Chapter 150

On July 13, 3032, the world officially entered the Oxygen Depletion Era. At first, people assumed this disaster would pass quickly, much like the Food Crisis. But by 3035, the oxygen crisis had only worsened.

Oxygen was a key binding agent in concrete. As oxygen levels dropped, more and more high-rise buildings began to show signs of instability—shaking foundations, unsteady staircases. High-rise properties were being sold off en masse, while suburban single-story homes surged in value. Bridges and highways suffered widespread damage due to concrete degradation.

In May 3035, the space station released aerial footage of Shuilan Star.

In the video, Shuilan hovered silently in front of the moon. A decade ago, it had been a swirl of blue and white. Now, with the ozone layer depleted, Shuilan Star appeared from above as a dull, gray mass. It no longer resembled a living planet, but one on the verge of decay.

“It’s hard to look at… everything’s just gray and lifeless.”

“Our family’s sugarcane mill had a decent harvest this year, but the fields are bone dry.”

“The dam back in my hometown has completely dried up.”

…

Netizens watched the video with numb expressions.

After a brief economic recovery in 3030, the global economy had been declining year after year.

The damage wasn’t limited to concrete. Intense UV radiation, failing internal combustion engines, increased stress on the human heart—oxygen scarcity was wreaking havoc in every aspect of life.

In 3033, the Longxia Academy of Sciences developed a series of oxygen-related products: the Strong UV Hat, the Pressure-Resistant Isolation Coat, and the Pressure-Resistant Internal Combustion Chip. These innovations helped mitigate the effects of hypoxia, but Shuilan Star needed more than technology—it needed greenery and oceans.

“Already sold the apartment in the city. Planning to go back home and grow some crops…”

People began sharing their plans for the near future.

After the onset of the Oxygen Depletion Era, global food prices hit record highs again. Fears of a second Food Crisis loomed. But amid the anxiety, people discovered that Vitality 01 was far more resilient than expected. Over the past two years, crops and vegetables survived, trees and flowers endured. Though their growth was stunted, they were edible, usable, and showed no signs of genetic mutation. This allowed humanity to cling to survival in the midst of the oxygen crisis.

…

“Are you really giving up such a good plot of primrose land?”

On the afternoon of May 12, Zheng Yunjie asked the flower shop owner. Ever since the land had been converted into flower fields, the Kunshan Flower Sea Base had regained its former liveliness. Zheng grew roses, azaleas, and magnolias. The flower shop owner, whose plot was next to his, cultivated primroses.

Now, with spring and autumn gone, only summer and winter remained.

Despite the economic downturn of the past two years, primroses—blessed with an auspicious name—had sold well. Just when it seemed life was settling into a day-by-day routine, the flower shop owner came by two days ago to chat and mentioned he was planning to transfer his primrose field.

“Business is still good. Why not hire a few more experienced hands?” Zheng Yunjie tried to dissuade him.

“You know my health.” The flower shop owner waved him off.

He was fifty this year, still in his prime, but had never fully recovered from hypoxia. Last month, the concrete wall in his residential complex collapsed, causing property values to plummet. After several nights of discussion with his wife, they decided to sell the apartment and retire to the countryside.

“What’s Ningning planning to do?” Zheng Yunjie asked.

Ningning was the owner’s only daughter, and had just completed her graduate studies last year.

The shop owner sighed. “She wants to stay in Kunshan. I don’t feel comfortable letting her live alone in a high-rise, so I bought her a small courtyard house in the southern district…”

After selling the land and buying the house, he would still have over 700,000 yuan left—enough for him and his wife to retire comfortably.

Having wrapped up the business talk, the flower shop owner turned to Zheng Yunjie. “So, when are you getting married?”

“Not getting married.”

“Seriously?”

“I’m not young anymore. I’ve got no interest in it.”

Zheng Yunjie was a firm believer in staying single. He had never married in his youth, and now at forty-two, he had no intention of starting.

They chatted for a while until a real estate agent arrived with a potential buyer for the flower field.

The shop owner was selling both the shop and the field. The price was fair, and the deal was quickly signed.

“Feels like my whole life just passed in a blink…” the flower shop owner murmured, running his hand over the tables and chairs. He had opened this shop when the market first launched. During the contract signing, he had hesitated countless times. When the pen finally touched the paper, it felt like his heart was bleeding.

“Talk to the buyer again. Maybe don’t sell?” Zheng Yunjie suggested. The formal contract hadn’t been finalized yet.

The owner gave a bitter smile. “It’s done.”

He went to pack up the shop, leaving Zheng Yunjie alone inside.

At 6:30, a man walked in. After browsing the store, he ordered ten grand opening flower baskets and thirty pots of devil’s ivy. The man ran an oxygen bar—these days, oxygen bars were even more popular than milk tea shops had once been.

After completing the final sale, Zheng Yunjie put on his mask and oxygen tank and headed home.

He used to resist wearing an oxygen mask, but now artificial oxygen was essential for survival.

At 7:00 p.m., Zheng Yunjie reached the ground floor of his building.

“Good evening, Uncle Zheng,” a middle school boy greeted him as he parked his bike.

“Just got out of class?” Zheng Yunjie asked. The boy’s name was Lele, and they were neighbors—one lived upstairs, the other downstairs.

“Yeah, just finished.” Lele pointed to the backpack on his back.

Half a minute later, Lele was on his way upstairs.

Zheng Yunjie stood there, watching the boy’s back in a daze.

Eight years ago, Lele had been playing with black ants downstairs when Kunshan experienced its first Acid Rain. Now the boy had grown up, and it had been eight years since the Harma Storm.

…

At the same time that Zheng Yunjie was heading upstairs, inside Fengshan Farm, Liu Wensheng was carefully reviewing a stack of documents.

Liu Wensheng was sixty-five now. His once-black hair had turned half-white, and he was noticeably thinner than he had been two years ago.

Since the update of 【The Key to a Disaster】, the Arctic Station had focused all its resources on studying the skeletons of narwhals. To better understand the virus, the Farm had shared its Virus Laboratory research data with biological teams around the world over the past two years.

After relentless efforts by global biologists, a breakthrough was made: the key to Hugua H1 was linked to a substance found in narwhals, known as Grouper Substance. A direction had been found, but the research had proven far more difficult than anticipated. Only now were they seeing meaningful progress.

At 5:00 p.m., Liu Wensheng finished reading the data. “We’ve got new experimental results on the virus. We should have conclusive findings by the end of the month.”

As oxygen levels continued to drop, the breeding grounds for Hugua H1 became even more rampant. It remained the most terrifying virus on the planet.

“Should I make another trip to the Arctic?” Qin Yun asked after a moment’s thought. Over the past two years, he had been to the Arctic eight times. Aside from the shrinking Arctic Circle, the system had shown no other changes.

“No need.” Liu Wensheng sighed.

At the beginning of 3030, there was 【The Beginning of a Disaster】. Back then, everyone thought the “disaster” referred solely to the Hugua Virus. But after a chain of environmental reactions, it became clear that the disaster was far more terrifying than anyone had imagined.

Over the past two years, Farm had discussed the Purification Gem seven times. The Purification Gem was tied to another mission—The Beginning of a Disaster. After careful analysis, the Farm research team ultimately rejected it. As long as there was even the slightest chance, Farm didn’t want to resort to using it.

After exchanging a few words, Qin Yun opened the System Interface.

Host Name: Qin Yun.

Current Mission: Restore global ecological balance. (2%)

Mission Reward: Heart of Nature.

…

In the latter half of 3032, Farm completed the mission “Sell 500 million tons of Farm grain” and wished for a reward in the direction of “oxygen pressure resistance.” After a grueling mission, they obtained the Pressure-Sensing Laboratory.

Through the Pressure-Sensing Laboratory, Farm developed pressure-resistant equipment, which finally allowed the human body to function normally in high-pressure environments.

Global disasters were linked to ecological destruction. So in 3034, they made a wish in the direction of “restoring global ecological balance.”

Just when Farm thought the wish would be rejected like all the others, it was unexpectedly granted.

Current Mission: Restore global ecological balance. (2%)

Mission Reward: Heart of Nature.

【Heart of Nature】: Purifies negative disasters in a designated plane, increases ecological buffs by 20%. (Advanced)

The moment they saw the Current Mission, not only Liu Wensheng, but even the usually composed Farm staff couldn’t help but want to curse.

Now, the [Ecological Balance] mission had been stuck at 2% for two years. The [Heart of Nature] was proving useless. Everything would have to depend on themselves.