Chapter 55 Initial Elements
"Ding, it is detected that the host has collected two farm evolution elements, which meets the requirements. Do you want to accept the farm space growth task? Yes/No."
The prompt on the light screen floated in front of Gu Nian.
Gu Nian chose yes.
"Host, please collect [initial elements] from the real world and put them into the farm space to assist the evolution of the farm space. Every time a certain amount of initial elements is accumulated, it can be exchanged for farm projection time.
Farm projection: Project the farm into the real space, and use all the functions of the farm in reality to merge the world fragments.
Gu Nian looked at the task carefully. This task was inexplicable. Collecting the initial elements? But it didn't even say what the initial elements were, how to collect them? And the reward was also inexplicable. Projecting the farm into the real world?
This function feels extremely useless, and it makes people have no urge to strive for it?
A column did appear on the system screen, listing the initial elements.
The first column says Earth Power, and the progress bar is full.
The second column says Water Power, and the progress bar is full.
The third column says Fire Vein Power, and the progress bar is half full.
There are some gray areas below, which appear to need to be unlocked.
Then the farm projection duration is displayed below: one day. There is a use button next to it.
Gu Nian was thinking, she had just obtained the farm space, the farmland was ready for use, and any plants could be planted, and the maturity speed was much faster than in the real world. It seemed that the farm already had the power of the earth veins. Yes, the thing that the farm had the most was land.
As for the power of water veins, it is probably one of the two elements that Gu Nian collected himself, that is, the spiritual spring.
The power of the fire vein is probably the finger bone fire in the small box. Speaking of which, as the fire drifted away, the finger bone also completely melted. However, this fire was not enough, and only half of the progress bar was filled.
As for the gray area, it is probably the elements other than earth, water and fire.
Although Gu Nian was also very curious about the effect of projecting the farm into reality, she couldn't try it rashly. What if she pressed the use button and a farm suddenly appeared in the real world? Wouldn't that be very strange?
However, is this function really as simple as just bringing a farm into reality?
Gu Nian carefully read the words on the light screen.
Farm projection: Project the farm into the real space, and use all the functions of the farm in reality to merge world fragments.
To fuse the world fragments? What does this mean? This sentence kept lingering in Gu Nian's mind.
Until Jingli also returned to Xuyuan.
Jingli looked pale and drained of energy.
"The test requires too much inspiration..." Jing Li said with a wry smile. "The test is not about divination skills, but whether you can see the secrets of heaven..."
Gu Nian patted his shoulder and said comfortingly: "It will be fine after the assessment is over."
She did not ask about the content of the assessment. According to the Jing family's regulations, this was absolutely confidential.
After Jingli finished his meal, he went back to his room and fell into a deep sleep. The assessment lasted for three days and it was still a long way from the end.
That night, Gu Nian did not sleep, but kept watch in the next bedroom.
The Jing family's inheritance is a bloody fight. Some people will obey the examination rules, but some will take other measures. Candidates are of course absolutely safe in the examination room, but it is not necessarily the case when they return to their respective courtyards.
When they woke up the next day, Gu Nian and Jing Li heard that the child of the main branch of the Jing family who lived in the Ganyuan, who was also considered a strong candidate for the next heir, was killed in the courtyard.
After Gu Nian learned about it, he was highly alert and simply took Jiuwei with him to pick up Jingli. He sent Jingli to Shengbaiyuan every day and picked him up after the exam. In terms of fighting power, Gu Nian was far superior to Jingli, not to mention that he had Jiuwei.
Three days passed like this, and the Jing family's successor assessment was finally over. There was no delay, and on the fourth day, the next successor was announced directly.
Jing Li's face was filled with confusion and disbelief: "Anian, it was me? Did they make a mistake?"
Gu Nian could fully understand Jing Li's feelings, and she patted his shoulder to comfort him. Perhaps for some of the children of the Jing family, of course they dream of becoming the heir of the Jing family. But for Jing Li, who just wanted to live a happy life, he wanted to go through the motions, but was suddenly chosen as the heir, and a lot of responsibilities and troubles fell from the sky. Gu Nian really understood this tangled and confused feeling - when Yue Jian told her that she was the ray of hope that the Jing family had been waiting for a thousand years, she felt the same way.
At this moment, the two of them were on the roof of the courtyard, lying on the tiles, looking at the artificial night sky in the underground city, feeling as relaxed as if they were back in their childhood.
Gu Nian asked: "What will you do next?"
Jing Li said: "According to tradition, I have to stay here and start the practice of succession - in fact, I have already received the first lesson of practice, working with the official personnel responsible for the exploitation of resources in the underground city to divine the underground water veins."
Gu Nian was stunned when he heard this and asked, "Didn't they say that Jiangcheng's groundwater is still sufficient? Do we need to explore it again?"
Jing Li said: "Of course, although there is plenty of groundwater, no one knows how long this disaster will last. For essential resources like water, the more the better."
"The Jing family has always had a close relationship with the government. The reason they were able to obtain such a large piece of land in the underground layer is also because of their deep connection with the government. Therefore, when the government needs them, the Jing family must also contribute. This is the awareness that the children of the Jing family must have. Although it is incredible to be chosen as the next head of the family, and I am not prepared at all, I can only bite the bullet and work hard anyway. After all, there are some responsibilities that cannot be avoided."
Gu Nian turned his head to look at Jing Li.
Under the starlight of the night sky, Jingli sounded unexpectedly mature when he said this.
Gu Nian sighed: "Ali, you have grown up."
"Of course, in the face of natural disasters, I have to learn to protect Grandpa, and I will even have to protect the Jing family in the future. Of course I will grow up." Jing Li shrugged. "It's okay if I don't have the ability, but if I do have it, it's really a scumbag to be irresponsible in such a natural disaster. Ah Nian, haven't you been protecting your pet all the time?"
Jingli has always felt that the combat power of Nine-Tailed Fox is similar to that of the mutant Samoyed, and as for Lotus, it is just a pure little cat that only eats and eats, so naturally he thinks that Gu Nian's protection and care for these two are purely for show.
After hearing Jing Li's words, Gu Nian seemed to be thinking about something.
Jing Li stayed in the Jing family to practice. After everything was settled, Gu Nian was also ready to leave the Jing family.
The short journey to the Jing family ended here, but Gu Nian felt that he seemed to have grown a lot in an instant.
When she left Jing's house, Yue Jian came to see her off. Dressed in modern clothes, he looked like a handsome young man, with no signs of death on his face.
Gu Nian asked hesitantly, "Is there any way I can help you stay alive?" Speaking of which, she and Yue Jian had dealt with each other several times before, and Yue Jian had kindly reminded her several times. No matter what, seeing an acquaintance die with her own eyes... Gu Nian always wanted to ask if there was anything she could do to help.
Yue Jian looked at her in surprise. He didn't expect that Gu Nian would pay attention to this. He smiled slightly: "Why did you think of asking this?"
"You said that if you figured it out, maybe I could bring a glimmer of hope to the natural disaster, but I have no idea at all." Gu Nian said frankly. If Yue Jian was right, then the first Jing Yue Jian died because of forced divination. Then, could it be that Yue Jian also died early in order to predict her? And she didn't even know where that glimmer of hope was?
Yue Jian suddenly realized something. He looked at Gu Nian seriously and said, "Fate will naturally guide you to find it. When that time comes, remember to ask me for help."
Yuejian raised his eyebrows, and a mischievous smile appeared on his usually handsome face. "What if I'm lucky enough to share in your good fortune of saving the world, and I can pay off my debt for always spying on the heavens?"
Gu Nian returned to his own villa and went to the Aurora factory from time to time to handle some work.
During the time she was at Jing's house, the temperature on the ground had quickly risen to 200 degrees. The authorities had issued a notice that all people were strictly prohibited from leaving the underground city and going to the ground.
Everyone could only move around in the deep underground city. Fortunately, relying on the huge energy transmitted by the solar power station on the ground, the Jiangcheng government provided electricity to the entire underground city and built a huge refrigeration system, which controlled the room temperature at 40 degrees.
Forty degrees is already extremely hot, but it is still possible to survive. Even so, the temperature outside the underground city has reached sixty degrees. Ordinary people can only move outdoors if they wear heat-insulating clothes, and only evolved people can maintain freedom of movement.
The Scourge once again bares its fangs at humanity.
Despite this, the survivors still refused to give up and fought hard to survive. In the residential area, the traces of life became heavier and heavier. The single cabins that were originally stacked one on top of another were like cold high-tech coffins, but now there are often childish graffiti on the cabins, and clothes are hung on the racks extending from the cabins. The voices and noises of people filled the residential area.
The underground city is still under construction, and the Jiangcheng officials have not stopped the construction even now, not only to continue expanding the area and build a complete underground city, but also to provide jobs for the residents of Jiangcheng. Otherwise, with so many people locked in the underground city, once despair spreads, it will only lead to greater disasters.
Building an underground city is undoubtedly a way to give everyone hope.
Apart from building underground cities, the remaining jobs that require the most workers are large-scale breeding farms and mutant grain planting bases.
When building the underground city, the engineering team also dug up some insect nests hidden deep underground. There are no weak and harmless creatures that can survive now. These insects and ants are huge in size, and the leaders of the insect swarms are even as tall as humans. Their lethality is extremely amazing.
Ever since this happened, Jiangcheng officials have begun hiring teams of wilderness hunters to clear out insect nests on construction roads in advance.
Chi Qin found Gu Nian and said, "Boss, I want to bring some of Aurora's staff to apply for the official construction cleaning job."
Gu Nian looked at Chi Qin in surprise, "You don't have to be so busy. If you are worried that the Aurora team will have no income, then there is no need to worry. You can take a break for a while."
Gu Nian secretly reflected on whether she had put too much work pressure on Chi Qin. Chi Qin had a lot of work to do all along. She had to protect the Aurora Factory, lead people to the wilderness to collect materials, and was also responsible for taming mutant beasts. With so many things like this, Chi Qin was very busy. Therefore, since moving to the underground city, Gu Nian had not thought of arranging any work for Chi Qin during this period of time, thinking of letting her and the Aurora team relax.
Chi Qin hesitated and said, "It's not just for income."
Chi Qin scratched her head. She was not a person who was good at expressing herself. "I used to be the leader of Noah. My duty was to protect the citizens from attacks by mutant beasts. Although I have left my post, I still feel that I should do my part. The Aurora team is full of locals... and if I do the construction cleanup, I can earn credit points and train the team members..."
Chi Qin's words were confusing, but Gu Nian understood them. The reason why Chi Qin wanted to take this job was not only to earn credit points, but also because she wanted to contribute to the land of Jiangcheng. To some extent, building the underground city is the responsibility of everyone in Jiangcheng, because it is a shelter for all the people in Jiangcheng. Not only Chi Qin, but other members of the Aurora team also think so.
Gu Nian didn't need to refuse. She nodded and said, "Then you leave some people in Aurora to complete the security work. As for the rest of the personnel, you can arrange them yourself."
Chi Qin left happily.
However, Tu Jing, who had been in the office, suddenly hesitated and asked, "Boss, can I go with Chi Qin?"
Gu Nian looked at her in surprise. During this period, Tu Jing had been acting as her secretary, helping Gu Nian handle Aurora's official business. To be honest, she did a pretty good job. So much so that Gu Nian almost forgot that Tu Jing was actually a bounty hunter with blood on her hands and a ruthless wilderness hunter.
Compared to staying in the office comfortably, cleaning insect nests in a dirty construction environment is hard work. And the official credit points are not high.
Gu Nian asked: "Why do you suddenly bring this up?"
Tu Jing herself felt that this reason was very weak, but this was her truest thought. Tu Jing said sincerely: "I am from Jiangcheng, and I grew up in this city. If I can, I would certainly try my best."
Gu Nian had not expected this answer, but she had a hunch that Tu Jing was not lying.
She nodded indifferently: "Go if you want to." There is not much official business recently, so Tu Jing's work can be directly transferred to Tan Cang.
After Tu Jing left, Gu Nian fell into deep thought in the office. She knew that under the high temperature, all the citizens of Jiangcheng survived because they moved to the underground city, which made the people of Jiangcheng suddenly have a deep faith in the underground city. Everyone wanted to build the underground city successfully, including factory areas, planting areas, more comfortable residential areas, and even schools, libraries, cinemas... Everyone was eager to live and work in the underground city again.
But she never thought that Tu Jing, a wilderness hunter with blood on his hands, or Chi Qin, a former operations leader who was forced to leave Noah because of political struggles, would also want to do their best to build a shelter in Jiangcheng under natural disasters like ordinary people.
No, if you think about it, this isn't surprising.
Because, being able to have a comfortable home and live an ordinary and happy life has become the inner desire and belief of everyone in the face of natural disasters, right?
Evolved people, ordinary people, Jing Li, Chi Qin, Tu Jing, it's the same. And what about me?
Jiangcheng was the city where she lived in her childhood. She did not return until she had the precognitive dream. She originally thought that she was free of worries, but unknowingly, she had found many more people and things that she cared about in Jiangcheng, including her familiar home, old friends like Jingli, new acquaintances who could even be called friends, and the Aurora that she had built herself... these were also very important to her.
I hope that Jiangcheng will get better and better, so that I can live a smooth life in it. I want to protect this way of life. I also have the feeling, right? That's why I sell mutant animal food at a low price, and I will do my best to improve the treatment of Aurora.
Gu Nian lay down on the chair and sighed, "Ah... I still need to work harder."
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The temperature is getting more severe.
The Yangcheng government also organized people to move into the underground city. However, the construction of Yangcheng's underground city was far from perfect. How could a small underground city with only one floor accommodate all the residents of the city? Some people who could not move into the underground city had to find basements in the ground buildings of Yangcheng to hide and live.
These residents who were stranded on the ground had been completely abandoned by the Yangcheng officials and became refugees. Most of them died tragically in the high temperature, and the lucky ones who survived by chance became extremely vicious.
In the underground city area of Yangcheng, because there were not enough houses built, people had to set up tents and spread mattresses on the open ground to live. Stoves built anywhere were enough to meet the needs of survival. As for toilets and bathrooms? They were just a luxury. Part of the underground city had completely become a dirty and dilapidated slum. However, the other part of the rich area of Yangcheng was still prosperous.
Even now, there are still people who can afford lavish banquets. For example, today's banquet was hosted by Mr. Lu from Yongji Future Technology Company.
The long dining table was covered with a white tablecloth, champagne was in the ice bucket, sea cucumbers, abalone, and king crabs filled the plates, the dessert table was filled with ice cream and various snacks, and the chef wearing white gloves was frying top-grade beef and lamb chops for the guests to enjoy. The guests, dressed elegantly, gracefully shook their glasses and chatted softly.
This is an unimaginable dream in the slums, but it is also the daily life in this banquet hall.
Lu Maoyan finally negotiated a deal with a fat official. Taking advantage of the natural disaster, he expanded in Yangcheng. It can be said that he has completely become a chaebol that monopolizes Yangcheng's industries.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Lu Maoyan greeted the guests with a smile, then turned and left the dinner.
The secretary followed him.
"How did you handle Qian Qing's case?" Lu Maoyan asked coldly. He pushed the door and entered the office.
The secretary quickly reported, "All the information left by Qian Qing has been sorted out. Now it seems that the main suspect is a woman named Gu Nian."
Lu Maoyan motioned for him to continue.
"According to Qian Qing's information, there were five people in the first group to enter the laboratory. The first one, named Wei Rui, was a military communications soldier. The people we sent out captured him and tortured him thoroughly, and he has been cleared of suspicion. The second one, Zhuo Huai, and the third one, Cai Ji, were both Noah's men. The people we sent out to attack them failed to capture them alive. However, during the attack, when they were asked about the whereabouts of Qian Qie, the two men's reactions were very confused, and they did not seem to be faking it. Moreover, after we monitored their whereabouts, there was nothing strange about these two people. Therefore, although we cannot completely rule out the suspects, these two people are less likely to be suspects."
"The fourth one is an unknown expert sent by the forum's Jiangcheng branch. He was invited by Yu Ziqiu, the leader of Jiangcheng Noah Operations. We sent him to attack, but unfortunately they were all wiped out. They lost their whereabouts afterwards."
"The fifth person is this woman named Gu Nian. Qian Qing seems to think she is an important suspect and has sent at least two groups of assassins to capture Gu Nian alive, but both failed. In Qian Qing's last days, he had been planning to capture Gu Nian alive for the third time. It can be inferred that Qian Qing thinks Gu Nian is the number one suspect, and the evidence that he thinks Gu Nian is the number one suspect may have been deliberately not kept in his office files."
The secretary said in one breath. It must be said that he had compiled the details in great detail, and combined with Qian Qing's behavior, he judged the woman named Gu Nian as the number one suspect, but what he didn't know was that the reason why Qian Qing repeatedly assassinated Gu Nian was just to pick on the weak and try his best to please the boss.
"Apart from Qian Qing's behavior, is there anything else that can prove that Gu Nian is the prime suspect?" Lu Maoyan said. "How could a girl in her early twenties have the ability to take the spring water? Could this Qian Qing be mistaken? It's more likely that the expert from the forum took the spring water."
"Besides this, there are other reasons. Just after the disappearance of the spring water, Gu Nian suddenly opened a company called Aurora in Jiangcheng, specializing in selling mutant animal food. This is a brand new technology, and Gu Nian had no relevant technical research and development background before. Therefore, I think her animal food is very likely a product made by adding spring water. This makes sense. As long as it is similar animal food, once spring water is added, the mutant animals will be attracted and eat it." The secretary said. It must be said that although his guess was completely wrong, it was strangely close to the truth.
This reason is convincing.
"Have you checked the company called Aurora?" Lu Maoyan tapped the desk and began to think.
"We have already checked. Aurora's background is very clean, but he has already become famous in Jiangcheng. He has good relations with the Jiangcheng government, the military, and Noah, and has also established a powerful hunting team. If we want to capture Gu Nian alive and torture him to find out the whereabouts of the spring, we must send a large number of assassins, which will easily alert the Jiangcheng officials. When the Jiangcheng officials find out that we have captured Gu Nian, they will probably be dissatisfied. After all, before such a natural disaster, people like Gu Nian will definitely become talents valued by the officials..."
The secretary smiled bitterly and began to wait for Lu Maoyan's decision. He only had to report.
Lu Maoyan pondered. It must be said that the secretary's speculation made sense. This Gu Nian was indeed very likely the person who obtained the spring water. From this point of view, Gu Nian must be captured and tortured to find out the whereabouts of the spring water. But this made Lu Maoyan feel difficult.
If Gu Nian was touched, Jiang Cheng would definitely react. Even for the sake of animal feed production in the later stage, they would definitely look for someone. If they traced it back to Yongji, it would be very troublesome. And most importantly, although the secretary's speculation made sense, it was still unknown whether the spring water was on Gu Nian. Unless it was confirmed that the spring water was on Gu Nian, Lu Maoyan did not want to risk offending Jiang Cheng and kidnapping Gu Nian.
Lu Maoyan made a decision quickly. He instructed his secretary: "Send an invitation letter to Gu Nian. Use any name you want, but make sure to offer generous conditions. Invite her to Yongji to discuss cooperation. Also tell her that Qian Qing is dead, and the company is unaware of everything he did."
The secretary thought about it and quickly understood what the boss meant. Qian Qing had sent people to kill Gu Nian many times. During this process, the killer would definitely ask about the spring water. If the spring water was in Gu Nian's hands, she would definitely try her best to find out who was tracking down the spring water. In this way, she would naturally find Qian Qing. At this time, Qian Qing's company came to invite her. How could she easily take the risk and come to Yongji's headquarters? She would definitely refuse it completely.
On the contrary, if Gu Nian was just an ordinary businessman who didn't get the spring water, then he would definitely feel confused when asked by the killer, and might not make every effort to continue to trace Qian Qing. For example, didn't Noah's two people just end up with nothing after the investigation? If the conditions given in the invitation letter are generous enough, then Gu Nian is likely to come to discuss, or at least reveal his intention to cooperate.
It was just an invitation letter, but it could very well test Gu Nian's attitude. And Yongji didn't have to take any risks. Why not do a business that was sure to make money? As for cooperation, just keep Gu Nian hanging first, and then regret not doing it in the end.
"Understood, I'll prepare it right away." said the secretary, bowing and leaving the office.
Lu Maoyan rubbed his face tiredly. He didn't take Gu Nian seriously, she was just a little girl. Compared to this, Lu Maoyan smiled bitterly, because Imir, who he was going to meet next, was the real trouble.
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