Thanks to Emme on Kofi for the donations! Enjoy the bonus chapter!

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Construction crew?

Jiang Le understood that once he had employees, he could no longer simply conjure the system’s rewards out of thin air right where he stood, but what exactly were these construction workers?

However, this question didn’t linger for long; Jiang Le soon found out exactly what construction workers were.

Standing outside the farm, he watched as dozens of people dressed as construction workers hauled a massive pile of building materials to the farm gate. The scale of the operation left Jiang Le momentarily dazed.

It was impossible for such a construction crew to exist in the outside world now, but Jiang Le had no intention of delving deeper into it. The existence of the System and everything that had happened since the meteorite’s arrival was already supernatural in itself—so what did it matter which dimension the System had summoned this crew from?

The foreman at the head of the group gave Jiang Le a slight nod, pulled out the construction blueprints to show him, and gestured as he asked, “We’ll fence it off like this around the perimeter, and the dormitories will be built here, right?”

Jiang Le nodded in confirmation. The foreman then beckoned to the workers behind him and led them into the farm with great fanfare.

The clanging and clattering continued throughout the day, lasting well into the night. By the time Jiang Le and Mao Xiaofei arrived at the farm the next morning, the construction crew had already left, leaving behind a completely transformed farm.

The perimeter of the farm was enclosed by a deep green, lattice-patterned bamboo fence over two meters high, with gates at both the front and back. A sign reading “Peace Farm” hung above the main entrance. If one ignored the extremely remote location and the social environment where zombies roamed freely, it looked just like a leisure farm where you could bring your children to play.

Mao Xiaofei stood in front of the staff dormitory, running his hand over the wall. He wasn’t sure what material it was made of, but even though only one night had passed, the two-story building had already solidified completely, and simple furniture like wardrobes, beds, and chairs had even been set up inside. Of the three empty rooms on the second floor, one had a name tag with Mao Xiaofei’s name on the door.

That very day, Mao Xiaofei moved his belongings into this staff dormitory, thoroughly satisfied with the benefits.

Moreover, from the very start of work that day, Mao Xiaofei had a vague sense that something was different. He watered the plants, set up supports for the seedlings, and carried feed to pour into the automatic feeders. These tasks, which he was used to doing, brought him an indescribable sense of joy today, making him feel more and more motivated the longer he worked.

Mao Xiaofei simply assumed it was because he had grown stronger and the work felt easier now, so he didn’t give it much thought. But Jiang Le knew the real reason: now that he had been certified as a full-time employee by the farm, Mao Xiaofei could accumulate personal experience through his daily farm work, which would eventually raise his personal level over time.

The supply vending machine was situated in the hallway below the staff dormitory. It was several times larger than a typical beverage vending machine. Although it had a solar panel mounted on top, Jiang Le believed this was merely another layer of camouflage by the system, designed to make the machine—which didn’t require any power at all—appear more normal to the employees.

Apart from the solar panel, a touchscreen display, and a dispensing slot, the rest of the machine’s body is completely enclosed.

As soon as Mao Xiaofei stood in front of the vending machine, the corner of the display showed his name and current coin balance. In the center of the screen were several rows of product thumbnails, ranging from toothbrushes and towels to clothes, shoes, and socks, along with a small selection of drinks and snacks. The variety of products was somewhat reminiscent of a village convenience store. However, the packaging on the items wasn’t familiar to Mao Xiaofei; instead, it was all very plain, featuring no fancy design and simply bearing the “Peace Farm” logo.

Whether it was the construction crew or the vending machine, Jiang Le consistently claimed they were the work of a friend and that he was merely temporarily managing the place. He stuck to this story, and Mao Xiaofei didn’t doubt him—and to a certain extent, it was the truth; that “friend” was simply the system.

The farm awarded Jiang Le a personal bonus of 5,000 gold coins and 1,000 personal experience points. Jiang Le spent part of the 5,000 gold coins to purchase automatic irrigators, automating irrigation for the remaining plots of land, and left the rest untouched for now. Given the farm’s current scale, Jiang Le didn’t need to spend a fortune on large machinery just yet.

The 1,000 personal experience points—which would normally take Jiang Le nearly half a month to accumulate—moved his experience progress bar forward significantly, bringing him much closer to Level 4.

However, just as the farm was entering a new phase, the power and cell phone signal went out.

This was both an inevitable consequence of the lack of human maintenance and a result of the accelerated destruction of infrastructure by plants as the mutation process deepened. It wasn’t just communication; roads and houses had also suffered severe damage. The concrete pavement had been breached by plant roots burrowing from underground, causing it to crack and break apart in patches until it was barely recognizable.

At this point, most people—including some who had awakened to superpowers but remained cautious and timid—were still holed up at home, hiding from the zombies. However, a small number of daring individuals had already begun taking advantage of the breakdown in social order to scavenge for supplies everywhere, even resorting to home invasions.

Jiang Le also planned to take a look around the city. Although the supplies in his System Space were enough to sustain him for several lifetimes, he knew that as the farm expanded and inevitably hired more employees, the demand for resources would be endless. Even if he didn’t go get them now, most of those supplies would end up in the hands of those accustomed to looting and pillaging—so he might as well take them himself.

The mountain roads had been severely damaged by the dense surrounding vegetation and were nearly impassable to vehicles. Jiang Le leaped a few times to climb a tree over ten meters tall and looked out into the distance. His excellent eyesight allowed him to clearly see the condition of the roads below. Although they weren’t as badly damaged as the mountain paths, the scene was still a sight to make one shudder.

In comparison, the enclosed highway—built several meters above ground level—still retained the semblance of a proper road. However, at this moment, no vehicles were visible on the highway; only the uncleared wreckage from several severe pile-ups remained.

Jiang Le walked down to the highway at the foot of the mountain. Climbing along the rock face to scale the guardrail, he stepped onto the highway before retrieving his small electric car from his spatial pocket. Weaving his way through the wreckage of the crashed vehicles, he drove forward.

The surroundings were deathly quiet, broken only by the sound of the small vehicle’s wheels grinding against the pavement. A stale, metallic scent of blood hung in the air, while the mutated plants emitted a stench that varied in intensity. The crash had left vehicles piled haphazardly or overturned on the roadside. Amid the rust and dried, dark stains, one could glimpse corpses that hadn’t yet been cleared away, as well as zombies stumbling toward the small electric car at the sound of its engine.

Jiang Le left the zombie behind without stopping for it. It wasn’t until he had driven off the highway and into the city that the scene before him began to change.

The city’s infrastructure had suffered initial damage; while the roads weren’t completely blocked, vehicles lay strewn haphazardly on both sides. The greenery that once provided fresh air along the roadside had turned into a menacing monster, its roots exposed from the flower beds and deeply embedded in the asphalt, while streetlights leaned precariously, teetering on the brink of collapse. The once-bustling city had fallen nearly silent, with only the wind whistling through the gaps between buildings like the wails of ghosts. Here and there, windows stood open, their curtains fluttering in the breeze, adding to the sense of deathly stillness.

But the city wasn’t completely deserted. Jiang Le sharpened his senses and clearly detected the sounds of people moving about within a few hundred meters of him.

He parked the small electric car by the roadside and chose to walk along the street to minimize his presence.

This area was a bustling commercial district with several large supermarkets of different brands. As Jiang Le passed by one of them, he noticed that the door had been smashed open and someone had broken in, but there was no one inside at the moment.

After a moment’s thought, he stepped inside.

Just as Jiang Le had anticipated, although intruders had already broken in, there were still quite a few goods left in the store. However, due to the power outage and the sweltering heat, the fresh produce section had long since begun to rot, and the fermentation in the enclosed space was emitting a pungent, acrid odor.

Jiang Le steered clear of the fresh produce section and stowed other useful items into his storage space.

He made his way to the pet supplies section, where the products had suffered the least damage compared to other areas.

Thinking of the little wolf cub, Jiang Le slowed his pace. The cub had been confined to the spatial pocket, and his discontent was growing by the day. Jiang Le wanted to bring something back to appease him. Since their bond hadn’t yet reached a level where he could control the cub’s behavior, Jiang Le didn’t dare let him roam freely just yet.

However, since he was picking out something for the little wolf, Jiang Le thought for a moment, then entered the spatial pocket to find the little wolf cub. “I’m going to take you out to see if there’s anything you like out there, but you can’t run around. I’ll have to hold you. Understand?”

The little wolf cub understood Jiang Le’s words and, upon hearing them, growled at him in displeasure. Jiang Le stood up. “Forget it, then.”

Seeing that he seemed serious about leaving, the little wolf quickly bit down on Jiang Le’s pant leg, reluctantly allowing him to pick it up. As long as it could get out of the spatial realm, it could always find another chance to escape later.

Jiang Le knew exactly what the little wolf was thinking, but with the bond between the system and its pet, catching the little wolf again wouldn’t be difficult.

Holding Xiao Lang tightly in his arms, Jiang Le stepped out of the space and let Xiao Lang face a wall filled with all kinds of pet food and toys, allowing him to choose whatever he wanted.

Xiao Lang was thoroughly disgusted by the overly processed convenience food; every time he saw a package, he pushed it to the ground with his paw. It wasn’t until he spotted the pet-grade goat milk powder that he gave it a few pokes with his paw. Seeing this, Jiang Le stowed the goat milk powder away in the spatial pocket.

The little wolf’s eyes darted around, already mapping out an escape route in its mind. Just as it was about to seize the opportunity and leap out—

Suddenly, voices came from outside the supermarket. The sound of several people’s footsteps drew closer, and Little Wolf’s struggling ceased. Jiang Le had originally planned to take Little Wolf directly into the spatial pocket and wait until they had left before coming out. But just then, a bag of pet food that Little Wolf had previously nudged slipped off the edge of the shelf, hitting the floor with a shrill clatter that startled the group.

“Someone’s in there!?” 

“Let’s go check it out!”

The chaotic footsteps instantly became hurried and purposeful, rushing straight toward the pet supplies section. One of them was actually a speed-type superpower user; before Jiang Le could even enter the farm, he had already darted in front of him.

The man was a lean, sharp-eyed young man with a gaze as piercing as a knife, instantly scanning Jiang Le from head to toe.

Jiang Le was cleanly dressed, with fair, handsome features. Not a single trace of ability fluctuation emanated from him. He was holding a “puppy” with bright, black eyes in his arms, standing before a pile of pet supplies as if he’d been leisurely shopping just a moment ago. This scene stood out like a sore thumb—even absurd and laughable—in a post-apocalyptic world where chaos reigned, and everyone lived in constant fear.

A hint of undisguised contempt and greed crept onto the young man’s lips. He snorted derisively and shouted to his companions rushing up behind him, “Guys, come quick! There’s a little rich kid here, strolling through the supermarket with his precious pet dog!”