bestfiction Chapter 539 Are all high-order sequences just cabbages?
Chapter 539 Are all high-order sequences just cabbages?
"Everything is getting better!" Fu Xiaojian and Shao Bing glanced at Xu Si, who was pretending to be asleep, and then downplayed all the achievements.
"Thank you so much..." Zheng Fangzhou said, her eyes welling up with tears.
Fu Xiaojian and Shao Bing were somewhat puzzled, wondering why he was thanking them.
"You did what we couldn't do. I thank you on behalf of those who have passed away in history, and on behalf of myself!"
As the government, they naturally have more surface-based survival bases than underground ones.
However, those survival bases were almost completely destroyed shortly after the strange occurrence.
They tried to rebuild countless times, only to be mysteriously destroyed countless times.
The human and material resources lost were countless.
But the greater loss is actually mental energy.
After repeated failures, no one had the courage or confidence to bring the matter up again.
The City of Fire not only achieved this, but its accomplishments were beyond anything they could have imagined.
"Is it because of that tree?" Even though he felt it was inappropriate, Zheng Fangzhou still asked.
Zheng Fangzhou's question caused a brief moment of silence in the reception room.
Fu Xiaojian did not answer immediately, but picked up his teacup and took another sip, as if he was carefully considering his words.
Xu Si remained half-reclined on the throne, his starry eyes half-closed, seemingly unconcerned about the matter.
But his fingers resting on the armrest twitched slightly, as if a string had been touched.
"Yes," Fu Xiaojian finally spoke, his words concise and to the point.
Zheng Fangzhou lowered his gaze, looking at the tea in his hand that was gradually getting cold, and remained silent for a long time.
"I've read many reports that the apocalypse has arrived, and the authorities have done all the tests they can, whether it's modern scientific instruments, sequences, strange objects, or the supernatural."
He raised his head, his gaze returning to Fu Xiaojian's face with a serious, almost earnest inquiry.
"All the data points to one conclusion: Earth is dying."
"From soil to air, from water to the food chain, the entire ecosystem is collapsing in an irreversible way. I originally thought this was the end of the world—a slow, continuous process until the last life on Earth withers away."
This is also why he has remained depressed until now.
When all efforts are meaningless, it's hard for anyone to muster the fighting spirit again.
He paused, his voice becoming even lower.
"But now I see that tree, the farmland beneath it, the wildflowers in the corner of your wall, and the tender buds brewing in the teacup. I beg you, you must tell me, what exactly is this tree?"
Is there any hope left in this apocalypse?
Fu Xiaojian glanced at Xu Si.
Xu Si still didn't open his eyes, but the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he had finally become somewhat interested in the conversation.
"Her name is World Tree," Fu Xiaojian said.
"You should have seen the sculpture at the entrance. The little girl there is named Yi Yi. She was originally an elf. She sacrificed herself to become the World Tree, inheriting the consciousness of Earth and creating the City of Fire we know today."
"And she is also the key to the soil’s revival. With her, we can replant crops on land within a radius of hundreds of kilometers."
"The World Tree..." Zheng Fangzhou repeated, his expression somewhat dazed.
"Hundreds of miles?"
Hundreds of miles is a lot, but it's not enough; even thousands of miles wouldn't be enough for humankind to thrive.
"At the beginning, it was less than a hundred square meters!" Fu Xiaojian did not hide anything.
"You mean?" Zheng Fangzhou's mouth dropped open, his voice tight, like a string stretched to its limit.
He was more shocked today than ever before.
"Yes!" Fu Xiaojian nodded, glancing at the enormous, emerald-green tree outside the window that seemed to stretch across the sky.
"At first, there was only a small experimental field in the center of the city. Later, as the World Tree grew taller and its roots deepened, the revitalized soil spread outwards along its root system. Now, crops can be grown within a radius of 700 kilometers, and the ecosystem is gradually recovering!"
"How long... did this take?" Zheng Fangzhou was completely bewildered.
"Less than three months!"
Three months.
He repeated the number in a low voice, as if he wanted to put the two words on the tip of his tongue and slowly chew them to taste the weight they contained.
During the time he was lost at sea, the land had undergone tremendous changes.
They are making an effort that they believe is impossible.
"...three months." He repeated it again, those three words piercing his heart time and time again.
Fu Xiaojian and Shao Bing exchanged a glance but said nothing more.
Some shocks need time to process; too much explanation can come across as frivolous.
They also hope to bring the post-apocalyptic world back to civilized society through official efforts.
But they alone cannot achieve this goal.
They only have so many people, and their strength is ultimately limited.
If the official body isn't terrified by the apocalypse, their involvement offers hope for reconstruction.
Zheng Fangzhou slowly put down his teacup, his gaze shifting from the giant, emerald-green tree outside the window to his own hands.
Those hands had once grasped towering waves, fought the bizarre in the deep sea until they were exhausted, and blocked the high-ranking bizarre in the defense of the capital, striving for the last chance of survival for the retreating civilians.
But now, those hands are trembling slightly.
It's not fear, but a physiological reaction that arises after being suppressed for too long and finally seeing hope.
"I can..." he began, then paused, as if he felt his request was a bit excessive.
"Can I look around?" He had long forgotten the advice given to him by the old men in the command post.
Fu Xiaojian glanced at Xu Si.
Xu Si remained half-reclined on the throne, his starry eyes half-closed.
But this time, he nodded slightly, so slightly that it was almost imperceptible.
"Of course." Fu Xiaojian stood up.
"I don't have anything urgent to do this morning, how about I show Brother Zheng around the city?"
With Xu Si around, nothing bad will happen.
"I couldn't ask for more."
Zheng Fangzhou stood up with Fu Xiaojian, and paused slightly as he passed Xu Si.
He turned his head and glanced at the young man, his eyes filled with admiration and melancholy.
"Red Hair, I heard from Sausage that you've finally decided to give it up?"
Just as Fu Xiaojian was about to take Zheng Fangzhou out for a visit, Jiao Jiao's voice came from outside the door.
"Where's Red Hair?" She peeked inside, but Xu Si was nowhere to be seen.
"He was just here a moment ago?" Fu Xiaojian looked to the side and saw that Xu Si was indeed gone.
Zheng Fangzhou's lips twitched. Another Sequence 7?
Are high-order sequences now considered commonplace?
And this girl seems to be even younger.
"Uncle, who are you? You look kind of familiar."
Before the apocalypse, Jiao Jiao naturally knew Zheng Fangzhou, but she didn't think about it in any particular way at the time.