Chapter 152

Chapter 152

After submitting their health reports and accepting temporary reassignments, the teammates resumed their normal duties.

Xiao Qi also underwent a routine check-up, with an additional small tuft of fur clipped and a tube of blood drawn for the lab.

In the following days, Jiang Nian spent his mornings wandering the farm with Xiao Qi, afternoons minding the shop, and evenings handing the fur kid over to Zhou Rongbin. The fur kid settled in nicely.

The wasteland area had grown livelier than before. Aside from Superpowered individuals and their relatives, more ordinary people were renting plots in the planned farm.

To encourage ordinary residents to participate in the farm’s development, the base officials announced the progress of the Purify medication for the land. Otherwise, many would miss out on leasing land later.

As a result, some rented half or one acre just to secure a spot, treating it more as a stake in the project. Others built livestock sheds to raise poultry and livestock they had acquired.

Though planting wasn’t feasible yet, construction was booming. Jiang Nian’s farm upgrades were nearing completion. Over the past few days, he provided lunch, sugary drinks, and electrolyte water for the workers. He was generous, and they worked hard.

Whether it was the farm’s boundary wall, the livestock sheds inside, or the division of land plots, the crew gave solid advice and paid meticulous attention to detail.

By early June, the "Nian Nian You Yu" sign went up. After settling the remaining payments with the workers, the farm’s renovation was officially complete.

The farm stretched horizontally across the land, enclosed by a brick-and-stone composite wall. The main entrance’s large iron gate faced the road, making it convenient for vehicles.

Inside the wall, the farm was divided into three sections. To the left of the entrance was the owner’s living/working area:

Parking spaces, a lounge, a tool and storage shed, plus a small warehouse occupied about one acre.

Separated by a water channel, the middle section housed the livestock sheds—four large structures with mixed brick-and-stone frames and corrugated metal roofing, further divided into smaller compartments, totaling nearly 800 square meters.

To the right of the sheds were the water channel and three large ponds.

In short, the owner’s activity area, livestock zone, and ponds took up half the farm.

The leftover two-plus acres were allocated for cultivation, further split into three equal parts by water channels:

The section near the ponds was reserved for vegetable plots and seedling nurseries, meant for plastic greenhouses. For now, only the frames were erected without the plastic covering.

Next was a nearly 10-meter-tall steel-frame shed with a half-transparent, half-opaque roof. The far right was an open field.

With the current extreme weather, the partitioned modifications allowed for diverse crop cultivation, and the overall structure made future adjustments easier.

This layout was recommended by both the farm management staff and the construction crew, with similar designs adopted by others.

The entire cultivation area was prepped with sprinkler systems, and the large ponds were reserved for irrigation—costing a bundle in credits. Given the scarcity of resources, Jiang Nian was satisfied with the high-priced setup.

With just a month left before the extreme heat arrived, temperatures already fluctuated between 37°C and 40°C.

Once they stabilized at 40°C, temperatures would skyrocket, shooting straight up to 70°C—hot enough to cook a person.

Jiang Nian doubted he’d be motivated enough to tend to the farm during the extreme heat, so he held off on planting seedlings for now.

Instead, he spent half of each day Purifying the soil, observing whether the treated land would suffer contamination rebound. Unlike small flower boxes, who knew how deeply the pollution had penetrated?

The five-acre plot fell entirely within the coverage of his Superpower. He also experimented with different Purify methods:

For instance, he also tried Purifying the water first before irrigation, though the effect was slightly weaker.

This method can be used after planting, allowing the irrigation water to penetrate deep into the soil, which is always helpful.

His farm is located near the guard quarters, where soldiers patrol frequently and drones are prohibited from flying. Therefore, as long as the gate is closed, no one would detect superpower use within the walls.

After nearly a week of intense training, by mid-June, Jiang Nian's superpower coverage reached its critical point at 499 meters.

Once he hit this limit, no further breakthroughs occurred, even when he tried exhausting his superpowers. This inevitably left him increasingly frustrated.

Just as Jiang Nian was growing anxious about his superpowers, an incident occurred:

Cheng Jing's younger brother, who was accompanying a rescue corps, had their whereabouts exposed near the Southern City Base. They were openly intercepted by people sent from Base S, under the pretext of negotiating with a professor with brain-evolution superpowers.

It was said that Xia Weiwei's father even personally flew in by plane. Base S's official delegation showed up in full force and was "full of sincerity" (so-called), though overly aggressive—even attempting to take the entire rescue corps with them.

The incident was somewhat sudden, blindsiding even Cheng Jing's brother. The situation differed greatly from what everyone had previously speculated.

Jiang Nian told Cheng Jing that in his previous life, Xia Weiwei's father had never left Base S. No one expected him to come here now, just to recruit a brain-domain-evolved superpowered individual.

The timeline had diverged sharply.

This turn of events was enough to show how desperately Xia Weiwei's father and Base S wanted brain-domain-evolved superpowered individuals.

"..."

Since Cheng Jing's family was involved, after careful consideration, the Southern City Base decided to send Cheng Jing and Yang Kai to lead a support team.

Aside from their own squad members, additional personnel were assigned by the base. Cheng Jing was responsible for managing the superpowered individuals, while Yang Kai led the team of ordinary soldiers equipped with advanced firepower.

However, when finalizing the arrangements, Liao Yu was excluded because water storage was currently a top priority for the base.

Seeing everyone else actively discussing the mission, Young Master Liao felt a bit aggrieved. Well, now he was the "base's leftover kid."

Late that night, after the news broke, Xia Weiwei left the Southern City Base, taking with her all the superpowered individuals she had recruited or bribed, as well as any useful pawns she deemed valuable.

After last-minute prep, Cheng Jing and his team also set off in the early hours of the morning.

While packing and preparing, Jiang Nian, who had been struggling internally for a long time, finally asked:

"Brother Jing, if you encounter Chen Yue and his family, could you hold back and bring them to me instead?"

With so many factions gathering, Chen Yue's family was sure to be there. After all, once this showdown was over, Xia Weiwei and her people would no longer be able to stay here.

Cheng Jing hugged him gently and soothed, "Let me handle this, okay? You don’t need to think about anything."

Jiang Nian pushed him away and said seriously, "Brother Jing, I want to look them in the eye myself."

"Nian Nian..." Cheng Jing trailed off.

Jiang Nian shook his head and continued, "I know you don’t want me to get my hands dirty. But I want to take revenge myself—to cleanse those terrible scars with their blood. I want to give them hope and then watch them die in despair, like what happened to me last time. I—"

"Enough. You have my word..."

With things said like this, Cheng Jing couldn't bring himself to refuse:

"I'll catch or subdue them and bring them back for you to handle."

Jiang Nian grinned:

"Thanks, Bro Jing. Be careful out there."

Cheng Jing hugged him tightly again:

"Yeah, it's still early. Go back to sleep, and don’t go roaming in this heat."

"Got it."

"..."

After seeing Cheng Jing off, Jiang Nian returned to the bedroom. Unable to sleep, he lay there letting his mind wander:

Not getting to go along left him feeling uneasy. All he could do was silently pray everything went smoothly.

Once they returned this time, he’d have to face Brother Jing’s family. Though Brother Jing had assured him everything was communicated clearly and that his parents and younger brother liked him, Jiang Nian was still nervous.

After all, he was the one who’d first swept their son off his feet only to leave him, then shamelessly came crawling back during the apocalypse... What family would be okay with that?

He even imagined a soap-opera worthy drama where Brother Jing’s family opposed their relationship and tried to tear them apart.

"..."