Chapter 73 The flock of birds is better than Chaoyang Base
Lin Kang was pleasantly surprised by the arrival of Chi Hongyi and the other two, and immediately went to greet them personally.
After being quarantined outside the base, the three of them entered and found the base, which looked no different from a village, to be quite comfortable with.
They knew before they came that the base was originally a village.
"I never expected that Chaoyang Base would be willing to send several researchers over." Lin Kang shook hands with them excitedly: "I am so surprised and delighted that several of them are willing to come to our small base. I am very grateful."
Chi Hongyi and the others felt a little embarrassed. Although they came here of their own free will, they had no other choice.
Even if they're unwilling, they have to come. Who told them to stand on one side and become a thorn in the side of both sides?
Even if they were foolish, they wouldn't say that. Chi Hongyi said, "As researchers, we are very interested in what you mentioned. We are willing to go anywhere if it can contribute to all mankind."
That's the truth.
Lin Kang's smile widened; he liked this kind of pure intellectual.
"I am ashamed of my inferiority," Lin Kang said. "However, as you all have seen, we are just a small base, and we cannot compare with a large base like Chaoyang Base. But rest assured, please feel free to ask any questions, and we will do our best to meet your needs."
Chi Hongyi nodded and smiled, "Thank you."
She thought it was fine. Back at the Chaoyang base, they weren't good at scheming and were just inconspicuous figures in the research institute.
Upon arriving at the Xiaohe base, they were able to meet their top leader.
You can tell from the fact that Feng Wentao and Chu Mingda didn't talk much throughout the whole thing that Chi Hongyi was one of the more talkative people there.
"I will arrange for someone to arrange accommodations for you immediately," Lin Kang said. "We have just arrived at the base, and the journey has probably been unsettled. Please rest for now, and we can arrange accommodations for you later."
Chi Hongyi and the others were indeed exhausted, both physically and mentally, especially since they had been used as food reserves by the wolf pack. That day was truly terrifying.
They also witnessed how the wolves tore apart the flesh of the two superhumans. The three of them were so disgusted by what they saw that they almost vomited. It's only because they were mentally strong that they didn't go crazy.
Although everything seems fine on the surface, I'm constantly on edge, and I won't let my guard down until we reach a safe place.
I can finally relax now, I'm so tired.
Lin Kang noticed this too, so he didn't say much and quickly told everyone to go and rest.
They were given a courtyard, and the house was all tidied up. Soft bedding was laid out inside, and Chi Hongyi and the others fell asleep in no time.
After waking up, someone brought them water. Chi Hongyi thanked them and they washed up.
They also brought food, which they ate without hesitation.
Feng Wentao wiped his mouth: "To be honest, although the Xiaohe base is not as big as the Chaoyang base, nor is it as well-built, I feel very comfortable here."
“They respect us because of our status as researchers.” Chu Mingda took a sip of water, and his throat, which had been dry for several days, felt a little better. “Since we’re here, we should do our research in a down-to-earth manner, and that will be the best we can do for them.”
Chi Hongyi nodded and sighed, "I also find it very comfortable here. Along the way, the villagers I met, though thin, all had smiles on their faces. Unlike the previous base, where everyone had somber faces and rushed around." They were all busy making a living.
Chi Hongyi: "Now that we're here, let's just stay put. There's no going back. Besides, given the situation at the research institute, I really don't want to go back."
The three of them were definitely not bad in terms of ability. Before the apocalypse, they were all pillars of their respective projects. Logically speaking, they shouldn't have ended up like this.
Unfortunately, research institutes are no longer pure; if you don't curry favor, you'll be marginalized.
“I don’t want to go back either, sigh.” Chu Mingda was the oldest among them, almost sixty years old: “Although I don’t think that researchers have to be pure, how many of them are truly focused on their research these days? I don’t see the future of humanity in them. If they continue like this, when will humanity be able to defeat the zombies!”
"Hey, Lao Chu, don't get agitated." Feng Wentao patted Chu Mingda on the shoulder; he understood the other man's feelings.
But no matter what they say, they can't control the research institute over there anymore; they just hope to do their own job well.
Lin Kang sent someone over, saying he wanted to show them around the base. Chi Hongyi and the others didn't refuse, since it seemed they were going to stay there for a long time.
As they traveled along, they discovered that while the ordinary people here didn't live as well as those with superpowers, the difference wasn't as significant as in the Chaoyang Base.
Moreover, it seems that the Xiaohe base cares about ordinary people and tries its best to provide them with jobs.
Unlike the ordinary people at Chaoyang Base, who are mostly anxious and numb, the ordinary people here would get together and chat and laugh when they had free time.
As a result, Feng Wentao and Chu Mingda's goodwill towards the Xiahe Base increased considerably. They were just ordinary people, and although they were knowledgeable and didn't have to live as hard a life as ordinary people, both groups of people in the research institute were led by people with superpowers and split up.
They didn't hate people with superpowers, but they felt that it was hard for ordinary people to survive. They weren't at the bottom of Chaoyang Base, but they were at the bottom of the research institute.
Why.
"You've also planted crops?" Chi Hongyi asked in surprise when she heard several villagers talking about this, as she was looking after the person who had shown them around the base.
The other person laughed when this was mentioned: "Yes, the crops are changing every day, and we're all looking forward to them ripening quickly."
Chi Hongyi didn't expect that this small base would develop so quickly in this regard. The Chaoyang Base recruited hundreds of plant-type ability users and worked day and night to cultivate mutated seeds. Finally, they cultivated some and planted a piece of land.
It's about several dozen acres, which is quite large, but we can't achieve food security yet, since there are too many people at the Chaoyang base.
They asked each other how much was planted at the Xiaohe base.
The other party said, "There are two types of mutant wheat, and we planted a total of fifteen acres. We also planted lettuce, cabbage, and alfalfa. We've started raising livestock, and maybe it won't be long before the base can supply meat. Right now, we mainly grow mutant wheat. A dozen acres are enough for us. We're short-staffed, so we can only grow this much for now."
Chi Hongyi was somewhat surprised because the other party said there wasn't enough manpower, not a shortage of mutated seeds.
Is this tiny base hiding some hidden talents?
When they arrived at the crops and saw the lush greenery, they were speechless.
These crops are grown so well, even better than those from Chaoyang Base.
“This wheat is huge, and the ears of wheat are too. How can they be so big?” Several researchers from the large bases suddenly felt that they were even more ignorant.
Look at this wheat, it's almost as tall as a person!
"Oh, this is mutated barley. It can still grow. When it's ripe, each grain will be as big as your palm." Hearing this, the other party was very proud and immediately began to introduce it.
"Really?!" Even Chu Mingda, who wasn't usually talkative, was thrilled upon hearing this: "A superior seed! A superior seed! If this kind of wheat is widely cultivated, we'll never have to worry about food!"
As he spoke, Chu Mingda became so moved that he burst into tears.
Although their research focuses on agriculture, they are all researchers dedicated to serving the people. How could they not be excited to hear that there were such good seeds?
Previously, Chaoyang Base also had mutated seeds, but the direction of mutation was different, and it wasn't as exciting.
Even a single seed is as big as the palm of your hand.
The person who showed them around the base touched his nose, and seeing how excited they were, he couldn't help but say, "It's not as big as the palm of your hand, it's a little smaller."
"That's huge!" Feng Wentao stared intently at the wheat in front of him. "Will we be able to eat this too?"
He wasn't thinking about eating, but rather whether he could get one or two of these seeds later. Although that wasn't their area of research, they always got itchy hands when they saw something new.
"Of course, everyone at the base can eat it." The other party said calmly, but unexpectedly, it stirred up waves in the hearts of Chi Hongyi and the others.
In large bases like Chaoyang Base, all resources are tilted towards those with superpowers, which allows the base to develop at the fastest speed. However, the survival of the lower classes is too difficult, and the lower classes make up the majority of the population.
Chi Hongyi did not think that ordinary people were useless. On the contrary, the construction of the base could not be separated from ordinary people. However, the superhumans were too strong, and the superiors had unconsciously ignored ordinary people and their needs.
This development path is undoubtedly unhealthy, but what can be done? Even Chi Hongyi herself couldn't think of a solution.
Unexpectedly, upon arriving at this little-known base, I witnessed a completely different development. Here, ordinary people are also considered by the base; they are not the ones who deserve to be abandoned.
Chi Hongyi suddenly realized that their choice this time was right. Although the Xiaohe Base was small, it was different.
Very different.
“This wheat looks quite ordinary.” Feng Wentao and Chu Mingda became more talkative and walked over to the seemingly ordinary wheat to say this.
Upon hearing this, the people at the Xiahe base immediately defended the wheat: "No, this is not ordinary either. This is a mutated multi-crop wheat. It can grow another crop after being harvested."
Chi Hongyi stared wide-eyed at the wheat, finally noticing a slight difference. With mixed feelings, she said, "Isn't it just like chives?"
The people at the Xiahe base said, "It's not that bad. I heard it can only be harvested five times."
"Then the yield is five times that of before?!" Feng Wentao was somewhat dazed, never expecting that such a powerful wheat crop would be considered so ordinary by the people at the Xiaohe base.
Although this is a small base, in many aspects it is no less than that of a large base, no, it has even surpassed the large base!
The people at Xiaohe Base had no idea what he was imagining. In fact, the reason he was so calm was simply because he had heard it so many times.
When I got home, I heard from my family; when I was outside, I heard from the people at the base. I heard it every day, and after hearing it so many times, I naturally wasn't as excited as I was at the beginning.
Chi Hongyi and the other two stood by the crops for a long time, their hearts unable to calm down.
Then I heard that the Xiahe base had also started raising livestock.
"They planted alfalfa over there to feed them. It's a pity there aren't many livestock at the base, but I believe it won't be long before we're able to feed ourselves with meat!" The other person's eyes were filled with longing for meat as they spoke of this; it was truly tempting!
Chaoyang Base also raises livestock. After all, the base needs to be self-sufficient, otherwise it can't keep sending out superhumans to hunt.
Not to mention the danger, the prey will eventually run out.
Fortunately, although there are mutated animals, they have found that those with superpowers are mostly wild. Domestic pigs and poultry, although they have changed, have only become larger and do not have superpowers.
Otherwise, things will really be difficult.
So the Chaoyang base also started breeding, and since there was no shortage of manpower there, it was enough to raise ordinary people.
Those who were imprisoned in the base prison for making mistakes could be put to labor reform.
However, since Chaoyang Base cannot yet achieve food freedom, the animal husbandry industry is only operating on a small scale. After all, animals need to eat, even if they can't eat grain like humans, they still need to have something to eat.
I never imagined that the Xiaohe base had already planted such a large area of alfalfa.
Chi Hongyi and her group wanted to visit the breeding farm, and the other party readily agreed. It wasn't exactly a secret, and besides, the farm wasn't exactly close by.
Just as they were about to go over, a skinny man suddenly lunged at them, startling Chi Hongyi and the others, who quickly retreated.
"Xiang Qizheng! What are you doing? This is a researcher sent by the major base. If you scare him, you'll be in for a beating!" The other party immediately started cursing as soon as he saw that it was Xiang Qizheng.
Xiang Qizheng looks extremely disheveled now, even thinner than before. He is not getting enough to eat every day and has to keep working. How can he stand it?
When he was working, he saw Chi Hongyi and the others from afar. Yesterday, he overheard that researchers had come to their base.
He was from Xiahe Village, so even if he didn't know everyone in the base well, he would at least recognize them. But Chi Hongyi and the others were complete strangers.
He immediately realized that these people must be researchers. He had an idea and pounced on them.
After confirming that the three were indeed researchers, he was not afraid at all; on the contrary, he became excited.
He had long since grown tired of working all day. He appeared honest on the surface, but in reality, he was exhausted and had no energy left for anything else.
But he was restless and always thought about how to end this kind of life.
Now, he has a chance! These intellectuals are the most easily swayed by emotions, and since he's a researcher, his status must be extraordinary. If he pretends to be pitiful and begs the other party, maybe he can be saved?
Thinking of this, he felt a surge of hatred for the people of Xiahe Village. They had been from the same village, and there was bound to be some connection between them, yet not a single one of them pleaded for him. He had truly misjudged these people!
At this moment, Xiang Qi was looking at the panicked Chi Hongyi and the others when he suddenly burst into tears. He was over fifty years old, but looked to be over sixty. His unrestrained crying made him seem rather pitiful.
"Is something wrong? Why are you crying like this?" Chi Hongyi couldn't help but ask, feeling a pang of sympathy.
Those who knew the inside story felt a chill run down their spines. They thought, "Why did Xiang Qizheng suddenly pounce on me? He must have had something else in mind. That old fox!"
He was extremely anxious. If this old fox said something reckless, wouldn't it severely damage the image of their base? What would the researchers who had come all this way think?
But if they didn't let him speak, it would seem like they were guilty, even though it was clearly Xiang Qizheng's fault! He glared fiercely at Xiang Qizheng.
Sure enough, Xiang Qi began to twist the truth: "My lords, please save me! I don't want to live like this anymore! Just because I offended someone, they sent me here to work! Working day and night, I'm an old man, how can I stand this? If this continues, I'll be tortured to death sooner or later!"
Waaaaah... I'm so miserable. My son is missing and we don't know if he's alive or dead. It's just me and my wife at home. I don't even get any contribution points for my work. My wife works hard every day to earn contribution points, but how can she support both of us on her own?
"These people are too cruel! I'm becoming a burden to this old woman. If things continue like this, I might as well die!"
Chi Hongyi and the others were stunned. They didn't expect that such a thing would happen at the Xiaohe Base. But they weren't stupid. How could they just listen to Xiang Qizheng's side of the story?
The person next to him sneered, "Xiang Qizheng, you really know how to make up stories. Who was it that dug up the mutated seeds that were planted in the ground in the first place? If you had worked hard and made good progress, you might have been able to restore your original life over time. But instead, you've ruined the base's reputation. I'll have a good talk with Minister Fang about this later!"
"Aren't you being a bit too cruel? I was just really hungry. I came to dig up some seeds to eat, I... I didn't dig up many!" Xiang Qi cried, tears streaming down his face. "Do you want to just watch me starve to death? I know I was wrong, why are you still torturing me like this?!"
"You're talking nonsense! The base clearly gave everyone two kilograms of rice!" The other person was furious: "If there really was nothing to eat and you were starving, that would be one thing, but there was food, so you're doing this on purpose!"
Xiang Qi was feeling a little guilty. He admitted that there was an element of deliberate intent in digging up the mutated seeds. After all, he had been asked to participate in the farming department's recruitment and had been directly rejected by Fang Guowei, which had made him resentful! But he would never admit it!
"So that's how it is. I was even feeling sorry for you just now." He imagined the soft-hearted Chi Hongyi and the others saying, "The mutated seeds are the hope of the base. You secretly dug up the seeds when you clearly had food to eat. You are a sinner against the base!"
Chi Hongyi and the others were quite angry. You see, a mutated seed is very rare in Chaoyang Base, because mutated seeds can grow into new plants, and the plants can produce seeds, and so on in a continuous cycle.
This old man actually dug up and ate something so important; it's infuriating.
Xiang Qi had been crying for a long time, but he never expected this result. He was so angry that he wanted to grind his teeth to powder.
Because he caused trouble again, he was given even more work. He used to have time to catch his breath, but now he was working non-stop.
At this moment, Chi Hongyi and the others shook their heads. They realized that the Xiaohe Base was indeed very merciful. The mutated seed was so important, and even if it was eaten, it would only be used for work. If it were at the Chaoyang Base, it would probably be dead by now.
——
Chi Hongyi and the others quickly immersed themselves in their research work. They were assigned to a small building in the base, and to protect their safety, people with superpowers would come to patrol the area regularly.
Cheng Zhiyu handed over the blood he had previously stored and explained the situation.
"Really? You're saying that after the animal was bitten, it didn't mutate, but only one leg turned into a zombie?" Chi Hongyi was extremely excited after hearing this. She looked at the tube of blood in front of her. This was simply the spark of humanity's future!
If the Xiahe base had simply sent someone over to explain things clearly back then, she believed the three of them wouldn't have had to come!
Who would have thought that such a thing would exist in such a small base?
If Cheng Zhiyu knew what the other party was thinking, he would feel fortunate. He didn't want to attract a group of research fanatics. If they knew that Xiao Lu actually had the ability to resist the zombie virus, some of them might even want to dissect Xiao Lu.
Cheng Zhiyu was naturally unwilling. Although he hoped to develop an effective vaccine against the zombie virus as soon as possible, he did not want to do so at the cost of anyone's life.
If the other party was acting voluntarily, that would be one thing, but the research subject is a deer. Although deer are very intelligent, what can they understand? Can they understand what it will be like to become a research subject?
Therefore, Cheng Zhiyu intends to protect the fawn, and for now, one vial of blood is enough.
Chi Hongyi and the others looked very excited, but did not indicate that they wanted to see the owner of the blood sample.
As soon as they received the blood sample, they immediately began to study it, and didn't even have time to talk to Cheng Zhiyu.
Cheng Zhiyu didn't mind; it was fine. From what he could see, Chi Hongyi and her team were very pure researchers.
To facilitate their research, the base sent several people to assist them; all of them were college graduates with relevant degrees.
As time went by, Cheng Zhiyu occasionally passed by the crops and noticed that the wheat had begun to turn yellow, and it wouldn't be long before it was ready for harvest.
On that day, Cheng Zhiyu heard some noise from the crops and saw a flock of birds eating them.
These birds are incredibly bold. Fang Guowei and his team tried their best to drive them away, and some birds were killed, but the rest of the birds were not afraid and continued to eat.
The bird looks extremely hungry.
Cheng Zhiyu and Cheng Mo quickly helped to drive the birds away. Finally, half of the birds died, and the other half ran away.
Of course, it's also possible that they've had enough to eat.
"Oh! These dead birds!" Grandpa Zhao looked at the many empty ears of wheat and felt extremely distressed.
Fang Guowei sighed, “It seems we need to keep an eye on them all the time. These birds are completely reckless. They came once before, and we finally managed to drive them away, but they came back, and there are even more of them than last time!”
These birds are just ordinary birds, only they look much bigger than before the apocalypse. They are quite beautiful, colorful, and they eat wheat like they have no regard for their lives.
Cheng Zhiyu frowned, concerned about one question: "Is this bird meat edible?"
Fang Guowei shook his head and sighed, "If the meat were edible, it would be fine. After killing so many birds, we could at least make up for the loss of wheat. But the meat is bitter and inedible, and it's also poisonous."
Clearly, Fang Guowei had already tried eating bird meat before, but he couldn't even finish it, which was infuriating.
"How can this go on?" Grandpa Zhao was so angry that tears came to his eyes. Before the apocalypse, although birds ate crops, they were afraid of people. They would stay away if a scarecrow was made. But after the apocalypse, the birds became hateful. They couldn't be driven away and were not afraid of people. This was only because there were many of them. If there were fewer people, they would peck at people with their beaks.
"If these birds come a few more times, it'll be like a locust plague. Sooner or later, they'll eat all the crops we've worked so hard to grow!" Grandpa Zhao's face turned bitter with worry.
The joy of a bountiful harvest is now overshadowed by a gloomy atmosphere.
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