Rise of the Wasteland in Cultivation

Deep in the ocean, a small island shrouded in a hazy light has been surrounded by magnificent fortifications. Buildings rise from the ground, with the tallest main building resembling a double-helix structure of DNA.

This is the Blue Star headquarters of the integrated [Wanhua Gene Biotechnology Group]. The hazy light shield enveloping the island is not a barrier, but a transition layer made of polymer materials, capable of shielding 99% of nuclear radiation and filtering most of the harmful impurities in the air.

In addition, the soil on the island has undergone special artificial treatment and is free from nuclear contamination, so the plants on the island can grow normally. As far as the eye can see, it is lush and green, with flowers in full bloom. It is no exaggeration to call it a paradise on earth.

However, such paradises are few and far between in the wasteland world because they are very expensive to build. Not to mention the treated soil, the polymer material filter layer alone is extremely scarce. Even if you have money, you can't buy it anywhere. Moreover, it is a consumable and needs to be replaced every year.

Even with the strength of [Wanhua Gene Biotechnology Group], it can only maintain the needs of its headquarters; other branches around the world do not have this kind of treatment.

At this moment, inside the double-spiral structure of the building on the island, an old man wearing glasses and a white lab coat was observing something in front of a microscope. His balding hair was messy, giving him a disheveled and crazy appearance.

At that moment, a young woman who looked like an assistant approached, holding a cell phone, and said respectfully, "Doctor, the boss just sent you a very interesting video. You should take a look!"

"Shut up! Can't you see I'm working? What kind of bullshit are you? I'm the boss here!" the old man interrupted, somewhat irritably.

The female assistant, with blonde hair and blue eyes, seemed to have gotten used to the old man's bad temper. She simply shrugged and stood there quietly waiting.

The slovenly old man fiddled with the computer for another half hour, inputting the data before finally taking off his lab gloves. He reluctantly took the phone from his female assistant, squinted, and muttered, "What video?"

The female assistant leaned closer and tapped the phone screen. A holographic projection screen appeared on the phone, showing the scene where the hyena used its fake eye to spy on Leng San and Siheyuan.

The disheveled old man was initially quite impatient, but when he saw the potatoes, tomatoes, and carrots planted by Leng San, he immediately became interested and exclaimed in admiration, "They're growing so well! One tomato plant has almost forty fruits, and they're quite large, much better than the ones we have here. Which green area did you grow them in? Could you get some seeds?"

The female assistant shrugged and said, "It's not the Green Zone, it's a scavenger camp in the Gray Zone."

"What?!" the disheveled old man exclaimed. "The Gray Zone! That's absolutely impossible! The land and air in the Gray Zone are so contaminated with nuclear radiation that even the most resilient grass can't grow there, let alone delicate crops. This is a joke!"

The so-called "gray zone" refers to an area contaminated by nuclear radiation but still tolerable for humans. Areas with severely excessive nuclear radiation that are unsuitable for human activity are called "forbidden zones." The small island in front of us is called the "green zone."

The assistant shook his head and said, "Doctor, this is no joke. This is a video uploaded by a gene hunter, codenamed Hyena. It was filmed four months ago at the C-361 Scavenger Camp in Xia Country. The filming device was a brain-computer interface with X-ray vision."

The disheveled old man stared in disbelief as he watched the video repeatedly, his eyes growing increasingly fervent. He muttered, "Amazing! To be able to grow such beautiful crops in the Gray Zone...tsk tsk, what a talent!"

The female assistant nodded and said, "The boss also thinks this technology is of great value. If it can be widely adopted, Earth might even be able to return to its pre-nuclear war state."

"I want the samples right now! No, I want that guy who grows the crops to appear in front of me immediately!" the disheveled old man roared, his eyes gleaming.

The female assistant smiled and said, "Don't worry, Doctor. The boss has already sent people over. As long as the news doesn't leak out and attract the attention of the other four major powers, I believe the samples and people will be delivered here soon."

The disheveled old man nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this, but quickly frowned and asked, "Why are you only getting the video now, which was uploaded four months ago?"

The female assistant said helplessly, "That's just a small camp with no network coverage. It can only rely on satellite communication. As you know, with our group's crappy satellite, it's already good enough if it can transmit the video back."

The disheveled old man frowned and said, "That's true, but so much time has passed, and that person was a scavenger. Could he have gone somewhere else?"

"That's possible, but don't worry, we've already done facial recognition." The female assistant tapped the phone screen, and another video played on the holographic projection.

This video was taken after Leng San killed the hyena, when the fake eye rolled out of the hyena's hand. At that time, Leng San thought the fake eye would explode, so he backed away warily. The video clearly captured his face, and the last moment of the video showed a foot stepping down.

The disheveled old man frowned and said, "This is still a child. Did he really plant those crops?"

"Even if he didn't plant them, they must be related to him. As long as we catch this boy, we'll surely get the information out of him." The female assistant smiled and said, "Don't worry, Doctor, the samples and the boy will be delivered to the island soon."

The disheveled old man nodded and said, "Alright, it must be alive. Well, half-dead is fine too, but the crop must be intact."

…………

At Camp C-361, Leng San, who had spent the night cultivating in the spiritual world of dawn, woke up and the first thing he did was naturally enjoy a delicious tomato and carrot salad breakfast.

Then, Leng San went to the supply station again. Old Xu at the supply station's eyes lit up when he saw his big customer arrive, saying, "Third Master, it's been a long time since you bought canned food. You must have run out at home. Would you like to buy some more today?"

With fresh food available, who would still eat canned food!

So Leng San shook his head and said, "I don't want canned food. Do you have cinnabar, a writing brush, and yellow paper?"

Old Xu was greatly disappointed. Leng San was the only big eater of canned food in the camp, but now he doesn't eat canned food anymore, and the stockpiled canned food can't be sold.

"What does Brother San need all this stuff for? To draw talismans and catch ghosts?" Old Xu asked irritably.

Businessmen are indeed pragmatic. He was just calling him "Third Master" a moment ago, but Leng San only refused to buy canned goods, so he was immediately downgraded to "Little Third Brother".

Leng San nodded and said, "That's right, drawing talismans to catch ghosts, all we need to do is ask if you have these things."

Old Xu naturally took it as a joke and shook his head, saying, "The supply station doesn't have these useless things."

"If I can get my hands on these things, I'll buy all the canned food at the supply station!" Leng San said casually.

Old Xu immediately beamed and said, "Third Master, you're so generous! Please wait a moment, I'll go and search the warehouse."