“Move! Get out of my way!” Lin Xiaohe shoved through the line of people waiting to leave the city.
Outside the city walls lay Star-Dust pollution, but even more prevalent were the mutated plants. There were always those with a heavy gambling streak, eager to try their luck prospecting outside. Most would buy a protective suit and pay the 100 Star-Coin exit fee, purchasing a mere half-hour of “safe time” beyond the walls.
“What’s the rush? In a hurry to be reborn?!”
“Whoa there! Little girl, planning to off yourself? What a waste of resources, doing it outside the city. Why not give me your heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys instead? I’ll make it painless.”
Lin Xiaohe let all these words go in one ear and out the other. She had only one goal: save her big brother, Lin Chiyang!
[Xiaohe, hurry! Exit the city, turn left for 500 meters, then right for 300! There’s a mutated plant zone there! Big brother was dumped there.]
Lin Xiaohe ran, puffing and panting, while Xin Bao gathered information.
[Xiaohe, that mutated plant zone is extremely dangerous. One hundred percent mortality rate!]
This mutated plant zone was vast, most of it sprawling outside the city, with only a tiny portion nudging against the wall. The Wasteland Star government had initially wanted to clear the area to expand the safe zone, but over a dozen mech squads sent in had vanished—no bodies, no traces. With losses high and gains minimal, and since the plant zone showed no signs of actively expanding its territory, the government simply stopped provoking it. Instead, they issued a public notice declaring it a forbidden zone.
It had to be said, this forbidden zone was indeed a perfect spot for “borrowing a knife” to kill someone.
Lin Xiaohe’s lungs burned with fire, her legs felt leaden. She could already see the mutated plant zone!
It was a dense forest, trees towering into the clouds, their crimson leaves like clusters of blazing fire against the sky. Green vines coiled around the trunks, climbing upwards, their broad leaves filling every gap between the trees. The stunning visual impact intertwined with the oppressive feeling from their sheer size, making anyone who saw this sight catch their breath, their heart tightening.
Dawn hadn’t fully broken yet. The east was just beginning to pale, the black sky slowly fading. The air was still filled with the scent of night and the fragrance of damp earth.
“Let my brother go!” Lin Xiaohe screamed, her voice raw with strain.
Damn it!
Big brother Lin Chiyang was being dragged towards the woods by a vine wrapped around his ankle. The assailants were long gone.
Lin Xiaohe’s mind went blank. Ignoring the danger, driven by instinct, she charged into the forbidden zone, swinging her crowbar wildly, thumping and whacking.
“You’ve got some nerve, touching my people! Do you even know how to write the word ‘death’?”
The crowbar struck the vines, splattering green sap. The vines recoiled slightly, only for more to surge forth. They came from all directions, practically wrapping Lin Chiyang into a green cocoon.
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes were bloodshot. Her crowbar became a blur as she fought and cursed simultaneously.
“You still dare to come at us? Asking for a beating! Do you know who this is? This is my big brother!”
The big brother who always saved the best bites of food for her. The big brother who would throw punches if anyone spoke ill of her. Even though he had mental health issues, even though he looked like a delinquent, in Lin Xiaohe’s heart, Lin Chiyang was her true, beloved big brother!
The thought of such a wonderful brother soon becoming food for mutated plants made Lin Xiaohe explode! All reason vanished in that instant, turned to ash.
“Nobody gets to bully my big brother but me. Even if you’re not human, that rule still applies!”
“Today, I’m going to teach you exactly why flowers are so red!”
Lin Xiaohe shielded Lin Chiyang, her movements never ceasing. The vines seemed to have a mind of their own, constantly attempting sneak attacks from behind. Lin Xiaohe was covered in wounds, her red blood mingling with the green plant matter, creating a sticky, grotesque mixture.
Alarm bells rang incessantly in her mind.
[Host, please note: Your vitality points are at 50, below normal levels.]
[Host, please note: Your vitality points are at 40, below normal levels.]
[Host, please note: Your vitality points are at 30, approaching the warning line.]
[Warning! Warning! Vitality points at 10, 9, 8…]
Darkness swam before Lin Xiaohe’s eyes. Her head spun dizzily. Every breath felt like inhaling molten lava, scorching and painful. Her body began to go limp.
Am I about to die again?
Maybe dying isn’t so bad. This damn interstellar era, not even a ghost would want to stick around.
But if I die, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa… they’d be heartbroken, wouldn’t they? And big brother, second sister… what would happen to them? And Xin Bao… would it die along with me?
Just as Lin Xiaohe was about to lose consciousness, the system announcement changed.
[System detects mutated plant nearby. Initiate collection?]
“Collect! Collect it!” Lin Xiaohe’s voice was barely a whisper.
[Collection successful! Host awarded 1 usable attribute point.]
Clang! Lin Xiaohe collapsed to the ground.
Completely drained, her eyelids felt incredibly heavy. Even moving a finger or her lips seemed to require all her remaining strength.
“Xiaohe, don’t die! Wuwuwu…” Xin Bao, frantic, hopped out of the satchel. Dragging its tiny flowerpot, it struggled over to Lin Xiaohe’s side.
Using its small leaves, Xin Bao carefully held a thumb-sized bottle of purified water, dripping it onto Lin Xiaohe’s lips. It didn’t know how to save Xiaohe, but when Grandma fed it purified water, it felt good. So, it fed Xiaohe all its treasured water. Xiaohe had to get better!
Cool water trickled between her lips, flowing down her throat.
Feeling this coolness, Lin Xiaohe regained a sliver of awareness. She knew her current physical state was critical, teetering on the edge of death.
“System, add 1 point to Constitution.”
[Attribute point allocated successfully.]
[Name: Lin Xiaohe]
[Constitution: 8 points (Weakling)]
[Psionic Power: 50 points (Not an Idiot)]
[Skill: Plant Speaker (Non-upgradable)]
[Summonable Plants: Xin Bao, Mutated Pea]
[Usable Points: 0]
A warm current flowed from her heart, spreading throughout her body.
The effect of that single Constitution point was a full, miraculous recovery for Lin Xiaohe.
Lin Xiaohe let out a long sigh of relief and turned to look at her big brother, Lin Chiyang.
The green vines that had enveloped him had all retreated. Though his face was pale, covered in fine, Densely cuts on his face, body, and hands that oozed blood, his chest rose and fell steadily. He was alive.
Lin Xiaohe felt a slight relief and checked the newly collected mutated plant in her consciousness.
[Name: Mutated Pea (Renamable)]
[Affinity: -100]
[Stage: Mature]
[Level: 5]
[Vitality: 1 / 1000]
[Attack Power: 200]
[Skills: Affinity too low to view]
Well, you live and you see.
Negative affinity! A first.
Lin Xiaohe rubbed her chin, surveying her surroundings. The green vines seemed drained of vigor, their leaves yellowing and drooping.
So, the attacker was this Mutated Pea plant?
As for why the collection succeeded, it was probably because she had beaten the Mutated Pea down to its last point of vitality.
When paths cross, the brave prevail.
With a 2-point vitality advantage, Lin Xiaohe had defeated her opponent, the Mutated Pea.
Cue the celebratory flowers!
Lin Xiaohe’s joy was short-lived. Her communicator buzzed with a call from the police: “A family member of yours has been detained for disturbing public order. Come pay the fine.”
