A/N: Thank you Mark Tim and Bedazzled Blue Flower for becoming my members in Patreon! ( ?°?°) !! And thank you the rest for your continued support~

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  As dawn broke, Jun woke up. No matter how many different lives she led, she still couldn’t break her habit of waking up early. She lingered on the thin mattress for a few more minutes before finally getting up. Then, from a pile of clothes in the corner, she casually picked a shirt and pants and put them on.

  Halfway through changing, her stomach suddenly growled. With only a stale loaf of bread and no clean water in sight, Jun couldn’t help but frown. Fortunately, hunger wasn’t a pressing issue since it disappeared the moment she entered this body.

  After all, Juna possessed a rather special ability that ensured she wouldn’t starve.

  In fact, she had awakened her ability the moment the apocalypse started. But due to her limited knowledge, she chose to conceal that fact, believing she only had a worthless power.

  And what was Juna’s ability?

  It was to conjure flowers from her hands.

  Normal flowers that weren’t affected by the virus yet.

  After the apocalypse started, many aspects of life were drastically changed.

  Animals mutated into fearsome monsters, many crops were rendered inedible, pollution affected the air and water, and the nights also grew longer. Survival became the first instinct of the living and nothing more than great strength could allow one to persevere under these harsh conditions.

  Thus, while the zombies multiplied each day, humans also adapted and evolved into “supernaturals”.

  All for a chance to survive another day and alter their tragic fate.

  As such, knowing that most people only had one power, Juna assumed she was doomed. To her, growing flowers provided no practical use in a fight. Perhaps it might have been a wonderful power before the apocalypse, but now, with their survivability as the prime importance, it was a useless skill other than using it as some fancy trick. Fearing that she would be scorned and abandoned, she could only conceal her power and pretended as if she could still awaken in the future. No matter what, being an ordinary person was still better than being a useless supernatural user.

  Jun sighed, gncing outside the tattered window. Although the house was rather run down and in desperate need of repair, it still offered a decent view of the surrounding fields, where numerous farmers toiled diligently, cultivating crops for their survival. There was corn, potatoes, and rice. Despite being limited in variety, it was better than nothing.

  Looking down at her palm, which grew a ripe red apple, Jun chuckled.

  One thing Juna didn’t know was her ability was far from worthless.

  To be precise, she was capable of growing any type of flowering pnts using just her energy.

  Flowering pnts, also known as angiosperms, are pnts which produce flowers and bear their seeds in fruits. They are the most diverse pnt species, including herbs, shrubs, trees, vines to succulents. As such, many essential products from food, medicine, spices, oil, and even poisons are derived from angiosperms. Therefore, her ability should be highly valued and absolutely not be underestimated.

  The only downside to her ability was that she couldn’t conjure pnts she didn’t know. For instance, she needed a thorough understanding of the pnt’s taste, look, and form. Otherwise, the result could be a juicy strawberry that tastes like a watermelon.

  Fortunately, with her wealth of experience, Jun wouldn’t make those mistakes. In fact, her unparalleled ability could easily help her dominate the world amidst the chaos. After all, as long as she was around, there would be no shortage of food or supplies.

  Moreover, after a couple more attempts at using her ability, Jun felt certain that it wouldn’t fail her unless she mentally overexerted herself. Perhaps, because her soul had merged into this body, she had a subtle feeling that her already formidable ability was transforming into something far more terrifying and powerful.

  What seemed like a simple harvesting machine had turned into a deadly battle machine.

  Jun was confident in the battle of pnts; she wouldn’t be inferior to anyone.

  The only issue left was to see how her ability performed in an actual battle. Good thing she didn’t have to wait for long.

  With that in mind, Jun ate a couple more apples to replenish her hunger and thirst, tidied up her appearance and then strolled towards the farm fields. As she walked, she idly pyed with an apple, drawing the attention of everyone working in the fields.

  However, no one would be so bold as to steal from her, whose reputation was widely known for being Avery’s girlfriend. Even if the rumours were unconfirmed, provoking trouble might yield no results. So they could only watch in envy, secretly salivating over her fruit.

  Arriving at the fields, Jun called the elderly woman in the straw hat working there.

  “Sov,” Jun waved, walking towards her. “Good morning!”

  “Juna! Good morning, sweetie.” Sov smiled, pleasantly surprised by the cheerful girl’s arrival. “What brings you here today?”

  When Juna first arrived at the base, Sov unexpectedly found her being threatened by a couple of scoundrels. Unable to stand such injustice, Sov intervened, using her influence to drive those vile people away. Feeling grateful for her act of kindness, Juna soon visited her often, offering help whenever she was avaible. As a result, they have developed a close bond, becoming good friends despite their age gap.

  “Gosh, Sov, do I still need a reason to find you?”

  “Naturally, I came here to help you and also—” Jun smiled, “to give you this.” She extended her hand, presenting a basket of apples she had brought.

  Sov hesitated to accept the apples, knowing how precious they were. While fruits used to be a delicacy, they were now a luxury. Now that food was already in short supply, there was no need to share such good things. Instead, Juna should have kept it for herself.

  Seeing Sov was still hesitant, Jun continued, “Take it, Sov. I will be happy if you do.”

  Sov looked at Juna for a long time before she reluctantly accepted the basket, giving her a slight smile. “Thank you, but do take care of yourself as well. If you’re ever facing any difficulties, I’ll do everything I can to help you.” When she said that, her words seemed solemn like a promise.

  Jun revealed a wry smile. From Sov’s worried expression, she knew the depth of her concern for Juna, but what expnation could she offer to her? Although her goal was to torment the protagonist, since she became Juna, she still felt a responsibility to address past regrets that Juna might have.

  Only then would it seem fair.

  “Don’t worry about it, Sov. I just wanted to express my gratitude for all the help you have given me. It’s still not too te for me to do that, right?” Jun winked.

  Sov gave a weary sigh before she ughed. If she continued to refuse Juna’s goodwill, it might even jeopardise their friendship. Having no other choice, she could only give in. She said, “Thank you, Juna.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  With the matter settled, Jun and Sov began working, focusing on their task.

  Sov summoned a miniature rain cloud, controlling it as she pleased with a wave of her hand. As her hand moved, the rain cloud slowly drifted away from her, showering each crop with water. In about an hour or two, she would complete her task.

  Meanwhile, Jun put on a straw hat and gloves, grabbed a scissor and bucket, and began checking each crop carefully for any sign of pests and diseases. She would prune off affected leaves or stems and remove any pests she found. And because of her ability, she was able to work much more efficiently since she could assess each pnt far faster and more accurately than Sov or anyone else.

  Unbeknownst to them, while they worked, someone was watching them.

  Under the shade of a tree, Avery stared thoughtfully at Juna, a hint of interest in his eyes. For hours, he stood there quietly, unable to comprehend the meaning behind her erratic behaviour. She looked the same as always, and yet somehow different. Considering how squeamish, materialistic, and heartless she was, why would she bother with such meaningless actions? Wouldn’t she be worried about her survival, finding a man to rely on?

  Why was she being so contradictory now?

  Just then, Jun turned around and saw Avery looking at her from afar. With a bright, carefree smile, she disregarded her messy appearance, smiling as she waved at him.

  “Avery!”

  Jun walked towards him, noticing Avery’s ck of response. As she stood in front of him, she extended her hand, wanting to pyfully wave it before his face, and yet before she could do so, he suddenly came back to his senses and caught her hand in midair.

  Avery hadn’t realised how hard he was holding her wrist until Jun softly grunted, causing him to release his grip.

  Avery averted his gaze, feigning indifference. With a happy grin, yet in a mocking tone, he said, “I didn’t realise you were this kind. Were you always this nice?”

  Ignoring his sarcasm, Jun replied innocently, “...Am I nice? I don’t know, but I’m always willing to help people I care about.”

  The people she cared about? Avery inwardly scoffed. Does that mean since she didn’t care for him in the past, she would let him die?

  A hint of hatred welled up inside him. In the end, no matter how sincere he cared for her, even if he was her boyfriend, her lover, the person who should have been the closest, he was only indispensable to her.

  There was no pce for him in her stone cold heart.

  Meanwhile, Sov was watching the couple, noticing a strange tension between them. Despite knowing Juna and Avery were dating, she couldn’t help but feel their interactions were off, almost as if one of them was just acting out a loving py.

  She frowned, staring seriously at Avery. Who was he trying to fool?

  Once Avery caught Sov’s scrutinising gaze, he realised he had unintentionally shown his feelings, and he quickly gnced at Jun, who remained, as usual, oblivious. As expected, she didn’t even care about him, so why would she notice? Hence, he suppressed his irritation and smiled back at her sweet smile.

  “Juna, let’s go. We got supplies to pick up—”

  But Sov interrupted him. “Why does she need to go? It could be dangerous, and she doesn’t have an ability.” Then she stood between them, her stance protective.

  “Does it matter? This isn’t her first time.”

  “That still doesn’t justify bringing her to a dangerous pce! She can’t protect herself!”

  “So?” Avery stared at Sov, a derisive scoff escaping his lips, his eyes narrowed in contempt. “I will watch over her.”

  Seeing that an argument was about to escate, Jun quickly intervened. She gently pulled Sov aside and comforted her.

  “I know you’re worried,” Jun said, her hand resting on Sov’s shoulder, “but trust me, I’ve hunted zombies before.”

  “But Juna…”

  “Sov,” Jun smiled, her gaze serious. “I will be fine.”

  Sov fell silent. She reluctantly let Jun leave, yet the worried expression on her face was pin to see.

  A silent ugh escaped Avery’s lips as he witnessed their touching moment. Before he could give them a chance to wallow in self-pity, he roughly grabbed Jun’s hand and dragged her away. As he walked ahead, Avery couldn’t help but scoffed at her facade, certain she was only fishing for sympathy.

  After all, he knew very well that Juna was the kind of person who acted for her own gain, and any show of sincerity was just a mere pretense.

  When Avery and Jun reached the gates of the base, the crowd immediately noticed them. Jun noticed some familiar faces from the night before. But one thing was for sure: their faces instantly lit up, only to fall as soon as they saw her trailing behind Avery.

  Meanwhile, one woman in particur absolutely detested her arrival.

  A surge of jealousy filled Sophia as she stared at the sight of their hands csped together. Without a second thought, she lunged forward, knocking them apart.

  The moment Jun stumbled away, Sophia threw herself at Avery, hugging his arm tightly as tears rolled down her cheeks. She stared at him, her gaze full of longing. With a coy smile, she said, “Brother Avery, I miss you so much…”

  Witnessing Sophia’s overly affectionate dispy, Jun was stunned for a moment before she quickly regained her composure. If people didn’t know better, they might have mistaken Sophia for Avery’s girlfriend. Amused, her lips curled up in a slight smile, curious to see just how far Sophia would go.

  Sadly, before Jun’s fleeting interest could continue, she noticed Avery’s intense gaze burning into her.