Natural Disasters Strikes: I stockpiled like crazy! - Chapter 245

Capítulo 245: A ‘Safezone’ Clue

[0-star Wintergreen Fleshcap]

[Failed to fully evolve into Wintergreen Mushroom. It did not develop a spore sac, but the cap has a slim chance to improve physique.]

“System, if there was a resource point here, why wasn’t there a sign like that yellow pillar of light earlier?” Nanzhi asked.

[These mushrooms failed to evolve and are not classified as valuable resources by the system. Furthermore, their benefits are negligible in your current condition.]

“Their physical benefits may be negligible, but the research value is not,” Nanzhi muttered to herself.

For a mushroom that thrives in frost and dies after winter, why did it appear here?

Even if it’s a failed variety…

Could there be a reason for its failed evolution?

Is it possible to cultivate special plants in other environment?

What if it could help her deal with mutant plants?

Nanzhi narrowed her eyes, a nagging feeling tugging at her mind. She wanted to dig deeper.

[…]

The system was silent for a while before delivering a message.

[Congratulations, Player, you have just found a clue to ‘Safezones’. Dig more, and you may not need to level up to 100 to discover certain things.]

Nanzhi raised her eyebrows.

Did she really hit the nail on the head?

She wanted to ask more, but the system kept silent.

Keep silent all you want. One day, I will find out what you’re hiding.

Meanwhile, the children were crouched near the exposed roots, their small hands carefully plucking the remaining mushrooms one by one.

“Too bad, there are no new mushrooms today,” one sighed.

“Uncle, when will the mushrooms grow back?”

“It depends on the type of mushroom,” the guard explained. “The shortest could take weeks, but some take months.” They weren’t sure what kind these were, which left the children uncertain.

The children’s faces fell with visible disappointment.

The two uncle guards couldn’t stand seeing them sad. The older one suggested, “Why don’t we see if there are any on the other side too?”

“Okay! Okay!” The children’s faces lit up with excitement, and they scrambled to follow.

There were already only a few mushrooms to begin with, and the children had just plucked the last batch.

Looking at the basket containing seven mushrooms, Nanzhi asked, “Uncles, can I trade your mushrooms for some supplies?”

These were supplies she had collected before the apocalypse, not from the factories. She planned to sanitize the batch before selling it. She also slipped in some processed goods from her virtual garden, like rice and flour.

The uncles’ and children’s eyes widened as they saw the assortment of canned goods: preserved peaches, lychee, bamboo shoots, peas, corn, sardines, ham, and ready-to-eat meals like congee—all neatly packed inside Miss Lu’s bag.

“This… isn’t this too much?” one guard muttered. Seven mushrooms for all this? They didn’t want to take advantage of Nanzhi, but their eyes were more honest—if they could get these supplies, they would last at least another week.

“But if we take this, what about you, Miss Lu, and your team?” another added.

“Don’t worry about us,” Nanzhi said with a small smile. “We have enough for now. These are just excess supplies we found along the way. Bringing everything would slow us down.”

Ah, right. Miss Lu’s group only had motorcycles, so storage space was limited. Still, the exchange felt wildly generous.

Baoyin had already prepared to hand some supplies to the children herself, but Nanzhi beat her to it. She stepped forward to mediate. “Don’t be shy! Take it!” Sister Nan is wealthy anyway—this is just a drop in her ocean of supplies!

She ran back to her motorcycle and carried back bottles of water.

The bag was so heavy that they had to set it down on the ground.

The uncles and children stared in awe at the supplies before them. It took them several moments to adjust to reality.

The uncles remembered the nearby factories. Could this be where they had obtained the supplies?

“Miss Lu and Miss Yu, thank you so much. If we find more mushrooms around, we’ll bring them to you,” one guard said sincerely.

The children cheered. They hadn’t seen canned peaches, lychee, or ham in a long time. “Big sisters! Big sisters, thank you so much!”

Because the children were hungry, the uncles didn’t linger and immediately began preparing lunch.

The water they had been using came from a well dug at the back of the building, near the temporary kitchen. They had secured a good amount of water in the beginning but because temperature had risen, the water became less and less.

The purified bottles Miss Yu provided arrived just in time.

They invited Nanzhi and Baoyin to join lunch, but both politely declined.

“Uncles, I’m worried about Weihao and the others. I’ll return shortly,” Nanzhi said.

“Then be careful, Miss Lu, Miss Yu,” the guards replied. “If anything happens, come back immediately!”

They remained at the gate until Nanzhi and Baoyin disappeared from sight.

Meanwhile, inside the Crystal Water Facility, two black-cloaked figures appeared.

Nanzhi had cleaned the battlefield before leaving, so the two intruders sensed nothing unusual until they arrived at the three pools.

The one with the feminine voice glared, eyes glowing an unnatural red. Her anger made objects in the room float and slam to the ground with loud thuds. Hideous blue veins snaked across her face beneath the hood.

Her companion remained calm. “‘It’ must have sensed us last time and perceived us as threats. It moved the eggs somewhere else to find a new nest.”

The angry figure relaxed slightly, the veins fading. She nodded, convinced by her companion’s reasoning. After all, the current levels of humans’ strength were far weaker in their observation—it could not have been them.

“Let’s find the new lair—” she began.

“Later,” her companion interrupted, throwing a reminder, “Even if we’re not here, those eggs will hatch soon. More importantly, we have urgent matters to attend to. We can’t afford to waste time…”

If Bingwen and Hei Qian were present, they would have recognized these figures as the same ones they had seen at Longmen Base days ago.

The two figures left the Crystal Water Facility, heading toward Longmen Base.