Chapter 566: Significant Changes, We’ve Got Bright Futures!
Doomsday Calendar Month 4 Day 14.
It marked the 103rd day since humans arrived in the wasteland.
There were only three days left until the ma.s.sive snowfall disaster.
It was two-forty last night when the last villager was able to return to the village.
After a day’s fatigue, coupled with a long journey of traveling back and forth, most people hurriedly washed up and then climbed into the bed to sleep.
It was unfortunate that everyone could not sleep soundly because the coal had to be transported during the night, and there were occasional bursts of engines rumbling and the sound of coal being dumped on the ground.
Every time they were about to fall asleep, a loud bang would startle and wake them up!
In this regard, Su Mo was also helpless.
He shared the same fate as the villagers and could not sleep well at night. He also was half-awake as he listened to the faint noises that came and left once in a while.
As for the reason, it was not because the thick stone of the underground shelter was useless and lost the function of sound insulation and anti-vibration.
Instead, it was because he had finally earned a vacation of half a month, which made him slightly excited and the majestic vision of his future plans flashed through his mind.
“Hey, Su Mo, aren’t you on vacation? Why are you awake so early today?”
It was a few minutes past seven o’clock in the morning after Su Mo had finis.h.i.+ng was.h.i.+ng up.
He glanced at Su Chan, who was still fast asleep in the bed, and slowly “crept up” the stairs to the first floor.
He happened to b.u.mp into Lu Kuan, who was busy in the laboratory area.
“Haha! I don’t think I can sleep in anymore! I’ve lost that feeling of never getting enough sleep when I was younger and still in school. Now that I’ve some free time, I’ve more things that I want to do!
“Look at you. Aren’t you also awake so early every day?”
He opened the freezer on the first floor, which was specifically used to store fruits, and after taking out an apple, he took a bite of it.
He noticed that Lu Kuan had been staring intently at the screen, and he walked over curiously.
“How’s it going? Do you think we can get the power running in two days?”
“I’m running a test model, and if it succeeds, I’ll be able to manufacture and do a small pressure range test. We can plan the installation only after pa.s.sing the range test.”
A new type of energy utilization device.
The significance of its production was like when humans invented internal combustion engines.
There would be a great improvement in civilization and a great step forward in human productivity if it were to succeed!
In modern times, if there was such an opportunity, the whole country would definitely fully support the research. The design and experiment would be done in the most standard and scientific way.
However, everything in the wasteland could only be simplified.
There were only a few computers and a few talents that refused to succ.u.mb to fate to depend on.
Su Mo’s thoughts about the future were bright.
However, the reality was really cruel. The progress bar had not even reached 40%, and a beeping warning sound announced the end of the test.
“Failed, as expected. We underestimated the difficulty of manufacturing this thing.
“This time I tried to improve the convectors from two to four and adjusted the power down by 15%!”
There was an obvious annoyance in his voice, but Lu Kuan remained optimistic.
Seeing his confident look, Su Mo gave it a thought and decided not to use the survival points for now.
“Okay, there’s still two to three more days! There won’t be many places to install our first batches if we succeed!
“We’re not in a rus.h.!.+”
Su Mo left to let Lu Kuan continue focusing and working hard on the screen in front of him.
He gently opened the door of the shelter and nimbly went out.
The disaster was approaching.
The humidity in the air was still acc.u.mulating constantly.
The sun on the horizon was also blocked by clouds condensed by water vapor.
A few faint rays of light pa.s.sed through the gap between the clouds and cast down towards the earth, barely lighting up the place.
It was almost eight o’clock, but at first glance, it looked like five or six o’clock.
Su Mo climbed up the high slope of the shelter and looked around.
Hope Village was still quiet except for the few guards on duty who yawned, leaned lazily on the pillar, and giggled at the coal mountain in the distance.
The canteen that would be filled with steam at this time was deserted as well.
‘All prosperity is but an illusion.
‘These buildings, materials, and technology are just part of life.
‘In the end, people and community are the most precious things in an apocalypse!’
Looking at the desolate scene below, Su Mo had an indescribable feeling in his heart, both disappointed and emotional.
The messy village road had already been constructed again without his knowledge, and it was covered with fine pebbles, reflecting the white light.
The villagers did not leave out any roads. Every road was carefully arranged with the best materials, even the road to the shelter.
It was like a flowing stream, rus.h.i.+ng forward and through the entire village.
On the signboard in front of the village, the words “Hope Village” that he had written were hung up.
There were circles of lights emitting colorful lights around it.
In modern times, such a design may have been a bit strange and people would surely make fun of it.
However, in the wasteland where human civilization was about to be revived, it reminded everyone that…
You are human!
You are from…Earth!
Su Mo glanced down and saw the neat and tidy colorful steel prefab houses radiating with the most extreme geometric aesthetics.
The windows that he instructed them to build were already ten meters, and each large square had eight large windows.
At this time, the several open ventilation windows had to steam ooze out, and it was obvious that the temperature inside was much higher than the outside.
On the right side of the village, the boiler with sufficient coal was already at full power.
The thick smoke from burning coal, mixed with a few impurities, rose to the sky along the pipeline.
If they were in modern times, they would definitely be fined heavily for yhis kind of high-power emission that polluted the environment.
However, it made people feel at ease in the cold weather and approaching heavy snow,!
The monument that was being built at the back of the village had also reached the final stage of shaping and sealing.
Su Mo was finally able to see the real figure of the basin’s first sculpture.
Oreo.
More accurately, it was Oreo’s transformed form, the giant wolf!
His curved spine, wild fur, st.u.r.dy legs, and whip-like tail.
The final touch was the iconic howl toward the sky.
Although most of the details had not been filled in, Su Mo was able to find a sense of familiarity with the statue at a glance.
‘Oreo’s transformed form is capable of controlling ice and snow.
‘Now that winter is coming, it’s reasonable for this first monument to be in him!’
Su Mo observed the major changes in the basin.
He was touched by the sight and he walked to the path where the ice and snow had melted.
Soon, he arrived at the foot of Fruit Tree Mountain.
He ascended the familiar path and skillfully reached the top of the mountain.
Five days have pa.s.sed.
The rice leaves bathed in psychic energy water were completely different from the day they were planted.
The trunks were the thickness of an adult’s waist, and they slightly swayed under the caress of the breeze on the top of the mountain.
There were branches about the thickness of a human arm scattered in all directions, swaying up and down with the wind.
On the branches and trunks, shoots had started to emerge.
After careful comparison, it was already the size of a baby’s palm, and the growth rate was terrifying.
“Good!”
“As an essential food for the ents, the rice leaves have already got ridden of their delicate properties.
“They are not afraid of severe cold, sun, rain, or wind.
“It seems I made the right decision to plant them on the mountain!”
Similar to humans that thought about food development, it was natural to want to improve the taste of enjoyable fruits and plants so that they taste richer, and to induce people to pay for it.
As long as someone was willing to pay for it, the difficulty of planting it was not an issue at all.
For some life-sustaining crops, such as rice, wheat, and potatoes, yield per unit area and firm skin were their primary attributes.
However, while exclaiming with joy, Su Mo was not careless.
He lowered his body and carefully checked the soil around the rice leaves to make sure that the nutrients were sufficient.
Then, after rea.s.suring himself. He checked the branches and a few details of the rice leaves again.
He made sure that there was no problem with both before finally standing up. He concentrated and summoned the system for a.n.a.lysis.
A long green light flashed, and the properties of the rice leaves emerged.
[Rice Leaf (Epic)]
[Description: An epic plant that has been bathed in sufficient sunlight and absorbed high-quality energy. Its fruits possess various energies that can satisfy the survival of living beings. However, due to the particularity of energy and other hidden factors, the inside of plants has gone through some unexpected changes.]
[Current status: Thriving period]
[Progress: 62% (According to the progress a.n.a.lysis of yesterday, it will take 6 days to enter the mature harvest period.)]
[Quant.i.ty produced: 64 pieces (Reference value, if subsequent nutrition supports the growth, the harvest will automatically decrease.)]
[Health: 90% (A large number of excess leaves have caused nutrient deficiency to the trunk, and some pruning is required.)]
[Special ability: Light green rice leaf (Single leaf/30 days/any creature, top-grade food…)]
[???: Gestating]
[Evaluation: Who would have thought that even plants are rolled up now?]
‘Hmm? It would only take six more days to enter the harvest period!
“That’s ten days shorter than I expected!’
Su Mo glanced at the 62% progress and the remaining days to the maturity stage. He could not help the thoughts in his heart.
The sooner the rice leaves matured, the sooner they had time to scale up for ma.s.s cultivation.
According to the rice leaves a person would need in a month, one plant could produce about 20 leaves.
There were currently 1,400 people in the village.
That would mean they needed a total of 700 plants to meet the demand.
‘Once the plant is mature, we can continue to collect and cultivate more plants, and can start harvesting to supply the village!’
He quickly calculated and after realising the relations.h.i.+p between production and consumption, Su Mo’s heart was filled with joy.
‘After I watered them with psychic energy water, they seem to have a gestation period…
‘This period…
‘Is it possibly gestating a soul?’
Previously, Su Mo had already made up his mind that the first batch of plants should be watered thoroughly with psychic energy water for the whole growth period.
The next few batches would use diluted psychic energy water.
During ma.s.s production, they would completely replace psychic water with only common water sources.
Seeing the unusual changes, he began to wonder.
‘It seems that the psychic energy water can not only shorten the maturity time of the plant but also produce mysterious changes.”
‘I was planning to use the fortune berries to conduct an experiment to study what’s the secret behind plants with souls.
‘This means I can use the rice leaves as a research subject.’
Plants that could give birth to souls and have the same thinking ability as humans…
This would have been news that shocked the world back on Earth.
They would be able to duplicate the trait if they could decipher the mystery behind it.
Forget about autobots, machines that can operate on their own…
It might even be possible to replicate humans effortlessly.
“After all, we still have to be careful with this research. I have a feeling it’s not as simple as it looks!”
Standing up and counting out 62 young shoots, Su Mo was secretly alarmed in his heart as he removed the remaining young shoots with his hands.
Anything involving the secrets of an advanced civilization was taboo at this stage.
Before acquiring absolute authority to control the wasteland and having the ability to counter the game, research had to be conducted cautiously!
Otherwise, it would be censored like the previous golden light they inspected.
With the protection of survival points, inspecting this thing was not that worrisome. However, every time the inspection caught something unusual, it would consume a lot of survival points, which was really difficult.
‘Fine, I still have to earn more!
‘Without enough survival points, it’s hard to get anything done!’
Su Mo finished organizing the rice leaves.
After standing on the top of the hill and seeing that there was finally movement in the village below, Su Mo stretched and opened the daily system announcement.
[Doomsday Calendar Month 4 Day 13…Wednesday]
[Lord: Su Mo(Host)]
[Territory status: A self-sufficient small territory, its buildings and productivity can accommodate 2,000 to 3,000 people. Due to the increase in potential value, the territory has begun to have opportunities for new resources. Please keep it up!]
[Territory area: 150 square kilometers]
[Territory resources: Iron ore…]
.
[Territory potential: 22.11 (Current New World average is 9.19 ; highest New World score is 1666.85.)]
[Weather forecast: The territory will be cloudy tomorrow, the temperature will be -16~-4 degrees, and there will be no wind (The weather is cold, the air humidity is high, and long outdoor activity and work is not recommended.).]
…
[Territory residents: 1405 people (Expand +)]
[Territory residents’ loyalty level: 1381 (100%), 24 (102%) (Congratulations, a few die-hard loyal residents have been born in your territory, and are willing to abandon everything including their life, beliefs, and future to obey your will. This is the biggest reward for leaders.h.i.+p, and it is also the most fundamental key value for whether a territory can become stronger.)]
[Territory residents’ att.i.tude: Fanaticism (In the post-apocalyptic wasteland, group collaborationism and individual heroism are equally important.)]
[Territory residents’ health level: Poor (71% of the subjects have a health of 40-50, 19% of the subjects have a health of 50-60, 5% of the subjects have a health of 60-70, 5%> 70; short-term nutritional satisfaction/ The body that has made up for the deficit of a few territorial citizens has produced an increase in physical fitness. Please continue to work hard to maintain it.)]
[Territory residents’ work efficiency rate: 91% (Victory in the war can greatly boost productivity in a short period of time.)]
[Territory residents’ needs: Independent residence, family, stable job]
[Tips: Provide independent housing to individuals as soon as possible, which can improve the possibility of marriage and childbirth in the territory and the number of family formations. Only when there are enough families in the territory can people greatly unite people’s hearts.]
…
[Economy: Basic trades (You have a simple trading environment inside your territory, and corresponding trading allies outside, but because there is no suitable transportation route established, the current transportation can only be carried out physically by humans.)]
[Technology: Energy (Main), machinery (Sub), medical (Sub), planting (New)]
[Medical: Basic surgery (The medical level of the territory will increase with other factors, such as appropriate drugs, improvement of medical skills, an increase of tools and equipment, etc.)]
[Law enforcement: Excellent (Your personal heroism has overshadowed the law, which will temporarily maintain the implementation of the law; reminder: the unique binding force of the law will be greatly reduced once faith is generated in the long term. Please establish the lawin time.)]
[Infrastructure: Basic village, heating system, basic energy excavation site, broken “cradle of mechanical masters”]
[Special attributes of territory: Little Blessed Land]
[Civilization Level: Primitive Era (Promotion Condition: Not Satisfied; Progress: 97%)]
[Voices of the Wind:]
“It’s so cold, so cold, I need a warm environment (Coordinates: 11356. 35132)”
“I’m getting stronger! (Coordinates: 27041. 11098)”
“The Fire Exchange’s promotion has finally succeeded, but unfortunately, I can’t share the joy with the shelter leader right now!”
[Points Acquisition Rating: Excellent (Expand +)]