Staring at the lit-up phone screen for a long time, Lin Fan finally pressed the hang-up button.
No matter what had happened between them before, the moment Yu Lin said she wanted Lin Fan to send Xin Xin away, all ties between them were completely severed—
beyond repair.
After ending the call, Lin Fan put on his winter coat, pushed open the door, and walked out.
He was heading to check on the growth of the radiation-resistant vegetables in the planting zone.
Although the data briefing claimed these radiation-resistant seeds could grow and mature in the current conditions of the earth, it was still the first time planting them. No one knew if there would be unexpected issues.
These vegetables and the rice were critical prep supplies for Lin Fan—there could be no room for error!
...
As Lin Fan walked into the greenhouse, a warm and humid air greeted him.
A fist-sized glowing object floated in the air, providing precious light for the greenhouse, allowing the plants' chlorophyll to perform photosynthesis and absorb energy to grow.
This was the "Xuri" he had obtained from the beginner's pack.
It could provide 300 days'worth of light energy to crops covering 100 square meters.
In fact, Xuri had no physical form—it was pure "energy."
"Name: Xuri"
"Energy: 300"
"Function: Provides essential ultraviolet light for living organisms"
"Energy Item (Can be split into multiple light sources)"
The data clearly explained that Xuri's role was to replace sunlight.
The last line in parentheses meant that Xuri wasn't limited to existing as a single entity—it could be split.
For instance, a Xuri with 300 units of energy that could light 100 square meters could be split into two units with 150 energy each. These could then light 200 square meters, but only for 150 days.
Essentially, this meant diluting the energy.
Considering the growth cycles of these new crops and the dispersion of his greenhouses, Lin Fan had split the Xuri into twenty parts.
Though this increased energy loss significantly, it also sped up the crop yield.
As long as he could harvest the first batch, that tense string in his mind could finally relax.
Squatting in front of the garden bed, Lin Fan turned on his handheld flashlight.
The seeds he had planted that afternoon had already sprouted by nightfall.
"Radiation-Resistant Vegetable Sprout"
"Growth Stage: 9%"
"Condition: Healthy"
"Time to Maturity: 65 hours"
"Note: It's still very delicate and needs 8 hours of sunlight daily, plenty of water, and your careful attention!"
Standing up, Lin Fan looked out to see rows upon rows of green sprouts emerging in the nursery—lush and vibrant, beautiful like a painting!
Yes!
Healthy and successfully sprouted!
Lin Fan couldn't help but clench his fists in excitement.
Seeing this scene, his heart—constantly on edge since the apocalypse—finally began to ease.
These tender vegetables, though still young, held immense significance.
In this barren land, this speck of green symbolized
hope
!
"Right, I have something else..." Lin Fan suddenly remembered. He reached into the system backpack and pulled out a blue bottle of liquid.
"Name: Basic Crop Growth Accelerator"
"Usage: Dilute 1:100 with water before application"
"Acceleration Effects: Radiation-Resistant (10x), Ancient Herb (3x), Divine Tier (Inapplicable)"
After a moment of thought, Lin Fan fetched a bucket of water and diluted the liquid at a 1:100 ratio.
Then, he carefully selected a row of sprouts and gently poured the diluted solution over them, watching intently for any changes.
Suddenly—an anomaly occurred.
Within seconds of the soil absorbing the solution, the drenched sprouts began growing rapidly before his eyes.
"Radiation-Resistant Vegetable Sprout"
"Growth Stage: 10% (10x Acceleration Active)"
"Time to Maturity: \~6 hours!"
Lin Fan's mouth went dry in awe. The system was simply
amazing
!
Reducing the growth time tenfold—at this rate, he could harvest his first crop
by tomorrow morning
.
Overwhelmed with excitement, Lin Fan seemed to recall something else and opened the system shop. Using the last few tens of thousands of points he had, he exchanged for one kilogram of
Ancient Herb-grade seeds
.
Without caring about the dirt or the labor, he used both his fingers and a small shovel to plant the ancient herb seeds and watered them with the growth accelerator as well.
It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision—he had been planning this ever since dinner.
Before the apocalypse, Lin Fan had thought he was prepared for everything. But after the Doomsday struck, he realized he had fallen
far short
.
He hadn't even stocked up on essential medications.
Now that South City's entire medical system was paralyzed, if he or Xin Xin were to fall ill, there'd be no one to help them.
These
Ancient Herb-grade crops
, with"herb"in the name, might prove
vital
in the future.
Better safe than sorry.
"Ancient Herb-grade Seed"
"Growth Stage: 1% (5x Acceleration Active)"
"Time to Maturity: 48 hours!"
After planting all the ancient herb seeds, Lin Fan stood up and looked over the land beneath his feet.
In this apocalypse, with this very land,
he could live better than anyone else
.
Clenching his fists, he raised them toward the sky and laughed aloud:
"To all who left me behind—watch closely! Not only will I survive the apocalypse, I'll live better, live grander, live more comfortably than anyone else!"
At that moment, Lin Fan was covered in dirt—but filled with joy.
...
South City.
Tianrun Pharmaceuticals.
The general manager's office door was suddenly flung open.
A young man sitting in front of a computer frowned. Handsome yet arrogant, his eyes glinted like a cunning animal. When he saw the woman who barged in, he lowered his head and adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, hiding a flash of irritation.
When he looked up again, his trademark warm smile had returned.
"Vice President Ren, what brings you here?"
the young man stood up, smoothing out the wrinkles in his suit sleeve, and asked with a smile.
The woman, no more than 25 years old, was stunning in appearance, dressed in a professional outfit. Her sharp eyes radiated a frosty chill, her features like sculpted jade, skin fair and delicate, lips full and red, exuding a natural nobility.
She marched straight to the desk and berated him without mercy:
"Liang Tianyu, what the hell are you thinking? The world is mutating, the entire medical system in South City is collapsing, and as a pharmaceutical company, you should be leading the employees to support hospitals, donate supplies and drugs, and fight this disaster! Not sitting in offices posting online and searching for that so-called Doomsday Prophet!"
Liang Tianyu frowned, stared at her, and after a moment of silence asked:
"Has the world ended? Are all people dead?"
The woman froze.
"I'm a businessman,"
Liang said flatly.
"A businessman's purpose is to pursue profit above all."
"Since the world hasn't ended and humans aren't extinct, I'll continue to chase profit—and seize every opportunity presented by sudden crises."
"As for this mysterious illness sweeping South City and beyond, I don't believe current medical science can do anything. Our real mission now is to... find the author of that post!"
"This disaster came too suddenly. The more I think about it, the more I believe that post wasn't a prank. The one who predicted the apocalypse—he must know something. Maybe he can help."
"You're also a shareholder of this company. You earn dividends,"
Liang paused here and then smiled at VP Ren.
"Can you imagine... if we were the ones who provided a solution to this global medical catastrophe, how immense our returns would be?"
At that moment, the screen on Liang Tianyu's computer displayed a newly published post.
Title:
"Still seeking help from forum members—does anyone remember the post from around 10 hours ago titled'Disaster is coming, please prepare accordingly!'? Great reward for any leads!"