Chapter 220
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Chapter 220: Going Home
“Outsiders? According to them, they escaped from some Shelters.
“You should know the history. Meteorite impacts struck our planet, killing most forms of life while causing various anomalies.
“For the humans in Hope City, anomalies meant the emergence of superpowers, which was a positive development. But for these outsiders from the Shelters, anomalies seem to have lowered everyone’s intelligence level…”
At this point, Zhang Tong even managed a bitter smile:
“Didn’t you find the man leading you quite strange? His name is Nick, and he’s only thirty this year, but he looks as if he’s fifty… Premature aging is a common trait among these outsiders. Another trait is that they are somewhat… simple-minded, so they can’t do very precise work and have to rely on us.”
So that’s how it is… Ink Drench silently recorded this information, realizing that her earlier conversations with Nick made her think there was a clear hierarchy here, but it turns out it was like this.
“For a settlement to survive, it must control population growth and decline, which is not an easy task.
“For many years, we have been planning our population based on the food we can obtain. You should understand what I mean; after all, more than forty years ago when Hope City was first established, it is said they enforced similar regulations.”
Ink Drench nodded without saying anything, signaling him to continue.
“In short, the premature aging of the offspring of outsiders and Hope City humans has some relief, but none of them have awakened superpowers.
“Sigh, your arrival is truly timely. Given the current environment, it’s hard for me to survive the next decade. When the few of us are gone, this place will collapse on its own… It’s such a relief to see people from the city at this time.
“Do you have any other questions? I know you might not fully believe me, but that’s okay; I believe in Hope City.”
Ink Drench thought for a moment and asked:
“What is your food source?”
“Most of it comes from farming, and a little from gathering; we occasionally eat some extraordinary beasts meat.
“The seeds were brought by those outsiders, but they have regressed to the point where they don’t know how to use them. It was that technician who worked in the underground farms that taught them how to farm.
“As for the extraordinary beasts, we have indeed made some different discoveries…
“One year, when neither farming nor gathering could meet our needs, we had to leave the marsh to hunt some extraordinary beasts for food.
“One of our teammates, who has the superpower to strip away certain materials, extracted some white filaments from those extraordinary beasts. These things resemble parasites, have a certain degree of activity, and are very sensitive to external flesh and blood, always wanting to burrow into the human body…
“You just need to strip away this material, and the remaining extraordinary beast meat can be eaten.
“I know that many nutritional pastes in Hope City are made from extraordinary beasts, and now I think there must be some special mechanism or superpower involved; otherwise, Hope City would have surely perished by now…”
“Yes, Hope City has also discovered the existence of that white material in recent years, which we generally call mycelium.”
Ink Drench did not elaborate on the discovery of mycelium nor mention the Infected riot from a few months ago; she only compared what Zhang Tong said with what Nick had said.
Both of them expressed the same event from different angles; for example, Zhang Tong claimed that extracting mycelium was a result of superpowers, while Nick seemed to believe that the visitors from Hope City were of a higher class and were unwilling to pass on their knowledge to individuals like them…
“Your choice is correct. Those guys in the research institutes believe that directly consuming inactive mycelium will pose significant harm to the human body.
“I have no further questions and am very glad to see you here.”
“I am also glad to hear about the news from the city again.”
Zhang Tong’s tone seemed to lack the energy it had earlier; the long discussion had drained him somewhat.
“We plan to rest for the night and tomorrow take you and the other exploration team members back to Hope City. Our team members are quite capable and can protect you.”
As Ink Drench finished speaking, she turned to step aside from the view, and her teammates all flashed warm smiles.
“Can you… can you take those outsiders with you?”
Zhang Tong suddenly asked.
“If we leave, they won’t be able to survive here… If conditions allow…”
Ink Drench’s expression became more serious:
“Sir, we only have an obligation to rescue members of Hope City. As for others… I can only say you should think carefully; the extraordinary beasts outside the marsh are countless. The five of us can ensure our own self-defense, and we can take you, but with ninety people… There probably won’t be many left by the time we reach Hope City.
“We wish to take you not just because we share the responsibilities of being members of Hope City but also because you currently understand the most about the outside world. The researchers will surely have questions of higher quality than we do. You and the other survivors are invaluable to Hope City.
“As for the others, I hope you can think carefully and give me your answer by tomorrow morning.
“My team and I will camp outside of the settlement and won’t interfere with you.”
With that, Ink Drench stood up from the chair and walked outside with her teammates.
Behind her, Zhang Tong reached out, seemingly wanting to hold on to something, but in the end, he grasped nothing.
As they exited the building, everyone began to stroll through the Marsh Settlement.
For a settlement of fewer than a hundred people, such simple infrastructure could indeed maintain the basic operation of the settlement.
It resembled one of those tiny, isolated villages from the Old Era, completely cut off from society while ensuring self-sufficiency.
Soon, bipolar disorder quietly approached Ink Drench, and sensing this, the Captain did not turn back but quietly asked:
“Is there a problem?”
“The internal state is very stable. Based on secretions, there are no obvious signs of lying. He was just a bit excited at the beginning; although he masked it well, the body doesn’t lie.”
“Good. Don’t trust everything; sometimes abilities are not reliable. Observe your surroundings more, and if you notice anything odd, write it down. We can talk about it when we go out to camp.”
The group began to walk around the Marsh Settlement; it was indeed not very large, and one could see the edges with a glance.
The settlement overall appeared circular, with a flat small square in the center. According to the survivors in the settlement, people would divide the meat there after hunting extraordinary beasts.
Surrounding the small square were some scattered houses, where all ninety residents lived.
Beyond that were the sporadic fields. Though one could see signs of human cultivation, they couldn’t identify the types of crops.
