Chapter 53: The Flower Vase by the Bed
The Exotic Plant Defense Force arrived at Rose Corridor Zone 37 five minutes later.
It was just after nightfall. The sound of engines grew louder, and the atmosphere was silent and tense, with voices kept low, almost inaudible.
Military boots stepped soundlessly on the still-damp earth. When beams of bright lights swept through the area and revealed the quiet, motionless silhouette of the Rose Corridor, the team finally relaxed and came out of stealth mode.
But the mutation level detector nearby still glowed with a dangerous red light.
Zhou Qian raised his hand. Beside him, someone held a device. “The mutation level jumped 12 points in one minute. It must be really upset.”
But why?
Everyone present had the same thought running through their minds.
The Rose Corridor had become an ally of the Defense Force precisely because it was emotionally stable. Even the prolonged polluted rain hadn’t stirred it up this badly—so why now, after the rain had stopped?
“Was there a fight nearby? Or…”
Blood was spilled.
Everyone tensed up. Zhou Qian’s expression turned solemn, a hint of worry in his eyes—he remembered that Huai Yu lived in Zone 37.
With that thought, he didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go check.”
As the team drew closer to the Rose Corridor, the beams of light illuminated more and more of the area—until the sight before them left everyone speechless.
Someone had… built a house this close to the Rose Corridor?
The structure wasn’t exactly neat—by their standards, they could nitpick plenty—but still, it was a proper, wind-and-rain-proof shelter.
Everyone stayed alert, cautiously moving toward the treehouse.
The light shone directly on the entrance, revealing a bunch of dreamy wisteria flowers swaying gently in the night breeze. It gave the impression that whoever lived here had a strong sense of aesthetics.
The finely woven yellow straw curtain hanging at the door looked like the work of someone who really knew how to live.
“Brother Zhou!”
The curtain rustled, and a small head poked out from behind it.
The girl’s face was pale, like she’d been frightened.
Zhou Qian let out a silent breath. Of course, she was scared. First, a mutation alert from the Rose Corridor, then this treehouse appearing out of nowhere nearby…
Wait!
He froze. “Huai Yu?! You live here?!”
“This is my home!” Huai Yu stepped out from behind the curtain, hands still muddy. She pointed to the treehouse behind her. “Look! The waterproof tarp was the one you gave me!”
“I didn’t give it to you! You traded for it,” Zhou Qian corrected instinctively, then froze again.
Sure, he knew this girl was resourceful enough to live on her own. He knew she had built herself a house. And he knew her life had been getting better—he’d even spotted her during that stormy day around here…
But he never imagined her house was less than 20 meters from the Rose Corridor!
Twenty meters!
Even Zone 69’s camp didn’t dare settle that close to the Rose Corridor!
Zhou Qian took a deep breath. With Huai Yu present at both recent Rose Corridor incidents, he quickly calmed himself and said seriously:
“Huai Yu, I need to ask you a few questions.”
Huai Yu looked pale, her thin frame swaying a little in the breeze, but she nodded:
“Okay, Captain Zhou. Ask away.”
“Why are you living so close to the Rose Corridor? I warned you multiple times.”
Huai Yu hesitated. “I live alone, and I don’t really know how to fight. Living near the corridor… people won’t dare come close. It makes me feel safer.”
“And…”
She slowly raised her hand. “I have a little bit of a wood-type ability… just a little, very weak.”
Aside from Lin Xuefeng, she had never met another ability user, and didn’t know if they were all as powerful as him.
But Lin Xuefeng’s easy defeat of his enemies had left a deep impression on her, and even her excuses now were tinged with trust in his words.
He had told her she had faint wood-type energy. She didn’t even know about her purification power.
So a small reveal now seemed reasonable.
Zhou Qian raised an eyebrow, but soon relaxed and said to the person beside him:
“Test her.”
The person holding the mutation detector approached Huai Yu, quickly adjusting the device.
Before it even touched her, the device beeped.
“Wood-type, mutation level 7.”
Zhou Qian let out a breath.
That level meant she had no real power—no wonder she never mentioned it.
But with this small ability, she would indeed be more attuned to the Rose Corridor than to strangers, making the corridor the safer option.
As long as the corridor wasn’t upset.
Still, there was one more thing—
“What were you doing right before the Rose Corridor triggered the alert?”
Huai Yu paused, her eyes wide and innocent: “I bought some little ginseng plants at the trading market today. A few were still alive, so I thought I’d try planting them…”
“Before it got mad, I was just planting ginseng.”
She probably wasn’t lying—Zhou Qian could tell, and relaxed a little more.
Still… buying ginseng at the market and trying to grow it? That wasn’t quite a scam, but it showed inexperience.
Zhou Qian nodded, then pointed to the treehouse. “We need to look inside.”
Huai Yu nodded. “Alright.”
She stepped aside, clapping the dried mud from her hands, and lifted the straw curtain.
Inside, the first thing they saw was the center of the house—an improvised stove made of green bricks, a lively fire burning within. Next to it, a very neatly arranged set of kitchen tools: knife, cutting board, and cookware.
Then came the familiar sight of a Defense Force-issued solar lamp placed on a green-brick shelf, casting bright light across the room.
The house was small, so Zhou Qian and his team entered in a loose triangle formation. In the corner, a thick bed of dried straw surrounded a simple military cot, making it feel extra safe.
Across from the bed, past the flickering stove fire, stood a black bicycle with a high bar.
Clothes and towels hung from tree vines overhead.
Pots, buckets, and baskets were arranged neatly on the ground.
On the green brick cabinet by the bed stood a small, delicate white ceramic vase. In it, a single thin-stemmed pink-and-white rose.
Zhou Qian was speechless.
Wood-type affinity could be that strong? The Rose Corridor even let her pick a flower?
Then, his eyes narrowed. He spotted something at the base of the vase—an inscription, gleaming like an ice carving in the lamp’s light.
