Rustle.

A leaf slowly floated down in the wind.

The woman reached out, catching one among the many falling leaves. In this season, the leaves should have been vibrantly colored, but this one was withered and dry.

"…"

She frowned at the sight. As she looked at the brittle, lifeless leaf, her gaze shifted to find the cause.

The answer lay ahead.

Beyond the borderland leading into Sichuan, a desolate hellscape stretched as far as the eye could see.

Once a thriving forest, it had lost its vitality long ago.

The shocking part was that this transformation of Sichuan’s once-lush …