I Transmigrated Into the Number One Darling Tree in the Interstellar Era - Chapter 1

Deep within the jungle, beneath the dense canopy of broad-leaved plants, sunlight rarely penetrated.

A little white magnolia shook its branches, trying to shake off the damp dew, but unfortunately dislodged a few small leaves in the process.

Before the leaves could hit the ground, they were snatched mid-air by hyphae extended by nearby round mushrooms.

“Don’t steal my leaves!” Lin Yu exclaimed in alarm.

The round mushrooms hastily withdrew their mischievous hyphae and released their leaves.

Lin Yu stared anxiously at the scattered fallen leaves littering the ground.

He was dying.

Lin Yu had originally been a plant researcher working at the Aerospace Plant Laboratory. His last memory was of a massive meteorite hurtling toward the Space Station.

When he awoke again, he found himself in a strange jungle.

This wasn’t Earth. The surrounding plants were bizarre and grotesque, while he had somehow become the only Earth species among them; a young white magnolia sapling.

White magnolias thrive in sunlight. Without it, their countdown to death begins. Once his last leaf fell, he would likely turn to compost, becoming fertilizer for the surrounding plants.

Lin Yu glanced at the three plump Round Mushrooms closest to him and clicked his tongue. “Well, you’re lucky.”

The mushrooms didn’t make a sound, but they emitted a faint blue glow, looking quite cheerful.

Lin Yu: “?”

Being treated like carrion waiting to be scavenged was unsettling. Lin Yu decided to ignore the mushrooms.

But in this desolate place, the only things he could interact with were the mushrooms. At least they could glow.

Lin Yu still didn’t understand why he, as a tree, retained the power of speech. He’d initially assumed all plants on this planet could talk, but after days of solitude, he remained the only one muttering to himself daily.

The oppressive silence made Lin Yu feel utterly alone, leaving him no choice but to converse with himself.

He resorted to counting the fallen leaves on the ground, like a bored person tallying their lost hair strands.

But this wasn’t just about going bald. His leaves were turning yellow and withering, the few flower buds drooped limply, and his branches couldn’t even hold themselves upright… Was he truly dying?

He hadn’t even celebrated his 20th birthday. To die so pathetically here, undiscovered by anyone.

“Even a word before I die would be nice…” the chatterbox Lin Yu murmured.

Buzz—

As if in response, the moment he finished speaking, the soft sound of insect wings fluttered through the air.

A ladybug, its small wings beating rapidly, flew over with its round body trailing behind it. It landed leisurely on a branch of the Little White Magnolia.

Lin Yu: “!”

This was the first insect he had seen since waking up!

The jungle was eerily quiet. The absence of birds and beasts was one thing, but not even a single insect? He’d almost begun to suspect this planet held no life beyond plants.

But this ladybug’s movements seemed oddly stiff, its appearance unusually gaudy, and its size… rather large?

An extraterrestrial specialty breed?

Lin Yu stared at the ladybug in silence. The ladybug tilted its head, observing him with its compound eyes, slowly swiveling them to glance at the flower buds, then climbing to the treetop to peer at the leaves.

In truth, this wasn’t a proper ladybug, but a miniature camera.

A popular interstellar survival show, Conquer the Jungle, was currently filming.

Beastmen, awakened to their primal instincts, possessed formidable physiques and revered the law of the jungle: survival of the fittest.

In these true wildernesses, wild plants had become severely demonic. Lacking pain perception and fear of death, each plant resembled a lethal weapon, transforming the entire jungle into an armed assassination squad.

At the boundary between the city and the jungle, conflicts between Beastmen and Demonic Plants were constant.

Thus, the show “Conquer the Jungle” was born.

The production team selected the strongest Beastmen contestants for the program.

Notably, the Imperial Marshal Cassius, the invincible god of war, was the most popular choice. However, the esteemed Lord Marshal would never participate in such a show, and no one had ever seen his Beast form.

To capture the thrilling clashes between Beastmen and Demonic Plants at any moment, the production team scattered over a thousand cameras disguised as ladybugs throughout the jungle.

By chance, one of these cameras captured Lin Yu.

The tender little white magnolia immediately caught the viewers’ attention:

[“What kind of Demonic Plant seedling is this? I’ve never seen anything like it!”]

[“The fluffy little bud is so cute! And its elliptical leaves… Could it be an Ancient Magnolia?”]

[“Nonsense! Ancient Magnolias went extinct over ten thousand years ago. Such a precious treasure tree exists only in legends.”]

[“No, look closer! This plant matches the magnolia pattern on our Empire’s coins exactly! It just hasn’t bloomed yet!”]

Lin Yu’s appearance sparked a heated debate in the comments. Viewers flooded the production team and experts with messages, demanding a species identification of the seedling on camera.

Lin Yu remained completely unaware of this.

He endured the ticklish sensation as the ladybug crawled back and forth on the branch, feeling they had grown somewhat familiar. Just as he was about to strike up a conversation, the gaudy little insect flapped its wings and flew away.

“Wait, don’t go!” Lin Yu called out.

Ah, you fickle little bug!

He’d finally caught sight of one, only for it to fly off again. Who knew when he’d encounter another living specimen…

Rustle…

Huh?

At the first sound, Lin Yu wondered if he’d misheard.

Not that he’d say it aloud, but after squatting here for days and only seeing one ladybug, suddenly hearing another noise was bound to startle him.

What a busy day today!

What’s this now?

A bird? A rabbit? Or some other small creature?

Lin Yu focused his gaze in the direction of the sound, watching as a nearby cluster of ferns began to sway, accompanied by louder rustling noises.

Rustle, rustle-rustle…

Sounds like something big!

Moments later, the ferns were brutally parted with a whoosh.

Lin Yu froze instinctively as a massive spherical object rolled into view.

It was a tangled mass of writhing vines.

Even with Lin Yu’s extensive botanical knowledge, he had never seen such a thick vine. Rather than a plant, it resembled some self-aware beast, its roots and stems intertwined like dozens of intertwined, colorful pythons.

Black horns and hooves occasionally emerged from the gaps between the vines.

If he wasn’t mistaken, a bison was being devoured inside.

Lin Yu couldn’t believe it.

Plants, being at the bottom of the food chain, were supposed to be gentle. How could they possibly consume large animals?

Yet the evidence was right before him.

This vine wasn’t gentle at all, and its table manners were atrocious.

It writhed violently, emitting a relentless crunching sound as it devoured its prey. The coiled mass of vines pulsed and contracted, crushing the bison’s bones before swallowing them whole.

Ugh, how terrifying…

Lin Yu immediately abandoned any thought of striking up a conversation.

Sorry for disturbing you. I’ll just quietly remain a Little White Magnolia.

The gruesome sight of the vine devouring its prey was too much. Lin Yu shuddered involuntarily, and several small leaves fluttered to the ground. The remaining branches rustled softly.

This barely perceptible movement made the vine pause mid-meal. It slowly raised a tendril and extended it like an antenna in Lin Yu’s direction.

Lin Yu: “!!!”

If he were still human, Lin Yu’s hair would have stood on end. But as a tree, the only thing that could bristle upright were his leaves.

And so, there stood a Little White Magnolia, its leaves standing on end like a startled cat, looking utterly bewildered.

No way, no way… it won’t come over here, will it?

This vine clearly looked carnivorous. Surely it wouldn’t be interested in him… right?

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned.

After sensing Lin Yu, the vine’s “antenna” suddenly thrashed with excitement for some reason. The vine even abandoned the half-eaten bison carcass. Several thick tendrils, as wide as bowls, swiftly slithered toward him.

“Aaaaaah! Don’t come any closer—!”

Lin Yu yelped in terror.

But when the vine heard his voice, it didn’t slow down; instead, it grew even more excited. With a whoosh, several more tendrils burst from the ground and lunged toward him.

So the vines on the surface weren’t even the full extent of it. Who knows how massive this vine actually is?!

Lin Yu couldn’t even run if he wanted to. He was just a sapling without legs, helpless as the vines wrapped around him layer by layer.

Great. This time, I don’t even have to wait to die.

I’m about to be eaten alive!

Lin Yu thought in despair. Considering the vine’s size, I wouldn’t even be enough to serve as toothpicks for it…

******

The Mechanical Ladybug camera, positioned nearby, captured the scene with precision. As viewers watched Lin Yu being entangled by the vines, they grew increasingly anxious.

[“Oh no! That little seedling is about to be devoured by the Demonic Vine!”]

[“Breaking news! A professor from the Demonic Plant Department at the Imperial Academy just verified on Star Net. This is the Darling Ancient Magnolia Seedling!”]

[“What does it matter what kind of seedling it is?! That’s the Killer Demonic Vine! Who would dare rescue it unless Marshal Cassius himself intervenes? Do you really expect the vine to recognize it as a precious tree and release it on its own…? Ah!!!”]

*****

Amidst the audience’s screams, the live broadcast suddenly went black.

In the final moment before the blackout, it felt as if everyone’s eyes had been pierced by the Demonic Vine’s steel-like thorns, causing them to instinctively flinch back.

On the other end of the camera, the Demonic Vine retracted its sharp spikes with a whoosh.

The mechanical ladybug shattered into pieces on the ground. Its compound eyes, used for filming, twitched a few times before emitting a hiss and releasing a puff of smoke. The device was now rendered useless.

Lin Yu stared in bewilderment as the vine coldly swept aside the wreckage of the mechanical ladybug.

“Ah, was that… a camera?”

Putting aside the question of how this fake ladybug had “tricked” him emotionally, didn’t the existence of such sophisticated machinery imply that this planet harbored advanced intelligent life?

In other words, every move he made in this jungle was being watched by someone!

Having reached this conclusion, Lin Yu felt a momentary daze, momentarily forgetting about the vine still entangling him. Fortunately, his background in scientific research and work at the Space Station had prepared him to accept the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

He had just asked casually, without expecting an answer.

But now, a tendril of the vine curled and pointed at the camera wreckage. Then, the tip swiveled back toward him and bobbed up and down.

Lin Yu: “?”

Was it nodding in response?

What an intelligent vine!

“Could you let me go a little? I can’t breathe…” Lin Yu ventured to ask, testing whether the vine could truly communicate.

The moment he spoke, the vine abruptly released him and coiled into a lifeless ball beside him, looking dejected, as if reflecting on a mistake it had made.

Is it feeling guilty for making me uncomfortable?

This seems like a decent vine. It’s quite easy to communicate with.

Lin Yu sighed in relief. “So you weren’t trying to eat me after all.”

The vine’s massive body stiffened, several tendrils frantically swaying as if desperate to prevent any misunderstanding, its overall appearance growing even more dispirited.

Lin Yu was puzzled. “Then why did you wrap around me?”

The vine could only express yes or no, and it couldn’t answer such a complex question. It grew increasingly agitated, twisting into knots and wearing down the moss beneath it.

Since he was certain the vine meant no harm, Lin Yu pondered for a moment before asking, “Could it be because you wanted to play with me?”

He had a reason for this question. If the vine was so intelligent and had no other plants to play with, it must feel lonely just like how he, trapped as a tree for so many days, he had grown so lonely he wanted to chat with insects.

Sure enough, this time the vine’s tip nodded rapidly. Perhaps delighted to be understood, the entire vine seemed to glow brighter.

Lin Yu imagined the vine blinking its bright, captivating eyes and nodding at him.

How adorable…

I want to pet it.

The vine’s sudden charge earlier had startled Lin Yu, preventing him from taking a proper look. Now that he was closer, he noticed something interesting. Despite its massive size, it was actually a very common variety.

“I recognize you,” Lin Yu said with a smile. “I used to grow plants from your family before. They’re such adorable plants, and their names are equally cute.”

The thickest part of the vine straightened up, as if surprised by what it had just heard.

Indeed, it was utterly astonished.

It had only ever known itself as a “vine,” never realizing it had relatives, let alone a name!

A cute name? What could it be?

What a blunt vine, Lin Yu thought.

Even now, despite having no facial features or the ability to speak, the vine displayed no “emotional restraint” whatsoever. All its tendrils remained motionless, its attention completely focused, making it obvious that it desperately wanted to know its name.

Lin Yu extended a branch and gently touched the vine’s leaf, noticing a plump pea pod hidden beneath it.

He chuckled. “You’re a Pea Vine.”

No sooner had he spoken than a line of highlighted text appeared above the vine:

Pea Vine is very happy!

Pea Vine has become your friend.

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