novelraw Chapter 224
Chapter 224
Who would replace the System Tower before Xing Min?
Even though Xing Min didn’t elaborate further, Yu Xi could already make a rough guess.
What she hadn’t expected was that the System Tower could actually be replaced.
Outside the bedroom window, a group of giant bioluminescent phoenix butterflies fluttered by. Each one was the size of a human head, their wings gracefully undulating, scattering fine glowing dust as they moved.
They descended slowly in the dim light of dawn, eventually settling atop the massive tree canopy, their luminous forms resembling clusters of glowing lanterns, standing out brilliantly.
These butterflies had once been among the weakest creatures in the dense forest—prey to mantises, spiders, birds, snakes, and ants. But now, these predators avoided them, keeping a wary distance.
Yu Xi speculated that their bioluminescent dust must be toxic, allowing them to break free from their previous fate at the bottom of the food chain.
From deep within the forest, the roar of a tiger echoed, accompanied by the terrified death cries of some unfortunate animal.
The sound startled a troop of golden monkeys perched atop the canopy. In a frenzy, they leaped into the air, and as they stretched their forelimbs mid-air, a thin membrane unfolded between their arms and bodies, allowing them to glide with the wind above the treetops. Effortlessly, they soared from one canopy to another, swiftly distancing themselves from the dangerous battleground. After all, the Northeast Tiger’s four mutated paws allowed it to climb trees as fast as any monkey…
The world outside was already lively for the day. Yu Xi stretched her limbs by the window, changed into a lightweight sports outfit, and stepped onto the terrace for her daily morning workout.
Inside the automatic planting greenhouse, most of the vegetables had ripened.
The crisp green lettuce, bok choy, spinach, and tender asparagus stood lush and vibrant. Eggplants, loofahs, fruit cucumbers, zucchinis, bell peppers, and bright red tomatoes hung between the leafy vines, waiting to be harvested. Different varieties of grapes—Kyoho, Summer Black, White Milk, Red Globe, and Drunken Gold—dangled in the glass partitions, clustered in plump bunches, looking irresistibly inviting.
Elsewhere, kiwis, honeydew melons, oranges, apples, kumquats, limes, fruit tomatoes, strawberries, lychees, and loquats filled their respective planting sections—some still ripening, while others were ready to be picked and eaten.
Yu Xi recalled how happy Fan Qi had been every time she stepped onto the terrace in the past two days. Instead of pressing the harvest button, she decided to leave the joy of gathering the crops entirely to her mother.
As the sun rose higher, the jungle outside grew even more animated.
During the period of rampant plant growth, not even a single insect had been seen. But now, beneath the vast and dense canopy, who knew how many creatures lurked?
Yu Xi was grateful she had acted decisively. The moment the plant surge ended, she had gone out to find rescue and ensured the survivors here were evacuated.
If they had remained in this jungle any longer, even the nocturnal insects hiding in the darkness could have claimed their lives in an instant.
When Yu Xi had piloted her hovercraft to venture outside, she had been cautious about drawing attention, only flying over the jungle for a short distance before retracting the craft and continuing on foot. As a result, she still wasn’t entirely clear on the overall situation beyond the forest.
All she knew was that the military was actively clearing out mutated plants in multiple major safe zones. Some areas had suffered heavy casualties due to a lack of heavy weaponry.
Fortunately, about a few hundred kilometers south of the jungle, near one such safe zone, a classified weapons depot had been discovered. During this critical period, the secret warehouse had been unlocked, allowing the safe zone to withstand the plant surge.
This safe zone had initially been a county town situated on a barren desert landscape—an area naturally resistant to plant overgrowth.
From the very onset of the apocalypse, many families had migrated there for refuge.
Later, the military stationed itself there, bringing in a vast supply of resources and initiating the construction of defensive structures.
Now, its scale had expanded several times over, becoming one of the largest safe zones in the northern region. Official plans were underway to fully develop the desert area, constructing even more shelter homes to accommodate a larger population.
Only a safe zone of this scale had the capacity to deploy multiple large helicopters to rescue people from deep within the jungle.
Although Yu Xi was still unclear about the situation in the rest of Huaguo, judging by the progress of this safe zone, both the military and civilians were fighting tenaciously in their respective roles.
If survival was possible here, then surely, other regions could achieve the same.
At this moment, Yu Xi had no idea that the legend of Star House was beginning to spread.
Previously, due to transportation cuts and poor communication, the stories from the South Sea Island had only circulated in a small area. But this time, it was different. For the two hundred survivors who had been rescued, looking back at those ten days felt like a dream.
It wasn’t until they heard from other refugees about the horrors of the plant surge that they realized their survival was nothing short of a miracle. But they knew—it wasn’t a miracle. Someone had forcibly carved out a path for them in a desperate situation.
In the ruined city, the only building still standing had been preserved because of the owner of Star House.
As word spread, the reasons behind these two hundred people’s rescue caught the attention of the high-level officials in the safe zones.
The tales of supernatural wood-type abilities, the power to summon objects out of thin air, and other extraordinary capabilities left the authorities deeply shaken.
It wasn’t the uniqueness of such powers that shocked them—it was the overwhelming disparity in strength.
The general public in the safe zones remained unaware that, along with the surge of plants in the northern regions of the planet, rare mutations had begun appearing among humans as well. These mutations were extremely rare—so far, only a dozen individuals had been identified in Hua Nation.
Some of them had enhanced olfactory senses, capable of detecting whether a mutated plant or animal was dangerous or edible simply by scent.
Most had gained increases in strength and speed, surpassing ordinary human limits by 2 to 2.5 times, allowing them to barely compete with some of the mutated animals.
However, compared to the large-scale transformation of plants and animals, the percentage of mutated humans remained minuscule—and far too weak.
Yet, if the abilities described by the rescued survivors were not exaggerated, then the owner of Star House was by far the most powerful among all known mutants.
Or perhaps, they weren’t even a mutated human at all.
Rather, they seemed more like an outsider—someone not of this world.
By the time the morning light fully bathed the terrace of Star House, Fan Qi had arrived. She spotted the neatly displayed green harvest indicators next to the glass compartments and let out an excited exclamation.
“This is great! The lychees and strawberries are ripe! Your dad was just thinking about eating lychees yesterday! The limes and kumquats are also ready for picking. We still have plenty of honey at home—I’ll make a big pitcher of kumquat lime honey tea later…”
As she spoke, she tapped the green harvest indicators next to the crops she wanted, treating it like a farming simulation game. Instantly, delicate and agile mechanical arms extended from the compartments, swiftly beginning the automated harvesting process.
The fully matured fruits and vegetables were picked and sent through conveyor tubes into the packaging area, where they were collectively washed, gently dried at low temperatures, and vacuum-sealed before neatly sliding out of the collection zone.
Those that were not fully ripe continued receiving nutrient solutions, water, and light to sustain their growth.
For compartments that had completed their harvests, the automated system determined whether they could yield another batch. If so, they continued cultivating. If not, the system processed the plant roots, refreshed the soil, added nutrients, and prepared for the next round of planting.
The harvest this time was too large for Fan Qi to move on her own, so she grabbed her daughter, who was still doing her morning exercise, and insisted on taking a shortcut.
Yu Xi stored all the vegetables and fruits in Star House’s warehouse, then followed Fan Qi downstairs. As requested, she retrieved the vegetables meant for refrigeration and placed the fruits they wanted to eat on the kitchen bar counter for Fan Qi to handle later.
“These cream strawberries are so sweet! Let’s make strawberry pancakes for breakfast,” Fan Qi suggested as she started preparing breakfast, while Yu Xi began her taste-testing.
Grapes, seedless red grapes, fruit tomatoes, lychees, and loquats—she peeled them one by one, occasionally popping a particularly delicious one into Fan Qi’s mouth as they chatted about what to plant next.
“It’d be great if we could get some mushroom spores—shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, chicken fungus mushrooms… we should plant them all.”
“Spores aren’t the same as seeds, they can’t just be planted directly. I’ll check with the system to see how to cultivate them.”
“Good idea. Oh, do we have ginseng seeds? Besides fruits and vegetables, we could also plant medicinal herbs like honeysuckle and goji berries. What about tea tree seeds? If we can grow apples in these compartments, tea trees should work too…”
“…” Yu Xi rubbed her forehead. “Mom, tea leaves can’t be consumed directly without processing. The fragrance won’t develop, and it can be harsh on the stomach…”
“It’s fine. Isn’t it just hand-roasting tea leaves? As long as we have a wok, we can do it. Your dad and I can give it a try. We’re not that busy anyway. Just focus on getting the seeds.”
“…Alright.”
…
The peaceful and leisurely days passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the next world mission to arrive.
However, at exactly midnight on May 6th, the expected world mission notification did not arrive as scheduled.
Frowning, Yu Xi waited for a moment. The time had already ticked to 12:03 AM. “What’s going on? Where’s the world mission?”
【There’s a problem. I’m verifying the details.】
Yu Xi waited a little longer before Xing Min finally sent over the new world mission data. But when she read the details, she was stunned.
【Ninth Apocalypse World: Endless Train (Unknown World Invitation)】
There was only a single line of text—no information about the world type, her identity, or even the mission. Compared to the fragmented information from the Black Insect World, this time, there wasn’t even a mission provided.
“What’s going on?” Yu Xi sensed something deeply suspicious. “Unknown World Invitation? So this mission is an invitation?”
【Rather than an invitation, it’s more like a trap. In previous mission worlds, I could gather at least some information, but this time, the world is completely unknown. If this is its doing, then this mission will undoubtedly be filled with extreme danger.】
“Can I refuse it?”
【I just tried. It can’t be rejected. The only option is for me to forcibly interrupt the mission after you enter the world.】
“But doing that will consume a huge amount of your energy.”
【That’s not something you need to worry about. For me, if anything happens to you, everything will be lost. All the anchor points are tied to you—protecting you is my top priority.】
“I understand.” Yu Xi calmed herself. “There are still twenty-four hours. I’ll make full preparations.”
At 6 AM, Star House reset.
When Fan Qi woke up and pulled open the floor-to-ceiling curtains, she found that the scenery outside had completely changed. That was when she remembered—it was the day of the Star House reset.
The reset also meant that her daughter would be entering a new apocalyptic world tonight.
A month of brief rest had come to an end, and once again, her daughter would traverse into another world, facing life-or-death challenges. For any mother, this was a day filled with quiet apprehension.
Fan Qi looked at the stone pathway just outside the glass and felt a bit unaccustomed to it. She still preferred when Star House reset at higher elevations, allowing a clear view of everything around them at first glance.
Star House now stood at about the height of a two-story building, surrounded by a variety of architecturally distinct buildings—red sloped roofs, white walls, and, in the distance, several towering spires and turrets.
Where had they arrived this time?