Chapter 45: Planting

Tu You handed Sang Chu the light tablet as Lin Muxue stood by, looking a bit sulky.

""Are you trying to show off...?""

Tu You replied, ""Just give the command. As long as you issue the planting order, the AI can build it right away—super fast!""

Muxue took the light tablet, but her eyes couldn't even focus on it. ""I-I don't think I can do it... I feel like I'm not cut out for this...""

""Why not?""

Of course it's not okay!

How could it be okay!

Muxue glanced at Tu You with a bit of resentment, but still picked up the tablet and fiddled with it slowly.

[Sorry, unable to execute command...]

Seeing the words appear on the screen, Lin Muxue's face fell. ""Hey, hey, there's something wrong with this tablet!""

Tu You rolled her eyes at her. ""Why don't you just say your hand is broken? Honestly, I...""

Although she didn't really know what a greenhouse was, she followed Sang Chu's description: pillars, soil, plastic film.

In the blink of an eye, it was like something just materialized out of thin air.

But the tablet displayed: [Processing, please wait...]

The interface was a bit childish, but everything described was shown on the screen, and the AI quickly constructed a plot of land covered by a greenhouse.

Muxue protested, ""Wait, why does yours work and mine doesn't? Why can you do it but I can't?""

""It means I have talent, and you don't!""

Tu You smugly patted her little bunny ears, her big ears flapping with pride.

Muxue was so jealous she could hardly stand it. ""Clearly, the tablet is just biased towards you!""

""Lin Beauty, stop complaining. Just accept your fate. You and Ah Chu are both all thumbs!""

""Anyway, I'll tell Sang Sang about this first, and let him handle it!""

After saying that, she tossed Tu You into the air, took out her own tablet, and messaged Sang Chu. Unexpectedly, Tu You suddenly said, ""Lin Beauty, what's that thing on your neck? Is it a necklace?""

""You damn rabbit, I've tolerated you long enough. Are you just here to annoy me?""

Tu You waved the tablet in her hand. ""Ah Chu's tablet is with me. Are you blind?""

Muxue: ""......"" ...She had completely forgotten about that!

She rolled her eyes and went off to message Lu Minli.

......

Seeing the dazed Lu Minli, Sang Chu and Sang Jingwen asked curiously, ""Minli, what's wrong?""

""Mu Xue said the base is finished—completely finished!""

After saying that, she looked at the others as if waiting for them to explain how it got done so fast.

Sang Chu said, ""Even I don't know how it happened so quickly. When Dr. Li gave me the instructions, she said building one would take...""

At this point, she suddenly remembered something important. ""Maybe it's because the land is different. The soil in the apocalyptic world is a special kind of photosynthetic mud, very mixed and hard to work with, so construction is slow. But the rocks and soil here are much simpler, so it's probably much faster.""

Yi Ping said, ""Sis, this is more than just a little faster—it's a lot faster!""

Sang Jingwen said, ""Forget it, Sang Sang doesn't know the details either. I'll head back first. Anyway, it's been eternal night since the apocalypse began. If we weren't keeping track of time, we'd have no idea how long it's been. Once we get to the base, we'll wake up Yu and Auntie, and then everyone can finally eat a hot meal together!""

Sang Chu replied, ""Alright, let's head back at full speed.""

......

""Wow, is this the finished base?""

Yi Ping's eyes widened as she walked through the underground city. It hadn't even been that long, and yet there was already such a massive underground city.

If it weren't for the fact that this place matched Sang Jingwen's description, Yi Ping would have wondered if they'd somehow ended up in a completely different city!

Tu You called out, ""Ah Chu, over here!""

Tu You stood in the middle of a greenhouse, her whole body glowing with excitement. The group walked over, and she pointed out:

""Ah Chu, look—aren't these the vegetable greenhouses you described?""

Inside the greenhouse were planting troughs and a water supply system. The water sources Tu You had collected earlier could all be used here.

Tu You said, ""After I set up the greenhouses you mentioned, the tablet recommended a bunch of other stuff. Apparently, people on Guangxing (Light Star) all plant fruits and vegetables like this. A lot of things are grown directly on energy stones. You should check it out!""

Muxue had some plants on her, so she transplanted them, and it worked perfectly!

Lin Muxue exclaimed, ""Sang Sang, this function is amazing!""

Although it's not perfect—the soil isn't as good for planting, and each plant's living space is limited—but for now, it's already great!

Yi Ping asked, ""Isn't it a problem if we don't have enough...?""

Lu Minli said, ""I'm afraid we'll need to find some wood-type ability users.""

Sang Jingwen agreed, ""Yes, just like Yi said. If we don't have enough, and only Sang Sang is a wood-type, over time, these things won't last. The base can be modified as needed, but the plants won't survive without help.""

Among these people, there were probably still relatives alive out there. Once they settled down and had the means, he would definitely go look for his family.

And building a base couldn't rely on just a few people, especially with so many hidden experts around. Who knows when someone might show up...

So for now, he had to focus on developing his own power as quickly as possible.

Sang Chu said, ""I think it's best if only I know about the underground city. Jiao can stay here, and I'll go up to the surface.""

Lin Muxue looked at Sang Chu. ""Why?""

Lu Minli answered, ""Ah Chu is worried we won't have a way out if things go wrong.""

Sang Chu nodded. ""Everyone knows what happened in New City, but I want you all to see what that ability user is capable of.""

Sang Chu put his tablet back on, accessed the controls, and replayed the footage of the previous encounter with the ability user, even showing the part where Tu You nearly chopped Sang Chu into pieces.

Although Lu Minli and Sang Jingwen had heard about it before, this was their first time seeing the footage so directly—Tu You almost turned Sang Chu into a hard drive!

After watching, Sang Jingwen looked at Sang Chu in fear. ""I'm never going to New City again!""

""Brother, we can't avoid it. He's after me, so he'll definitely try to find me. Plus, he's already spread my image everywhere. It won't be long before he figures out I'm the one who escaped from the base, and since New City is my home and I have relatives there, he'll quickly guess I'm here. So, the underground city must stay a secret.""

Sang Jingwen agreed. ""Alright, let's set up an emergency escape route that only we know about. Yu can work on a normal passage, and if we find trustworthy people, we can tell them about it. If the underground city is ever in danger, we can use the normal passage to evacuate immediately.""

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Let me know if you need any specific names or terms adjusted, or if you want a more literal translation!"