Chapter 115: Chapter 115: It Was on Purpose
Wherever the golden light passed, withered crops sprouted tender green shoots, even flowering and bearing fruit in an instant. Because his Ability could restore them to eighty percent of their peak state, some crops were already fully ripe, while others were still a bit green. They were edible, though the texture might not be the best.
The young seedlings that had been gnawed bare quickly grew tall and sprouted leaves. Weeds withered and dissolved, and the cracked earth became moist and fertile. Vincent Lawrence and Elliot Lawrence watched, stunned.
The planting area had clearly been restored to its prime—to harvest time. It was a shocking and exciting sight.
Elliot Lawrence even rubbed his hands in glee. "Does that mean in the future, we can just give Leo the seeds, and he can immediately get them to the harvest stage?"
’Wouldn’t that mean we’ve struck it rich? It’s practically a license to print money. My goodness.’
Leo Lawrence calmly looked up at his uncle. Both mother and son were speechless.
Sue said, "His Superpower can only Restore to Original State. ’Original state,’ get it? How do you restore a seed? Does it turn back into what it looked like right after being picked?"
"Oh, right..."
Elliot Lawrence fell silent once again.
’I guess all Superpowers have their limitations. But that’s fine. It’s already great that all this stuff at the base can be restored. At least nothing was wasted.’
As for the small animals, Leo was helpless. His Superpower didn’t work on animals. If animals could also be restored to their original state, wouldn’t everyone just stay eighteen forever?
’Why does that sound a little terrifying, now that I think about it?’
But even if the Superpower didn’t work on animals, they still had robots, didn’t they?
Sue Lawrence took out the five robots from her spatial storage. The programs were already installed. Before she left, Silas Hawthorne had tested them for her one by one, confirming there were no problems before she brought them along.
Now, all she had to do was turn them on.
The robots quickly booted up, and the cold machines instantly whirred to life.
Soon, the four Lawrences discovered that these robots were even more intelligent than they had imagined.
First, the five of them could actually delegate tasks among themselves.
One of the robots stepped forward to face the other four. They blinked their lights at each other as if communicating, and then one of the four turned and walked out of the farming area.
Curious, Elliot followed it and discovered the robot was scanning the terrain of the mine.
Elliot Lawrence: ...
’Whoa! It’s way too smart.’
The scanned data could be shared among all five robots.
As for the other three, one was assigned to the planting area, two went to clean and bathe the small animals, and the one that seemed to be the leader started cleaning, acting like a robot vacuum.
Elliot Lawrence clicked his tongue in amazement.
"These things really work well."
Vincent Lawrence nodded as well. He was getting on in years, but he was still very interested in new things. This kind of advanced technology, for instance, was truly fascinating.
Sue found a spot and set down the five charging docks so they could recharge on their own. The mine had a generator, after all.
After finishing all this, they returned to the storage area.
A lot of supplies were stockpiled here, including a batch of cold-weather gear. It wasn’t as much as what Sue had in her space—just some thermal suits, hand warmers, sleds, and snow goggles.
Since they weren’t in a hurry to go back, the group tidied up and organized the vast mine. With the robots’ help, everything progressed quickly.
Then, Sue let the dogs out to run around freely, but she kept their food in the livestock area so they would know where to return to eat.
"We’ll just have them guard the place."
"Mama, here."
Sue looked down and saw her son carrying a small basket filled with freshly picked fruits and vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, bok choy, eggplants, peppers, and corn. For fruits, there were apples, grapes, pears, and even a small hanging melon.
Seeing this huge haul, Sue’s mood brightened considerably.
"Come on, I’ll help you pick."
The planting area was quite large, designed to supply food for the entire family, so there was no way her little boy could harvest it all by himself.
So mother and son picked together, while Elliot and Vincent continued to tidy up the mine.
When they grew tired, Sue pulled a divided hot pot and soup bases from her space. She also took out meatballs, beef, and lamb to go with the freshly picked vegetables, and the four of them enjoyed a magnificent feast.
’It smelled so good!’
Elliot ate until he thought his tongue would fall off. "HISS... HAAA... this is the stuff! Good heavens, I haven’t eaten this in over half a year!"
’Back at the base, we’d never dare eat this. Even with a private room, the smell of hot pot is just too strong. The aroma of the broth alone could probably carry for three blocks. No matter how much we want to eat better, we can’t pick something with a scent this overpowering.’
’It’s only because we’re out here by ourselves that we get a chance to pig out like this.’
"Should we bring some back?" Elliot asked.
Vincent shook his head. "Your wife is nursing, so she can’t eat this. And if anyone else eats it, the smell will give it away. We’re all living in tents together right now; it’s best not to bring any back."
"Right!"
Elliot continued to dig in with his chopsticks.
Leo was eating from the mild broth, but he’d occasionally dip his chopsticks into the spicy side. He couldn’t help it; the aroma was just too enticing for a little kid to resist. A tiny taste wouldn’t hurt.
With another grand gesture, Sue brought out Coke, plum juice, and coconut milk. In short, everyone could drink whatever they wanted.
They all tacitly agreed not to drink alcohol. Drinking could lead to trouble, so they satisfied themselves with sodas and juice instead.
The hot pot meal left all four of them feeling utterly content and refreshed.
Leo hugged a can of Coke, taking small sips.
’If the apocalypse had never happened, I would absolutely never let him drink this stuff. It’s a soda, after all, and as a mother, I wouldn’t want such a young child drinking it. But now? To hell with it. This is the apocalypse. Life is hard enough as it is. Who cares anymore? As long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters!’
Full and satisfied, the four of them didn’t move. They were simply too stuffed.
The four of them—three adults and one child—had polished off a full two pounds of lamb, two pounds of beef, a pound of pork, a pound of oysters, two servings of shrimp paste, a pound of tripe, half a cabbage, two potatoes, and a package of duck intestines.
All in all, Elliot was so into it he almost drank the leftover broth.
’It was unforgettably delicious.’
They were too stuffed to move, but the robots weren’t. One zipped over to clean up, and it knew where the garbage disposal area was without Sue even having to point the way.
This was all thanks to Vincent Lawrence. As expected of someone with a background in leadership, his planning skills were top-notch. If he was going to plan for planting, livestock, and living quarters, of course he would also plan for a garbage disposal area. He had thought of everything in advance.
Just as they were leisurely lying around digesting, a voice suddenly came from the helmet that had been tossed aside. It was Jason Sterling.
"Sue, where are you guys? There are supplies over here. Coming to get them?"
The four of them stared at the helmet in unison. Sue scrambled up, grabbed the helmet, and pressed the call button. And then, she let out a satisfied burp.
BURP~~~~~
