“We did a simple test of the surface soil this afternoon.” Chen Mingyuan took a crumpled notebook from his pocket, with data written on it in pencil. “The pH value is around 8.2, slightly alkaline. That’s not a big problem. Some crops are alkali-tolerant.”
“The key issue is that the electrical conductivity is abnormally high. I suspect there is salt accumulation in the soil, possibly residue from former industrial pollution.”
He paused, his voice even lower. “What’s more troublesome is that I used a simple reagent and detected heavy metal reactions, signs of lead and chromium. Although the concentration may not yet be fatal, if crops are grown from it, I cannot guarantee whether people who eat them will suffer chronic poisoning.”
Everyone at the table stopped chewing.
The food entering their mouths was hope, and possibly poison.
He Xu did not answer immediately. She looked at that notebook for a long time, as if digesting the meaning behind every number.
Then she raised her head and said frankly: “I don’t understand soil science. Station Chief Chen, based on your experience, can this kind of situation still be planted?”
“It can, but it must be treated first.” Chen Mingyuan spoke a little faster. “It needs a large amount of clean water to wash and desalinate, and it would be best to find humus-rich material for mulching to absorb heavy metals.”
“Also, before sowing, seed coating treatment must be done, using special coatings to block pollutant absorption. But all of this requires resources… water, organic matter, agents. We currently have none of them.”
The problem was specific, the predicament realistic.
He Xu turned to Old Wang the electrician. “Uncle Wang, have you tested the water quality of the park’s underground wells before?”
Old Wang scratched his head. “I tested the acidity, alkalinity, and hardness. They’re okay. Heavy metals—no equipment to test. But that old well on the east side was marked ‘industrial backup’ before the apocalypse. I reckon it’s not very clean.”
“Dr. Zhang.” He Xu turned toward the medical office. “Among the medical supplies, is there any reagent that can detect heavy metals? Or, is there any reserve of medicine that promotes heavy metal excretion?”
Dr. Zhang shook her head. “No reagent. There is some activated charcoal and diuretics among the medicines, but they treat the symptoms, not the root cause.”
He Xu’s fingers tapped lightly on her forehead a few times.
She thought for a moment, then spoke: “Right now we have three directions.
First, Uncle Wang, tomorrow bring people to conduct another comprehensive test of all the wells, focusing on heavy metals and chemical pollutants.
Second, Station Chief Chen, you list the materials needed for desalination and soil improvement. Even if we don’t have them now, we still need to know what the goal is.
Third, and most important.”
She looked at everyone. “Starting tomorrow, all crops harvested from this experimental field, no matter how well they grow, are absolutely forbidden to be eaten directly. First do sample testing, using the dumbest method: feed them to mice, observe the reaction. Without testing equipment, we use lives to test.”
She spoke calmly, every word forceful and resolute.
“Safety is the first principle.” He Xu said finally. “We plant crops to survive, not to die faster.”
Chen Mingyuan stared at her blankly.
He had thought he would hear evasion, would hear her say she would think of a way, and then let the matter drop.
Or worse, this girl might force herself to say “no problem, I will solve it” in order to boost morale.
But what he heard was a fifteen-year-old girl, after admitting she did not understand, quickly breaking down the problem, gathering resources, and drawing bottom lines.
She did not pretend to be strong, did not evade, only turned a complex difficult problem into a series of executable steps.
Sure enough, following her had been the right choice.
“I understand.” Chen Mingyuan put away the notebook and said solemnly, “I will give you the list tonight.”
“No rush.” He Xu picked up her spoon again and stirred the thin porridge in her bowl. “Eat first. Only when you’re full do you have the strength to solve problems.”
The sound of bowls and chopsticks rose again at the table.
Xie Zhiwei sat beside her, quietly finishing all the potatoes in his bowl. He watched her side profile, watched her expression when she frowned slightly in thought, watched her focused gaze when she listened.
Then he lowered his head and drank the last mouthful of porridge clean.
Seeing all of this, Nan Leyou was astonished. This small industrial park really was the result of everyone’s joint efforts.
As far as he knew, Dawn Base’s approach was “concentrating power to accomplish big things,” with all resources tilted toward the strong.
After the meal, He Xu had Liu Li take the agricultural station people to the dormitory to settle in, while she stayed behind for a short meeting with a few core members.
Of course, as one of only three ability users, Nan Leyou also had to stay.
Xie Zhiwei naturally pulled over a small stool and sat at He Xu’s feet, quietly listening to the adults talk, occasionally adding one or two sentences about wall defense when He Xu asked.
“…So the trench on the east side still needs to be dug half a meter deeper.” Li Jun pointed at the simple map. “This afternoon Old Wang found new scratch marks on the wall. There may be climbing-type mutated zombies active nearby.”
“Xie Zhiwei can add a layer of ice thorns on top of the wall.” He Xu thought. “But that consumes too much. Nan Leyou, can your thorn seeds be planted on a large scale?”
Suddenly called on, Nan Leyou snapped back from his thoughts. “Yes, but I need time to accelerate their growth. And large-scale planting will consume a lot of ability. I may not be able to do other work for a day or two.”
“Then do it in batches.” He Xu decided. “First plant a ring at the base of the outer wall as the first line of defense. Ice thorns as the second line, placed at key nodes. Uncle Li, double the patrol frequency, especially at night.”
The meeting was brief and efficient.
Ten minutes later, matters were arranged and everyone dispersed.
Only He Xu, Xie Zhiwei, and Nan Leyou were left in the cafeteria.
The setting sun slanted in through the window, casting long shadows on the concrete floor. He Xu finally relaxed, rubbing her brow, her face showing fatigue.
“Jiejie is tired.” Xie Zhiwei immediately said. “Go back and rest.”
“There’s one more thing.” He Xu looked at Nan Leyou. “You said earlier that you saw some things at Dawn Base, which is why you chose to go to the agricultural station. Can you tell us specifically?”
The smile on Nan Leyou’s face faded a little. He rubbed his fingers, was silent for a moment, then spoke: “They have a special department called the ‘Ability Research and Development Center,’ abbreviated as the Ability Research Center. Nominally, it studies the laws of ability evolution. In reality…”
He paused, lowering his voice. “They are conducting human experiments. Especially on ability users who don’t obey, or those who have special abilities but aren’t strong enough.”
“I accidentally saw an internal report, on the feasibility study of ability transplantation.” As Nan Leyou spoke, he could not help but shudder. “They want to strip powerful abilities from their original human bodies and then implant them into people with higher power and status.”
He Xu’s heart sank.
The original work did not describe much of Dawn Base’s dark side, but it vaguely mentioned similar plot points. She had not expected Nan Leyou to have actually seen it with his own eyes.
“So you ran.”
“Yes.” Nan Leyou smiled bitterly. “A wood-type ability user like me can assist production and also has research value. We are their favorite experimental material. I don’t want to wake up one day and find myself strapped to an operating table, with my ability core dug out for study.”
Xie Zhiwei’s hand unconsciously tightened.
“Here, you will not be experimented on.” He Xu looked directly into Nan Leyou’s eyes. “I promise. But you also need to follow the park’s rules. Your use of your ability needs to be registered and supervised by the Control Association.”
“Very fair.” Nan Leyou nodded. “Then, when can I start working? I think that plot in the southeast corner is not bad. Although the soil has some problems, it should be usable after improvement.”
“Tomorrow.” He Xu stood up. “Everyone is tired today. Rest well first.”
She picked up the pot of jasmine and said to Xie Zhiwei: “Come, let’s go back.”
When they walked out of the cafeteria, the sun had completely sunk below the horizon, leaving only a dark red streak at the edge of the sky.
Scattered lights came on in the park. The generator Old Wang had repaired began supplying power. Although it could only support part of the lighting, it was already precious enough.
Xie Zhiwei silently followed beside He Xu. After walking for a while, he suddenly said softly: “Jiejie, I don’t like that person.”
“Nan Leyou?” He Xu was a little surprised. That person was all smiles, like a big golden retriever she had raised in her previous life. “Why?”
“The way he looks at you…” Xie Zhiwei frowned, as if searching for the right words, but in the end gave up. “I don’t like it.”
He Xu laughed. “He’s just curious. And he’s a wood-type ability user, very sensitive in perception. He may have felt something from me.”
“That’s still not okay.” Xie Zhiwei said stubbornly. “Jiejie is mine.”
This was said childishly. She felt that Xie Zhiwei was becoming more and more childish in front of her, but he was young anyway. A little childishness was fine.
She did not stop walking. “Yes, yes, yes, I’m your jiejie.”
Xie Zhiwei stared at her ponytail swinging back and forth. “It’s not the same…”
He Xu turned to look at Xie Zhiwei. “What’s not the same?”
Xie Zhiwei: “What we mean is not the same.”
He Xu looked at his delicate face. At twelve, he already had a hint of the future villain’s handsomeness.
She found it a little funny. The Xie Zhiwei who would destroy heaven and earth in the original work was now frowning and thinking about where the difference in their two sentences lay.
He Xu wanted to tease him. “Where is it not the same~”
Xie Zhiwei’s brows furrowed even deeper. “…I don’t know.”
Hearing this, He Xu took his hand and led him toward the temporary residence. “If you can’t figure it out, then don’t think about it. Let’s go, let’s go see Meiqiu.”
The two returned to a cleared office, divided into two small rooms by partitions. He Xu placed the jasmine pot on the windowsill. Meiqiu jumped out of the cardboard box in the corner and rubbed against her leg.
“You were worried about me too?” He Xu smiled and picked up the kitten. “I’m back, it’s fine.”
Meiqiu purred and found a comfortable position in her arms.
Xie Zhiwei sat on the edge of the bed, watching He Xu’s side profile as she played with the cat, then suddenly said: “Jiejie used my ability today.”
“Yes.” He Xu did not deny it. “I don’t know how it happened either. At that time, the situation was critical, and all I could think in my head was that I had to help. Then I could feel your power. It was a wonderful feeling, like… like those ice shards were part of my body.”
“Jiejie can use it freely.” Xie Zhiwei said. “What’s mine is jiejie’s.”
“No.” He Xu shook her head. “That is your power. I only borrowed it temporarily. And I can feel that after borrowing the power today, you look more tired today.”
“When I was using your power, could you feel the energy in your body disappearing?”
Xie Zhiwei hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“So it cannot be abused.” He Xu sat down beside him. “Besides, I would rather have you by my side, protecting me with your own hands, than have me borrow your power to take risks.”
These words made Xie Zhiwei’s eyes light up. “I will become stronger. Strong enough that jiejie doesn’t need to take risks, strong enough to protect everyone.”
“I believe you.” He Xu smiled. “But right now, you need to sleep. Your dark circles are almost falling to the ground.”
She got up to close the window, and out of the corner of her eye caught the jasmine on the windowsill. Under the dim yellow light, the small flower bud seemed to have grown a little more, its leaves green enough to shine.
Was this the effect of Nan Leyou’s ability?
He Xu shook her head and stopped thinking about it. She drew the curtain and blew out the candle.
“Good night, Zhiwei.”
“Good night, jiejie.”
In the darkness, Xie Zhiwei kept his eyes open, listening to He Xu’s steady breathing, feeling the reassuring presence transmitted through the contract link.
He quietly reached out his hand and made a loose grasping motion in the air. Ice crystals condensed in his palm, turning into an exquisite six-petaled snowflake.
He had to become stronger.
Strong enough that no one could threaten jiejie, strong enough to make this park forever safe, strong enough to make jiejie stay by his side forever.