Flora Bloom and her three companions stopped, the humid heat of Morhaven leaving them drenched in sweat from the run. Shauna Wallace was especially covered in a cold sweat, her face unusually pale. Forget being chased by a swarm of giant bees—even a swarm of regular bees buzzing after you would be enough to send anyone running for their life.

Vert had followed the four of them all the way back, a bee still clutched in its leg. It dropped the bee from the air, and the corpse landed on the lawn beside them.

The tender green blades of grass sensed the foreign object and swarmed over, wrapping the bee’s corpse up into a green cocoon. In less than ten seconds, the grass blades receded. The bee corpse that had been lying there was gone, leaving only a Crystal Core the size of a grain of rice.

The Crystal Core rolled on a blade of grass before a rootlet emerged from beneath the lawn, wrapped around it, and instantly absorbed it completely. The rootlet then retreated back into the ground.

The four of them watched this wondrous scene, expressions of amazement on their faces.

Flora Bloom, who had just been wondering how to deal with the swarm of bees, watched this scene as a flicker of inspiration flashed through her mind, but she couldn’t quite grasp it.

"It’s like all these plants have gained sentience. They can actually eat the bodies of mutated insects. They can even consume Crystal Cores!"

Neal Wallace crouched down and gently touched the grass, parting the blades. The tender green strands drifted around his hand, seemingly sniffing his scent like little puppies. As a Fire Ability User, Neal Wallace was brimming with Fire Element Energy. Plants are afraid of fire, so the next moment, the blades of grass disgustedly pushed his hand away and then shook themselves off.

"This... They..." Neal Wallace was a bit speechless as he pulled his hand back. Flora Bloom received the feelings of the little blades of grass through her mental link and smiled. "You’re a Fire Element. These plants are afraid of fire."

With a casual wave of her hand, Flora Bloom scattered another spray of spiritual water onto the surrounding flowers and trees, placating the sentient plants.

"These little plants are truly amazing. The apocalypse may have arrived, but these plants and animals seem to be showing signs of returning to a primal state. Is this apocalypse a test only for us humans?" Sherman Lynch remarked, moved by the sight of the vegetation.

"Humans are just one of many species in the world. The apocalyptic virus didn’t just bring about zombies; it also triggered the evolution of all sorts of life. Take these plants, for example. Given enough time, they will surely develop intelligence surpassing that of humans. This is their evolution. It’s just like Vert. It was through evolving in the apocalypse that it became an evolved life-form, full of wisdom, able to help me in battle." 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"It’s also like us gaining superpowers. Nature is using this apocalypse to cleanse the Earth. Survival of the fittest; the unfit are eliminated. Zombies and superpower users are just two different evolutionary paths for humanity’s future. This is the law of survival in the natural world. In the apocalypse, no one can escape it."

Sherman Lynch, Neal Wallace, and Shauna Wallace suddenly stared at Flora Bloom. They didn’t know why she would say such a thing. But then again, wasn’t everything they had encountered so far enough to prove her point?

They—humanity—were no longer the masters of the natural world. They had become players in a game of survival. If they wanted to break free from the shackles of fate, their only choice was to level up.

"Then what about the ordinary people who neither turned into zombies nor became superpower users?" Shauna Wallace asked timidly.

"Those who didn’t die and could resist the zombie virus already possess the evolutionary requirements to survive the apocalypse. If they can’t take that next step and actively adapt to the apocalyptic environment, they too will eventually be eliminated by it."

’Three years. There were only three years. Perhaps she was the only one who knew what kind of great purge humanity was about to face.’

’In her previous life, if humanity hadn’t suffered such heavy losses in the great war three years later, and if most humans had been able to complete their final advancement, would things have been different when those alien life-forms from space descended upon them in the tenth year of the apocalypse? Would they have been reduced to eking out a miserable existence, forced to hide underground? In order to break through their limits, they often had to pay with their lives to take down High-level zombie species with them.’

’The Crystal Core of a High-level zombie was incredibly precious. A single one was enough for a Middle-Level superpower user to complete their energy compression and conversion. Often, the birth of a new High-level Superpower User came at the cost of another High-level Superpower User’s death. And even then, the death of one High-level Superpower User didn’t guarantee they could obtain a High-level Zombie Crystal Core.’

’That was why, in the days after the third year, the number of humans would continue to dwindle. The strong would remain strong, while the weak would find it difficult to grow stronger. And their numbers were just too few.’

Just as the four of them were lost in thought on the stone path between the two lawns, a strange and exceptionally powerful spiritual presence suddenly appeared in Flora Bloom’s mental link.

The voice in this mental link was a soft, childish one, and it didn’t yet possess clear cognitive abilities. It just timidly and shyly called out, "Master, Master."

’Flora Bloom was stunned. Where did this little thing come from? She didn’t remember ever taking in a little one with a child’s voice!’

She looked inward, examining everything in her space. Other than Vert flying through the sky and Xiao Bai sleeping soundly, all seemed normal. There were Monkey One, Monkey Two, and Monkey Three; Da Kong and Xiao Kong; Xiao Jia; the Golden Cicada; fifteen large white geese; five pairs of chickens; two pairs of pigs; and one sheep. Underground, there was one large earthworm and a cluster of small ones. There were also two grasshoppers, a venomous snake, the colossal beast which remained motionless, and the foxtail grass that grew quietly. She checked the few unhatched eggs and Vert’s nine mantis eggs. Everything in the space was as it always was—nothing had been added, and nothing was missing.

’What on earth was going on?’

’Could it be that some creature with powerful spiritual power had invaded her mental link?’

The moment this thought appeared, Flora Bloom panicked. If there really was such a formidable being, powerful enough to invade the mental link she had established with her Spatial Creatures, just how strong would its spiritual power have to be?

’Could such powerful spiritual power one day turn on her, usurp her position, and enslave her?’

’No, that could absolutely not be allowed to happen. She had been reborn, she had finally managed to carve out some semblance of a life in this apocalypse, she had finally gotten a chance to start over. She couldn’t be defeated by anything or anyone.’

So, she tried to communicate with this mental link.

"What are you?"

"Master, Master."

"How did you get into my mental link?"

"Master, Master."

"..."

The thing seemed to understand Flora Bloom’s words but was unable to clearly express itself. Its intelligence was only half-developed, and it couldn’t articulate its thoughts, only able to cry out "Master."

"If you know what’s good for you, get out of my mental link, or don’t blame me for what happens next!"

As soon as Flora Bloom’s intent reached the other’s mind, it cried out "Master" again. Then, it began to show anxiety, starting to buzz incessantly in her mental link: BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ, BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ.

’Wait a minute... that BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ sound? Wasn’t that the sound the bees that were just chasing them made? Was this a bee? How did a single bee’s spiritual power get into her mental link? This was too weird.’

But then, something even stranger happened.

One after another, different spiritual powers began to appear in Flora Bloom’s mental link, and every single one was exceptionally strong.

’These spiritual powers... were they all from bees?’

Although each spiritual power seemed to be calling her "Master" with extreme obedience, this strange and inexplicable feeling made her panic.

Just then, another similar spiritual power appeared in Flora Bloom’s mental link. This one was even stronger than the soft, childish, buzzing one, and it spoke with the voice of a true queen.

"Master." Its voice was steady and alluring, calm yet sensual. And Flora Bloom could sense that its intelligence was sufficient to communicate with her.

"Are you a bee? How did you all get into my mental link?"