Someone shouted, and everyone started asking.
"Yes, yes. Eat it. This thing is edible."
Just this one sentence immediately boosted everyone's enthusiasm.
…
After dinner, most people were called out by Professor Yang to act like mushroom picking girls, using all kinds of tools.
After Xu Xuening cleaned the tools she needed, she watched Professor Yang's work with great interest.
"Previous work has been collecting various materials. These are the materials we need for our experiments. If we can find similar plants, we'll have an easier time getting through this year."
Professor Yang said with concern.
Xu Xuening nodded in agreement. Six months after the apocalypse, with no evolved humans left, survival for ordinary people was incredibly difficult. Food was scarce, morale was waning, the zombies were constantly increasing, and the human population was constantly decreasing. Every day seemed filled with nothing but despair.
She sat down, opened the plant dictionary, and slowly flipped through the pictures on it.
These tens of thousands of plant species are said to represent only the possible populations of the area within a generation. Some are common, while others may have already vanished. For example, a particular fungus, said to be of great medicinal value locally, only appears for a brief hour after rain. Afterward, it vanishes without a trace.
Xu Xuening watched as Professor Yang found another mutated plant, but that plant seemed to be able to be used as a mobile water bag.
When the fruit of the plant was pulled off, streams of water gushed out from it, as if someone had opened a drinking water pipe.
"That's great! This plant has an extraordinary water storage capacity!" the nearly balding experimenter nearby exclaimed happily. "It's amazing that it can survive so tenaciously in this desert. It can definitely improve the current desert situation."
"Don't be so happy. Don't forget that this landform itself is a unique environment. Whether these mutated plants can truly impact the environment outside remains to be seen. Also, as scientists, don't forget that introducing new plants into an ecosystem without natural enemies may bring far more disadvantages than benefits."
Professor Yang carefully reminded everyone around him.
"Comrade Captain, please remind everyone not to carry plants with them when returning. This could cause even greater problems for our environment."
The tall captain nodded.
…
After Xu Xuening finished her work, she sat down on the floor and started reading a thick plant dictionary. She had a cup of coffee beside her.
This place is almost completely surrounded by plants, preventing them from getting close, but the desert also cannot expand. A strange living environment has formed between the two.
Xu Xuening then flipped through the pages, looking at the countless plants, marveling at the wonder and power of the Creator. It was amazing that so many species could coexist in the same forest, most of which had lived for tens of millions of years.
Compared with humans, they exist in this universe for a longer time, and even longer than human life.
These thousands and thousands of species of plants have created a magical world that cannot be seen by human eyes, but it is even more magical.
She sighed once more, and could not help but close her eyes, quietly taking in all the movements around her. Ever since entering this magical desert, the crazy plants outside seemed to have stopped.
There was no more entangled hostility, nor that sense of tit-for-tat crisis, as if they were coexisting peacefully as before.
That feeling is like running water flowing slowly across the earth in spring, slowly reviving all living things and evoking a hint of vitality.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled the dirty air that had settled in her lungs.
A sweet scent slowly drifted into her nose, but it had a strange smell. It didn't smell like the fragrance of plants, nor was it any kind of flower scent.
Xu Xuening opened her eyes and looked around.
No one approached her. Everyone was busy, either guarding the area or working in the fields with the professor.
So... where does this fragrance come from?
The smell was said to be fragrant, but it gave Xu Xuening a familiar feeling.
A very bad feeling.
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