Chapter 144: Too Profound
Facing the questions from everyone, Huai Yu turned around and pointed to the distant spot where only a few green bamboo tips were visible:
“Over there, by the bamboo forest.”
By the bamboo forest?
Everyone was stunned.
There wasn’t even a decent tree near Rose Corridor. The branches on the distant small hill were so thin, where could a bamboo forest come from?
They took out binoculars.
After a while, the defense soldiers lowered their binoculars, looking at Huai Yu with a complex expression, “Is there really a bamboo forest?”
Could it be that it was missed during the cleanup?
Someone nearby took the binoculars and continued to look, “The location is quite good. The land here is higher, just enough to block many people’s line of sight. The angle of the bamboo forest is also well chosen, from this view, it looks like it’s right next to Rose Corridor.”
Huai Yu didn’t know what to say and fell silent.
But Liang Zhu became interested, “Really? The visual disparity is quite good! Let me take a look.”
She reached out to take the binoculars from the other person, and after a moment, couldn’t help but look puzzled, “I’ve looked from several angles, but it always feels like the bamboo forest is next to Rose Corridor?”
She looked at Huai Yu, “Is this bamboo forest naturally grown? The angle is so well calculated.”
Huai Yu thought about the reasons for the bamboo growing wildly and, for a moment, wasn’t sure whether to tell everyone that it was a place she picked after being beaten up, or if it had originally been meant for a secret expansion…
But before she could speak, the defense soldier next to her laughed, “How could it be fake? If it wasn’t naturally grown, or if there weren’t signs of mutation, would Rose Corridor tolerate it?”
That made a lot of sense!
Liang Zhu immediately believed it and then looked at Huai Yu, “Then I’ll stop wasting time and start with the foundation—can you help look after Rose Corridor?”
“Mainly for reassurance. If it’s not happy, just let us know, don’t start with violence… I’m really not good at fighting.”
Her words were so humble and polite.
Huai Yu looked at the distant Rose Corridor—honestly, at this distance, it probably didn’t care about watching!
But she nodded anyway.
Liang Zhu seemed to find comfort in her reassurance. She stepped forward again, stood by the marks drawn on the ground, and said, “Data confirmed—”
“If everything’s fine, I’ll begin.”
Her companions nodded again at the empty spot, and Liang Zhu took a deep breath, raising her palm.
At that moment, it seemed as though a giant worm was emerging from the land in front of her, quickly tunneling forward in an unseen part of the ground, lifting layers of gravel and sand.
It was as though a huge drill was moving through the soil, following a set path, fast and silent.
Huai Yu stared in awe, but to her surprise, the ground beneath her feet didn’t move at all, completely unaffected.
Meanwhile, Liang Zhu stood there, her expression serious, without even a drop of sweat on her forehead. Her hands were constantly alternating, giving directions…
She looked so proficient at it!
Although both of them were Earth-based abilities, Liang Zhu’s ability seemed much more powerful than Chen Xing’s.
If Chen Xing’s powers gave her a sense of novelty, Liang Zhu’s use of abilities deeply shocked Huai Yu.
Once the soil that had been shifted was piled on one side of the land, forming a series of small mounds, Liang Zhu finally withdrew her hand.
Then she paced to the edge of the ditches in front of her, carefully confirming the measurements.
Finally, Huai Yu had the chance to ask, “Liang Zhu, you’re so amazing, don’t you qualify to be in the Guardian Army?”
“This ability should be really useful against mutated plants, right?”
Liang Zhu gave a bitter smile, “Any ability can be useful against mutated plants, it’s mainly about battle awareness—I don’t have that!”
She gave Huai Yu an example, “For the Guardian Army, abilities are expected to be activated instantly, because many attacks happen in the blink of an eye.”
“As for me… you saw it, my ability is strong, but it needs a stable environment, uninterrupted and peaceful rhythms.”
“When I was in military school training for abilities, I was cut from the program right away!”
“I couldn’t handle any battlefield.”
Military school training…
This wasn’t the first time Huai Yu had heard of this term, but in her mind, it was supposed to be a place where people participated in combat training simulations and practical exercises—similar to military academies before the catastrophe.
So, it turns out that during classes, there’s even this kind of selection for abilities?
But since Liang Zhu saw that Huai Yu was younger and had abilities as well, she didn’t hide it. Instead, she spoke more freely, “So, although the benefits in the Building Department aren’t as good as the Guardian Army, it’s still a pretty good job now.”
“And my partners are responsible for calculations and positioning, I just need to focus on using my ability—no need to think too much, it’s perfect for me!”
At this point, she slightly scratched her head, speaking more softly, “Before the catastrophe, I only got a little over 300 points on my first simulation exam in my senior year…”
She was a complete underachiever.
Huai Yu: “…”
Although Liang Zhu was self-deprecating, Huai Yu herself might have been a girl who was forced to drop out of school and was sold into a rural area in the deep mountains!
She wouldn’t comment on that 300+ score.
At this moment, the defense soldiers were assisting their companions in quality inspection, and Liang Zhu, noticing Huai Yu’s confused big eyes and the fact that she lived alone at such a young age…
Who didn’t have a sob story in these times, being forced to live near Rose Corridor alone?
Although Liang Zhu was considerate and didn’t ask, she realized that compared to her “academic underachiever” background, living alone wasn’t really such a sad thing after all.
So, as they chatted, Liang Zhu felt less burdened.
Huai Yu, still curious, asked, “So, what’s the process for studying at military school?”
“It’s very simple, just like how ordinary people can choose between fast-track technical schools or advanced ones.”
“Military school is the same—if you don’t have abilities, but have physical potential, you can choose to be trained by the Defense Army.”
“Front-line soldiers, civilian positions, or logistics and transportation, depending on personal potential and personality, it’s arranged to suit you as much as possible.”
“After all, fighting mutated plants and animals is life-threatening if you’re not careful. Not only does the academy need to be cautious, but the students also need to make many decisions.”
“For those of us with abilities, we can directly choose the Guardian Army selection—there’s currently a recruitment sign-up in the city, and after passing the registration, we get assigned to major schools where they first test our abilities and determine the mutation direction.”
“For example, my Earth ability is soil manipulation, but some people have core compression abilities—sounds really advanced, right? It actually is! It’s said to involve deep physics, and if you master it, you can compress soil layers and even rock formations…”
At this point, she awkwardly touched her hair and whispered, “…But it’s too profound, I don’t understand it.”
