Chapter 170
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Chapter 170: "Everything is Normal"
Gecko watched as the moon slowly ascended from the horizon, gradually reaching the middle of the sky.
Keeping watch was a mundane task, yet Gecko managed to persist with it.
This was not only due to his strong sense of responsibility but also because it was a small personal passion of his.
That passion was observing the night sky.
The open grassland at night was exceedingly dull, as Gecko used his acute hearing to monitor the safety zone while admiring the luminous moon.
Unlike in the past, the high walls of Hope City had made watching the moon and sun rise a rare privilege.
Unless it was a soldier on duty atop the wall, the average person, even a superpowered individual like Gecko, seldom had the opportunity to truly enjoy such a view.
But tonight, whether it was his imagination or not, the moon appeared unusually large and round.
It was a beautiful sight, but it held no practical value for him.
Gecko let out a cold snort to himself; he knew how to separate work from leisure. As an elite superpowered individual, he remained alert, not allowing the stunning view to distract him.
Suddenly, he caught a whiff of a pleasant aroma.
The scent was somewhat familiar yet oddly elusive.
Something was amiss!
Gecko instinctively furrowed his brow and scanned his surroundings. Soon, he located the source of that familiar yet strange aroma.
A potato, meant to be saved for tomorrow, had somehow rolled near the campfire.
Where had it been placed originally?
Gecko scratched his head, unable to recall; perhaps someone with a poor sleeping position had inadvertently kicked it over…
That familiar yet strange aroma was emanating from the half-cooked potato being roasted in the flames.
So that was it.
Gecko nodded; no wonder it felt both familiar and strange.
Familiar because he had just eaten it, and strange because he had only had it once today.
Approaching the campfire, he picked up the half-cooked potato, but after a moment’s thought, he decided against eating it.
That would be unethical, and he wasn’t desperate for food; it would be better to leave it here and explain the situation to Vine tomorrow.
That guy had plenty of seeds and a good rapport with the councilor.
As Gecko’s mind turned, he formulated a plan.
He was not one to flatter others, but rare opportunities to build a good relationship with such a resourceful superpowered individual were not to be missed.
Stretching lazily as he gazed at the moon now high in the sky, Gecko thought, just one more hour until it was time to switch shifts…
“Vine, wake up.”
The eighteen-year-old appeared somewhat introverted, and his comical sleeping position, combined with his serious expression and completely disheveled hair, made him resemble a comedian from the Old Era.
As midnight arrived, Gecko called out to Vine as scheduled to take over the night watch shift.
The time was still quite favorable; Gecko could sleep for four more hours. Although it wasn’t a long stretch, it was sufficient to sustain the activities planned for the following day.
“Confirm you’re awake, passphrase.”
“Superpowered individual ‘Vine’, number 10033, ability: Friend of Plants, confirms I am awake and possess thinking ability at this moment.”
“Alright, be cautious of your surroundings. Have your plant friends keep a vigilant watch. I’m going to sleep now.”
After issuing a few reminders, Gecko slipped into his sleeping bag, and an overwhelming wave of drowsiness overtook him.
Sensing the coolness of the early autumn night and listening to the crackling sounds from the campfire along with the rustling of the tall grass stirred by the gentle breeze, sleepiness surged like waves, quickly engulfing Gecko.
—
“Ah! Potato!!!”
A loud shout broke the silence, startling all the team members. Captain Nian instantly entered combat mode, floating into the air along with his sleeping bag without even opening his eyes.
The others reacted similarly, feeling the ground become soft with ripples and the air gradually warming up until the three people looked towards the source of the noise.
After keeping watch for half the night, Vine, whose eyes were already showing signs of bloodshot from fatigue, was now holding a half-burnt potato with an expression of grief on his face.
“What happened?”
“I was about to use the potato to help everyone have breakfast in the morning, but I found that this potato… is already half dead.”
His expression struggled to hold together but soon returned to normal, reverting to the shy team member he usually was.
That shout of “potato” was more of an instinctive reaction.
Feeling a bit embarrassed as he began to comprehend the situation, Vine lowered his head, saying, “Not a big deal; I still have plenty of seeds.
“Since it’s already half cooked, we can heat it up and eat it later.”
Seeing the situation wasn’t dire, Captain Nian floated back down to the ground.
“Everyone, just follow the plan. Today we’ll continue heading north to scout the terrain and collect seeds.”
“Alright, Captain.”
“But speaking of it, the data from Hope City is really lacking…”
Unlike Bomb Man, who responded immediately, Sands seemed to have his own thoughts. As he packed his sleeping bag, he said, “It’s hard to imagine how terrifying the disaster was when the Old Era transitioned to the New Era.
“Do we really have no data on the basic terrain outside the city? Before the extraordinary beasts attacked and before the walls were built, at least that should have been possible, right?”
“Stop complaining. We don’t really know what happened back then, but that’s the facts. Since even Team One’s Infinite Scroll doesn’t have this information, Hope City truly lacks it.”
“That’s true, but as for mapping the terrain, this collection of specimens… from yesterday to today, it’s all the same plant…”
As Sands said this, he suddenly paused. Upon arriving outside the city, the once sparse, yellowing tall grass had now grown to nearly neck height.
But from any angle, these grasses belonged to the same species, showing almost no external differences.
A day had passed, and everyone now firmly believed that this yellowing was merely a surface appearance.
Even if it looked dry, felt dry, and analyzed as dry, the fact that it could extinguish flames signified something.
At least internally, it might have quite a high moisture content.
“Let the research institutes handle the analysis. Everyone, prepare for Data Collection, and let’s continue moving north.
“We still have thirty kilometers to go today.”
Nian had finished organizing his belongings. He took out a portable notebook from inside his combat suit and began writing on a new page with an eternal pen that had a metal tip:
【Year 52 of the New Era, September 16, Day Two outside the city, the exploration team is all alive, in good condition, and fully aware; everything is normal. We will continue heading north.】
