Chapter 3: Level 1 Crop - Blueheart Potato Seeds

Li Ye fixed his gaze and saw that six people had gotten off the vehicle. Five men and one pretty young girl. The girl appeared to be in her early twenties, with cropped short hair, dressed in a jacket and jeans, with a dagger and handgun at her waist, exuding a capable and sharp aura. Judging from their words and actions, it seemed that this girl was the leader. Before the girl could speak, Li Ye waved his hand and said concisely. “I saved you all. I need compensation.” The men exchanged glances, while the girl simply smiled lightly. “Don’t worry, we’re well aware.” Li Ye nodded slightly at her words. In fact, that was exactly his purpose for saving them. He figured his request should be fulfilled, since the other party didn’t just leave after escaping, but stayed to help shoot down the Zombie Swarm nearby — clearly not the ungrateful type. “I think this item should be enough to express our gratitude.” The girl pulled something out of her backpack and handed it directly to Li Ye. Li Ye’s pupils dilated the moment he saw it. 【Item Name: Blueheart Potato Seeds】 【Item Level: Level 1】 【Effect: Can grow into mature crops one week after planting】 He never expected that the girl's gift would actually be a Level 1 crop. Compared to ordinary crops, Level 1 crops had faster growth rates and higher yields. They were also the primary food source for Mobile Cities. Li Ye clutched the bag of Blueheart Potato Seeds tightly, his heart pounding uncontrollably. With this Level 1 crop, the Tomorrow would no longer have food supply issues. He would be able to recruit more manpower to make up for the personnel shortage. Not only him, even the people behind him were overjoyed. After carefully storing the Blueheart Potato Seeds, Li Ye began to closely observe the group. Only then did he notice with surprise that all their equipment was Level 1 items — even the two off-road vehicles were Level 1. “No wonder they could hold out so long against the Zombie Swarm...” he thought to himself. This convoy didn’t seem like a group of survivors, but rather from a Mobile City, obviously out scavenging for supplies, only to be unfortunately caught by a Level 1 Zombie Swarm on the road. Li Ye also couldn’t help but glance longingly at the Level 1 handguns strapped at their waists. In the wasteland, weapons like those were the most practical — maintaining a safe distance while delivering effective firepower. That said, if Li Ye had a choice, he’d rather have a Level 1 Heavy Machine Gun or Level 1 Cannons. “We made a decent haul this time in the Rotting Lands, just didn’t expect to run into a Zombie Swarm on the way back. Thank you for your help...” the girl said. “By the way, we’re from...” Before she could finish, one of the men gently patted her shoulder as a reminder. Li Ye wasn’t surprised by this. In the post-apocalyptic world where people were wary and cruel, they were merely passing strangers. But what surprised him was that the girl insisted on finishing her sentence. “We’re from Roland Fortress. I’m Lin Xia, the daughter of the lord of Roland Fortress,” she said with a bright smile. Surprised, Li Ye gave her a nod. “I’m Li Ye, lord of the Tomorrow.” After a moment of hesitation, one of the men removed the backpack from his shoulders. “If you think the compensation isn’t enough, this backpack can also...” Li Ye waved his hand and shook the Level 1 crop in his hand at them. “It’s fine. This is already enough.” With that, he turned around and left with his group. After being stunned for a moment, the man came to his senses and murmured to himself. “Seems like people out here aren’t as bad as we thought. At least that young man seems decent...” This Level 1 crop was the greatest harvest of their mission. Handing it over didn’t feel as painful as imagined. After all, Roland Fortress already had Level 1 crops. What they were more worried about was Li Ye’s group being greedy, but the leader’s response caught them off guard. Recalling their encounter with the Zombie Swarm, a trace of post-disaster relief flashed in the man’s eyes, and he said to the girl with lingering fear. “Miss, from now on, leave the fieldwork to us. It’s too dangerous for you to come out in person.” “Aren’t you all in danger too?” The girl replied softly. As she spoke, she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes filled with a complicated and melancholy expression. “I have to grow stronger quickly, because... my father doesn’t have much time left.” ... After returning to the Tomorrow, Li Ye immediately had Old Zhou and the others plant the Blueheart Potato Seeds. There were farmlands on the Tomorrow, but as a Level 1 Mobile City, its space was limited, so there were only a few small plots of land. Due to the limited size of the fields, the food output was never enough to sustain them. Normally, they had to rely on scavenging or trading to supplement their food supply. The fields had originally been planted with ordinary crops like potatoes and corn, managed by designated slaves. Aside from collecting resources in the wild, Li Ye also had to take care of the fields himself. If the lords and thugs happened to pass by in a good mood, they would call him over and whip him a few times for fun. If they were in a bad mood, the whipping would be worse. After taking over the Tomorrow, Li Ye found a new outfit in the warehouse and changed out of his bloodstained white shirt. Since his wound hadn’t healed yet, he occasionally reached behind to pull at his clothes and avoid irritating the wound. Old Zhou and the others were even more excited than Li Ye, almost howling as they turned the soil. Li Ye stood at the edge, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Once the first batch of Blueheart Potatoes was harvested, they could be cut into segments to grow new seeds and planted again, resulting in a sustainable food source. In the apocalypse, the more food one had, the more manpower they could afford. Now, the Tomorrow would soon resolve its food shortage. As Li Ye thought about this, he felt his mood lift. With this dilemma out of the way, he could now recruit more hands. With hope in sight, this week didn’t seem so hard to endure. Everyone just needed to hold on a little longer. Even though eating potatoes for all three meals was a bit hard to stomach, in this post-apocalyptic wasteland, being able to fill one’s belly was already fortunate enough. At that moment, Li Ye thought of something and muttered to himself. “Come to think of it, the fifth intelligence update should be ready by now, right?” Over the past few days, Li Ye had been checking the Intelligence System from time to time, eagerly looking forward to the Epic-grade intelligence. After all, even Excellent-grade intelligence was already valuable — this Epic-grade one must be extraordinary. When he opened the system panel, he saw that the Epic-grade intelligence had indeed been refreshed. Its contents were... 【Three months from now, the Wasteland Zone will be completely destroyed.】 Li Ye's expression changed the moment he read it. He never imagined that the content would be like this. In three months, the entire Wasteland Zone would be completely destroyed. Monsters, survivor villages and towns, scavenger convoys, fortresses, and even Mobile Cities — none would be spared. And right now, Li Ye was the only one in the Wasteland Zone who knew this. Seeing the “Epic-grade” label in the intelligence report, he nodded with conviction. This intelligence truly lived up to its grade. Without it, he would have died unknowingly three months later. Immediately, a massive question rose in his heart. “What exactly is the cause of the Wasteland Zone’s destruction?”