The Bigshot's Superstar Wife-Chapter 180: Eat the Walking Dead

Athena and Xavier moved carefully through the ruined city, stepping over shattered pavement and weaving around the remnants of buildings that had collapsed under time and destruction.

The silence was thick, the kind that weighed on their shoulders like a warning.

Every few minutes, they would pause, listening for any sounds that didn't belong, the shuffle of approaching undead, the distant screech of a mutated creature, or the faintest hint of human survivors lurking in the shadows.

But what they heard now was different. A rustling, almost like the whisper of leaves in the wind.

Athena signaled for Xavier to stop. He obeyed, gripping his weapon while scanning the surroundings.

The noise was coming from up ahead, beyond the rows of abandoned vehicles and ruined shops.

They exchanged a glance before pressing forward, cautious but curious. The city had already thrown mutated beasts at them, what else could possibly be waiting?

When they reached an open lot, the sight before them made Athena stop in her tracks.

The ground was covered in thick, pulsating vines, their dark green tendrils creeping along the cracked pavement like snakes slithering toward their prey.

The vines coiled around long-dead bodies, tightening around brittle bones. But what sent a chill down Athena's spine was how these vines moved, slow, deliberate, and aware.

It wasn't just some overgrown plant reclaiming the land. It was alive. Xavier exhaled sharply beside her. "That's new."

Before Athena could respond, a low, sickening crunch filled the air. They turned their heads toward the source.

A zombie, its flesh half-rotted and its jaw hanging at an odd angle, stumbled through the lot. It walked right into the tangled mess of vines, oblivious to the danger.

Then, in a horrifying instant, the vines struck. They snapped forward like a whip, wrapping around the zombie's legs.

The creature groaned in protest, but the vines only tightened, dragging it down with an unnatural force.

The zombie flailed, clawing at the pavement, but within seconds, more tendrils slithered up its body, wrapping around its torso, its neck, and its face.

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The vines squeezed, crushing bones and twisting limbs in ways that no human body should ever bend.

Then, with one final jerk, the zombie was yanked into the mass of vegetation and swallowed whole. A deep, wet sound followed, like something was digesting.

Athena and Xavier remained frozen. The plant had just devoured the undead.

"...Well," Xavier finally said. "That's disgusting."

Athena swallowed, her fingers tightening around the handle of her knife. "And very, very dangerous."

They had seen mutated creatures before. Zergs that evolved into higher, more lethal forms.

But never had they seen plants consume both the dead and the walking dead alike. If these vines could kill zombies so easily, what would they do to the living?

Xavier knelt, picking up a small rock. Without hesitation, he tossed it into the mass of vines. The moment it landed, the tendrils reacted, whipping toward the disturbance, searching for prey.

"They respond to movement," Athena noted.

Xavier hummed in agreement. "We'll have to move carefully. If we attract too much attention, we'll be next on the menu."

They needed to get past this area to reach the other side of the city, where another potential supply depot lay untouched.

Athena glanced around, searching for an alternate path, but the vines stretched far, nearly blocking the entire road. "How flammable do you think they are?" she asked.

Xavier smirked. "Only one way to find out." He pulled out a small incendiary device from his belt, one he had crafted using scraps from an abandoned military base.

He twisted the top, activating the trigger, then tossed it onto the nearest cluster of vines. The moment it landed, the explosion was small but effective, flames erupted, licking at the vines.

The reaction was immediate. The plants screeched. Athena recoiled at the sound. It wasn't just the crackling of fire, it was as if the vines were truly alive, screaming in agony.

The flames spread, devouring the tendrils at an alarming rate. Smoke billowed into the sky, thick and acrid. "That worked," Xavier said, stepping back as the fire raged.

Athena watched as the vines convulsed, writhing as they burned. The fire didn't just kill them, it sent them into a frenzy.

Tendrils lashed out blindly, striking at the air, the ground, and anything within reach. "Let's move before they decide to fight back," Athena urged.

They sprinted around the burning area, weaving through safe paths where the vines had not yet reached.

The flames provided them a temporary escape route, but Athena didn't trust that the plants wouldn't adapt. Everything in this world was evolving to survive.

As they ran, the shrieks of burning vegetation faded behind them, but Athena knew that wasn't the last they'd see of those carnivorous plants.

They were an entirely new threat, something that could change the balance of power between the living and the dead.

If plants could start preying on the undead, what else was waiting to evolve?

They didn't stop until they reached a safer part of the city, where the vines had not yet spread. Xavier exhaled, shaking the ash from his coat.

"That was fun," he said sarcastically.

Athena shot him a dry look. "You have a terrible definition of fun."

He grinned. "Keeps things interesting."

They took a moment to catch their breath before continuing forward. They still had a mission, to gather supplies, to survive another day.

But as they walked, Athena couldn't shake the feeling that the world was shifting in ways they had yet to understand. And she wasn't sure if humanity was ready for what was coming next.

As Athena and Xavier pressed on, the eerie silence of the city settled around them. The smoke from the burning vines still lingered in the air, but they had no time to dwell on it.

Every step forward was a step deeper into the unknown, where new horrors could be waiting.

Athena tightened her grip on her weapon, glancing at Xavier, who smirked as if unbothered by the chaos they had just escaped.

"We need to move faster," she muttered.

Xavier nodded. "Then let's keep going."

With that, they disappeared into the ruins, bracing themselves for whatever awaited them next.