Chapter 49 Fresh Force
It's no wonder Chu Qiang had this thought; he just thought the old man was crazy. Not only was he wearing thick Hanfu in the sweltering heat, but he also stayed up late at night muttering that he was a tree… Who would believe that?
Chu Qiang chuckled twice: "Has the wall of the Second Hospital collapsed? These days, anyone can come out and act as a charlatan."
They rushed to D University, only to find no college student in need of rescue, and instead, they were stuck there arguing with a mentally ill person. If Chu Qiang hadn't been so composed, he would have definitely shot the old man right now.
Jiang Rong lowered her voice: "Don't talk nonsense. Can't you see it?"
Chu Qiang frowned deeply: "What did you see?"
Jiang Rong nodded slightly in the direction of the old man: "Light."
"Light?" Chu Qiang looked over suspiciously, and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he saw it. "Holy crap! What kind of special effect is this!"
Clusters of greenish light shone down from the old camphor tree, slowly converging towards the old man and settling on his clothes. The old man looked up at the camphor tree: "The time is approaching."
As the ball of light drifted down, the outer branches of the camphor tree began to wither, and the originally green camphor leaves quickly turned yellow and fell from the branches. The falling leaves made a rustling sound, and Jiang Rong and the other person felt the temperature around them rising rapidly; it seemed that it was indeed much cooler under the camphor tree.
The old man smiled apologetically: "I'm sorry, young friend. I didn't mean to show my weakness. It's just that seeing you here puts my mind at ease. Don't worry, young friend, I'll help you wake them up right away."
As the branches withered, the sky gradually appeared before the two. Under the sky, a huge pale blue light curtain slowly closed in the direction of the camphor tree, and the sound of the loudspeaker outside the school gate grew louder and louder.
"Clang—clang—clang—"
A distant bell rang out from the old camphor tree. Jiang Rong and his companion looked in the direction of the sound and saw a bronze bell, about the size of a washbasin, tied to the middle branch of the tree. The bell was covered in green patina and looked very old, almost blending into the tree.
The sound of the bell drowned out the truck horns, echoing in every corner of the campus. Then the old man's aged voice rang out: "Students, get up, the superhumans from the Spark Base are here to meet you."
Jiang Rong stepped forward: "Sir, please tell everyone to pack their things and gather in front of the library."
The old man nodded slightly and then repeated Jiang Rong's words.
After speaking, the old man's exposed skin aged visibly. His figure became somewhat frail, and he sat down wearily on the edge of the flower bed under the camphor tree, leaning against its upright branches.
The branches and leaves above kept falling, and the camphor tree that had been growing well soon became broken and scattered. Since awakening his supernatural ability, Jiang Rong had become particularly sensitive to the vitality of plants. He looked up and saw that the vitality of the large camphor tree was fading away, with only a few branches still showing some life.
Chu Qiang was puzzled: "How did this tree suddenly die?" Mutant plants are generally quite resilient, and Chu Qiang really couldn't understand how a giant tree that had blocked out the sky before they arrived could just suddenly die.
Jiang Rong looked quietly at the old man, "Perhaps only he understands."
The old man smiled slightly: "I have witnessed the great catastrophe of heaven and earth, and seen countless lives perish tragically. My heart is truly filled with unbearable sorrow. I am willing to use this crippled body to protect the living beings under this tree."
Long, long ago, the old camphor tree in front of the D University library building became sentient. But back then, it couldn't speak, much less solidify into a form that people could see.
After the great crisis, it mutated. Having witnessed the tragic deaths of countless teachers and students, it felt a profound sense of responsibility amidst its grief. The people on campus had cared for it for so many years; it was time to repay their kindness.
It forcefully stretched out its branches to shield the teachers and students from the scorching sun, bringing them a touch of coolness. It used all its supernatural abilities to protect the teachers and students from mutated plants and animals.
Because of its existence, many students at D University survived.
However, forcing it to take root and sprout is a heavy burden for the old camphor tree, especially since the soil beneath it is barren and insufficient for it to grow branches and leaves. The old camphor tree has already expended most of its strength to provide shade for people for more than two months in the scorching heat.
If Jiang Rong and the others don't arrive soon, the old camphor tree won't last much longer. It will slowly wither in front of the students, eventually turning into nothing more than a giant fire poker.
Knowing that the students he had sheltered would find better protection before he died, the old camphor tree unloaded its heavy burden: "Young friend, I entrust these students to you. I hope you will treat them well. They are all good children, sincere, excellent, and diligent."
Every student who gets into D University is a prodigy. Some people might think that high-achieving students are bookworms, but D University students are not only good at studying, but also have excellent initiative.
The students would develop medicines to protect it from insects and find fertilizer to help its branches and leaves grow strong and healthy. No matter the era, these children on campus are always the most endearing, which is the main reason why the old camphor tree was willing to risk its life to protect them.
In the blink of an eye, the human figure that the old camphor tree had conjured up looked old and frail, but its eyes still shone with an astonishing brilliance: "The world is in a difficult time, young friend, please take good care of yourself."
Chu Qiang muttered, "What about the promised inheritance of cultural heritage?" And what is cultural heritage anyway? He had only heard of mountain ranges, mineral veins, and mysterious dragon veins, but he had never heard of any cultural heritage.
The old camphor tree solemnly said, "These hundreds of students are the cultural lineage. With them, the spirit of scholars will live on forever."
Jiang Rong remained silent, looking up at the gnarled camphor tree. He couldn't bear to see such a beautiful tree die.
Thinking of this, Jiang Rong stepped forward and placed his hand on the bark of the camphor tree. A blue energy flowed from the bark to the tree's trunk, and the old camphor tree, which had been rapidly losing its life force, suddenly paused. It opened its eyes in surprise and looked at Jiang Rong: "Young friend, this... this is unacceptable, this is unacceptable!"
The old camphor tree, which has been immersed in books on campus for many years, knows the nature of human beings well. Humans are very complex creatures; they can be very kind or very evil.
It knew that outside the campus, the war between mutated plants and animals and humans had just begun. As a mutated plant, it should stand on the opposite side of humanity.
The old camphor tree was well aware of its own limitations. Unlike other mutated plants and animals, it didn't possess sharp teeth or thorns; all it could do was provide shade. Jiang Rong wasting his supernatural abilities to save it was truly a losing proposition.
Jiang Rong smiled and said, "What's wrong with that? You've helped so many people, it's time for someone to help you too."
Old Camphor Tree's eyes welled up with tears, and he rambled on with classical Chinese phrases. Jiang Rong waved his hand: "It was nothing, don't worry about it."
Footsteps soon echoed outside the library, and following the call of the old camphor tree, groups of students, pulling suitcases, appeared on the path. Despite the old camphor tree's protection, the students were pale, thin, and disheveled from lack of food.
The moment they saw Jiang Rong and Chu Qiang, many students surrounded them. Before Jiang Rong could say a word, the children burst into tears of joy.
God knows how they've survived these past two months. Their classmates died mysteriously. Chaos erupted outside, and D University became an isolated island. Without supplies or rescue, the surviving students could only hold on by sticking together.
They tried to contact people outside the school for help, but despite sending out so many distress signals, no one ever responded. If it weren't for the protection of the old camphor tree, some of them might not be alive today.
Just when everyone was about to give up hope, someone actually came to rescue them.
Listening to the sound playing on a loop through the loudspeaker, the students were afraid it was all a dream. If it was a dream, it must have been the most beautiful dream they had in the past two months.
A dozen heavy trucks slowly drove into the campus from the main gate of D University and lined up neatly in front of the library. In front of the trucks stood four or five large pots, each with its fire burning at full speed, and cooks dressed in white chef uniforms stood behind the pots, working busily.
Bags of noodles are poured into boiling water, and whenever they float to the surface, someone quickly scoops them out and places them in a disposable lunchbox. A small spoonful of lard is added, along with two spoonfuls of soy sauce and a little MSG, and then most of a bowl of noodle soup is poured over it. A simple and quick soy sauce noodle soup is ready.
Although it was just a simple soy sauce noodle soup, it moved the hungry students present to tears.
Before the crisis, they were all pampered princes and princesses at home, and even the most delicious and beautifully prepared meals would only elicit complaints from them. However, after more than two months of starvation, they deeply understood the importance of food. Before Jiang Rong and her group arrived, these people had been eating only two ounces of flour a day for over half a month.
The fragrant soy sauce noodles, emanating the aroma of grains and oil, made the students swallow hard.
The cooks were selected by Jiang Rong from the Xinghuo Base; they all had families to support. Seeing the students' pale and thin faces, the cooks couldn't help but add an extra mouthful of noodles to their lunchboxes. They warmly greeted the students, "Eat slowly, don't burn yourself! There's plenty of noodles; come back for more if you're still hungry!"
"If it's not enough, we'll add more." Such a simple yet confident statement. If the Starfire Base had no food reserves, how could they bear to feed them properly?
Hundreds of students sat on the steps in front of the library, each holding a lunchbox, slurping noodles loudly. It was the most delicious food they had ever eaten, and they didn't want to waste a single drop of the broth.
After working late into the night, Jiang Rong and the others were hungry. Jiang Rong sat down under the old camphor tree with a large bowl of noodles in his hands. Just as he was engrossed in eating, a pretty female student appeared in front of him.
Jiang Rong looked the female student up and down and smiled, "Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"
The female student nodded and introduced herself: "My name is Lin Meng, and I am the president of the D University Student Union. I have a list of all the surviving students from D University on my computer. I think you might find it useful, so I'll transfer it to you."
Jiang Rong couldn't help but smile: "Thank you."
Previously, whenever the superhuman team visited a village, Ruan Hanyu would record the villagers' names, occupations, and so on. After arriving at D University, Ruan Hanyu was supposed to register everyone as well, but Jiang Rong saw that the children were pitifully hungry, so she decided to let everyone have a full meal first.
Before they even finished their meal, students had already brought Jiang Rong what she needed. Lin Meng not only registered the information of all the survivors, but also carefully noted whether they had any special abilities or were injured.
University D is a hidden gem, boasting over fifty individuals with superpowers alone. Jiang Rong carefully examined the list of superpowered individuals, noting that the majority were enhancement-type and elemental-type superpowered individuals.
With this list, the superhumans' work can proceed more smoothly.
Despite their hardships, the students of D University did not lose their enthusiasm and initiative. After finishing their meals, the students saw that the gifted individuals were busy and proactively offered to help.
Normally, people with superpowers need to actively seek out others, but on the campus of D University, they fully appreciate the advantages of being students.
Pan Pan couldn't help but give Jiang Rong a thumbs up: "No wonder he rushed over immediately after hearing the distress signal." A college student who is obedient and excellent—what a promising prospect for building the base!
They were worried about a lack of manpower before, but now they have manpower.
*
After eating and drinking their fill, the students took attendance by roll call. Each time someone was called, that person dragged their luggage and climbed into the truck bed. Chu Qiang and the other enhanced ability users stood at the back of the truck bed, lifting up the luggage with one hand and the person with the other whenever someone came.
Before long, all the students from D University were on the heavy truck. They sat huddled together, pulling their luggage, each with a bright smile on their face. Luckily, there were no traffic police checking checkpoints, otherwise, given the way Jiang Rong and her group transported the students, they would definitely be in for questioning.
Five heavy trucks slowly drove out of D University, but Jiang Rong did not return with the convoy. In fact, only Ruan Hanyu from the superhuman team went back with the others; she had to go back and settle the students. Even with students like Lin Meng helping, settling over five hundred students was no easy task.
Watching the truck's taillights disappear from sight, Jiang Rong stood up and said softly to the old camphor tree, "I'll go check on the other schools first, and come back to find you when I'm done."
The old camphor tree asked in surprise, "Looking for me?"
Jiang Rong nodded slightly: "Yes. I wanted to ask you if you would like to come with us to the Xinghuo Base. Our base is near Lingshan Reservoir, with mountains and water. You can choose a place you like to settle down."
The old camphor tree was even more surprised: "Why? I am just a crippled body, unable to leave the area covered by my roots. Even if you move me back to the base, I will not obey your commands. Besides, you already have spiritual plants, you won't need another one..."
Jiang Rong smiled slightly: "I just think you'll feel lonely without the students. Our team has wood-type and earth-type ability users, so you don't need to worry about getting hurt when you move. You have several hours to think about it before I come back. If you still don't want to leave by then, I won't force you."
There are over a dozen comprehensive universities in D City's university town. Since he was already there, Jiang Rong wanted to see if there were any survivors left in the remaining schools. If so, he could bring them all back.
That's why he brought more than a dozen heavy trucks. If they can fill all the trucks with people and bring them back to base tonight, their trip will have been worthwhile.
*
Just as Jiang Rong had suspected, there were survivors living in other universities within the university town, and quite a few of them. However, without the protection of the old camphor tree, the students from other schools hadn't been able to organize themselves. The students were scattered throughout the campus, and it took Jiang Rong a great deal of effort to find them.
After visiting more than a dozen universities in the university town, the sun had already risen. That night, heavy trucks from the Starfire Base kept coming and going in the university town, eventually transporting more than 2,300 university students back to the base, including 200 to 300 people with superpowers.
Chu Qiang was overjoyed as he looked at the data sent by Ruan Hanyu: "Xiao Jiang, look, we're rich now! With so many superhumans, we won't have to worry about finding people to use in the future."
Jiang Rong responded, but unlike Chu Qiang, she wasn't excited. Chu Qiang asked, puzzled, "Little Jiang? Aren't you happy?"
Jiang Rong calmly glanced at the list in Chu Qiang's hand: "With more people, there are more schemes." Especially since so many of them are superhumans, and some of them are quite capable.
Students do have their strengths; they are enthusiastic, obedient, and proactive. However, they also have their weaknesses. They are passionate and easily swayed.
If one or two of these people have strong leadership skills, they might use Jiang Rong's influence at the Spark Base to recruit their own followers. Then they could just leave, leaving Jiang Rong with a mess, which would be a huge loss for them.
Chu Qiang scratched his head speechlessly: "Then why did you save them all?"
Jiang Rong chuckled lightly: "Good or bad doesn't show on your face. You can't disregard human life just because something hasn't happened yet."
Chu Qiang's expression was complicated: "Then what do you suggest we do?"
Jiang Rong calmly said, "I've already had Han Yu handle it."
The easier something is to obtain, the less it is valued. Jiang Rong specifically instructed Han Yu to settle the students in several vacant villages. The villages were poorly equipped, with only basic facilities, and electricity had not yet been installed. He wanted to see if these students could endure hardship and stay at the Spark Base with peace of mind.
Chu Qiang silently gave a thumbs up: "My little Jiang is amazing."
The sun rose higher and higher, and the temperature began to soar. Jiang Rong called to Chu Qiang, "Call Pan Pan and the last heavy truck, we're going to D University."
Chu Qiang was stunned for a moment: "Huh? Why do we still have to go to D University? Didn't everyone leave there?" After a pause, he came to his senses, "Holy crap, Xiao Jiang? You're going to dig up a tree? It's such a big tree, where are you planning to plant it? Will it even survive? How about we plant it next to the market in front of our village? Doesn't that guy like crowds? That's the liveliest place."
Jiang Rong, her head aching from Chu Qiang's nagging, gritted her teeth and said, "Qiangzi."
Chu Qiang straightened up: "Hmm! What do you want to say?"
Jiang Rong: "Shut up."
Chu Qiang hummed twice, sounding aggrieved: "Oh."
After several hours of deliberation, the old camphor tree had made its decision. Before Jiang Rong could ask, it gave a hoarse reply: "This old man is willing to go to the Spark Base."
Just as Jiang Rong said, it couldn't bear to part with those students. Moreover, Jiang Rong had given it new life, and it wanted to see what the Spark Base looked like. If Jiang Rong needed it, it was willing to stretch out its branches for Jiang Rong.
Whether it was because the sun was too strong or the old camphor tree lacked strength, Chu Qiang couldn't see the old man from last night. However, he was used to hearing words like "little darling" and "little fairy" pop up everywhere, so he wasn't surprised to see a talking tree.
Chu Qiang was more concerned about something else: "Xiao Jiang, isn't this tree too big? How are we going to put it on the car?"
The old camphor tree had a trunk diameter of over one meter and a height of over ten meters. Although much of the tree's canopy had died, the remaining branches could easily cover their truck bed. The truck bed was only ten meters long, not even including the root system. What were they going to do?
This question also stumped Jiang Rong. He had assured the old camphor tree that he wouldn't harm it when moving it. But judging from its current state, he knew he had to cut off some branches.
The ancient camphor tree, thousands of years old, is majestic and imposing. Jiang Rong would feel heartbroken even if a single large branch were to break, let alone saw off its trunk.
The old camphor tree didn't seem to mind: "It's alright, go ahead and cut it down. I've been moved several times before, so some damage is normal."
Just as Jiang Rong hesitated, Lei Lei quickly walked to Jiang Rong's side: "Uncle Jiang, how about I give it a try? But I have a lot of things in my space, so I have to take some out first."
Jiang Rong looked at Lei Lei in surprise: "Lei Lei, are you telling the truth?"
Leilei nodded: "I've tried it before, and my space can hold living things. I think if I take everything out of my space, I should be able to fit a large camphor tree inside."
Last night, after Leilei arrived at the school, she packed a lot of supplies. She and Ruan Hanyu went back and forth with the truck several times, and now their eyes are bloodshot from staying up all night.
Jiang Rong gently patted Lei Lei's shoulder: "Lei Lei, you've worked hard, thank you."
Leilei flashed her little white teeth: "It's not hard work. Just ask Xiao Heng to call me 'fairy' a few more times when we get back!"
Without further ado, Leilei quickly boarded the heavy truck and took out bunk beds from her storage space. Seeing the neatly arranged bunk beds on the truck, Pan Pan exclaimed in astonishment, "Good heavens, is Leilei planning to move all the school's assets back home?"
Leilei tilted her head back defiantly: "What's wrong with it? If it weren't for the constraints, I would even want to move the teaching building and dormitory building."
Their base is just starting out and needs a lot of supplies. Right now, there aren't many teams of superhumans competing with them for supplies, but if there are more space-type superhumans in the future, there will be some things they won't even be able to get.
Leilei's words reminded Jiang Rong: "Yes, Leilei is right. We should move as much as we can back now. That way, when we have free time, we can all go out and take any useful supplies we see."
After clearing out the supplies from the heavy truck, Leilei walked to the camphor tree: "I'm ready."
Jiang Rong first infused the old camphor tree with some supernatural power to protect its main root system and canopy. The old camphor tree, having received the supernatural power, let out a sigh of relief, and its leaves visibly became glossy.
Pan Pan slapped his hands on the ground, and the coverings on the roots of the old camphor tree were removed, revealing a large clump of roots. The root system of the thousand-year-old camphor tree was extremely developed, making it almost impossible to completely extract its roots.
Pan Pan worked hard for a long time, but only cleared out about 20 square meters of tree roots. He stood up and wiped the sweat from his brow: "Brother Jiang, if we keep moving, the library will collapse. I think with so many tree roots, there shouldn't be any problem."
The old camphor tree quickly replied, "This gentleman is right, I am indeed unharmed."
Chu Qiang wiped his face in anguish: "My God, you need to change your way of speaking from now on. Who can stand such a pretentious way of speaking? All that classical Chinese, it's enough to give me a headache."
The old camphor tree paused for a moment, then said with shame, "I will remember it forever."
Chu Qiang took a deep breath, his muscles swelled several times their normal size, and he even grew taller. He stepped forward and tightly hugged the camphor tree trunk with both hands. With a loud shout, he exerted force with both hands simultaneously. The huge tree swayed from side to side under Chu Qiang's shaking, and its thin roots, unable to withstand the pulling force, snapped one after another.
At that moment, a pale blue force flowed along the deep pit, and a soft cracking sound came as the roots buried deep in the soil were severed by tiny ice blades. Ruan Hanyu stood at the edge of the pit: "Brother Chu, move a little more so that my ice blades can go even deeper."
With the help of Chu Qiang and Ruan Hanyu, the giant camphor tree was finally briefly lifted off the ground. Just as the camphor tree loosened, Lei Lei reached out her hands in time.
Everyone held their breath and widened their eyes, afraid that any noise they made would disturb Leilei. However, the moment Leilei's hand touched the camphor tree, the tree vanished.
Leilei smiled happily: "Success!" This was the first time she had ever stored such a large object, especially a living one. Did this prove that she was making progress?
Jiang Rong breathed a sigh of relief: "Well done! Everyone, thank you for your hard work. Let's head home now."
As Jiang Rong left the university town, she couldn't help but wonder: what would Guan Shao's expression be if he came back and found that there were so many more people at the base, and such a wonderful camphor tree?
Author's Note:
Guan Shao, who was driving a heavy truck and towing an excavator back to City C, wondered: What would Jiang Rong's expression be if he saw that I had brought so many people and weapons back with me?
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