Chapter 1: National Census
[Today is March 18, 2066. Sunny. Air Mutation Index: 3. No anomalies reported in Sanqing Mountain or the Wastelands…]
[Mutation subsides, everything awaits rebuilding! Lin Xuefeng, a Mutated Plant Defense Army Officer, retires due to injuries. In the Representative Assembly, newly appointed Officer Wu Yue proposes that public life should be restored as soon as possible…]
[The first national census of Flower City begins!]
[All citizens within Flower City, please bring your personal contribution cards and valid ID documents to the Administrative Center for verification and registration. Relief rations will be distributed…]
Clear, loud broadcasts echoed from all directions, audible even deep in the forests.
From the Wastelands, faint sounds of human voices approached, like people running back.
Meanwhile, the forest was alive with rustling sounds: the frenzied growth of plants, the sudden bloom of flowers with popping sounds, and a mix of strange, pleading cries of birds and beasts…
Suddenly, a young girl stumbled out of the woods.
She looked about fifteen or sixteen years old, her skin pale and delicate, so tender that even a light brush of leaves could leave a mark.
Yet as she stumbled out in her ragged clothes, the jagged leaves retreated, the gnarled roots shifted slightly, as if afraid of tripping her.
However, once she left the woods, she was faced with a wall of blooming roses—over 5 meters tall, stretching endlessly to both sides.
Cascades of pink buds hung from the wall, their faint fragrance carried far by the breeze along with drifting petals.
But at a glance, one could see that beneath the vibrant flowers, the densely packed branches bristled with gleaming thorns, their tips faintly shimmering with a metallic sheen.
[This looks so familiar…]
The girl murmured, then, without hesitation, reached out and touched it.
The next moment, the rose wall rustled and shifted. Branches wriggled and parted, forming a passage just wide enough for her to pass through.
The girl hesitated for a moment, then stepped through without looking back.
Inside, it was a ruined city, almost devoid of green.
The city buzzed with noise.
Many skyscrapers still stood, but some had collapsed into rubble. Cracks and potholes marred the streets, signs of past devastation.
Greenery only grew in the cracks between walls, swaying with the wind. From afar, not a single full-grown tree could be seen.
The whole city looked even more desolate.
In sharp contrast, the broadcast repeated in an upbeat, energetic tone:
[The first national census of Flower City begins!]
[All citizens within Flower City, please bring your personal ID and contribution cards to the Administrative Center for verification and registration. Relief rations will be distributed…]
The announcements played over and over, and more and more people began to emerge.
From residential areas, from malls, even from abandoned amusement parks… Dirty and disheveled, yet filled with excitement.
They gathered in groups, running toward the city center, chattering:
“The mutation levels have been so stable lately! Haven’t heard a peep from Sanqing Mountain.”
“Sanqing Mountain’s always been quiet. Even fewer mutant plants and beasts than the Wastelands.”
“With the mountain and the rose corridor shielding us, Flower City wasn’t as badly damaged…”
Huai Yu listened quietly among the crowd, slowly piecing things together—so the mountain was Sanqing Mountain, and the flower wall was called the Rose Corridor.
“We have lots of wood-type ability users in Flower City. My mom says it’s thanks to the Mountain God’s blessing.”
“There are only a few ability users, and they all joined the Mutated Plant Defense Army. Nothing to do with us ordinary folks…”
“How’s it nothing to do with us? What if one of us mutates when reaching the critical threshold?”
“Yeah, right! Regular folks just go crazy at the threshold. Plus, those ability users get even more polluted afterward.”
Ability users…
Huai Yu opened her hand. Was her power to control plants also an ability?
She wanted to hear more, but the crowd shifted topics:
“How many contribution points do you have? I did tons of brick-moving, got extra points… So tough, man. I used to study finance…”
“I was into beauty and hairdressing! I’ve got over 400 points. I wonder what kind of rations I’ll get. Heard in the Capital they distribute everything based on points…”
“No point being jealous. The Mutated Plant Defense Army is on the frontlines; they deserve it… Hope my points are enough though.”
Everyone was striding quickly, some jogging, while Huai Yu, wandering in confusion, seemed out of place.
When the crowd poured into a large, broken building, she stood out even more.
The hall inside was packed, full of voices. As she tilted her head slightly, she caught snatches of conversation:
“See how big this hall is? Used to be the Housing Authority. Packed with people all day long back then. Now you can live in any half-finished building…”
“Half-finished buildings are great! No landscaping, so safer!”
“That’s only true in the city center. Out in the suburbs, you have to clear tons of weeds before you can even move in…”
“Yeah, those suburban properties—‘close to nature’ they said, ‘right by Sanqing Mountain.’“
“Those unfinished buildings are wide open, great sunlight and ventilation, and plants grow like crazy! No way you can live there.”
“Damn, I used to live in a fancy villa just for the landscaping, and after the mutations, the ivy tore down an entire wall!”
“Sigh, forget the past. We’ve survived, and life will go on.”
Huai Yu listened silently, inching forward with the line. After who knew how long, it was finally her turn.
At a simple desk, a middle-aged man was mechanically processing registrations:
“ID card.”
Huai Yu blanked out for a second, then shook her head. “I don’t have one.”
He sighed. “If you don’t have one, why are you in this line? Didn’t you read the notice? Go to the other line.”
Having no memory to rely on, Huai Yu could only depend on the basic technology left. Hearing this, she dazedly switched to the next line.
That line was just as long, stretching from dawn till the sun was high in the sky before her turn came.
“Lost your ID? Why didn’t you get a new one earlier? How did you even get a contribution card without one? Were you using a temporary one?”
