Sang Wenhao couldn’t fly. He could manipulate metal to levitate.
Various metal components in the air formed pivot points for jumping. Step by step, Sang Wenhao leaped swiftly and far, feeling as if he were flying in the sky.
Fu Erdie could feel that iron plates covered all the wounds on his body. Due to his injuries, almost his entire body felt like hard metal.
It was as if he wasn’t a person with flesh and blood on his back, but a mechanical transport.
Oh, confirmed tool man!
The body of the mutant zombie with ability was still on the ground. Sang Wenhao peeled apart its shattered skull, revealing a cracked crystal core inside.
Fu Erdie recalled how the speed zombie had disappeared with the crystal core earlier and nervously observed Sang Wenhao’s method of handling it. She watched as he carefully wrapped the crystal core with a leaf and extracted it from the zombie’s brain, handing it to Fu Erdie before continuing to fly her towards Building 7.
Fu Erdie: “…”
She guided Sang Wenhao, and they flew directly to the balcony of 16-1.
Sang Wenhao paused in the air for a moment, figuring out how to approach so he could easily carry her to open the window.
Just then, the window opened by itself.
Inside the window, on the balcony, a lively group of overgrown plants extended their branches and leaves outward, attempting to pull them directly inside.
Fu Erdie: “Don’t move! You guys don’t have enough strength to lift us, and you might knock us down!”
Seriously, this was the sixteenth floor, not the first. Even an iron man would be wrecked if they fell.
The plants couldn’t help, so they reluctantly made way for them to squeeze through.
Stepping onto the balcony, Sang Wenhao felt a sudden clarity in his breath. The heavy, putrid stench of the apocalypse had completely disappeared.
Immediately after, he felt a lightness on his back. Turning around, he saw Fu Erdie already enveloped by several huge green leaves, rubbing against her like an affectionate kitten.
The balcony window closed again, and the ivy supported Fu Erdie as she sat on the balcony. Various leaves enthusiastically welcomed her, with subtle competitions and intrigues among them.
Sang Wenhao witnessed a particularly delicate plant with thin branches and wanted to approach it, only to be “accidentally” swatted away by a spider plant.
Sang Wenhao: …
With no one paying him any attention and the balcony crowded, he entered the living room, hoping to find a place to sit down. But as soon as he stepped in, vines from somewhere wrapped tightly around his feet.
A leaf dangled in front of him, with a hint of green liquid on it. Sang Wenhao couldn’t help but wonder if he was being mistaken for food, about to be preyed upon.
The culprits were the tomato and cucumber plants. They had become proficient in techniques like binding and tripping people during today’s battles downstairs, and after Fu Erdie left, they swiftly joined in devouring the zombies, growing much stronger as a result.
A few hours ago, many zombies had struggled and fled because there was no human flesh. Some zombies were even more foolish, simply staying put when there was no meat to smell. They were easily consumed.
The entire neighbourhood of zombies had gathered, with only about fifty roaming outside the buildings.
These zombies became a feast for the plants, nearly stuffing them to capacity. Normally, plants would sleep after overeating, but now, considering the kindergarten leader Fu Erdie was still outside, they wanted to digest quickly and grow rapidly, hoping to extend towards the adjacent building and save their beloved kindergarten leader.
But it turned out, the kindergarten leader didn’t need saving; she flew back on her own…
The kindergarten leader was amazing! Truly deserving of praise!
As for this inexplicable person who came back with the kindergarten leader, who knew if he was a companion or a villain threatening the leader? Of course, he was tied up just in case!
However, the tomato and cucumber plants knew their limits. Without the kindergarten leader’s permission, they wouldn’t act recklessly.
Sang Wenhao didn’t resist; he didn’t feel deceived. He just obediently let himself be bound.
He finally understood why Fu Erdie thought she didn’t have an ability.
These mutated plants, including the mutated houses, should all have evolved under her special ability.
But compared to being attached to Fu Erdie, they seem more like independent individuals who are very fond of her. And since Fu Erdie hasn’t been outside since the apocalypse, she might think that the outside world is full of these mutated houses and plants.
Thinking of this, Sang Wenhao unconsciously smirked.
Under the layers of leaves, Fu Erdie barely discerned Sang Wenhao’s situation and quickly spoke up to explain: “He is a good person. When I encountered danger outside, he helped me.” Though in a sense, he brought the danger along.
Fu Erdie pushed aside the green leaves and supported Sang Wenhao. The cucumber and tomato plants automatically retreated, coming behind Fu Erdie, gracefully curling around, though their message was unclear.
Fu Erdie caressed them: “Thank you for protecting me. For now, he is a good person and my friend in adversity.”
After saying that, she looked at the wall and touched the shimmering white light on the wall: “Can you help heal him a bit?”
It was afternoon, and it was lightly raining outside, so the room was somewhat dim. After Fu Erdie spoke, the electric lights didn’t turn on, but the spots of white light on the wall became brighter.
Upon hearing Fu Erdie’s words, they crowded densely into the man’s body, “examining” him.
In just a moment, Sang Wenhao felt much lighter, as if a long bedridden patient suddenly regained the ability to walk, and the bandages on his body were also removed.
He sat on the ground, afraid of dirtying the snow-white wall, so he didn’t lean against it.
Gradually, comfort and fatigue surged through his body, warming every limb and filling him with vitality.
He opened his somewhat heavy eyes and looked at Fu Erdie: “Can I sleep on the ground? Sorry, I might dirty your floor.”
Sang Wenhao couldn’t see the place clearly, and the green ivy pushed the spider plants out.
Spider plant: …
The spider plants understood instantly! Annoying green ivy! It cleans up for the leader itself but orders others around when cleaning for others! If it has the ability, it should let the leader clean up too! Bastard!
Due to the green ivy’s increasing dominance and arrogance, the spider plant reluctantly approached, trampling the man’s face and head.
Fu Erdie: …
Sang Wenhao: …
Sang Wenhao still wore clothes made of leaves like a wild man, but he wasn’t dirty. However, his face was covered in blood, and his hair hadn’t been washed for several months. Although the house purified the smell upon entering, he was still very dirty.
Spider plants are the most flexible among all plants, plus the daily grinding of millet, cleaning up seemingly troublesome dirt, they appear to handle it with ease.
Impressive corrosive fluid under its control, moving through greasy…
Among the strands of hair, without damaging the hair or scalp, it removed all stains smoothly.
Sang Wenhao was already tired and wanted to sleep. Now feeling a “massage” on his head, he became even more sleepy.
After all, he hadn’t showered yet, and Fu Erdie didn’t want him to sleep on the couch, so she made a bed for him on the floor, laid out a soft mat, and added a thin blanket: “Go to sleep, you’ll feel much better after a rest.”
Without hesitation, Sang Wenhao instantly collapsed onto the mat, eyelids closing, falling into deep sleep.
Having struggled outside for nearly half a year, he had a darker view of human nature. It should have been only their first day meeting, he shouldn’t have been so quick to let his guard down.
But against all odds, he couldn’t help but trust her, trust this room.
As his consciousness sank into drowsiness, he suddenly wondered if drawing people close was her special ability?
Watching him drift into sleep, Fu Erdie reassessed the plants around her.
None of the plants were harmed. Moreover, after consuming many zombies, they had all grown significantly.
She gently touched each of the children’s heads: “Rest now, with no more mutant zombies, everyone is safe. After a nap, maybe you’ll be as strong as Green ivy!”
Nothing motivates plants more than defeating Green ivy!
They each retreated into their respective roots within the walls, beginning to digest and rest, leaving only Green ivy lingering unwillingly beside Fu Erdie.
Like a grown child in an instant, it began to surround Fu Erdie, helping to share her burdens. It insisted on waiting until Fu Erdie finished everything and rested before it could rest assured.
Fu Erdie couldn’t help but soften her gaze: “Then come with me for a stroll.”
The old lady isn’t home now.
Fu Erdie thought, at this critical juncture, her leaving must be due to a special circumstance. She had to go find her.
As she pushed open the door, Fu Erdie slowly widened her eyes, suddenly understanding what had happened.
Before, the spider plant expanded its area, covering the entire 16th floor. Except for 16-1, all rooms on the 16th floor became much cleaner as a result.
However, since there were no houses to bless, the air purification effect had its limitations.
But now, the entire 16th floor is as clean as 16-1, if not more so. The air is fresh to the extent that it could be attributed to the spider plant’s enhanced strength. However, there were still some signs of wear and tear on the floors, corridors, and walls of the 16th floor. Impact from zombies during the apocalypse, people fleeing at the beginning of the apocalypse, and normal wear and tear before the apocalypse—all of these factors left their marks on the building.
But now, those marks have disappeared.
Fu Erdie couldn’t believe it as she touched the wall in the corridor: “Is it you?”
The plain wall blinked back at her.
It was!
It really was her house!
The domain of the house extended, now covering the entire 16th floor!
She was overjoyed.
The green ivy and the house, jointly ruling this floor.
Normally, Fu Erdie didn’t like to be in the sun at home. Except for intentional sun exposure during certain times, she would usually either draw the curtains or position herself where the sun couldn’t reach.
The green vine was clearly aware of this.
At home, when there were other plants around, it wouldn’t cover the entire balcony. But now, out in the corridor, it spread out like some strange vine, blocking out the sky and sun.
Only the small patches of sunlight filtering through the giant leaves indicated whether it was day or night outside.
The corridor walls also shimmered with tiny, dreamlike white lights.
Wherever Fu Erdie walked, the soft white light would follow her, flickering gently.
The white light and the green vine were like dancing spirits around her, so quiet and so lively.
Fu Erdie couldn’t help but press her hand against the wall as she walked, creating a trail of pulsating light rings that spread out from her fingertips.
When she finally walked from the end of 16-1 to 16-10, Fu Erdie found the elderly lady.
Zhang Dongxuan was an ordinary person in the truest sense. When Fu Erdie and the plants went out to fight, the only thing she could do was stay in the bedroom and not cause any trouble.
From the angle of 16-1, she could see the road outside but couldn’t see the fighting in the community. She was very worried, so she couldn’t resist coming to 16-10 to observe.
The 16th floor was too high, and her eyesight wasn’t good, so she could only vaguely make out what was happening below.
Zombies were surrounding the building from all sides, and plant branches and vines were flying everywhere.
The ant-sized silhouettes of zombies were constantly trying to push into the building, and Zhang Dongxuan was very worried about Fu Erdie.
At that moment, she suddenly noticed that the air around her had become much more comfortable.
It felt just like being at home.
So she turned her head and saw the green vine’s large leaves.
It wasn’t that the green vine was rapidly absorbing zombies and growing stronger while in the process of expansion; it didn’t have the energy to control where the nutrients went. So naturally, its main body took the lion’s share and began to grow wildly.
Its main body had already spread to every corner of the 16th floor, so now the green vine in 16-10, where the elderly lady was, was also growing very quickly.
While others were fighting, the elderly lady witnessed the continuous expansion of the green vine’s main body and the domain of the house.
She was delighted to see the room’s uneven or water-damaged walls becoming smooth and looking brand new.
“Tell the girl congratulations!” The elderly lady was genuinely happy for Fu Erdie, “Now the entire floor is safe. You don’t have to stay cramped up in just one room anymore.”
Since the various plants in Building 7 were usually watered and cared for by the elderly lady, she was well aware of the difference between ordinary mutated plants and intelligent mutated plants.
Ordinary mutated plants only had a higher survival rate and yield but wouldn’t interact, let alone fight zombies. They could only grow within the mutated house’s space.
So now, Fu Erdie’s balcony was packed full of crops, and even the living room had quite a few.
Now that the entire floor was within the domain of the mutated house, the area for growing crops had expanded tremendously!
The elderly lady had been farming all her life, and she was particularly sensitive to and interested in these things. She didn’t even have time to worry about the zombies downstairs; instead, she excitedly began talking about her planting plans.
“Our building has a lot of people who moved here after their rural homes were demolished. Even after moving into apartments, they still go to the nearby wasteland to grow vegetables, so we have plenty of seeds at home. We’ve been keeping them in the house, unused, but now we can finally use them! I plan to start planting in this room, focusing on seasoning crops first. Right now, the only seasonings we’re growing are chili peppers and green onions, which is too monotonous. Then we’ll plant gourds and melons like loofahs and watermelons, which grow fast and are easy to eat. When we’re too busy to cook, we can just pick one and eat it on the go! Oh, and we can dedicate a room to raising chickens!”
The more she spoke, the brighter her eyes became!
Raising livestock and cleaning up after them is a very labour-intensive and time-consuming task. If you’re a little lazy and don’t clean up in time, the chicken and duck pens can become unbearably dirty.
When she was younger, the elderly lady had no problem taking care of chickens, ducks, pigs, and cows. But now that she’s older, even though she has no health issues thanks to the house and the food, her legs still ache if she stands too long, and her back hurts if she bends too often.
Aging, like death, is not an illness—it cannot be cured or prevented.
The fact that she can still move around easily and water the plants every day is already thanks to the house.
No, wait, she doesn’t even need to water them anymore. These plants have now connected the entire building from top to bottom, allowing them to enter the rooms, fetch water, and irrigate their roots on their own. They’ve become self-sufficient.
“Raising some chickens, ducks, and fish, the waste they produce can all be taken care of by the house. We just need to feed them daily, and they can grow up on their own,” the elderly lady said with a cheerful smile, her eyes crinkling with joy.
Fu Erdie couldn’t help but smile too.
Building 7 has ten apartments per floor. The one she lived in, 16-1, was one of the smaller ones, but there were larger and better-oriented apartments on the same floor.
However, Fu Erdie had grown accustomed to her small home, and all her belongings were set up just the way she liked them, so she didn’t plan on moving.
She intended to let the elderly lady choose a room and move in there, so both of them could live more comfortably.
The elderly lady was naturally willing: “But won’t I need to go to the second floor to monitor the security cameras anymore?”
“You’ve already worked hard enough taking care of the crops.”
As for the security cameras, they were necessary before because there was no sense of security and there was fear of zombies entering Building 7.
But now, if any zombies appear, there’s no need to worry about them breaking in; the plants will take the initiative to handle them. There’s no longer any need to work so hard to protect the building.
Fu Erdie wasted no time and immediately went to the second floor to help the elderly lady move.
On her way down, she noticed how much the plants had changed.
They had grown larger, their roots and stems had thickened, and even the once small dandelions were now the size of soccer balls.
This dramatic change reached its peak when she saw the succulents on the second floor.
Before the battle, the succulent was like a “lotus throne.”
After the battle, it had grown into a lotus sculpture the height of an entire floor.
At this moment, it was trying to shrink its heavy body as much as possible, attempting to squeeze through the window.
The window frame had already been crushed by it, and the entire second floor was trembling slightly.
Fu Erdie noticed the thickened, verdant roots of the green vine in the shaking walls.
No wonder she hadn’t felt any tremors upstairs; it turned out that Leader Green Vine had been holding everything up, propping up the collapsing walls.
Fu Erdie’s expression darkened instantly.
But now wasn’t the time to scold the little ones. The succulent had grown so large and wasn’t as flexible as the other plants. If it didn’t move out now, it would end up bursting through the roof!
Wait, bursting through the roof?
Fu Erdie grabbed the struggling succulent that was moving at a snail’s pace, “Can you bend your fleshy leaves outside the window and keep growing upward?”
She waited for a “yes” or “no” answer, but instead, the succulent demonstrated that it could bend while simultaneously shaking its head frantically.
Fu Erdie asked, “Would it damage the main stem?”
The succulent shook its head.
“Would it be very uncomfortable?”
The succulent continued to shake its head.
Fu Erdie’s various guesses were all denied by the succulent.
Watching it bend toward the window while shaking its head, Fu Erdie, exasperated, said, “You can’t possibly think this looks ugly, right?”
The succulent nodded, its fleshy leaves almost snapping from the vigorous nodding.
Fu Erdie: …
Fu Erdie knew that every kindergartner had their own temperament and personality, but she never expected the succulent to have its own strong sense of aesthetics.
“You think it looks ugly to have your fleshy leaves growing in one direction?”
The succulent: [Nods]
Fu Erdie: “Then why not just take over the entire floor and grow in all directions?”
The succulent imagined that scenario: itself, a pure, cute, beautiful, and charming plant, spreading its tentacle-like branches out of every window on the second floor…
No, no! Absolutely not!
Fearing that the headmistress would force it to turn into something it despised, the succulent continued to squeeze itself outside.
At that moment, the wall near the door frame, unable to bear the weight of this life force, cracked with a snap.
Fu Erdie: …
The veins on her forehead throbbed uncontrollably.
“Get down here!” she ordered, grabbing hold of the succulent’s fleshy leaves, refusing to let it move any further.
The succulent, feeling wronged, didn’t dare to pull away from Fu Erdie’s grasp.
Fu Erdie’s mind raced, thinking of a way to convince it to change its aesthetic preferences.
Her eyes caught a glimpse of the green vine still struggling to keep the walls stable, and an idea struck her: “Don’t you want to catch up with the green vine and become the leader of the mutated plants? Then you need to learn from Brother Green Vine—first, take over one floor, then the entire building!”
The succulent tilted its head: Huh?
“Wait here!”
Fu Erdie quickly left the second floor and went down to the courtyard, where she took a photo of her building from a distance.
The sixteenth floor, where the green vine’s lush body had spread over every wall, both inside and out, now looked like a sudden growth of ivy.
Whether it looked out of place or not didn’t matter to Fu Erdie—it was evidence of Brother Green Vine’s territorial claim.
She snapped a picture with her phone and returned to the second floor to show it to the succulent.
But… how was the succulent supposed to “see”?
Before Fu Erdie could figure it out, the succulent leaned in on its own and somehow “saw” the photo on the phone.
The green vine, which had always overshadowed it, had actually filled the headmistress’s entire floor!
The succulent was instantly stunned.
The green vine is so agile—it can go up and down and even head down to the flowerbeds in the courtyard for a dance, and then come back afterward.
But if the succulent follows it out, it might not be able to return!
Fu Erdie whispered temptingly, “Do you think stretching out from the window will make you look wild and untamed? No, if you stretch out long enough and beautifully enough, all the way up along the outer wall to the roof, the whole building will be yours! Then you’ll be even more impressive than the green vine!”
As she said this, Fu Erdie gently stroked the green vine’s leaves behind her, soothing it.
She felt a bit guilty for using it to motivate the succulent.
But, well, there’s this unexplainable competitive spirit all the plants seem to have when it comes to the green vine!
As long as she dangled the idea of surpassing the green vine in front of them, any aesthetic preferences or personality quirks would become irrelevant!
Worried that the succulent might not be able to imagine the scene, Fu Erdie opened her phone’s drawing app and used her skills as an illustrator to paint a picture for it.
The succulent was red and white, much like a lotus flower. So, she drew a large succulent resembling a lotus, with the open space in the middle representing the building.
In the drawing, the tall 24-story building instantly became a tiny flower core.
To prevent the succulent from disliking this “flower core,” she even beautified the building, drawing it in a pure white to match the white parts of the succulent, making them blend perfectly together.
“How about it? Isn’t it grand! Very unique! And it has a space all its own inside!”
The succulent: …
The succulent was tempted!
This looks so beautiful! And once it grows that large, it could wrap both the headmistress it likes and the green vine it dislikes in its petals, controlling them at will!
If the succulent had a face, it would now be showing a wicked, determined expression that completely contrasted with its beautiful exterior.
Finally, the succulent stopped trying to squeeze outside and started figuring out how to take over all the windows on the second floor.
Meanwhile, the green vine quietly pulled the cracked wall back into place.
Fu Erdie sighed for the umpteenth time.
It’s really tough for the only “college student” in this kindergarten—it works harder than she does as the headmistress.
Fu Erdie hadn’t forgotten her original purpose for coming to the second floor, which was to help the elderly lady move.
She opened the elderly lady’s door and quickly packed her few belongings into several large boxes, preparing to carry them upstairs.
Just then, a few large banana-leaf-sized green vine leaves extended over and took the boxes onto its leaves.
Fu Erdie was stunned, then suddenly realized: “You’ve evolved this quickly?!”
Before, it could only support her as she walked, without much strength. But now it could lift boxes weighing dozens of pounds!
The green vine nodded. One of its leaves pointed out the window, gesturing upwards.
Fu Erdie understood immediately: “Then I’ll trouble you to help move the boxes to 16-5.”
After making sure the succulent was stable and finishing the move, confirming that there were no negative consequences from the recent battle, she returned to 16-1 to bathe and sleep with her dog.
Before bed, she stroked the dog’s smooth fur and said, “From now on, with the green vine and the succulent on the first floor, you won’t have to stay on the second floor to guard it anymore. You can stay with me.”
The dog understood and excitedly licked Fu Erdie’s hand.
“Good night.”
Everyone, including the plants, slept soundly that night.
The next morning, Fu Erdie woke up early, even before dawn, around five o’clock.
She quietly left the room with her dog, careful not to disturb Sang Wenhao, who was still asleep in the living room, and began her morning exercise of running up and down the stairs.
Part of it was to keep fit, and part of it was her routine patrol.
As she climbed the stairs, Fu Erdie pondered the issue of her supposed powers.
Sang Wenhao had said she had abilities, and she couldn’t think of a reason why he would lie to her.
If she truly did have powers, what exactly were they?
Could it be that her ability was to cause mutations in the house and plants?
Fu Erdie thought this was possible, but there were inconsistencies.
Take the mutated plants, for example. These plants didn’t start mutating because of anything she directly did. They began to mutate after staying in 16-1 for a while, suggesting that the mutations were more related to the house.
If it wasn’t the house but something about her, then all she would need to do is go to a different building, collect some seeds that hadn’t been exposed to the house’s influence, carry them with her, and avoid staying on the 16th floor for a while. After some time, she could observe if any plants started mutating.
Aside from promoting mutations, her ability could also be related to her blood.
She remembered that when she had almost died during the encounter with the ability user, after she woke up, both the house and the plants had undergone significant evolution. This was related to the ability user’s crystal core, but her blood likely played a role as well.
Every time she got injured, the house would first absorb her blood and convert it into white light, which would then produce more white light. This showed that her blood was special to the house.
Her dog had also been injured before, but the house didn’t absorb the dog’s blood; instead, it allowed the plants to take it in as nourishment.
Later, when she was dealing with the fast zombie and collapsed outside, unwilling to go inside, it was the plants that pressed against her wound to stop the bleeding. The blood on the ground was absorbed by the house, while the blood on her shoulder seemed to have been absorbed by the green vine.
A week later, Fu Erdie noticed that the green vine’s leaves had developed a slight ability to stop bleeding and heal wounds.
It was very subtle, but it was there!
Recently, there was the incident where she held the potato vine to save Sang Wenhao. Didn’t the potato vine also absorb her blood and then produce potatoes that could somewhat suppress injuries?
…
…!? Wait!! Potatoes?!
Damn! She’d forgotten the potato vine in Building 6 again!
Fu Erdie wanted to rush out to find the potatoes but then remembered Sang Wenhao, who was still sleeping.
It wouldn’t be good to leave the guest alone on his first day here, right? Besides, the potato vine might be happily absorbing waste in Building 6 by now and could have already grown into a large potato vine.
She continued her run, patrolling the building while brainstorming.
The previous signs had already proven that her blood did indeed have special abilities. What she needed to do now was experiment.
Fu Erdie thought about it and decided that the best subject for her experiment was the succulent.
First, the succulent had the thickest “health bar” of all the plants. If her blood turned out to be useless or even poisonous, the resilient succulent would probably survive.
Second, if her blood truly did promote plant growth, mutation, and enhanced healing abilities, then with the succulent’s fleshy nature combined with healing powers, its defenses would become even stronger.
The more Fu Erdie thought about it, the more it made sense. She made a note to experiment with the succulent in her little notebook.
Regarding the matter of abilities, she noted down these two points.
The other matter concerned the arrangements for Sang Wenhao.
Fu Erdie was someone who relied heavily on her instincts and emotions when it came to friendships. As long as she got along with someone and found them agreeable, they were considered a friend. If she didn’t get along with someone and sensed any threat or malice from them, she wouldn’t hesitate to treat them like she did the invading ability user—ruthlessly pushing them off the 16th floor.
Sang Wenhao belonged to the former category.
He had used a sniper rifle and a loudspeaker to warn her and had fought against the metal-hardened zombie, fully aware that each time he exerted himself, his body would weaken. During the fight, he kept an eye on her situation, pulling the zombie back whenever he noticed something was wrong.
Later, at Building 6, perhaps thinking that he didn’t have much time left or maybe because he had no intention of hiding anything, he openly shared everything he knew about the post-apocalyptic world. He was completely honest and didn’t ask for anything in return.
Afterward, he risked being deceived by her, hardening his entire body and enduring the pain of his injuries to carry her swiftly through the zombie horde back to the safety of her home.
Once they arrived home, even when the cucumber and tomato vines wrapped around him, he didn’t struggle. After being released, he deliberately chose to sleep on the floor rather than the sofa or bed, worrying about dirtying her home.
During their time together, he hadn’t tried to pry into her secrets—although when he woke up, he might figure out some of them on his own.
Overall, since meeting him, Fu Erdie had formed a very positive impression of him.
If she missed the chance to bring him into her group now, she would feel it was a great loss.
However, on the other hand, Fu Erdie knew that her instinctive judgment could sometimes lead to oversights and blind spots. She needed to spend more time with him to decide whether she could fully trust him.
She wanted to see if he was reliable, whether he might harbour thoughts of killing her to take over the house and its resources.
Of course, if he didn’t want to take the resources but instead aimed to dominate the building… Fu Erdie wouldn’t be happy with that either.
She wanted to remain the one in charge, making the decisions. If Sang Wenhao wanted to take control and refused to leave…
Fu Erdie frowned in thought.
Resorting to constant fighting wasn’t an option. After all, even if she and the plants fought with all their might, they might not be able to defeat him, and getting dragged into mutual destruction wouldn’t be worth it.
So, she needed to bring Sang Wenhao into the fold while making him understand that his survival depended on the house and the plants’ healing abilities.
And the house and plants took their orders from her.
With this plan in mind, Fu Erdie felt that the next steps were clear. She went to 8-8, a place where the plants liked to gather, and called a meeting of all the plants.
Now, except for the succulent, whose roots still hadn’t grown very long, all the other plants could roam freely throughout the building.
As soon as Fu Erdie spoke, the plants quickly emerged.
“Everyone, in the coming days, a new friend will be moving into Building 7. He’s the person you saw yesterday, Sang Wenhao. To ensure he doesn’t underestimate the danger of harming me…”
She hadn’t even finished her sentence when the plants, upon hearing the word “harm,” immediately surged with murderous intent, mobilizing the branches in 16-1, ready to eliminate the person who dared to threaten their caretaker.
Unaware of this, Fu Erdie continued, “I’d like to ask you all for a favour.”
The plants’ internal monologue: Does she want us to kill that man? Just say the word, and we’ll take him out right now!
Fu Erdie: “I’d like you all to act like you’re following my instructions very closely. If you listen to me, he’ll respect me more and won’t dare to have any bad thoughts.”
The plants were stunned.
Follow her instructions? Haven’t we always been listening to her?
Why does she seem so odd?
Seeing the plants hesitate, Fu Erdie felt a bit anxious. “Is that okay?”
Plants: …
So, they were very confused.
Isn’t following her instructions something they were supposed to do anyway?
She was their favorite, most trusted friend, and also the smartest one. They were happy following her every day, always had plenty to eat, and life was good.
The plants didn’t fully understand, but they still crowded around, nodding and gently brushing against Fu Erdie’s face and hands.
Fu Erdie once again felt a deep and fulfilling sense of love.
It was so pure, so touching—a gift from the best nature spirits in the world.
“Thank you,” Fu Erdie said with a smile, patting the layers of leaves, feeling an inexplicable wave of emotion.
As for the house, Fu Erdie felt there was no need to say much.
Perhaps because the house had absorbed so much of her blood, she often felt like it could understand her thoughts. It was also, at this moment, the most protective presence in her life.
The elderly lady woke up today in her new room at 16-5.
A new room, a new start. She put on a relatively new floral shirt and began her routine of watering the plants, picking vegetables, and preparing meals.
With a new guest in the house—a young man—she guessed that a young person would have a hearty appetite, so she planned to cook a pot of millet porridge, a large bowl of spicy and sour shredded potatoes, a plate of spicy stir-fried cabbage, a big bowl of green onion omelette, and a large pot of pickled vegetable soup.
There had been so much food stockpiled recently that even the plants were full and didn’t want to eat anymore.
If this young man couldn’t finish the food, it would all go to waste!
Unaware that he had been designated as the “food disposal machine,” Sang Wenhao woke up to find it was already noon.
There was no one in the living room, and the plants on the balcony were quietly basking in the sunlight.
Sang Wenhao instinctively took a deep breath, savouring the fresh, clean air in the room, then quickly got up to put on his jacket.
But when he reached out, he suddenly froze.
He was still wearing the leafy clothes!
The embarrassing memory of yesterday’s situation flashed through his mind, and Sang Wenhao realized that the young woman had likely forgotten to consider his clothing needs.
Having been hardened by the trials of the apocalypse, a little embarrassment wasn’t worth worrying about.
He walked toward the door, intending to search other rooms in the building for some clothes.
But when he placed his hand on the door handle and twisted, it wouldn’t open.
Sang Wenhao: …
He twisted it again, but it didn’t budge.
At this point, if he didn’t realize he was being locked in, it would be strange.
But it wasn’t the young woman who had locked him in—it was the mutated house.
Sang Wenhao tried speaking aloud, “You can understand what I’m saying, can’t you?”
The house didn’t respond.
“I need a set of clothes that I can wear. I need to leave the room to get them from outside. Don’t worry, I’ll only take the clothes and won’t touch anything else.”
The house still didn’t respond.
Wearing his ghillie suit, Sang Wenhao sat back down on his makeshift bed and began to re-examine the room.
Compared to the dimness of yesterday, the living room was much brighter now.
There was an electronic clock on the TV cabinet facing his bedding, with the digits ticking away second by second.
It was already noon, 12:00 PM. He wasn’t sure if Fu Erdie was still sleeping in her bedroom or had gone out to do something.
After waiting for five minutes, the door opened. A spider plant’s leaves brought in a bag of clean clothes.
Inside were various men’s clothing items, from T-shirts and shirts to socks and underwear, it had everything he might need.
After dropping the items, the spider plant quickly disappeared, and the door closed again.
Sang Wenhao glanced in the direction of the master bedroom, then cautiously made his way to the bathroom. He locked the door behind him and pulled out a black tracksuit as a backup.
He wanted to take a shower, but since water was scarce in the apocalypse and he knew nothing about how this room worked, he cautiously turned off the sink faucet and then opened the tap.
No water came out.
Sang Wenhao sighed quietly.
As expected, water scarcity was a constant issue.
Before he could finish sighing, the showerhead suddenly released a strong stream of water. The water splashed onto the floor, and some of it bounced onto his pant leg.
Sang Wenhao instinctively tensed, his muscles ready to spring into action. But once he realized that the house had released the water to prompt him to shower, he gradually relaxed.
The water was comfortably warm, perfect for a shower, and it flowed out without needing to be heated.
Sang Wenhao removed the leafy clothes he was wearing and stepped under the showerhead, letting the water wash over him.
What a luxury it was, being able to take a shower.
It felt wonderful.
He showered quickly, not lingering under the water despite not having had a proper wash in six months. He used the body wash three times, completing his shower in just ten minutes. After turning off the showerhead, he put on the black tracksuit and stepped out of the bathroom, feeling fresh and clean.
The living room was still empty, but the door was now open.
The familiar spider plant was there, standing in front, its leaf tips pointing in a certain direction as if guiding Sang Wenhao.
He followed its lead and made his way from 16-1 to 16-8.
There, he saw a large, empty living room with Fu Erdie and Zhang Dongxuan sitting in the centre.
The table was set with a modest meal, including a three-flavour soup made with luncheon meat.
Fu Erdie watched him, noticing the surprise and delight in his eyes. She thought to herself: The obedient and cute service from the spider plant must have impressed him.
She had deliberately not called him to dinner herself, wanting the little spider plant to show off its abilities.
It seemed to have worked perfectly!
Fu Erdie smiled and invited him to sit down, “Eat as much as you want. Help yourself.”
Sang Wenhao, completely unaware of Fu Erdie’s little plan, swallowed hard. After confirming multiple times that he could eat, the composed expression on his face broke, and he started eating voraciously, without any concern for appearances.
There was no white rice, but there was millet, accompanied by pickled radish soup, spicy and sour shredded potatoes, and other dishes. He felt like he could eat a whole cow!
By the time he was full and couldn’t eat another bite, the only dish left on the table was the three-flavour soup made with luncheon meat.
In the apocalypse, meat was a precious commodity. He had been given permission to indulge in the other dishes, but he knew he couldn’t bring himself to take the meat as well.
Seeing this, Fu Erdie didn’t hesitate to help herself and eat the remaining luncheon meat.
“Sang Wenhao, I’d like to discuss something with you.” After a satisfying meal, Fu Erdie tentatively broached the topic, “As you’ve seen, our community still has a few hundred wandering zombies. Would you be willing to help me lure them all to Building 7? In return, I can offer you a comfortable room to stay in and enough food to eat every day.”
“Absolutely!” In the apocalypse, there couldn’t be a place more comfortable than this—not even the bases!
Fu Erdie discreetly observed Sang Wenhao’s expression. “Then, how about we start with Buildings 8, 9, and 10 today? Let’s clear out all the zombies in this area, okay?”
Sang Wenhao’s composed and calm demeanour returned as he replied, “No problem, whatever you say, I’ll follow your lead.”
“Uh,” Fu Erdie couldn’t help but emphasize, “Clearing three buildings in one morning is a lot of work, you know? I used to only tackle one floor a day.”
Sang Wenhao didn’t seem to mind the workload at all and instead said, “If your plants can handle it, I could pull in all the remaining zombies in the entire community in a day. And if they can still handle more, I’ll go outside the community to lure more in.”
Fu Erdie: …
Fu Erdie wasn’t skilled in navigating the complexities of interpersonal relationships, so she had spent the entire morning thinking through various approaches and preparing different arguments.
But she hadn’t expected that she wouldn’t need any of them.
Fu Erdie subconsciously bit the skin on her lip and then made a suggestion she herself found quite excessive: “I want to raise chickens on the 16th floor for food. After we clear out the zombies today, could you go out tomorrow to find some chickens?”
Sang Wenhao was about to agree, but then his mind processed what Fu Erdie had just said. He looked at her with a slightly incredulous expression, as if a client was evaluating a contractor.
Fu Erdie: …
Fu Erdie felt guilty.
She wasn’t usually the type of person to make such demands, but she didn’t know how else to establish her leadership and make Sang Wenhao understand that rewards should come from labour.
Maybe she should drop it.
Even though she wanted to eat meat, she knew that finding chickens would mean venturing outside. If Sang Wenhao didn’t want to go, she would have to go herself.
But asking a new guest to undertake such an uncertain task really did feel a bit too much.
Fu Erdie felt guilty.
“Forget it…”
Sang Wenhao said, “Chickens won’t work.”
Fu Erdie sighed. As expected.
But in the next second…
“But rabbits would,” Sang Wenhao added. Fu Erdie: …?
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