At the Base.

After delivering the crops and taking another look around the fields, Tong Zhanyan began seriously considering the expansion of the farmland.

Once the crops start to mature, the harvest won’t be far off, and he’ll need to prepare the soil before the next planting.

That would take time, too.

He had now tilled a total of four mu of land, but only a little over two mu had been planted with crops; the rest remained empty.

It seemed like plenty, but this time, there were over ten new varieties of seeds. Next time, this amount of land wouldn’t be enough just to spread them out and plant them.

Tong Zhanyan decided to till another four mu.

He might not use it all, but preparing in advance can’t hurt.

With Ning Langdong around, the progress on enriching the soil far exceeded expectations; mixing just the top layer was more than enough.

The original two mu of land were directly in front of the small building, while the two mu added later were situated further ahead of those.

This time, Tong Zhanyan planned to expand to the left.

At the live stream.

Two cameras were in use: one panning across the cherry tomatoes, the other surveying the other crops.

However, the viewers’ attention wasn’t on the crops, but on the tiny figure faintly visible in the distance.

“What’s he doing, sticking a stick into the ground everywhere?”

“Can’t you tell? He’s marking off the land for expansion.”

“Expansion… but we already have four mu of land. If he’s expanding now, just how much does he plan to plant next time?”

“……”

…

At that moment, everyone fell silent.

It wasn’t that they had nothing to say; they were simply too excited to know what to say.

They already have four mu of land, and the crops haven’t even been fully harvested yet—most of them haven’t even been started on—and Senior Da Liu has actually already started planning the next batch?

Plus, Senior Da Liu has clearly walked far away from the camera; all we can see is a tiny blur. Just how much is he planning to expand?

Four mu?

We already have four mu of land. If he adds another four, that’s a full eight mu…

“Eight mu of land? It’d take half a day just to run laps around it, wouldn’t it?”

“I’m starting to feel more and more like this is all a dream.”

“Did you guys know that a lot of farming livestreams have gone offline lately? Because they just don’t have any traffic, yet this senior is still expanding…”

“I can’t even imagine what it’ll look like when all eight mu are fully planted.”

…

Tong Zhanyan left a path wide enough for an electric tricycle to pass between the land about to be excavated and the existing four mu, to facilitate future harvesting and the regular transport of fertilizer and soil.

After marking out the plot, Tong Zhanyan climbed into the excavator.

The soil at the base was very hard. If conditions allowed, Tong Zhanyan didn’t just want to turn over the top layer; he planned to work the soil three or four meters deep as well.

But that was all for the future.

For now, he could only dig about two meters deep.

The excavator was definitely more efficient than manual labor.

But the loess soil was too hard; by evening, they had managed to turn over less than a fifth of the four mu of land.

Meanwhile, Boss Bai returned with Tian Xinqing and the other two.

The accounts had already been settled.

Boss Bai had already seen Tong Zhanyan’s previous batch of cherry tomatoes and knew they were good, but for Tian Xinqing and the others—who were seeing crop accounting for the first time—their eyes were filled with excitement.

None of them dared to imagine how much money that would amount to.

That thought washed away the fatigue from the three of them.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t feel much about it; in fact, in his opinion, they could just split the proceeds roughly and weigh everything by the pound.

But with the infection rate factor in play, things couldn’t be handled so casually.

At least not at this stage.

Deep within the Inner City, far from the front lines, a peaceful atmosphere prevailed.

In the office of a large, tranquil, and restful nursing home, Yang Hong listened with his head bowed as the attending physician across from him outlined a series of arrangements following his report.

“…With these letters prepared in advance, I believe there won’t be much of a problem,” the attending physician said.

Yang Hong raised his eyes. “Mm-hmm.”

The attending physician was aware of Yang Hong’s situation and wanted to say something more, but the words were on the tip of his tongue, and he didn’t know where to begin.

“Then I’ll go see her,” Yang Hong said, picking up his backpack and standing up.

“I’ll go with you,” the attending physician said, rising as well.

Stepping out of the office building, passing through the quiet front courtyard and the dining hall, they soon reached the communal lounge area at the rear.

There were only about ten people inside, half of whom were caregivers.

By the floor-to-ceiling windows bathed in sunlight, a woman with short hair and a haggard appearance stared blankly out the window, lost in thought—whether in recollection or simply daydreaming.

Yang Hong’s breath caught for a moment, but the next, he smiled and stepped forward. “Mom.”

The woman turned to look at him.

Her gaze remained blank for a long moment before she finally recognized the person before her. “…Yang Hong?”

The decisiveness of his youth had become a mental torment, even to the point of hurting others.

This place was both a nursing home and a convalescent facility.

Stepping forward, Yang Hong asked with a smile, “How are you feeling? I’ve come to see you again.”

“Again?” Li Lu looked around in confusion. Hadn’t Yang Hong always been here?

Yang Hong said nothing, walking to the back of the wheelchair. “Let’s go get some sun.”

Li Lu didn’t object. “By the way, you said yesterday that you’ve joined the Gu Family?”

“Right.”

“The Gu Family… that’s good, but you’d better be careful. The front lines are dangerous…”

“Okay.” Yang Hong listened intently and responded earnestly, even though he had heard these words countless times before and had responded to them just as many times.

The environment at the nursing home was quite nice, and since there weren’t many people, it was actually quite comfortable to stay there.

It was just expensive.

Yang Hong wasn’t particularly worried about that, though. Considering his past deeds, the Gu Family hadn’t treated him poorly even after he’d been reassigned to the rear, and he’d been saving money for several years already.

That night, Yang Hong declined the room offered by the nursing home and slept on the floor in Li Lu’s room.

They talked a lot about the past.

With its dilapidated buildings, filthy streets, apathetic residents, and monstrous beasts that could strike at any moment, the Outer City was definitely not a place fit for living. Yet, when he really thought back, he could recall quite a few happy memories.

The next day, Yang Hong got up first to fetch breakfast.

When he returned, a caregiver was helping Li Lu wash up and get dressed.

Seeing him enter, Li Lu was quite surprised. “What are you doing here?”

Yang Hong smiled as he approached. “I came to see you. Things have been pretty quiet over at the Gu Family’s place lately, and I’m bored out of my mind.”

Li Lu let out a sigh of relief. “It’s good to have some free time.”

Yang Hong gave no clear answer.

The two of them ate breakfast in the room.

In the morning, Yang Hong accompanied Li Lu to her medical checkup.

In the afternoon, Yang Hong pushed her out to get some sun.

In the evening, Yang Hong slung his backpack over his shoulder.

“Are you leaving?” Li Lu’s face was filled with reluctance.

“Yeah.” Yang Hong crouched down in front of the wheelchair, resting his chin on Li Lu’s knee. “Listen to the doctor, take your medicine like a good girl, and write to me if you miss me… I told you before, sometimes I have to go outside the shield to carry out missions, so I won’t be able to use the terminal…”

“Okay.”

“Well, I’m off then.” With that, Yang Hong stood up.

He didn’t dare keep staring at Li Lu—it would be too obvious.

“By the way, have you heard of a streamer named Senior Da Liu?” Li Lu asked suddenly.

Yang Hong felt a strong sense of detachment. He had never imagined he’d hear about Senior Da Liu from his mother—they were from completely different worlds.

“I’ve heard of him.” Yang Hong turned to look at her. “What about him?”

“I’ve watched his livestream.”

Yang Hong’s face twisted instantly.

Was his mother watching the livestream?

As if reading Yang Hong’s thoughts, Li Lu was both annoyed and amused. “Sister He from the next room’s grandson showed it to her when he came to visit. I was there too, so I took a look.”

Yang Hong let out a breath. Just as he thought…

“He’s really got a knack for it. Those crops look amazing,” Li Lu said.

“Hmm,” Yang Hong agreed. He’s just really good at getting under people’s skin.

Thinking about it, Yang Hong grew anxious. Should he mention it to the nursing home staff and ask them not to let Li Lu watch it? If this makes her so angry and she has a health issue—

“Why don’t you go buy some?” Li Lu said.

Yang Hong paused, then smiled naturally and said, “Alright, I’ll go buy some for Dad later.”

“I wasn’t talking about him, I was talking about you,” Li Lu said. “I noticed his crops are different from everyone else’s—they’re growing so well. Go buy some to eat; it might be helpful.”

Yang Hong took a deep breath. He tried hard not to think about what Li Lu’s words meant, trying not to get swept up in the overwhelming emotions flooding over him.

He couldn’t lose control here; that would be too dangerous for Li Lu and the others.

“Mom, I’ve got something to do…”

“Are you leaving again?” Li Lu’s eyes were filled with reluctance.

“Yeah, I’ll go ahead…” Yang Hong practically fled out the door.

Three days after the first harvest, Tong Zhanyan called the four of them back again, as the tomatoes were ready to be picked once more.

This wasn’t the largest harvest yet—for many of the cherry tomatoes, it was actually their first harvest—but the quantity was certainly far greater than the last time.

Tong Zhanyan dragged twenty boxes straight out of the warehouse.

He hauled them to the middle of the field on a tricycle. After unloading the crates, Tong Zhanyan gave a few brief instructions before heading off to the other end.

Seeing this scene—the crates scattered all over the ground—the crowd in the livestream went wild with excitement.

“Why didn’t you give us a heads-up? If you’d told us earlier, I could’ve taken the day off…”

“I’m already taking the day off.”

“If you need to take time off, do it fast. Five people at my company have suddenly come down with a fever that won’t break. I’m already wondering if I should just pass out.”

“Boss: ????”

“My boss just asked me if I wanted to watch the livestream and told me to come to the office to watch it.”

“Your boss is so nice. Mine told me not to come in today—and never come back.”

“How many times has the person above taken time off already?”

“Hahaha…”

“More importantly, where can I buy Senior’s produce?”

…

It was around eight or nine in the morning—a time when traffic should normally be low—yet Senior Da Liu’s livestream had a whopping 230,000 viewers online, a number that kept climbing as news of the harvest spread.

At the farm, Tong Zhanyan pushed the camera away from his face for the umpteenth time. “Go play somewhere else.”

Pushed aside, the camera panicked, steadied itself, and immediately flew back.

It already knew what was about to happen and would never let the same thing happen again.

It positioned itself between Tong Zhanyan and his friends.

Tong Zhanyan glanced back and saw the camera flying toward him again. He sighed in exasperation. “Why are you always following me?”

He opened his terminal and set the camera’s patrol range to a minimum of two meters above the ground.

The camera immediately flew upward.

Once it reached a certain height, it kept circling, trying to descend, but couldn’t break through the air barrier.

Tong Zhanyan, satisfied, picked up his shears and continued.

“Snip, snip, snip…”

In the cool morning air, the only sound was that of the shears cutting through the fruit stems.

The second batch yielded more fruit than the first, but it still didn’t fill twenty boxes; they finished by the seventeenth box.

The people Qing Jiyue had contacted were already waiting at the gate.

This time, Tong Zhanyan didn’t even bother going to the gate; he simply had Boss Bai lead Tian Xinqing and the other two there.

After watching them leave, Tong Zhanyan inspected the eggplants and cucumbers.

The eggplants were glossy purple, and the cucumbers were covered in prickles.

The first batch of fruits from the earliest blooms had ripened only about a week later than the cherry tomatoes, and they were already ten centimeters long.

It would be no more than ten days or so before they were ready for harvest.

After inspecting them, Tong Zhanyan harvested the cherry radishes and bok choy from the low-infection-rate seeds for planting and conducted a test while he was at it.

The infection rates of all the seeds had increased, with the rise ranging from 2% to 4%.

Having grown crops for so long, Tong Zhanyan had almost never seen a single planting cycle result in an infection rate increase exceeding 3%. The sudden jump to 4% left him momentarily taken aback.

However, upon reflection, he understood.

The lower the infection rate of a seed, the closer it is to a blank slate, making it naturally easier to infect.

As for those with high infection rates, they are already in such a poor state that, as long as the soil and water aren’t worse than their current condition, they aren’t that easy to infect.

This wasn’t a good sign.

The crops showing a decrease in infection rates were all those with high infection rates. If the low-infection-rate ones were in this state, replicating the same results with them would be even harder.

Tong Zhanyan didn’t rush to plant the seeds because the second batch of cherry radishes and bok choy had already bloomed extensively. He planned to pull them up in a few days.

The first two mu of land he cleared had soil brought in from the greenhouse and had been fertilized with chicken manure, making it relatively loose and fertile.

Tong Zhanyan planned to plant them here.

Since crops of the same variety absorb mineral nutrients from the soil at the same rate and pathogens reproduce steadily, the soil quality deteriorates over time, making plants more susceptible to disease. Therefore, it’s best not to repeatedly plant the same crop in the same spot for extended periods.

However, Tong Zhanyan didn’t have many options at the moment, and since he hadn’t planted them too many times yet, he decided to go ahead with it for now.

After putting the seeds away, Tong Zhanyan continued digging.

This time, the harvest was larger than last time, and Boss Bai and his team didn’t return until after 9:00 PM.

Tian Xinqing and the other two were just as excited as ever.

Boss Bai gave a brief update on the situation.

The payment for the first batch of fruit had already been transferred.

Tong Zhanyan opened his terminal to check and confirmed that the payment had indeed been received.

Mr. Bai also inquired about the follow-up situation.

There are five cities in the Inner City, and they’ve set up distribution centers in all five. Once the fruit passes inspection, it’s sent there and then distributed from those centers to various retail stores.

As for the Outer City, they’re currently setting up distribution centers there.

Tong Zhanyan hadn’t asked Qing Jiyue about these details before, so hearing that they were only selling in the Inner City made him feel a bit uneasy. Even though it didn’t feel very real to him, he was, after all, from the Outer City.

Thinking it over, he didn’t say anything.

Haste makes waste, and expecting to cover all these areas with just the yield from his current two mu of land was nothing short of a pipe dream.

After seeing off Mr. Bai and the others, Tong Zhanyan went back upstairs and contacted Qing Jiyue.

Qing Jiyue clearly hadn’t been getting much rest lately; he looked even more haggard than before.

Tong Zhanyan’s heart sank, because if things had taken a turn for the better, Qing Jiyue wouldn’t look like this.

“Still no progress?” Tong Zhanyan asked.

He had been consuming his crops for ten days now.

“He said he feels good.”

Tong Zhanyan’s spirits soared instantly. “Then—”

Before he could finish, Tong Zhanyan realized that under these circumstances, it was hard to tell whether he was just trying to comfort him or if the treatment was actually working.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

“Are you almost out? I’ll prepare some more.” Tong Zhanyan changed the subject.

“Okay.”

Tong Zhanyan tried to offer comfort, but even before the words left his mouth, he sensed how hollow they sounded.

Thinking it over, he amended his suggestion: “Why don’t you find a few more people to try it with?”

From an experimental standpoint, a single sample was meaningless, especially given the possibility that the other person might be lying.

Considering the many unknowns, it would be best to test by having him eat only those crops, but doing so would effectively mean stopping the medication, which might actually worsen the situation.

It was a gamble.

A gamble with a minuscule chance of success.

Qing Jiyue perked up slightly and furrowed his brow in thought.

There were many deeply infected people, especially on the front lines. It wouldn’t be difficult to find a few who had given up on using the crops to suppress their symptoms from the start—

Tong Zhanyan suggested, “Or we could just have them move in here. There’s a small building by the other gate of the base that we can lend to them. That way, I can provide them with fresh crops every day…”

“With your father included, that’s about five people.”

He had plenty of crops right now, but only a small fraction had reduced infection rates. Considering the limited harvest window, five people were already the absolute limit.

After a pause, Tong Zhanyan added, “You’d better find a few people who can fight.”

Given his combat ability, he’d be completely helpless if those people were to fall into a frenzy.

He could run away, but the crops couldn’t.

Upon hearing that people would be staying at the base, Qing Jiyue hesitated for a moment but quickly agreed.

Since they were conducting an experiment, they couldn’t let those people go their separate ways anymore; it would be best to keep them together so they could record the situation daily.

The front lines were too far from the base; every time crops needed to be delivered, a plane had to make the round trip. This certainly wasn’t a sustainable long-term solution.

He could arrange accommodations outside the base, but if they entered a state of frenzy, a large surrounding area would be affected. Compared to the cluster of buildings on the outskirts, the situation would be much easier to control within the base.

As long as more people were assigned to watch over them.

“Alright, let’s do it that way,” Qing Jiyue agreed.

Tong Zhanyan smiled.

Instead of ending the call immediately to get back to work as he usually did, Qing Jiyue looked at Tong Zhanyan with a complex expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“Thank you,” Qing Jiyue said.

Tong Zhanyan had always disliked outsiders meddling in his base’s affairs, yet now he was willing to let people move in.

“Didn’t we agree to help each other out?” Tong Zhanyan said with a smile.

If it weren’t for Qing Jiyue, he certainly wouldn’t have this base now.

Qing Jiyue took a deep breath. “I’ll let you know once I’ve made the arrangements.”

“Alright.”

The call ended, and Tong Zhanyan opened his shopping app.

The small building behind him, just like the one he currently lived in, was being used as an office space. The previous occupants had left it quite clean when they moved out, but it still lacked a lot of furniture to make it livable.

Especially a bed.

Following his usual routine, Tong Zhanyan added enough furniture and daily necessities for five people to his cart, then selected the express option to place a single order.

As he paid, he couldn’t help but marvel once again at the perks of having money. This single purchase alone cost him tens of thousands—in the past, he would have been heartbroken over such an expense.

By the time he was done, it was already past 1:00 a.m.

After leaving a message for Tian Xinqing and the others asking them to come over tomorrow to help clean up, Tong Zhanyan hurried to bed.

Early the next morning, Tian Xinqing and the other two arrived.

Tong Zhanyan went out to buy some cleaning rags before leading the three of them over.

Tong Zhanyan had visited that small building before, but since it looked very similar to the one he currently lived in, he had only walked around the ground floor at the time.

Upon entering, the four of them first looked around.

As for why they suddenly needed to clean, this time Tong Zhanyan didn’t hide anything and told them the whole story.

Upon hearing that the infection rate of those crops had decreased, the three, who had been smiling, immediately lost their smiles, replaced by bewilderment and disbelief.

Ning Langdong, in particular, even looked somewhat flustered.

“It’s still just a test at this stage; we don’t know for sure if it’s effective yet.” Tong Zhanyan knew this meant something different to Ning Langdong.

Ning Langdong’s lips parted and closed repeatedly, but he couldn’t speak for a long time.

“You…” Tian Xinqing rubbed the bridge of his nose. Why did Tong Zhanyan have to tell them? This was different from simply being able to grow crops; once word got out…

“Who else have you told?” Su Yanran’s expression also darkened.

Seeing how tense the two of them looked, Tong Zhanyan’s own nerves—which had been on edge—relaxed slightly. “So far, it’s just you three and Qing Jiyue. But even if I hadn’t said anything, there’s a good chance it wouldn’t have stayed a secret for long.”

Many people online had purchased the previous batch of fruit from Mr. Bai, and the infection rate was practically negligible. Plus, his harvesting, seed collection, and planting had all been captured on camera…

Even if he could convince those online by citing a single low-infection-rate seed he’d purchased—and even if Mr. Bai believed him—what about the next batch?

The next batch would be the fifth. If the drop in infection rate was truly linked to the seed batch number, then the next batch would likely see another decrease.

If it’s just a single-digit drop, that’s manageable. But if there’s another sharp jump like 10%, and the infection rate suddenly drops below 30%, he wouldn’t be able to explain it, no matter how hard he tried.

At that point, he could hand over all the problematic crops to Qing Jiyue to have him secretly dispose of them, but that would inevitably expose even more people to them…

So the issue now isn’t whether they can keep it hidden, but when it will completely blow up.

“Tong Zhanyan…” Ning Langdong hesitated, as if about to speak but holding back.

“Once we have results, I’ll let you know.” Tong Zhanyan did not avert his gaze from Ning Langdong.

Ning Langdong looked deeply at Tong Zhanyan, his expression growing increasingly complex.

After a long moment, he took a deep breath. “Alright.”

The next moment, he picked up a rag.

Tian Xinqing and Su Yanran exchanged a glance; they were still a bit uneasy, but they both took rags as well.

Four people worked far more efficiently than one; the small house was cleaned up in just a morning.

By evening, some of the items Tong Zhanyan had ordered online had already been delivered.

The three of them helped carry them into the small house.

The next day, the rest of the items arrived.

This time, many of the items required assembly, and it took them a full day of back-and-forth effort to finally finish.

That night, Tong Zhanyan contacted Qing Jiyue again.

Qing Jiyue already had suitable candidates in mind and was contacting them one by one; if things went smoothly, there would be a result within the next couple of days.

“What about Uncle?” Tong Zhanyan asked.

Qing Jiyue looked away. “He’ll go.”

Even if he didn’t want to, he would tie him up and drag him there.

Tong Zhanyan was speechless.

“The items I had sent over should be arriving soon,” Qing Jiyue changed the subject.

“Items?”

Qing Jiyue didn’t explain, only saying, “Installation will take some time, so I had them sent over in advance.”

Seeing that Qing Jiyue didn’t want to talk about it, Tong Zhanyan didn’t press further. After exchanging a few more words, they ended the call.

That night, Tong Zhanyan returned to studying the giveaway.

Two days had passed since the last harvest, and tomorrow they could harvest again.

After tomorrow’s harvest, all the tomatoes would enter the mass ripening phase, and relying on just the four of them by then would be unrealistic.

Plus, by then, the first batch of eggplants and cucumbers would be ready for harvest as well.

There was still some time before the peak harvest, so it was too early to hold a giveaway now. After finishing his analysis, Tong Zhanyan casually posted a teaser.

In the Live Stream.

The viewers, who had already figured out the pattern and knew there would likely be a harvest tomorrow, were getting ready to go to bed early to wake up early, when their attention was suddenly grabbed by the announcement that popped up.

“It’s finally here!”

“I’m definitely in this one.”

“Host, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? How am I supposed to sleep tonight?”

“Should I start planning my vacation early? I’ve already taken several days off this month…”

“The person above is overthinking it—it’s not even certain you’ll be included.”

“So many fruits—I can’t even imagine how exhausting it’ll be. Just thinking about it gets me excited.”

“If I’m not picked this time, I’m going to cry at the entrance of Senior’s base.”

“Count me in for the crying.”

…

The next day, Tong Zhanyan was woken up early by the commotion.

The supplies Qing Jiyue had sent had arrived.

They were delivered through the back gate—over thirty truckloads, each loaded with massive iron bars as thick as a person.

The moment he saw them, Tong Zhanyan realized what they were: cages for restraining people in a state of frenzy.

Tong Zhanyan opened the door and watched as the men went to work.

Among them were not only workers but also people Qing Jiyue had summoned from the Qing Family—people he could fully trust, so there was no need for him to worry about anything. After watching for a while, Tong Zhanyan returned to the front door.

He had a lot to do today.

Tian Xinqing arrived right on time.

This time, Tong Zhanyan brought out even more containers from the warehouse.

Tian Xinqing and the others were still somewhat cautious, but their efficiency had improved significantly compared to before. They picked twenty-five boxes this time, yet it still only took them the morning.

Once they finished picking, Boss Bai and his three companions immediately loaded the tomatoes onto a truck and hauled them to the front.

After lunch, Tong Zhanyan pulled up and chopped the cherry radishes and bok choy that had entered their flowering phase on a large scale.

The live stream was filled with heart-wrenching despair.

Feeding the chickens, composting—everything was for a brighter future. Many new viewers, influenced by the regulars, already understood this, but seeing it with their own eyes was a whole different matter.

Senior Da Liu’s stream may show impressive results, but that’s limited to his stream alone. Outside of it, even those who tried to copy his methods still ended up with a dismal harvest.

Those who stubbornly clung to their own methods were even more of a sight to behold.

This also makes it extremely difficult to buy crops outside, forcing countless people to watch their loved ones slowly descend into the abyss of frenzy.

With things already this bad outside, Senior Da Liu went and chopped down those perfectly good crops…

Seeing more and more people feeling heartbroken, many came out to defend the senior, but their voices were completely drowned out by the flood of comments.

That left them all feeling frustrated.

Unable to get a word in edgewise in the live stream, many moved to group chats or their personal profiles.

The thirty-plus groups of the Victims’ Alliance were abuzz with activity.

Watching this, Changge and her group—who had split up to serve as moderators across various groups—couldn’t help but find it amusing.

“Don’t these people ever stop to think about how viciously they used to attack him?”

“Exactly.”

As for their own dark pasts, the group tacitly agreed not to bring them up.

After finishing the manure application, Tong Zhanyan took a short break before turning the soil, preparing to plant the low-infection-rate cherry radish and bok choy seeds.

Tilling, watering, sowing, covering with soil, and laying plastic sheeting—by the time Tong Zhanyan finished, night had already fallen.

Tong Zhanyan went to check the back door. With so many people and the help of machinery, the cages were already installed, and they were just wrapping up the final touches.

Even when the materials were still in the truck, Tong Zhanyan had sensed that the cages would be massive; once they were set up, that feeling only intensified.

Pillars as thick as a man, three stories tall, covering a hundred square meters—they were colossal structures.

Qing Jiyue’s people had moved the bed and furniture that had originally been in his room into the cage.

Qing Jiyue was planning to have everyone live directly inside the cage.

The finishing touches were completed quickly, and the group left.

With those people gone, Tong Zhanyan stood alone facing the five massive iron cages, feeling an even greater sense of oppression and dread.

He hurried back.

Mr. Bai hadn’t finished his work yet.

Tong Zhanyan went to take a look at the entrance.

The number of tables in the open area had doubled at some point, and there were far more people. Lights and tents had even been set up around the perimeter, creating the appearance of a grueling battle—a sight that made Tong Zhanyan’s lips twitch.

Hearing the door open, many people turned to look.

“It’ll probably take another two hours,” Boss Bai said as he flipped through the appraisal report and walked toward him.

“No rush.” Tong Zhanyan hadn’t come to rush them.

“Here’s some water.” Gu Yunyang’s eyes lit up the moment he saw Tong Zhanyan.

“Thanks.” Tong Zhanyan regretted coming out a little; the other guy was way too enthusiastic.

“The next batch is in three days?” Gu Yunyang tried to strike up a conversation; he’d seen the raffle announcement long ago.

“Mm-hmm.” Tong Zhanyan added a reminder, “The quantity might be a bit large.”

Being able to speak with Tong Zhanyan put Gu Yunyang in a very good mood. “No problem. We’ve already made arrangements; we should be able to finish within three days.”

Tong Zhanyan nodded.

Tian Xinqing and the other two approached as well.

They’d been learning how to appraise items these past few days and had just been helping out; they looked quite competent.

“Will we be able to sell it all?” Tong Zhanyan asked.

“Yes, we’ve set up many distribution points, and a lot of people are specifically looking for crops from your base,” Gu Yunyang said. The first batch of crops sent out had been snapped up almost entirely on the same day.

“If we can’t sell it, just give a discount,” Tong Zhanyan said.

Everyone nearby froze for a moment.

The next instant, all eyes turned to Tong Zhanyan.

Crops… at a discount?

“It’s fine to sell them a little cheaper,” Tong Zhanyan sighed silently.

He knew it was too early to say this—this small amount was nowhere near enough to meet everyone’s needs—but he truly felt that way.

At this rate, it wouldn’t take five years to clear the base’s debt of over two hundred million, and the excess amount was, to him, nothing more than an astronomical figure with little real significance.

But for those in need, it was a matter of life and death.

Under the night sky blurred by the streetlights, the crowd stood in silence, their eyes fixed on Tong Zhanyan.

Tong Zhanyan felt uncomfortable under their gaze. “I’m heading back now. Good luck to you all.”

With that, he turned and walked through the door.

He crossed the bridge and didn’t look back until he reached the edge of the woods.

Outside the door, Gu Yunyang and the others were still watching him.

The scene was eerie.

Tong Zhanyan picked up his pace.

If he’d only encountered injustice in this world, he certainly wouldn’t have been so kind-hearted, but Qing Jiyue, Ning Langdong, Mr. Bai, Old Jin, the Planting Alliance…

At least so far, everyone he’d met had treated him well.

So if he could help, he’d lend a hand.

Early the next morning, Tong Zhanyan announced the giveaway. This time, twenty winners would be selected over the course of a single day.

The Gu Family residence.

Yang Hong glanced back one last time at the empty room behind him—stripped bare, not even a mattress or bedding left—then, though reluctant to look at the giveaway results, he shut down the livestream and headed for the door.

As soon as the door opened, he saw countless familiar faces in the hallway.

Yang Hong froze for a moment, then his eyes filled with resignation.

He didn’t like scenes like this, so he hadn’t told many people about his involvement in the cleanup operation.

But now it seemed everyone knew.

“General Yang…” Pang Jingzhou tried to steady his emotions—Yang Hong couldn’t be upset—but his voice came out hoarse and uncontrollable.

To those who had grown up in the Gu Family compound, Yang Hong held a special significance; he had once been a hero in the hearts of many of them.

Yang Hong patted his shoulder, then walked past him toward the lower floor.

Downstairs, Gu Zaixia, the head of the Gu Family, had been waiting there all along.

“I’ll see you out.” Gu Zaixia led the way toward the edge of the protective shield.

Yang Hong followed silently.

“Has your mother settled in?” Gu Zaixia asked.

“Mm…”

“I’ll go check on her regularly.”

“Thank you.” Yang Hong exhaled.

“Is there anything else on your mind?”

The face of Senior Da Liu immediately popped into Yang Hong’s mind; he wanted to visit Senior Da Liu’s base.

“Nothing else.” Yang Hong smiled calmly.

“You—” Gu Zaixia was about to say a few more words when her terminal rang.

She didn’t want to walk away at that moment; the squad sent out on a cleanup mission was already waiting at the door. But after seeing who had sent her the communication request, she stopped in her tracks.

“Wait for me a moment.” Gu Zaixia walked to the side.

Yang Hong didn’t wait.

Familiar streets, familiar passersby, occasional glances from people who paused as if wanting to say something but held back—Yang Hong walked at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow.

It didn’t take long to cover the distance.

In front of the massive, heavily reinforced iron gate, a group of over two hundred people had already been waiting there.

Yang Hong quickened his pace.

“Yang Hong.” Gu Zaixia called out to him.

Yang Hong had no choice but to turn around.

“Do you know Senior Da Liu?” Gu Zaixia jogged to catch up.

Yang Hong paused for a moment. “Yes.”

“Would you like to stay at his place for a while?”

Yang Hong’s breathing caught in his throat. The next moment, he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “What?”

Was he finally hearing things?

But hadn’t he heard that people infected with frenzy didn’t experience auditory hallucinations?

“I asked if you’d like to stay at his base for a while,” Gu Zaixia explained. “For certain reasons, Senior Da Liu is preparing to host a group of people at his base for a short stay, and I have a spot available.”

Yang Hong took a deep breath.

Then another.

Gu Zaixia added, “He also provides crops he grows himself—no nutrient solutions, just all-you-can-eat every day.”

Yang Hong took another deep, ragged breath.

“If you want to go, you can leave right now—”

Yang Hong raised his hand to stop her from continuing.

Go stay at Senior Da Liu’s place and eat crops until he’s stuffed?

He felt like he might need to enter a frenzy first.