Chapter 64: Everything Awaits Action

Chapter 64: Everything Awaits Action

It was a rare fine day in June, with a clear blue sky.

A jeep and a motorhome stopped at the former main gate of Nanshan Prison, followed by several flatbed trucks carrying various pharmaceutical machines and equipment.

Qin Mu got out of the motorhome and spoke to the guard at the gate. The automatic iron gate slowly opened, and the guard at the gate communicated with someone inside via walkie-talkie. Soon, a young man's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "I'll be right out to meet you."

The sign of Nanshan Prison had been replaced with four large characters: "Nanshan Herb Garden."

The convoy rolled in grandly and came to a halt at the outdoor basketball court in the courtyard.

Zhou Yun got out of the car with Comet, followed by the Qin brothers, Qin Mu and Qin Sheng. A young man quickly walked out of the office building to greet them. He had a rare buzz cut, a well-defined face, thick eyebrows, and big eyes. His physique was very sturdy, and his back was as straight as a ruler—very much like the straight-laced, by-the-book cop from before the apocalypse.

Qin Mu introduced with a smile: "This is Zhu Zhuan, my childhood friend. His name was hard to pronounce when we were kids, so we all called him Piggy."

Zhu Zhuan stepped forward to shake hands: "Hello, Doctor Zhou."

Zhou Yun smiled and said, "Hello, Officer Zhu. Nanshan Herb Garden owes a lot to your hard work."

Zhu Zhuan laughed: "No need to be so formal, just call me Xiao Zhu or A-Zhuan. There's no more officer or not officer—now I'm just making a living in the guard unit, a private bodyguard. I'm sorry for the uniform; I don't feel worthy of wearing it anymore."

Zhou Yun looked at his meticulous appearance and smiled: "Alright, A-Zhuan, the name is quite special."

Qin Mu said, "When he was a baby, he grabbed a seal during the zhuazhou ceremony and wouldn't let go. His parents were overjoyed, saying he would definitely become a high-ranking official in the future! So they named him Zhu Zhuan. They even had someone specially calculate it! Later, he indeed got into a prestigious university and became a civil servant. We all said it was accurate, and he might become a high-ranking official from our old town area."

Zhu Zhuan looked somewhat embarrassed and self-deprecatingly said, "What high-ranking official? After graduating, I became a civil servant and entered the prison system. I thought I could stay in the big city, but I was directly assigned back to Nanshan Prison. It's a particularly bitter irony. A-Mu still teases me about it."

Qin Mu patted his shoulder: "With Doctor Zhou, the future is promising!"

Qin Mu smiled at Zhou Yun: "Back then, I wanted to drop out of school to work on a ship, and he had a big argument with me, saying I was unreliable. He also said that dragging Xiao Sheng into a gang wasn't a long-term plan and told me to study hard. Look, now whoever has the bigger fist calls the shots. You didn't trust me, but today you'll meet Doctor Zhou and see that our setup is reliable."

Qin Sheng laughed beside him: "When selling medicine, Brother Zhuan also told me not to sell drugs of unknown origin, saying I couldn't bear the responsibility."

Zhu Zhuan looked somewhat awkward: "There were rules back then, and only those who followed the rules could make a living. Now, in the apocalypse, there are no rules."

Zhou Yun smiled: "The rules are in your heart. I heard it was your idea to bring the prisoners here to Nanshan?"

Zhu Zhuan nodded: "After the apocalypse, I was also making a living in the guard unit. A while ago, my little cousin was raising silkworms with A-Mu at the base, but she was taken away by the Four Seas Gang that night."

"A-Mu and Xiao Sheng came back to organize a counterattack, and I joined them. Later, when A-Mu was struggling with how to handle the situation, I suggested bringing them back to Nanshan Prison. They had escaped from there before and had wanted to take revenge on me, but they toned it down when they saw I was in the guard unit."

He couldn't help but steal a glance at Comet, who was standing beside Zhou Yun. He was deeply impressed by this fire-breathing dog. That night, A-Mu, Xiao Sheng, and the dog went on a killing spree, and he was terrified, fearing that A-Mu would become radical and evil from then on. So when A-Mu was worried about how to handle the prisoners, he proactively suggested a solution.

A-Mu gladly adopted the idea and went to Nanshan Prison to deal with the Four Seas Gang members. After reclaiming the base, he heard A-Mu and Xiao Sheng discussing turning the place into a medicinal herb base and going to consult with "Doctor Zhou." They also came to him to draw up a floor plan.

It turned out they were serious about starting a business and creating a herb garden, planning to grow mutated herbs. They even formally listed job positions to provide work for the neighbors in the old town area, as well as the girls and laborers who had been imprisoned by the Four Seas Gang.

He watched as Qin Mu and Qin Sheng methodically planned and organized everything, which was a far cry from his previous belief that the Qin brothers had willingly degenerated and strayed from the right path.

Instead, he had been walking the "right path" that his parents and society had hoped for, but the moment the apocalypse arrived, he lost all his goals. There was no order, no future. He escaped from the prison, which had become a "battle royale," and returned to Beiming City, only to find his parents' corpses and endless zombies.

To protect himself, he had to join the city lord's guard unit, but he felt like he was just muddling through each day.

He thought the Qin brothers had completely become like the lawless gangs that thrived in the apocalypse, but they had become a strong force protecting the neighbors in the old town area. They worked hard to organize the base and found jobs for the neighbors to grow vegetables, raise livestock, and silkworms.

In the past, he was the civil servant everyone envied, the neighborhood's golden boy, while the Qin brothers were the delinquents who had willingly joined a gang.

When the apocalypse came, Qin Sheng awakened psychic powers, and the Qin brothers became the kind and righteous children who took care of the neighbors, praised by all and sundry. He, on the other hand, became an orphan like the Qin brothers, without psychic powers, and was threatened with revenge by the Four Seas Gang. He had to seek refuge in the mansions of wealthy merchants, becoming a bodyguard for the rich, and even then, he was treated as expendable.

In addition to the inevitable bitterness and loss, there was more of a sense of bewilderment towards the apocalypse.

The complete collapse of moral and legal social systems, the emergence of a new psychic human species signifying human evolution, zombies and mutated plants and animals demonstrating the survival of the fittest—so where does the path lie for ordinary doctors like him who have not awakened psychic powers?

Even Qin Mu has awakened shadow psychic powers, but apart from killing a few of the most heinous leaders of the Four Seas Gang to intimidate, Qin Mu and his group did not go on a killing spree. Instead, they first thought of using these prisoners to grow medicinal plants.

He was full of curiosity about the "Doctor Zhou" mentioned by Qin Mu and Qin Sheng, and also somewhat worried that his childhood friend was being exploited. Qin Mu laughed at his concerns: "Don't worry, first, the medicine is effective. Second, when I was unconscious from a zombie bite, he didn't report or leave me but cured me. I even awakened shadow psychic powers because of it, and he never demanded anything in return. Lastly, he is very strong."

Zhu Zhuan couldn't help but glance at the gentle and elegant doctor standing before him. He had handsome features, fair skin, and the exceptionally healthy glow and vibrant energy typical of psychics. Psychics are like this, favored by heaven, with greatly enhanced physical fitness and better energy than ordinary people. The new world is ruled by the psychics.

The doctor was very perceptive and looked up at him. Zhu Zhuan, who had undergone training, couldn't help but avert his gaze slightly from such a sharp look, coughing lightly to cover his unease, and glanced at the equipment in the car: "Is this the equipment for making medicine?"

Qin Sheng replied, "Yes, we went to several hospitals with self-made medicine early in the morning and gathered a few sets that are still usable. We'll send people to other cities later to gather more."

Zhu Zhuan said, "First, let them drive to the factory workshop we selected last time, dismantle and store them there. We'll slowly debug them tomorrow."

As he guided Zhou Yun, he said, "Please come inside and sit. It's sunny outside, but the weather has been unpredictable since the apocalypse. The roads are tough, so it must have been hard to get here."

Zhou Yun smiled, "Yes, along the way, I saw large farms, all abandoned." Dead crop leaves lay fallen on the ground, and wild grass grew rampant, desolate and barren.

Zhu Zhuan said, "Nanshan Prison was originally a farm, covering more than 68,000 acres."

"After it was converted into a prison, inmates were organized to farm in the outer areas, mainly growing corn, sugarcane, tea, watermelon, and oranges—all dead after the apocalypse. We basically need to re-plow the land and re-plan the planting areas. If this year's weather is as droughty and flood-prone as last year, it might be hard to grow these crops."

"So currently, we've just gotten a few plowing machines and had the inmates... the Four Seas Gang members plow the soil once and divide the areas."

Zhou Yun nodded, "Yes, open-air planting should focus on drought and flood-resistant crops. Sugarcane can continue, and corn is also fine. Additionally, I can provide some mutated plants to be planted later."

"We need to dig drainage ditches in advance, prepare for flood prevention, and then build greenhouses to grow relatively delicate medicinal herbs. If necessary, we can convert some glass greenhouses."

"I've seen the floor plan. There's a semi-open-air gymnasium with an indoor court and a swimming pool. This gymnasium can be converted into a greenhouse. The pool can serve as a daily water reservoir and for irrigation purposes, and we can recruit water psychics for irrigation. We can reserve some areas for employees' daily exercise."

Zhu Zhuan led Zhou Yun inside, and along the way, they saw all areas fenced with high iron railings, marked with high-voltage warnings, but undoubtedly, there was no electricity now.

Facing them was an office building, with four sets of three-dimensional characters on the top floor: "Loyalty, Responsibility, Pragmatism, Dedication." The walls were prominently painted with slogans: "Guard Justice, Protect Harmony." On the high walls beside them, red characters were painted: "Combine Punishment with Reform, Aiming to Reform People."

Zhou Yun couldn't help but smile at the red characters. Zhu Zhuan laughed, "Although Qin Mu had the sign changed, the slogans inside were originally meant to intimidate. There are too many other things to deal with, so we haven't gotten around to changing them."

Zhou Yun said, "No need to change, they really make you think."

Zhu Zhuan pointed downstairs, "Currently, we've renovated the entire building. Floors one to three are office floors, and floors three to six are converted into dormitories for the nursery workers."

"The nursery at the back also retains the original staff dormitories. Some people come with their families to work in planting and can live there, also taking care of the nursery and doing guard duty."

"The cafeteria is also in this courtyard, completely separate from the prison, which is safer. The cafeteria is well-equipped, and after the Four Seas Gang took over, they brought a lot of food here, which has benefited us."

Zhou Yun saw slogans painted on the cafeteria: "Three meals a day, start anew; reflect daily, repent earnestly," and couldn't help but smile.

Zhu Zhuan invited them into the reception room. Zhou Yun patted Comet's neck, "You can play around in the courtyard."

Comet barked excitedly and ran out.

Zhou Yun then entered the reception room, which was simple. The outer room had standard office sofas, a coffee table, and a water dispenser. The inner room was a conference room with a long table and a projector.

Zhu Zhuan invited Zhou Yun to sit in the conference room and pulled down the floor plan to explain, "Before the apocalypse, there were over 220 prison police officers here, holding more than 3,000 inmates. Where we are now is the administrative office area, including the office building and the monitoring center."

"The monitoring center was originally equipped with very advanced monitoring equipment to monitor all areas of the prison in real-time, ensuring the safety and stability of the prison. Some were damaged after the apocalypse, and we're currently hiring technicians to repair them. But now, we only need to monitor the 322 members of the Four Seas Gang, which is enough."

"The security areas mainly include guard towers, gatehouses, and the security team barracks. We are still recruiting security team members for the nursery. Currently, some young people from the Laojie Gang are guarding key guard towers, checking and registering people and vehicles entering and exiting the nursery at the gatehouse, but we are still short-staffed."

"This area is the living quarters for inmates, with separate entrances and exits, and relatively tight and independent security. There are two cell buildings, divided into male and female sections, equipped with collective cells and special cells, all with iron doors and windows, and fireproof, non-removable furniture. Currently, we have several psychics locked in individual cells, which were previously used for inmates with severe sentences or dangerous behaviors."

"The living area includes dining halls, laundry rooms, and recreational and fitness facilities for the inmates. The staff here often employ some low-risk inmates as workers."

"This area is for labor education and reform, including classrooms for cultural education and vocational skills training, a library reading room, a psychological correction center, factory workshops, and warehouses. Our workshops here handle clothing, electronic parts processing, etc. The warehouses currently store some fabrics for making work clothes, some tools and equipment, and some previously unsent finished products."

"Inmates also receive technical training, such as welding, auto repair, computer sewing, cooking, baking, hairdressing, bricklaying, etc., which are in high demand for social employment. So, the warehouses also have some tools for training, quite scattered, but fortunately, the warehouses are registered, and they can be well utilized during actual construction."

Qin Mu interjected, "So, we've already prepared the factory workshops here to be used as pharmaceutical workshops. You can first see what pharmaceutical equipment is needed, and Xiao Sheng and I will lead a team to find suitable ones and bring them back. There are several county-level city hospitals and pharmaceutical factories nearby that we can visit."

Zhu Zhuan added, "Yes, we also have a prison hospital here, which previously had more than a dozen prison doctors who could perform simple first aid and treat common diseases. There are quite a few medical devices, quite advanced. I remember before the apocalypse, we purchased a set of remote diagnostic equipment, which was said to allow experts to diagnose remotely. So, Doctor Zhou, you can take a look at this place later, and if there's anything usable or needs modification, you can let us know."

Zhou Yun sighed, "So, it's almost a small society." With all the equipment complete and the existing high walls and electric fences, it's really suitable as a base.

Qin Sheng said, "Damn, these criminals have it better than we do! We have to pay for our skills training! They get free food and lodging, jobs, training, and teaching! They can have hobbies, exercise, get free medical treatment when sick, and even consult experts!"

Qin Mu glanced at him, "But they can't play games."

Qin Sheng: "..."

Zhu Zhuan couldn't help but laugh, "Mainly, these are all criminal offenders. Taking inmates out for medical treatment is very unsafe and increases administrative travel costs, all for the safety and stability of the prison. Don't look at these inmates usually appearing obedient... When the apocalypse came, the warden wanted to protect them from being bitten by zombies, but they turned around and directly took the warden hostage, cutting off his limbs to force out the keys and passwords..."

His face showed some sadness. Qin Sheng said, "Damn! Serves them right to be locked up again now! That Wu Jiao deserved to die!"

Qin Mu noticed Zhou Yun staring at Qin Sheng somewhat lost in thought and asked with a smile, "Doctor Zhou, what are your thoughts now? This base is really well chosen, especially since the Four Seas Gang has stored a lot of supplies here—food, medicine, generators, gasoline, diesel, and other energy sources."

Zhou Yun came back to his senses and said, "For the construction of the greenhouse and the pharmaceutical greenhouses, I have plans and detailed construction materials. We can modify them according to the on-site dimensions. I've already copied the storage disk, and you can recruit some experienced staff to build them. It's not very difficult."

"The pharmaceutical manufacturing line, once installed, can be used very quickly."

He opened the floor plan that Qin Mu had brought over earlier, "I'll go check the soil and light conditions on-site later, and then I can roughly determine the use of each piece of land."

Zhu Zhuan said, "The main issue now is manpower. Currently, with the people from our Laojie Gang and some former prison guards and staff I called back, we only have about two hundred people available. Many are still employed at the city lord's mansion and can't come here for long periods."

"Also, the Four Seas Gang previously imprisoned about a hundred girls and laborers here. We provided them with some crystal cores and arranged vehicles to send them back to the city. But many, especially the girls, are unwilling to return, saying they want to work here since we're setting up a pharmaceutical garden. They have no jobs back home, but they can go back to see their families first. The Four Seas Gang originally kept these people here as slaves, so they are quite familiar with the place and are quite handy."

"We are indeed short on manpower, so we handed out application forms for those willing to stay to fill in their names, addresses, education, specialties, and what they are good at."

"The issue is that some of the girls are pregnant, and we really can't keep them. Our medical resources are insufficient; we can't do prenatal checkups, and childbirth is also very risky. Moreover, the babies in their wombs are sensitive. If it's the Four Seas Gang's fault, it might later be blamed on the Laojie Gang, which wouldn't be appropriate. My opinion is still to send them back, but they cry a lot, some are mentally depressed, unstable, and unwilling to reveal where their families are. Some have no family left, which is a bit troublesome."

Zhou Yun asked, "How many are pregnant?"

Zhu Zhuan replied, "Thirteen. The Four Seas Gang really did evil. Some are very far along, and if they don't want the babies, aborting is also dangerous. In this situation where they could give birth at any time, it's better to send them back quickly to have their families take them to the hospital. We plan to notify their families to come and pick them up."

Zhou Yun said, "They can be sent to the medical clinic in the Beiming City Lord's Mansion, asking them to take them in and provide assistance according to the alliance's joint declaration convention. There are light psychic abilities available there and many professional medical staff who can provide them with medical security."

He had seen the convention that Jiang Rongqian showed him, which included provisions for the shelter and assistance of women and children.

Zhu Zhuan was stunned, "The medical clinic wouldn't be willing, would they? Isn't the city lord conference not yet held?"

Zhou Yun said, "They will take them. They are eager to respond to the alliance and want to prove their ability to manage the base before the city lord conference. Let Qin Mu talk to them."

As ordinary people, the Gong family must prove their ability to the alliance to take control of Beiming City and also to win over the Laojie Gang, which has just destroyed the Four Seas Gang.

Zhu Zhuan looked at Qin Mu, who said, "Alright, I'll go find Yuan Xuegang, the director of the city lord's mansion medical clinic."

Qin Sheng frowned, "Most of these girls are from Beiming, so it should be City Lord Gong's responsibility. I heard some have psychic powers, and some have family members with psychic powers. The Four Seas Gang thought they had genes carrying psychic abilities, so they kidnapped them. Their families must have sought help from the city lord's mansion. I've heard of girls going missing; the old town area doesn't allow girls to go out alone anymore."

He sneered, "The city lord's mansion backed down and didn't dare to confront the Four Seas Gang, always claiming to be investigating, pretending not to find evidence. In the apocalypse, disappearances and deaths are common, so they just got by."

Qin Mu said, "Now that we have actual people here, they shouldn't have the nerve to refuse. Let's first have them write down their family addresses, send them back, contact their families, and then go to the medical center together to apply pressure."

Zhu Zhuan: "..." Such a shameless approach from the Qin brothers is not surprising, yet it's surprisingly effective.

However, having solved this major problem, he let out a sigh of relief: "Then this hurdle is over. The next step is recruitment. I've listed the most urgently needed positions, and we'll discuss them later. The most critical is the pharmaceutical workshop, where drugs and packaging are processed separately from raw materials. We must ensure that only our own people are involved to prevent the leakage of secret formulas."

"But there's also a significant issue of sustainability. We must maintain output. Based on the current pharmaceutical shipments and the recently acquired assets and crystal cores from the Four Seas Gang, we can temporarily cover the costs. However, without a steady income, it will be difficult to continue developing. The cycles for growing and producing medicine are quite long."

"So we need to confirm which industries to focus on that can yield benefits in the short term. At the same time, we need to recruit relevant talents and prepare the necessary equipment."

Zhou Yun watched Zhu Zhuan, who was beaming with enthusiasm as he discussed future plans, and was somewhat surprised. Such a practical talent in management and operations... he was lucky to have such a person.

Zhu Zhuan, noticing Zhou Yun's intense gaze, suddenly felt a bit uneasy: "Doctor Zhou's opinion?"

Zhou Yun smiled: "Your plan is very good. Let me first talk about my plans. Firstly, the cycle for growing and producing medicine is not long; you've overlooked the growth acceleration methods of wood psychic abilities. If we start building the guild right away, we can quickly supply the raw materials."

In fact, as long as it's safe, he alone could accelerate the growth of mutated herbs here overnight.

"Secondly, the main industry I'm currently considering is mutated herbs. The key is that the growers' guild needs to quickly attract more wood psychic ability users to cultivate herbs for us. Therefore, the construction and location of the guild need to be done as soon as possible."

Qin Mu said, "This has already been arranged. We're using the site of the former martial arts hall of the Four Seas Gang, directly renovating a large storefront. The ground floor will sell medicine, and the upstairs will be the territory of the growers' guild. I'm planning to set up a tea room where they can pick up medicine, exchange psychic abilities, or where you can share knowledge. We'll also set up a guild exchange tea room here at the herb garden, where they can visit the herb fields and exchange ideas at any time."

Zhou Yun frowned: "If we can find a network expert to set up a local area network on both sides, making it resemble an internet café, and set up an internal forum, that would be great. We could upload relevant materials for members to query. They could also ask questions on the forum, share planting and psychic ability experiences, and, of course, play online games. As long as we can attract these wood psychic ability users to stay there, we're more than halfway to success."

Previously, Guan Yuanfeng had brought back many brand-new high-configuration computers and various equipment from the computer city. The screens alone were impressive curved screens with water-cooled cases. Unfortunately, he didn't have talents like Jiang Rongqian. He was envious of Guan Yuanfeng's subordinates; except for that Su so-and-so, each one was very capable.

Now that military base station communications have been restored, the next step should be the gradual restoration of civilian communications. Once the network is restored, online exchanges and the pace of major forces competing for talents and psychics will accelerate. They are already a step ahead, but they need to be even faster.

Zhu Zhuan looked up: "If we have the equipment, I can set it up. It's just that the required network equipment is a bit troublesome."

Zhou Yun looked at him: "You can?"

Zhu Zhuan, seeing his surprised gaze, smiled: "Didn't Ah Mu tell you that I majored in information security? Although it's not a perfect match, setting up a local area network and reading up on it should be no problem."

Qin Mu was embarrassed: "I really didn't know what you majored in. I only knew that you were very good with computers. If you studied computers, why did you take the civil service exam to become a prison guard? Isn't it said that studying programming, big data, and artificial intelligence is super lucrative? Like a million-dollar salary kind of thing."

Zhu Zhuan: "It's a secure job..."

The three in the meeting room fell silent: That makes sense. And after the apocalypse, it really continued to be secure, truly an ironclad job.

Zhu Zhuan's ears turned a bit red: "And in the prison, I was in charge of maintaining and managing the entire information and surveillance system, so I didn't neglect my major."

Zhou Yun looked at him as if he were a treasure: "Not bad, not bad. I have a lot of high-end computers and network equipment there. I'll have Xiao Sheng bring them back to you later. You can list what you need first. You're really a talent, a precious talent."

Zhu Zhuan felt a bit embarrassed: "What talent? After the apocalypse, all networks and industrial resources have regressed, and I don't even have psychic powers."

Zhou Yun said meaningfully: "Psychic powers are innate; you can wake up with them after a sleep. But any professional learning is the accumulation of years, the experience of countless predecessors and experts, the scientific theories passed down over centuries, which are not something everyone can learn. So don't belittle yourself."

Zhu Zhuan's face heated up from the praise, and he awkwardly said, "What about other industries?" Qin Mu chuckled beside him, and Qin Sheng asked Qin Mu, "Brother, what are you laughing at? Doctor Zhou is right." Zhu Zhuan gave Qin Mu a look.

Zhou Yun smiled: "Secondly, mutated silk, planting mutated mulberry trees, arranging personnel to feed mutated silkworms, and then adding machines and manpower for reeling and weaving. This can be done gradually, while also researching and developing the method for making shadow silk."

He glanced at Qin Mu, who indeed sat up straight upon hearing about shadow silk, lost in thought, perhaps pondering the dark ideas he had previously mentioned.

He continued: "Thirdly, sugar, planting sugarcane and dates, developing the sugar industry. You can consider finding some sugar factories to bring back equipment. Of course, the planting of sugarcane and dates will take time, so there's no rush."

"Fourthly, alcohol, planting a large amount of cacti and agave, using the fruits and plant leaves to brew cactus fruit wine and agave spirits. I currently have mutated seedlings for both, which can yield results relatively quickly. But we need talents in brewing and brewing machine equipment, which shouldn't be hard to find. If we really can't find them, we can resort to ancient brewing methods."

Zhu Zhuan quickly wrote everything down, then pondered for a while: "Alright, I'll arrange it."

Zhou Yun looked at him: "Don't overwork yourself, take it slow." It's rare to find a good seedling; we can't wear him out. There's still a lot to do in the future.

Since having the Qin brothers, he has been much more relaxed. Now with Zhu Zhuan, this top student and management talent, once everything is on track, he has great hope of freeing himself from these trivial matters and focusing on research.

Talents, he needs more talents.