Chapter 231: Mutant Sea Creatures
Xu Sa sighed with relief, “Don’t worry, even if we break up…”
“We won’t break up!” Liu Rui suddenly interrupted angrily.
“I meant if…”
“No!”
“I…”
Lu Weiyi cut them off before they could continue, banging the table to grab everyone’s attention. “Just letting you know, I don’t recommend it. If you insist on being together, I won’t force you. But—”
“If any personal conflicts arise, at best you’ll be transferred to reserves; at worst, you’ll leave the team. No exceptions.”
“Think carefully before you decide.”
With this critical matter out of the way, Lu Weiyi started taking Xu Sa and Liu Rui out every day.
It was finally confirmed that the changes in space came from several boxes of jade raw materials.
“Probably some of the finest got absorbed directly by you,” Zhuang Mingxu ordered the boxes to be put in the villa’s backyard. “Try putting these into your space.”
“These are all just stones,” Lu Weiyi said. The raw materials looked no different from regular stones outside. He seriously doubted Zhuang Mingxu was mistaken. Jade was usually infused directly into the well water. Lu Weiyi had even drunk that water before. A few pretty jade pieces would be tolerable, but putting stones in felt uncomfortable.
“They’re raw jade stones. I checked,” Zhuang Mingxu said, pointing to a pile already opened nearby, showing cut surfaces of jade of various qualities—no mistake.
Lu Weiyi scooped a bucket of well water and tentatively threw a few stones in—no reaction.
He thought for a moment, washed the stones clean, put them in a small bucket, and lowered it into the well. As the water rippled, the space showed subtle vibrations. If not for Lu Weiyi’s constant attention, such a large-scale change might have gone unnoticed.
“Useful,” Lu Weiyi whispered. “Have someone clean them.”
He didn’t want to throw dirty stones in, because whenever he needed to drink from the well, it would bother him. If possible, he wanted to keep things comfortable.
Zhuang Mingxu found several water-type ability users to work overtime washing the raw stones clean overnight. Lu Weiyi then spent most of the evening going through all the raw stones.
“Not fully restored,” Lu Weiyi said, looking at the round remaining edges.
Zhuang Mingxu bent down, leaning close to Lu Weiyi’s abdomen, rubbing the circular mark under his navel. “Still missing half a circle.”
“We’ll collect some in the Capital; that should be enough. If not, we’ll think of another way,” Zhuang Mingxu said, fingers unconsciously stroking.
“I… What are you two doing so early?” Wu Yue knocked twice on the door. Without waiting for a response, he pushed it open to find a suggestive scene and hurriedly blocked the view with some documents, loudly emphasizing, “This is an office, an office!”
“What’s going on? Is there some play to watch?” Ning Yuan, following behind, looked over on tiptoes. Seeing nothing unusual, he stepped past Wu Yue into the room.
Zhuang Mingxu fixed Lu Weiyi’s clothes and took the blueprints handed over.
“We’ll first experiment with the closest North and West Islands, linking three small cargo ships of the same model to form a 360-meter channel embedded in the foundation. With the help of ability users…”
“I have to go,” Lu Weiyi said. Lately, he had been going out early and coming back late, busy hauling various boats. The small island was now surrounded by a circle of boats.
There were many boats, but not enough for everyone to travel. There were some foot-powered small boats for others to use for nearby fishing—convenient and simple.
“Be safe,” Zhuang Mingxu said casually. Having never encountered danger, he had relaxed his guard compared to the first trip. He gave a casual reminder and then bent his head to continue discussing with the two others.
Lu Weiyi only needed to worry about bringing back various things from trips, but Zhuang Mingxu had to oversee all base projects.
Antonio had already connected the lines in the basement. Running the generator continuously wasn’t economical, so they had set many circuit breakers to turn off power when not in use.
The entire first underground floor was used as Lu Xi’s research area, and the rest was all for storing scarce materials. Only after everything was taken out did Zhuang Mingxu get a clear idea of just how much supplies Lu Weiyi had.
All three floors were piled full—and that was only part of it.
Some large gas tankers and fuel trucks had only been half unloaded.
Aside from himself, only Lu Weiyi had access to the basement. Even Lu Xi’s permissions were limited to the first floor. But Zhuang Mingxu had set aside a few rooms in the corners as daily supply warehouses for the household’s regular consumption, available for Xi Shi to use, and the remaining space served as a shelter.
The central island they lived on was a relatively small shallow island, meaning even moderate waves could flood the area. Raising the foundation would take time, and for now, they didn’t have enough ability users to expend on that.
Only the original team members lived on the island.
This was considered Lu Weiyi’s private territory. From the start, Zhuang Mingxu made it clear: everyone could live here temporarily, but if they started families, they could not settle permanently on the island.
Everyone in the military lived on West Island, where they had reclaimed about a thousand acres of land, mostly planted with wheat and some beans and vegetables.
Bai Miao led the plant-type ability users to stimulate growth once a week. Now the wheat shoots were sprouting, and the rest of the time was spent growing whatever edible materials they could—potatoes, sweet potatoes, vegetables, all kinds.
The only downside was the limited level of the ability users, so the amount they could stimulate wasn’t enough to feed everyone.
Fortunately, they were by the sea. Every day, a few water-type ability users went out nearby to fish and harvest, resulting in plentiful catches. Once the base people’s livelihood was secure, Wu Yue put the defensive fortification designs on the agenda.
All were talents cultivated by the state and had unique insights into military matters. After discussion, they decided to connect to the mainland via North Island.
North Island’s side facing the mainland was naturally higher than the shoreline, and the island sloped down, allowing the shortest distance between the two shores. The entire ship channel from the mainland to North Island would form an uphill path, about twenty meters above sea level. Inside North Island, a road was to be built with only a five-meter-long tunnel needed to reach the inner island directly.
With the aid of abilities and external reinforcement, this length would not collapse. Cannons would be installed on top, and just a few armed people could prevent outsiders from landing on the island.
The tunnel problem had already been solved, but ability users were still insufficient. The linking of ships had to be done by ordinary people using tools, which took time but could eventually be completed.
Just after Lu Weiyi left the study, Xu Sa spoke first.
“Brother Xi, are the meat pies ready? We’re leaving now,” Xu Sa called towards the kitchen to Xi Shi.
“Coming, coming,” Xi Shi came out carrying a steaming bowl of pies. “Xiao Xu said you guys were eating casually at noon and wanted some meat pies, so I made some early.”
Lu Weiyi stored the pies in his space and looked back at the “casual” Xu Sa, wondering where he got the nerve. Recently, they had been eating the food Lu Weiyi had packed before the apocalypse. Just yesterday, they ate a whole roast suckling pig, which Xu Sa exaggeratedly said was so good he could swallow his tongue.
Xu Sa gave an embarrassed smile, grabbed a pie from the bowl, split it in half for Liu Rui, and then ran out with him, shouting, “Waiting for you outside!”
“Little Daddy, Ai Yi brought you a gift,” Zhuang Ai Yi, the youngest on the island at barely half a person tall, excitedly came over holding a pink unicorn plush doll. He introduced it as his new friend.
Meng Xi, the youngest of the original team, was already thirteen and usually helped the adults with chores. Ai Yi was inevitably lonely, but luckily, the team was large, so wherever they went, he could tag along and play. Even if no one cared, he could entertain himself for a long time.
Outside on the small island, the collected shipping containers were piled everywhere. There were all kinds of strange things—fabric, clothes, snacks, toys, even gems, drugs, and stowaways. The scene was astonishing to onlookers.
The two small islands were now linked by cargo ships. A group of people stood on them holding various tools, conducting final checks before test runs. Seeing him come out, they waved and greeted.
“Captain, heading out?”
“Captain, have a safe trip!”
“Come back safe!”
…
Lu Weiyi waved back at them from afar.
“Daddy’s leaving. Don’t leave the yard alone. Don’t go near things you haven’t seen before. Tell an adult about anything new,” Lu Weiyi pinched the soft little face and gave his instructions.
“Ai Yi remembers,” Zhuang Ai Yi replied, standing on tiptoe to kiss Lu Weiyi on the cheek, then waved, “I’ll wait here for Little Daddy tonight.”
“Okay,” Lu Weiyi rubbed his head and boarded the motorboat.
Liu Rui piloted the boat out from the small island, heading toward the planned direction. Xu Sa sat bored in the back, chatting with Lu Weiyi about the latest catches.
There was a mutated yellow croaker longer than an arm, scallops with fist-sized pearls, and a crab that sprayed water like a basin.
“They didn’t kill that crab. They said the water it sprays is fresh water, so it’s kept in a pool spraying water. They made a metal room and a bulletproof glass wall just for it. It’s treated well. I went to see it last night. It’s not afraid of people at all and even attacked me. The sprayed water hit the glass and fell into the pool,” Xu Sa excitedly described the new finds. “The base has a constant supply of seafood now. Some say we could do aquaculture, so we can sell seafood to other bases and increase income.”
No one responded, but Xu Sa could go on and on. On their first trip east, Lu Weiyi found him annoying and said flatly, “You have a bite mark on your neck.”
“…” Xu Sa immediately shut up as if his neck had been grabbed, straightened his clothes, cleared his throat, and looked out at the sea. After a moment, he turned back quietly and said, “Don’t worry, even if we break up, it won’t be like you said. I…”
He looked toward Liu Rui’s back and said softly, “I’ll give in to him.”
Xu Sa had been alone for a long time. Besides a friend who still cared about him, all he had were people who fawned over him in prison.
He had only helped a shy guy once because they both took the blame for others, and since then, the guy did all the chores for him and helped with washing up.
Back then, many people fawned over him, but he didn’t take it seriously.
After the apocalypse, Xu Sa fell seriously ill. The people around him kicked him when he was down, and some even had their eyes on his body.
If it weren’t for that stutterer who risked his life to protect him all the way, he wouldn’t know where he’d be by now.
He had never experienced being protected by someone risking their life for him. It was too wonderful, too precious to let go. But he also knew that compared to himself, that person was still young and immature.
Who could know what the future held?
