Harvest
"Found it!" Zuo Hao's excited voice rang out, pointing to a small table near the window: "Over there."
Everyone followed his gaze and found a small transparent box, long and rectangular, with something inside.
Due to the limited range of the emergency light source, it is impossible to see the details inside.
Zuo Hao was the closest and was about to run over when he heard a "clang" sound and the window shattered. A dark arm wrapped in tattered cloth stretched out from outside.
"Fuck!" Zuo Hao ran over quickly and pressed his hand on the box on the small table.
I pressed an empty button.
The arm that stretched out from outside was a second faster and grabbed the box in its hand.
With a crisp sound, the damaged area of the window became much larger, and most of the body of a rotten man fell into everyone's sight.
Zuo Hao continued to stretch his hand forward, trying to snatch the box from the corrupt man, but was grabbed by Ling Shi: "Are you trying to kill yourself?"
I saw the corrupt man outside the window exerting force with his palm, and with a snap, he crushed the box.
The thing inside showed its origin, and it was indeed a complete ginseng with a beard.
Zuo Hao punched the table: "You son of a bitch, you stole my things!"
He was like a bear trapped in a cage, watching the "monsters" outside snatch away his most precious treasures, but he was powerless to do anything and had no idea where to start.
The White Eagles were unable to fully exert their fighting power through a broken window. They could only watch helplessly as the corrupted man outside the window stuffed the ginseng into his mouth and began to chew it.
Suddenly, the aroma of ginseng wafted in from the broken hole in the window, rich and tempting.
Zuo Hao was so angry that he turned around and left.
This was his first time accomplishing such a feat! It was his first chance to prove himself capable! He was just a split second away... and then he watched the duck fly away. He was so angry he almost cried!
The corrupt man was chewing ginseng while staring at Ling Shi in the window, making a humming sound in his throat, as if to provoke him.
Ling Shi stood not too far from the window, observing the corrupt man.
After it finished eating and swallowing it all, in just ten seconds, its eyeballs gradually began to turn red, and its skin seemed to be swelling... The rotten man began to feel hot and restless, pacing back and forth on the spot, roaring softly, as if he had swallowed a fire and his whole body was about to explode.
After about a minute, the corrupt man's eyes briefly brightened, and he seemed to have regained a bit of consciousness.
It punched the wall and let out a deafening roar from its throat. The sound was full of energy and very loud.
It made a big hole in the wall, and brick fragments fell down with a rustling sound.
The ginseng clearly worked.
Ling Shi couldn't help but take two steps forward, wanting to observe the changes in the corrupt man more carefully.
I want to know whether there are any unpredictable dangers in the process of evolution.
"What are you doing?" Lu Tingxiao grabbed his arm and said, "A layer of broken glass can't stop a mad corrupt person. Stop looking and retreat."
Ling Shi was about to object, but then he heard Lu Tingxiao say, "This is an order."
He was stunned, nodded, and immediately turned around and retreated.
At least, we know that this nutritional supplement does exist and does have the effect of accelerating evolution.
That's enough.
As for the rest, it won’t be too late to study it slowly in the base laboratory.
Everyone retreated to the corridor outside the office and, following Lu Tingxiao's instructions, did not go back but continued forward and evacuated from the stairs on the other side.
Zuo Hao was still cursing as he walked, feeling indignant that the corrupt people had stolen his ginseng.
After scolding him for a while, Chu Yi suddenly patted him and said, "Hey, it's just a ginseng, don't be sad."
Zuo Hao was stunned for a moment, then reacted excitedly: "Just one ginseng root? Just that?"
"I've never even tasted sliced ginseng for tea in my life! Not to mention that it was smoked in the research institute! It's a magical medicine for evolution!"
"Ah? You've never tried ginseng slices?" Chu Yi's emphasis was a little off: "Dude, you're in trouble."
Makino couldn't help but say, "Who would drink ginseng slices if they have nothing to do as a twenty-year-old boy?"
"Chu Yi, you're just a prodigal son. You're spoiled by your mother, but you treat this valuable thing like a carrot. No wonder you were so angry every day."
Chu Yi waved his hand: "Okay, brother, I understand."
"When I get back to the base, I'll ask my mom to bring me a ginseng root as thick as my wrist. I'll chop it up and we'll make dumplings."
These "big words" shocked many people.
Peng Gaoxuan couldn't help but touch Xiang Chongyi and said, "Hey, does your Xiang family have the habit of making dumplings with ginseng?"
Before Xiang Chongyi could answer, Yi Yan laughed and said, "Have you ever seen anyone make dumplings with ginseng? How could they taste good?"
"Hey, that little girl!" Chu Yi obviously heard it and said dissatisfiedly: "Are you laughing at me? Are you laughing at my wealth or my country?"
Before Yi Yan could answer, Peng Gaoxuan complained: "Who are you calling a little girl?!"
This was the first time this mixed-group team went on a mission, and the conversation was chaotic and the conflict was about to escalate.
"Wait." Zuo Hao suddenly shouted, interrupting everyone's voice.
He suddenly lay down on a small door on the left and looked inside through the palm-sized air vent on the door.
The marching team stopped.
"What's wrong?" Lu Tingxiao, who was in charge of the rearguard, walked up behind him and asked, "What did you find?"
Zuo Hao turned his head, his face filled with uncontrollable excitement, and pointed at the door and said, "Babies! A room full of babies!"
What treasure?
Lu Tingxiao took a closer look, took two steps back, and said to Ma Minghong, "Score."
Ma Minghong and Qiu Bao stood still, one on the left and one on the right. They kicked out simultaneously. With a loud bang, the small door creaked and fell down.
This group of curious young people moved quickly and swarmed in.
"What is this place? It's so dusty."
"The utility room, look at the mop over there."
"Where is the treasure? Zuo Hao must be blind."
"Hey! Even if I'm blind, can Captain Lu be blind? He ordered the goal to be broken."
“Yes…”
"Look! What's in that cabinet?"
Following these words, everyone rushed to the cabinet where the sundries were stored and opened the door.
In an instant, the room was quiet.
Everyone held their breath, staring at the things in the cabinet without blinking, not even hearing the sound of breathing.
Ling Shi and Lu Tingxiao were the only two people standing at the door and not going in, chatting.
Ling Shi: "Did you see clearly what it was?"
Lu Tingxiao: "Yeah."
After several seconds——
"Holy crap! I'm rich!"
"Fuck! I didn't see it wrong! Quick, pinch me. Ah—it hurts! Be gentler!"
"What are you waiting for? Hurry and start moving!"
"Yes, yes, move them all out!"
"Don't leave any behind!"
Ling Shi: "What is it?"
Lu Tingxiao: "These are the nutritional supplements that Zuo Hao can't let go of."
Ling Shi: "Ginseng?"
Lu Tingxiao: "Not only that. There are also bird's nest, sea cucumber, donkey-hide gelatin, Ganoderma lucidum and so on."
Ling Shi: "So many?"
Lu Tingxiao: "Yeah."
At this moment, Zuo Hao took off his shirt, grabbed a bunch of boxes from the cabinet, and laughed wildly: "Hahahaha! I'm rich!"
"Chu Yi, let's go back and chop the ginseng into small pieces! Let's make dumplings!"
Chu Yi chimed in, "Okay! Let's make some fried sea cucumber with ganoderma lucidum and bird's nest stewed with donkey-hide gelatin!"
Ling Shi shook his head.
These young guys are really crazy.
China's most elite and stylish team instantly turned into a team of nouveau riche.
Almost everyone returned with a full load. A few who were relatively reserved took a few boxes of nutritional supplements and stuffed them in their pockets; some filled their arms with them. The most exaggerated were Zuo Hao and Chu Yi, who took off their shirts and stuffed their entire pockets with them.
Everyone cleared out the two man-high cabinets in the utility room, and after a long while of making sure that nothing was left out, they walked out with a sense of unsatisfied satisfaction.
It just so happened that Zuo Hao and Chu Yi were leading the charge with their clothes in their pockets.
Both of them were shirtless, one with muscles developed from Taekwondo, the other with muscles trained in the army. They each squeezed their biceps, engaging in a very childish and silent contest with no one watching.
After taking two steps, Zuo Hao turned around and asked, "That's not right. I'm a poor kid, and I'm jealous of these treasures. You're a rich guy, why are you so excited?"
Chu Yi tsk-tsks, "You don't understand this! From my grandfather's generation, three generations of grandparents and grandchildren have all been obsessed with money. If they didn't love money so much, how could they become so rich, right?"
Zuo Hao thought about it. It seemed to make sense.
Everyone walked out happily, and Lu Tingxiao was like a sheepdog, driving the flock of sheep out.
Ma Minghong held a rocket launcher in one hand, his trouser pockets filled with nutrition. "Captain Lu, we didn't find anything. Should we go back to base?"
Lu Tingxiao shook his head: "No. There's another place to go."
After saying that, he turned his head and asked Ling Shi, "If you can only accomplish one goal in this mission, what do you want most?"
Ling Shi frowned and thought.
"Dragon Horn?" Lu Tingxiao asked, "Or complete and detailed research data?"
Ling Shi thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "What I want to know most is which countries participated in the international negotiations and obtained the dragon horn remains."
"I asked Uncle Yu before, but he wasn't the one representing China at the time, so even he didn't know."
Lu Tingxiao nodded: "Okay, I understand."
When everyone retreated outside the research institute, many corrupt people from nearby surrounded the place.
Ma Minghong and the other three, holding rocket launchers, also stood in front of the team to clear the way.
Boom—boom—
The fierce flames quickly cleared a path for them.
Fortunately, no more second-level corrupt people appeared.
Only after everyone boarded the plane again did Ma Minghong ask, "Team Lu, where is our next destination?"
Lu Tingxiao: "Back then, a researcher once suggested sending documents and a box related to the Dragon Horn to the President's Secretary's Office."
"So, if we find anything on this trip, it's definitely in the—the City Hall."
The city of Newk is not very big. Although the location of the institute is remote, it is only about ten kilometers away from the municipal building in the city center.
The plane did not take off, Makino drove directly over it on the ground.
When they were only 300 meters away from the municipal building, Makino slowly stopped the plane.
Looking out through the porthole in the cabin, not only are the number and density of the corrupted people here greater than that of the research institute, but the most terrible thing is that at the gate of the municipal building, there are dozens of second-level corrupted people who are so clean that they seem to still have a trace of consciousness left.
They gathered together, standing in twos and threes, blocking the only way to the municipal building.
Lu Tingxiao frowned and stared at those corrupt people without saying a word.
Ling Shi thought about it for a long time but couldn't think of a good solution.
With their current strength, they are simply unable to get through the "defense" of these corrupt people.
The captain's cabin broadcast: "Road team, road team, there are Level 2 Corrupted people blocking the road ahead, and we can't pass. Should we continue to force our way forward? Please give instructions."
Lu Tingxiao had a blank expression on his face: "I'm not leaving. Let's find a place to rest first. Let's discuss the next strategy."
The plane started up again and retreated backward, gradually moving away from the municipal building.
Strangely enough, once they were far away from here, the streets were often empty, with few corrupt people around, which made their journey very safe.
The plane flew for about ten minutes and stopped in a residential area not far away.
Lu Tingxiao told everyone to pack up their equipment, get off the plane, and walk into the community.
The apartments in this community are all two-bedroom.
After everyone discussed it, they decided that this place was relatively safe and a group of grown men didn't want to squeeze together, so they simply assigned two people to one house, each with a separate bedroom.
Because there were so many people, they found two adjacent floors, a total of eight households, to accommodate everyone.
Naturally, as per convention, Ling Shi and Lu Tingxiao lived together.
Makino and Chu Yi found the main power switch and connected the emergency power supply. This way, they could enjoy modern electrical appliances without any obstacles, just like before the apocalypse.
Once everything was arranged, everyone else left.
As soon as the door was closed, Ling Shi and Lu Tingxiao sat in the living room to discuss countermeasures.
Lu Tingxiao: "With so many second-level corrupt people...it's not easy to deal with."
Ling Shi nodded: "2-3 second-level ones are the limit of our current strength."
Lu Tingxiao suddenly asked: "What do you think about leveling up?"
Ling Shi was stunned: "Huh? You mean corrupt people..."
"No." Lu Tingxiao interrupted: "I said...we."
We, upgrade?
Ling Shi immediately understood Lu Tingxiao's idea: "You want to use those nutritional supplements?"
Lu Tingxiao nodded: "Yes."
Ling Shi frowned and didn't let go.
He knew that among all the people here, he was the only one who could make this judgment.
As long as he doesn't agree, Lu Tingxiao won't try it easily.
Ling Shi had some guesses about the white mice in the M country experiment.
Why do so many volunteers fail without exception, while fragile lives like mice can survive?
It's not just that the manic cells have become milder.
A more plausible explanation is that the supplements the mice took were different from the single thymocytes injected into the volunteers. When exposed to air, the supplements absorbed not only the thymocytes but also the thymocytes.
The reason why the mice evolved smoothly was that they took these two cells at the same time.
Just like humans who evolved naturally after being exposed to the air after the apocalypse.
Cryptogenic cells have an inhibitory or managerial effect on exogenous cells.
That’s not all.
After the Dragon Warrior was injured by the Corrupted Man, the visible cell data increased sharply. At this time, despite the "management" of the hidden cells, there is still the possibility of corruption.
Ling Shi guessed that this was related to the number of hidden cells in their bodies.
The higher the cryptocyte count, the safer the person is.
The concentration of phantom cells in Lu Tingxiao's body is 4%, and the concentration of visible cells is 38%.
He encountered the danger of corruption several times. Sometimes, it was because he overused his abilities, which caused his nether cells to decrease; sometimes, it was because he was bitten by a corrupted person, which caused his visible cells to increase.
Ling Shi guessed that the safety threshold between the two types of cells was 1 to 10.
Once this number is exceeded, the hidden cells, or psoralens, can no longer control the surging visible cells. The excess cells break free and invade the brain, causing permanent and irreversible damage and decay.
According to this theory, there should be no danger for them to take nutritional supplements and ingest both visible and hidden cells.
Besides, the corrupt man outside the window today ate a whole ginseng in one breath and did not explode and die.
Even if they take a step back, they can still induce vomiting.
Ling Shi nodded: "Let's try it."
There is no other way.
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