Facing the stubborn greenhouse plants, Jill once again loaded a new magazine and aimed her pistol. She refused to believe that emptying all her bullets wouldn't expose this "bitch." She was determined to stick with her conviction that she had to kill the plants for them to stop moving, rather than admitting that her woman's intuition was wrong.
Barry just sighed and held his forehead. It was a scene he was all too familiar with, an exact copy. Was this how all women acted when they lost their minds? He had seen his wife act the same way during a heated argument about the fridge door being left open. She had called him wasteful and had worried that the vegetables and the fridge would be ruined. Barry swore he had closed the fridge door, but his wife wouldn't believe him. It wasn't until his little daughter came out and explained that she had seen her mother slam the door too hard while cooking, causing it to bounce open, that the truth was revealed.
Barry was left speechless. He thought it was over, but his wife wouldn't let it go. She insisted that she had closed the fridge door and that it was the fridge's fault for bouncing back open, not hers. She even accused him and their daughter of ganging up on her, a helpless woman, a form of discrimination. This double standard seemed to be a common trait in most women, and from then on, Barry rarely argued with his wife. He knew that no matter what, he would always be wrong. It was better to just keep his mouth shut.
He couldn't believe that a young woman like Jill, who hadn't even had a boyfriend or gotten married, had already developed such a terrifying fixation. Was this what they called a talent awakening? It seemed her future boyfriends and husband were in for a world of hurt.
However, this time, the outcome was different. Just as Jill reloaded her magazine and was about to fire at the plants again, the ravaged, tentacle-like plants began to move in front of her and Barry!
"Rustle..."
"Rustle rustle rustle..."
A squirming sound could be heard. The vibrant green tentacles, as if they had a life of their own, began to sway wildly. Seeing Jill, the one who had ravaged it, it immediately shot its tentacles toward her!
"Swoosh—!!!"
It seemed to want to wrap its tentacles around Jill, a woman it considered a bitch, and give her the kind of "tentacle play" seen in certain games. Since this crazy woman dared to shoot its tentacles, it would naturally have a good time playing with her. She had to pay for her reckless actions!
"Hiss—!"
"Thwack...!"
The tentacle's attack was extremely fast. Jill couldn't react in time. Her gun was knocked out of her hand before she could pull the trigger. Several slimy plant tentacles wrapped around her body at a ghostly speed. Her legs were tightly bound, her arms were held still, and a specific knot was even tied around her chest, highlighting her devilish figure.
"Rustle..."
At this moment, several tentacles pulled hard and spread Jill's long, slender legs. It seemed to be getting ready for some "adult-only" action, short of rubbing its tentacles between her legs and forcing something down her throat. The scene was extremely graphic and violent. If Javier were there, he would have shouted in delight. He would have wondered what kind of fertilizer this plant had eaten. Not only did it have the vitality and predatory instincts of an animal, but where did it learn such a lewd "tentacle play"? Was it self-taught? Or was this skill a part of the DNA of every tentacle family?
"Whoosh—!"
The next moment, an even more perverted plant raised an even thicker and larger tentacle, and its tip had sharp barbs. Was it planning to strip Jill and then ravage her? Was it about to happen? That thing—!
"Ugh...!"
"You damn bitch!"
Seeing how the plant was toying with her, Jill was filled with rage and cursed under her breath. Although the plant coming to life proved that her woman's intuition was right, she couldn't stand being humiliated like this.
And because of this, our "pornography-purging master," Barry, stepped in!
"Click—!"
"Bang—bang—bang—!!!"
Several loud gunshots echoed. The Colt .44 revolver fired at full power. Several bullets shot out and, with perfect aim, hit the tentacles wrapped around Jill.
"Plop... plop..."
The plant tentacles in mid-air were all shot and fell to the ground. Having lost their main body and support, the tentacles immediately lost their vitality and fell. Jill broke free from the restraints, quickly pulled the tentacles off her body, and retreated to a safe distance by Barry's side. The plant, sensing that Jill and Barry had left its attack range, was furious. Countless tentacles wildly thrashed on the ground, as if venting its anger.
Seeing this, Jill's pretty face showed a look of contempt.
"Bitch, you can't touch me now, can you?"
"Barry, do you believe me now? This thing is alive and can attack people. If we had rushed in, we would have been eaten alive."
Hearing Jill's words, Barry had an embarrassed expression and scratched his head, not knowing what to say. He couldn't believe that Jill's woman's intuition was so accurate, that she knew the plants were alive. This was unbelievable. She was even more powerful than his wife. If Jill ever caught a boyfriend or husband, and they cheated on her even once, they would be in big trouble. This was too terrifying!
"Hehe..."
"Now let's see what we can find around here that is a plant's nemesis."
Jill ignored Barry's expression and started searching around the greenhouse. Since this was a greenhouse for growing plants, there must be fertilizer to grow such lush and strange plants. And where there was fertilizer, there must also be herbicides. After all, the two were complementary. Plants seemed tough and full of life, but in reality, they had many weaknesses. They were weak to fire and afraid of chemicals. While a wildfire couldn't burn them all, a single herbicide could kill them from the roots.
After searching for a while, Jill soon found an irrigation system next to the greenhouse. It was likely used by the researchers to water the plants and for experiments. It had a few simple buttons: one for watering, one for fertilizing, and one for applying herbicide. Without any hesitation, Jill pressed the red herbicide button. That "bitch" plant had humiliated her, and she was not going to let it get away with it. Herbicides were the best way to punish it. Herbicides were the nemesis of plants. Chemical power could quickly make these plants wither. There were no plants that couldn't be dealt with, only herbicides with insufficient dosage.
"Buzz..."
The moment she pressed the button, the machine started to hum. The irrigation hose on the ground began to spray a foul-smelling green chemical liquid. It poured down on the plant tentacles like rain. The plant tentacles, which were already thrashing, went even more insane, as if they were struggling. But after a few dozen seconds, the herbicide was completely absorbed. The wildly thrashing plant tentacles lost their vitality and limply fell to the ground. The once thick and firm tentacles became shriveled and yellow, as if they had withered and died a long time ago.
"Mission complete, the mask is ours—!"
Seeing this, Jill's face showed an excited expression. This was the first time she had successfully defeated a powerful enemy. An enemy who had dared to challenge the accuracy of her sixth sense as a woman.
Meanwhile, Barry found some documents near the equipment.
"Plant 42...?"
Looking at the documents, Barry learned that the plant that had come to life was called Plant 42, a plant-based BOW (Bio-Organic Weapon) that the Umbrella Corporation had accidentally discovered. It was a new species that was created when the company's virus-contaminated waste water had been left to be absorbed by plants for a long time. This plant was carnivorous. While it could also absorb sunlight, water, and soil as nutrients, after gaining predatory abilities, it preferred to eat flesh directly. It had very strong attacking and sensory abilities. Any creature that came close would be attacked. Its most common hunting method was to act as an innocent, harmless plant to deceive its prey. Once the prey entered its attack range, it could easily capture even a top predator like a lion.
Fortunately, Jill's intuition was right. If Barry had rushed in, he really might have been eaten! The greenhouse was also a simple research lab that the Umbrella Corporation had built after discovering Plant 42 to observe its changes. That's why there was an herbicide button; it was to prepare for any unforeseen mutation of Plant 42. But this also proved something else: the power of the virus was immense. It could not only infect and strengthen living animals but also plants. In the future, there could be plant-based BOWs.
After confirming the plant was dead, Jill slowly entered the greenhouse. Plant 42 was completely dead. Although it wanted to eat Jill, who was a live prey, it had no strength left. The herbicide had penetrated its roots, and its entire system was withered and shriveled. Jill had no trouble taking the first Cursed Mask hanging on the wall.
On the other side, after Jill and Barry's victory, Javier and Rebecca were still looking for clues for the masks. After getting the key from the narrow tunnel, Javier and Rebecca had been busy trying to find the door that matched the key. Finally, after wasting a lot of time, they found the right door.
"Phew..." Javier sighed, looking at the door. "Finally found the door for this damn key. It wasn't easy... This mansion is small, but the confusing maze is no worse than the training facility."
He was holding the key and slowly unlocking the door. He wanted to see what was hidden behind it. As for Rebecca, she was still holding her shotgun, ready for any surprise attacks. It wasn't the first time a zombie had been hiding behind a door, and Rebecca was already familiar with this trick. If a zombie rushed out the moment the door opened, Rebecca would not hesitate to stick the shotgun barrel into its mouth and pull the trigger, creating a fresh "watermelon headshot."
However, things didn't go as planned.
"Click—!!!"
The iron door slowly opened. No zombie rushed out. The room was empty, but what was on the ground made Rebecca's skin crawl. Her trypophobia kicked in, and she couldn't help but scream out loud.
"Ah—!"
"Snakes! Snakes... Javier, there are snakes! So many snakes—!!!"
Her shotgun felt useless. Rebecca was so scared that she backed up a few steps, pointing at the countless snakes on the ground. There was nothing she could do... Snakes, cockroaches, rats, caterpillars... anyone would feel a strange kind of horror at the sight of them. This was a long-standing fear ingrained in her mind, and after so long, it was an automatic reaction!