Chapter 75 Sandstorm [VIP]

After this lava attack, I don’t know if these gerbils have any intelligence, but they no longer attack Building 30.

Or perhaps after most of the villas in Jiangnan Liyuan were eaten, the sightings of gerbils became less and less frequent. They must have gone to look for other buildings.

So when Tang Tian was at home, she could occasionally hear rumbling sounds coming from afar.

It was a bit like the sound of a tall building collapsing, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of a sandstorm.

Without the invasion of the gerbils, the Tang family’s most important task at the moment is to go out and clean up the sand and dust so as not to let the villa be buried.

There are too many places where sand attributes are used in a sandstorm, so Tang Tian directly found the top-level dishes with sand attribute level 10.

Fortunately, this delicacy doesn't seem difficult to make. Catch the crabs from the fish cages in the water and take out the crab roe and crab butter.

Combined with the tofu from the tofu cooking pot and other seasonings, it becomes delicious crab roe tofu.

However, most crab roe tofu is made with salted egg yolk, so Tang Tian’s dish is more worthy of its name.

Speaking of salted egg yolks, pickled eggs are also a delicacy. Wei Mingxia pickled several jars of salted and preserved eggs. However, compared to pickled meat, pickled eggs are not suitable for public viewing.

After possessing the LV10 sand attribute ability, Tang Tian and Tang Yi successfully cleared the large amount of dust accumulated outside the house, and were able to change the direction of the oncoming dust storm, making it fly elsewhere.

Since being captured last time, Tang Tian has felt more deeply the importance of mental strength.

It is not clear how high the mental power can be, but they have been training their mental power for a long time and still cannot reach the top. Moreover, as long as they use high-level abilities, they will be used up quickly.

So Tang Tian started looking again in various recipes.

The last time I found a delicacy that could increase my mental strength limit was the honey soy milk in the SR-level recipe.

It is conceivable that there must be related dishes in the beverage recipes.

Later, Tang Tian not only found a few items in drinks, but also found foods that could more or less increase the upper limit of his mental power in the recipes of milk tea, bread, cakes, etc. that he had bought before.

However, this ability is time-limited and requires a lot of ingredients, so I can only study it in detail later.

“Beep…beep…”

There's new news on shortwave radio.

At this time, most of the people who could find the Tang family were at the shelter.

Gu Bin's voice sounded much more relaxed than last time. Now several more teams have been specially organized in the shelter to drive away the gerbils, so that production research in the shelter can continue.

This time, Gu Bin contacted her because there was progress in the official research on new plants and asked her to go to the shelter.

Tang Tian was feeling bored, so she readily agreed and prepared to go with Tang Yitantan.

Possessing top-level sand-attribute abilities, they can walk on the sand as if it were flat ground, without being hit in the face by the dust. They don't even need any means of transportation and can quickly reach the shelter.

After registering, the two people and the dog followed the address given by Gu Bin and came to a high-rise building.

This is probably an area specially developed for indoor planting, and each room has a constant temperature.

The largest area in the center, similar to the lobby, is covered with a wide expanse of sand.

There were also several researchers in white coats holding documents nearby. Some of them lowered their heads to take notes from time to time, while others were rushing back and forth.

Tang Tian saw at a glance that rows of green plants were neatly planted on the sandy soil, and fruits of different sizes and colors grew on the tops of the plants.

This is……

cactus?

…

"Miss Tang, you're here?"

A familiar voice sounded nearby.

Tang Tian tilted her head and saw that it was Lin Zhiqiu.

To him, she was like a lifesaver, so naturally he treated her better.

After the two sides greeted each other, Lin Zhiqiu, the leader of the research group, looked to have fully recovered, with a hint of excitement on his face.

He adjusted his glasses, looked down at Tan Tan, and asked with an expression that was even harder to conceal:

"Miss Tang, I didn't expect you to have such a big dog? You don't see domesticated animals like this very often these days!"

"In fact, our institute not only specializes in breeding and cultivation, forestry and fruit trees, and edible fungi, but also in animal husbandry..."

Lin Zhiqiu said this while staring at Tan Tan closely.

The look in his eyes didn't look like that of a disaster victim looking at the braised pork, but he probably wanted to catch it and study it.

Tang Tian quickly said a few perfunctory words and changed the subject:

"Mr. Lin, have you started growing cacti?"

When it comes to research results, Lin Zhiqiu reacts and becomes talkative.

In fact, these cacti were studied during extremely hot weather. This plant naturally prefers dry and warm conditions, and its fruits can be eaten and squeezed into juice, which may be better than other crops.

, it is more suitable to plant at this time.

When I went to area S, the seeds I brought with me also included newly developed cactus seeds.

Cactus grows very quickly, and the new seeds developed by the research institute have accelerated their maturity by half, allowing for a harvest every ten days or so. If the planting area is larger, the harvest can be even greater.

Logically speaking, this is a good thing, but when Lin Zhiqiu said this, his brows darkened and he said:

"We are all very happy about this. If the cactus can continue to grow normally and be harvested, it will be no problem."

"But in the recent harvests, we found fish, strange birds, and this time gerbils.

"But now even cacti are changing. We're wondering if plants, besides animals, are starting to mutate too!"

It would be fine if the plant mutation had no impact, but the worst thing is that the food we have worked so hard to research and grow becomes inedible after the mutation, and all the efforts during this period will be in vain.

After hearing this, Tang Tian went forward to observe and found that some of the cacti in the sand were as tall as half a floor.

There are also a large number of sharp thorns on the thick dark green leaves, and the fruit on the top is also a slightly dangerous purple-red.

Tang Tian didn't say anything, but was asking the system in her heart.

Maybe this is a question about food, and the system actually gave an answer.

After Tang Tian agreed in her heart, she suddenly asked Lin Zhiqiu:

"Mr. Lin, do you have any ready-made cacti here?"

Lin Zhiqiu didn't understand what Tang Tian wanted to do, and thought she was really hungry after coming all the way here.

This new type of cactus can be eaten cold, so the former quickly asked someone to wash a few pieces and remove the thorns, and also brought a cup of cactus juice.

However, after getting the food, Tang Tian didn't eat it. Instead, she squatted down and let Tan Tan smell it.

Lin Zhiqiu and others suddenly realized that they needed to test the poison!

After all, the entire shelter was filled with people, but no animals, not even a single white mouse—not counting the gerbils.

Tan Tan sniffed, opened his mouth wide and took a bite of the cactus, crunching as he ate it. The sound was particularly crisp and juicy.

After eating, it did not forget to drink the cactus juice because it was so sweet. At the end, it licked the water cup with satisfaction.

Tang Tian then replied:

"It seems that these cacti mutations are a good thing. The cacti that are half a story high alone are enough for several people to eat."

In fact, the system initially told her that it was edible, but she couldn't say it directly, so there had to be an intermediary.

"That's great! We should hurry up and continue planting. At least we can fill the stomachs of the survivors."

The people in the planting area were so excited about the news that they couldn't help but clap their hands.

Tantan didn't know why they were like this, but he could feel the atmosphere and started wagging his tail excitedly.

However, at this moment, a researcher came forward and reported quietly:

"Teacher Lin, Director Wu is here!"

…

This was the first time Tang Tian met the top leader of the S District Shelter, so she stood at the back with Tang Yi and asked Tan Tan to lie down.

Wu Yongming was even older than Yang Gan and looked to be in his late fifties. Of course, due to this natural disaster, almost everyone looked several years older than their actual age.

He also looked more serious than Yang Gan, showing no emotion on his face, and the atmosphere around him seemed to have automatically frozen.

Lin Zhiqiu took the initiative to report the latest news. He was also serious and just gave a few more instructions before asking:

"I heard there's a Miss Tang who made contributions to the shelter. Is she here now?"

When Tang Tian heard that it concerned her, she took the initiative to step forward and say hello.

Wu Yongming looked at them silently, and also kept his eyes on Tan Tan.

At this time, families that can keep big dogs are not just rich or noble.

Finally, a smile appeared on his face, and he praised:

"Women are truly as capable as men. I still remember the supplies you contributed last time. If you need anything in the future, just let us know. We'll help you if we can."

When Tang Tian donated supplies for the first time, the amount was not much, and it might not even be enough to feed the armed forces in the shelter.

Later, she donated several batches of food under the pretext of buying for free, which did not arouse suspicion, but it still amounted to several hundred kilograms of supplies.

This is not a lot, but it is not a small amount either. However, whether it is ordinary victims or management personnel, they may have eaten the food sent by Tang Tian.

Of course, she also used those to exchange for many of the supplies she wanted, so it could be said that they owed each other nothing.

But since they all knew Wu Yongming, I'm afraid that all the important people in the shelter might have heard of the mysterious Miss Tang.

It sounded like just polite talk, so Tang Tian agreed without saying anything more.

Wu Yongming paused. He seemed to have a lot to say, but in the end he didn't speak. Instead, he brought up other topics:

"I heard from Xiao Yang that you don't want to enter the shelter for the time being. I respect that. However, the shelter is still organizing a search team to go out, but we still don't have enough manpower right now. If you want to go, you can consider joining. The reward is not small."

Although the radio does not explicitly state this, people are definitely dying in the shelter every day. The situation is never that easy, and the demand for supplies is still great.

Tang Tian nodded:

"Okay, Director Wu, I will definitely come if I have time."

So Wu Yongming inspected the sandy soil and mutant cactus again, gave some more instructions, and then hurried away with the people around him. It seemed that there was still a lot to do.

Before leaving, Lin Zhiqiu gave her a few pieces of cactus, so that she could grow them herself if she had the conditions.

Tang Tian doesn't look like someone who is short of supplies. He must grow his own crops, but he just needs the corresponding supplies.

After Tang Tian expressed her gratitude, she ended the journey with Tang Yitantan and went home first.

…

After Wei Mingxia got the cactus slices, she immediately wanted to try growing the new plants researched by the government.

But since the system has been producing more and more food, she doesn't grow vegetables much anymore.

Moreover, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain soil suitable for planting.

Fortunately, they still have special abilities.

Apart from the sand attribute ability in the yellow recipe, the only ability related to the current environment is probably the earth attribute ability.

Tang Tian turned on the system and went straight to the counter to make a box of French fries, hash browns and potato wedges for the whole family.

This is the delicacy with earth attribute LV2 - potato platter!

The golden and crispy skin wraps the soft and glutinous inner core, and just a little sprinkle of fine salt can bring out the salty and fresh taste.

Tang Tian was biting on French fries and couldn't stop eating.

After obtaining the earth-attributed ability, Wei Mingxia turned over her palm and released the ability. A fist of mud gradually formed on top of her palm, which looked no different from the mud that could be seen everywhere before the end of the world.

Wei Mingxia smiled and said:

"Great, then I'll go get those planting boxes out and plant some cacti."

The cactus pieces given by Lin Zhiqiu are plump and thick, and are very suitable as seeds.

Wei Mingxia processed the cactus again, filled the planting box with soil, and then buried the cactus in it.

Afterwards, she immediately released her wood-attribute ability, and a fluorescent green halo immediately appeared on the planting box.

This is a variety that can mature quickly. When stimulated by the wood attribute ability, it only takes a few minutes for the cactus pieces to take root and sprout, until they break through the soil and reveal green new shoots.

Seeing this, Tang Tian hurriedly said that she had seen a mutated cactus as tall as half a floor, and wondered how tall this cactus could grow with the blessing of supernatural powers?

Wei Mingxia was overjoyed. She rearranged several planting boxes, filled them with soil, planted leaves, and used the wood power on each of them, waiting quietly for them to grow.

Three days later, all the cacti in the planting box had grown out, some large and some small. The cactus fruits that appeared on the top also indicated that they were almost ripe.

The largest one has even grown to half the height of a person.

Wei Mingxia picked out the smallest one from the grown cacti, leaving the fullest one, peeled and thorned the other leaves with a knife, cut them into strips, soaked them in salt water, and then mixed them with various seasonings to make a cold dish.

Tang Tian and Tang Yi each picked up a piece and ate it. They felt that like most vegetables, it tasted like what it was mixed with, but the aftertaste still had the crisp and sweet taste of vegetables.

It seems that as long as the planting area is not destroyed, the shelter can temporarily plant cacti to solve the famine.

The taste of salt, sugar, garlic chili sauce, vinegar and sesame oil filled Tang Tian's mouth, but as he chewed, he found something was wrong.

She felt it for a moment, and suddenly her eyes lit up, and she asked:

"Mom, sister, do you feel...your mental strength has recovered?"

Tang Yi and Wei Mingxia were both stunned.

It just so happened that they had all used their supernatural powers before and had consumed their mental energy. They were just very interested in the cold-mixed cactus and didn't pay attention to these things for a while.

The two of them quickly sensed it and immediately smiled happily:

"Really? Isn't it true that only the delicacies in the system can restore spiritual power? This cactus can also work?"

Tang Tian guessed that this effect might be because it was a mutant.

It is clear that piranhas and strange birds are not to be eaten, so they never discovered that mutant creatures can actually help improve mental strength.

But how did these creatures mutate, and how did they connect to the completely unnatural natural conditions of the past?

Tang Tian suddenly felt that the uncertainty of this apocalypse had increased a lot again.

But they can only continue to take things one step at a time.

…

After a few more days, the box of cacti that had grown the largest was almost reaching the ceiling.

This one is bigger than the tallest one grown in the planting area. Could it be because of the wood attribute?

Moreover, ever since Wei Mingxia started using her supernatural powers to plant cacti, the cacti have been growing in large numbers.

Since they couldn’t finish it all at once, they simply put it in the warehouse along with other ingredients in the system.

Cactus leaves can be used in cooking, cactus fruits can be used to squeeze juice and store, and can even be made into processed products such as jam and candy like other fruits.

After all, they don't rely solely on this accidentally discovered cactus to restore their mental strength.

Not long after, the shelter contacted the Tang family again by radio and brought good news.

After studying the gerbil, they found that it was different from the piranha bird and did not contain any toxins in its body. After experiments, it was found to be edible!

This is great news for the shelter.

There has been progress in agriculture, but people cannot live without protein.

Until now, although some people can barely fill their stomachs, they still look shriveled, and some are even unable to work.

Although you can get plant protein from crops, meat is still better.

However, after a series of natural disasters, the animal husbandry industry suffered heavy losses, and the livestock that were finally saved were concentrated in other areas. Unfortunately, there was no such area in S area.

So Wu Yongming had been either setting up the animal husbandry area in the shelter in advance or going to the center's Area A to apply to adopt an animal. If he was rejected, he would have to go to the area next door where there were animals to negotiate, so he rarely saw anyone there.

However, the latest development is the merger of the S Area Sanctuary with another sanctuary to the north, forming a northern base. This will ultimately allow for the development of animal husbandry. Wu Yongming had no choice but to return and strengthen agricultural management.

Now it has been discovered that gerbils are edible, and gerbils usually appear in groups, so there is no shortage of them. How can this not be good news?

Tang Tian asked how he found out. Gu Bin chuckled and explained in a tone that was appropriate for his age.

Only then did she realize that it was her act of feeding Tan Tan the cactus that inspired the researchers to select a few "guinea pigs" from the shelter for the experiment.

And those "guinea pigs" were actually serious criminals who were arrested and brought to justice in the shelter!

Normally, those criminals with serious crimes should be shot directly, but due to the shortage of manpower, they are sent to labor camps.

However, they can forget about joining the armed forces, serving in medical stations or supporting logistics. Instead, they will be assigned to low-level labor and dangerous outings.

But this cannot be considered as punitive labor reform, so what they can eat every day is the rations that are compressed to the extreme, which may not even be enough to sustain life. It can be said that it is extremely miserable.

Now they have an additional responsibility, becoming guinea pigs for poison testing, after all, they are already death row prisoners.

After simply processing the gerbil meat and roasting it and letting them eat it for research, the official confirmed that the gerbil meat is not harmful to humans and can be used as food!

As soon as the news spread throughout the shelter, all the survivors were in an uproar.

The Chinese are like this. As long as something can be used as an edible ingredient, they will definitely have the urge to eat it to extinction, not to mention that we are in the end times when food is scarce.

So the shelter lowered its guard against the gerbils and deliberately set a trap to catch them.

They even quickly organized a hunting team, which was a team specifically for hunting gerbils.

This team not only includes ordinary people, but also welcomes outsiders to join. The first batch of rewards is naturally more gerbils, which is equivalent to food.

The official also stated that if outsiders catch extra gerbils, they can send them over, and the shelter will exchange them according to the value of the quantity.

This is similar to the last time hunting mutant birds, but gerbils can be used as food, and the cost-effectiveness is obviously higher than the former. I think the quality of the materials that can be exchanged should also be improved.

Moreover, this news has been spread everywhere through the radio. External forces and unofficial shelters will certainly catch gerbils as food, and the famine may be alleviated.

Tang Tian's eyes rolled around and she already had an idea in her mind.

Since eating mutated cactus can improve mental strength, I wonder if this mutated gerbil can do the same?

And every night, there are actually gerbils in Jiangnan Liyuan.

It’s just that there aren’t as many as last time. The Tang family just needs to rub a few more light balls to emit a lot of light, and they can almost resist it.

If I catch another batch of gerbils, can't I take them to the shelter to exchange for supplies?

He did what he said and went out immediately at night.

About ten meters away, she encountered five or six gerbils gathered together, gnawing on the ruins of a villa.

She fired air bullets directly, and because of the noise, two or three of them ran away quickly. In the end, there were only three gerbil corpses on the ground.

They are called gerbils, but each one is as big as a dog. One is enough for an average person to eat for two days, so this is good news.

Tang Tian brought the gerbil's corpse back. When Tan Tan saw his master coming back from hunting, he was so excited that he swung his tail like a propeller.

However, even though it was clearly edible, she still planned to cook it simply, roast it over fire, and sprinkle various barbecue ingredients on it.

The aroma of barbecue slowly filled the room. After it cooled down, Tang Tian tore off a rat leg and threw it directly to Tan Tan.

Tan Tan raised his head to catch it accurately, then went back to his nest to eat it, looking quite relaxed and comfortable.

Tang Tian took out a dagger, cut the roasted gerbil into strips, and ate a piece each with Tang Yi and Wei Mingxia.

Because gerbils are naturally strong and their bodies are mostly lean meat without any fat, they taste dry in the mouth.

However, the Tang family has been eating normally so far. If other survivors ate this, they would probably burst into tears on the spot.

Tang Tian could also clearly feel that the mental power he had used to fire the air bullets was slowly recovering, and his idea was indeed correct.

She quickly told Tang Yi and Wei Mingxia about her plan, and received their approval.

Then the whole family will be busy again!