Rebirth: 100 Days Before Doomsday - Chapter 195

Chapter 195: Mutated Vegetation
The clearing was a strange, almost surreal sight. Dozens of mutated plants were growing there wildly. While some were thriving, others seemed to be struggling to stay alive with the virus that was changing its very core from deep within.

The air was thick with an unnatural energy, with a mixture of decay and life. Some plants were glowing faintly, casting a soft luminescence over the ground. But then there were others that were surrounded by a sort of darkness that signaled their closeness to end.

Grace crouched beside a cluster of vines that were pulsing with a faint, rhythmic glow. The leaves were shimmering, and their surfaces were covered in what looked like liquid silver.

[Master, almost all of them are dying, even the ones looking like they are thriving. You need to shift them inside the space immediately.] 2025’s voice chimed in her head.

Grace didn’t waste time. With a thought, she activated her spatial storage, and opened a shimmering portal beside her. Then she carefully began transferring the plants one by one, ensuring that none were left behind.

It was at that point when she noticed that some of the plants were trying to resist, their roots clung to the soil as if reluctant to move. Still the system effortlessly shifted all of them inside the Infinte Realm.

Rune had been observing her silently while standing by the side. “These plants are unlike anything I have seen before,” he muttered as he carefully observed a plant that had golden leaves.

Grace turned her attention to him and asked, “Not even in other planets you have been to during your missions?” She was curious and it seemed like Rune didn’t mind sharing the information.

He slowly shook his head and let out a small sigh before answering, “I have seen countless types of vegetation, some even magical, but these… these are indeed so new to me.”

She nodded her head, realizing just how important these mutated plants were. “That’s why we need to save them before they completely wither.”

As she continued looking for more plants in the area, 2025 took the chance to analyze the plants they just shifted.

[Scan complete. Identifying plant species…]

One by one, the little creature began listing their names and potential uses.

[Lunar Bloom – A flower that absorbs moonlight and can enhance a person’s energy levels when brewed into tea.]

[Nightshade Thorn – A vine that produces venomous thorns capable of paralyzing targets.]

[Void Lily – A rare flower that can neutralize zombie toxins when properly refined.]

[Shadow Veil Moss – A moss that, when consumed in small doses, can enhance stealth abilities.]

[Phantom Ivy – A creeping vine that emitts a scent capable of inducing hallucinations when crushed. ]

Grace paused her search for a moment as she listened. She was realizing how these weren’t just mutated plants, but valuable resources. Some could be used for healing, others for combat, and some even had strategic applications.

She informed 2025. “We are taking everything.”

2025 was just as excited as she was, and quickly replied. [Understood, Master.]

With renewed urgency, they continued searching the area for more mutated plants. Within an hour, they ended up securing all the vegetation that was showing signs of mutation in the area.

* * *

Since Grace and Rune spent too much time in collecting the plants, they were late for dinner. But as she informed the other two men about her findings, the atmosphere immediately turned lively.

Grace knew that while she had been working hard, Davian, Rune, and Dr. Kian had been going through a rough time as well since all three of them were putting in their everything to help her in her plans.

That’s why, she kept trying to acknowledge their work and support, motivate them, and to give them a comfortable atmosphere every evening when the four of them returned to their apartment to catch some much-needed rest.

Once the dinner was over, the four of them spent about an hour sitting in the living area and just chatting about several matters – some light and some important.

It was about ten o’clock when Grace finally entered her bedroom, but instead of heading to sleep, she entered the Infinite Realm to continue working on the mutated vegetation she found.

Not wanting to waste any time, she headed straight to the special greenhouse she had prepared for the mutated plants. The entire place was empty except for a single bed where about eight to ten plants were growing healthily, and three out of them were the original ones she found near the military base.

Fortunately, the fragments of roots that the system saved from those three original mutated plants, ended up working and new plants grew out of them.

Since it had been two hours when she found these plants and shifted them inside, it also meant that it had been two days since they started evolving in the Infinte Realm.

Without wasting any further time, Grace used the system to plant all the vegetation into the greenhouse and noticed how the magic happened in front of her very eyes.

The pure energy of Infinte Realm worked and turned those dying plants into healthy ones.Their withering leaves perked up, and their roots stretched into the fertile soil as if to breathe life again.

Grace knelt beside the Lunar Bloom, and watched as its petals, which had been curled inward in distress, slowly began to open, revealing a core that was glowing ike a miniature moon.

[Master, all plants are stabilizing. Growth projections indicate a 72% increase in vitality over the next 48 hours,] 2025 reported.

She exhaled in relief. “Good. Keep monitoring them.”

Grace moved from plant to plant, testing different watering techniques and adjusting their light exposure. Some required darkness to thrive, while others absorbed energy from their surroundings.

[Master, this Void Lily is such a fascinating one. It will react to the presence of infected blood, and will neutralize toxins almost instantly.] 2025 shared the new insight on a particular plant.

“This could be a cure,” Grace murmured to herself as she turned her attention toward the Void Lily plant.

Each one of these plants was a treasure, and if she could cultivate them properly, these plants would become an advantage just like some others she already had bagged for the one big plan that had been brewing ever since she woke up in this timeline.

By the time she left the greenhouse, she had dozens of thriving mutated plants.

* * *

The next morning, Grace joined her team and Captain Harlow’s for meeting. They all gathered inside the meeting room in community building.

Over the past few weeks, Greenstone had gone from a frightened, disorganized settlement to a place with structure and security.

Now, she had a plan to make it even stronger.

“Good morning, Boss.” Lieutenant Mark said as he and some of the other soldiers entered the meeting room. His companions greeted her as well, all addressing her as “Boss”. Over the past couple of weeks that they had been working together to secure Greenstone, the soldiers had started addressing her just the way her team did.

“Morning, everyone.” Grace returned the greetings as she took her seat and the others filled in as well.

For the next half-an-hour, they discussed the ongoing progress of the Residential Area. All the residents have been moved to live in Block D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, and M. The soldiers also moved into one of the buildings in Block E.

There were a total of fifteen blocks in the Greenstone Residential Area, and each block had anywhere between four to fifteen buildings – including residential apartments, community buildings, clubhouses, wellness centres, shopping centers, school buildings, and all.

“The residents have settled down in their new homes. What are we going to do next?” Captain Harlow asked as they finished talking about the residents moving.

“Our priority should be strengthening our perimeters to secure this place. Because of the location, we haven’t seen a surge of zombie hordes coming our way, but it’s just a matter of time. I’m sure sooner or later, we will see it happening sooner or later.”

“But how can we secure our perimeters? The wall isn’t high enough to stop anyone from climbing over it because the electric fence on it is no longer working. The wall is also broken in some places.” One of the soldiers counted down the main issues they had at hand.

It was Davian who answered, as he had already formed plans and discussed them with Grace and their team the previous night. “We can start by fixing the wall and increasing it’s height. Since we can’t use technology for our safety, we will go with what we have.”

“But we will need construction materials to build the wall.” Captain Harlow pointed out.

“Don’t worry. We will take care of it.” Davian spoke, earning a nod of understanding from Captain Harlow who didn’t bother to inquire more about the matter of materials.

The meeting ended twenty minutes later and everyone moved out to carry out their assigned tasks.

“So, what’s the plan?”