"Buzz buzz buzz..."
"Buzzing..."
The scorpion robot ran on the uneven rubble, its bionic mechanical tail tip emitting beams of pale blue laser light. With the sound of the tracks moving, one mutated banana after another fell over.
The mutated bananas grow on the ground, resembling more of aliases than fruits. The robots, with their clearly defined roles and seamless teamwork, harvest the ripe mutated bananas sequentially, from individual points to the surrounding area.
The team members stood guard, responsible for eliminating the mutated cockroaches that might dart out from the corners at any moment—these dirty, dark creatures sometimes preyed on the robots.
The team members, now with their hands free, began chatting idly.
"Good heavens, I can't even remember the last time I ate fruit."
"Some bananas aren't ripe yet. It would be great if we could harvest them every now and then."
"What a pipe dream! Captain Lan has announced that the thirteen teams will take turns harvesting the bananas in this grove."
A female team member who was clearing away the vines stared wide-eyed: "No way, the people at the agricultural base are willing to do that? A single mutated apple costs two hundred crystal cores on the black market—"
The team member who spoke first chuckled and said:
"So what if they don't want to? If they're so capable, they can go into the infected area to collect the harvest themselves. We can't work ourselves to death while they get the lion's share, can we? They keep calling themselves 'new humans' all the time, and they're as arrogant as if they're living in the sky! I just don't understand, their parents are like ordinary people, what a bunch of bastards."
This statement immediately drew a lot of agreement:
"Exactly, they treat people differently every day, and they even divide them into inner and outer districts, as if millions of ordinary people should just give up and go find a place to slit their own throats."
"Every family has elderly and young members. My mother is over sixty years old. Are we really going to gamble that an elderly person will evolve after being bitten by a zombie? Isn't that pure nonsense?"
“That’s right. My daughter is only nine years old this year. We’re so protective of her that we’re afraid she’ll break if we hold her in our hands or melt if we keep her in our mouths. The whole family is afraid to let her get vaccinated, for fear that she won’t make it through.”
The female team member nodded, then suddenly sighed:
"Looking back now, it's actually quite good. The probability of evolution is just too small. I only have this one daughter. I'll raise her until she's sixteen and let her find a way to make a living at the base. In this day and age, who dares to say they can die of old age?"
The atmosphere became somewhat oppressive for a moment, but in the end, Dingxiang couldn't stand it anymore, so she came over with a cigarette in her mouth and started yelling at people:
"Are you all here cursing yourselves with long faces? I snagged this lucrative harvesting job first, so why are you all getting all emotional? You can't hold two ounces of sesame oil in your stomach, can you? If you can't do it, get out!"
He paused for a moment, then glanced at Xu Milu in the corner, seemingly unintentionally:
"Captain Lan said that after handing over the bananas to the base, half of the remaining bananas will be distributed by the community to each household according to their contribution value. As for the rest... the squad leaders can distribute them as they see fit!"
"Oh oh oh oh!"
"Wow! Captain Blue is awesome!"
"Holy crap! Holy crap! The captain's awesome!"
The group became excited, their faces beaming with pride as they spoke of their captain, Na Lan. Turning back to work, they practically wanted to tear the robot apart and do it themselves.
Just kidding, all these bananas will eventually end up in their hands!
Is working for someone else the same as working for yourself?!
The group was having a blast, and the sound of laser guns never stopped. They were practically digging up all the mutated cockroaches that were getting in the way of the robots' harvesting.
—If it weren't for the fact that this banana grove was the shared property of all thirteen teams, Xu Milu suspected they would have uprooted all the unripe bananas.
She remained silent, using a stick to part the banana vines entwined around the brick fragments, secretly noting down the information revealed in their conversation.
It is known that the new humans at Hope Base are currently divided into two factions: one is the "new human faction" led by the base's agricultural science base, and the other is the "evolution faction" led by Na Lan, the captain of the dispatch team.
The former group subtly suggests a tendency to exclude ordinary people and build new class barriers, while the latter group, which represents the majority of the dispatch team, believes that the changes they have undergone are simply an evolution, and that the rights of ordinary people should be protected.
To be honest, Xu Milu admired Na Lan's approach more. Although they had never met, it didn't stop her from developing a good impression of her.
Just from the way she distributed these bananas, it can be seen that, firstly, she used a small portion to bribe the higher-ups in the base, silencing them and making the base turn a blind eye to her subsequent distribution;
Secondly, the distribution of labor based on "households" in the community has secured the greatest possible benefits for ordinary people.
Thirdly, she used both kindness and force, ensuring that all thirteen teams under her command received a share of the pie, while also finding fault with them, thus forcing the thirteen teams to gravitate further towards her.
—You have to understand that the dispatch team members aren't stupid. They all know perfectly well that if these bananas were distributed directly by the base, they would most likely not end up in the hands of ordinary people, and the number they would actually receive would be very small.
Na Lan might offend the people at the agricultural science base, but she gained the support of most ordinary people at the base and the thirteen dispatch teams. Even if there were one or two people who disliked her, they would grit their teeth and accept it for the sake of their interests.
One can see the whole picture from a single glimpse; one can discern a person's character from just one incident.
"No wonder all the members of the dispatch team look at Na Lan with admiration. She is smart and resourceful, has her own principles and can manage her subordinates. She takes into account the interests of ordinary people while protecting her own reputation and does not give the base's higher-ups a chance to hold her accountable."
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
