Ch 47: TGCIR

Jun 19 2023

Shen Cheng didn’t know about the little incident between the “base staff”. When she went online, she only saw a new message pop up in the game:

[Xi Bei has awakened, preconditions for plant-type ability users have been met]

[Hydroponic room in the base enters working mode]

[Current supply: 200 servings/day (planting breadfruit)]

[Current number of personnel in the base: 45]

Self-sufficiency achieved!

Shen Cheng was quite happy and clicked on the little people’s heads in the base to check, but she found that the small people who were just starting to meet their basic food and clothing needs now had a new demand for meat (occasionally) in their food choices.

This is a bit of a problem!

After the end of the world, almost all animals mutated. Not only did their body size increase several times, but even ordinary pigs grew extremely thick skin that could not be cut with a normal knife. As omnivores, they occasionally even found some zombies to gnaw on… While mutant beasts can occasionally be hunted for meat, it is difficult to make it a long-term supply of meat.

Shen Cheng was worried about this, but Sun Yifei, friend of Xi Nan, who had returned with him, came to Li Weilan with the first suggestion he had after arriving at Noah Base and inspecting it: “Brother Li, we can raise some fish in the pool at the bottom of the base as a source of meat for the base. As for fish food, the remaining breadfruit bait is already enough for now.”

After arriving at Noah Base, Sun Yifei had been carefully observing the structure and layout of the base. As an auxiliary earth-based ability user, he was originally an architect, and his ability mutation was mainly in the aspect of assisting in the overall design and composition.

He had been walking around Noah Base for the past few days, holding a small notebook in his hand to write and wander around, not playing around, but recording the composition of the base, the design of the rooms, and security issues.

But the more he looked, the more alarmed he became. It was not just because the construction materials used for the base were a type of material that even his ability couldn’t probe, but also because the base’s sewage, circulation, and pipeline systems had made him, as someone who specialized in construction engineering, feel amazed from the bottom of his heart: This is definitely not a level that is just a few years or even decades ahead.

As for how advanced it is? In some of the designs and planning perspectives, he could only roughly guess at their purpose, but the technological difficulties involved in between, he dared to say, he had never even thought about before.

So the people in the base these days see Sun Yifei and think he’s a little crazy. Every day he just carries a notebook and runs around.

This is the fifth day Sun Yifei has been in the base, and he finally came up with his own design.

Li Weilan looked at his precise and complex composition, looking at the criss-crossing lines on it, and listened carefully to his explanation: “Our base’s wastewater goes through the purification room and enters this No.2 pool once again, where it will undergo another precipitation and sterilization before finally entering the drinking water tank. But I don’t know what kind of fish to raise yet. Mr. Fu will probably have to spend some time researching which species can produce meat without requiring too much feeding.”

“I’ll go talk to Fu Yanzhou.” Li Weilan nodded after hearing his report.

At this moment, Sun Yifei hesitated for a moment and asked Li Weilan in a low voice, “Brother Li, do you know who built this base?”

Li Weilan turned around in surprise.

Sun Yifei hesitated for a long time and asked, “Do you know who built this base? I really have so many questions.”

Li Weilan’s expression froze: Just by looking at the base sketch that Sun Yifei drew, he knew that this person must be knowledgeable.

An amateur just watches the fun, but someone like him knows that there are many unreasonable aspects to this base, but he can’t explain the reason for it.

Yes, since Sun Yifei is a graduate of architecture, can he see the architectural style and techniques used?

He felt a surge of excitement in his heart and asked eagerly, “What did you find out?”

Sun Yifei’s next words left him stunned: “Brother Li, all I know is that this is not technology of this world.”

Sun Yifei paused and pointed to the sketches and frameworks on the paper, saying earnestly, “Normally, a project this big would take thousands of people and various large machines several years to complete. And digging such a large project underground would certainly alert the government. Do you know if the person behind this has any official background?”

Li Weilan pondered for a moment and slowly shook his head.

She was not a person of this world. It couldn’t be.

“This goes against common sense.” Sun Yifei lowered his voice, as if afraid of disturbing some sleeping presence. “A project like this is beyond human capability…what we can do for such an existence may only be to pray.”

Li Weilan nodded slowly, Sun Yifei’s words shattered his illusions.

He wanted to know her world. Not just for himself, but also for the other people in the base.

Because as long as she had a thought, a mere flicker of electricity in her mind, it could mean catastrophe for them. With a single thought, they could be born or dead.

For such an existence, perhaps reverence and fear were the right path.

But for him, perhaps it was precisely because he was too close to “it” that he couldn’t tell himself, like Sun Yifei said, that “it” didn’t care, because he was as lowly as an ant, as light as sand, and nothing he did mattered to her.

He had to find a way to see this world clearly. If he hadn’t even seen it clearly, then there was no point in talking about crossing barriers.

***

Fu Yanzhou just wants to shut himself up and not speak.

Since the last time he went out and was surrounded in the middle of a “victory celebration,” he locked himself in the laboratory.

For him, immersing himself fully in his experiments is the only way to escape the noise and disturbance around him. When people talk to each other, they always spew out countless bacteria, and when people come into contact with each other, they also bring countless infectious germs.

It’s very uncomfortable.

However, contrary to his wishes, someone still knocked on the door when he least wanted it: it was his boss, whom he could not refuse.

“…” Fu Yanzhou stood silently in the room, silently watching his boss, hoping he would finish talking quickly and leave: didn’t he seem like he didn’t want to stay long last time?

Li Weilan put down the structural diagram in his hand and said to Fu Yanzhou, “The base needs some stable sources of meat, and we’ll use this fish pond. The size and dimensions are all indicated on it, and the composition of the inlet and outlet is also drawn. Can you see if you can improve the species to ensure the meat supply for the base? Once the meat supply is up, you’ll have priority every day.”

“!” Fu Yanzhou widened his eyes in silence: priority supply! It’s a good deal!

He slowly took the structural diagram and turned around silently, looking at it and nodding.

Li Weilan was about to ask something, but then there was a knock on the door, “tap, tap, tap.” Li Weilan frowned and went over to open the door, only to see a girl with twin ponytails standing outside.

It was Xi Bei.

She smiled and stood there, looking cute, but when she saw Li Weilan, there was a strange glint in her eyes. Then she spoke in a tone that Li Weilan couldn’t quite understand, “Ah, you’re here!”

“??” Li Weilan felt like her tone was a bit strange, making him inexplicably curious.

Li Weilan suspected it was just his imagination, and he nodded.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Fu Yanzhou peeked his head out from behind him and looked slightly at Xi Bei, his eyes revealing a clear “What’s up?” meaning.

“…” Xi Bei originally had something important to find Fu Yanzhou for, but now, she couldn’t help but whisper, “I feel like I’m glowing.”

Just then, on Shen Cheng’s screen, the “main character” switched to this scene, and a new task notification popped up:

[As the owner of the base, it is time to show your intimacy with the main character now that the base is forming. Remember, your cub will always be yours! Please interact to show your intimacy with the main character and display it to other ability users in the base. Currently displayed: 0/3, Envy: 0/3, task completed: 200G.]

“???” Shen Cheng was confused.

Show intimacy?

How to display it?

As a mother fan, she never had any improper thoughts about her own cub!

The reward for this task was very generous, but… she had no idea how to complete it!

Shen Cheng was at a loss, and just then, Li Weilan felt her arrival. He raised his head slightly and smiled towards the direction of the fluctuation in the void, “You’re here.”

[Triggered – Intimate Nickname Task: Please ask the main character to call you ‘Master’ once.]

Ah ah ah, Shen Cheng remembered the embarrassment play option she accidentally triggered when choosing the nickname, but now she felt like digging a hole and burying herself.

She looked around and fortunately, she was at home. She immediately put on her headphones to isolate any possible noise.

On the screen, feeling that she didn’t respond immediately, the little person tilted his head slightly, showing a slightly puzzled expression.

After greeting her, Li Weilan heard a soft response, “You have to call me ‘Master’ today.”

Unlike every other interaction before, it was heard by everyone in the room.

Fu Yanzhou looked confused.

Xi Bei, on the other hand, had a curious expression on her face.

She wasn’t mistaken: Brother Li, who was always calm, first showed a slight shyness, then a faint doubt, but surprisingly, there was no anger or dissatisfaction.

She then looked at Fu Yanzhou’s expression, he’s so socially awkward that he can’t even play the master and servant game happily!

How can Brother Li be so cooperative!

If it was me… I’d rather adopt a pet than adopt Fu Yanzhou!

Shen Cheng, on the other hand, had her face turned red as well. It seemed that she and her cub exchanged looks through the screen, and the little person stiffened for a moment.

But he immediately calmed down, and only a faint blush at the tip of his ear showed that his true feelings were not as calm as they seemed on the surface: “Master, good afternoon.”

[Intimate Nickname Task completed. Intimacy displayed: 1/3, Envy: 1/3]

[Challenge mode triggered: Ask Li Weilan about his wish!]

Sandy: I’m a little confused by Xi Bei’s reaction. Did she think the voice came from Fu Yanzhou or something? What did “She then looked at Fu Yanzhou’s expression, he’s so socially awkward that he can’t even play the master and servant game happily!” mean? It’s not easy translating sometimes