” Xiang Zhuo’s face was full of despair.

Xiang Wansi stepped closer to them step by step, reaching out to Mo Qi. “Give me the Wishing Box.”

“We can’t give it to you!” Xiang Zhuo gritted his teeth, dragging his one-armed body forward. From the darkness behind Xiang Wansi, a thorn shot out and viciously struck Xiang Zhuo. He was sent flying, crashing into the wall and spitting out blood.

His abilities lean towards control and support, not offense. He couldn’t withstand a single move against Xiang Wansi.

There was another option: releasing Xiao Cao. However, Xiao Cao’s entrance had immense destructive power, and each attack was indiscriminate. Xiang Zhuo couldn’t control it with his strength.

Xiang Zhuo lay on the ground, unable to get up. Xiang Wansi approached Mo Qi, extending her hand. “Hand over the Wishing Box to me. Keeping it won’t do you any good, right?”

Mo Qi, seeing this, put on sunglasses and said to Xiang Zhuo, “Isn’t it time to release Xiao Cao?”

Xiang Zhuo, knowing he had no other choice, threw out a card and then tried to escape in the opposite direction, as far away from Xiao Cao as possible.

The card transformed in mid-air into an urn. Its lid opened, releasing countless vines.

They immediately ensnared Mo Qi, but carefully avoided touching the Wishing Box, instead encircling it with vines, as if aware of its dangerous nature.

Mo Qi was tightly restrained by the vines around his neck, and he was waiting for Xiang Zhuo to release Xiao Cao!

It didn’t have many emotions, but it felt happy when bathed in sunlight, satisfied when absorbing water, would fall down if stepped on, and would slowly grow when nourished.

Until one night, Mo Qi inadvertently gazed at this inconspicuous little grass. All its emotions became concentrated on Mo Qi—likes, dislikes, joys, sorrows, good things, and bad things. It changed from growing towards the sunlight to growing towards Mo Qi.

In order to constantly stay close to Mo Qi, it developed its root system wildly. From the lawn where it originally was, to flower beds, and extending to nearby lawns by the lake, Mo Qi had two legs and was too fast. If its root system didn’t spread throughout the entire campus, the grass couldn’t keep up with him.

Finally, by the lakeside, the grass waited for Mo Qi. It reached out with its tender leaves, intending to touch Mo Qi’s ankle, but its leaves unexpectedly turned into blades, injuring Mo Qi.

Blood flowed onto the tender leaves. The grass didn’t understand what malice was, nor did it understand love. The only emotion it possessed was growing towards Mo Qi, breaking him down into nutrients, forever merging into his bones and blood.

Later, it absorbed Xiang Zhuo’s flower. That flower wanted to kill Xiang Zhuo, which the grass did not appreciate. It swallowed the flower and lay dormant inside the urn, awaiting the moment it would be released.

The grass had no concept of time and didn’t know how long it had been in the darkness. When it saw a glimmer of light, it rushed out and under the faint glow, it saw Mo Qi. It spread out its fierce vines and tightly embraced Mo Qi.

It didn’t reject the “resonance” with Mo Qi. This simple and pure emotion flooded Mo Qi’s mind. For a moment, Mo Qi almost couldn’t distinguish whether he was human or a blade of grass.

“Good grass,” Mo Qi raised his hand to touch the vines wrapped around him, “help me.”

The vines sprouted five leaves that pierced through Mo Qi’s fingers, causing a piercing pain that jolted Mo Qi back to a bit of clarity.

At the same time, this pain resonated through their “connection,” reaching into the grass’s consciousness. The vines writhed painfully in the studio, striking heavily at Xiang Wansi.

Behind Xiang Wansi, countless bees flew out, intercepting the vine’s attacks. The bees maneuvered skillfully among the vines, then came in front of Mo Qi, their stingers sharply pointed towards him.

Mo Qi closed his eyes, focusing on communicating with the grass. The tighter their “resonance” connection became, the more Mo Qi struggled to distinguish whether he was grass or human.

Even with his eyes closed, Mo Qi could “see” the bees approaching and feel the vines’ frustration as they failed to reach the bees due to their speed.

With so many bees surrounding him, if they all stung him simultaneously, he might end up dead like Shi Wenxuan. This thought also transmitted to the grass. The grass wanted Mo Qi to become its nutrients but didn’t wish for Mo Qi to die due to other reasons.

“Can… flower,” Mo Qi struggled to speak.

In an instant, countless dark purple flowers bloomed on the vines, swallowing the bees whole!

“How amazing,” Xiang Wansi looked at the unfolding scene before her, a hint of fear flashing in her eyes, but she managed to say, “Mo Qi, I never imagined the school would turn out like this, and I never thought you had such terrifying power.”

Mo Qi remained silent, focusing all his effort on controlling the grass through their “resonance.”

During this time, more leaves pierced Mo Qi’s body. The pain kept Mo Qi alert but tortured the grass.

Even in its grass form, it had never experienced such excruciating pain.

Mo Qi, on the other hand, the more pain he felt, the calmer he became. Finally, he found a balance between the two thoughts. He tried to lift his fingers, and suddenly a vine shot up into the air, fiercely attacking Xiang Wansi. Xiang Wansi waved her hand, and a swarm of mosquitoes flew out behind her. However, this time, the vines controlled by Mo Qi grew sharp leaves all over the place.

A vine, dripping with sweat from Xiang Zhuo, snaked its way past, attempting to close the gate.

Outside the gate was the darkness that Xiang Wansi had brought in, where countless alien creatures lurked. It was impossible to seal it off with just one vine.

But that was okay. The grass was resilient. The vine pressed against the door panel, continuously rooting itself, growing like ivy on the door. Slowly, it covered the entire door, pushing it closed with force.

In the darkness, numerous hands reached out to tear apart the vines, only to be injured by the grass leaves growing on them. Gradually, the door closed bit by bit.

Xiang Wansi became visibly anxious. She was eager to bypass Mo Qi and get to the Wishing Box, but Mo Qi was no longer behaving like a normal person at this moment.

Numerous parts of Mo Qi’s body were pierced by grass leaves, which then grew into vines. Any attempt by Xiang Wansi to approach was met with attacks from the vines on Mo Qi’s body.

Mo Qi could even sense Xiang Wansi’s movements without needing to open his eyes. He stood quietly in front of the Wishing Box, unmoving, his strong willpower suppressing the grass’s spirit.

Xiang Wansi herself did not possess great physical strength; her power lay in her ability to control the alienation of the world. However, this control clearly came with a cost and had its limits. As the door closed, the strength surrounding her gradually weakened.

Seeing the Wishing Box right in front of her but unable to reach it, Xiang Wansi made a decisive move. She took a step back and disappeared into the darkness.

While she had maintained her composure before, now merged with the darkness, she emerged with stiff movements, yet possessing immense strength.

With a forceful tug, she actually managed to break the incredibly resilient vines and began to advance step by step towards the Wishing Box.

After being transformed, Xiang Wansi’s appearance no longer held its former softness. Veins bulged on her face, and her arm skin cracked open, revealing veins and muscles. Like the transformed mosquitoes and bees, her muscles proliferated without restraint. Her hair rapidly lengthened, intertwining with the vines, neither yielding to the other.

Mo Qi slowly opened his eyes. His pupils had turned into vertical slits of emerald green, resembling two leaves.

Mo Qi struggled to lift his hand, now entwined with vines, pointing towards the mirror in the studio. He said to Xiang Wansi, “Look at yourself now. Is it worth it for a wish?”

Xiang Wansi, despite everything, was still a girl who cared about her appearance. She followed Mo Qi’s hand and looked through the dim light into the mirror, seeing a face that was neither human nor ghostly.

“Ah!!!” A sharp scream pierced through the air, her voice no longer as pleasant as before.

“For the sake of one wish, you’ve caused the deaths of six people, including one of your close friends. Now look at yourself. What wish is worth such a great cost?” Mo Qi asked, his eyes filled with confusion. They didn’t quite resemble human eyes anymore; they seemed more like those of a non-human, someone utterly unknowing of the world.

At this moment, Mo Qi, both physically and mentally merged with the grass, was uncertain if he could maintain his sanity. He decided to abandon rationality and humanity, keeping only the belief to defeat Xiang Wansi and take the gloves.

Xiang Wansi touched her face in the mirror, tears suddenly streaming down. Her voice, hoarse and gravelly, sounded like it contained gravel, “All I wanted was for them to stop hurting me. Is that wish wrong?”

She had been beautiful since childhood, adept at socializing, always a top student, and universally liked wherever she went. She believed she was genuinely liked by everyone. However, since the incident last year when someone drugged her, Xiang Wansi realized she wasn’t as well-liked as she thought.

During her investigation into who had harmed her, she found an anonymous forum within the school filled with vile insults and distorted accusations against her. Countless dirty words cut into her heart like knives, making it difficult for her to sleep every night.

She began to distrust those around her, suspecting that anyone who smiled at her one moment might turn around and speak ill of her the next, or even attempt to harm her.

Now, with the Wishing Box before her, she thought, “If only I didn’t have to face so much malice. Then I could be happy again, like before. I wouldn’t have to be on guard against others, and I wouldn’t have to lie awake all night because of hurtful words.”

She initially didn’t believe the box was real, just testing by letting Wen Miao discover the Wishing Box. However, when Ke Xiaoxi mysteriously died, fear mixed with a sense of vengeful satisfaction began to grow within her. From the moment she made her first wish, Xiang Wansi felt there was no turning back.

“So many have died for this wish, even Shi Hua,” she declared, her arm suddenly extending unnaturally as she punched through the mirror, shattering it into countless pieces that scattered on the ground, reflecting her twisted and broken visage.

Mo Qi raised his arm, and a vine sprouted from the bend of his elbow, wrapping around Xiang Wansi’s waist and climbing up her arm, entangling her hands.

Xiang Wansi struggled desperately, but she heard Mo Qi say quietly, “You can still turn back.”

Her body froze, as if asking Mo Qi and herself, “At this point, how can I turn back?”

Mo Qi blinked his eyes, his pupils alternating between human and emerald vertical slits. He said, “The reason you’re so persistent is because the sunk cost is too high. You’ve paid a price far beyond the value of your wish. Without the Wishing Box, everything you’ve done will be meaningless.”

“Trust me. I will make a wish that will make everything complete,” Mo Qi said.

As his words fell, the door to the art studio finally closed under the relentless vines. The studio was now filled with vines, serving both as protection and control.

With the support from outside energy gone, Xiang Wansi grew weaker. The monstrous creatures behind her were all engulfed by the vines, and dark purple flowers sprouted everywhere.

Xiang Zhuo pressed himself against the remaining corner of the wall, afraid to move a muscle, fearing any heavy breath might attract an attack.

The vines in the room didn’t attack him thanks to Mo Qi’s spiritual suppression. If Mo Qi relaxed even for a moment, everyone here would die.

The vines wrapped around Xiang Wansi’s neck, crushing both her spirit and body. She was powerless to resist any longer, her hands hanging heavily by her sides.

Mo Qi’s mind stirred, controlling the vines to draw him closer to Xiang Wansi. With great difficulty and slowness, he removed her pair of white gloves.

He lifted his foot, but beneath it, countless roots had already pierced into the steel and cement ground, each root causing him excruciating pain as it tore away.

“Xiang Zhuo, retrieve,” Mo Qi said to Xiang Zhuo.

Now Xiang Zhuo must use the urn to retrieve the little grass, or his hand, covered with branches, can’t wear the white glove.

“Do I look like I can touch the urn?” Xiang Zhuo was tearful, ten meters away from the urn in a room filled with vines, and he couldn’t move an inch.

Mo Qi’s ability is quite formidable indeed, but it seems to come with significant costs. Xiang Zhuo coughed violently; not only was he continuously losing his arm, stung by bee venom, and injured by Xiang Wansi, but he was also nearing collapse, his consciousness fading.

Mo Qi sighed softly. He had exerted all his energy to suppress the resilient spirit of the little grass. This was achieved under the condition that the little grass had shown hostility towards Xiang Wansi. Now that Xiang Wansi was captured, her only thought was to assimilate Mo Qi as nourishment, integrating him completely.

The Wishing Box was right behind them, and the white gloves were within easy reach. Victory in the game was so close, yet both of them were immobilized.

“Who can lend a hand?” Mo Qi weakly addressed the empty air.

At that moment, an easel moved, and the vines swiftly retreated from it as if encountering a fierce flood beast.

The easel stood up on its own, and Mo Qi strained to look at it. To his surprise, there was a rough sketch on it—a depiction of the painting from the exhibition hall.

Of course, this was the art studio where students would place their works. Min Shihua couldn’t have completed such a large painting in one stroke; there must be a preliminary sketch.

Although just a rough outline, the composition matched the final piece perfectly. In the sketch, a figure reached out with a hand drawn in black and white pencil, grasping a vine.

As the vine was grasped, Mo Qi also felt as if something was gripping his arm. He resonated with the spirit of the little grass, sensing its trembling fear.

Using this wave of fear, Mo Qi gained the upper hand in their mental struggle, suppressing the power of the little grass. Gradually, the vines rooted in his arms began to peel away.

It was a peculiar pain, but Mo Qi felt relief as his hands were finally liberated.

Mo Qi cautiously flexed his fingers, mindful of his injuries limiting his range of motion. However, he found that he could still move.

He picked up the white glove from the vine and slowly put it on his hand.