Black Flowers

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.