August 18, an abandoned city near the Argan Grasslands.
Guan Tong walked down the street, taking in the scene, and realized the damage caused by the new rules was even worse than he had imagined.
The asphalt road he was walking on had many cracks that had already been forced open by plants growing from beneath.
These rapidly growing plant "seedlings," with toughness far beyond normal, pierced the asphalt and were turning the streets into grassy lanes, as if reclaiming territory that humans had seized with concrete.
If the asphalt was already like this, the flowerbeds and tactile paving at the roadside were now covered in sheets of green.
Guan Tong stopped at a dry-looking intersection and frowned as he stared at a traffic light tightly wrapped by several vines.
These plants were growing too fast...
He knew this had something to do with the city being abandoned and unmanaged, like old rural houses neglected after elderly owners died—within two or three years they’d fall into ruin and be overrun by weeds.
But the new rules had been in effect for only two or three days; for a city to look like this so quickly, it was terrifying to imagine what it would be like after a thirty-day rule period.
Maybe the cities that weren’t abandoned and still had concentrated populations would fare better under aggressive official clearing campaigns, but overall the outlook was grim.
Guan Tong thought this as he passed a subway entrance where he could already smell the strong damp odor from below.
He guessed the tunnel had probably become a paradise for ferns and moss. These plants thrive in dark, humid environments and, accelerated by the new rules, would soon occupy all underground tunnels.
He knew a tiny number of survival groups might settle in abandoned subway tunnels, but at least during this rule period they'd have to move.
“If it’s already this bad in the city, the grasslands must be worse... I have to hurry over there.”
Because the Moon Key didn’t hold any of his Mind Power–linked items, he couldn’t teleport directly.
Using teleportation-type items also required precise coordinates, and the Children of Argan tribe moved with the water and didn’t use electronics; last time Guan Tong visited he didn’t record coordinates, so that option was unavailable.
Still, even traveling the "old-fashioned" way, he had left yesterday and reached this city nearest the grasslands today, which was already very fast.
At the Argan Grasslands, wild grasses blanketed the plain, waist- to chest-high, swaying in the wind in rolling green waves like a sea rising and falling—a spectacular sight.
Besides the dominant grasses, there were trees and flowers that, spurred by accelerated growth and mutation, showed strange new changes.
Some trees thickened half a trunk in just two days, branches spreading wide like huge canopy umbrellas.
Some flowers developed bizarre colors and emitted exotic fragrances from their buds; insects that inhaled the scent staggered as if drunk and toppled over, becoming nourishment for the grass.
Viewed from a distance, the scene was splendid and colorful, wondrous to behold. But trapped inside it, one felt unending terror.
The Children of Argan tribe were currently trapped in that fear. For them, the grasslands had become a literal "green deathtrap."
About dozens of people huddled around the last tent, working nonstop to cut away the grass sprouting beneath and around them.
No one had slept since yesterday; every person pushed themselves to ensure their foothold remained free of plants, yet the rate of new growth outpaced their cutting.
The most frightening thing was that, within their cleared area, a surrounding ring of grass had grown to just below waist height, and stems seemed to lean—whether intentionally or not—toward them.
The first person to notice that change broke out in gooseflesh; why would the grass tilt toward people? Were they going to eat them?
Being impaled by grass was one thing, being "eaten" was another!
That realization pushed many in the tribe toward collapse. Within half an hour, two unable-to-bear members shouted and charged into the endless swaying grass.
Jie, the leader, tried to stop them but couldn't; everyone watched helplessly as the two disappeared within the waves of grass, and soon no sound returned.
"Huff, huff... I can’t... my Mind Power..."
Jie gripped his knees and panted heavily.
He had been the main cutter since yesterday, and both his Mind Power and physical strength were exhausted; he couldn’t hold on.
Other tribe members were equally spent, especially the ordinary people. Their physical condition was far weaker than the Ascendants’, and after two days without sleep and poor food, they had reached their physiological limits.
The Moon Key stood behind them, sighing inwardly, preparing to use an item to contact Bruce and ask Suroma for air support.
Suroma’s military bases were scattered domestically and abroad; even in the Doomsday Rules era their assets hadn’t been entirely reduced. Deploying forces to the grasslands wouldn’t take long.
There were many ordinary people in the tribe who couldn’t endure the rules for long. With Adam’s reinforcements delayed, the Moon Key had no choice but to seek Bruce’s help.
She took a communication Dao Zhen from her Storage Box and was about to use it when someone whispered, "Look, Guan Tong, what’s that?"
Everyone looked up and saw a conspicuous black dot appear far off in the bright blue sky. It moved extremely fast, forming a dark streak that plunged toward them in seconds.
The Moon Key brightened; she put away the device.
Others didn’t know what it was, but she recognized it immediately.
When the "black streak" struck the grass not far away, the next moment everyone saw razor-like blades formed from several black shadows slicing up and down, severing the grass en masse, and a person stepped forward within the cleared path.
When Guan Tong, wearing a windbreaker, appeared, the crowd gaped in disbelief.
The troublesome grass that had tormented them was being forcibly cleared by Shadow Blades swirling around Guan Tong, opening a passageway that made travel possible. The efficiency gap was enormous.
By the time Guan Tong reached them, the Shadow Blades he controlled had cut all the grass within a hundred-meter radius, clearing a broad swath.
"I’m here."
His words trailed off as he noticed two people lying face down in the grass a short distance away.
He hesitated, then said, "...I might be a bit late."
Though he said that, the Moon Key stepped forward and said, "No, you came very quickly."
Other tribe members nodded in agreement.
No one blamed the missing two on slow outside help; from the distress signal to Guan Tong’s arrival, only two days had passed, which was already fast.
"Friend of the Moon, thank you for helping us!" Jie came up, weak but forcing a grateful smile. "We will remember this favor."
Guan Tong shook his head slightly. "No need. This place is too dangerous. I’ll take you away now."
The Moon Key asked, "Are you going to use a group teleportation-type item?"
Unless he used such an item, she thought, even with Guan Tong’s power, protecting dozens of people across the grasslands would drain too much Mind Power.
"Yes. Will you use other items? They’ll resist otherwise."
Guan Tong said that, and a small amount of Shadow quickly transformed; the Shadow Blades became slender shadow lines that wrapped around each person.
Everyone had just seen how those shadows had sliced through the grass like a knife through melon, and when they felt the lines coil around them, they were instinctively unafraid.
They realized Guan Tong was here to help, and although the shadow lines were sharp, they calmed down and offered no resistance.
The shadow lines soon wrapped each person up tightly like zongzi wraps, then Guan Tong summoned a shelter, which landed on the patch of ground he had just cleared with his shadows.
He opened the door, placed the tribe members wrapped by the shadows inside, then withdrew the shelter and used Body Swap. In the next moment, the people vanished from the grassland.
When he reappeared, they were in a spacious factory in Banzhen City. This was the Serpent Hair Society’s stronghold, and Uenoshi, who had been informed in advance, was waiting there.
"Troupe Leader, did you rescue that tribe?"
"Mm. They’re temporarily in the shelter," Guan Tong replied. "How are things in Banzhen?"
Uenoshi said, "The Sakura Prayer authorities lack the capacity to clear city-wide plant growth. They’re letting people band together to defend themselves."
"So they’re basically saying everyone fend for themselves."
"Yes."
Uenoshi hesitated slightly as she spoke; Guan Tong sensed she had something on her mind.
"If you want to say something, just say it. No need to hold back with me."
"...Troupe Leader, if Sakura Prayer can’t organize defenses, many Sakura Prayer citizens could die. If too many clients die during this rule, Serpent Hair Society’s future intermediary business could be ruined."
Guan Tong understood: "You want to stay and organize resistance against the plant invasion in place of the Sakura Prayer authorities?"
Uenoshi nodded.
Guan Tong folded his arms and tapped his elbow with his fingers. "Okay. If you do this well, Serpent Hair Society could gain more prestige among the Sakura Prayer people than the government; it’s not impossible you’ll replace them in influence."
He remembered what he had seen in the abandoned city and the grasslands, and added a warning: "But this rule is very dangerous. How far these plants will mutate is unpredictable. I trust your strength, but your Serpent Hair members..."
"I’ll do my best to look after them," Uenoshi said. "If it’s really beyond us, I’ll ask you for help."
"Of course. During this rule period... I’m not planning to hole up in a safe zone until it ends. I have many other important things to do."
Since Uenoshi intended to stay, Guan Tong didn’t delay further.
"I’ll first take the Children of Argan tribe to the desert for safety. We’ll deal with the other matters later."
"Understood."
Guan Tong activated Body Swap again and left. True to her word, Uenoshi gathered Serpent Hair Society members and announced they would step in for Sakura Prayer to organize defenses against plant invasions in two cities.
At the same time, the Human Consortium’s "city plant clearance" operations began, formal and comprehensive.
Countries took similar approaches of burning plus chemical agents. Suroma’s actions were the most direct: they launched multiple waves with hundreds of aircraft dropping napalm to destroy major plant clusters in cities.
This inevitably affected some residential areas, but residents were warned in advance; with protests ineffectual, they had to evacuate.
Beixing was more conservative. Their first wave deployed mobile teams composed of many Ascendants, supported by flamethrower vehicles, clearing plants outward from shelters in concentric rings.
Xisiya adopted a two-pronged strategy: clearing and evacuation.
Yelanka ordered that eastern and central cities focus on plant removal and shelter defense, while the southwest collectively relocate to the Sesitata Ice Field.
This was a manpower-based decision. Although Xisiya had a large population, the overall "quality" was relatively low; a full-scale defense would be too resource-intensive for the state.
After weighing options, she decided to move part of the population to the Sesitata Ice Field. That frozen, harsh region had few plants and was a sort of natural desert-like refuge.
With adequate preparation, spending a month there wouldn’t freeze people to death, saving significant resources for concentrated defense of central and eastern cities.
Other smaller countries adapted to local conditions: one nation near a desert entirely abandoned resistance and evacuated everyone to the desert.
Doing so might guarantee safety, but after a month the abandoned capitals would likely be ravaged by rampant plant growth; how long it would take to restore those cities was anyone’s guess.