[Today is March 18, 2066. Sunny. Air Mutation Index: 3. No abnormalities reported in Mount Sanqing or the Wasteland…]
[Mutation subsided, reconstruction begins! Lin Xuefeng, Garrison Commander of the Mutant Plant Defense Army, has retired due to injury. New Garrison Commander Wu Yue proposed in the representative meeting that civilian life should be restored as soon as possible…]
[The first universal census of Flower City has begun!]
[All citizens in Flower City, please bring your personal Contribution Cards and valid IDs. Come to the Administrative Center in an orderly manner for verification and registration, and to collect your Relief Rations…]
Loud, clear broadcasts echoed from all directions, audible even deep within the mountain forests.
In the Wasteland, the sound of human voices gradually emerged, as if people were running back.
Meanwhile, in the forest, a series of sounds rang out—the rustling of trees growing frantically, the popping of flowers blooming, and odd, pleading cries of birds and beasts…
Suddenly, a young girl stumbled out of the woods.
She looked to be only about fifteen or sixteen years old, with skin so white and delicate that even a light scratch from a leaf would leave a red mark.
Yet, as she emerged from the forest in her tattered clothes, serrated leaves moved aside, and gnarled roots shifted slightly, fearing they might trip her.
When she left the woods, however, she was met by a wall of roses about five meters high, stretching endlessly in both directions.
Clusters of pink buds hung from the wall, a faint fragrance wafting with the wind, carrying fallen petals into the distance.
But even a brief glance revealed that beneath the blooming flowers, the dense branches were covered in sharp, glinting thorns, their tips taking on a faint metallic sheen.
“This looks so familiar…” the girl murmured, then reached out to touch it without hesitation.
The rose wall rustled into motion, branches scurrying and huddling together to create a passage for her.
The girl dithered for a moment, then walked through.
Beyond it lay an urban area like a ruin, with almost no greenery in sight.
…
The city was a mess of noise.
Some skyscrapers still stood firm, but many had collapsed into rubble. The roads were full of cracks and potholes, bearing witness to some horrific past.
Everywhere she looked, only clumps of green grass swaying in the cracks of walls could be seen. From a distance, not a single full-grown tree was visible.
It made the city look even more desolate.
Contrasting this desolation was the enthusiastic voice on the broadcast, repeating over and over:
[The first universal census of Flower City has begun!]
[All citizens in Flower City, please bring your personal valid IDs and Contribution Cards. Come to the Administrative Center in an orderly manner for verification and registration, and to collect your Relief Rations…]
As the voice boomed repeatedly, more and more people emerged from the surroundings.
From residential areas, malls, and playgrounds… even from the ruins, people crawled out of unknown places, faces covered in dust but filled with unspeakable excitement.
They huddled together, running toward the city center, chattering:
“The Mutation Value has been so stable lately. There’s been no movement from Mount Sanqing recently.”
“Mount Sanqing has always been quiet. Fewer mutated plants and animals come from there than from the Wasteland…”
“With that mountain and the Rose Corridor blocking the way, the damage to our Flower City is relatively minor…”
Huai Yu listened silently in the crowd. She now understood—that was Mount Sanqing, and the flower wall was called the Rose Corridor.
“Flower City has many Wood-type Ability Users too. My mom says it’s because the Mountain God is protecting us.”
“There are only a few Ability Users, and they’ve all joined the Defense Army. It has nothing to do with us ordinary people…”
“How can you say that? What if our Mutation Value reaches the threshold and we manifest an Ability too?”
“Forget it! When ordinary people hit the threshold, they just go crazy. Besides, didn’t those with Abilities end up with even worse pollution later on?”
Ability…
Huai Yu opened her palm. Was her power to make plants obey also an Ability?
She wanted to hear more, but the crowd was jogging along, and the topic behind her had already shifted.
“How many Contribution Points do you have? I spent a lot of time hauling bricks; that job gives two extra points… It’s so sad, I used to study finance…”
“I used to study hair and beauty! I have over 400 points. I wonder what kind of Relief Rations I can get. I heard in the Imperial Capital, they distribute based on Contribution Points…”
“Well, we shouldn’t be jealous. The Defense Army is on the front lines; it’s only right they get more… I just hope my points are enough…”
Everyone walked with long strides or jogged. Huai Yu, walking alone and looking around in confusion, seemed out of place.
When the crowd surged into a square building with a missing corner, she looked even more peculiar.
The hall was packed. People spoke with excitement or calmness. Huai Yu tilted her head, catching bits of conversation from all sides—
“Look at how spacious this hall is. It used to be the Housing Authority. Man! It used to be packed with people all day. Now, you can just live in any unfinished building in the city…”
“What are you talking about? Unfinished buildings are great! They didn’t have any landscaping back then, so they’re much safer!”
“You’re talking about the ones in the city center. The ones in the suburbs are overgrown with wild grass. It takes forever to clear them out before you can move in…”
“Exactly. A lot of those suburban developments used to advertise ‘close to nature’ and ‘adjacent to Mount Sanqing’.”
“Unfinished buildings don’t have any cover, but they have great ventilation and sunlight. Plants grow so fast there! You can’t live in those.”
“Damn, I used to live in a villa district just for the greenery. When the plants and animals mutated, the ivy on the wall literally ripped down one side of my house.”
“Sigh, don’t talk about the past. Now that we’ve survived, life will go on…”
She listened silently, moving forward with the line. After standing for an unknown amount of time, it was finally her turn.
Behind a makeshift desk, a middle-aged man went through the motions numbly.
“ID card.”
Huai Yu blanked for a second, then shook her head. “I don’t have one.”
The man sighed. “If you don’t have one, why are you wasting time in this line? Don’t you read the notices? Go to the line next door.”
Huai Yu couldn’t remember anything. She could only rely on the current primitive technology. Hearing this, she went to join the other line in a daze.
The next line was also very, very long. She waited from the first light of dawn until the sun hung high in the sky before it was finally her turn.
“If you lost your ID, why didn’t you come to get a new one earlier? How did you get your Contribution Card without an ID? Did you use a temporary one before?”