In the afternoon of the next day, Shen Yi noticed the sun wasn't too harsh and said goodbye before heading out.
Cheng Jun stood at the intersection, watching the departing car, silently praying for Shen Yi's safe journey.
The high-rise that collapsed in yesterday's earthquake was in the south.
Shen Yi had been there before but had only gone as far as the shopping center before stopping, never venturing deeper.
Currently, Shen Yi was in Jiangcheng District, which wasn't considered the central area.
According to the complete map of Huaijing City they had found, that area was closer to the city center.
"Beep."
A static sound came from the walkie-talkie beside him, followed by Cheng Jun's slightly distorted voice.
"Shen Yi, Shen Yi, please respond if you copy."
"Copy that, what's up?"
Shen Yi replied while steering with one hand and holding up the walkie-talkie with the other.
"Nothing, just checking on you."
"I'm fine, approaching the central district now, probably less than ten minutes away."
"Okay, just... be careful, and contact me if anything happens."
"Don't worry, I've got this."
Shen Yi acknowledged, and Cheng Jun reluctantly signed off.
The walkie-talkies had limited battery life, so they needed to save them for crucial communications rather than casual chat.
They had found this pair in the security booth, and Cheng Jun had charged them last night for communication.
Shen Yi drove past the shopping center he'd visited before, heading deeper into the area.
The vegetation grew increasingly dense, with many roots breaking through the concrete road, forcing Shen Yi to slow down.
Unlike the well-preserved buildings in Jiangcheng District, most structures in the city center were devastated, with few remaining intact.
Stopping the car, Shen Yi clipped the walkie-talkie to his waist.
The road ahead was blocked by plants and rubble, making it impassable for vehicles.
Finding a gap, Shen Yi crouched down and squeezed through.
This area finally had an apocalyptic feel to it, with ruins, wreckage, abandoned cars, and wasteland everywhere.
After walking for a while, Shen Yi looked up to see the half-collapsed high-rise from yesterday right before him.
"It should be just ahead..."
Shen Yi continued walking forward to investigate.
He passed through a coffee shop missing half its roof.
Countless aerial roots were exposed, converging densely toward a central point.
The layered root system made Shen Yi's brow furrow with disgust.
"Was yesterday's earthquake caused by these roots moving?"
He cautiously avoided the roots, pushing aside vines and leaves to look inside.
At the center of the countless protective roots were just a few small black flowers.
The plant's leaves were broad like opened umbrellas, so thin they were almost transparent, allowing sunlight to filter through to the ground.
The black flowers had four petals, not particularly vibrant, yet sunlight reflecting off them created rainbow-like colors.
The stem was purely black, looking like a carbon fiber pillar from afar, with what appeared to be liquid churning inside.
As Shen Yi looked on, he could sense an overwhelming vitality flowing within.
"Is this... that strange flower?"
He immediately spotted the black flower in the center, clearly the same type as the one on the rat's head.
The connection was obvious, and Shen Yi's heart tensed.
"Is this plant the culprit behind this world's downfall?"
On the surface, except for its strange color, the flower looked no different from ordinary wildflowers, appearing so fragile that stepping on it would destroy many.
But Shen Yi couldn't underestimate it, seeing the thick roots below.
The numerous robust roots seemed like just the tip of an iceberg, with an unknown massive network below.
With so much nutrition feeding this small plant, one could imagine how terrifyingly powerful its vital energy must be.
This thing didn't seem friendly, and Shen Yi decided to leave immediately.
As for getting closer to look or even picking it - such suicidal thoughts didn't even cross his mind.
Slowly backing away, Shen Yi returned to the coffee shop.
Suddenly, a three-legged chair collapsed from decay, startling him.
After cautiously observing for a while and detecting no other movement, he finally relaxed.
Not wanting to take any chances, he quickly walked away.
This was a world-ending weapon - a single vine would be enough to kill him eight times over.
Running back to the car in one go, Shen Yi finally had time to think,
"Is it dormant? Or did I just not offend it?"
Either way, avoiding danger was good news.
Getting in the car and turning around, Shen Yi contacted Cheng Jun.
As soon as the connection was made, the other side anxiously asked,
"How are you? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, heading back now, I'll tell you everything when I get home."
Shen Yi briefly reported his safety, then stepped on the gas to speed back.
As soon as the car turned in, he saw Cheng Jun already standing at the door, looking like a statue waiting for her husband's return.
As Shen Yi got out, Cheng Jun walked over and dusted off his clothes, asking:
"That was quick, what's the situation in there?"
Sighing, Shen Yi grabbed the towel from her hand and walked inside. He had thought about many things on the way back,
"The situation isn't good. This wasn't an earthquake at all. You know the plants in this world have mutated."
Cheng Jun nodded behind him.
Shen Yi then described what he had seen that afternoon.
"This... this thing can't be native, right? How could anything else survive with it around?"
After his description, with Cheng Jun's intelligence, she had already guessed eight or nine tenths of the truth.
Given how aggressively this strange flower consumed nutrients and land, there would be no room for other animals or plants to survive.
"Perhaps it's some kind of mutation, and that rat was probably being parasitized and controlled by it."
"I don't think so. There are only a few flowers in total - if it needs one flower per host, how many could it control?"
"That's true, but why did that rat approach us several times?"
"We can't see the whole picture yet."
It was still early, so they sat down in the living room to play chess while talking.
Cheng Jun analyzed the situation while casually placing a piece.
They often played chess for entertainment, one of their few leisure activities.
Cheng Jun was slightly better, usually winning more games than Shen Yi.
Holding a chess piece and pretending to think, Shen Yi said,
"We might need to move."
"You're thinking about moving too?"
"Of course, who could feel safe living under a tiger's eyelids? It might seem peaceful now, but when the tiger opens its eyes, it'll probably crush the bugs in front of it first."
As for peaceful coexistence, Shen Yi had no such illusion - if peace were possible, where had the entire city's population gone?
"But where could we move to?"
They seemed to be thinking along the same lines, but the question of moving raised new difficulties.
They weren't locals, not even from this world.
It wasn't about being attached to this place, but rather not knowing where to go. Unknown places might not be safer, and finding stable sources of supplies would be another problem.
Not to mention Cheng Jun, but from Shen Yi's perspective, only three months of their one-year limit had passed, with plenty of time remaining - where could they wander to?
Placing a piece on the board, Shen Yi shook his head:
"I give up, can't beat you."
Cheng Jun frowned at the board, asking puzzled,
"Did you let me win? How come it was even faster than last time?"
"No way! You're just improving too fast."
Shen Yi protested from the side.
"Really? We haven't played for days, how could I improve?"
Seeing her reaction, Shen Yi quickly changed the subject,
"Oh, it's dinner time, I'll go cook."
"Don't move, I'll cook today. You can't always do it, especially since you went out today."
Cheng Jun stopped Shen Yi and stood up.
"Alright, you do it then."
Seeing her enthusiasm, Shen Yi agreed with some skepticism.
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
world slacker. But a genius female disciple just had to get clingy, insisting that he take her as a disciple. Not only that, she was always making advances on him, thoroughly disrupting his peaceful slacker life...
