## Chapter 59

Under Cheng Mo's murderous glare, Lin Kang withdrew his hand and turned to Cheng Zhiyu: "What's your request? Let's hear it."

"Regarding the distribution of this batch of rice—there are about 100,000 *jin* (approximately 50 metric tons) in total," Cheng Zhiyu stated. "I hope one-third of it will be allocated to ordinary people."

Four-fifths of the base's population were ordinary people. While they consumed fewer resources than Superhumans, one-third was still a substantial share.

Lin Kang hadn't expected such a request from Cheng Zhiyu. Surprised, he smiled, "It's rare to see a Superhuman show such consideration for ordinary people."

Cheng Zhiyu simply smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

After a moment's thought, Lin Kang agreed, "I accept. Frankly, this rice is your contribution to the base. Such a small request can certainly be granted."

Moreover, Cheng Zhiyu’s request aligned perfectly with his own intentions.

Cheng Zhiyu wasn't surprised by Lin Kang's agreement; the man had always been relatively benevolent towards ordinary people.

"When should we depart?" Cheng Zhiyu inquired.

Lin Kang pondered, "To avoid any unforeseen complications, we'll leave as soon as the truck is ready."

A large truck from the village would be more than sufficient to transport 100,000 *jin* of rice.

Cheng Zhiyu nodded, and they arranged to meet at the base entrance.

As soon as they left, Cheng Zhiyu felt his hand dampen—Cheng Mo was using his Water Power to wash it for him.

Cheng Zhiyu sighed helplessly, "Stop washing. Any more and you'll scrub my skin off."

Only then did Cheng Mo cease. He jealously clutched Cheng Zhiyu’s hand, "Why did he have to hold your hand while talking?"

Cheng Zhiyu sighed again, then watched as Cheng Mo lifted his hand and kissed it.

Cheng Zhiyu: "..."

After kissing both of Cheng Zhiyu’s hands, marking them one by one, Cheng Mo felt satisfied, his mood finally lifted.

Cheng Zhiyu hesitated, "You..."

Cheng Mo: "What's wrong?"

Cheng Zhiyu shook his head, "Nothing." *Never mind, it was just a kiss on the hand—no big deal.*

Cheng Zhiyu mentally brushed it off.

The two got ready, and when Lin Kang sent someone to notify them, they headed to the base entrance.

Upon hearing the news, Tian Qiao and the others decided to tag along.

There, they encountered Yang Kai again.

Yang Kai’s expression was even darker now—he had just caught wind of the rumors circulating about him in the base.

People were saying that despite appearing to be the base's most powerful Superhuman, it was all bluster; he couldn't even handle a Mutant wild boar and had fainted on the spot when he encountered one.

Yang Kai: *Who the hell spread that? Was I really scared into fainting?*

He wanted to explain how formidable the wild boar was, but there was no way to justify it—after all, Cheng Zhiyu and his group had effortlessly dealt with the entire herd.

Yang Kai was seething. *Cheng Zhiyu—it was always Cheng Zhiyu!*

What right did a useless Plant Superhuman have to show him up?

But he couldn't go around explaining himself to every rumormonger; it would only make him seem overly concerned. So, he could only bottle up his anger and feign indifference.

Then he overheard someone say, "See? He knows he's embarrassed and can't even defend himself."

Yang Kai nearly exploded with rage. *So, I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't?*

Recalling everything that had transpired that day, he shot Cheng Zhiyu a hostile glare.

Then, a bolt of lightning struck him on the head. This time, not only did his hair curl, but his head also began to throb, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Lin Kang arrived shortly after. He intended to personally retrieve the rice—it was too crucial for the base at the moment.

With 100,000 *jin* of rice, the base could sustain itself for at least a month.

He immediately spotted Yang Kai: "Well, well, when did you get this new hairstyle? An afro, is it? Quite fashionable."

Yang Kai was so furious he wanted to curse: "I was struck by lightning!"

Zhou Min laughed, adding fuel to the fire: "What terrible thing did you do to deserve being struck by lightning? Haha."

Yang Kai: "I was attacked by someone!"

He turned to Lin Kang: "Captain Lin, didn't you say fighting within the base wasn't allowed?"

He pointed at his head: "Aren't you going to do something about this?"

Lin Kang was taken aback—*was the sun rising in the west?* Yang Kai was actually calling him "Captain Lin" so politely.

Lin Kang smiled: "Of course I will. Tell me who did it."

Yang Kai glanced at Cheng Mo, who responded with a chilling smile. Yang Kai couldn't help but flinch: *A threat—a blatant threat!*

In the past, Yang Kai had always been the one threatening others. He never imagined he'd experience what it felt like to be threatened himself.

It wasn't a pleasant feeling. Gritting his teeth, he said, "No one did it."

Lin Kang patted his shoulder with a concerned expression: "If someone bullied you, just tell me. I'll stand up for you."

It sounded like a child snitching. Yang Kai irritably replied, "No one bullied me."

Lin Kang helplessly said, "Alright then." It wasn't that he wasn't willing to intervene.

Seeing Yang Kai on the verge of exploding, Cheng Zhiyu glanced helplessly at Cheng Mo, who feigned innocence. *After all, Yang Kai had been glaring at Zhiyu with such hostility.*

In the end, Cheng Zhiyu didn't say anything—he disliked Yang Kai quite a bit himself.

Aside from Cheng Zhiyu’s group, five other Superhumans from the base joined the trip.

Except for Sun Yu, everyone from Cheng Zhiyu’s group came, bringing the total to ten people—a sizable group.

On the way, they encountered zombies, the highest level being only Level 2. Perhaps to prove himself, Yang Kai dealt with the zombies before anyone else could make a move.

Cheng Zhiyu was glad to take a back seat.

Further along, they encountered a Level 3 zombie that had formed a small horde. Cheng Zhiyu and his group, having faced such situations repeatedly on their journey, handled it with practiced ease.

The Superhumans from the base were initially panicked, but seeing how calmly Cheng Zhiyu and the others dispatched a good number of zombies, they too began to calm down.

While fighting the zombies, Yang Kai kept a close eye on Cheng Zhiyu, trying to gauge his strength.

To his surprise, he noticed that Cheng Zhiyu barely lifted a finger, almost as if he were slacking off.

Yang Kai sneered, convinced he had uncovered the truth: *This Cheng Zhiyu was putting on an act! Relying entirely on his teammates, he was nothing but a freeloader riding coattails!*

*No wonder when I went to confront him earlier, Cheng Zhiyu hid like a damn turtle, barely showing his face the entire time.*

Distracted by these thoughts, Yang Kai nearly got grabbed by a zombie. Lin Kang, losing his usual patience, scowled as he took care of the zombie and snapped, "How can you space out at a time like this? If you want to die, just say so!"

Yang Kai’s face darkened, but he held his tongue.

Cheng Zhiyu, who saw no need to intervene, was completely unaware of Yang Kai’s thoughts. He, too, was observing Yang Kai and the others.

He noticed that Yang Kai was indeed one of the stronger individuals in the base. However, Lin Kang, who appeared refined and scholarly, was also quite capable in combat.

No wonder Yang Kai had been wanting to seize power but never succeeded.

Lin Kang spent most of his time at the base and rarely went on missions. Over time, the base’s Superhumans had forgotten his true strength, only knowing how impressive Yang Kai seemed, which was why they always supported Yang Kai as their leader.

But Yang Kai probably knew deep down that he stood little chance against Lin Kang, so despite coveting Lin Kang’s position, he had never taken action.

After dealing with the zombie horde, they soon reached the warehouse. Fortunately, the rice was still there.

Aside from Lin Kang, none of the base’s Superhumans knew the purpose of this trip. When they saw the piles of gleaming white rice, they were all thrilled, including Yang Kai.

*So much rice—at least they could eat their fill now!*

They began loading the rice. Cheng Zhiyu had no intention of revealing his spatial ability, so he didn't use it and instead helped carry the rice like everyone else.

100,000 *jin* of rice filled a large truck to the brim. Lin Kang couldn't help but smile. After making sure all the rice was loaded, he waved his hand and said, "Let's go, back to the base!"

Yang Kai and the others had come in the truck, riding in the cargo bed on the way there. But now the truck was full, clearly with no room for passengers.

They had no choice but to cling to the sides of the truck, hanging on for the entire journey back.

Luckily, they were Superhumans, so they managed to hold on for over an hour.

When they returned to the base, the people there, who had looked dead-eyed and worn down, couldn’t help but light up with hope at the sight of the truck overflowing with rice.

*So much rice—could they finally eat a little more? Maybe even a full bowl of rice? Though they knew it might be too much to hope for.*

Meanwhile, after storing the rice in the warehouse, Lin Kang began discussing how to distribute it.

Yang Kai and his faction stated matter-of-factly, "The rice should, of course, go to the Superhumans. We face danger and work hard every day, unlike those ordinary people who don’t lift a finger."

Tian Qiao, hearing this, was immediately displeased: "They don’t do anything? Then why are the base’s roads kept spotless? And when your things break, all you have to do is say the word, and the next day they’re fixed and returned to you. Did you think the roads clean themselves and broken items repair on their own?"

He scoffed, "Some people, just because they awakened an ability, really think they’re superior. I don’t know who the hell they think they are."

Those Superhumans retorted, "You! How can you say that? Aren’t you a Superhuman too?"

Tian Qiao coldly laughed, "I’m not like you. I have no interest in feeling superior. Don’t lump me in with you, okay?"

"Even so, the rice should be allocated to the Superhumans. If we can't even eat our fill, how can we have the strength to protect the base?" one Superhuman said self-righteously, "I'm thinking for the good of the base."

"Exactly."

Some Superhumans disagreed with them: "You can't say that. Actually, the majority of the base are ordinary people, many of whom are elders who watched us grow up. Every day, seeing them so thin and frail breaks my heart. Now that we have rice, how can we monopolize it? Claiming to protect the base is just an excuse to hoard the survival resources of ordinary people."

"I agree. We shouldn't think that just because we're Superhumans, resources should be tilted in our favor."

"Besides, with so much rice, we should at least share some with the ordinary people. Otherwise, it would be too heartless. Are we just going to watch them starve to death?"

Someone shot back unhappily, "I didn't say we should let them starve. I just mean we should take a larger share and leave a little for them."

"How much is 'a little'? Just enough to keep them barely alive?"

"Isn't that enough? They don't need to do anything anyway."

"Er Mazi, don't forget you grew up without parents, eating from everyone's pot. Who in the village didn't give you food? How did they raise such an ungrateful wretch like you?"

"Hey, hey, why the personal attacks? Times were different back then. Back in the day, we had so much rice we could feed it to dogs."

"I'd say it's better to feed it to dogs."

"Say that again, you..."

"Enough!" Captain Lin couldn't take it anymore. With a cold expression, he cut in on their argument and said directly, "This large amount of rice was found by Cheng Zhiyu and his team. The distribution was already arranged before we left. Arguing won't change anything!"

The Superhumans exchanged glances—some dissatisfied, some happy, others with complex expressions.

Captain Lin turned to the supplies manager: "Count up this rice. The base hasn't distributed supplies for quite a while. Notify everyone to come queue up tomorrow evening for distribution."

Seeing there was nothing more to say, everyone dispersed. Cheng Zhiyu and his team were about to leave but were stopped by Captain Lin.

Captain Lin said, "As you know, the current situation in the base is such that if we eat as much as we want, this rice might only last a month. If we ration it carefully, it could last up to six months."

Six months? That would probably mean continuing to scrape by with minimal rice, just like now.

Cheng Zhiyu knew Captain Lin's approach was right. Eating one's fill wasn't the priority; ensuring more people could survive longer was more important.

After all, eating freely would be ideal, but if the base ran out of food, countless people would starve to death.

Superhumans could risk their lives to hunt mutated beasts, but what about ordinary people?

However, Cheng Zhiyu felt this wasn't a long-term solution.

He had plenty of rice in his space, but even if he took it out, it would only buy more time.

"Captain Lin, have you considered growing some crops in the base?" Cheng Zhiyu asked.

Growing crops would at least make them more self-sufficient. Ordinary people would have something to do, and Superhumans couldn't so confidently treat them as dispensable.

"Right, I think we need to farm. Otherwise, we'll just be depleting our resources. The longer the apocalypse lasts, the harder it is to find food," Zhou Min added.

Tian Manman nodded in agreement: "Farming is good."

Captain Lin sighed helplessly, "I grew up in a village too, so of course I've thought about farming. But when we sow the seeds, they just don't grow."

"Later, I realized that only Plant Superhumans, by infusing their powers into the plants daily, can make them grow," Captain Lin explained. "But our base only has three Plant Superhumans. They've worked themselves to the bone and have only just grown the first batch of plants since the apocalypse. The seeds from those plants can adapt to the post-apocalyptic environment, but the efficiency is too low. The little they produce is probably only enough to feed themselves."

Cheng Zhiyu had actually guessed a bit of this. After all, when they went to Chaoyang Base, even as a large base, they hadn't achieved a steady supply of seeds and were still in the experimental phase.

Not to mention their village only has about a hundred Superhumans in total, while Chaoyang Base alone has over a hundred people just dedicated to seed cultivation.

Because Cheng Zhiyu considered this, he barely ate any plants on the way back, saving all that could be used for seeds.

He currently has quite a few mutant seeds, especially the wheat planted next to Little Yellow. After harvesting one crop, it regrows in about ten days. He didn’t consume any of it; instead, he dried and stored it.

He had also previously planted Little Yellow’s mutant wheat next to Big Strong to see if it would grow into Mutant Large Wheat and produce crops that regrow after harvesting, like leeks.

As it turned out, it wasn’t that easy. Cheng Zhiyu wasn’t sure if the original mutation was overwritten by new mutant genes, but when planted next to Big Strong, the wheat only retained the size-increasing mutation.

Wanting both larger size and the ability to regrow after harvesting was clearly impossible.

That said, Cheng Zhiyu had indeed stored quite a few seeds, especially wheat seeds.

He pulled out the seeds and showed them to Lin Kang: "I have mutant seeds here. See if you can clear some land and have people plant them."

Hearing about the mutant seeds, Lin Kang immediately perked up: "Really? How many?"

Cheng Zhiyu showed him: there was a big sack of Mutant Ratoon Wheat, which could be harvested repeatedly, so he had stored a lot.

The Mutant Large Wheat was less abundant, but because the grains were large, it also filled a large sack.

"This much?" Lin Kang was excited. His eyes were first drawn to the Mutant Large Wheat, and he was amazed: "Is this wheat?"

A single wheat grain was almost the size of a palm!

He turned the wheat seed over and over in his hand, as if examining a rare treasure. Suddenly remembering something, he quickly asked Cheng Zhiyu: "Does this wheat only produce one grain per plant?"

"Of course not, it still forms ears like conventional wheat," Cheng Zhiyu said. "It just produces slightly fewer grains than ordinary wheat."

"That’s good enough, that’s already very good," Lin Kang murmured, looking at the Mutant Large Wheat with an unusually gentle expression.

Next, he examined the Mutant Ratoon Wheat, which looked ordinary compared to the Mutant Large Wheat. Since it appeared no different from regular wheat, Lin Kang asked Cheng Zhiyu what its mutation was.

Cheng Zhiyu: "This is Mutant Ratoon Wheat. After it matures and is harvested, it regrows."

Lin Kang’s eyes lit up: "So it’s just like leeks!"

Cheng Zhiyu thought about how the wheat in his space was growing slower with each regrowth, estimating this might be the last crop. He said: "It doesn’t grow as fast as leeks, and it doesn’t regrow as many times—probably around five or six crops?"

Lin Kang slapped his thigh: "That’s already great! If the yield stays the same, planting one acre now is like planting five or six acres before!"

He looked at Cheng Zhiyu, his expression both complex and relieved: "Because of you, I can finally feel a bit more secure. Otherwise, I’d always be worrying about what to do with the base going forward."

Cheng Zhiyu didn’t think much of it and said: "I also have vegetable seeds."

Lin Kang’s eyes lit up again: "What kinds?"

After Cheng Zhiyu named them, Lin Kang hesitated: "Given the base’s current situation, it’s best to focus on planting wheat first. For vegetables, we can only choose one or two to grow."

In the end, after discussing, they decided to grow lettuce and potatoes.

Lettuce grows relatively quickly and can be eaten soon, while potatoes are satiating, have high yields, and can temporarily substitute as a staple if there’s no main grain.

Once they agreed, Lin Kang kept praising Cheng Zhiyu and was about to say more when Cheng Mo suddenly stepped between them.

Lin Kang: "?"

Cheng Mo was displeased. *This guy should focus on business instead of rambling on about unnecessary things.*

Cheng Zhiyu gave Cheng Mo a look and coughed lightly: "Captain Lin, if there are no other issues, let’s arrange things as soon as possible."

Lin Kang snapped back to attention and nodded: "Right, right. I’ll first assign people to clear the land."

Although there were existing farmlands, they were some distance from the base. With dangers lurking outside the base, it wasn’t suitable.

If they were to clear new land, the base would need to push outward.

Thinking about it, there was indeed a lot to do, and they needed to get busy quickly.

After bidding farewell to Lin Kang, Cheng Zhiyu gave Cheng Mo a helpless look on the way back.

Cheng Mo looked clueless: "What’s wrong, Zhiyu?"

"You," Cheng Zhiyu shook his head helplessly. "Never mind, it’s nothing."

Cheng Mo draped his arm over Cheng Zhiyu’s shoulder, almost pulling him into an embrace, and gently leaned against his shoulder: "Are you angry?"

Cheng Zhiyu shook his head: "No."

There was nothing to be angry about, but was Cheng Mo’s possessiveness toward him a bit too strong? Whenever someone got close to him, Cheng Mo always assumed they had ulterior motives.

Little did he know, Cheng Mo was thinking: *Zhiyu is so good; I have to guard him carefully.*

On the other side, the supply manager came to ask Lin Kang: "How much rice should each person get?"

Naturally, they couldn’t distribute it all at once. The base distributed supplies every week or half month to prevent people from being wasteful and running out later—would they just let them starve?

Although people could usually exchange contribution points for food, those points alone couldn’t get them much.

Lin Kang looked at the wheat seeds. Originally, he had planned to make the supplies last six months, but Cheng Zhiyu said the wheat seeds he provided would mature in less than three months.

Gritting his teeth, he changed the distribution from half a *jin* per person to one *jin*.

Ordinary people would get two *jin*, Superhumans six *jin*, distributed once a week.

Given people’s current needs, this definitely wouldn’t be enough to fill them up. If they were to eat their fill, the 100,000 *jin* of rice would be gone in a month.

They certainly couldn’t do that.

With this arrangement, based on the base’s population, about 4,000 *jin* of grain would be distributed each time, enough to last at least four or five months!

The supply manager was surprised they were distributing so much but, as one of Lin Kang’s trusted aides from the early days, he followed Lin Kang’s orders without question.

---

The news that the base would distribute rice spread quickly, and the base suddenly seemed to come alive.

"Are we really getting rice?" someone asked the messenger.

"Yes, really! Look, the notice is posted on the base’s bulletin board. And this time, it’s not by household—everyone can get a share. I don’t know how much, but it’s been so long since I’ve tasted rice!"

"Just having something to eat is enough. I’d be happy just to taste it."

"How can it just be a taste? At the very least… at least we should get a small bowl of rice."

A thin woman holding a months-old child in her arms heard this, and her numb eyes finally showed a glimmer of light.

*Great! With rice, she could cook rice porridge, and her baby would finally have something to eat.*

She couldn't get enough to eat, let alone have proper nutrition, and her breast milk had long dried up. Her baby cried heartbreakingly every day, and while she could only comfort him helplessly, she had no way to fill his stomach.

A baby a few months old should be chubby, but her child was painfully thin, with eyes that looked unnaturally large, a sight that tugged at the heartstrings.

Her husband said happily, "We've been saving our rice. Even if each person only gets a small bowl, it should keep the baby fed for a while."

Dabbing at her tears, the woman nodded vigorously. No matter what, there was finally a glimmer of hope to keep going.

Their child was born after the catastrophe began and had never known a single good day. As parents, they felt both heartache and guilt.

When it was time to distribute the rice, the woman came early with her husband and was first in line, holding a small bag.

The person distributing the rice glanced at the tiny bag and frowned, "This bag is too small; it won't hold the rice."

"Won't hold it?" The woman was confused. Her husband moistened his lips and hurriedly asked, "How much rice are we getting?"

The distributor replied, "Ordinary people get two *jin* each. Your family... can get six *jin*."

Everyone: "!!!"

*So much, and even the baby in her arms was included! Was this a dream?*