Staring at the fire and then at the soybeans for a long while, Huaiyu wrestled with her cravings before finally pushing the thought of eating them deep down.
This can't go on!
She stood up, figuring the water buckets outside were full by now. Pulling on her raincoat and boots, she stepped out into the downpour and carried back the buckets, pots, and kettles she had set out earlier.
The largest bucket was filled to the brim. Huaiyu dropped ten purification tablets into the water and watched them fizz and swirl.
There wasn't any visible dirt or debris, but somehow it felt dirtier than pond water.
Still, she told herself it was fine. It was just for washing—hands, clothes, whatever. Once purified, it'd do the job.
Beside the firepit made of blue bricks, she stacked a few more to build a stand and placed a pot on top.
While waiting for the water to boil, she got to work scrubbing the newly bought basins clean with water from the kettle.
Once the pot came to a rolling boil, she tossed in a new towel to sterilize it. After a few minutes, she fished it out, wrung it dry, and tied its four corners together, suspending it over a big water jug to serve as a filter cloth.
Back when she had nothing, she'd just drink boiled water straight—even with stuff floating on top.
But now, with the towel, she could boil the water, let it cool a little, and filter it through soft cotton…
Finally, she could drink without gagging at the sight.
Ah, I forgot to buy gauze today! That would've been even better for filtering…
She glanced at the peanuts. Peanut shells could be roasted into charcoal. That'd make an excellent filter too.
Maybe… maybe she should eat the peanuts first?
The warm treehouse, the patter of rain, the peace and quiet—all of it amplified her hunger. Her gaze drifted longingly to her seed stash. She even started eyeing the mountain yam.
Bury them in a little soil, roast them until steaming hot, peel back the skin gently, dip in sugar...
Ugh… they're ironstick yams, too!
But she didn't have much land to plant anything anyway. With her frail build, she hardly looked like the farming type.
Then again… if she couldn't farm much, a few lost seeds wouldn't matter. The whole mountain is my backyard!
But… those yams? Just two pounds of seed could fill a palm-sized patch and yield nearly two hundred pounds at harvest.
Same with peanuts—an acre could yield over a thousand pounds. Wouldn't it be a waste to eat them?
Only the soybeans looked… plain. Lots of impurities too. Huaiyu held a handful, turning them over between her fingers. The texture wasn't quite like jujube pits—lighter, somehow.
She had a vague sense that she had used her power again, but it felt so much easier than when she helped that wisteria root and grow.
So…
She looked down at her palm. After so much manual labor, her hands blistered and burned by day, only to heal completely by night.
When it came to plant acceleration, her fatigue levels varied depending on what she was trying to do…
So when will I finally get efficient at this?
What if she met a bad guy? Could she throw a seed at them, force it to sprout on contact, rooting into their bloodstream, sucking up their nutrients…
Ideally, all in ten seconds or less. Any longer and this power was useless—she'd be dead before the plant even took root.
She imagined the scene in her mind, clutching a seed and glaring fiercely. Sure, the thing would sprout on command and even send out a vine—but…
It still took three to five minutes just to load the process!
Right now, she could make a seed sprout midair, grow vines even—but forget blooming, she'd pass out from exhaustion first.
It was too much. She was so tired she didn't want to move a muscle. This ability wasn't going to protect her at all.
Ugh, I'm so weak.
This world was awful. Even girls like her needed mutations or evolution to survive.
Hmph!
Her hunger gone, Huaiyu tossed the soybeans into a basin and poured in warm water to soak them.
Early April marked Qingming Festival. It was mid-March now. With her power, starting the planting early should be fine—
Wait!
She suddenly spun around. Outside the lifted curtain, rain was still coming down in torrents.
She froze, and then a mix of surprise and frustration crossed her face:
"Fate, huh?"
The beans were already soaking—no longer suitable for storage—and with rain pouring like this, planting wasn't an option either.
The only way to avoid waste was to eat them.
Sighing, she brought the basin to her lap and began sorting through the soybeans, trying to pick out the bad ones.
Earlier, when she scanned them with her ability, she hadn't been paying much attention. Now, as she stirred them around, sure enough—two moldy, blackened beans had to be tossed.
Just as she was about to scoop out the rest, sirens erupted in the distance—
[Mutation levels rapidly rising in Rose Corridor Zone 29.]
[Mutation levels rapidly rising in Rose Corridor Zone 32.]
[Zone 35… Zone 42…]
One alert after another. Every section of the Rose Corridor was sounding off in a frenzy.
Huaiyu stood stunned.
She walked to the doorway of her treehouse. Through the thick curtain of rain, the normally charming floral walls looked dark and twisted—like something out of a nightmare.
From far away, she heard the rumble of engines. Dim headlights struggled to pierce the rain, but she could just make out flashes of movement.
After a long moment, she saw a vehicle heading her way.
She hurriedly pulled on her boots and coat again, bolting into the storm.
But she hadn't gone far when the vehicle swerved and braked in front of her.
Inside, Zhou Qian's face was both familiar and urgent. His voice was tight:
"Go back! Get inside! Don't stay in the rain—the water accelerates mutation. Go, now!"
Huaiyu froze, then quickly nodded and turned back, sprinting toward her home.
Inside the car, Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes. Through the rain, he vaguely made out what seemed to be a small house in the trees.
Too dark, too rainy. The lights barely reached. But seeing her safe, and not realizing how close her home was to the Rose Corridor, he drove off with a heavy heart.
His voice crackled through the comms:
"Full alert! No one is to approach the Rose Corridor. All troops, fall back fifty meters from the Sanqing Mountain perimeter!"
"Mutation levels have risen by five points and are still climbing."
"Be wary of rainwater—"
Another voice joined the channel:
"Captain Zhou, we'll hold a meeting tonight to discuss post-rainfall safety measures. Health Department will issue a bulletin tomorrow: no more foraging for wild greens or mushrooms, even if they're edible!"
"The mutation levels won't hit critical, but they will spike. If people eat that stuff…"
He sighed. "Not that anyone wants to eat it. Tastes like hell."
Zhou Qian set down the comms unit with a growl:
"Damn it."
Another soldier muttered, "It used to only spike during winter snowfall. Water-element Sentinels could accelerate thawing and underground flow—always under control."
"Who knew this year it would start in the spring rain? Everyone was saying how Qingming was the perfect time to sow crops…"
"Exactly! It's an old saying—'Sow melons and beans at Qingming.' But we're only two weeks away. If mutation levels don't drop—"
"It'll be fine." Zhou Qian took a deep breath and tried to reassure them:
"Mutated legumes like soybeans absorb pollution through their root nodules. This scenario was already in the contingency plans. That's why every household got a starter pack when registering."
"At mutation level 25, no one's gonna eat them."
"When the rain stops, we'll mobilize everyone to plant their beans. We'll have wood-attribute Sentinels accelerate the growth cycle. Should be back to normal before June."