"Rebirth in the Apocalypse" - No Rebirth (Chapter 23)...
Ye Xiqing found it really strange.
Even if zombies are numerous and aggressive, they are still mindless creatures. Why would this base rather go to great lengths to kill zombies in winter than dig a moat when the ground thaws?
If this were a vast desert with no water source and only about a hundred people in the base, lacking sufficient labor, Ye Xiqing wouldn't have said anything.
What are they doing with such a big lake on campus, built with fresh water, and a large river just a few steps away?
A silence fell over everyone; it seemed so…
Once you fall into a mental trap, it's easy to overlook some obvious things. You used to think about resisting zombie attacks, but now you suddenly realize that you can build a big river and solve the problem once and for all.
Moreover, the post-apocalyptic world is different from ancient times. In ancient times, digging ditches by hand was not so simple. In the post-apocalyptic world, there are both superhumans and machines, making digging ditches much simpler than in ancient times.
As if jolted awake from a dream, everyone immediately agreed: dig a ditch!
The people at the base didn't expect Ye Xiqing to be so ambitious and undertake such a large project, but now no one would go against her decision.
As a large base, Huiyang Base is able to collect a lot of large machinery that others cannot, such as trenching machines.
But in the apocalypse, resource consumption will be the biggest problem. Huiyang City is not an oil-producing area, and oil resources will be used up as they are used up.
Therefore, Ye Xiqing felt that it was time to develop some new energy sources, such as superpowers.
Superhumans eat food and expel energy. If a superhuman energy storage device were developed, allowing superhumans to donate their abilities when they have free time, the base's resource shortage problem would be greatly alleviated.
Of course, the Doomsday Base definitely values energy issues. Before Ye Xiqing arrived, the Energy Department was already quite large, specializing in the research of various energy supply equipment.
But Ye Xiqing felt that their research direction was too traditional. In the apocalypse, they should be researching bioenergy, such as human superpowers.
Bioenergy should be researched by those who understand biology. Ye Xiqing felt that the "acid-type ability user" was very quick-witted. As an ability user himself, he understood the working principle of ability even better.
Ye Xiqing's pharmaceutical department independently supports her in developing bioenergy, and her researchers are selected from ordinary women so that they can be freed from manual labor and focus on scientific research.
Except for those who must take time off work, everyone else, whether they are superhumans or ordinary people, women or men, participates in digging the moat and does what they can.
Ye Xiqing looked at the former Riyao squad members who had been reassigned to the construction team with a big smile: "You are the strongest warriors in the base, and you should use your strength for things that are beneficial to the base. Keep it up and do a good job."
Sunlight Squad: ...
When they were helping Mao Hong's team with their work, they took it as a kind of fun, a kind of charity. Now that they have really become part of the infrastructure team, they clearly feel a sense of falling that they can't climb any higher.
In contrast, the newly born female superhumans are accepting it much better.
No matter what they do outside, they are much more respected than when they were sewing clothes and giving birth in the back. They are now a group that is respected by everyone!
As soon as the mission was announced, all parties sprang into action, surveying the water diversion route, delineating the work area, and collaborating with those possessing water and soil superpowers.
Everyone at the base was working, and Ye Xiqing couldn't be idle either; the apocalypse didn't give anyone time to be idle.
However, she neither worked nor studied any medicines; she was accompanying Mao Hong on field trips.
In the past, during periods of zombie activity, teams on field missions always needed to be led by individuals with superpowers, so that they could fight back against hordes of zombies.
Ye Xiqing has now created a potion for the field team that emits a putrid smell to mask the presence of living people, causing zombies to mistake them for their own kind. It can also drive away some mutated animals that are afraid of zombies, reducing their attacks.
That potion completely mimicked a zombie, and it smelled absolutely disgusting. Luckily, my nose was smart enough to stop smelling it after a while.
Mao Hong covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief soaked in putrefactive agent, approached the zombie, chopped off something, and ran away.
The roar of a zombie came from behind. Mao Hong desperately covered her mouth and nose and ran away, panting as she looked back: "It didn't catch up?"
Ye Xiqing opened her eyes: "No, it didn't chase at all; it was entangled."
Mao Hong was relieved and showed Ye Xiqing what she had in her hand.
It was a twitching zombie arm, but its twitching was useless now, as zombies weren't so monstrous that severed tissue could survive on its own.
What's striking is that a vine grows on it, wrapped around the zombie's limbs like it's wrapped around a wooden stake. The reason the zombie didn't chase after it was because it was entangled by this thing.
Ye Xiqing's hand touched the vine. The slender vine, as if it had a mind of its own, instantly stretched out a thin stem towards Ye Xiqing's finger, but curled up before touching it.
It was so "shy" that Ye Xiqing got even more excited, and the closer her hand got, the more it tried to avoid her.
Mao Hong only knew that it was a kind of vine that liked to parasitize zombies, but she didn't know it had this characteristic: "It's afraid of people?"
Ye Xiqing gripped the vine firmly in her hand, feeling its texture.
"As a carrion-eating plant, it probably has a temperature-sensing system; living people are not its target."
"Of course, plants do have many behaviors that are almost conscious. Perhaps they have a higher-dimensional consciousness, but we just can't observe it."
"Oh." Mao Hong immediately responded that she understood.
The purpose of Ye Xiqing and her team's trip was to load this root along with the "culture medium" into the car.
Besides mutated zombies and mutated animals, there is another species that cannot be ignored in the apocalypse: mutated plants.
Having studied the human body enough, Ye Xiqing wanted to change direction and study plants.
After all, the main challenge for survival in the apocalypse is still zombies. Plants and zombies have been sworn enemies since their inception. A long time ago, a classic game recorded the epic battle between the two families.
In the end times, we should take this as a reference.
...
Ye Xiqing had not studied botany systematically, but she had a knack for it. The original Huiyang Base was a university town with a library that had a wide variety of books. Zombies don't read books, which was good news.
Ye Xiqing placed various specimens brought from the outside world into the laboratory. She didn't plan to study them alone; she intended to recruit some wood-type ability users to conduct the research together.
It's strange that the power core wasn't the core reason for her power, yet her power disappeared after she lost it.
After thinking for a long time, Ye Xiqing came to a conclusion: the gene is the generator of supernatural power, and the supernatural power core is the converter of supernatural power. If both of them are fine, it should be that the "wires" have burned out. Other supernatural powers are not affected because they and wood-type supernatural powers do not follow the same path.
That makes things complicated. She doesn't know which path the wood-type ability should take, and she can't fix the ability line like she would a power line.
Sometimes, even if you know the cause, you can't fix it and can only watch helplessly.
Turning her gaze to the various samples on the table, Ye Xiqing decided to first study the strangling vine that could eat zombies.
He stretched out his right arm, revealing his iron hand, and gently made a cut on his left thumb.
He brought his thumb, which was oozing blood, to the vine.
Do you eat live animals?
...
Unity is strength. With the entire base mobilized and all the superhumans and ordinary people working together, they dug a deep and wide moat around the city in just a few months. Zombies that fall in would never be able to climb out.
On the day the ditch was filled with water and became a river, Ye Xiqing asked the superhumans to find a way to lure some zombies in.
The onlookers fell silent. Even if the moat could keep out the zombies, there was no need to deliberately lure them in. The city was piled high with zombie corpses, and it would take a lot of manpower to clear them away!
But Ye Xiqing was not joking. After the zombies fell into the water and swam around, Ye Xiqing's employees scattered bags of seeds.
On the second day, the struggling zombies stopped struggling. Instead, clusters of aquatic mushrooms and vines sprouted on the corpses and grew to the surface of the water at the speed of light.
Ye Xiqing looked at the stunned crowd and said, "Don't you know that corpses are very nutritious?"
Everyone: ...
I initially thought Ye Xiqing meant that by peacefully coexisting with zombies, she meant digging a river to keep them away, hiding inside and minimizing casualties. It turns out she was using zombies as a hydroponic nutrient medium...
Ye Xiqing and the others sowed many seeds, and the ones that grew best were algae, fungi, and strangler vines that feed on carrion.
The strangler vine can grow underwater, but it is essentially a terrestrial creature, and it has covered the newly raised city walls.
When asked by the base personnel whether they should take care of it, Ye Xiqing replied that it was unnecessary.
The strangler vine can not only feed on carrion, but also release a chemical substance to lure zombies to it for prey.
With it there, the zombies can be replenished in a continuous stream.
In addition to growing algae, scavenging plants, and aquatic mushrooms, we will also introduce some scavenging fish.
The moat surrounding the Huiyang base is very wide, enough to form an ecosystem.
In addition to fighting off zombies, it can also provide some food supplies.
Everyone: ...
Isn't that a bit too outrageous?
No one knew how to describe this seemingly inhuman operation, but what was terrifying was that Ye Xiqing's idea had actually come true.
In the apocalypse, it's not easy to grow crops or raise livestock. As for raising livestock, people can't even get enough to eat, so where would the resources come from to raise animals?
For agriculture, the biggest problem troubling humanity is not environmental alienation, but rather the blocking of sunlight.
To grow normal crops, not only do earth-type ability users need to purify the soil, water-type ability users need to purify the water, and wood-type ability users need to promote growth, there is also an important step: artificial lighting, which is extremely costly and relies entirely on existing food reserves.
As a result, a moat was dug, providing food for the entire base. Why? It's that simple: Ye Xiqing used zombies to grow vegetables and raise fish!
Fish are scary to begin with, but scavenging fish, especially those that feed on rotting zombies, are even scarier. While everyone craves protein, can this stuff really be eaten...?
Ye Xiqing calmly said, "It's alright, those with superpowers can eat first."
Superpowered Person: ...
The fish and mushrooms from the "corpse pond" were served on the table. The canteen staff did something to be considerate and stewed the fish and mushrooms thoroughly to kill any germs.
Although it felt like a terrible injustice, there was nothing they could do. Superhumans are resilient; if they didn't eat, who would?
Overcoming psychological pressure and eating fish and mushrooms fished out of the zombie pool is actually not so bad, as long as you don't think about where they came from.
After the superhuman finished eating, the ordinary people also picked up their chopsticks with trepidation. Although they all felt like vomiting when they put their food in their mouths, in the end, nothing went wrong.
It seems that in the end times, the survivors are different from before.
From then on, in order to save food, the base's three meals a day consisted of fish and mushrooms every day. That's right, now everyone can eat three meals a day.
But the famine problem has been solved. Why does it feel so strange? Ordinary people have no choice but to eat, but people with superpowers have all started to "abstain from grains" and will never eat if they can absorb external energy to maintain their physical strength.
Everyone looked at the superhuman who seemed to live without mortal food and felt extremely envious. Superhumans are indeed better off. This superhuman injection is definitely going to happen!
However, women can get pregnant and receive the injection, but men cannot.
Seeing Ye Xiqing engrossed in growing fish and vegetables, the system fell silent. "You'd rather research zombies raising fish than research ways for men to gain superpowers?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
