Chapter 398 - 370: Canned Centipede Meat
Surrounded by his colleagues and superiors, Wu Shanqi looked around at them and said with mixed feelings, "I don’t think we’re ever going back."
Vice President Qiu Gao immediately grew anxious. "How can that be! Was it because the offerings weren’t sufficient? Xiaowu, I remember you’re married, aren’t you? Don’t you miss your wife at home?"
Wu Shanqi shook his head. "Director Qiu, if they could go back, they would have done so long ago. They wouldn’t be staying here waiting for us."
At these words, Qiu Gao swallowed whatever else he was about to say. All the life seemed to drain out of him in an instant, and he looked as if he had aged several years.
"Then can we get a place to live in this Gated Community?" Qiu Gao didn’t want to live in the hospital. Even though the offices there were nicely decorated, they were too large and empty.
He wouldn’t feel safe sleeping there at night.
If, like today, some strange insects were to crawl in, no one would even hear him if he yelled for help.
"I’ll ask later," Wu Shanqi replied, not making any promises.
"Brother Wu, we want to live in the Gated Community too."
"Yeah, the hospital has patient rooms, but the power’s out and no one’s around. It’s terrifying staying there at night."
Everyone else knew Wu Shanqi had an old friend here who seemed to be someone important, so they all started trying to appeal to his sentiment.
Amidst everyone’s flattery, Wu Shanqi did his best to remain composed, but the corners of his mouth still couldn’t help but curl into a slight, pleased smile.
...
After returning to Home, Qin Ziwen headed straight for Giant Beast Heavy Industry.
He’d received word that the canned food was ready.
He was rather curious about this new product.
Li Yue was standing beside the exit of the feed processing plant, holding a torch and peering into the opening. It was pitch-black, and he couldn’t see a thing. He was curious about the layout inside and wanted to reach in to feel around, but after extending his hand, he pulled it back, a conflicted look on his face.
Just as he was completely absorbed, the sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind, making him jump in fright.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he turned and saw it was Qin Ziwen. "Boss, you’re here."
"The cans were automatically transported out of here just now, and we’ve already filled several boxes. Take a look." As he spoke, Li Yue picked up a large, four-pound can from nearby.
Qin Ziwen took the heavy can. In the torchlight, its surface looked plain and unadorned, with no complex designs.
The only decoration was a black dragon symbol on the very bottom.
"Can we eat this?" Li Yue asked curiously.
"Probably," Qin Ziwen said, turning the can over in his hands.
’The building is called Giant Beast Feed Processing Plant, not Human Feed Processing Plant.’
’But thinking about it from another perspective, there’s probably no issue with developing humans to be more like Giant Beasts.’
’A humanoid Giant Beast... isn’t that just a giant?’
Qin Ziwen used Insight on the can in his hand.
[Giant Beast Heavy Industry - Canned Centipede Meat: Nutrient-rich white meat that aids in physical development. Also edible by humans.]
’Level-seven Insight really is useful.’
He pried open the can, and a fragrant aroma instantly wafted out. Inside, pieces of white meat sat glistening under a layer of oil.
He used his fingers to pull out the largest piece of meat and took a bite. The tender, fresh meat burst with flavor in his mouth, and his eyes lit up instantly.
’If you didn’t tell people this was centipede meat, ninety-nine percent of them would never be able to tell.’
He looked at Li Yue and handed him the can. "You try some too."
Li Yue took the can and pulled a fork out of his pocket.
"Where’d you get the fork?" Qin Ziwen asked, stopping him.
"I got it from home." Li Yue paused. "I’m a Blacksmith. Isn’t it perfectly normal for me to carry a fork?"
"Normal my ass. Then why didn’t you give it to me? You just watched me eat with my bare hands," Qin Ziwen said, his face darkening.
"I thought you liked eating meat with your hands, Boss," Li Yue said with a cheeky grin.
"What are you grinning for?" Qin Ziwen shoved the meat from his own hand into Li Yue’s, then snatched the fork from him. "From now on, this canned food is our emergency rations. Out in the field, you won’t always have forks and chopsticks. You need to experience this for yourself, then invent a convenient, portable tool."
Feeling the greasy centipede meat in his palm, Li Yue’s lip twitched. He suppressed his discomfort and ate it.
"Boss, I’ll go back and invent a small, portable fork. It doesn’t need to be big, just easy to carry. That way, we won’t have to use our hands."
"Sounds good. You take care of it. The canned food tastes alright, doesn’t it?"
"Yes, it’s delicious," Li Yue nodded eagerly.
"Besides the taste, are you feeling any other effects?"
Li Yue said, "I feel warm all over, like I just ate dozens of pounds of beef."
"About right." Qin Ziwen felt the same way. After eating, a pleasant warmth spread through his body, driving away much of the surrounding chill.
’The temperature down here is a bit low, even lower than on the Island map, I think.’
’This canned food provides a lot of calories. It’ll be very helpful for maintaining stamina and for physical training.’
There was no day or night in the underground caverns, but as time passed, the ambient temperature continued to drop.
Qin Ziwen took out his phone. The time was 10:40 PM; it was already nighttime.
’It seems the temperature in this underground world also drops during the night.’
He then called some people over and had the cans distributed to the core Hunting Team and the Home’s Fishman Hunting Team. This food required long-term consumption to improve one’s physical constitution, and maybe even achieve an Extraordinary breakthrough, so the best time to start eating it was now.
While everyone was busy distributing the cans, Black was hiding in a dark corner nearby, its large, shining eyes fixed unblinkingly on the Giant Beast Feed Processing Plant.
It didn’t know why, but it had a feeling that whatever was in there smelled incredibly delicious.
"Leader, Leader."
While everyone was busy, Wei Zhaohua found Qin Ziwen. "Leader, is this map going to last for two months?"
"I believe so."
"Then we have a problem. If the plants can’t photosynthesize, the vast majority of our crops will die," Wei Zhaohua said gravely.
Wei Zhaohua’s reminder made Qin Ziwen abruptly realize the severity of the issue. "What do we do then?"
’If they can’t photosynthesize, the plants won’t survive. A few days would be fine, but over a long period, most of the crops will die. Perhaps only a few tuberous plants would be able to live.’
’No, wait. Since this map is a series of underground caverns, there must be a solution.’
’I either have to trust in the magical power of the buildings—the Treasure Garden is an Advanced Building, so the plants inside should be able to... survive without light, right?’
’Or, there’s another Card out there that can solve this problem.’
Wei Zhaohua mulled it over. "Leader, let me observe them for a couple of days. We’ll check the plants’ condition and decide then. If it really comes to it, our only choice will be to harvest them early. It’s better than letting them rot in the ground."
"Then I’ll be counting on you for the next few days."
As night fell, many residents of the Gated Community returned to their respective homes.
After a brief period of acclimatization, the people of the Gated Community successfully organized patrol teams. They were divided into four shifts that patrolled the perimeter day and night.
At the same time, a portion of the residents was sent to conduct safe, organized explorations of the areas around the Gated Community.
One of the teams sent to investigate the eastern caves brought back a piece of good news and a piece of bad news.
...
...