When the Apocalypse Came, the Fairy Saved Her Destined Partner

Shan Shan is a yew tree that has cultivated sentience for over twelve hundred years on Mount Wuxi. For centuries, she remained in her arboreal form because the world lacked sufficient spiritual energy. On October 2, 2036, a sudden surge of golden light and abundant spiritual energy allows her to finally transform into an eighteen-year-old human girl. Eager to explore the human world she had only heard about from animals, she ventures into the forest. There, she discovers Zhou Yu, a man who has been critically wounded in a violent ambush. Despite her fear of humans, Shan Shan is drawn by his sweet scent and decides to save him. She carries his heavy body deep into the mountains, uses medicinal herbs to treat his chest wound, and falls into a deep sleep beside him. Zhou Yu wakes to find the girl clinging to him, demanding repayment for her help in the form of his blood. Intrigued by her purity and fairy-like nature, he agrees to let her drink from him once he is healed, and she agrees to accompany him.

Zhou Yu is the leader of a powerful family corporation and a man accustomed to command. His subordinates, Zhang Jiye, Zuo Xiao, and Li Muming, are loyal to him and share a history of military service and revenge. Zhou Yu suspects Shan Shan is a spirit being and, sensing a deep connection, decides to protect her. He leaves her in the care of a kind rural family, the Zhou household in Mowei Village, while he returns to eliminate his enemies. However, before he can retrieve her, a global catastrophe strikes. Dark clouds cover the sky, and corrosive acid rain falls, causing all humans to fall into comas. When they awaken, the world has changed. Sixty percent of the population has turned into zombies, while the survivors have either awakened supernatural powers or remained ordinary. Zhou Yu awakens with the ability to manipulate red soil, while his team members discover water, metal, and fire abilities. Realizing the danger, Zhou Yu immediately resolves to return to Mowei Village to rescue Shan Shan, declaring her as his future wife.

Meanwhile, Shan Shan survives the initial chaos in Mowei Village. She discovers that she is immune to the zombie infection due to her non-human nature and can communicate with plants. She warns the Zhou family of an impending landslide, saving them from death. The group, led by the elderly and experienced Third Grandpa Zhou Jiaji, flees to the nearby Ma Town for safety. In the town, Shan Shan and Zhou Chengxin, one of the daughters, scavenge for supplies at a local hospital. There, they encounter Tong Yi, Chengxin’s former lover who had left her years ago, and Chengcai, a young relative. The reunion is emotional, and Tong Yi is eventually accepted into the group by Third Grandpa. Shan Shan continues to adapt to the new world, learning that plants and animals are beginning to mutate and gain sentience.

During a night of wandering, Shan Shan encounters the Little Banyan, a five-hundred-year-old tree that is dying after absorbing energy from a falling meteorite. The tree gifts her the meteorite before vanishing, granting her a significant boost in spiritual power and physical abilities. She absorbs the energy, enhancing her strength, speed, and vision. The loss of the banyan tree’s protective presence leads to a surge in zombie activity around the town. As survivors flee toward the government building where the group is sheltered, Third Grandpa orders the use of gasoline to burn the approaching horde. Shan Shan realizes that the zombie threat is escalating and that the world is entering a new, more dangerous era. With Zhou Yu still absent and the apocalypse intensifying, Shan Shan must rely on her growing powers and the alliances she has formed to survive the collapsing civilization.