In the northern part of Anhui province, within the Tianhe City area, this place was once a nationally renowned heavy industrial city before the apocalypse. It gained fa for producing a large number of aerospace materials and industrial equipnt.
Tianhe City, while not particularly large in size, had a higher number of survivors after the apocalypse compared to other cities of the sa level. The main reason for this was its rugged terrain, and it had also constructed nurous underground air-raid shelters in the past to prevent nuclear warfare.
Relying on these air-raid shelters, the survivors in Tianhe City managed to hide safely, avoiding conflicts with large-scale waves of the undead. They took this opportunity to search for food and water.
Five years of the apocalypse had transford the world significantly. Human traces were slowly fading away, replaced by signs of plant growth.
With reduced human activity, these plants began to grow vigorously. Greenery gradually covered the once towering skyscrapers. Although the entire city had not yet been enveloped, it added a touch of elegance to the cityscape of steel and concrete.
At this mont, in a suburban botanical garden, a group of about a dozen n and won were slowly approaching the main gate.
Behind them were desolate remnants of broken walls, fractured high-rises, burnt black roads, and abandoned cars on the streets, giving the land an extre post-apocalyptic style.
"Stop, there seems to be so sound. Wen, co and listen!"
The woman at the forefront snapped her hand open, and the group imdiately halted, silent.
A young man in the middle of the group, with a pale complexion and an ordinary appearance, walked up slowly. He looked towards the young woman leading the team, the one who had just prompted them to stop.
"Why are you standing still? Listen to what’s going on."
The young woman was sowhat anxious, lowering her voice as she urged them.
The slender young man called Wen swallowed a spit, his gaze fixed tightly on the woman’s shoulder bag, a hint of desire flashing in his eyes.
"You’ll get your share, but for now, we’re outside. You’ll get it when we return!"
Seeing Wen’s gaze, the woman grew impatient, urging him continuously. However, the young man just shook his head, his gaze unchanged.
"Damn it, untrained cub. You’re lucky this ti!"
The woman cursed under her breath, reaching into her shoulder bag to pull out a few dark, jelly-like chunks wrapped in a transparent bag—sothing that looked far from appetizing.
Upon seeing these dark and unappetizing jelly chunks, a group of people behind the woman couldn’t help but salivate desperately, their eyes revealing greedy longing.
If not for the woman having a worn-out handgun visibly strapped to her waist, it seed they would have rushed forward to snatch it already.
Throwing the jelly chunks to the young man nad Wen, the woman’s expression turned sour.
"What, satisfied now? Listen carefully, if anything goes wrong, I’ll be the first to kill you!"
The slender-faced youth trembled for a mont, quickly stuffing the palm-sized jelly chunks into his pocket. He looked at the group of n and won nearby, holding tightly onto a sharpened steel pipe in his hand.
Observing this, the woman took a few steps, blocking the group in front of her. She then nodded towards the young man.
Understanding her signal, the young man silently approached the entrance of the botanical garden, pressing his ear against the rusty, large iron gate, listening intently.
After a while, the young man’s expression beca more serious. He then crouched down, his ears gently trembling against the ground, listening attentively for a few more minutes.
Subsequently, the young man stood up and shook his head at the leading woman.
The woman frowned, her face showing a hint of ruthlessness.
"I offered the only few pieces of nutrition gel I had as a reward. This is your answer—can we enter or not?"
The young man, facing the woman’s cold gaze, couldn’t help but shiver. After hesitating for a mont, he gestured and pointed towards a hole in the wall on the west side of the botanical garden, a breach whose origin was unknown.
Seeing this, the woman’s gaze finally cald down, a hint of seriousness flickering in her eyes. She turned back to the group and spoke.
"We’ll go in from the side. If we can successfully obtain the crystals, each of you will get three pieces of that nutrition gel from earlier. But if I catch anyone trying anything funny, don’t bla for not giving face."
The scattered group of n and won nodded in agreent, their eyes showing a touch of eagerness.
"Let’s go!"
The dozen or so people entered the botanical garden through the hole in the nearby wall one by one.
The botanical garden was quite large, occupying tens of thousands of square ters even before the apocalypse. After the apocalypse, due to the rampant growth of plants, the entire botanical garden expanded outward continuously, making it look like a primitive forest, completely covered in greenery.
Outside the iron and steel city, although space had been encroached upon by plants, the overall urban structure was still maintained. However, upon entering the botanical garden, everything visible was green, with various strange and exotic plants coming into view.
Thick, straight trees ford the foundation of the botanical garden, followed by various vines and ivy crisscrossing and tightly wrapping around the original structures, making it almost impossible to see any traces of the original buildings.
Even the ground was covered with thick vines and vegetation, creating a dark and chilling atmosphere, as if entering a sea of plants.
Upon entering, even the air seed to have quieted down significantly. The group of survivors felt as though they could hear each other’s breathing, creating an eerie silence.
Following their gaze, except for a passageway not covered by plants, everything else was enveloped in greenery.
The group unmistakably felt the eerie atmosphere. The only green passageway looked like the mouth of a giant, waiting to swallow them whole.
Wen, forced to lead the way, shivered. The place was air-tight, with hardly any sunlight penetrating. The air was cold and eerie, making him reluctant to enter if not for the lack of alternatives.
The young woman who led the group earlier had a serious expression, her brows furrowed. Sothing felt off; the silence here was excessive. Although the majority of creatures on Earth were infected by the zombie virus, insects and so very small animals maintained their original state.
In an environnt covered in plants, such quietness was improbable, even if it was just the chirping of insects.
Reaching out to touch the vine plants beside the passageway, Wen felt an eerie warmth, as if he was touching the skin of so creature rather than a plant.
The woman was startled, reflexively unsheathing her sidearm and slashing at the vine. A creaking sound followed, and the vine was cut in half, revealing its interior, still the sa vine. However, as the severed vine, hanging by the passageway, oozed a green liquid, what was a normal sight seed like the vine was bleeding to the woman.
"What’s going on?"
Seeing the woman’s actions, the n and won behind her were startled. They quickly pulled out an array of weapons—sharpened steel pipes, baseball bats, even a damaged fire axe—a diverse collection.
"It’s okay, let’s move quickly. Sothing feels off here."
The group hastened through the passageway and entered a large greenhouse for cultivating plants. Inside, the sunlight began to shine brightly. The steel greenhouse, towering several tens of ters high, prevented the plants from completely covering it.
"Sigh..."
"The atmosphere in there was really oppressive!"
The people discussed among themselves. Although plants seed harmless, the endless expanse of green, coupled with an eerie quietness, created an extrely oppressive and stifling feeling. It wasn’t until they entered the greenhouse that things felt a bit better.
"Oh my god, what is this!"
At that mont, a man in the group exclaid in terror.
All eyes turned in his direction, and a collective gasp echoed through the group. Hearts raced with a sense of panic.
"I told you these overgrown vines. How co they didn’t wrap around this greenhouse? Turns out, it has invaded the living space!"
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