Apocalypse Chapter 50: Blueprint

Chapter 50: Blueprint

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Recently, the espers have been coming and going at all hours. In theory, they should have gotten used to this rhythm long ago. However, after recruiting thousands of students from City D, everyone still felt exhausted. Upon returning, they collectively slouched in the meeting room at Chu Qiang’s house.

Chu Qiang rubbed his sore arms and muttered, “In theory, the more people we have at the base, the more helpers we should have. But why do I feel like the more people we have, the more tasks pile up? When will it end?”

They were busy installing solar panels not long ago, and now they had the additional task of recruiting people. Even if they were as tough as nails, they couldn’t withstand this strain. In contrast, in other bases, those in power were aloof. Just by uttering a word, tasks would naturally be completed by those below them.

Despite being a base, the core team at Spark Base was somewhat pitiful. Jiang Rong also understood everyone’s difficulties. He comforted, “Everyone has been working hard during this period. We are currently expanding rapidly, and chaos is inevitable. Things will ease up after a while.”

Currently, there were already thirty-eight thousand people registered in their base, including over five hundred espers. At first glance, there seemed to be plenty of people to utilize. Just by Jiang Rong casually saying something, many people would be willing to help.

But the more chaotic it was, the more careful we had to be. Chaos would amplify the good and bad aspects of human nature. If some morally questionable individuals infiltrated the ranks of first or second-level esper teams, it would be a never-ending problem.

Pan Pan asked in confusion, “Jiang, you mentioned first and second-level esper teams before. What does that mean? Are the teams determined by the level of espers?”

Jiang Rong explained slowly, “For example, the seven of us here…”

Chu Qiang corrected him, “Xiao Jiang, there are only six of us here. Master Guan is out.”

Jiang Rong glanced at Chu Qiang and continued, “He’ll be back in a couple of days. Anyway, the seven of us constitute the initial first-level esper team. We can establish the rules of the base, decide on its planning, construction, and development direction. In the future, if something significant happens in the base, each of us has the right to approve or veto.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Qiang and the others couldn’t help but straighten up. “Heh heh…” 

With Jiang Rong’s words, they felt quite powerful, which sounded somewhat refreshing.

Jiang Rong continued, “Once our core team stabilizes, each of us can develop our own subordinate teams. For example, Leilei, you can recruit other espers as your subordinates. When we go on missions in the future, there will be people to carry things and shield you from harm.”

Leilei nodded understandingly, “I see, Uncle Jiang. First-level espers are like class monitors, responsible for the daily work of the whole class. Second-level espers are like class committee members, assisting the monitor. Am I right?”

Jiang Rong nodded slightly, “That’s one way to understand it. The base is like a large class, and we need to select suitable people to help.”

In the future, apart from first and second-level esper teams, there would also be temporary teams and individual teams. But that was all talk for later. If the first and second-level esper teams encountered problems, the base would have no future.

Ruan Hanyu suddenly realized, “No wonder Jiang asked me to mark all the espers in the base. It turns out he wants us to start evaluating candidates now.”

Jiang Rong smiled and nodded, “Yes, everyone has received the list of espers. During this period, everyone can observe, evaluate, and test these espers more, selecting those who are stable in character and proactive in their work.”

The group silently took note of Jiang Rong’s words. As they looked at the list in their hands again, each person’s eyes held a bit more scrutiny and seriousness.

After a while, Chu Qiang asked, “By the way, Xiao Jiang, where do you plan to plant the old camphor tree?”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Rong opened his computer and used the mouse to draw a circle on several mountains southwest of Lingshan Reservoir. “Here.”

Everyone stared at the circle for a while, their eyes filled with confusion and puzzlement. Finally, Wang Chunlan, speaking on behalf of everyone, asked, “Xiao Rong, what’s special about these mountains? Why do you want to plant the old camphor tree here?”

These mountains were neither close to any village nor near any town. Within a three-mile radius, there were only a few abandoned resorts. Besides offering a view of Lingshan Reservoir, there was nothing special about planting the old camphor tree here.

Ruan Hanyu speculated, “Are those college students going to be settled in the nearby resorts? Does Jiang want the old camphor tree to accompany these students?” But that didn’t make sense. If he wanted to accompany the students, Jiang Rong could easily plant the old camphor tree inside the resorts. Why plant it so far away?

Jiang Rong smiled, “It may not be apparent now, but once the base is established, this place will become our school, library, and research institute. Let’s take a look at the blueprint I’ve drawn. If there are any issues, feel free to point them out.”

With that, Jiang Rong clicked on a small icon on the map. After the screen flashed twice, everyone’s eyes gradually widened. “Wow!”

On the map of Lingshan Reservoir, a white “fan” appeared, with the beautiful reservoir as the base of the fan. The fan was opened towards the southeast, covering most of the hills and plains in the base. The “fan” was dotted with countless shiny “pearls”, each connected by a shiny “thread”. Upon closer inspection, it was evident that these were not “threads” but wide roads. Zooming in on the “pearls”, one could see streets and houses inside, resembling a well-planned town.

Pointing to the largest and brightest pearl near Lingshan Reservoir, Chu Qiang exclaimed, “Wow, isn’t this the Fisheries Brigade?”

The Fisheries Three Village only occupied a small part of the pearl. According to Jiang Rong’s plan, the three villages would merge with several adjacent villages. In the future, there would be malls, supermarkets, schools, and stadiums here…

Jiang Rong smiled and said, “Yes, this is the core position of our base.”

Chu Qiang sat down silently, then gave Jiang Rong a thumbs-up. “Impressive!”

According to human habits, places where humans gather are not very friendly to plants and animals. However, each building on this map had a piece of cultivable land on its rooftop. Many trees were planted between buildings, and the greenery of the plants covered the houses. If Jiang Rong hadn’t deliberately changed the color of the markers, it would be difficult to spot the existence of the town from high altitude.

Outside the town were fields, as far as the eye could see, filled with various shades of green, creating a serene and refreshing scene.

Seeing such a blueprint, everyone became excited. “This base is so cool, isn’t it?!”

Chu Qiang excitedly flashed his white teeth, “Hey, Xiao Jiang, do you know that next to us, City N recently built a Peace Base? I listened to some news, and apparently, the Peace Base is building underground shelters. My goodness, living underground? No, thank you.”

In comparison, their base seemed extraordinary. Look at these mountains, rivers, and fields, and the network of rivers and lakes embedded within them. Who wouldn’t be moved? Even before the Great Crisis, they didn’t have such a good living environment!

Jiang Rong nodded slightly, “I’ve calculated that with this design, our fields can sustain a population of a million. But to achieve this effect, it requires everyone’s joint efforts.”

Saying this, Jiang Rong once again clicked on the map. The magnificent “fan” and beautiful circles disappeared. Everyone saw the actual map of the base again. Due to the recent drought, many plants had withered, giving the map a dull brown color. The scattered towns and villages looked disorderly, which was vexing to look at.

Wang Chunlan sighed, “No contrast, no harm.”

Originally, she thought the place she lived in was pretty good, but compared to the image on Jiang Rong’s blueprint, she felt that everything was off. She wished the progress of the base construction could be accelerated many times over, so they could live among the green mountains and waters sooner.

Ruan Hanyu’s eyes sparkled, “This is great! I really like this kind of base.” 

People from other bases were afraid of mutant animals and plants, either living underground or protecting themselves with high walls. But their base was different. They would seek common development with mutant animals or plants, leaving behind a magnificent picture between heaven and earth.

Pan Pan took a deep breath, “A huge project!”

Jiang Rong nodded, “Yes, indeed, it’s a huge project. But with everyone here, I believe everything will be realized.” 

Before the Great Crisis, presenting such a blueprint would have been wishful thinking. However, the Great Crisis made all of this possible. The changes espers could bring to the environment were immense. With them, changes in river courses and shifting mountains were not a problem.

After concluding his summary, Jiang Rong prepared to shut down the computer and send everyone to rest. However, just as he was about to turn off the computer, he heard everyone’s plea, “Please, open the blueprint again for us to see!”

Jiang Rong sighed with a mixture of laughter and tears, “Alright, but let me make it clear, this is an unfinished blueprint. We can’t let it be leaked, understand?”

***

Jiang Fangming was the name of one of the men who lived in Spark Base’s Little Star Bridge. Before the Great Crisis, he was an electrician. Today marked his 20th day since joining Spark Base. On the second day of joining the base, he and the other electricians were gathered by the espers for specialized training.

Their training program was: How to install solar panels.

Before attending the training, he was worried. He feared that he hadn’t learned about solar panels and might be rejected by the espers. However, upon arrival, he discovered that installing solar panels wasn’t difficult for them. After seven days of training, everyone in their class could independently install the panels.

Then they followed the espers out to do tasks. The so-called tasks were actually quite simple. They were only responsible for securely installing the solar panels provided by the espers on the roofs, and then wiring them to the batteries.

The working hours weren’t long. If there were any difficulties, it might be that sometimes it was hard to see clearly when climbing onto the roofs at night, which could result in slipping. But even if they slipped, it was fine because there would be espers watching nearby, ready to lend a hand if anything went wrong.

It was inevitable. With such high daytime temperatures, not to mention installing solar panels, even exposing oneself to the sun for just a few minutes could lead to heatstroke. The village where they were to install the solar panels was eight kilometers away from their own village, northwest. At half past two in the morning, he set out with the other teammates.

Early morning was the most suitable time for installing solar panels. Firstly, the weather was cooler, and people didn’t suffer much. Secondly, when the panels were installed, the sun rose, allowing them to verify if the panels were functioning properly.

After several hours of effort, by half past five in the morning, Jiang Fangming had finally completed today’s task. He straightened his sore back with a hammer and looked at the shiny solar panels on the roof, “Is there electricity now?!”

However, despite asking several times, his companions did not respond. Turning around, he saw his companion standing on the roof, hands shading his eyes as he looked into the distance. Jiang Fangming clicked his tongue, “You’re slacking off again. Be careful, or esper will catch you, and they’ll deduct your supplies.”

His companion nodded towards the east, “Look, is that a military vehicle?”

Squinting towards the east, Jiang Fangming, this village was near the highway exit, and now the highway was full of broken-down vehicles. How could there be military vehicles? However, upon closer inspection, he, like his companion, couldn’t look away.

There were several excavators and forklifts busy clearing the way on the highway. The forklifts separated the collided vehicles one by one, and the excavator’s long arm hooked and pulled the cars to the side of the road. Several vehicles coordinated seamlessly, and in no time, they cleared a path several meters ahead.

Behind the vehicles, military green off-road vehicles and military trucks were slowly approaching.

The long convoy seemed endless, and Jiang Fangming exclaimed, “Impressive! This must be a troop movement, right?”

His companion agreed, “It should be, but I wonder where they’re headed.” After a pause, he added enviously, “It would be great if we could follow them.”

His companion had sharp eyes; he noticed heavy armored vehicles behind the convoy, which provided a sense of security wherever they went. As ordinary people, they didn’t dare hope for military protection at such times. However, seeing so many military vehicles in their lifetime was a treat.

Apart from them, the survivors in the village also noticed the commotion. They came out of their houses, looking towards the direction of the military vehicles with envy. The children eagerly asked their parents, “Daddy, where are the soldiers going? Will they come to our house?”

The elders could only pat the children’s heads, “I don’t know.”

In fact, they knew the soldiers were just passing through; their destination would be larger and better bases. Who would be interested in Spark Base?

As the excavators and forklifts cleared the highway exit, to everyone’s surprise, the cars that were previously horizontally arranged in the convoy now formed a line, and two forklifts swiftly turned towards the exit.

People watched this scene in astonishment, speculating: Could it be that the destination of the military vehicles is their… Spark Base?

As the abandoned vehicles were moved away, the congested road became clear. Military vehicles sped up and headed west from the main road of the village. As the wheels pressed against the road, the people in the village felt the ground shake. Everyone looked excitedly in the direction the military vehicles were leaving, discussing eagerly what might be in the camouflaged boxes in the trunks of those military trucks.

With one military vehicle after another, Jiang Fangming’s eyes widened, “How many are there?”

His companion turned his head, his eyes unfocused, and said, “Too many to count, but it’s definitely over a thousand…” 

They saw that every vehicle from the past was filled with people. If there were over a thousand vehicles, then there would be several thousand people inside them! The most terrifying thing was that the long convoy seemed endless, and more vehicles were pouring in from the highway.

Jiang Fangming swallowed hard, “Do you think these people are here to claim territory?” 

If these people were indeed here to claim territory, could the few espers at the Spark Base stop them?

His companion shook his head, “I don’t know… What kind of territory would require mobilizing so many vehicles?”

Guan Shao drove the excavator slowly at the front, followed by the long convoy. They were getting closer, almost home. What expression would Jiang Rong have when he saw Guan Shao bringing back so many people?

As the surroundings became more and more familiar, Guan Shao’s excitement grew. He picked up the walkie-talkie on the excavator and said, “Everyone pull over.” 

With his command, all the vehicles turned on their indicators and steadily stopped on the mountain road. However, Guan Shao didn’t stop. He drove the excavator towards a side road. As the excavator turned, several sharp spikes flew towards the car window. The black and yellow spikes pierced through the glass, luckily Guan Shao dodged them quickly, or they would have pierced him.

Guan Shao leaned out of the window, “Little Fairy, it’s me.”

Little Fairy exclaimed in surprise, then his forehead started to blossom, “Master Jiang! Master Jiang! Chirp chirp~ Master Jiang~ chirp chirp!”

The bloodthirsty vines on Little Fairy also twisted into heart shapes, “Wow~ Wow~”

He’s back! The person who will kiss Master Jiang is back!

The excavator stopped in front of the parking lot, and Guan Shao jumped out of the car. He strode towards the direction of the courtyard. Today was the day he and Jiang Rong had agreed upon for his return. To meet Jiang Rong as soon as possible, they drove all night yesterday.

After checking the time, a smile appeared on Guan Shao’s lips. He was almost twelve hours earlier than the time he and Jiang Rong had agreed upon. He couldn’t wait for Jiang Rong to see him.

As he reached the courtyard, the gate opened. Jiang Xiaoheng and Jiang Hao, the two children, joyfully ran out of the gate, “Uncle Guan—” “Ah—”

Guan Shao bent down and lifted the two of them. The little ones kissed his face several times, “You’re back! We missed you so much!”

Guan Shao affectionately rubbed the children’s tender cheeks, “I’m back. Is Daddy awake?”

Jiang Xiaoheng’s eyes sparkled, “He’s awake! Daddy’s frying small crabs. Uncle Guan, did you bring back the excavator like you promised?”

Guan Shao smiled and nodded, “Yes, I did. It’s outside.”

The two children couldn’t wait any longer. They struggled to get down, “Uncle Guan, let us down quickly. We want to see the excavator!”

As soon as Guan Shao put the two children down, they happily ran out of the courtyard. Soon, there were screams and cheers from outside the courtyard, “Excavator!! Daddy! There really is an excavator!”

Amidst the children’s excitement, the gate opened wider, and Jiang Rong, wearing a gray apron, stood at the door with a smile, “You’re back?”

Guan Shao answered with a quick stride towards Jiang Rong, “Yeah!”

The next moment, Jiang Rong was tightly embraced by Guan Shao. Guan Shao lifted Jiang Rong off the ground with one hand around his waist and swiftly closed the gate with the other hand.

Jiang Rong felt his head spin; his back was against the gate. Guan Shao’s breath enveloped him, the man’s breath, heartbeat, and the sweat he exuded made his legs weak and his breath erratic.

Guan Shao’s kisses fell on Jiang Rong’s face like a storm, finally lingering on his lips. Jiang Rong’s hands were initially placed on Guan Shao’s chest, intending to resist, but as Guan Shao pressed closer, he couldn’t help but open his mouth to welcome his advances.

It was an unprecedented experience. Jiang Rong realized that his body was more honest than his thoughts. He missed Guan Shao.

With one hand supporting Jiang Rong’s hips and the other around his waist, Guan Shao kissed Jiang Rong until his cheeks were flushed and his breath was ragged. He couldn’t help but press his forehead against Jiang Rong’s, “I missed you so much.”

Jiang Rong’s chin gently rested on Guan Shao’s shoulder, “And you think a kiss makes up for it?”

Guan Shao chuckled softly, “If I didn’t run, I’d be thinking even harder on the way. Can you answer my question now?”

Jiang Rong chuckled, “Haven’t you already figured it out?” 

Not only had he figured it out, but he had also resumed it as soon as he returned.

Guan Shao hugged Jiang Rong tightly again, and he turned his head slightly to pry open Jiang Rong’s lips, and they exchanged a lingering kiss. After the kiss, Guan Shao’s voice was hoarse, and there was a fiery look in his eyes, “I regret it.”

He shouldn’t have come back now; he should have come back at night so he wouldn’t have to worry about it being daytime and being rude.

Jiang Rong’s breath steadied, “Let me go, the kids are here.”

Guan Shao hoarsely replied, “They’re outside.”

Jiang Rong looked towards the direction of the sofa, and Guan Shao followed his gaze. Silly Lele was lying on the sofa, sticking out his tongue and silly smiling. When he saw the two masters looking at him, he whimpered and jumped off the sofa, hiding away.

Jiang Rong couldn’t help but laugh, “You scared Lele.”

Guan Shao took a few deep breaths. He unwillingly touched Jiang Rong, “Mine.” 

He never imagined that one day he would be so obsessed with someone, as if he were a hungry ghost for affection. During this time, whenever he closed his eyes, Jiang Rong’s face filled his mind. Hormones were a terrible thing; he never thought he would lose control for someone like this.

Jiang Rong lifted his head and planted a light kiss on Guan Shao’s forehead, “Stamped, you’re mine now.”

Guan Shao grinned, stars in his eyes, “Jiang Rong, I’m so happy.” 

Perhaps the happiest thing in the world was when the person you liked also liked you back? At this moment, he just wanted to hold onto Jiang Rong forever, never letting go.

However, there came the sound of children knocking on the door behind them, “Daddy, Daddy, come out quick and see, Uncle Guan brought back a huge excavator! It’s massive!”

Jiang Rong pushed Guan Shao again, “Let me down.” 

The children were here, and he was, after all, the head of the household; he had to maintain some dignity.

After holding Jiang Rong for a moment, Guan Shao gently put him down. Jiang Rong wiped his lips and then opened the door. Jiang Xiaoheng and Jiang Hao excitedly rushed in, “Daddy! Uncle Guan brought back such a big excavator!”

As soon as they spoke, Jiang Xiaoheng furrowed his brow and asked in confusion, “Daddy, why are your lips so red? Did you eat chili?”

Guan Shao couldn’t help but chuckle, and Jiang Rong glanced helplessly at him, “Yeah, I just ate some chili. Do you like the excavator Uncle Guan brought back?”

The two children dragged out their words, “We like it!”

Jiang Rong nodded slightly, “If you like it, continue playing, but be careful not to hurt yourselves.”

The two children cheered and rushed out of the door again. Jiang Rong glanced at the raised pole outside the courtyard, “I didn’t expect you actually brought back the excavator.”

Guan Shao muttered, “A man must keep his word.”

The excavator was brought back, but where were the teammates Guan Shao was looking for? Jiang Rong subconsciously looked outside the courtyard, “Right, where are your teammates? Why didn’t you bring them in?”

Guan Shao replied slowly, “Well… there are quite a few teammates, and the house can’t accommodate them all. I’ll let them wait outside for now and settle them in with you later.”

Jiang Rong looked puzzled, “Can’t accommodate them? How many teammates did you bring?”

Guan Shao glanced at the sky outside the window and said slowly, “Just… a little over eight thousand.”

 

 

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