PSW - Chapter 154
Chapter 154
Changping also had a mission center similar to the one at Humanity's Light. The main difference was that there were fewer restrictions on posting missions in Changping. As long as you paid a sufficient deposit and registered your identity information, anyone—ability user or ordinary person—could post a mission. You could even do so anonymously.
The facilities in these bases are all essentially the same, huh, Yu Yinan couldn't help but think as she and Zheng Yi walked around. Changping didn't deliberately segregate the living and working areas for ordinary people and ability users. They even made a point of reserving jobs for ordinary people, but with a large population and few positions, competition was fierce. Ability users from a few special departments were all assigned to production lines, while those whose abilities weren't particularly useful in daily life typically took on guard duty, patrols, or missions to gather supplies and explore the map.
Yu Yinan had taken a closer look at the mission board: Changping was actually offering bounties for the blood of special zombies and the crystal cores found in the brains of other mutated creatures. And the one posting the bounties… was the Dawn Research Institute.
Of course, for such dangerous and rare materials, the rewards were extremely generous.
After Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan had visited nearly every place they could in Changping, they bought a portion of pan-fried potatoes and a portion of mashed potatoes from a street stall, eating as they walked back to their temporary residence.
Potatoes… they really were the easiest crop to harvest in the wasteland. After that, it was probably sweet potatoes. No matter the variety, they were high-yield and highly adaptable. You could even stir-fry the sweet potato leaves. It seemed the Changping base also grew corn and wheat. Ordinary people weren't allowed into those plantations, so Yu Yinan could only observe from a distance.
Relatively speaking, the standard of living in Changping was more than a notch higher than in Yongdu. At least in their eyes, the prices for these cultivated, basic staple foods weren't high, and they hadn't seen any ordinary people on the verge of starvation. Under the diligent care of Changping's plant-type ability users, who accelerated their growth, these crops might even break the record of three harvests a month, yielding an insane amount. As for fertilizer… it seemed they used simple farm manure. After all, with so many humans living here, there was no shortage of it.
"This is great," Yu Yinan murmured, eating her mashed potatoes as she followed Zheng Yi up the stairs. "Changping… a world of peace, a time of tranquility. It would be wonderful if the bases in other cities could also develop in such a stable, upward trajectory."
The survivors from Yongdu could certainly come to Changping to build a new life; it was a good destination. Ah, but of course, if they ultimately decided to stay in Yongdu and rebuild… with their experience and spirit, they might be able to establish a human base just like Changping or Pujie. Perhaps they might even found a base that was even more considerate of women than Humanity's Light and Changping.
"We will eventually set foot in every city in Ling Country." The second floor wasn't far, and Zheng Yi quickly reached their room door. Holding the bowl in one hand, she took a key from her personal space with the other, inserted it directly into the lock, and gave it a light turn. She pushed the door open with one hand and waited for Yu Yinan to enter. "Those unstable bases, the ones as unfriendly as Yongdu, will never last long."
Any such base Zheng Yi encountered would undoubtedly face an unprecedented purge. In her eyes, those "strong" individuals who didn't treat ordinary people and the weak as human, who didn't see other humans as their own kind, were nothing more than noisy ants.
Yu Yinan was slightly moved. She thoughtfully closed the door, a smile spreading across her face as she listened to Zheng Yi's words. Did this mean they would always be together in the future? Traveling across the country during the apocalypse… that sounded pretty good, too.
"Do you want anything else to eat?" A small portion of pan-fried potatoes and mashed potatoes was hardly enough to satisfy two ability users. It might sound extravagant, but for Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan, the two snacks were just for fun, like appetizers.
"Mm, I'm fine with anything." Yu Yinan was still not a picky eater. Zheng Yi nodded slightly and went straight into the kitchen to start cooking. Yu Yinan wanted to help, but Zheng Yi placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed her out.
"Jiejie, don't you have work to do? Go write. You can come eat after I'm done cooking."
"But…" Yu Yinan felt it wasn't right, yet Zheng Yi didn't seem to want her help. She simply watched her with that impeccable smile until Yu Yinan took a step back on her own, turned, and sat down at the table in the living room. She picked up her pen and paper again and began to recall and brainstorm.
Yu Yinan reminisced about her first meeting with Zheng Yi. She tightened her grip on the pen, and as she sank into her memories, it was as if she had returned to that night of relentless rain. The entire room fell silent, with only the occasional sound drifting from the kitchen. Yu Yinan replayed the moments she had spent with Zheng Yi, frame by frame. She felt a little emotional about her own growth and changes, and she could also keenly perceive the subtle shifts in Zheng Yi's attitude toward her.
…No, this wasn't the time to be reminiscing about the progress of their relationship. Yu Yinan's face suddenly flushed beet red. She pressed a fist to her nose, trying hard to pop the pink bubbles in her mind and wave them away. She began to seriously recall the great and legendary journey of salvation that belonged uniquely to the Saint. Ah, how should she structure and embellish it? She couldn't just write carelessly; this was meant to be distributed to everyone. It had to be written with such passion that anyone who read it would want to acknowledge and worship Zheng Yi. Right, should the Saint's Bible be slightly modified? Or should it be attached directly after the epilogue?
In any case, she would start with a preliminary framework and finish the first draft. Revisions were a must. For the perfect Zheng Yi… Yu Yinan was willing to revise the draft eight hundred times!
While Yu Yinan was immersed in her work, Zheng Yi was in the kitchen, leisurely starting some simple cooking. Today, she would make a simple tomato and beef brisket over rice. Hmm, and a side of baby cabbage in superior broth. She wondered when Chi Heqing would come over. If she happened to arrive while they were eating…
Then having Captain Chi and that mysterious Director from the institute stay for a meal wouldn't be a big deal.
Unfortunately, Captain Chi and the Director from the institute only came to visit after Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan had finished their meal.
When Yu Yinan opened the door to welcome the two of them, Chi Heqing could still smell the faint aroma of food in the living room.
As soon as she had parted ways with Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan, Chi Heqing had gone to the institute to report the news. Fortunately, the Director's schedule was light recently, and she met with her quickly, listening as Chi Heqing explained everything in detail. Chi Heqing first introduced Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan, then described the cooperation they had already reached with the base and their attitude. As the Director pondered matters related to the meteor fragments, Chi Heqing slowly recounted the events and her impressions from her first meeting with Zheng Yi outside the base.
"At that time, she definitely didn't know about the meteor fragments. Even if she knew about the meteors that fell during the apocalypse, she certainly didn't know much about the existence of these fragments. And now… I suspect she knows more about the meteor fragments than we do," Chi Heqing said in a low voice, handing the glass vial containing the powder to the Director. "Her current strength… or perhaps a newly awakened ability, in any case, she seems unaffected by the energy of the meteor fragments and can even directly grind a portion of a fragment."
"Then, we'll cooperate." The Director gently swirled the glass vial, feeling the energy within. Her expression became grave and serious. She took a pair of glasses from her pocket and put them on, then donned a pair of special gloves. "You go change your clothes first. I'll study this powder for a bit and record the data. Hmm, you can continue talking about… Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan? Tell me your speculations about them. I'm listening."
Chi Heqing nodded in agreement and turned to leave, but suddenly heard the Director call out to her again. "Wait! Before you change, tell the researchers they can rest early today. Have them finish their current work, save their data and experimental materials, and then leave directly."
"Understood." Chi Heqing nodded. She turned and was about to walk away when she suddenly stopped and looked back at the Director hesitantly. "Is there anything else?"
"…" The Director, who had been focused on observing the state of the powder in the vial, was momentarily stunned by Chi Heqing's question. She thought for a moment. "You can go out for a meal first. Come find me at the institute after you've taken care of your own business. Remember to change and disinfect before entering the lab."
"Understood," Chi Heqing replied, and only then did she formally depart.
By the time she returned to the institute, it was already afternoon. There were no other researchers in the Dawn Research Institute, but the Director… was still continuously recording the various energy values and changes extracted from the powder.
Chi Heqing didn't dare to disturb her and sat obediently on the metal bench outside the laboratory. She waited until the sky began to darken before the Director, having preliminarily organized all the data, finally emerged from the lab, still looking as if she wanted to continue.
Since it was already getting late, the Director didn't delay much. She didn't even eat anything. After apologizing to Chi Heqing, she had Chi Heqing bring her straight over.
"…" The moment the Director stepped into the room, she was enticed by the lingering aroma of food. Fortunately, although she was hungry, she wasn't someone who couldn't distinguish priorities. She cleared her throat lightly to regain her composure and introduced herself without any airs. "I am the Director of the Dawn Research Institute. Of course, that's just a title." Since the apocalypse, most of the inventions and progress from the institute were the result of the joint efforts of all the researchers.
She didn't waste time on pleasantries. After a brief glance at Zheng Yi and Yu Yinan, she easily told them apart. "I can represent the Dawn Research Institute. We are very much looking forward to cooperating with you both." After this simple statement, the Director directly took several sheets of paper from her large coat pocket and handed them to Zheng Yi.
So direct… Yu Yinan had thought they would chat a bit before getting to the point. She leaned closer to Zheng Yi, glanced at the Director who seemed to be waiting, and then started reading the documents with Zheng Yi.
This was all data about the meteor fragments!
The Dawn Research Institute simply referred to the special energy contained within the meteor fragments as "mutation factors." Following that were some speculations about the apocalypse. Were the meteor fragments the cause? They speculated that this global evolution was a form of natural selection by the world's will, a manifestation of the planet reaching a certain stage of comprehensive evolution. The meteor fragments were just one of the external factors manifesting this evolutionary energy.
"Our mainstream speculation is that once this evolutionary train has departed, it's impossible to turn back," the Director said. "Therefore, the institute's main goal at present is to enable all ordinary people to participate in this evolution and become ability users."
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