Chapter 43: Terrifying Botanical Garden

Chapter 43 The Terrifying Botanical Garden

Chu Ye's experiences weren't detailed much in the original work.

After all, he was just an ordinary male supporting character; he was friends with Li Zhiyan and they had worked together many times, but ultimately he wasn't a member of Li Zhiyan's team, so his screen time wasn't that extensive.

Especially after Chu Ye was contaminated, he was forced to withdraw from the front lines to search for a pollution disease doctor who could treat him, which cut off his avenues for cooperating with the protagonist. Only at the end of the novel did he hastily rescue the trapped Li Zhiyan and send him away, then smiled and returned to that mysterious contaminated land, never appearing again.

The author didn't write about how he found that place or how he rescued Li Zhiyan.

Readers simply thought it was the author taking pity, disregarding logic to let Chu Ye fulfill himself at the last moment, letting him remain in the place he wished to exist.

Shen Ji and Li Zhiyan followed him, soon catching up to Chu Ye, who was staring at a wooden sign.

A few words were carved on the sign.

"Botanical Garden."

The three characters were carved crookedly, like a child just learning to write, with a touch of childish charm.

"I remember now," Chu Ye said, looking at the sign. "I came here with them once."

"That day, we were on a mission to clean up a low-level contaminated area. Yes, thinking back now, that so-called low-level contaminated area was probably a Contaminated Seed developed by the Gardener." Chu Ye's voice was slightly hoarse. "We failed to dispose of the seed, so when it retrieved the seed, it brought us along here."

He clenched his hand, his nails almost digging into his palm, a faint pain spreading.

"No mistake."

Chu Ye said, "They must all be here."

"I think I know why Chu Ye ended up in the botanical garden in the end," the system suddenly chimed in.

Shen Ji looked at Chu Ye's back, then tilted his head. 'Why?'

"According to the timeline, the protagonist was trapped here for some strange reason. Li Zhiyan spent a day or two searching for a way out. The original work is from the protagonist's perspective, so the plot focus during this period was entirely on this botanical garden, not on events outside."

'What do you mean?'

"Chu Ye's contamination must have erupted," the system said. "Like other contaminated seeds, after the contamination erupts, the seed grows and is then retrieved by the Gardener to the Planting Garden. That way, Chu Ye suddenly appears in the Planting Garden."

Shen Ji: ...

He frowned slightly; this hellish explanation made him sigh.

But no matter how he thought about it, the system's explanation was indeed the most logical.

Li Zhiyan was pushed out of here by Chu Ye. As soon as he returned to the real world, he had his first encounter with the filth, triggering the final battle, and then—bam—the story ended abruptly.

Heh.

Li Zhiyan took off the hat that came with his work uniform, letting his hair fall loose.

"Then, do you remember what happened after that? Where did they go?"

Chu Ye thought for a moment. "I remember we went this way."

As a high-ranking member of the Pollution Prevention Center, Chu Ye understood the moment he saw the sign that he had mistakenly entered the territory of an S-class Pollutant Gardener—the "Botanical Garden." Chu Ye's adjutant was an A-level Mutant, but neither of them believed they could handle an S-class pollutant.

However, not moving forward would be a waste. They were swept into the botanical garden and couldn't find a way out.

So, each of them moved forward with the mindset of "at least we should gather some clues."

Chu Ye followed his memory forward. They passed the wooden fence and soon reached this uncomfortable glowing area.

It was a strange forest.

Straight trees were planted at intervals, refracting light like crystal trees. Shen Ji observed them closely.

"When we arrived, it was night. The day/night cycle here shouldn't be too out of sync with the real world, so the light allowing us to see our surroundings must be coming from these things, right?"

Li Zhiyan looked at them. "There's a strange smell."

"What?"

"The smell of decay."

Shen Ji glanced at Li Zhiyan, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

As if surprised that Li Zhiyan could smell something others couldn't.

Chu Ye was still lost in memories, his recollections flickering in and out, constantly jabbing at his nerves.

He remembered they had also seen this strange forest back then. As veterans of the Pollution Prevention Center, they all knew something was wrong, but for some reason, even though they took a detour, the next moment they looked up, they found themselves standing right in that forest.

The strange light emitted by the crystal trees could stab people's eyes, making it impossible to distinguish direction.

Yes, it was here that Chu Ye got separated from his team members.

Chu Ye walked out of this crystal forest alone. After realizing his team was missing, he went back to search, but the interior was too complex, the paths unclear. He tried countless methods but couldn't find his lost teammates. In the end, he had to leave alone.

"They were all lost inside," his memories grew clearer.

The Crystal Forest, also known as the Phantom Forest, is the most common type of tree inside the Planting Garden. Just like ordinary botanical gardens have batches of inexpensive plants grown on a large scale, almost every victim who enters the Planting Garden has seen these trees.

They form a forest on the outskirts of the Planting Garden, glowing like crystals. Each tree represents a person who mistakenly entered the botanical garden. After the Gardener fuses them into some unknown plant, they are stuffed into the forest to become an ordinary crystal tree.

Chu Ye gazed at the endless crystal forest, his black eyes trembling.

He wondered: which tree among them was his missing teammate?

"Chu Ye." The ever-quiet Li Zhiyan finally spoke. "Control your emotions. If you get too sad, you'll get contaminated."

"I know!" Chu Ye shut his eyes tightly. "I'm holding back."

Li Zhiyan sighed. "If you can't hold back, it's fine. Didn't we bring Doctor Shen along?"

"Even if you get contaminated, Doctor Shen will save you."

Chu Ye turned to look at him. Shen Ji stood beside Li Zhiyan and, meeting his gaze, nodded, his black eyes filled with comfort.

He didn't speak, but his eyes and attitude told Chu Ye: he and Li Zhiyan were on the same page.

If Shen Ji hadn't come, it would be necessary to suppress emotions in an S-class contaminated area. He couldn't be sad or angry; he had to subjectively cut off his emotions to move normally through the contaminated area.

But now that Shen Ji was here, this legendary pollution disease doctor could treat the pollution disease caused by S-class pollutants.

"Why don't you give him a shot in advance?" Li Zhiyan sighed. "Shen Ji, did you bring any pollution inhibitor?"

"Li Zhiyan!" Chu Ye shouted. "Did you say that just because you want to see me get injected!"

Li Zhiyan shrugged.

Chu Ye let out a short laugh at Li Zhiyan's gesture. He started toward them, but before he could take more than two steps, his surroundings suddenly shifted into countless crystal trees. Chu Ye froze mid-step.

He looked around; a thicket of trees encircled him on all sides. A wind seemed to whisper through, making the leaves whisper and producing a crystalline chiming.

"Li Zhiyan?" Chu Ye called out. "Doctor Shen?!"

No one answered. Only the rustling of leaves responded.

Chu Ye began backing away carefully, his eyes filled with vigilance.

"...Since when?"

When had he slipped into the illusion and entered this forest? Was it when Li Zhiyan was speaking, or even before that?

Could it be that that Li Zhiyan who had just spoken was also an illusion?

As he pondered, an eerie laughter suddenly rippled through the forest.

The voice was genderless yet ancient, carrying both the rasp of age and an infant's wail. Countless different voices merged together—some speaking fast, some slow—making it difficult for Chu Ye to decipher the meaning, taxing his concentration.

Who was it? The Gardener?

"My center tree has returned."

The voice was full of delight. "The most suitable heart for the crystal tree! I thought you had been eaten by the Journalist!"

"The Journalist didn’t eat you? He even sent you back?"

"Huh? The seed is gone? Well, I knew he wasn’t that generous, but it doesn’t matter. Once we plant another seed, you’ll still be the perfect heart-tree."

Chu Ye raised his gun. Unable to see the pollutant, he could only fire bullets in the direction of the voice.

The bullets ricocheted off the crystal trees without leaving a single mark.

A B-level mutant was hopelessly outmatched against an S-class pollutant.

/

‘So the original story was actually hot garbage.’

Meanwhile, Shen Ji was discussing Chu Ye’s corruption flare-up with the system.

‘In the original story, the pollutant Hui caused a containment breach at the shelter, sparking a cataclysm—though we now know the occupational exposure incident at the shelter was actually caused by another pollutant.’

‘The Class A Pollutant Chen Guo incident broke out in Q City. While Li Zhiyan was trapped in the plantation, Chu Ye’s pollution erupted, and he was reabsorbed by the plantation. After returning to reality, Li Zhiyan first fought Hui, and in the future, there’s still the lurking Peach Blossom Calamity pollution event waiting to emerge.’

"Tsk, when you put it that way, the crappy author really stacked the deck against the protagonist for the finale. The protagonist probably didn’t even have time to catch his breath."

‘After the Peach Blossom Calamity pollution event, Li Zhiyan finally comes to his senses. He has to return to the plantation to eliminate the root of the problem and, incidentally, claim Chu Ye’s body.’

The system fell silent.

Since they arrived in this world, Shen Ji had altered many plot points and prevented numerous casualties. Now, revisiting the original story, they realized just how tragic it truly was.

Li Zhiyan, as the protagonist, had been standing at the precipice of ruin.

Shen Ji lifted his head, intending to glance at Li Zhiyan’s expression, but the moment he looked up, he found himself standing in the middle of a forest.

The trees were shimmering with crystal facets. He paused, confused, and glanced around.

Confirming he was alone, he realized Chu Ye and Li Zhiyan had vanished into thin air at some point.

Or rather, perhaps he was the one who had disappeared.

"What?" Shen Ji finally spoke aloud instead of communicating mentally with the system. "When did I change locations?"

"Ah!"

The system suddenly understood. "The Crystal Forest, also known as the Phantom Forest. The Pollution Prevention Center named it the Phantom Forest because the light it emits can disrupt the mind, causing people to get lost or develop mental disorders. But in reality, this forest does have phantom properties—it produces illusions that are difficult to distinguish."

"Be careful. What you see and hear may not be real."

Shen Ji tsked in frustration, his eyes filled with irritation.

"If what I see and hear might not be real, then what I feel must be real, right?"

"Huh?"

"All units advance." Shen Ji spread his arms, and mycelium began spreading from his feet.

They had been itching for action for a long time, eager to expand ever since entering the plantation. Compared to the shelter or just F City, the pollution there was just appetizers—here, the amount of pollution was a veritable buffet!

Unfortunately, the big butterfly had been nearby earlier, so they didn’t dare move.

But now—perfect! Their master had released them!

The small mushrooms excitedly danced around Shen Ji's feet. They climbed all over the nearby crystal trees, frantically gorging on the corruption on them.

Today, they would feast like kings!

"...It’s an all-out mushroom assault!"

"But this is actually a good method. You are synched with the small mushrooms—let them map the way before you move, so you won’t get lost."

Shen Ji closed his eyes, ignoring the sounds around him.

The tall, upright young man stood firmly in place. Tiny pinprick mushroom buds emerged on his forehead, pale pink fungi sprouting around his eyebrows. Small mushrooms sprouted from his waist, straining against his deep blue work uniform, giving off an indescribable sense of allure.

Even dressed in stained work gear, he remained the most striking presence.

Shen Ji focused on the thoughts transmitted by the small mushrooms, but these greedy little things only had one thing on their minds: ‘So delicious! So delicious!’

He sighed softly and began walking forward, eyes still closed.

The mushrooms’ vision was his vision; the mushrooms’ sensations were his sensations.

The hyphae spread like wildfire, their reproduction multiplying at an alarming rate. With every bite they took, they released a cloud of spores. The spores landed and grew into new mushrooms, devouring relentlessly this Phantom Forest.

Not far away, Chu Ye was impaled on the highest crystal tree. A crystalline branch had pierced through his heart, nailing him diagonally against the tree.

But Chu Ye wasn’t dead.

Mutants weren’t that fragile, and the pollution was keeping him tethered to life. He could only remain trapped in agonizing awareness.

The eerie, unseen voice continued to babble on endlessly, every sentence fixated on its perfect specimens.

...The Gardener.

"Hm?" Suddenly, the strange voice took on a new quality.

An instant later, a massive pollution aura erupted. Chu Ye, pinned to the tree, vomited blood from the overwhelming pollution. Great gouts of bright red blood fell to the ground, only to be completely absorbed by the Crystal Tree beneath him, not a single drop remaining. Chu Ye was hit by severe dizziness and a pounding headache.

Just before he blacked out, he heard the Gardener's furious voice.

"Li Zhiyan!"

"Why is he in my garden? When did he get here?! What is he doing on my turf?!"

"He wants to usurp my territory—no, no, no!"

"The garden is mine!"

Soon, the Gardener quickly departed. The piercing pollution vanished from around him, and that grotesque voice stopped its incessant echoing in his ears.

Chu Ye could finally breathe on his own.

He gasped frantically for air, but each breath sent a stab of agony through his chest. The seed piercing his heart tried to take root in his body; he could even feel its roots wriggling as they gradually tore through his flesh and devoured his marrow.

The pain was unbearable, even worse than the pain from Shen Ji's treatment.

In this state, how could he possibly find his missing teammates?

Amid the intense pain, Chu Ye dazedly closed his eyes. The agony scrambled his thoughts, and blood loss made even simple logic impossible.

His mind was filled only with: *It hurts so much. I'm going to die. Li Zhiyan, where have you run off to? I have to find them.*

"Captain."

Chu Ye's eyes snapped open.

A familiar voice sounded in his ears—no, it was as if it had been projected directly into his mind.

"...Zizheng."

Lu Zizheng, an A-level Mutant with the Talent "Mental Link." He was Chu Ye's deputy and one of the teammates who had gone missing in this Crystal Forest.

"Zizheng, Lu Zizheng!"

Chu Ye gritted his teeth against the pain and called out his name. "Are you still alive? Where are you? Answer me!"

"Captain, by the time you hear this, I'll already be gone. This is the last message I leave for you." The familiar voice spoke again.

Chu Ye froze.

"It's not hopeless yet."

"You are the heart of the Crystal Tree. The tree you're on is the core tree of this Crystal Forest. The Gardener will assimilate you with this tree to control the entire forest, but this also means that if you can seize control of the tree, the entire Crystal Forest will fall under your command. This is your only way to escape."

"Remember, you cannot give up. You cannot be buried here with us."

"Escape. You must escape!"

The voice faded, then returned after three seconds, repeating the same familiar words like a stumbling, old tape recorder struggling to play.

Chu Ye lowered his head, his eyes vacant, with only that voice echoing incessantly in his mind.

Every word commanded him to "survive."

/

"Chu Ye is in contact with his teammates," the system suddenly spoke.

Shen Ji's eyes snapped open, his voice filled with surprise. "Aren't all of Chu Ye's teammates dead?"

The system smoothly replied, "Chu Ye has made contact with the ghosts of his teammates."

Shen Ji: ...

Fortunately, the system wasn't a real person. If it were, with a mouth like that, it would probably have been beaten to a pulp.

"Chu Ye probably doesn't need to worry. Although he's the lowest-level among the three of you, he's also the pollution incubator the Gardener values most. The Gardener won't let him die easily."

"Besides, his ghost teammates are saving him."

"System, your mouth is the most venomous."

Shen Ji sighed. "How do you manage to stab someone three times with just two sentences?"

"...?"

"Good thing you're not human."

"...?"

"Then let me tell you another piece of 'non-human' news: the Gardener's pollution is coming."

Shen Ji turned to look beside him. His pupils turned a vast white, with fine threads drifting within them. The hyphae, also sensing the intense pollution, were excited yet cautious.

Pollutants are greedy; they fixate on their prey relentlessly, even when they know the prey won't be easily captured.

An S-class pollutant—they'd never tasted such a high-level ingredient before!

Eek! So excited!

The wind blew, rustling the leaves of the Crystal Trees. Crisp clinking sounds echoed everywhere, these unnatural, deliberate noises full of dissonance. An intense pollution aura was slowly creeping closer.

High-level pollutants often take humanoid forms.

The higher the level of the pollutant, the more human-like they appear. If not for their inherent pollution aura, most people wouldn't recognize high-level pollutants for what they are upon meeting them.

This, of course, includes the S-class Pollutant Gardener.

It had a pair of green eyes, verdant as spring mountains. Within its pupils was the image of a tree, and its hair extended into verdant branches, even blooming with flowers. It resembled a tree spirit that had gained sentience, sitting atop a tree and locking eyes with Shen Ji from afar.

"Journalist." It didn't blink. "We finally meet."

Shen Ji reached out his hand, and the hyphae twisted around his wrist, forming a pinkish-white arc-shaped bracelet.

Aside from his pale white eyes and the pollution aura surrounding him, he seemed as calm as an ordinary human.

Black is a profound color, associated with mystery and silence. White, however, is the opposite—especially in a person's eyes, where it can seem overly sharp and piercing.

Shen Ji looked up at the Gardener, the lenses of his glasses masking the sharpness in his gaze.

"Yes, we finally meet, Gardener."

"But I have no desire to meet you." The Gardener stared into his eyes. "We are both S-class pollutants. We shouldn't engage in conflict; it would only benefit humans."

Shen Ji didn't respond, merely watching it coldly.

After a long while, the Gardener narrowed its eyes slightly. "It seems you're unwilling to leave."

"Why?"

"I've already compensated you for the first seed that wandered into your turf. Although I wanted to take back the second seed, you ended up destroying it. Since neither of them ever grew in your domain, why are you showing up on my turf to start trouble now?"

"Neither of us gained anything from this."

"But I'm angry," Shen Ji's eyes carried a hint of mockery. "Did you really think destroying the seeds would make me let bygones be bygones?"

The Gardener remained silent.

Every pollutant had a hardwired territorial instinct—a non-negotiable line. The Gardener knew exactly what Shen Ji meant. The moment it insisted on letting the seeds grow, it knew this outcome was inevitable.

It had merely wanted to test the Reporter's strength, to see if it could brazenly snatch something away.

Now it had kicked a hornet's nest.

They fell into a silent showdown. The surroundings were calm, but only because one side was holding back.

Just then, a small blue butterfly suddenly appeared in the air.

The blue butterfly positioned itself in front of Shen Ji, its wings spread in a protective stance.

Shen Ji staggered back. He took a step back, his eyes shifting back to black, the pollution aura around him rapidly fading.

"Huh?"

Even the system sounded surprised. "The protagonist is here? When did he get here?"

The Gardener blinked, bewildered as it realized the pollution aura emanating from the Reporter had vanished. Now the Reporter seemed completely human? Yes, exactly like those humans who carried not a trace of pollution aura—completely ordinary, regular everyday humans.

Why?

Before the Gardener could figure it out, it darted to another tree, its green eyes flashing with a hint of wildness.

"Who is it?"

More and more blue butterflies appeared, swarming around Shen Ji while another group surged toward the Gardener in the air.

The Gardener waved its hand, shattering butterflies left and right, but even more replaced them. In no time, the entire crystal forest was swarming with butterflies.

"You weren’t lost?!" the Gardener finally realized. "Why didn’t the Phantom Forest work on you?!"

"Of course it didn’t."

Li Zhiyan materialized in front of Shen Ji at some point, his silver-white long hair emitting a soft glow. The butterfly patterns in his blue pupils grew increasingly distinct.

"Haven’t you heard that butterflies are the ultimate illusion experts? Trying to play illusion tricks with me?"

"And you even dared to bully the little doctor I brought here."

Li Zhiyan’s voice was frosty, his eyes full of disdain. "Not only is your taste bad, but your character is even worse."

"Your plantation ought to be torn up and replanted with nothing but chrysanthemums."