The Little Rose and His Human Colonel

Su Ran is a sentient rose seedling who survived a catastrophic global event known as the aberration, which mutated Earth's flora and fauna into dangerous, often predatory entities. After being separated from his rose family by a six-winged bird, he finds himself stranded in a damp, monster-infested cave. As a juvenile plant, Su Ran requires nutrient beads to survive and mature, but his primary asset is a healing ability gained during a previous mutation, which allows him to revive withered plants and heal injuries. He uses this power to gain the trust of local cave dwellers, including a giant beetle and an ancient vine, who promise to bring him nutrient beads in exchange for his help.

The fragile peace is shattered when a massive shadow monster patrols the cave, causing Su Ran's new friends to flee in terror. Forced to venture out alone, Su Ran encounters the beetle again, who guides him to a hidden nutrient bead. However, retrieving the bead triggers a cave-in, and in the chaos, Su Ran falls into a human military vehicle. He is discovered by Colonel Si Chengyan and his subordinate Qiao Ran, who are investigating a series of inexplicable mutations. Si Chengyan, a stoic and highly skilled military officer, initially treats Su Ran as a potential threat but quickly realizes the small rose is benign and capable of human speech, a rare trait among aberrant creatures.

During their investigation, the military's armored vehicle mutates into a monstrous entity with compound eyes and spiked tires, attacking them. Si Chengyan destroys the vehicle to survive, but is subsequently wounded by a tentacled beast emerging from a green lake. Su Ran, despite his fear and exhaustion, uses his healing power to save Si Chengyan's life. This act of kindness solidifies a bond between them. After recovering, Si Chengyan offers Su Ran a place at the human base, sparing him from the harsh wilderness. Su Ran accepts, but must leave his beetle and vine companions behind, as they are classified as intermediate aberrations and pose a security risk in human territory.

Si Chengyan and Su Ran are deployed to the Manluote Region, a city facing a mysterious infection crisis where communication has failed and aberrant creatures are rampant. Upon arrival, they join a support mission led by Monte, the regional executive officer. The situation is dire; the city is shrouded in fog, and mutated beasts patrol the ruins. Su Ran accompanies the medical team, using his healing abilities to aid injured soldiers and civilians. He registers with the title "Colonel Si's Cute Little Rose," asserting his connection to the Colonel and displaying a jealous streak when other trainees receive Si Chengyan's attention.

The core conflict escalates when Su Ran and the medical team enter the inner city, now a graveyard of collapsed buildings and blood-soaked streets. They discover that the infection is not limited to biological organisms; inanimate objects are also mutating and gaining consciousness. A statue in the city square, previously thought safe, comes to life and fuses with a wounded priest, absorbing his body and transforming him into part of its stone form. This revelation overturns the human understanding of infection, which was previously believed to occur only between living beings. Su Ran, trapped in the chaos, manages to contact Si Chengyan via a walkie-talkie, only to find the device itself beginning to mutate, cracking and scanning him with glowing lenses. The story ends with Su Ran facing a new, incomprehensible threat as the boundaries between life, death, and object continue to dissolve in the aberrated world.