Chapter 54 Controlling humans?

The system selection panel pops up again.

But this time, the options and rewards are completely different.

[A severely injured male human survivor was found trapped underground. He is extremely weak and poses a low threat.]

Please make your choice:

[Option 1: Ignore it, order the rats to bypass it, and continue exploring the pipeline. (Risk: Extremely low, the human will likely die. Reward: Weak Spiritual Energy +1.)]

Option 2: Attempt a rescue! Command the rats to drag them out of the pipe, provide them with a small amount of food and water, and leave them to fend for themselves. (Risk: Low, may expose the rats' presence, and the human may subsequently attract other attention. Reward: Mental Resilience +1, Damaged Engineer's Notes (may contain useful information), Weak Spirit +2)

[Option Three: Rescue with all your strength and attempt to control it! Bring it back to base, treat its injuries, and attempt to transform it into a controllable human unit (Risk: Medium, treatment consumes resources, and human willpower is complex. Mind control may fail or cause unknown backlash, and there is a risk of exposing the base. Reward: If successful, human control capabilities are improved, and a human laborer with basic engineering skills is obtained, with +3 Mental Strength and +5 Weak Spiritual Energy.)]

Bai Li looked at the reward for option three, and her heart skipped a beat again.

Improved human control capabilities? Obtained human labor? Mental strength +3!

This reward is also very tempting!

A human being with technology can do so many things!

Repair tools, modify equipment, and maybe even understand the blueprints she collected!

This can greatly improve the development speed and quality of life of the base!

And the risks seem manageable?

The opponent is seriously injured and weak, and his will should be at its lowest point, so the chances of successful mental control are very high.

Even if she failed, with her current strength, it would be easy for her to deal with a disabled human.

Bring him back, cure him, control him, and make him a driving force for the development of the base...

Once this idea came into being, it quickly took root and sprouted.

But she quickly calmed down.

Humans are, after all, the most complex creatures.

Can mind control be absolutely reliable?

Are there any hidden sequelae?

He knows too much.

Once there is a loophole in control, the consequences will be disastrous.

Before your mental strength is strong enough and you are sure you can control it, you should never try it lightly.

Option 2 seems safer?

Get him out, give him something to eat and drink, and let him take his own course.

It would also be nice to have a notebook that might be useful.

Bai Li's eyes swept over the man's broken and twisted legs and pale face again.

Even if we rescue him, given his current condition, how long can he survive in this apocalypse?

In the end, it may still be a dead end.

There doesn't seem to be much difference between saving and not saving.

After a brief struggle,

Bai Li made a decision.

Risks and benefits need to be balanced.

Option three was very tempting, but she was unwilling to take the potential risks.

Option one is too cold-blooded and offers no benefit.

"Choose two! Attempt rescue, provide basic assistance, or leave it to fend for itself!"

[Select Confirm. Rewards: Mental Toughness +1, "Damaged Engineer's Notes" (may contain useful information), Weak Spirit +2]]

A faint cool feeling penetrated her spirit, making her feel clearer and more determined.

Then, through the Rat King, she sensed that the notebook in the backpack seemed to be marked by an invisible force.

She immediately commanded several strong mice,

Carefully avoiding the man's injured leg,

They bit the corners of his clothes and trouser legs and began to drag him towards the exit of the pipe.

The man seemed stunned by the sudden rescue.

He struggled weakly and found that these rats seemed to have no ill intentions and were just dragging him around.

He stopped resisting, and a faint hope of survival ignited in his eyes.

The rats were quite powerful and quickly dragged the man out of the dark and damp pipe and placed him in a relatively clean and hidden corner of the ruins nearby.

Several other mice dragged out his worn backpack and placed it next to him.

Bai Li thought about it and asked the mouse to collect half a bottle of

Clean rainwater, placed within his reach.

After doing all this, she immediately ordered the rats to evacuate and disappear into the ruins.

She left no more food.

Too much help may lead to suspicion and unnecessary trouble.

We have done our best to pull him out of the despair and give him some water.

As for whether he can survive, it depends on his luck.

Bai Li cut off contact with that area and no longer paid attention to it.

Until a few days later,

As she commanded the Crow Sentinels on their routine patrol,

Unexpectedly, I found the man's trace again.

He is still alive!

He seemed even weaker, with chapped lips, but his eyes showed a desire to survive.

He simply fixed his injured leg with the branches and rags he found.

He was leaning against a broken wall, struggling to carve a piece of wood with a knife.

Beside him, there was a pair of extremely simple... wooden crutches?

Although rough, it seemed to be able to support his movement.

What really stunned Bai Li was that

This man actually used the scrap iron and wheels he found,

I made myself a...simple hand-cranked wheelchair!

Although it looks shaky and may fall apart at any time,

But he did sit on it and crank the wheel with his hands,

Moving extremely slowly through the ruins, searching for anything that might be useful.

Bai Li was shocked by this powerful survival and hands-on ability.

This is a tech geek!

What a pity, his leg is broken.

Bai Li shook her head and was about to let the crow leave.

suddenly,

An extremely absurd and bold idea flashed through her mind like lightning!

wheelchair!

What if...what if he built himself a...cat car?

It doesn't need to be complicated.

As long as it can make her and her little ancestor move more safely and with less effort,

For example, a small car with a shed that can shelter from wind and rain, and perhaps also store some supplies?

If I really want to go to that Hope Base in the future, I can't just walk, right?

Let the little ancestor sit in the comfortable cat car, and let the zombies or this tech geek pull the car?

Once this thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

So tempting!

But the question is, how to make him work willingly?

Control him?

She still worries about the risks of option three.

cooperate?

It is even more impossible, the risk of exposure is too great.

Bai Li fell into deep thought.

She watched the man struggling to push his wheelchair and search through the rubble, her eyes finally falling on his injured leg, which was still swollen and twisted.

Maybe……

Could you offer a little help first?

She thought about it, and quietly passed a small packet of expired but potentially effective antibiotics and a clean bandage through the rats.

It was placed in a conspicuous position on the path that the man's wheelchair must pass.

Then she asked a crow to carry a small piece of compressed biscuit and drop it next to the medicine.

After doing all this, she hid herself again and observed secretly.