"Did I get the wrong address," Commander Li asked dryly, turning his head to look at Xu Zhenlan, who was coming out of his SUV, "or did you fire your landscaper?"
Nobody answered him imdiately, Xu Zhenlan just gave him a sharp look like he didn’t appreciate the joke.
That was not comforting.
"It wasn’t like this when we left," grunted Zhou Chenghai, and Commander Li could see him flexing his fists like he wasn’t sure how they were going to get through the hedge from hell and back into their house.
The last ti Commander Li stood in front of this property, the front lawn had been neatly trimd considering Shen Rouxi had just finished opening up the ground underneath an army of zombies. She had rebuilt the front exactly how it had been before... the driveway smoothed again, the ground flat....the forest between the front of the lawn and the street full and strong.
But that wasn’t what was in front of him now...
Now the gates were gone.
Or buried.
Massive black thorns the side of his forearm poked out between the erald green vines. The living wall had completely swallowed the entire front entrance, and it was thick enough to have probably crush the original stone fencing beneath it while roots split apart the road in heavy ridges stretching across the street.
Flowers the size of a human head blood between the vines in deep reds and violent purples, their petals opening slowly beneath the convoy headlights.
Several of them turned toward the vehicles like they were able to see the commotion outside. They didn’t turn toward the vibration of the engines, but toward the people themselves.
He waved at his n, and the rest of his team climbed out one by one while soldiers in the rear vehicles imdiately raised their weapons toward the moving wall of vegetation.
"Don’t," Zhao Rui said sharply, his eyes narrowing like he was seeing sothing that none of them were. Right.. he was a precog. The scientists back at the base had determined that he had a spirit power where he could predict what was going to happen in a few seconds or even a few minutes.
It was a handy gift to have on the team, that was for sure.
The warning ca fast enough that Chen Minghao froze halfway through lifting his rifle, understanding the sa thing that Li was.
Commander Li looked toward the younger corporal. "Is there a problem?"
Zhao Rui kept staring at the flowers as he slowly shook his head. He quickly shot a glance to Zhou Chenghai, "Just a bad feeling."
That was enough for him.
"Weapons down," Commander Li ordered. Not a single person argued.
Yuche stepped out of Chenghai’s SUV with Shen Rouxi still unconscious in his arms.
The second his boots touched the pavent, the plants moved.
The wall of thorns slowly separated down the center while thick roots dragged themselves sideways across the road, opening a clear path toward the mansion.
Silence hit the entire convoy.
The plants had reacted to the vehicles like they were a threat that they were just waiting to get close enough.
But they way they reacted to Rouxi? That was completely different. They parted for her like a crowd parted for their queen.
Sun Ming stared openly at the shifting roots beneath his feet. "That shouldn’t be possible."
"Neither is half the shit we’ve seen this week," Wang Junjie muttered. "Let alone the past six months."
Commander Li laughed softly at that statent. After all, it wasn’t like he was wrong.
Yuche adjusted Rouxi slightly higher against his chest before walking toward the opening without hesitation. The vines nearest him shifted carefully away from her body as he passed. Li watched as a few of the smaller vines reached out and gently brushed against Rouxi’s limp hand as if they were reassuring themselves that she was still alive.
"We’re pretty sure your scientists caused it," Lingyun said cheerfully as he walked beside Yuche, throwing Li a look over his shoulder. "But the plants eat zombies, so we decided to keep them."
Chen Minghao turned slowly toward Commander Li, but Li only shook his head. He didn’t know anything about that either.
So conversations required rank, and clearly, he didn’t have the rank.
The convoy started moving again once Chenghai got back behind the wheel. Commander Li followed closely behind while the vehicles rolled through the opening in the vines. Yuche and Lingyun were still walking in front of them all like they were holding so all access key.
Then again... that was exactly what Rouxi was at this mont.
The deeper they moved into the property, the quieter the soldiers beca.
Commander Li rembered this driveway.
Rembered the decorative trees.
Rembered the expensive landscaping.
Rembered thinking the entire neighborhood looked like one of those rich suburban developnts designed by people who had never done physical labor in their lives.
Now the property barely resembled itself.
The plants had spread everywhere, but not randomly. Thick flowering vines climbed the outer walls of nearby buildings without covering the windows while massive trees cast shadows across the driveway wide enough to hide entire vehicles beneath them.
The plants hadn’t swallowed the mansion.
They had built themselves around it.
Commander Li slowed slightly as the convoy rounded the final turn toward the front entrance.
Solar panels sat elevated above several sections of the property, partially shielded beneath heavy vine cover without blocking access to sunlight. Stacked firewood sat protected beneath tarps beside organized storage shelves filled with preserved food and supplies. Soone had even reinforced sections of the outer walls with roots thick enough to stop a vehicle.
"Commander," Sun Ming said quietly through the radio. "The roots are reinforcing the structures."
Commander Li glanced toward the nearest retaining wall.
The corporal was right.
The roots should have shattered the stone completely under that amount of pressure.
Instead they wrapped through the cracks like support beams.
He didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
But it was definitely sothing.
The mansion itself finally ca fully into view between the trees.
Warm light glowed through several windows, giving off a feeling of ho that he had forgotten about until right this mont.
Luo Xin leaned forward sharply from the back seat. "Commander, I need her inside now. She doesn’t have much ti left... and if she heals before I can set the bones..."
Right.
Focus.
Commander Li parked near the front entrance just as Chenghai stepped out of the SUV. Yuche was already at the front door with Rouxi in his arms and Lingyun right beside him.
Even Zhenlan was close behind them, and Commander Li hadn’t even seen him move.
Everyone simply moved around Rouxi automatically.
Commander Li stepped out and started issuing orders at the sa ti.
"dical supplies inside. Zhao Yucheng, help Luo Xin. Sun Ming, check the structure integrity near the lower level before everyone settles in. Zhao Rui, periter watch with Chen Minghao. Wang Junjie, inventory whatever fuel and supplies we still have left."
His n moved imdiately and Commander Li nodded in satisfaction before he followed the others inside and stopped for half a second.
The interior looked exactly like he rembered.
Which sohow made everything outside even stranger.
Blankets covered the massive sectional in the living room while half-finished snacks still sat scattered across the coffee table beside an abandoned remote control. A drama remained paused on the television screen while several books and charging cables cluttered one end of the couch.
The apocalypse outside suddenly felt very far away.
Wang Junjie stepped in behind Commander Li and stared at the television. "They still watch dramas?"
Lingyun looked offended by the question. "Obviously."
Then he disappeared toward the kitchen before anyone could answer.
Yuche crossed the room and stopped beside the sectional.
Everyone looked at the couch.
Then at the blood soaking through Shen Rouxi’s clothes.
Lingyun ca back carrying towels and imdiately frowned. "Absolutely not."
Yuche looked down at Rouxi. "She won’t care."
"She threatened Chenghai with a shovel last month for spilling instant noodles on one of the cushions."
"That was different."
"How?"
"It was seafood flavored."
Commander Li watched the exchange in complete silence while Chenghai dragged the coffee table out of the way with one hand.
Not one person in the room questioned whether Shen Rouxi would survive.
The argunt was about her couch.
Zhenlan finally pointed toward the open area near the windows. "Blankets there. Luo Xin needs space."
Yuche narrowed his eyes at the other man, like he didn’t like being ordered around but couldn’t say anything because he didn’t have a better plan.
Within seconds the living room shifted into controlled movent. Chenghai cleared furniture while Zhao Yucheng helped Sun Ming move one of the heavier shelves away from the open floor space. Lingyun dropped blankets onto the ground before kneeling beside Rouxi with towels and clean water already waiting. Luo Xin barely stopped long enough to remove his bloodstained gloves before kneeling beside her.
The vines wrapped loosely around Shen Rouxi’s body tightened imdiately when he reached toward her spine.
Luo Xin froze.
Yuche leaned down slightly. "He’s helping."
The smallest vine near Rouxi’s shoulder lifted slowly toward Luo Xin’s hand.
The dic stared at it for one long second before sighing heavily. "I beca a doctor to avoid getting bitten by plants."
Lingyun grinned. "Bad career choice."
No one laughed.
Luo Xin placed both hands carefully over Shen Rouxi’s back while pale white healing light spread slowly between his fingers.
The entire room went quiet.
Commander Li stood near the edge of the living room watching Shen Rouxi’s household close ranks around her without needing instructions from anyone.
Outside, the plants shifted softly against the walls of the mansion.
Inside, nobody looked ready to leave.
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