Rise of the Wasteland in Cultivation

When Leng San first tasted canned yellow peaches, he thought they were a delicacy. But after eating fresh potato and pork stir-fry, the expired canned peaches tasted like chewing wax. Chen Xi, that little girl, refused to eat canned food anymore and eagerly waited for Leng San to make potato and pork stir-fry for her every day.

It truly proves the old saying: It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

To ensure they could have fresh fruits and vegetables every day, Leng San found many bottles and jars and specially brought in fertile soil from the river near the camp to fill them, planting potatoes, carrots, and tomatoes everywhere. Corn was not planted for the time being because the plants were too tall and took up too much space; they would plant it later when a suitable place was found.

Leng San could have planted all these crops directly on the ground in the yard, but considering secrecy, he ended up planting them in bottles and jars for easy relocation and concealment if necessary.

Catalyzed by the blood of dawn, these seeds achieved a 100% survival rate and grew extremely fast. In just five days, the entire courtyard became lush and green, with a very promising growth.

Leng San was so happy he would wake up laughing in his dreams, feeling that a bountiful harvest was in sight, and that he would have an endless supply of fresh fruits and vegetables every day.

However, as the saying goes, excessive joy leads to sorrow. Leng San soon realized that something was wrong. Starting from the sixth day, the growth rate of these crops slowed down significantly, and the leaves of several crops even began to turn yellow and wither.

Leng San thought it was a pest or disease infection, so he immediately cleared away the plants to prevent the infection from spreading to other plants. However, it was no use, and in the following days, more plants continued to wither and die.

Leng San was at a loss, and Chen Xi was so anxious that she looked like she was about to cry. Her little mouth was constantly pouting, and she looked very sad.

At this moment, a thought flashed through Leng San's mind. He realized that when he planted only three potato plants before, there was no problem at all. Could it be that because he planted too many at once, the spiritual energy released by Chenxi was not enough to nourish them, causing the crops to wither and die?

With this in mind, Leng San reluctantly cleared away most of the plants, leaving only three potato plants, one tomato plant, and three carrot plants.

Just as Leng San had predicted, the remaining six crops began to turn green again, regained their vitality, and grew rapidly. By the tenth day, the tomato plant had even blossomed.

Leng San finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had almost lost everything. Sure enough, he couldn't bite off more than he could chew. He had to proceed step by step. Farming was something that couldn't be rushed!

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. The tomato plant had produced more than twenty green tomatoes the size of billiard balls, and the three carrots had grown to more than a foot tall. Half of their red and green stems were exposed above the soil, about five or six centimeters long, looking fresh and crisp, making one want to take a bite.

In the days that followed, Leng San continued to cultivate every day, while Chen Xi sat beside the crops, eagerly awaiting the ripening of the tomatoes on the tree.

To Leng San's delight, Chenxi's purification ability seemed to have increased again, releasing significantly more spiritual energy each day, which might be due to the frequent consumption of fresh potatoes recently.

On this day, Leng San finished his cultivation and found Chen Xi standing next to him expectantly, then pointing at the tomato plant.

At this moment, the tomato tree was laden with fruit, probably thirty or forty in total. The larger ones were the size of a fist, while the smaller ones were only the size of a thumb. The red and green colors were quite tempting.

Leng Sanxiao asked, "Trying to eat something sweet?"

Chenxi nodded, and Leng San reached out and picked two large, red tomatoes. He washed them with clean water and then handed one to Chenxi. The little girl immediately beamed, took the tomato, and took a small bite. Her eyes crinkled into crescent moons with sweetness.

Seeing this, Leng San smiled, picked up a tomato and took a bite. He felt the juice burst out, and the sweet and sour taste was simply delicious.

The two of them ate the whole tomato in no time, taking bites from the left and right. They felt refreshed and their eyes fell on the tomato tree again.

"How about we have another one?" Leng San suggested.

Chenxi nodded with a beaming smile, she couldn't agree more. The two of them ate three in one go, then let out a satisfied burp and smiled at each other.

…………

At noon, dust suddenly billowed up on the road in front of the camp gate as a Jialing motorcycle sped by. Two people on the motorcycle were covered in blood; they were none other than Ye Wenrou and Fatty.

The driver was the fat man. Ye Wenrou was pale and weak, lying on the fat man's back. Blood was seeping from her lower abdomen and dripping down her thighs.

"Hey, isn't that Ye Wenrou and Fatty from the Azure Wolf Squad? What happened to them? They look so disheveled!"

"Boss Bi and Zhou Chen haven't returned. Could they have perished?"

Upon seeing this, the scavengers couldn't help but speculate, with many more gloating. "Heh heh, the strongest scavenging team in Camp C-361 is probably going to cease to exist."

The fat man had no time to pay attention to the discussions. After the guards scanned him, he immediately turned on the gas and sped into the camp, heading straight for Leng San's courtyard house.

"Gentle girl, hang in there, we're almost there!" The fat man parked the car, picked up the barely alive Ye Wenrou, and ran to the courtyard house, only to find a sign hanging at the door that read "No Visitors Allowed".

But the fat man couldn't care less about anything else at this point. He pounded on the door and shouted, "Third Brother, Third Brother, help me!"

Just then, Leng San was hesitating whether to pick a carrot to try when he suddenly heard a loud banging on the door, and the fat man's anxious voice came in.

Leng San frowned, hurriedly moved all the crops to the east wing, and then walked to the gate. Looking out through the peephole, he was startled to see the fat man holding Ye Wenrou, who was covered in blood. He quickly opened the door.

The fat man immediately rushed in carrying Ye Wenrou, anxiously saying, "Third Brother, please save Wenrou!"

Upon seeing the penetrating wound on Ye Wenrou's lower abdomen, Leng San's expression changed slightly, and he asked in a deep voice, "How did you get that?"

"I was shot with a laser gun!" the fat man said, wiping away his tears. "If it weren't for the gentle girl shielding me with her body, I would be the one who died."

Ye Wenrou has the ability to heal herself, but this time her injuries were too severe. Her lower abdomen was pierced, and she might die if she didn't receive immediate treatment.

Leng San hesitated for a moment, but finally picked up Ye Wenrou, strode into the west wing, and slammed the door shut.

The fat man had originally wanted to go in, but was turned away at the door. He said awkwardly, "Third Brother, do you need my help?"

"No need, just stay outside and don't wander around." Leng San's voice came out.

The fat man said "oh" and indeed stayed obediently outside the west wing door, not daring to move around.

Inside the west wing, Leng San laid Ye Wenrou flat on a mat. He first checked her breathing and found that she was still alive, but had fainted from her injuries.

Leng San lifted Ye Wenrou's tight vest, revealing a through wound the size of a teacup on her lower abdomen, and frowned deeply. Tsk tsk, if it were anyone else with this kind of injury, they would probably be dead already. It's only because Ye Wenrou has the ability to heal herself that she has survived until now. However, without treatment, she still wouldn't have survived.

Fine, we were friends after all, let's save him!

Leng San sat down cross-legged, gently placing his right palm on the wound on Ye Wenrou's lower abdomen, silently channeling his spiritual energy. A radiant light flowed from Leng San's palm, his spiritual energy penetrating deep into her muscles and blood, slowly repairing Ye Wenrou's damaged internal organs.

Fortunately, Leng San had been in seclusion for a month. Although he had not yet broken through to the second level of Qi Refining, his spiritual power had improved considerably. Otherwise, he would have been powerless to save him now.

About an hour later, Ye Wenrou's damaged internal organs were finally repaired under the nourishment of spiritual energy. However, Leng San was also exhausted. At this moment, the spiritual energy in his dantian was exhausted, and he opened the door and walked out with unsteady steps.

When the fat man saw Leng San come out, he asked nervously, "Brother San, is Gentle Girl still alright?"

Leng San nodded and said, "They've been saved."

"That's great, Brother San, thank you. I'll pay you back when the boss and Brother Chen come back." The fat man cried tears of joy as he wiped them away.

This fat guy is quite loyal and sentimental; there aren't many people like him among scavengers. Last time, because of his teammate Da Ben, he turned back without hesitation to save him.

Therefore, Leng San had a better impression of the fat man than Zhou Chen, and waved his hand, saying, "Let's not talk about money. I didn't save Ye Wenrou for money. Tell me, what exactly happened? Didn't Master Bi and Brother Chen come with you?"

Fatty glanced gratefully at Leng San and replied, "The boss and Brother Chen are still in Shelter B23. The boss's internal injuries have almost healed. Gentle Girl and I originally went to visit the boss in B23, but we were ambushed by a group of people on our way back. The leader was a level two gene-enhanced warrior, so this is what happened."

Leng San frowned and asked, "Enemies?"

The fat man shook his head and said, "I don't know him. He probably has his eye on that Jialing motorcycle and wants to rip me off."

Double-crossing happens almost every day in the wasteland, so it's not surprising. You can only accept your bad luck; being able to escape with your life is a stroke of good fortune amidst misfortune.

"Go to the supply station and buy some antibiotics. Ye Wenrou's wound is too big; I'm afraid she'll get an infection," Leng San instructed.

"Okay, I'll go buy it right away." The fat man turned around and took a few steps, then suddenly froze, looking embarrassed. He said awkwardly, "Brother Xiao San, could you lend me a thousand contribution points first? Antibiotics are quite expensive, and I'm afraid I don't have enough money in my account."

Leng San was speechless. Didn't they just sell the bulldozer? How come they're so poor? Oh well, if you're going to help someone, you might as well go yourself.

Leng San led the fat man to the supply station, where they bought a dose of anti-inflammatory antibiotics, some disinfectant, and bandages.

Just as the two were about to leave, they encountered five people walking into the supply station, one of whom was bald, his bald head shining like a light bulb.

The fat man was immediately terrified, his eyes wide with anger, looking like he was meeting an enemy with intense hatred.

The five men were visibly startled when they saw the fat man, then casually brushed past him.

"These bastards actually tracked us all the way to the camp!" the fat man said through gritted teeth.