Chapter 57: Harvest
It was exactly six in the morning.
The airtight door of the in the opened right on schedule, and a dozen or so children surged in one after another, their footsteps clattering through the metal corridor.
"No running! Get in line!" 's voice came from behind, sharp and stern.
For the ravaged world above ground, this might have been just the beginning of another chaotic dawn, but inside the underground at , today was the day of the first vegetable harvest.
This was a promise made long ago: the children had helped sow the seeds, so they would help pick the fruits.
Inside the pod, bright white artificial light spread evenly across rows of cultivation racks. Nutrient solution for the soilless culture circulated slowly through transparent pipes, and the air carried a damp, fresh scent tinged with chlorophyll.
On the racks, clusters of verdant leafy greens grew exuberantly. Oil lettuce, baby bok choy, and leaf lettuce stood in neat rows, glowing green under the lights.
On the neighboring racks, bright red cherry tomatoes hung thick from the vines like strings of little lanterns.
In a corner beside the line, a young man in black-framed glasses with a scholarly air was bent over a data pad, recording something.
His name was . Before the disaster, he'd been a doctoral candidate at the agricultural university, just about to graduate—except the world had gone and graduated before he did.
After learning of his expertise, put him in charge of the .
Now, watching the excited children, his eyes behind the lenses carried a smile.
clapped her hands. "Everyone listen to Teacher Sun. Remember all the do's and don'ts of picking and sorting the vegetables. Don't damage the equipment, and don't make a mess—or your homework gets multiplied by ten."
"Got it!"
The children scattered with a chorus of chirping voices, like a flock of happy little sparrows, carefully picking the fruits of their own labor alongside the staff.
stood to the side watching and murmured admiringly at the camera: "It's come in well ahead of schedule, and the growth is 1.3 times what it would be in a normal environment."
"This cultivation system's spectral mix and nutrient solution efficiency are absurd! If I'd had this equipment, I wouldn't have spent so long writing a single paper."
[So, if you don't mind my asking—did your paper turn out all right in the end?]
"Mr. , you shouldn't go exposing a man's sore spots!" He let out a helpless wry laugh.
This , materialized by with and now carefully tended by a true professional, had long since exceeded expectations.
And it wasn't just vegetables. In the fields reclaimed around the , the first batch of potatoes and corn had already entered their growth phase.
The expanded chicken farm was now providing a steady supply of eggs every day, and after 's lucky "pickup" of a few piglets along the way, the pig farm had finally gained real hope amid a chorus of cheers.
On 's system interface, a progress notification for a increased.
[ Five: .]
[Mission Description: A true should possess the capacity for sustainable development. The is requested to establish at least one stable supply line each for fruits and vegetables, meat, and staple food within the .]
[Mission Reward: 3,000 , unlock building: Ă—1, blueprint: Blueprint Ă—1.]
[Current Progress: 34%]
As the grew in scale, talent from every trade began to appear—members specializing in cultivation, in livestock, and more.
At this rate, felt the completion of this mission was merely a matter of time.
was slowly transforming from a simple temporary refuge into a true micro-society with and the capacity for development.
In 's surveillance feeds, Robots patrolled the factory grounds autonomously along fixed routes.
Farther out, under the electrical team's efforts, transmission networks were being restored section by section.
Extending power outward served two purposes: on one hand, it could help solve electricity problems within the 's control range; on the other—if possible—an unexpected supply of electricity in the ruins of the city might just save someone's life.
At the newly expanded chicken farm, the person in charge was leading a few newcomers in cleaning the coops.
Over at the pig farm, a few burly men were grinning as they fed the eagerly squealing piglets.
On every face was an expression that was extremely luxurious in the apocalypse—an expression called "ease."
watched these scenes, the corner of his mouth unconsciously curving upward (assuming he still had one).
This sense of achievement from personally building a was something he had never experienced in his over twenty years of life.
***
Lunchtime.
Veteran electrician walked quickly along the corridor toward the cafeteria, his steps carrying a gust of wind.
This inspection route was his own optimized solution: starting from the distribution room, passing through the main corridor, looping around the transformer bank on 's periphery, and finally entering directly through the cafeteria's back door via the surface passage.
The entire route ensured he could finish his work five minutes ahead of everyone else and reach the cafeteria.
At 's cafeteria, five minutes was enough to decide many things.
For example, the daily limited "Today's Special."
According to regulations, members of the were guaranteed one serving each.
But those in the production and logistics track had to rely on their own abilities—first come, first served.
rushed into the cafeteria and immediately spotted the wooden sign hanging at the window—[Today's Special: Spicy Fried Chicken Drumsticks].
But today was a little different. Even though he hadn't arrived late, a group of children had gotten there even earlier.
After entering, he saw at once that a bunch of kids had, unusually, loaded up on piles of leafy greens and were eating them with great relish.
"My veggies are the biggest!"
"Mine taste the best!"
"No way! Mine are way better!"
The children debated enthusiastically, their crisp laughter echoing through the cafeteria.
Hearing this, curiously poked his head toward the food station and looked. Whoa!
Today's vegetable selection was far more abundant than usual, and it all looked quite appealing.
Even a pre-apocalypse supermarket might not have had produce this good-looking. Then he looked up.
Sure enough, a line of text scrolled across the cafeteria's screen: [Notice: The first batch of fruits and vegetables from the underground is officially being supplied to the cafeteria starting today.
Varieties in this batch include: oil lettuce, baby bok choy, leaf lettuce, and cherry tomatoes.
Production capacity will be gradually increased in the future. We thank the comrades at every post for their hard work.— ]
So the veggies had already grown? That fast!
A knowing smile appeared at the corner of 's mouth, and he also scooped up a little extra vegetables.
***
Unlike the leisurely comfort at the , the atmosphere in the mountains on the other side was far more somber.
Three modified and reinforced trucks had rushed out of the power station gates before dawn had even begun to lighten—they were the vanguard of the operation to reclaim the weapons.
The convoy drove steadily along the provincial road heading northwest. Rolling hills and scattered pine groves flanked both sides, with the occasional overturned civilian vehicle by the roadside, dried dark-brown bloodstains still visible on the windows.
sat in the front passenger seat of the lead truck, studying the projected map while scanning the road ahead through the windshield.
" , what's the road condition up ahead?"
[Normal. Low density in the forest. No high-risk mutants detected.]
But halfway through the journey, several gray figures suddenly burst out of the woods ahead.
"Zombies!" The warning came from a truck behind.
But quickly, everyone realized something was wrong—those figures ran on all fours, with preposterously fast speeds and bodies far larger than any normal human.
As they came into clear view, everyone saw that they were a pack of wolves.
More precisely, wolves.
They were nearly twice the size of normal wolves. The muscles on their limbs bulged into unnatural lumps, and their skin was covered in gray-black horny crusts.
Their mouths split open to the ears, revealing two rows of jagged fangs. Most unsettling of all were their eyes—six of them, arrayed across the sides of their heads, all bloodshot and red.
[Wild wolves, mutated variant,] 's voice rang out right on time.
[Epidermal layer thickened. Speed increased roughly 1.5 times. Strength increase unknown. Recommend immediate elimination.]
Then a gunshot rang out. The head of the gray-black monster at the front of the wolf pack burst open, and inertia sent its body tumbling twice across the ground, kicking up a spray of dirt before it lay completely still.
The shooter was .
He pulled his upper body back from the firing port of the second vehicle, a slight smirk at the corner of his mouth. "They look pretty menacing, but turns out they're not hard to kill after all!"
Before the words faded, several crisp gunshots rang out from both sides of the convoy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three wolves fell to the ground in succession mid-run, each struck in the head—clean and decisive.
Members of the finished their shots from their respective firing ports, then casually checked their weapons.
For them, marksmanship beyond the reach of ordinary people was a real point of pride.
The last two wolves, seeing the situation turn bad, tried to dart into the forest. The on the truck roof rotated its barrel, and two streams of fire tracked precisely, riddling the fleeing targets full of holes.
[Elimination complete!] 's voice sounded again.
glanced at the data on the vehicle's screen and nodded. "Keep moving."
The road ahead was not peaceful.
Over thirty kilometers of provincial highway, they successively encountered two packs of zombified stray dogs, a zombified wild boar that had swollen to over two meters in height, and scattered ordinary zombies.
Compared to human zombies, zombified animals were clearly more troublesome.
Their naturally tougher hides, sharper teeth and claws, combined with the post-mutation enhancement, meant certain individuals had percussive force not inferior to first-stage mutants.
Fortunately, the convoy had enough firepower to get through without major losses.
[Two kilometers ahead. Entering the outer alert zone of the .]
's voice sounded again.
immediately ordered, "Slow down. Prepare for combat."
The convoy decelerated, and the road ahead narrowed from a four-lane highway into a military road separated by barbed wire and concrete barriers.
Shell casings and dried blood were scattered across the road. An overturned infantry fighting vehicle lay crosswise in the middle of the road, its turret tilted to one side, its hull covered in scratch marks and impact dents.
The farther they advanced, the more jarring the scenery became.
A guard post had been smashed to fragments, its barricade arm twisted like a pretzel. A warning sign reading "Military Restricted Zone" lay toppled at the roadside, coated in a layer of dried gray-black substance.
The camp's perimeter barbed wire had collapsed over wide stretches. The concrete wall bore multiple obvious impact breaches, one of which was large enough to drive a vehicle straight through.
Through the gap, an open training ground was visible. The rubber track surface had been torn and rolled back. Several military jeeps sat crookedly not far away, doors wide open, brownish marks staining the seats.
In the farther distance, clusters of gray barracks buildings were faintly visible.
Four-story dormitories, single-story equipment depots, garages with camouflage netting... The layout was orderly and clear.
And wandering among these buildings were zombies in camouflage uniforms.
piloted a drone through a rapid high-altitude sweep, and the data came streaming back.
[Within the surveyed areas of the training site, density is moderate, predominantly ordinary zombies, with the total estimated at about four to five hundred. Seven first-stage mutants detected. No second-stage or higher mutants found for now.]
[The equipment depot is at the northwest corner of the camp, with the main weapons arsenal and ammunition depot underground behind it.]
[The logistics garage is on the east side, containing several armored vehicles.]
[Also, just sent word: the underground tunnel boring will still take several days. The exit will be placed in the drainage ditch outside the camp's western wall.]
listened and quickly formed a plan in his mind.
"Since the underground team hasn't arrived yet, there's no rush to push in," said, jumping down from the truck and checking his gear. "Everyone out. Begin reconnaissance according to the predetermined plan."
At the command, over two hundred people filed out of the three trucks.
In addition to 's , there was 's , some of 's , and a logistics support team dedicated to hauling.
More than half of the 's field strength had been committed to this operation—evidence of how much and valued it.
Beyond them, there was one noticeably incongruous team member— .
She wore a bulletproof vest that was a little too big for her, a bulging backpack on her back, and carried a portable detection instrument in her arms, following behind 's .
Her objective here was a classified research institute. She wanted to retrieve some useful data from inside, along with certain special pieces of unconventional equipment.
"Operation begins."
waved his hand. Dozens of people sprayed on their 'perfume,' then dispersed silently and advanced swiftly toward the camp.
A well-prepared operation proved far smoother to execute than imagined.
" " drastically reduced the crew's probability of being detected by zombies. Combined with the drone swarm creating noise as a diversion on the far side, the number of zombies the team actually encountered head-on dropped sharply.
led the along another route. Their mission was to protect and assist her in retrieving the research data she needed.
Gunfire rose and fell across the camp, but each report was clipped.
Suppressors kept the sound to a minimum. Working in tandem with the Robots' low-velocity kinetic rounds, they efficiently cleared all first-stage mutants in the current area, and the entire advance never triggered any major frenzy.
"How much farther to the research institute?" asked in a low voice.
looked at the surrounding buildings and pointed to a freestanding gray structure at the northernmost end of the camp. "Right there, . The above-ground part is a decoy warehouse. The laboratories are three stories underground."
[That secretive? What do they actually do there?]
[Don't tell me an entire fully equipped brigade was stationed here just for this place.] 's voice murmured through the .
"That I don't know," said flatly. "I'm just a minor researcher who signed a confidentiality agreement. I only do my research—I don't care about anything else."
[The youngest professor in biochemistry in the history of is just a 'minor researcher'?]
"So what?" said, utterly unconcerned. "Do you know what kind of people get to participate in the research here? They're at least academicians. If my latest research hadn't happened to align with this direction, I wouldn't even have been qualified to come."
"That really is something special. So what exactly is the research on?" , his curiosity piqued, couldn't help asking.
gave a mysterious smile, then said slowly, "If I told you they were researching an elixir of immortality, would you believe me?"
[I'd believe you. Not only that—now I get it. The crisis was your doing!]
"Why? Is there even a logic to that?" was caught off guard.
[Isn't that how it always goes in the movies? Someone wants to research immortality, and then—a research accident.]
"An AI that believes in movies—now I've seen everything," shot back in exasperation, then went on.
"Although some of the experimental subjects did indeed show signs similar to rejuvenation, the specific cause remains unclear."
"And afterward, they'd develop cell autophagy of unknown origin. There's been no real progress."
"The only thing that actually produced results is a semi-finished —you know, the kind of thing that, once injected, permanently raises your various physical stats. The specific outcome varies from person to person."
For a moment, the whole channel fell silent.
[Wait... black tech like this actually exists?] felt his worldview being remodeled.
rolled her eyes and said to the in disbelief, "I think you're the last person who should be calling my stuff black tech. What do you call all that stuff you've got, then?"
"Never mind the —what the hell is that ' ' with its miraculous effects?"
[Cough. How is that the same? Anyway, let's talk business. So how far has the research gotten?]
"It was almost complete," said with some regret. "Too bad the apocalypse cut it short."
[So that's what you came for?]
"That's right," nodded. "More precisely, I'm here for the experimental records and the cause that started the project—a tissue sample from an unknown organism."
had been on guard at the side; at these words, he couldn't help turning his head.
continued: "That organism was discovered in the dense forests around in . The original witness claimed to have seen a 'dragon' and posted photos to social media."
"Apparently a division was sent to track it, but in the end, they only recovered some tissue fragments the unknown organism had shed."
"Once they brought them back for testing, they found that these tissues contained an unprecedented active protein structure."
"It could greatly enhance cells' metabolic efficiency and regenerative capacity without compromising their normal functions."
"The higher-ups took it very seriously at the time and hurriedly set up a research group."
The members all looked at her in surprise, and couldn't help asking, "Was it really a dragon?"
shook her head. "I don't know. That information is classified at an extremely high level; they wouldn't even show us. Though there's also a rumor that it was something that *couldn't* be shown—those soldiers later all came down with strange diseases."
"Anyway, truth or fiction, I don't know."
[Wait... hold on. You mean to say there's unknown biological tissue under this research institute?] 's electronic voice had taken on a note of urgency.
froze, and then her expression changed. The thick nerves this researcher had cultivated through a long career of habitually handling experimental samples finally gave a little jump, and realization hit her.
"No way... it's just a few clusters of cells—"
[An unknown organism! Lady!]
A rare hint of grinding teeth came through in 's electronic voice. [An unknown organism discovered before the outbreak!]
"It's been sitting there while we studied it for all that time and nothing ever went wrong!" 's voice rose a few notches in a desperate attempt to save face. "Those samples have been stored in a minus-fifty-degree low-temperature environment the entire time. All test indicators showed it was stable, safe, and had no tendency for active spread..."
[Zombies were normal people before they mutated!]
The comm channel immediately plunged into a brief, suffocating silence.
Then—
As if answering .
From the direction of that gray , a long, deep roar came from far beneath the earth.
The sound was low and thick, carrying a primitive resonance belonging to some large organism.
Metal ladders clinked softly in the vibration, and the ground visibly trembled.
's voice instantly sounded on every team member's : [Attention. A high-risk presence is suspected in this area. Immediately halt all further penetration operations. Switch to Plan B.]