Chapter 83 Chapter 83 Volcanic ash covered area.
Ye Ning's tone was relaxed and casual, as if she was talking about something insignificant.
But Long Qi looked at her steadily, "You will be fine."
His voice was still cold, but surprisingly steady and powerful.
Ye Ning suddenly realized something: Long Qi was not comforting her, but making a promise to her.
Ye Ning smiled at him again.
Her smile was warm and bright, and Long Qi's gaze lingered on her smile for a moment.
Like the warm sun rising in winter, it gradually dispels the cold fog.
He moved the corners of his mouth, as if wanting to give her a response, but in the end, he looked away.
Ye Ning was already used to his current reaction, and continued to ask: "Did you get any useful new information?"
Long Qi shook his head slightly, then said in a cold and hard tone, "The people in the capital district have always wanted to kill me."
Ye Ning sensed this, otherwise the people in the capital area would not have sent Yan Gang specifically to provoke him.
Long Qi still didn't take the initiative to tell her about the restricted area. He probably wouldn't tell her even if she asked now.
Ye Ning: "It's okay, we'll just wait here until they come to our door."
"What they just said may not be true."
The other party said they didn't know the reason, which might be true, or they might just not want to tell her. It's also hard to say whether the death was due to illness, after all, the other party was able to force a connection between her and the National Capital District.
There were some fresh fruits on her seat, and Ye Ning handed him the dragon fruit flowers on the plate.
"I saved this for you. It's another delicious fruit. Try it."
Long Qi looked at her and took something out of his pocket with one hand.
He stretched out his hand in front of Ye Ning and then opened his palm, "This is for you."
It was a dazzling ruby ring. When the light penetrated it, it reflected colorful light in the palm of Long Qi's hand.
Ye Ning: "Ring?"
Long Qi: "Ruby."
Ye Ning took the ruby ring from Long Qi.
It was a ring with a very special design. The main body of the ring was made of some white metal. The ruby was surrounded by a circle of black scales for decoration. On the inside of the ring, there was a rune that she could not understand.
Ye Ning fiddled with the black scales on it twice and suddenly found that they seemed to be the scales of the Longqi beast.
Long Qi: "With my presence, it's easier to sense."
Ye Ning nodded and put the ring into her pocket.
The scales and pearls that Xiluo Si gave her were still in her private waters. It seemed that she should have been released when she was kidnapped last time. They seemed to have a more sensitive sense of their own things.
Afterwards, Ye Ning told Hou Sen and He Yang about it directly.
There are no pure humans in the Xisha District and the Empire, and the pure humans in the Gaojiang District have extremely poor talents. Perhaps because of this reason, they don’t know much about these things.
But after Ye Ning expressed her guess, both of them broke out in cold sweats.
Hou Sen immediately called Ye Ning and said, "What they said is indeed consistent with our previous investigation results."
"They used to think it was the excessive pollutants in the air that caused pure humans to become sick and die early. So they tended to stay in the capital. If they're saying that someone is secretly harming pure humans with gifted abilities, then isn't your situation extremely dangerous right now?"
Ye Ning pondered and said, "There's a huge gap in physical fitness between pure humans and orcs. If someone wanted to do something, it would be very easy."
She could target everyone, from food and clothing to housing and transportation, just like she was spreading poisonous mushroom spores. She was facing powerful orcs at the time, but if it was a pure human, it would be even easier.
Hou Sen nodded. "I'll arrange for people to re-enforce all-around protection for your daily life. You should also be careful. If you notice anything amiss, be sure to tell us immediately."
Ye Ning is now directly exposed to the public like this, and it is not known whether it is a good thing or a bad thing.
What she eats, wears, and uses now are all daily purchases. Compared to those pure humans who like to customize their clothes, Ye Ning is a little safer, but only a little.
Hou Sen's face was filled with worry. Ye Ning comforted him gently, "It's okay. It's good if they come to me on their own initiative. Only when the problem is completely resolved can they have no worries."
The next day, Ye Ning gave all researchers a day off.
Everyone has been very busy during this period, and everyone is more nervous than the other, fearing that they will not do well in their debut.
But they actually did a good job, and the scripts they memorized over and over again came in handy.
And next we will plant a 10,000 square meter ecological restoration area, so we need to let them combine work and rest.
The soldiers also worked very hard. Ye Ning was also thoughtful enough to have someone prepare some edible plant leaves for the soldiers who came to help. Everyone was excited and moved after receiving them.
A soldier who had just received a leaf swallowed unconsciously, "I never thought that one day in my life, I would be able to touch the leaves of an S-rank plant with my own hands!"
"Be careful not to break them. These are plants grown by Lord Ye Ning himself. They are said to have a very good purification effect." Another orc held the two leaves in his hands carefully, sacredly and reverently.
"We are so lucky to have a top-notch plant therapist like Master Ye Ning!"
The team leader looked at them and said, "Master Ye Ning said that these leaves must be eaten quickly after being picked. They will wilt in a few hours. Don't be reluctant to eat them, or you will waste Master Ye Ning's kindness later."
"Okay, okay, then I'll take it back and eat it with my family. They've never tasted what plants taste like!"
…
Someone took a photo of the plant's leaves and uploaded it to the internet, and everyone was envious. With so many people plucking two leaves each, that would mean plucking a lot of plants.
Before the people who arrived yesterday had even left, everyone involved quickly called in someone to discuss cooperation with the two districts. The specific details of the collaboration, such as the planting plan, expected results, duration, and method of cooperation, all needed to be finalized in writing.
The process was somewhat complicated, but fortunately they had arranged for someone to handle the coordination in advance.
The initial plan was for Ye Ning's research institute to provide professional technical support, solution design, and plant-related resources (seeds, seedlings, and various amendments). Of course, the other party could develop their own products, but Gaojiang District offered significant incentives, so they didn't need to waste time and energy on that.
The partner is mainly responsible for the specific implementation work and various daily management.
In addition, the two districts will directly divide an area from the research institute in Xisha District and set it up as a special place to provide necessary training for the partners.
Everyone is anxious, but we must eat one bite at a time. Only after completing all the preparatory work can we advance ecological development more quickly.
Moreover, Ye Ning did not force them to use her seeds, because anyone who had compared them would know that her seeds and the seedlings she cultivated were of the best quality.
However, although Ye Ning gave everyone a holiday, she still maintained the same schedule as usual.
In the morning, she took a special walk around the planting area and looked at the surrounding terrain.
The requirements for ecological restoration include two key concepts that are different from previous ones: landform shaping and water system guidance, and a clear system requirement to divide planting areas into zones with different functions.
Both of these requirements are actually quite complicated.
They had previously planted directly without having to worry too much about the terrain, as they had chosen flat sandy land without any high dunes or excessively low-lying terrain.
Furthermore, the previous requirement was to construct a water system, so they directly found a way to divert groundwater and then cover it with drip and sprinkler irrigation systems. However, water system guidance refers to the human planning and design to guide and adjust the existing water system. For example, building a river channel to change the flow of the river, or constructing reservoirs and levees.
In other words, they now have to find a way to create water bodies such as lakes, rivers, and swamps, and they also have to ensure that once this system is formed, the water cycle can proceed automatically.
It would have been difficult to do so in the Xisha region, which suffers from perennial drought, but now that it has climate control, it can rain every once in a while, making it easy to promote the water cycle.
Their area was on the edge of the Xisha Islands, close to the polluted area. The water system below seemed to be connected, but they were upstream.
Ye Ning took a quick look and then went back. A framework in mind would be enough; the specific details would have to wait until the researchers had gathered detailed data before they could design them.
That night, Ye Ning looked at the model of the Sea Dust Star in her mind again. The gray area of the restricted area had recently been a light grayish-white. This was a good thing, because the grayish-white color meant that the pollution concentration there was not high, and they didn't have to worry about the pollution tide for the time being.
It seems that since the last wave of pollution subsided, the pollution concentration in the restricted area is no longer gray and black. I don't know if it's the pesticides that are doing the trick.
Ye Ning looked at the small green dots again. Those small green dots were plants that had been selected by the plant care guide. But now there were only a few scattered dots.
When she had Long Qi plant the rockweed, she had placed a number of seeds and seedlings. Some time ago, they had sprouted, but within a few days, they were eaten by pollutants. The intermediate-grade insecticide wasn't strong enough.
The few remaining seedlings survived because they landed in a swamp, but the swamp environment was not suitable for their growth, so it was unknown how much longer they could survive.
But now she has a larger planting area, and seed production has been increasing rapidly at a steady rate.
The next time there's a wave of pollution, she'll just spread more seeds and seedlings.
Another day passed, and in the morning, people in the institute were holding a meeting.
Ye Ning took the opportunity to tell the professors and researchers in the institute that she was planning to expand the planting area to 10,000 square meters.
Compared to the previous shock, everyone was more excited and looking forward to it.
The current planting area has actually expanded to 4,000 square meters, but the outermost area hasn't been expanded for very long, and the plants are still in their twitching seedling stage. Furthermore, this planting area no longer requires much daily management, as the ecosystem within it is already functioning, so they focus more on data observation and machine maintenance.
Now Ye Ning plans to build another 10,000 square meters. This is not only a huge leap in planting area, but also means that they will start from scratch, and personally shape and witness a more grand ecological miracle.
Everyone was discussing excitedly below, and Ye Ning continued, "However, we may not have enough manpower right now, so before implementing the specific plan, we can start collecting information. Once the information is collected, the planting plan is designed, and the new people are in place, we can start the specific implementation."
Now they have to manage the growing room, the growing area, and send people to research relevant ecological courses to promote ecological education in schools. All aspects require people, so they are obviously short of staff.
Ye Ning put the expansion matter on hold for the time being. If the recruitment here could be fast enough, the required personnel should be able to be added within a week.
The researchers nodded. There were only a dozen or so people here. Although they were primarily researching ecological restoration, and there were other researchers in the planting room, it was still too few people.
They are now studying the data of the Arctic Region. The data of the Arctic Region is still under investigation. Once they finish their investigation, they will start the ecological restoration project in the Arctic Region.
There is also the ecological restoration of the Central Asian continent that Ye Ning first promised yesterday. The climate in that area is suitable, and Ye Ning also thinks it should be put on the agenda as soon as possible.
So even with more than a dozen people, no matter how we distribute them, it will never be enough.
The Propaganda Department and Ye Ning discussed it.
At noon that day, Ye Ning’s personal account and the official account of Xisha District jointly announced the next plans for the planting area.
Ye Ning's post was very simple. She posted a sketch of a 10,000 square meter area with a few simple lines and the word "plan" written on it, and then added the text "Everyone come and plant with me~"
However, the one released by the Xisha District is very official.
"Life never ceases, and hope never dies. Starting today, the 'Wanping Ecological Restoration Plan', led by Lord Ye Ning, will officially launch. We sincerely invite all citizens of Sea Dust Planet to pay attention to and support this plan, and contribute to ecological protection. We look forward to witnessing the green miracle of Sea Dust Planet with you!"
It instantly caused heated discussion online.
"I'm not seeing things, am I? My eyes aren't blurry or there's double vision, am I? Can someone help me count how many zeros there are after this?"
"Four zeros, that's 10,000 square meters! Ah! There were already 4,000 square meters, and now they want to add another 10,000 square meters! Why is Xisha District so lucky! Is it too late for me to move to Xisha District now?"
"I've been in Xisha District these past few days and bought a house there yesterday. Luckily, I bought it quickly. Once this plan came out today, the price would definitely have gone up."
"Damn, how come you all are so prescient!"
"Xisha District is really good now. The schools have been renovated, and the teachers are being personally trained by Gaojiang District. I also heard that Master Ye Ning pays great attention to the young cubs. Not only did she arrange good teachers for them, she also had Gaojiang District open the library to them for free. She even used to secretly send them mint water."
…
Ye Ning talked to everyone about the next plan, and after that, she received the interview questions.
The time for answering is 45 minutes. At that time, the online interview will enable biometric recognition and eye tracking to ensure that no other people appear in the range to avoid cheating in the exam.
Moreover, there are three rounds of interviews in total.
The first round focused on basic skills. Besides professional knowledge, they also included questions testing logical thinking, analytical decision-making, common sense, and interpersonal skills. After the first round, all candidates were ranked according to their scores, and the top 500 were selected.
The second round focuses on professional expertise. Through case analysis, practical exercises, and teamwork, candidates' professional knowledge, problem-solving skills, and teamwork abilities will be assessed. This round will select the top 150 candidates with the highest overall scores. The top 50 will be directly hired, while the remaining candidates will proceed to the third round of interviews.
In the third and final round, they will arrange one-on-one interviews and finally select 100 people.
Ye Ning didn’t know what they were going to talk about, the professors would arrange it.
But the most striking thing about this interview was that there were no restrictions. Regardless of age, gender, educational background, or work experience, as long as you passed the exam, you could directly join Ye Ning's team.
Many people are worried about what to do if there are rebels here.
Ye Ning was quite open-minded. If the rebels wanted to disguise themselves, they had a hundred ways to conceal their identities. Even someone like Bai Qing, who had lived in Gaojiang District for over a decade, could be a rebel, let alone others.
Therefore, even if they tried every possible means to find a so-called researcher with a clean identity, they would not necessarily be able to prevent such a thing from happening.
It's better to cast a wide net, as long as it helps ecological restoration. If something goes wrong, she will just replace the person.
She had never used the chili powder in her ring, and she didn't know if it was really as scary as described.
Furthermore, anyone who made it through three interviews must possess exceptional talent and accomplishments in plant research. Given the current situation on Sea Dust Star, the conditions and treatment she offered were definitely the best on the planet.
A research institute that can meet all the research requirements of researchers, she who can provide them with any plant, and all kinds of glory and opportunities to realize the value of life at their fingertips...
Under such circumstances, they were still able to betray her for the rebels. They must be out of their minds.
After Ye Ning randomly selected the questions, she added two new questions.
"Water system guidance is a key component of ecological restoration. What measures will you take to restore and optimize the water cycle in the Xisha region's planted areas? How can you ensure these measures meet the needs of the ecosystem while also addressing future climate change in the region?"
How would you design corresponding protection measures for ecologically sensitive areas or sparse animal and plant habitats that may exist within the planting area?
These were the key points she needed to focus on during this mission. If someone could answer them well, it would save them a lot of effort later. Even if they couldn't, more ideas would be helpful.
Gaojiang District released the exam materials the same day Ye Ning said the online written exam was taking place. However, the amount of material was so vast that even without food or water, it would be difficult to review it all in three days.
Therefore, if someone can learn all the materials in these three days and pass the exam successfully, they must be a genius!
Capital District.
Hu Xin and Ye Nan, as well as Professor Shi Conghe who participated in the visit day, were discussing the situation in the Xisha District with Xiru, the mayor of the Capital District.
On the table, there is a pot of flowering spider plant and a pot of blooming peony.
Both have bright, lustrous green leaves. Chlorophytum's flowers are small, delicate, and have a delicate fragrance. Peonies have large, showy flowers with layers of petals, creating a luxurious look and a rich, fragrant aroma.
"Although we didn't see how she grew the plants, the fact that she was able to grow such mature plants in three days is enough to prove how terrifying her talent is."
"Yes, this is definitely not something that can be achieved with the help of things like Originium or Green Song Stone. The number of plants she has grown by herself may be more than that grown by hundreds of pure humans together."
"She is also humble and kind, yet very opinionated and decisive. Given time, she will surely have a strong appeal."
"With her behind Gaojiang District and Xisha District, I'm afraid the Capital District has no chance of surpassing them."
"The Capital District's previous attempt to portray her as a Ye family cub seems to have left her with a negative impression of the district. We told her about her innate abilities this time, and I wonder if we can regain some of her favor."
…
The professor from the research institute also said, "District Head, now all districts are scrambling to discuss cooperation with Lord Ye Ning. If the Capital District doesn't seize the time, I'm afraid that by then it won't just lag behind Xisha District and Gaojiang District."
Xiru also watched the live broadcast. He pondered for a moment, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. "Gu Yu is still in Xisha District. Gu Su, go contact him first."
"The institute will send someone to contact those around her again, and I will personally communicate with the mayor of Xisha District."
Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After the meeting, Shi Cong picked up the two pots of plants and picked up his own peony.
A middle-aged man looked at him in surprise, "What are you holding it for?"
Shi Cong also looked over and said, "Take it home."
"Take it home? You—"
The professor quickly said, "Admiral, Shi Cong got the spot on his own, without asking for help from anyone else."
The dean also looked over and said, "You guys go out."
"Yes." The professor quickly pulled Shi Cong out.
The pot of spider plant that the professor brought back was left in the conference room.
There was no way. He got the admission ticket as a team this time, unlike Shi Cong, who got the spot based on his own ability.
After the two came out, the professor looked at the peony in his arms with envy, "If a peony is well cared for, it can live for dozens or even hundreds of years. Lord Ye Ning's peony is very well cared for."
Shi Cong nodded. It was also the first time he saw peonies in full bloom.
Moreover, peony is a bisexual flower and can self-pollinate. If handled properly, a pot of peonies like this can produce a lot of seeds.
"When the seeds are harvested, I'll give you a few."
"Okay, okay. Thank you in advance." The professor was very happy.
He looked at Shi Cong and said, "With your ability, passing the interview won't be a problem. Your future achievements will definitely far surpass ours." The professor sighed, "I'm old and my family is here, otherwise I would definitely give it a try."
In the conference room, only Xiru and a few middle-aged men were left.
Everyone looked at the pot of spider plant on the table and couldn't let it go.
"Lord Ye Ning has such a high talent. If he can really make Sea Dust Planet covered with plants, then Sea Dust Planet will be saved."
The dean whispered, "District Head, the resources needed over there..."
"Let's contact Xisha District first."
*
On the third day after the visiting day, the online exam started on time.
It happened to be the weekend, so everyone was free. Those who didn't have time also took leave in advance to free up their time.
People in related fields knew one thing: if they wanted to continue to develop, they had to establish a connection with Ye Ning. Joining her research institute was the best way to quickly establish a connection with her.
Therefore, the research institutes, large consortiums, and families in various regions not only did not prevent their people from participating in this interview, but also made time for them and provided various conveniences. Many research institutes even organized relevant training in advance. Because everyone hoped that their people would be able to join Ye Ning's team smoothly.
When the time came, Hou Lin and Le Song also clicked in excitedly.
The first part was multiple-choice questions, and they could still choose one with a vague understanding. But when the essay questions came out, the two of them were confused.
Hou Lin scratched his head and looked at it for a long time, but he didn't know what to write. He felt like he had racked his brains but his mind was still empty.
He couldn't help but looked up at Le Song, "Will you——"
"The system determined that you were communicating with others, and the test results have been invalidated."
Hou Lin: ...
Le Song looked up and said, "I can't."
Both of them were directly ejected from the examination system.
Le Song turned around and looked at Ye Ning pitifully, "Ye Ning, it's so difficult."
Ye Ning nodded, "It's not difficult to select the best 100 people."
Hou Lin searched online and found that many people, like them, had been stuck in the exam early and were frantically discussing the exam content online.
“Why do these questions look so simple, but are so difficult to do?”
"Yeah, not only can I not answer the plant questions, I can't even answer the common sense and thinking questions. I just checked, and out of 10 multiple-choice questions, I think I only guessed one correctly."
"Hahahaha, I chose C for all four!"
"What's the point of guessing a few correctly? Wait and see how many points the big guys can get!"
They directly use system and manual grading. The total score is 100 points. Only those with a total score of 70 or above from the system will enter the manual grading stage.
So there are actually not many test papers that need to be corrected.
Moreover, the same question will be graded by 2-3 professors together, which can ensure fairness to the greatest extent.
Ye Ning was also pulled to look at the test paper, mainly looking at the two questions she had set.
Everyone's writing was varied, but all quite interesting. Ye Ning read through them carefully.
However, perhaps because they can only see data and lack practical experience, there are more or less some problems.
Ye Ning picked out the ones she thought were the best and wrote them down.
If they go back and follow the instructions given by the other party, they must give the other party a thank you gift.
The test papers of the top 500 students were soon produced after they worked overtime to mark them.
The published list did not contain any names, only numbers and scores.
"Holy crap! The guy who got first place actually got 98 points! Is he still human?"
"Look at the last one! Even the last one got 87 points. It's such a difficult test, and yet there are 500 people on Sea Dust Star who can get such a high score!"
"Didn't a big shot anonymously say before that the hardest part isn't the difficulty of the exam, but competing with all the big shots."
"Come to think of it, the usual exams are either restricted to certain areas or to certain academic qualifications. Lord Ye Ning has not restricted anything this time, so it's like a global joint exam. Maybe people from the rebel army and the Wandering Orc Alliance will also come to participate."
"It turns out there are still many talented people on the Sea Dust Planet. They just kept it quiet and didn't let us know before."
…
Ye Ning and the professors at the institute were very satisfied with this score, which was among the top 500, proving that they had a solid foundation of basic knowledge in related fields.
The second round of interviews then began in full swing.
The second round of interviews will be conducted in the game "Source of Life".
500 people will be randomly matched into groups of 10, 15, and 20 people.
Interviewers can earn individual points by completing individual goals, and team points by completing common goals. Team points will be used as a basis for evaluating teamwork and leadership skills. After each task, team members will anonymously evaluate each other.
At the same time, the more difficult the task, the more points you will get.
The entire process will be divided into multiple stages, and after each stage, the candidates will be ranked and eliminated based on their individual and team scores. Finally, the top 150 outstanding interviewees will be selected based on their individual and team scores.
The competition process will be broadcast live on the entire network, and everyone's discussions and planting solutions will also be recorded.
But all accounts, IPs and voices will be anonymous, so it is still difficult to tell who is who.
This was also proposed by Ye Ning. They will also randomly add various human-computer players to cause trouble.
Because in fact, those who can pass the written test have solid knowledge.
So what she wants to find now is someone who has the ability to go to other places on Haichen Star and lead everyone in ecological construction.
This requires certain leadership, teamwork and problem-solving abilities.
The entire game process is divided into three days, including preliminaries, semi-finals, and finals.
In fact, all tasks are quite random because they are randomly combined by the system.
In addition to ecological restoration in common terrains, there are also challenges in ecological restoration in various extreme environments, such as volcanic ash-covered areas and responding to glacier melt; or restoration of special ecosystems, such as wetland reconstruction and ecological restoration after forest fires.
There are also natural disaster simulations and alien species invasions, as well as ecotourism and green agriculture.
The random matching mode is really too random, but Ye Ning thinks it is quite interesting.
And there were bots inside. Ye Ning simply asked them to give her a bot account and matched herself with it anonymously.
Coincidentally, the mission she was randomly matched with was the volcanic ash-covered area.
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