Chapter 32

Water source has always been a headache for researchers at the plantation.

Plants can grow without soil, but absolutely cannot grow without water. The environmental problems on Prison Star are very severe. In addition to the soil, the water also contains pollutants.

Transporting water from outer space is too expensive and unrealistic, so when the red fog first appeared, the first thing the scientists of the Star Alliance needed to solve was the problem of water pollution on Prison Planet.

Those were very difficult times. Due to water shortage, countless defenders had to drink contaminated water, and eventually died from mutations.

Fortunately, after investigation, it was found that the concentration of pollutants in the underground river water was not high. After filtering and purification, it could barely reach the level of drinking without affecting the mind.

Although long-term drinking will still have an impact on the human body, the emergence of purifiers has successfully solved this problem.

As long as soldiers with high pollutant test results are sent to purifiers for purification, not only can they be prevented from going out of control and becoming crazy, but their tolerance to pollutants can also be gradually improved.

As for the benefits that can be gained from improved tolerance to pollutants, this is a project of the research institute.

Originally, after the emergence of the Purifier, the researchers at the Plantation Garden also established a research project, which was——

Is it possible to research plants with purifying effects?

If this plant can be cultivated and planted on a large scale, not to mention its edible value, it will also be of great help in improving the environment of Prison Star.

Unfortunately, 21 years have passed since the Red Mist of the Prison Star voluntarily withdrew from the human base in the 1310th year of the Star Alliance calendar, and scientists have not made any breakthroughs on this topic.

Moreover, as extreme weather becomes more frequent, it also poses severe challenges to the soilless cultivation technology of the plantation.

Of course, challenges often coexist with opportunities.

Crop seeds that can be successfully cultivated on the Prison Star can often become excellent varieties when they are brought to other planets, solving the food crisis caused by population explosion on other planets.

The vegetables produced in the Prison Star Plantation often have mutants with special effects.

Not all of these variants are edible, but after 20 years of cultivation, several species have stabilized their characteristics. The only drawback is that the yield is not high.

In order to facilitate preservation, basically, these plants with special effects will be processed into special nutrient solutions, which will be supplied to various bases on Prison Star first to enhance the strength of the warriors.

This is also one of the reasons why no matter how dangerous the environment on Prison Star is, countries are willing to continuously send excellent soldiers to it.

Only a small amount of special nutrient solution will be shipped to the Star Alliance headquarters for sale. Ten years have passed since the first batch of special nutrient solution produced on Prison Star came out, and it has always been in short supply.

It is worth mentioning that due to the dangerous environment of the Prison Star, some scientists have tried to simulate the Prison Star environment on other planets to cultivate this special crop.

They transported the soil from Prison Star to the resource star closest to Prison Star, preparing to use it to cultivate special mutant plants.

However, just as the soil arrived at the resource star, an accident occurred -

The entire container was filled with Prison Star soil. The moment the container was opened, a red mist containing high concentrations of pollutants rushed out of the container, directly engulfing the entire transport team and the staff of the cultivation base.

Even though these personnel were wearing protective clothing, they were corroded the moment they were enveloped by the red mist, becoming out of control and mutated.

What's worse is that the area did not take strict protective measures beforehand, and the incident happened suddenly, so a huge price was paid to kill all the mutated personnel.

Although the local authorities quickly blocked the news, they were unable to eliminate the negative impact of this negligence.

That base has been designated a restricted area since that day, and to this day, it is still shrouded in thick and terrifying red fog.

What is even more worrying is that the red mist is still spreading around, and the pollutants it contains are far more than the size of a container.

Only then did people discover another characteristic of the red fog - the pollutants contained in the red fog are not only extremely corrosive, but also self-replicating!

Scientists who examined data from previous years also discovered that the concentration of the red fog that had retreated to the uninhabited area on the Prison Star was indeed increasing year by year.

The only thing to be thankful for is that due to the dangerous nature of the soil on the Prison Star, the base on the resource star was originally located in a desolate wilderness far away from human habitation, so that more people were not affected.

After spreading to a certain range, the red fog stopped spreading, but it did not dissipate with the passage of time. Instead, it became thicker year by year.

It is said that terrible noises are often heard from the red fog.

Because of this accident, all researchers understood the specialness of Prison Star.

After all, in the past 21 years, except for extreme weather, the red fog has not spread to human bases.

No matter what, the tragedy cannot be allowed to happen again, so the Star Alliance raised the danger level of Prison Planet to the highest level, prohibiting any individual or organization from bringing pollutants from Prison Planet into the interstellar space.

From that year on, every time a transport spacecraft left Prison Star, it would undergo strict inspection and purification.

Therefore, even though many people are coveting the mutant plants with special effects on Prison Star, they dare not act rashly and can only honestly purchase their processed products through the Star Alliance.

This also makes mutant plants one of the sources of income for each base.

The 24th Base is naturally no exception.

However, for well-known reasons, the funds of the 24th Base have always been tight, and it is impossible to invest too much in the construction and development of the plantation.

Therefore, the output of the nursery can barely meet the supply within the base, and naturally there is no way to obtain much income subsidy by planting mutant plants.

As the person in charge of the 24th Base Cultivation Garden, Wu Yunqin naturally wants to increase the yield of mutant crops.

Not to mention increasing income, the mutant crops themselves are of great research value. These scholars, who are powerless, would come to such a dangerous planet to work. Which one of them is not here for these mutant plants?

However, it is not her decision.

The cultivation of mutant plants requires a lot of manpower and resources.

Because if you are not careful, you may breed extremely aggressive mutants that cause harm to the breeders, so the army is often required to be stationed there, and during the harvest season, people from the action team will be sent to assist.

As for resource investment, it is very easy to understand.

After all, it is a mutant plant that can produce special effects such as rapid hemostasis, improved physical fitness, and expanded mental strength. The amount of fertilizer required during the cultivation process has naturally increased exponentially.

And Base 24 is really poor.

It wasn't so serious in the early years. Although the research institute was burning money, it could still produce results occasionally.

However, as the number of cubs in the nursery continued to increase, and these cubs grew older and more destructive, the 24th Base began to become financially strained and gradually fell into a vicious cycle.

The funds available for exotic plant cultivation are very limited.

In fact, Wu Yunqin had thought about going to other bases. With the skills she mastered, she would definitely be able to thrive in other bases, but doing so would make things a little awkward.

After all, she is the person in charge of the 24th Base Cultivation Garden and is considered the top leader. If there is no job transfer from her superiors, anyone in the cultivation garden can apply to go to other bases except her.

Wu Yunqin had no choice but to continue staying in the 24th Base and manage this cultivation garden wholeheartedly.

The reason why I am so worried now is that this batch of ordinary vegetables, in addition to supplying this base, has also signed agreements with two other bases.

Because other bases have set up prisons, in addition to prisoners, there are also a large number of garrisons, and the demand for vegetables is great. Although the 24th Base cannot cultivate exotic plants on a large scale, it has no problem growing ordinary vegetables, so it cooperates with surrounding bases to obtain some financial income and resources.

Originally, the harvest was planned to be completed in the next two days. However, due to yesterday's bloody rain, the concentration of pollutants in the air suddenly increased, and it is estimated that it will take a few days to drop.

The vegetables in the garden will definitely be affected in the next few days. They're in the harvest season, so there's no way to intervene effectively. It's unclear how much we'll ultimately be able to harvest...

"Huh?"

The surprised sound coming from the side caught Wu Yunqin's attention.

She turned to look at the young man operating the machine and asked, "Xiao Zhuang, what's wrong? Did you find anything?"

Those who are able to work in the plantations of various bases on Prison Star are basically talents who have made outstanding contributions in the field of agriculture from various interstellar countries.

Like the assistant next to her, although he is young, he has already produced several scientific research results, especially in the field of soilless cultivation. He is a rising star in the agricultural field.

Wu Yunqin has always attached great importance to his views.

After all, Prison Star is no different from other planets. It is always full of accidents. If you are not careful, serious consequences may occur, threatening the base and personal safety.

Hearing her question, Zhuang Shisong came back to his senses.

He pushed up his glasses, which were sliding down his nose, and shook his head, saying uncertainly, "Nothing, I just think the water today... seems a little clearer than usual."

Hearing this, Wu Yunqin also looked at the surveillance screen and the culture containers of those hydroponic plants. With many years of experience in soilless cultivation, she saw the problem at a glance.

"Indeed, it rained blood yesterday. Logically, the groundwater we're pumping today should be more polluted."

Because rainwater has a great impact on underground rivers, the water becomes turbid and even red after each blood rain, so the cultivation circles need to be specially treated before they can be used.

But no matter how you deal with it, it is difficult to completely remove pollutants from the water unless you hire a purifier.

However, the number of purifiers is limited, so this is impossible to operate, so we can only make do with it. Not to mention that the water in the culture container is not only clear, but also looks cleaner than the water we usually use.

Wu Yunqin frowned and said, "Xiaozhuang, go test the water sample immediately."

"good."

After Zhuang Shisong left, Wu Yunqin continued to observe the vegetables in the culture container, and was surprised to find that -

These vegetables seemed to be growing even better than usual. That kind of lush green visible to the naked eye was rarely seen in the Prison Star Cultivation Garden.

What on earth is going on? Has some unknown change occurred on Prison Star?

In a surveillance video that Wu Yunqin did not notice, a plant that absorbed faint spiritual energy from a clean water source was gently stretching its body, constantly emitting joyful emotional fluctuations in all directions.

Pollutants in the air that are invisible to the naked eye actually retreat to the surroundings when they approach this plant.

On the other side, Su Ci, who was talking to No. 8, looked out the window with a sense of something.

His arrangements last night seemed to be starting to work.

"Do you want this toy?"

Number Eight's voice rang out, drawing Su Ci's attention back. He withdrew his spiritual sense, lowered his head, and saw the child looking at him with an expression that said, "Stop pretending, I know you."

"I've definitely never played this before, and it doesn't look fun."

As Number Eight spoke, he swung the long tube in his hand again. He felt that it was a little light to swing like a stick, and the feel was not good at all. The middle was hollow, and there were several holes on the tube.

He had seen No. 7 play before. Every time the kid got the dice, he would blow air into one of the holes. He had observed it many times, but hadn't seen anything interesting happen.

But No. 7 always takes this toy, like a treasure.

He came early today and accidentally saw it while choosing toys, so he picked it up to try it out. However, when Number Seven came, he snatched the long tube away without saying a word and glared at him fiercely.

If Number Seven had asked for it in a nice way, he would have given it to him, but he had to snatch it from him and even glared at him with that look!

It’s obvious that No. 7 is the one who doesn’t follow the rules, so why do you take his toys away and act like this?

At that time, No. 8 got angry and started fighting with No. 7, which led to the scene that Su Ci saw when he just came in.

"Since you kept your promise, I'll give it to you if you want it."

Number Eight raised his little hand and generously extended the hand holding the long tube in front of Su Ci, while he turned his face away and raised his chin high, looking cool and arrogant.

Su Ci took the long tube and asked in surprise, "Keep your promise?"

"yes."

Number Eight blurted out, "You came to see me yesterday, I know..."

Before he could finish, the young boy paused.

Perhaps realizing he had let something slip, Number Eight's gaze suddenly became evasive. He stammered, trying to change the subject, "Do you... do you know how to play this thing?"

Su Ci looked at the child's ears, which were gradually turning red. Although he was puzzled, he also said in agreement: "Yes, this is a flute."

To be precise, it is a bamboo flute, but it is not made of bamboo. Su Ci is not quite sure what material it is made of, and no relevant common sense comes to his mind.

"Flute?"

Number 8 originally just wanted to ease the awkwardness, but when Su Ci said that, he was really diverted.

It was the first time he had heard of a flute, so he asked curiously, "What can this flute be used for? How do you play it?"

The young boy's green eyes were clear and bright, as if they contained vibrant vitality. When he was calm and not controlled by the power of his blood, he was like a little sun.

Su Ci likes this kind of vitality very much, which is what the earth lacks today.

He walked to the corner, straightened an overturned chair, and sat down.