China, Year 2078.
Due to high pollution and the rapid decrease of green plants on Earth, every remaining plant is now preserved in closed areas using high-end technologies to sustain their life. This method was implemented to address the severe shortage of fresh oxygen, which had become a major global concern.
Oxygen is packaged in small, disposable aluminum or plastic canisters, then mass-marketed at outrageous prices. Just yesterday, a bottle of oxygen was sold for $250 each. This has led to a rapid increase in mortality rates, as people slowly die from inhaling toxic air and are unable to save themselves by buying oxygen canisters, which are too expensive for many. One can of oxygen lasts up to 24 hours for one person.
However, not everyone is rich enough to spend $1,000 daily to buy four cans for their family members.
In short, humanity is slowly dying. The Earth is on the brink of extinction.
Slam!
A man wearing a muddy white coat and square glasses, held together by a bandage on one side, threw a glass bottle to the floor, his face red with anger.
He was furious, his chest heaving as he emptied the oxygen jar connected to his nose through a small, transparent rubber tube.
"Fuck this! Screw them all!" Yuhan, the enraged man, now threw a tantrum, kicking the leg of the table.
It was all because of the letter now lying on the table, shaking from Yuhan's powerful kick. The letter read:
Employment Termination Notice
Without reading the rest, Yuhan already knew what the letter was telling him.
He had been fired.
Fired.
F-i-r-e-d.
Wen Yuhan, a 37-year-old plant freak who had worked as a botanist in the central government greenhouse for nearly half of his life, with no girlfriend, no family (they had died from a lack of oxygen), and not even a small amount of money in his savings account due to the outrageous oxygen prices, was now being fired out of the blue?
No. Deep down, he just couldn't accept the fact that he had been fired.
"I need to go to the office now. Mr. Zhang must give me an explanation for this sudden termination," he muttered as he snatched his keys and the letter, storming out of his apartment.
He knew that the government had issued a loud warning about hazardous air pollution in District 38, advising all residents to stay inside to protect themselves from the toxic air.
But Yuhan didn't even gave a single damn about that.
He rushed down the apartment stairs, adjusting his face mask and pulling on an air-blocking jacket, zipping it up and pulling the hood over his head.
It was basic PPE—Personal Protective Equipment—to prevent the contaminated air from being inhaled or absorbed into the pores of his skin.
When he stepped outside, the streets were already deserted. Other than some scrawny crows looking for food in the trash bin, all the remaining humans were hiding in their favorite spots, waiting for today's wave to be over soon.
The greenhouse where Yuhan worked was not too far from his apartment. He walked at a fast pace and paid no attention to everything around him. His thoughts were now filled with that letter.
I can't be fired. No. No fucking way.
If Yuhan were fired, then who was going to take care of Isabella? Or Esmeralda? Even Zendaya and Selena needed extra steps to maintain their beautiful shapes. It was not easy at all for Yuhan.
To find the exact steps and recipe for making all his babies grow up into beautiful ones, he had even gone without sleep for a week because of that. And now, that fucking government wanted to fire him? What a ridiculous joke!
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Mr. Zhang! Mr. Zhang! Are you inside? Open the door, open the door!" With all his might and power, Yuhan knocked on the door of his manager—his former manager, Zhang Po—and waited for him to come out. After a few minutes of noise and chaos, the locked door finally opened, revealing a fat figure peeking from behind it.
"Yuhan? What... didn't you hear the warning announcement? There's a wave today! Why did you come here so suddenly?" Even though Zhang Po's tone seemed worried for Yuhan, his facial expression told a different story.
"Mr. Zhang, tell me about this." Yuhan did not waste any time and pulled out the termination letter in front of Zhang Po's face.
"Oh... so you got that?" Zhang Po's reaction turned out to be very different from what Yuhan had imagined on his way here.
"So, am I getting fired out of the blue? What kind of bullshit is this, Mr. Zhang? You know I can't just give Isabella, Esmeralda, Zendaya, or Selena to someone else. They might never be as careful as I am! What if one of them dies because of a lack of water? Or their leaves turn yellow and wither? It must be so painful for them; I can't—"
"That!" Mr. Zhang pointed his finger in anger toward Yuhan's dumbfounded face. "That's why I fired you! It's because you're crazy! There are no sane people who treat a fucking plant like that! It's a plant! Not someone's fucking daughter!"
Mr. Zhang heaved a tired breath. "You know, Yuhan, I also don't want to fire you. You're a hardworking and diligent person. But the supervisor said that we need to cut some people due to a budget shortage. It's just bad luck that your name is on the list."
Not even waiting for Yuhan to respond, Mr. Zhang opened his mouth again. "Ahem, now that everything is clear, I want you to go now, okay? You need to find shelter too, Yuhan. It will be difficult for me if the police find a dead body in front of my house tomorrow... Yuhan? Are you listening to me?"
However, Mr. Zhang's voice seemed hazy and distant in Yuhan's ears. He had already turned his back and walked away from his former manager's house, limping down the empty street with unsteady steps.
Now, he would never meet again with all his beloved plants that he had raised from seed to adulthood. For a true botanist like him, losing a plant that he had taken care of had a significant impact on his mental state.
He did not know what to do now.
He lost his job, he lost all his plants, the things that gave him meaning in life.
He didn't even have any money left to buy oxygen cans for tomorrow. So, what was the point of living anyway?
Just when Yuhan was about to slam his head into the brick wall, he heard something coming. He turned his head to the side and realized that the waves were about to come.
"Oh fuck, let's go—" He wanted to go and find shelter to hide before stopping himself and realizing, why would he need to hide now? He didn't want to live anymore, so hiding would be of no use.
Then, with the sound of the huge polluted air waves getting nearer and nearer, Yuhan made a bold move. He stood in the middle of the street, opening his arms as if welcoming the waves as well as his soon-to-happen death with the biggest smile possible.
The waves were right in front of him, standing tall and mighty with their brown color and reeking odor, as if they wanted to devour Yuhan in one sweep.
Yuhan then shouted as loud as he could, "My little cute babies, Dad will be waiting for you in the afterlife! So please take care! Zaijian—"
WOOOOOOSH!
The air waves came through at high speed, sweeping everything in front of them without mercy.
After that, not a single trace of Yuhan's body was ever found.
He had disappeared, as if he had really been devoured by the waves.
.
.
.
.
.
[Transmigration process completed.]
[Planting a new system based on the host's previous life... success.]
[New system: Twelve Flower Spirit Guardian is activated. The host's mission is to collect all twelve flower spirits in the Pangu realm and become their guardian! Guide them to be powerful goddesses and save Pangu from destruction!]