After returning to Chengdu without a sound, Li Yun kept a low profile for the time being.
As expected, in the few short days since he had left, the changes in the wild had grown increasingly obvious, and unrest in the city had risen with them.
No one was blind. Anyone who had the time to visit the edge of the city and see those vast stretches of green spreading like mad could grasp the severity of the problem at a glance.
But the wild was not the most pressing issue. The authorities' main focus remained within the city. Street controls had eased, and the temporary armed checkpoints had vanished, replaced by a sweeping census and cleanup campaign.
They registered temporary residents and checked identities, along with every household's cats, dogs, hamsters, and whatever else lived in its fish tanks.
At some homes, people in urban management uniforms carrying long forks and riot shields even brought down caged pythons, large imported spiders, and miniature pet pigs—
The neighbors stared in shock, then chattered among themselves about how rich people really knew how to have fun.
Even the property managers, who were usually nowhere to be seen except when collecting fees, suddenly came alive. They brought in crews to tear out unnecessary landscaping and spray insecticide everywhere.
They searched every corner where rats, snakes, mosquitoes, or stray cats and dogs might hide, along with every concealed ditch. From the look of it, they would have preferred to turn the ground over too.
Slogans and banners calling for weed and pest removal went up everywhere.
Urban management vehicles also roamed the streets all day, their loudspeakers repeating: "Attention, residents. Please do not take in animals without authorization. Regarding the greenery—if you encounter any related situation, register it or hand it over promptly