Chapter 4: Alien Plant Defense Army

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Alien Plant Defense Army

"I don’t have any," Huai Yu said candidly. "My Contribution Points are zero! They even gave me soybeans and nutrient fluids, and the entire six hundred acres of Rose Mansion’s Pavilion 1 was given to me!"

She smiled contentedly as she spoke. Under the beams of the flashlights mounted on the soldiers’ shoulders, her face—streaked with dust and grit—looked exceptionally satisfied.

This plunged everyone into silence.

With zero Contribution Points, they should have looked down on her. But she looked like nothing more than a pampered, ignorant little girl. Before the catastrophe, she probably would have been preparing for her college entrance exams.

The group slowly lowered their guns, and someone asked, "Have you been here all night? Was there anything unusual nearby? People? Animals? Or plants?"

Huai Yu thought for a moment, then answered with certainty, "Just me."

She sounded so firm that everyone chuckled. After a moment, someone reported, "I just checked. There are no anomalies in the entire area."

"Don’t be careless. The Mutant Value at the corridor in Zone 8 fluctuated slightly this morning. It didn’t reach the alarm threshold, but it’s happened twice in one day. We can’t let our guard down."

The leading soldier made a hand signal. The others slowly gathered, preparing to head back. After taking two steps, he turned his head. "Where are you sleeping tonight?"

Huai Yu pointed to the brick and stone ruins from earlier. "Here! There’s a really wide tunnel inside! It’s a bit warmer than outside, too."

She was very content. It was so much more spacious than that tree cocoon!

The soldiers fell silent. The "tunnel" before them was clearly the foundation that had been dug for Rose Mansion. However, a foundation was all it was. But the military district strictly forbade outsiders from entering or exiting. Furthermore, years after the catastrophe, everyone had to be responsible for their own choices and actions.

Zero Contribution Points, and choosing the largest allocated plot of land—this was her choice.

The group disciplinedly formed up and headed back. Huai Yu stared at their departing vehicles with envy. "I really want one too."

She then turned her head and glanced back at the Rose Corridor. The thorns on it remained ferocious, and the flowers remained soft and fragrant.

"Why do you get worked up so easily? I’m going to stay far away from you tonight—no trembling, stop trembling! If you’re really that excited, go drive away the mutants in the Wilderness. In any case, you’re not allowed to make a fuss here."

She babbled on, her voice soft and sweet, lacking any deterrence whatsoever.

"There aren’t even any pine needles or leaves here. The bricks on the ground are too hard, and I won’t be able to sleep well. Could you drop some petals for me?"

Silence enveloped the surroundings.

But on the Rose Corridor, the branches began to RUSTLE, growing rapidly. The unopened flower buds were also desperately growing and swelling.

Finally, with a POP, they bloomed.

Thousands upon thousands of flowers bloomed simultaneously, producing a symphony of popping sounds that echoed one after another in the quiet night.

Then, a gentle breeze swept in from nowhere, swirling through the Rose Corridor. In the night wind, an overwhelming shower of pink petals danced in midair before cascading down to pile up at Huai Yu’s feet.

"Holy shit..."

Not far away, someone driving a vehicle stared over in shock, his face slack beneath his helmet.

Huai Yu felt a flash of annoyance. She hadn’t even noticed someone approaching. However, the person only froze for a second before rapidly driving closer. Years into the catastrophe, the romantic shower of flowers before him was clearly synonymous with danger.

But this was the Rose Corridor, which, along with the natural barriers of the nearby Sanqing Mountain, helped Flower City block the enemies from the Wilderness.

Its blooming flowers... Well, even if there were a bit too many, the man didn’t think the petals and the spring breeze had anything to do with Huai Yu. He simply grabbed a bundle and hurried over.

"Don’t get too close to any plants, not even the Rose Corridor," he said.

"Also, this is a sleeping bag our captain requested for you. Take it. It’s early spring; you’ll get sick sleeping on the ground."

Huai Yu took it blankly. A moment later, recalling everything she had experienced that day, a soft, genuine smile blossomed on her face.

"Thank you, mister. You guys are so nice."

The man paused. Having a little girl sweetly call him "mister" clearly sparked a surge of protective heroism within him. But zero Contribution Points...

His rationality returned. After a moment’s thought, he advised, "Little girl, the country is currently rebuilding from the ruins, and every industry needs manpower. You should grit your teeth and work hard. Stop coasting through life like this... or you really won’t have enough to eat."

With that, he turned to leave, but then doubled back, pulling out a bag to scoop up a pocketful of petals.

"The Rose Corridor has had three anomalies today. I’m taking these petals back for testing. Since you’ve chosen to stay here, be careful."

He left, and the surroundings returned to silence. Only the branches of the Rose Corridor continued to RUSTLE, evidently displeased.

Looking at the pink petals piled at her feet like a thick quilt, Huai Yu murmured softly, "Okay, okay, I have a sleeping bag now, but the ground is still hard. I was going to use you to line the tunnel, but now... the worst I’ll do is put the sleeping bag on top of you!"

After some HUFFING AND PUFFING to pack up, she stuffed the maroon sleeping bag full of petals and then dumped them into the tunnel.

Huai Yu made trip after trip until the square tunnel was finally packed with fragrant petals. Only then did she lay out the sleeping bag and crawl her entire body inside.

"Wow! It’s so comfortable lying like this!"

She let out a long sigh. Looking up at the ceiling, which was tightly sealed by bricks and concrete, it suddenly dawned on her.

"Huh? Why did the Rose Corridor obey me?"

And also... why could she always sense a restless vitality stirring within that bag of soybeans she had received?

She pondered this through her drowsiness, eventually reaching a conclusion.

"It must be because I’m exceptionally amazing, which is why I have such abilities... True, although I can’t clearly remember my past, I must have been this incredible."

Amidst the rich fragrance, her body and the sleeping bag were slowly enveloped by the pink petals, gradually sinking down.

The next morning, Huai Yu was awakened by the sound of a broadcast.

"Today is Thursday, March 19, 2066. Sunny. Due to a typhoon affecting coastal cities, our city is expected to experience rainy weather next week. Please make preparations...

"Spring rains bring life, and all things flourish. All departments must exercise heightened caution in their work to guard against mutations.

"Last night, a mutant riot occurred at the Third Prison. Currently, one person is at large. Residents are advised..."

The broadcast was blaring from the loudspeaker on that tall pillar from last night. Evidently, in addition to detecting Mutant Values, it doubled as a communication system. But it was too close, making it rather noisy.

Huai Yu squirmed out of her maroon sleeping bag, only to find that the fragrant petals around her had withered overnight. They were now piled up as dry, brownish-yellow husks—a very unsightly scene.

She sighed. Using petals as a mattress was clearly not a long-term solution. She still needed to figure out a stable place to sleep.

But looking at the expansive foundation before her... No matter how sturdy and level the brick and stone structure was, it was still built into the ground. It was livable and could block the wind, but if the rain grew heavy, the entire foundation would be flooded into a ditch.

Huai Yu had no desire to wake up one morning and find herself floating on the water.