After Apocalypse, I Got Rich With Superpower

Chapter 35: Chapter 33 Difficulties

Chapter 35: Chapter 33 Difficulties

Li Pan also wore a mask that only revealed her eyes and nose, as required by the Base Commander, fearful that some fool might cause trouble and not daring to put human nature to the test.

The wood vines wrapped around the injured personnel, piercing his skin and burrowing inside. Soon, the man began to struggle in agony, held firmly in place by two soldiers beside him.

The vines lingered for a while before withdrawing, and black blood started to seep from the wound, stinking horribly.

When the poisoned blood had all drained out, revealing red streaks, the vines wrapped around the wound once more, healing it. Then, the patient could sit up just by taking a breath.

Feeling his arm and previously swollen, immobile calf, his blackened foot also returned to its original color.

“I’m cured.”

Disbelief was evident in the injured man’s voice.

“If you’re cured, leave without taking off your mask.”

“Yes.”

The patient stood up and walked towards the black curtain, respectfully saluting the soldiers the proper way.

He turned and left silently.

“Are you tired? Do you want to absorb a Crystal Core?”

“Not necessary for now, bring in the next one.”

Li Pan smiled; it was a good feeling indeed.

The Base Commander was worried about her getting too exhausted, so he had given her a small bag of Crystal Cores.

The second injured person was brought in, and Li Pan extended her wood vine tendrils to sense him for a moment, nodding slightly. He could be healed.

The patient had a gash in his stomach from the vines, out of which a mass of insects emerged, but luckily a superpower user beside him promptly incinerated them.

After treatment by the Star Tree, the patient was healed on the spot, and the woman, a female superpower user, covered her face and wept.

She had been bitten by insects while on a mission outside, never imagining that the situation would worsen to such an extent. Doctors were called, but they couldn’t treat her, only delay the progression. She lived every day unable to find peace in life or death.

“You can go back now.”

“Boss, if you can go public with this in the future, let me know. If there’s any way I can help, just give me a call. I want to repay my benefactor.”

The female superpower user said these words, saluted, and left without taking off her hood.

In the afternoon, Li Pan treated six seriously injured patients, all of whom were cured on the spot.

“That’s enough for today, the Star Tree is tired.”

Li Pan only spoke after everyone had left.

“Okay, I’ll arrange for your accommodation.”

“Boss, how many are left?”

“Still about twenty or so. If things go well, you all can go back the day after tomorrow.”

“All right.”

Xue Dong took Li Pan to the kitchen for dinner; they were going to stay the night, ostensibly waiting for the test results, and there were some things that needed to be exchanged, which would take a few days.

Li Pan was hungry and the head chef had made food specially for her.

After eating, she went back to the dormitory to shower and rest.

Upon hearing a knock at the door, she responded, “Come in.”

“Pan’er, a Wood Power User has arrived. Come out and take a look, there’s a brother and sister who can work at the farm long-term.”

“Then let me check.”

Li Pan got up and went to the front door; the people were already waiting.

A grown female Wood Power User, one of the base’s own, was going to the farm for temporary work. Additionally, there was a brother and sister duo who could work long term, who were also orphans.

“Hello, the Base Commander said you needed a Wood Power User for a temporary job, so I came over.”

“Yes, that’s right. We might need to leave the base for a stretch of time in a few days, and without a Wood Power User to care for the field, we’ll be gone for a month. We’ll give you twenty jin of food and a thousand Contribution points, plus a wage of two thousand. Does that work for you?”

“That’s fine. I want coarse grains, cornmeal or a mix of barley and sorghum will do.”

“No problem. Do you want the food now or settled later?”

“If it’s convenient for you to give it to me now, that would be great. We’ve got elderly and kids at home waiting for rice to cook.”

The woman rubbed her hands together awkwardly, knowing every family was struggling, but those with superpowers at least had something to rely on.

“I can do that.”

“I’ve brought something to pack it in, and I’ll bring it back home. I’ll start work at the farm tomorrow.”

The Wood Power User was particularly happy; the head of the household was easy to talk to and generous. She knew she must do the work well, hoping they might think of her for future work.

“Alright.

After finishing with her matter, Xue Dong turned to look at the boy in front of him, around fourteen or fifteen years old, leading a young girl two or three years his junior by the hand. She had large eyes and was fairly pretty, though terribly thin.

“The farm is in need of a Wood Element superpower user for long-term work. You’re both Basic Level, but if you don’t mind, you can stay and work long-term. As for the compensation, I’ll pay you as for an adult superpower user and a kid. If you do well, I’ll pay you as two adults, how about that?”

“You really are willing to keep us on long-term? I have to bring my sister.”

The boy was very wary, clearly on guard.

“My place is big, not many people, but the harvest is still okay. We need more hands, and it’s fine to bring your sister. Can she work?”

“She can work, doing laundry, cooking, and fieldwork.”

The boy’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly introduced her.

“My sister has a mental superpower; she’s quite amazing. She’s the first to know whenever there’s the slightest movement, and she doesn’t eat much. She just doesn’t talk a lot.”

“Then why doesn’t anyone want you two?”

Li Pan was curious. It wasn’t right that nobody wanted them, even for half the price of an adult’s work.

“The last place we were at, the woman bullied my sister, so I hit her with a wood vine. They said my sister was crazy…”

The boy pouted, clearly upset.

“His sister has a mental superpower. She’s highly sensitive to people’s good or ill intentions, and because she had a hard life before, she doesn’t trust others easily. Some people are picky and dislike that she doesn’t work much. They don’t want to give her food and deliberately bully her.”

The Base Commander knew all too well; the children were small and could not protect themselves much and were often bullied.

But he too was busy and couldn’t always be watching. If it wasn’t too serious, a few words of reprimand had to suffice. After all, the children needed to eat, and if matters escalated too much, creating a coalition to refuse using them, that would be even more troublesome.

“Alright, you two head to the farm and work together. As long as you do your job well and don’t get into trouble, I’ll hire you long-term. Remember, no cheating, no stealing, no backstabbing, and stay out of trouble. You’ll eat whatever we eat, you won’t be short of food. You’ll have your share of money and Contribution points, not a fraction less.”

“I’ll definitely work hard. Just watch my performance; if I’m not up to scratch, you can kick me out.”

The boy was ecstatic, turning to look at his sister. Seeing her nodding, he smiled even more happily, which meant they harbored no ill intentions – they were good people.

“Tomorrow, take them with you to the farm and hand them over to Liu Qian. I’ve already made a call.”

“Alright, leave it to me, no problem. I’ll show them the ropes; we’re doing the same old work and they’ll catch on quickly.”

The female superpower user was very impressed with Xue Dong and Pan’er; willing to help orphans made them good people in her eyes.

Orphans were undervalued, with no family to support them, relying solely on their superpowers to work. Young and inexperienced, they often had their food unfairly deducted, and during disasters, times were tough. It wasn’t anyone’s place to meddle in others’ affairs.

The Base Commander could only send people to check in often, as long as the general situation wasn’t bad, that was enough. Excessive agitation wouldn’t do; the orphanage depended on the base, and frankly, everyone in the base needed to contribute. It was crucial not to let the residents’ emotions become too hostile.

“Okay, your wage will be fifteen hundred. For food, do you want to exchange it for cash or keep it for yourselves? Your Contribution points will be the same as big sister’s, a thousand each for you two. Your sister doesn’t have Wood Power, so is it okay to give her slightly less, like a thousand?”

“That’s fine by us, and thank you so much. About the food… Can it be exchanged for coarse grains for the orphanage? There are still younger brothers and sisters who need to be fed. We’ll eat at the farm, so that part of the food can go to the orphanage… is that okay?”

The boy, afraid he might seem greedy, quickly added, “It’s okay if it’s less food, more bran is fine, just enough to fill our stomachs halfway.”

Li Pan felt a twinge of pain in his heart upon hearing this and glanced at Xue Dong, nodding his head.

“Alright, I’ll bring some food to the orphanage later.”

“Thank you, big brother, thank you, sister.”

The boy knelt down right there, knowing they had finally met kind people.

“Good boy, get up. From now on, we’ll deliver food to the orphanage every month, don’t worry, you won’t be shortchanged.”

“I will work very hard.”

The boy wiped away tears, repeatedly making promises.

Li Pan sighed at the scene before him, feeling even more profoundly that survival was difficult for everyone in the face of disaster. The Base Commander had a tough job managing such a large base with so many people to feed. The food saved from the mouths of others was used to patch holes everywhere, but it still wasn’t enough.