(Lirean Province- Capitol City)
(Eastern District- Sunshine Gated Community)
Qin Lan walked over to her brother and discovered that he was smiling and muttering something in a daze.
She could not make out what he was saying but his mouth kept making kissing motions.
Qin Lan stifled her urge to laugh and reached out to pull away the vine that was wrapping around his neck.
"Liu Yifei? What?" Qin Wei muttered sleepily as he rubbed his eyes and got up from the ground.
"Liu Yifei? Someone must have had a pleasant dream," Qin Lan teased softly as she rubbed her little brother's hair.
She moved on to the next sleeping teenager while her brother glanced around the room with a look of confusion.
Where was the bed?
He had been making out with Liu Yifei just a few moments ago and now she was gone…
Qin Lan moved quickly from one teenager to the next and pulled out the vines that were slithering around their bodies.
Clearly the vines had some kind of hallucinogenic property since their removal caused the survivors in the group to wake up.
Chen Xiao had a furious red blush on his face that refused to go away while Liu Tao kept looking down at the ground.
Liu Yifei on the other hand stared at the hall with her thoughts impossible to read while Gong Li kept shooting her secret looks when she thought that no one was watching.
Clearly the plant-like monster had revealed some secrets to the teenagers that they themselves were not aware of.
"Everyone," Qin Lan clapped her hands and got their attention.
"What you saw just now was an illusion… this house seems to be inhabited by some kind of mutated plant."
"Judging by the corpses of the previous occupants… I assume that it puts its victims to sleep before killing them by burying into their necks and leaving behind a seed…"
Qin Wei hurriedly reached out to touch his neck and let out a sigh of relief as he felt that the skin was still unbroken.
He couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that what he had experienced was just an illusion but perhaps it was a sign.
Liu Yifei must have seen him in her illusion as well!
Instead of avoiding her… he should try and regain his standing in her heart.
Qin Lan didn't notice her brother's secret thoughts as she walked over to Eve who was still laying peacefully on the ground and pulled her up.
Eve smiled sweetly and used her arms to wrap around Qin Lan's body. The zombie empress pulled her favourite human closer to her body and leaned in.
"Do you know who I saw?" Eve hoarsely whispered as she blew into Qin Lan's ear. Her voice was raspy, and it sent a shiver down Qin Lan's spine.
"I saw…. you…"
Qin Lan could feel her face begin to heat up and was grateful that her back was turned away from the rest of the group.
"I… I saw you as well…" Qin Lan admitted nervously as she refused to meet the beautiful woman's smiling eyes.
Eve grinned mischievously and her hands roamed downwards to give Qin Lan's butt a gentle tap.
Her movements were so quick that Qin Lan didn't even realise what she had done until she felt something warm hit her rear.
"Stop… we need to get out of here first…" Qin Lan tried to act stern but the tremor in her voice gave away her inner excitement.
Eve liked her!
The zombie empress sighed heavily and stepped away from Qin Lan with reluctance written all over her face.
Qin Lan quickly stepped back in order to avoid temptation and turned to the group of teenagers who were still thinking about what they had just seen.
"Now… we need to…" Qin Lan's words were interrupted by a loud noise coming from the ground.
She reflexively dove towards Gong Li and pushed the young girl away just as an enormous vine rose up from the ground where she had been standing just a moment ago.
The thick green vine moved almost like a snake with a sharp jagged needle protruding out of its slimy end.
The vine slithered on the ground towards Liu Tao and Chen Xiao, but Qin Lan's knife quickly intercepted it.
Slash!
Qin Lan used her blade to chop the vine in the middle and the sharpened edge of her weapon easily sliced through the plant's appendage.
"Eve! Watch out!" Qin Lan yelled in fear as another vine burst from beneath the floorboards and headed for the beautiful girl.
Eve growled inhumanly and her fingernails extended into claws. She grabbed the vine without any problem and tore it apart with ease.
Green juices stained her fingertips, but Eve seemed to be unbothered by the sudden attack.
She let out a series of hoarse growls and for a brief moment the plant stopped moving as if it were afraid.
"We have to leave now! Go! Run towards the door!" Qin Lan shouted to the teenagers who were frozen in place.
As the illusion disappeared, the broken door leading to the outside world was once again visible which meant that they could escape this dangerous mansion.
Qin Lan helped up Gong Li and ran towards Liu Yifei and her brother who were both surrounded by tiny vines.
She used her knife to cut the vines that got too close and for some reason a strange breathing technique flashed across her mind.
Qin Lan's body moved automatically to dodge the incoming vines that stabbed in her direction, but she felt as though something was missing.
What happened to her mana heart?
Mana heart? What was a mana heart?
Qin Lan shook her head to get rid of the blurry memories that were resurfacing in her mind and reached out to the two teenagers.
She grabbed Liu Yifei and pushed her towards Eve before reaching for her brother's hand.
Qin Wei's face was pale, and he seemed frightened by the vine that was slowly moving towards his leg.
"Don't worry bro… I got you… just trust me…" Qin Lan spoke calmly as if what was happening was an ordinary situation.
"Just take my hand and I'll get us out of here… the two of us… together…"
Qin Wei stared at his sister and for the first time he really looked at her.
She was not like him.
No… she was not like him in every way….
Qin Lan was an ordinary woman in her late twenties who had the appearance of a regular office lady.
She lacked the handsome charm that he possessed and would not stand out in a crowd. In fact, only their facial features were vaguely similar.
And yet… why… why… WHY?!
Why did she always seem to be better than him?
Grades… getting the love from their parents… pretending to be a mother figure… having an ability…
Qin Wei narrowed his eyes and took his sister's hand. He saw the look of relief on her face and his heart dropped.
Did she think that he was completely helpless without her?
Qin Wei followed his sister as they ran out of the mansion, but his right hand dropped inside his pocket.
He had a secret.
A secret that would allow him to become the main hero and win back Liu Yifei's love and adoration.
Qin Lan didn't know that her brother had pocketed one of the crystals from the zombies outside and had already made a decision.
And that decision would change everything…