Chapter 426: Receiving Assignments
Translator: Liu_Kaixuan Editor: Valvrave
Jiang Liushi's eyes brightened, and he became quite excited. After waiting for such a long time, the Diverse Plants Breeding Research Laboratory, which was his biggest investment, had finally shown the first results. He had spent two level-2 mutant nuclei as well as a lot of rare materials to construct it. He had put his hopes on the secret evolutionary project.
'Starseed, give me access to the Diverse Plants Breeding Research Laboratory!' Jiang Liushi said in his mind.
'Di-'
'Diverse Plants Breeding Research Laboratory is in the process of…'
'Warning: lack of internal space. Temporal self-adjustment…'
Jiang Liushi was shocked after receiving Starseed's notifications, and he realized that he was in an urgent need to upgrade his MCV.
Suddenly, Jiang Liushi noticed that the cab was changing rapidly, becoming a completely sealed space. The instrument panel and seats disappeared and were replaced by an interior space that sparkled with blue light.
Under Jiang Liushi's feet was now a pile of black soil mixed with rare metals and mutant beast carcasses. Eight mutant flowers, which secreted liquid metal, were swaying. However, the metallic fluids were almost the same as those cultivated by Jiang Liushi. There were four glittering mutant seeds in the soil, which had become the same size as potatoes, but they showed no signs of sprouting.
At that moment, a dexterous metal hand was extended from the wall, and seven seeds covered with pale greenness were found in the soil and passed to Jiang Liushi's hands. This metal arm was created as soon as the Diverse Plants Breeding Research Laboratory was completed. The method of building it was similar to Ying, but its level was much lower.
...
'The mutant seeds of thistles and thorns were successfully cultivated. The level-1 mutant thistles and thorns can constrict, stab and cause paralysis. They can survive in an arid environment, alkaline soil, and can last for 180 days without water… to reach the next evolutionary stage more energy and rare materials are needed…'
Jiang Liushi was delighted with his harvest as he could use those seeds to trap and restrain his enemies. He could use those seed as his trump card in the future.
'What about the four mutant seeds? What kind of evolution and cultivation directions is available? What are the needed materials?' Jiang Liushi asked Starseed carefully.
'The mutant seed's cultivation can be divided into two major directions, depending on the active ingredients…one can make them secrete a liquid with concealing attributes, and the other can make them produce a fruit which can be used instead of fossil oils…"
'Follow the second direction; produce the fuel-type fruits.' Jiang Liushi chose after considering carefully.
In this post-apocalyptic world, it would only get more challenging to get things and find fuel. As long as he could produce the fuel-type fruit, he wouldn't have to worry anymore.
'Those mutant flowers grow unsteadily. Should it have anything to do with the soil? 'Jiang Liushi's finally gazed at those flowers, which could secrete active metals.
...
After dinner, Jiang Liushi was very excited and spent a long time in his Diverse Plants Breeding Research Laboratory. He was determined to collect and cultivate more mutant plants. Plants could produce fuel, serve as traps for hunting, and secrete special metals. Jiang Liushi expected to find lots of them as they could help him achieve greater things.
On the morning of the next day, after Jiang Liushi woke up, he received a message from Little Seven that they should meet at the gate and set off at noon. All members of the Shi Ying Squad had heard about this mission, so they were all well prepared.
At noon, the minibus rushed out of the gate of Xiayuan's safety area. Once out of the gate, Jiang Liushi saw many densely packed trucks and a variety of off-road vehicles and motorcycles. Jiang Liushi took a quick look and found hundreds of paranormals. He was surprised by Xiayuan Island's mighty force. "
"Brother Jiang, we are here." Jiang Liushi heard Little Seven's shout.
"What is Little Seven doing? Fulsome flattery!" On another heavy truck, Xing Bupo cursed.
"Xing Bupo, stop talking behind their backs. If you are not convinced, you can have a try…" Ling Feng stretched his head and said to Xing Bupo.
"Ling Feng, I didn't expect that you also became a lackey…" Xing Bupo forced a smile.
At this time, Jiang Liushi's minibus had already entered Ling Feng's team. As soon as the emergency brake sounded, a modified armored vehicle was stopped beside his minibus. Wang Chuanfu, Qi Liang, and the other ten people jumped out. They were all dressed in black attire, but some of them were wearing military green vests. They exuded the sharp aura of a battle-hardened soldier.
"Brother Jiang." Qi Liang's eyes shined, and he grinned. However, he was staring at the minibus behind him.
"Captain Wang, is this that minibus you were talking about? It's nothing special…" Qi Liang stretched out his hands to touch the minibus, but before they came in contact with the cold surface, Ying appeared and aimed directly at his head with a gun.
Qi Liang was so scared that his scalp tingled hard and he was unable to move.
"My team member doesn't like other people touching my minibus," Jiang Liushi explained.
Qi Liang stepped back a few steps and looked at Ying in surprise. "She is very beautiful but too fierce." Qi Liang was stunned.
"Captain Jiang, these people are Aeolus Squad's members, and they are all from Shenhai Island. As soon as they heard that we would be in the same team, they were excited," Wang Chuanfu said to Jiang Liushi.
Aeolus Squad's members were very enthusiastic about Jiang Liushi, so the atmosphere was warm. Although most people had never seen Jiang Liushi, they had all heard about all of Shi Ying Squad's known accomplishments.
"Is everyone from Aeolus Squad a retard? Didn't they see the shabby minibus?" Xing Bupo felt sad and strange…
In this world, the vehicles one possessed were also a symbol of strength. From his point of view, Shi Ying Squad was driving a shabby old minibus. When he looked up, he noticed a young man beside him. That young man was calm and had his eyes closed without saying any word.
"Captain Shi Can, anyway, my team only values you. You are the only B+ squad in our whole team. The success of this task depends on you," Xing Bupo said.
However, Shi Can was above flattery. He just stood up and walked to the end and said loudly, "Stop talking! We should set off. This time, we will complete that two level-3 missions together…" Shi Can's voice was low, but it was attracting.
When he looked at Jiang Liushi, he stopped and asked, "Are you the captain of the Shi Ying Squad? President told me to cooperate with you before I set off…If you want to gain my trust, please use 100% of your combat power in the battle. I will be observing you all the time!"
On other heavy trucks, many of the elite teams belonging to Doom Walker all looked at Jiang Liushi curiously.
"No problem." Jiang Liushi could distinguish a hint of provocation from Shi Can's words, but he didn't care about it at all. In a sense, Shi Can's suspicions were also very reasonable. In this terrible world, strength was what mattered.
"Let's go then!" Seeing Jiang Liushi not opposing him, Shi Can waved.
Shortly after Doom Walker's team set off, another large team also quietly set off. The direction in which they drove was shockingly the same route as Doom Walker's.
...
One of Doom Walker's missions this time was to chase a Level B team which had escaped, and their Captain had the nickname, Buck. That Level B team was an elite survivor team in the 5th Channel, but they were too greedy. They had robbed supplies from a convoy and killed all the soldiers, as there were not many of them. Initially, that team had believed that they would not be caught, but one of their members backstabbed them and reported the whole thing to the military government.
From then on, the military government had been chasing after Buck's team, but to no avail, as its captain had a keen sense of smell, which allowed him to smell the enemy's breath from far away. That team had hidden themselves in a place called Snecked Way. As a result, this level-3 task would always end up in failure. Instead, several teams which chased Buck had fallen in the team's trap, and they never returned.
This time, Doom Walker had simply accepted the mission, and almost sent its full force in hope to successfully complete it.
The other level-3 mission was to investigate Shangjia Village, which was not far from Snecked Way. That area was one of the routes for the evacuation of scientists and technicians at the beginning of doomsday. A fleet of vehicles had disappeared near it, and it was rumored that a large group of zombies had attacked them. The government had issued that level-3 mission in order to find any signs of that team and bring back all useful data.
They were still a few kilometers away from Snecked Way, but the leading car stopped suddenly. Jiang Liushi saw a karst landform a few kilometers away from them.
The snowstorm had stopped, and their visibility had improved a bit. There were countless stones with sharp peaks. These stone forests were very large and covered a full area of more than ten miles. This place was really a good place to hide.
"Everyone, get off! We have 15 teams in total, about 147 people. Each team will take a half bottle of powder and throw it a kilometer around the Snecked Way. We have one hour." Shi Can took two large wooden boxes in his hand, in which were many bottles filled with red powder.
"What? What's this?" Fang Liang asked curiously.
"A kind of strong irritating powder made by the military with a variety of odors. It's very easy to disperse. Buck relies on his miraculous sense of smell, and within a short distance, this chemical powder can mislead him," Shi Can explained.
"Captain, you are well prepared. This time, Buck is doomed to die," Xing Bupo said happily.
"Captain Jiang, what's your opinion? Any objections?" Shi Can asked as he should obey President Hou Dingkun's order to cooperate with Jiang Liushi.
"Do you want me to be honest or lie?" Jiang Liushi answered while touching his nose/
Shi Can's face sank. "Captain Jiang, it's not a time for jokes!"
"That's good! I think it's a waste of time," Jiang Liushi said lightly. As he spoke, all the people around him turned quiet, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.
"Jiang Liushi, how dare you speak to Captain Shi in this way? Are you doing it on purpose?" Xing Bupo shouted and looked at Jiang Liushi furiously.
Shi Can originally thought he had done what he should, but he didn't expect that Jiang Liushi would give such an answer. "Oh? Why do you think it's a waste of time?" Shi Can's face was glum. Fortunately, he was still very calm.
The Aeolus Squad's members also looked at Jiang Liushi curiously. Of course, they would not doubt Jiang Liushi, but they couldn't think of anything better.
Jiang Liushi's look was weird. He looked up at the sky. "Do you see that? A carrier pigeon is hovering above us."
Hearing his words, Xing Bupo laughed immediately. "Jiang Liushi, are you a fool? There's no bird at all. Moreover, even if there was a bird, it has nothing to do with us!"
Because of the snowstorm's clouds, their visibility was very low, and Xing Bupo could see nothing in the sky.
"Are you messing with us!?" Shi Can shouted angrily.
However, Jiang Liushi suddenly took out a gun from his pocket, pulled the trigger and then ran quickly ten meters away from them. Then he stretched his hand and caught something which was falling from the sky. Later, everyone clearly see that it was a bloodstained bird's eye!
All of this had taken less than a minute! It was too fast! Everyone was shocked by Jiang Liushi's swift actions.
"You can feel a slight energy fluctuation in this bird's eye." Jiang Liushi threw the bird's eye to Shi Can.
Shi Can caught it and really felt a slight energy fluctuation from it.
"I expected that the government's information would be lacking, so I did my own research. In Buck's team, some people can control small creatures like birds to scout," Jiang Liushi explained. "Even if we can interfere with Buck's sense of smell, they already know that we are here..."