Xu Yan chose the tenth floor as the eting location for a clear reason: the plants outside.
The residential building was a fully enclosed structure, sturdy, with reinforced glass. Overall, it was in good condition, but the lower three floors were entirely obscured by the rapidly growing dense vegetation that had overtaken the courtyard overnight.
The first-floor lobby, especially on the north-facing side, was mostly glass, now entirely engulfed in a sea of green. Massive trees with thick trunks stood rooted, cracking and lifting the tiled pavent unevenly, with wild grass and moss covering everything.
So trees were towering, their roots intertwined and chaotic, with certain species recognizable, while others appeared bizarre and alien, resembling extraterrestrial plants.
One tree, in particular, grew pressed against the glass wall, its thick dark roots bursting through the gray exterior tiles and creeping up the glass like monstrous tentacles, extending from one side of the wall to the other, wrapping around the entrance doors.
Holding the eting there would only deepen everyone’s despair, so he chose the tenth floor instead.
There was a vacant apartnt on the tenth floor, only equipped with basic fittings, no furniture, and long unused. In tis like this, when every household was guarding its food and supplies, nobody wanted visitors. Holding the eting in an empty apartnt was much more convenient.
The eting was scheduled for 10 a.m. Yu Xi and Fan Qi arrived precisely on ti, walking down the stairs. Normally, Yu Xi alone would have sufficed, but Fan Qi, cooped up for days, expressed a desire to see the situation herself.
Yu Xi was pleased with her mother’s initiative and graciously let her take the lead, walking a half step behind while holding her arm.
Xu Yan greeted them, politely addressing Fan Qi before smiling at Yu Xi. “You look in good spirits.”
The residents soon arrived, more than the turnout for the last trip to the community supermarket. Yu Xi didn’t recognize most of them and couldn’t tell if everyone had shown up.
Xu Yan, while organizing the eting, took a nonchalant approach. He rely inford the residents—those willing to co could attend; those unwilling, he wouldn’t force. After waiting an additional ten minutes, he announced the start of the eting.
He began by acknowledging everyone’s anxiety. In the past, it was rely dangerous outside, and the authorities had advised against going out. Now, without proper equipnt, even those who wanted to leave couldn’t make it far.
The dense vegetation posed significant challenges, not least of which was the sheer difficulty of navigating through it.
Xu Yan explained that before coming upstairs, he had inspected the lobby. Anyone wishing to leave the building would need to either break through the glass or cut through the tree roots.
There was, however, another way: unlocking the elevator and descending to the underground garage to exit from there.
The garage exit, located on the opposite side of the building, was currently out of sight, and its condition was unknown. It might be overgrown with even denser vegetation than outside the lobby. But at least the garage’s exit wasn’t locked, and the stairwell leading to it wouldn’t be blocked by plants.
Xu Yan’s goal for calling the eting was twofold. First, he wanted to emphasize this point in person—given the many residents, he couldn’t assu everyone shared the sa mindset. He was concerned that so might act rashly and compromise the building’s integrity by trying to leave.
Second, he wanted to gather everyone to discuss what they should do moving forward.
“Didn’t the news advise us to stay ho and wait? They’ll probably send rescue teams to clear the plants, just like last ti. Our family isn’t going anywhere,” said one resident from the third floor.
Their windows overlooked a canopy of lush greenery. Not only did they avoid opening their windows, but they kept their curtains tightly drawn to avoid glimpsing any insects that might pass by or land on the glass. For extra security, they had sealed their large living room window with cardboard and tape.
This comnt imdiately resonated with the more cautious residents, who nodded in agreent.
The plants had only been growing out of control for two or three days, and many still trusted the news reports. Schools and workplaces were out of the question for now, but that was the least of anyone’s concerns.
Most families had sufficient supplies. During the brief period when social order had been restored, many had gone out to stock up on food and essentials.
Even with rationing, most households could last at least two weeks. With careful planning, so could stretch their supplies for a month or longer.
Surely, after a month, the situation outside would improve. After all, they were dealing with plants—fire alone could quickly clear them out. The authorities couldn’t possibly sit idle for an entire month.
In a city as large as S City, it seed unimaginable for everything to co to a halt for an entire month. Even if the local governnt didn’t take action, the national authorities would surely step in to provide assistance.
Many residents had been keeping tabs on the situation online. From various photos and videos, it was evident that the rampant plant growth wasn’t affecting every city. Their city seed particularly unlucky, along with several neighboring ones, which had also turned into seas of greenery.
However, many cities were still managing. Although they faced challenges from mutated plants and animals, their operations remained relatively normal. In those cities, people reported difficulties in travel and work, but remote working and minimized social activities helped keep things functional. These cities prioritized the supply and flow of resources, even at the cost of slowing down efforts to combat the mutated plants and animals. As long as people’s basic needs were t, complaints about the slow pace of cleanup were limited.
For example, a couple of professors who lived below Yu Xi had their son, daughter-in-law, and grandson in G City. Being closer to the tropics, G City’s situation was reportedly more stable. Despite inconveniences, people there could manage with work-from-ho arrangents, and life was far less chaotic than in S City. The professors’ family in G City was deeply worried about them and had urged them to relocate as soon as the crisis subsided, even if it ant downsizing and enduring so hardship, as long as they could reunite.
While the more cautious residents discussed these online updates and shared personal stories, others who were more proactive grew impatient.
The first to speak up was a pair of young brothers. Yu Xi recognized the elder one, who had joined the earlier trip to the neighborhood supermarket. Even then, just days after the initial mutations, he had been willing to venture out for supplies, showing a preference for being prepared. Their family of four—parents and two sons—were capable and pragmatic. Just as they had prioritized self-reliance during the last incident, they were doing so now.
“It’s true that staying in the building feels relatively safe,” the elder brother began, “but this ti is completely different from the last. Back then, by the second day, rescue teams were already clearing things up. Even when we encountered giant rats, one call was enough to get help right away. But now? It’s been three days, and has anyone seen a rescue team?”
A cautious voice interjected, “Didn’t the news say rescue teams would still respond to ergencies?”
“And what exactly counts as an ergency?” The elder brother’s tone sharpened. “I have a friend whose family lives on the first floor. The plants have grown so much that the glass has been pierced, and moss has started creeping onto their floors. They clean it every day, but by the next day, it’s grown back. They have a young child, barely over a year old, and the formula they stocked before the mutations isn’t suitable anymore.
“With the plants taking over, their ho feels like a sewer—no sunlight, just green everywhere. Last night, a worm broke through the floorboards and nearly crawled onto the baby’s bed. The whole family was terrified. They called the rescue hotline, but all they got was an automated response saying it wasn’t a ‘special case.’”
His calm and thodical explanation silenced the room. All eyes were now on him as he continued.
“Now, before coming to this eting, I checked in with them. They’re alive and unhard—for now. That’s probably why their situation isn’t classified as ‘special.’ But how many similar cases are there across this city?
“Do you think things will improve in half a month or a month? This isn’t just an S City problem, or even a Sheng Country problem—it’s an issue affecting the entire planet. Instead of relying on rescue efforts that may never arrive, we need to start helping ourselves. If we wait until our food, water, and supplies run out, it’ll be too late to co up with a solution.”
He paused for a mont before continuing, saying that he would wait for two more days. The next two days would primarily be spent using the internet to assess the situation outside. Afterward, he would make the necessary preparations to leave.
Whether for gathering supplies or surveying the outside situation, if things went well, the two brothers might take their parents and leave S City for another city that was faring better.
“I know you don’t want to admit it, but this disaster is probably not a short-term crisis. We need to consider how we’ll survive if the world stays like this.”
“That’s right,” a woman’s voice replied. Yu Xi turned to see it was the wife from the couple who lived next door and had been repeatedly attacked by the white heron.
Since they moved downstairs, she hadn’t seen much of them. As one of the victims of the initial mutations, they had been very focused on the news of the outside world ever since.
“You’re right. This disaster is just too widespread, and there are too many things that don’t make sense. Have you heard of the idea of the planet self-repairing itself?”
“I have. I think it makes a lot of sense. The planet, as a vessel, should have been neutral, but now it’s clearly favoring the plants and animals, squeezing out the living space for humans. It’s as if the planet suddenly ca alive.”
The woman nodded repeatedly at the other person’s words. She had been reading up on this concept at ho, but her husband didn’t understand it, always thinking she was getting obsessed, saying those ideas were just superstitions propagated by illegal organizations. They’d argued about it countless tis.
Hearing soone speak about it in even more detail than she had, she imdiately reached out her hand. “I’m Chen Tong, I used to live on the 15th floor, but I moved to the 7th floor because a dead bird kept targeting .”
“Gou Yaoyang, this is my younger brother Gou Mingfeng. We live on the 9th floor.”
“Nice to et you. Let us know when you plan to go out, I’ll definitely join you. I’m really done with just waiting for rescue, living in fear every day,” Chen Tong said.
Chen Tong was very beautiful, and Gou Yaoyang couldn’t help but glance at her a few more tis. “Okay.”
“Alright, alright, you’re starting again. Let’s go back,” Chen Tong’s husband said, looking displeased as he tugged her towards the door.
After the couple left, still bickering, Gou Yaoyang continued speaking on the “planet self-repairing” theory, providing even more details, explaining it logically. So of the residents seed convinced, and they decided to join him in heading out in two or three days to assess the situation.
The more people they had, the stronger their chances would be. Even if none of them had proper equipnt, at least they would have each other for company, and collective action would make them feel safer.
Looking at Yu Xi, who had been standing by her mother as a listener, Xu Yan walked over and asked, “Are you going?”
Yu Xi had originally planned to go out herself in the next few days to check the outside situation. Now, with the other residents also planning to go, she thought it would be a good idea to join them, not only for the sake of exploring but also to get so physical exercise.
This was her original world, and the people here were real, living, and breathing. She wasn’t powerless. Although she didn’t want to be like a saint, handing out all her accumulated supplies to others, she also didn’t want to be too cold-hearted and rely observe from the sidelines.
She decided to stay low-key within the group, offering help when necessary, but definitely avoiding people who were being reckless.
When Xu Yan heard she was going, he imdiately responded, “Alright, I’ll go too.”
“Hmm, then let
know once you’ve set a ti,” she said, then went upstairs with her mother.
For the next few days, the three of them lived peacefully and securely in the simulated apartnt.
When Yu Xi went to the Acid Rain World, she had brought back many electronic devices that were unavailable in this world. She had purchased several mobile phones that could double as wristbands. She tried using them in this world, but the phone cards were of a different type, so the calling function didn’t work.
Similarly, the mobile network didn’t work, likely due to a signal mismatch caused by the phone cards. However, she was fortunate that the ho Wi-Fi and phone service worked.
In the simulated apartnt in Star House, the Wi-Fi worked too, as it was linked to the real apartnt’s network.
She had asked the system about it, and it confird that the connection would remain as long as the outside world’s signal hadn’t been cut off.
So, while the transparent phones from the Acid Rain World could connect to the internet when there was Wi-Fi, their usefulness was limited since most apps weren’t compatible.
The most useful feature of the phone, in the end, turned out to be the walkie-talkie function.
Author: The previous chapter’s cliffhanger won’t be fully answered until the main storyline progresses further. This story mainly focuses on the heroine’s journey through apocalyptic worlds, hoarding supplies, and completing tasks.
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