Chapter 93
When Qi Heng arrived at Yan's house, he didn't see Yan, but saw Mo Nan.
"Brother Qi?" Mo Nan was a little surprised to see him, and quickly walked up to him and asked, "Why are you here today? Is there something you want to talk to us about?"
In order to be able to contact Yan when necessary, Yan and his friends would leave someone at home even when they went out to do something, so that Qi Heng would not be unable to find them when he arrived.
"Yeah." He walked towards Yan's house and said, "When will Yan and the others come back?"
"I'll be back at noon."
"They did as you instructed and went to deliver food to the insects at home who had disappeared in the mines and had no way to get food..."
That was the task Qi Heng assigned to them.
Yan's hunting team was somewhat famous in Area 49. When he came forward to help, the Zerg basically accepted it with gratitude.
After Qi Heng gave the Flame Brain to them and let them start self-study, the hunting team continued to absorb new knowledge like a sponge absorbs water. A portion of the prey was kept in exchange for the necessary supplies, and the rest was distributed to the Zerg in need.
Among the hundreds of Zerg trapped by the mine collapse, not all of them have weak family members to take care of, so the pressure on Yan is not too great.
However, if Yan and the others were to continue taking care of them, even they would be unable to do so.
Fortunately, Qi Heng said at the beginning that he would only let them take care of him for a period of time, and the longest period would not exceed one month.
"Luo Shen, Zhou Xing, and Lan Yi all went with Yan." Qi Heng asked.
He came here this time to take them to the dungeon.
Mo Nan didn't think much about it and said directly: "They all went together, so they can finish their studies quickly."
Qi Heng had originally told them that completing the basics would be enough to complete the test, but as they continued to learn, the courses in the optical brain continued to unlock. Yan and the others couldn't resist the allure of knowledge, so they continued to learn without Qi Heng's orders.
Qi Heng said calmly, "Don't worry."
"I heard from Yan that you have already completed the basic courses."
"I'm here today to take you somewhere. Once there, I'll have you take a basic exam. Only after you pass it will you officially join Grey Mist."
Hearing this, Mo Nan's eyes lit up.
You have to know that they had heard the information about the "Gray Fog" from Yankou, and Yan heard it from Qi Heng. For them, the more they knew about the past and present of the Tianjia Zerg, the more they longed for the existence of the "Gray Fog".
"That's great! Brother Yan and the others will definitely be very happy to hear this news."
…
As Mo Nan said, Yan and the others were indeed very excited to hear the news after they came back.
Qi Heng looked at the five Zerg in front of him, a slight smile on his face, and said, "Although it's just a simple test, I may not be back tonight, is that okay?"
Yan and the others looked at each other and said in unison, "No problem."
They are all lonely people, and it’s okay for them to stay out all night.
"Then let's go."
Qi Heng led them out of Area 49 and headed towards the Dead Egg Pit. Before reaching the Dead Egg Pit, they deviated slightly to the right and finally stopped about one kilometer away from the Dead Egg Pit in a straight line.
Apart from the tenacious plants growing in the wilderness, all that remains are the eroded and dilapidated buildings.
Yan and the others didn't understand why they were brought here, but out of trust in Qi Heng, they didn't ask anything and followed Qi Heng quietly.
Qi Heng walked to a building with only one and a half stories left that had not completely collapsed. The ground here was a little different from the surrounding ground, with dense and layered plants growing on it.
These green plants, which are as inconspicuous as the surrounding shrubs, not only cover the ground within a range of about three meters, but also climb and grow on the ruins of the damaged buildings and grow wildly around, presenting a vibrant scene.
It looks like any other place where plants grow. But if you have some knowledge of wild plants, you will find that these green vines are not found anywhere else.
Qi Heng's mental power swept over the plants at his feet, and those plants receded like the tide, layer by layer until the white layer at the bottom was revealed.
When the white body retreated, a hole large enough for two people to jump in at the same time appeared in front of them.
Yan and the others who were standing behind Qi Heng were so shocked by this scene that they were speechless... Both the plant that seemed to be alive and the hole under the plant were beyond their expectations.
Qi Heng turned around and found their dumbfounded looks a little funny, but also understandable.
"The green branches above are camouflage for the dreamy fungus, and the white layer is their true form," he explained. "Because they live in symbiosis with the glowworms of the original Zerg, they're different from ordinary plants."
"Don't be afraid, they won't hurt you."
After completing the basic course, Yan and his companions were no longer ignorant Zerg. They were familiar with the Primordial Zerg, which frequently appeared in the general knowledge section of the basic course. The Primordial Zerg's close relationship with the Tianjia Zerg gave them the ability to distinguish friend from foe.
After listening to Qi Heng's explanation, Yan asked with some interest: "This is one of the plants that coexist with the original Zerg. They look like they are alive."
Qi Heng nodded and said, "You are right."
"Okay, I know you're curious, but I'll answer these questions later."
"The place I'm taking you to is right down there. Although there aren't many bugs here normally, for safety's sake, let's go down first."
After saying that, Qi Heng jumped down first.
The distance between the cave entrance and the bottom is about two meters, which is a piece of cake for the Tianjia Zerg.
Seeing this, Yan and the others jumped down one after another without any hesitation.
"this……"
The underground was different from what they had imagined. It was not dark at all but very bright. The hole above their heads was covered by branches again after they jumped down. It was at this time that they discovered that the white branches hanging down were emitting a bright light.
In front of them was a wide passage that could accommodate three or four people walking side by side, but no one knew where it led to.
Several fireflies flew down from overhead and circled around Qi Heng, which attracted the attention of Yan and the others.
"This is a glowworm, responsible for caring for the growth of the fungal blanket." Qi Heng seemed to understand their confusion and said as he led the way, "This passage was dug by the mining bugs and leads to the underground city that is still under construction."
The growth rate of the fungal blanket is very fast, and it can grow almost unlimitedly if there is sufficient energy.
Mo Nan: "Dungeon?"
Luo Shen: "Mining worm?"
There are some things I was planning to tell them anyway, so it doesn't matter if I tell them now.
"Miners are a type of worm among the original Zerg that excels at mining ore. Dungeons are underground cities built to accommodate the Tianjia Zerg."
"Haven't you always been curious about why you were asked to help the domestic insects of those female insects that were killed in the mine accident?" Qi Heng quickened his pace. It would take more than ten minutes to get to the underground city even if he walked fast.
"The reason is simple. When the mining disaster occurred, the mining worms responsible for digging in the mining area rescued the female worms trapped deep in the mine tunnel."
"Because the existence of the mining bugs is a secret and cannot be discovered for the time being, the rescued bugs were placed in the underground city that is still under construction."
I have to say, this is a reason that no one expected.
Zhou Xing couldn't help but ask, "So those bugs are not dead, right?"
"Most of them." Qi Heng said.
His words made Yan and the others happy. Although they were not very familiar with the female insects who died, they couldn't help but feel relieved to hear that they were still alive.
Every time a mining accident occurs in a mining area, there are very few survivors, and they feel sad when they think about it.
***
Building an underground city that aims to accommodate three million Zerg is a very large project. Even if the project is divided into several phases, it will take a long time to complete.
Area 1 of the first phase of the underground city construction project, stretching from the destroyed first underground floor beneath the Dead Egg Pit to the fourth underground floor, is approximately 500 meters tall. It covers a horizontal area of 60 square kilometers and is expected to accommodate 150,000 to 200,000 Tianjia Zerg upon completion.
Each residential area is a miniature urban area. These areas not only contain living needs, but will also gradually improve the infrastructure that a city should have, such as drainage systems, energy supply systems, communication systems, public transportation facilities, environmental greening systems, disaster prevention and war preparedness systems, etc.
Currently, the main construction progress of Area 1 is 10%. The energy system is temporarily managed by fireflies and fungal mats. The necessary water resources transportation and sewage management can only be discharged to areas far away from the residential area using primitive methods, waiting for further improvements in the future.
There is no need to rush for other infrastructure. After all, there are only a few hundred Zerg living in the residential area, which is far from the level that requires complete urban infrastructure.
Qi Heng was already very satisfied with this.
Although Area 1 was relatively crude in every respect and far from the residential area he had planned, achieving this level of development in such a short period of time was no small feat. This was all thanks to the tireless efforts of the various tool bugs within the Primordial Zerg.
Among them, the miner bugs and engineer bugs put in the most effort.
The obsidian veins spread outward from the mining area, and the dungeon is built in a circular manner with the Dead Egg Pit as the origin. Ore will be dug out in almost every place.
Residential Area No. 1.
The main body of the residential area is composed of pillars of different lengths and functions, which are supported by a mixture of soil digested by slime worms and obsidian crystals. The slime worms swallow ordinary rocks and soil and then spit them out and wrap them around columnar obsidian crystals. After they are completely dry, the hardness and strength are enough to support urban structures of more than three layers.
Pillars stood one after another, the distances between them varying. Further away, the space was constantly being eaten away by insects, expanding outwards and upwards. It was obvious that the positions of these pillars had been carefully calculated.
The exit of the passage that Qi Heng took Yan and the others through was located in the southeast corner of Residential Area No. 1. This was the first area to be hollowed out and the only area where buildings were built.
He pointed at the metal layer that stretched for a hundred meters before him, tilted his head and said to Yan, "Because we don't have enough metal right now and the technology is not up to par, we only built this part."
Qi Heng only had a small amount of metal in his hands, all of which was obtained from the buildings under the Dead Egg Pit.
What appeared before Yan and the others was a semi-finished structure made up of pieces of metal, with some bungalows underneath the semi-finished structure.
The overall structure of the entire dungeon is built by connecting pillars and metal modules. This method is just like building blocks. If there are insufficient resources, the urgently needed parts can be built first, and the rest can be built after the resources are in place.
"That's where the females live."
In fact, not only the rescued female insects live there, but also the dormant insect pups rescued from bases No. 1 and No. 2 are placed there.
"But we're not going over there now." Qi Heng said as he led them to a house about ten meters away on the left. Like the bungalows in the distance, they were all wooden houses spit out by sticky insects for temporary living.
Upon hearing this, Yan, Mo Nan and the others hurried to follow him, but before they had taken a few steps, they were startled by a black shadow that suddenly jumped out.
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The author has something to say: Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided me with nutrient solution between 2022-10-15 23:18:53 and 2022-10-16 23:39:53~
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 6 bottles that I was too lazy to name; 1 bottle of powder and ink was inverted;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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