After Apocalypse, I Got Rich With Superpower

Chapter 182

The farm environment had been meticulously managed by Li Pan and everyone over the years, opting to forego some profits to protect the farm’s ecosystem. The results were surprisingly good, with the produce being thoroughly tested and categorized as high-grade organic, beneficial to the human body, as it could slowly eliminate impurities. The imperial capital had repeatedly tested and certified this.

These things gradually gave Li Pan many insights, especially after taking care of Spirit Plants and Chinese herbs for many years; he slowly realized the heavy dependence of plants, crops, and animals on the natural ecosystem.

Destroying the ecological balance also destroyed the homes and habitats where animals, plants, and humans could live.

In recent years, the base had continually been planting branches of the Spirit Tree. While these branches did not have as much spiritual energy as the original, they greatly improved the urban environment of the base, making the air inside much fresher and more breathable than before.

With a wave of his hand, Li Pan made everyone stop.

"Let’s start from the entrance, and move forward bit by bit. Everyone should be prepared for a long battle and not take it lightly. If we can resolve the hidden dangers in the forest, maybe we can truly sleep without worries, without ever having to fight with mutant animals, and no more sacrifices."

"Come on, let’s work hard together. It’s time for us as Wood Power Users to step up—we can’t afford to slip up now."

"Right, right."

"Together we’ll comb through and purify, and finally infuse Wood Power. If we encounter mutant animals, we’ll handle them in the same way."

"Understood."

At the command, all the Wood Power Users began to work together, first combing through, then purifying, and finally infusing Wood Power into all trees, flowers, and vegetation regardless of whether they were mutant or not.

Other Combat Superpower Users formed a circle to protect the Wood Power Users.

As a Zhenhua superpower user, Li Pan had the strongest ability; in a single real-world application, she could cover hundreds of miles of vegetation, purifying all plants and animals in the area.

Together with the efforts of other Wood Power Users, visible changes could be seen in one go; the dirty, fog-like grey air visibly receded, and the air above became cleaner, easing the oppressive discomfort everyone felt.

"It really works; I feel less oppressed and stifled in my chest."

"I can breathe easier too. I have a bit of sinusitis, which isn’t an issue in the base, but it acts up when I come out here—it’s much better now."

The superpower users immediately noticed the changes and spoke up excitedly.

"Come on, let’s do it again."

"Yes."

Each application of the superpower took almost half an hour; after three times, everyone was nearly drained and stopped to rest.

Li Pan asked everyone to rest also to observe for a while and see how long it would take for the Grey Energy to return.

After eating, they continued to move forward.

It had been over an hour, and the Grey Energy had not quickly swept through the area that had just been purified. Although it was indeed expanding slowly, the recently purified area was still maintained clean and fresh.

"Help me record this; we’ll take it back for research later."

"Okay."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly.

Pei Yuan made a phone call, "Have you felt anything different?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Not yet; I’ve done three purifications, and there seems to be some effect, but the Grey Energy is spreading at a steady rate. I haven’t found a better method yet, so let’s keep purifying for now."

"Alright, I’ll let you know if there’s anything new on this end. If you go inside and lose signal, fire a flare."

"Understood."

After hanging up the phone, Li Pan thought for a moment, "We may need to fight here for a long time. Everyone should probably take turns keeping watch. It won’t be settled in just a day or two. Wood Power Users need to take shifts, observing the movement of the Grey Energy and keeping records. I’ll start first; I’ll keep watch tonight and take notes. Who’s second?"

"I’ll do it."

Sister Qian volunteered.

"Alright, let’s take turns. Everyone should record their own, and you can refer to each other’s notes. If you have a new discovery, write it down too. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake; none of us have experience. Perhaps your clues will become very important later. Let’s put our heads together and try to get home sooner."

"Okay."

"Combat superpower users, arrange your shifts yourselves. Pair two combat superpower users with one Wood Power User for safer measures. Does that sound good to you?"

"We’ll follow your lead. It sounds reasonable."

"Let’s start with this arrangement and change it later if necessary. Those who are resting will cook, and those who are working will be responsible for protecting everyone. During the day, cooking duties will rotate."

"Understood."

"Tonight, Jiao Ming and I will keep watch. The rest of you set up a schedule for the day after tomorrow."

Xue Dong added another instruction, and, within half an hour, everyone’s shifts had been arranged.

They were eating food supplied by the farm and base, which was clean and nutritious. If they ran out, they were to fire a flare, and a drone would drop them food once. Li Pan had enough food in her space to last a month, so there were no concerns for now.

During the night, Li Pan and Xue Dong were on duty. Li Pan used her purification and organizing skills three times and also communicated with the forest through her personal skill, "Wood Sound," which involved sending out queries and calls — a form of communication.

Regrettably, they received no feedback.

She was not disappointed. They had just entered the realm, and it was unlikely that they would complete their mission so easily.

"How did it go?"

"No luck. Couldn’t communicate. Let’s continue later."

"Alright, you rest for a while."

Xue Dong draped a blanket over her for warmth. The temperature in the forest was quite low now that it was winter, with heavy snow covering the trees, and hardly any animals in sight.

After the beast tide, the animals had retreated, and their whereabouts were unknown. Their journey had been quite smooth, untroubled by mutant animals.

"Do you think we can complete the mission?"

Li Pan, dressed like a cotton ball and wrapped in a blanket, sat next to the fire drinking hot milk tea, feeling her body gradually warming up and much more comfortable.

"We can. What difficulty haven’t we encountered before? We already have hope, and that’s a good sign."

"Right, once we sort out the trouble and its source, we can handle other secret realm forests in the same way in the future. We won’t have to fight with mutant animals anymore, and we can focus on clearing new areas so everyone can have enough to eat and wear."

"Exactly."

Xue Dong also smiled, looking forward to that day arriving soon.

Li Pan was on the first half of the night watch and carried out purification three times, but there was no visible effect even as the night darkened.

The second half of the night was covered by Jiao Ming and Sister Qian, with Sister Qian also set to perform skills three times. She chose to do so in the morning, staggering the timing to slow down the spread of Grey Energy.

Sister Qian looked at Li Pan’s records, which were detailed, encompassing almost every detail that could be considered. By following these data changes, one could discern certain conditions.

After thinking it over and observing throughout the late night, she added a few of her own insights and data as a supplement.

The next morning, after breakfast, they had to continue moving forward, clearing and purifying as they went.

They hadn’t seen any animals in days and didn’t know where they had gone, but everyone remained vigilant.

However, the continuous days of travel and cleaning had worn everyone out. Li Pan decided to take a day’s rest, observe the state of the forest, and allow everyone to properly recover their superpowers.