I fabricated myths to guide the revival of spiritual energy.

[Linjiang City, Suolongjing Lockdown Area, 06:45 AM]

The sun finally rose fully, dispelling the eerie red mist on the river.

However, for Linjiang City, which had just experienced the shock of the "manifestation of a true dragon," today's sun did not bring the usual peace.

The "backwater bay" where the Lock Dragon Well is located has been cordoned off with yellow warning tape, and there are guards every three steps and sentries every five steps within a two-kilometer radius. Apart from special police officers in protective suits and experts with various instruments, there are no other people.

But outside the cordon, thousands of onlookers still gathered. They were blocked on the river embankment in the distance, holding up their phones and craning their necks, trying to see what was happening in the place where the "dragon was imprisoned".

Why is there no sound?

"I heard the government sent a submarine down there."

"That red light was terrifying! I live five kilometers away and I could see it!"

The crowd was buzzing with discussion.

At the very center of the cordon, on the shore where the sand dredger was moored, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed to drip water.

……

[Temporary command tent at the heart of the lockdown zone]

"Professor Liu, have the soil sample analysis results been obtained yet?"

Chen Gang, the captain of the special police detachment in charge of on-site command, rushed into the tent, covered in sweat.

Inside the tent, several people in white coats were gathered around a portable microscope and a centrifuge, looking as if they had seen a ghost.

The person referred to as Professor Liu is a white-haired botanist who is the dean of the School of Life Sciences at Linjiang University. He was urgently summoned here just half an hour ago.

At that moment, he was staring intently at the slice under the microscope, his hands trembling so much that he could barely hold his glasses steady.

"Captain Chen... this... this is not scientific."

Professor Liu took off his glasses, rubbed his bloodshot eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "This simply doesn't conform to the laws of biology."

"What do you mean?" Chen Gang frowned. "Is it poisonous? Or is it radioactive?"

"No, it's not poison."

Professor Liu pointed to the petri dish next to him. There was a wild grass that had just been pulled from the riverbank—the most common "elastic grass" along the river, which usually only grows to ankle height, is very tough, and difficult to break.

But now, this "beef tendril" is as tall as half a person, with stems as thick as sugarcane, and leaves that are a dark green that is almost black, with even faint dark red light flowing in the veins.

"In the ten minutes just now when the sample was taken, its cell division rate was... three thousand times the normal value."

Professor Liu swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "Three thousand times! What does that mean? It means that one minute of its life is equivalent to a month for an ordinary plant! Moreover, its mitochondria are undergoing a high-energy metabolism that we cannot understand at all. It doesn't need photosynthesis; it's directly 'eating' some kind of energy from the air!"

"Eat energy?" Chen Gang was completely confused.

"That's right." Professor Liu stood up and pointed outside the tent. "Captain Chen, you should see for yourself. If the instruments aren't broken, this 'mutation' is spreading outwards in a radial pattern from the Locked Dragon Well as the center."

"What?!"

Chen Gang's heart skipped a beat, and he abruptly flung open the tent flap and rushed out.

The next second, he froze on the spot.

In the short twenty minutes that he went into the tent to report on his work, the outside world changed.

Originally, this riverbank was a barren, muddy area with only some withered reeds and low shrubs.

But now, as far as the eye can see, it has been swallowed up by a suffocating green ocean.

Those withered reeds, now like Hulks injected with hormones, grew wildly to five or six meters tall, like giant ferns in a prehistoric forest, their thick stems making a "crackling" sound as they grew in the wind.

The weeping willows on the riverbank, which originally had only a few sparse branches, now resemble a disheveled green monster, with countless aerial roots hanging into the river water, greedily sucking up the water. The canopy is expanding in all directions at a visible speed, blocking out the sky and the sun.

But the most terrifying thing is the vines.

An unidentified wild ivy has now transformed into a green python. They frantically climb the stone walls of the river embankment, their tentacle-like tendrils digging deep into the cracks in the cement.

crunch - crunch -

Not far away, a police car parked at the edge of the cordon was making a sickening metallic squeaking sound.

Several thick vines had climbed onto the roof of the vehicle, wrapped around the wheels, and even crawled into the exhaust pipe. In full view of everyone, this SUV, weighing nearly two tons, was actually "lifted" by the vines, suspended half a meter in the air!

"What...what the hell is this?!"

The young police officer in charge of guarding the car was so frightened that he backed away repeatedly, dropping his walkie-talkie to the ground.

"Back off! Everyone back off!"

Chen Gang roared at the top of his lungs, "Retreat the cordon line five hundred meters! No, one kilometer! Now!!"

This is not a plant.

They're like a pack of hungry beasts.

……

[In the distance, the rooftop of a tall building]

Gu Qing stood on the top of the thirtieth floor, holding a telescope in her hand, a faint smile on her lips.

"The five elements produce each other, water produces wood."

"Although that 'fake dragon ball' is of the fire attribute, it boiled the river water, unleashing the most violent water vapor. And the excess water vapor will inevitably lead to the outbreak of the wood attribute."

This was a "side effect" that Gu Qing had anticipated when he was refining the Dragon Balls, or rather, an "Easter egg" that he deliberately left behind.

A myth consisting only of "monsters" is simplistic.

Only when the environment changes accordingly, and when every blade of grass and every tree begins to transcend human perception, can this lie of "spiritual revival" truly become impeccable.

Gu Qing looked at the rapidly expanding "green restricted area," and on the system panel in front of him, the confidence value was jumping at a pleasing speed.

[System Prompt:]

[A secondary disaster (benign) caused by a "miracle" has been detected.]

The level of shock among witnesses increased significantly.

[Current spiritual energy concentration in the area: extremely low (but sufficient to catalyze the growth of mortal plants.)]

[Faithfulness Value +80]

[Faithfulness Value +120]

[Faith Value +5000 (Collective Worldview Shaking)...]

"This is just the beginning."

Gu Qing put down the binoculars.

He could sense that the wildly growing plants weren't growing haphazardly. They were on a "pilgrimage."

All the vines, reeds, and tree roots were subconsciously extending towards the Locked Dragon Well, as if there was a mother there that they longed for.

This scene would be terrifying to ordinary people.

But to those with a discerning eye, this is proof of a "treasure land".

"System, increase the intensity."

With a thought, Gu Qing remotely adjusted the frequency of the dragon pearl at the bottom of the river.

"Let these plants grow in a more 'artistic' way."

……

[Live broadcast scene outside the police cordon]

"Family members! I can't believe my eyes!"

The young man who started the live stream first has now been pushed to the highest point of the river embankment. His camera is pointed at the forest of vines that is swallowing up the police car.

"Twenty minutes ago, that was a barren field! Now it's a primeval forest!"

"Look at that willow tree! Isn't it moving? Holy crap, it really is moving! Its branches are grabbing at things like hands!"

The live stream has already surpassed five million viewers, and the server is starting to lag.

The barrage of comments was flying everywhere:

"This is definitely a spiritual revival! It's confirmed!"

"Plants vs. Zombies? Where's the Peashooter?"

"Don't joke around, upstairs. That looks dangerous. Those vines could lift a car up; strangling someone would be a piece of cake!"

"Is this the dragon energy leaking from the Dragon-Locking Well? It's incredibly nourishing!"

"I studied botany, and I can say with certainty that this doesn't fit any growth model on Earth. Unless... the flow of time there is different from ours."

Just then, an even bigger commotion suddenly erupted in the crowd.

"Look! In the sky!"

Everyone looked up.

Above the newly formed "green restricted area," thousands upon thousands of birds had gathered.

Sparrows, pigeons, egrets, and even a few eagles that seemed to have flown in from nowhere.

They were not startled and left by the humans below and the sirens.

Instead, they resembled a group of pilgrims, tirelessly circling and chirping around the green mist above the Lock Dragon Well.

twitter--

The birdsong resounded through the sky, converging into a massive wave of sound that actually drowned out the sirens.

Some of the bolder birds even flew directly into the overgrown reeds, landing on the huge leaves. Even when their feathers were scratched by the thorny vines, they refused to leave, as if breathing in the air there could prolong their lives.

"A thousand birds paying homage to the phoenix... no, this is a thousand birds paying homage to the dragon!"

An elderly man wearing reading glasses was so excited that his beard trembled, and the prayer beads in his hand spun rapidly. "This is an auspicious sign! This is a very auspicious sign! The Dragon God has manifested, and all things are reviving!"

The young man next to him didn't believe in this, but seeing this illogical scene, he couldn't help but get goosebumps.

……

[Within the lockdown area]

Professor Liu, carrying his instruments, ignored Chen Gang's attempts to stop him and approached the edge of the overgrown plants step by step.

"Radiation levels... are normal."

"Oxygen content in the air...35%?! That's even higher than in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber!"

"The negative ion concentration... is off the charts! The instrument can't detect it!"

Professor Liu took a deep breath.

Just standing on the edge, he felt a cool, moist breath seep into his lungs through his nasal cavity.

His chest, which had been aching from years of late-night research, suddenly felt incredibly soothed with those few breaths. Even the headache and dizziness from not sleeping well the night before vanished without a trace.

"This is not a disaster..."

Professor Liu took off his mask, revealing a fanatical gleam in his eyes.

He stretched out his wrinkled hand and gently stroked a blade of grass as big as a washbasin.

The leaves felt smooth and warm to the touch, unlike the rough texture of ordinary weeds. Instead, they had a faint warmth to them.

"This is evolution."

Professor Liu murmured to himself, "This is a leap in the level of life. The energy leaking from what's below... can allow life to... break free of its genetic lock!"

"Captain Chen!"

Professor Liu suddenly turned around, staring intently at Chen Gang, his eyes as terrifying as an old wolf guarding its prey.

"No matter what, we must protect this place!"

"Every blade of grass, every tree, even a handful of soil here is priceless! We absolutely cannot allow outsiders to damage it! And we absolutely cannot let those internet celebrities come in and trample it!"

"This is...this is the hope for the future of the nation!"

Chen Gang was startled by the old professor's sudden enthusiasm, but as a professional soldier, he immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.

If these plants truly possess the power to "prolong life" or "evolve," then what they need to guard against next is probably not just the onlookers.

Instead, it comes from the greedy gazes of the entire world.

"Notify the bureau!"

Chen Gang yelled into the walkie-talkie, "Requesting backup! Requesting backup from the armed forces! Designate this area as a Level 1 military restricted zone! Now!!"

……

[System Interface]

[Faithfulness Value +20,000]

[Faithfulness Value +50,000]

Current total balance: 286,000 points.

Gu Qing looked at the number and closed the notebook with satisfaction.

"very good."

"The mutation of the plants endowed the 'Dragon-Locking Well' with a second attribute besides fear—profit."

"Fear inspires awe, but self-interest... can drive people mad."

"My myth will only truly become part of the world's very fabric when the most powerful and intelligent people in the world begin to study and crave this power."

Gu Qing turned and left the rooftop, her figure disappearing into the shadows of the stairwell.

"Plants are just an appetizer."

"Now, it's time for the 'supporting actors' of this play to make their appearance."

On the river behind him, the green restricted area continued to expand outwards. Beneath the surface, countless ordinary fish were undergoing a silent transformation under the nourishment of that spiritual energy.