Chapter 45 - “Green Plants”

Last time, on Apocalypse Lord: The sun sets on Yun Ling’s trip to Setting Sun Village, and she unlocks the ice house when she gets back.

This chapter has been brought to you by me and Smash10101.

Chapter 45 – Green Plants

Deep in the night.

The surroundings were silent, and most players were already asleep.

Shi Qing opened her eyes, got up, and quietly came out of the tent.

The moonlight was like water, and the sounds of breathing and snoring were very clear.

In the center of the territory, Archers A, B, C, D, E, and F were on their guard. Nearby, Mages A, B, and C were prepared to help at any moment.

There were also some archer players staring at the edge of the defensive shield, like they were waiting for the prey to come to the door.

Shi Qing was used to this, and found a place to stand.

In the night, after players went to sleep, monsters frequently came to attack the territory. She had not known of this before.

The soundproofing of the tents was not good. When she was asleep, she would get woken up because of screams and exclamations, so she always wore ear plugs. Only this could make sure she had a good sleep, and be energetic the next day.

During a talk, she accidentally learned the monsters would attack the territory during the night. XX Camp had been breached like this.

At that time, Shi Qing suddenly realized — actually, Rising Cloud Town was also attacked. But the system guards had resolved this without alerting anyone.

When she realized this, Shi Qing changed her rest times. She did not sleep at night, and made time for hunting.

Time slowly passed.

After waiting about half an hour, the sound of fluttering came in the air.

Shi Qing looked in the direction of the sound, and found a large swarm of birds cop coming to attack. Because they were completely black, the monsters hid perfectly in the night sky, and it was hard to judge position and number. But roughly speaking, there were forty to fifty.

“Finally here!”

There was no urgency in the voice of the archer player, but undisguised joy.

Seeing the birds fly closer, and some even starting to attack the defensive shield, they no longer hesitated, and drew their bows.

Shi Qing thought, there were twenty archer players and six system guards. The competition was not strong. If she was not very unlucky, she should be able to kill a few on her own?

Just as she thought this, an arrow flew into the swarm, and then exploded. Five birds fell, clearly having suffered a fatal attack.

Shi Qing, “……”

Him again.

Standing Post Output Demon King.

If the monsters did not always attack from one direction, she really wanted to avoid him.

There was no use in complaining. Shi Qing held her breath and focused on aiming.

After five minutes, the birds were all dead. Everyone went out to get the drops.

Shi Qing looked at the 21 x copper coins, 1 x white ring with unspeakable joy.

She was very lucky today. She got four monsters, and picked up white equipment! If she sold this, she could get a lot of money.

She had not changed her rest time to sleep during the day and hunt at night for nothing!

As she was thinking, a player whispered, “Look, more monsters are coming!”

Shi Qing put the drops into her backpack and prepared to face the next round.

**

Those in poor economic states wore bamboo hats, and those better off prepared mung bean soup. The residents made their choices cleverly based on their own situation.

In the restaurant.

Zhang Fan looked at the shelves and was in deep thought.

The assassin said, “We have bamboo hats, and we can go out with enough drinking water. There is no need to spend money buying mung bean soup.”

The priest objected, “It is better to be prepared. Buying and taking it along is better than not having it when needed.”

“Look at how much a bowl costs,” the assassin said in exasperation. “We go out for a day, do you guarantee that we will earn so much money?”

The priest was speechless.

There were seven members in the team. Some were on the assassin’s side, and others on the priest’s. At this time, it was three against three. Only Zhang Fan had not made a statement.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Fang bought a bowl of mung bean soup. He said, “New product, if I do not try, I will not know the effects. Buy one and taste it. If it is useful, then buy more, else no need to waste money.”

The members had no objections and the matter was settled.

In the afternoon, the sun was poisonous and people sweated all over.

Even wearing a bamboo hat and furiously drinking cold water, there was still a restless feeling of heat.

Zhang Fan took out the mung bean soup contained in a bamboo bottle. “Let’s split this.”

“Just this bit of soup sells for 50 copper coins.” The assassin was full of resentment. “This gulp is worth 5 copper coins…”

“Damn!” A member had just drank, and then exclaimed in the next moment. “All my negative status has disappeared! Other than the increase in base recovery speed, I am protected from the sun’s effects!”

If he had to describe it, it was like he was refreshed in an instant, and all the heat had left.

When the sun shone on his body, it did not burn his skin and was as gentle as the spring sun.

“Let me try.” Zhang Fang took the bamboo bottle, and then tasted.

Then, the team members took turns.

Someone sighed deeply. “After drinking mung bean soup, it is so comfortable. If I can drink this all day…”

“Do not dream during the day!” A teammate laughed. “This is very expensive.”

“I know, I was just saying.” That person had a disapproving expression.

So what if he was dreaming? There was everything in the dream. Was a person not allowed to have hope?

While the others all changed sides, the assassin was still the same. “I still feel it is a waste to buy mung bean soup.”

“While you can wear the bamboo hat, you will still get the negative state after a long time. But if you rest for a while, you will be fine. There is no need to waste money.”

“The mung bean soup is delicious, but with our economic situation, we cannot afford it.”

“You cannot say that. Sometimes, it is necessary to buy the mung bean soup.”

Zhang Fan was going to explain when the priest suddenly stood up and said in a trembling voice, “I see a boss!”

“Boss? Where where?”

“Let me see what the boss looks like! I heard of them before, but this is my first time seeing.”

“We just finished the mung bean soup, and our negative statuses are gone. We also have buffs. Could we try to challenge the boss?”

Everyone looked at each other and was moved.

Even the assassin threw the matter of the mung bean soup to the back of the mind, and focused on fighting the boss.

**

The summer days were hot. Yun Ling was too lazy to go out, and gave all the work of leading the team to Guard A.

Seeing the foraging team go away, she turned and went back to her house, opening the window of buildings waiting to be unlocked, and carefully studying them.

The ice house was unlocked. It could store food, and create ice. It was a divine weapon for summer.

The fountain and green plants could moderate the temperature of the territory and increase the comfort of the residents. But she could not make much money with these. They were fated to be public buildings.

The wells could also moderate temperature and used to get drinking water. This was also a good choice. But the problem was that there was a small stream near Rising Cloud Town, about three to five minutes by foot.

With the stream there to get water at will, the use of the wells were weakened.

The farmland was necessary, and she could plant whatever materials she needed.

The orchards were similar in ability to the farmland, and did not need to be considered.

She would wait with the ranch.

The wharf was usually built near the sea. Rising Cloud Town did not have an area by the sea and there was no use in unlocking it.

Fish ponds could be used to raise fish. But there were many streams and lakes around. She could fish in the wilderness. Why would she bother to raise her own?

After organizing her thoughts, Yun Ling was sure she had to unlock the farmland, and choose between the ranch and the blacksmith’s shop.

After confirming, her eyes flashed. “Before unlocking the buildings, I need to confirm some things.”

**

Near dusk, Yun Ling sat on a small bench with red bean shaved ice, eating as she waited for the foraging team to return.

The red bean shaved ice was made from red beans, ice cubes, milk, and honey.

First beat the ice cubes into ice sand, then add red beans, pour on honey and milk. Each bite was sweet, fragrant and soft, with a wave of coolness.

Yun Ling moved each bite to her mouth with a wood spoon. After she finished the dessert, Guard A’s figure coincidentally appeared in her sight.

Yun Ling put away the wood bowl and wood spoon. She walked in front of the players and asked, “Is anyone willing to work overtime at night? Manual work, 10 copper coins per hour, you also get a night snack.”

Hearing this Pang Yu’s eyes lit up, and he said loudly, “I am willing!”

“I think I will not,” a young girl gathered her courage and said.

Yun Ling had no opinion. “I will not force you. No matter if you go or stay, tomorrow morning, we will gather at the usual time at the usual place.”

At these words, seven or so people left — there were many in the foraging team to start with who were old, young or weak, and had low attributes. After working an entire day, they were tired. They could not work overtime, or manual work.

After waiting for a while, 22 people left, and the remaining eight were all men.

Yun Ling waved her hand. “Come with me.”

The group moved to the forest near Rising Cloud Town. She took out wood shovels and handed them to the NPCs and players. “Start digging.”

Players, “???”

Pang Yu was stunned and said carefully, “May I ask why?”

Yun Ling said confidently, “It is too hot! Even in the territory, it feels hot and stuffy. I want to try and see if we can transplant the tree near the residences and moderate the temperature.”

Another person hesitated. “What if it does not?”

Yun Ling said, “I will pay the wage, and think of another way.”

The players were speechless. Other than being rich and strong willed, there seemed to be nothing more accurate to describe this person.

Since the boss said so, what was there to hesitate about? Dig.

Pang Yu dug as he thought, the guards listened to the orders, and acted without a question.

Look at how aware they were.

No wonder they managed to be so close with the boss. They were different in their initiative.

Pang Yu made a well-founded explanation and convinced himself.

Seeing other people start to move, everybody else was not willing to show weakness, and started to dig hard as well.

Ten minutes later.

[Name: Cedar]

Quality: Normal

Use Effect: Can green the environment, moderate temperature, and when cut down, obtain wood.

Note: It will survive if transplanted within 2 hours of leaving the ground. After 2 hours, it will die.

As expected, it could be transplanted.

Yun Ling waved her hand. “Move it back!”

She did not have the players do this, but picked a few combat NPCs with high strength to move tree back.

“What are they doing?”

“Why have they returned with a tree?”

“Are they transplanting it? Does the game allow it?”

The residents saw this and talked.

Yun Ling pretended to not hear. She found a suitable position by the residential area, and indicated, “Dig a hole here to plant the tree.”

“Can you plant trees nilly-willy in a system territory?” One player was suspicious.

But the boss was the one who paid. They would do as Yun Ling said.

Pang Yu was holding a wood shovel, and just about to start digging. When the shovel just went into the ground, he seemed to have hit stone.

“It does not seem possible…” he said in a whisper.

At the same time, Yun Ling received a system notification, [Player “Pang Yu” Is attempting to dig a hole and plant a tree at Rising Cloud Town coordinates xxx, xxx. Do you agree?]

She quickly pressed “yes.”

“There seems to be a problem with this piece of earth. Change a spot and see,” Yun Ling said as she pointed to a new planting site that she marked out.

“Then I will try.” Pang Yu pushed the wood shovel, and easily dug away the earth this time.

“It really works!!” He was stunned.

“Okay, dig.” Yun Ling waved for her subordinates to work.

After ten minutes, the cedar was planted, and the system did not react at all.

Pang Yu inquired, “Are we going to the forest to dig trees?”

“Yes!” Yun Ling did not hesitate.

She felt there were not enough trees, so the effect of the transplants were not obvious.

If she planted ten, twenty, thirty, and there was still not an effect, she would think of another idea.

Under Yun Ling’s leadership, the group went out again.

Cedar, black pine, thuja, juniper…Yun Ling picked the evergreens. She sent people to dig out the roots of the trees and then planted the trees back in the territories.

There were more than thirty people with the players and NPCs added together. They were split into five teams, and each time, they could dig five trees.

The sky gradually turned dark.

Yun Ling lit up a torch, and walked at the front, lighting the way for everyone.

When they had made 6 trips, and planted 30 trees in the territory, the system finally sent a notification, [Rising Cloud Town’s greening has reached 5%. The temperature of the territory has decreased slightly.]

A breeze drifted by, drying the sweat on the foreheads and also the heat they felt.

Yun Ling clenched her fists, her heart filled with excitement.

Planting trees was effective!

While there were not enough building slots, and she could not unlock “Green Plants”, she could send people to transplant and achieve the aim of moderating the temperature.

Then she thought, if she could plant trees on her own, could she drill wells on her own. Could she build fountains on her own? If the farmland, orchard, ranch, wharf, and fishpond could be built, she did not mind arranging for them all.

“Boss, it is late,” a player said haltingly.

Yun Ling woke up from her thoughts.

She coughed softly, and said gently, “You have been busy for an entire day, and are all tired. Go and rest.”

The night snack was mixed grain steamed buns (no quality) and rice porridge (no quality). Seeing that everyone had worked hard, she also gave each person a bowl of mung bean soup (no quality).

The players hurriedly thanked her, and then left happily with their night snacks.

Yun Ling gazed at the lush trees, and a new plan formed.

**

Pang Yu came back home with night snacks. Even before he entered the room, he shouted in excitement, “Wife! There are night snacks to eat today!”

His wife had focused on resting for a while, and she was in much better health. She could occasionally get out of bed to walk, and when she had the time, she learned to weave from others to help with the family.

Hearing this, she looked up in shock. “Night snack? Where did you get it?”

Pang Yu said proudly, “Overtime tonight, from the boss!”

Then he explained what had happened today.

“No wonder I just received a system notification that Rising Cloud Town’s greening reached 5%.” His wife realized.

Pang Yu snickered. “I also got that. Speaking of that, when the system had just said that ‘the temperature in the town has decreased slightly’, I immediately felt cooler. I wonder if this was just my mind.”

His wife thought. “Our home has not changed much.”

“Maybe because we are further away? Maybe because the greening is not high enough?” Pang Yu’s head hurt from thinking and he put it to the side. “This is the mung bean soup I brought back, quick, drink it.”

“What about you?” his wife asked.

“I can just eat the rice porridge,” Pang Yu said. “You need to recover as soon as possible. In the future, with us working together, our days will soon get better.”

His wife felt that this was correct, and did not refuse, drinking mung bean soup in small swallows.

“So delicious.” His wife wiped her lips, still unsatisfied.

“There is a steamed bun, let’s split it!” Pang Yu split the mixed grain steamed bun into half, and then alternated between the rice porridge and the bun, eating joyfully.

Life was hard, but with the most important person by his side, he did not feel it too difficult.

**

Beside the small forest, the players were constantly walking around like they were in a scenic area.

“I was wondering why they were putting so much effort into moving trees. Look at this, it is different with greening. The surroundings are clearly cooler than other places!”

“There were thirty people in the team, and they spent nearly four hours moving the trees. Can normal people do it?”

“Yes, if you have the time, it is better to weave a pair of straw sandals and earn more money to spend.”

“Up to you. In any case, I cannot endure the heat. Tomorrow, I will find someone to plant two trees next to my home!”

“A bowl of mung bean soup in the restaurant sells for 50 copper coins. How many pairs of straw sandals do you need to weave in order to earn that? It is better to call some friends, and plant trees together. Think about it. The mung bean soup is temporary, but the effects of the trees are permanent. They will not just benefit yourself, the people around will also benefit.”

The players all had their own opinions. They only left when it was late in the night.

The neighbor Lu Chuan had napped during the afternoon. When he woke up, he saw a row of small trees in front of his door.

On the street, the breeze had a hint of coolness. It was much more refreshing compared to the previous heat.

“It seems that I have benefited from her without knowing it again.” Lu Chuan sighed, his voice barely audible.

**

Deep in the night.

Most people were asleep. The archer players came out to move.

Shi Qing looked around, and found more people than usual. She did not know if friends had told, or the other players had noticed it themselves.

Standing and gazing out of the territory, she waited for the monsters to come. While with a certain person present they could just drink soup and not get the meat, it was better than nothing.

As she was thinking, she saw the Standing Post Output Demon King quickly walking towards the residence area.

Shi Qing was surprised. “What is that? Is he not participating in the hunt today?”

Thinking of this possibility, she was full of fire and anticipation towards tonight.

Near the green.

One person was sneaking about with a wood shovel, wanting to dig away the tree. Compared to leaving Rising Cloud Town and spending so much effort to carry the tree back and planting it, it was much easier to steal from someone else.

The area around the small patch was clearly cooler than others, and he got greedy when he saw it.

But when his wood shovel just went into the ground, the system displayed —

[Name: The Cedar planted by Player “Yun Ling”]

Quality: Normal

Use Effect: Can green the environment, moderate temperature, and when cut down, obtain wood.

Note: The cedar is the personal property of Player “Yun Ling.” Other players can move and cut down only with her permission.

The tree thief,”……”

The trash game was too vicious!

Cutting off his retreat.

He stopped reluctantly, and when he was about to return, he found an evil star blocking his way. “You are not sleeping at night, and come here to steal trees. You are very idle.”

“Who is stealing trees? Who is!” That person did not admit to it. “I just could not fall asleep, and came out for a stroll.”

Lu Chuan looked down. “Carrying a wood shovel?”

That person had a tough attitude. “You are not in charge of me!”

Lu Chuan did not want to argue with him. “If there is a next time, when you leave Rising Cloud Town, pay attention to your safety, and beware of accidents.”

What did this mean?

If he left the safety area, this person would attack him?

Thinking of this, the tree thief’s tone became panicked. “I cannot understand what you are saying! I am sleepy, I am going to sleep now!”

Then he ran away.

Lu Chuan walked around the trees, made sure there were no other tree thieves, and then went back.

**

In the morning, several recruitment posts appeared in the mission hall.

[Hiring players who can dig wells. 50 copper coins/day, provides three meals a day and heat relief drinks. If interested, contact Yun Ling.]

[Hiring players who can build fountains. 50 copper coins/day, provides three meals a day and heat relief drinks. If interested, contact Yun Ling.]

[Hiring players who can dig fish ponds. 50 copper coins/day, provides three meals a day and heat relief drinks. If interested, contact Yun Ling.]

The recruitments were sent in her name, and not in the name of the system, like she was hiring people for a normal team. But the targets were special people with special skills.

After setting this up, Yun Ling started to eat breakfast.

Not long later, a player called “Hu Da Cheng” added her as a friend, and said that he knew how to dig wells and fishponds.

Through the request, Yun Ling set up a meeting time and place.

When they met, both were surprised.

“Yun Ling?” Hu Da Cheng asked uncertainly.

“That’s me.” Yun Ling nodded and admitted.

Standing in front of her was the tanned and thin man who sold malt sugar.

Yun Ling was a bit surprised. “Other than knowing how to make sugar syrup and candy, you also know how to dig wells and fish ponds?”

They were all people, but why did this one have so many skills?

Hu Da Cheng laughed openly. “My family is from the countryside, I used to do this all the time, so I learned.”

Yun Ling looked curiously at him. She looked like she was examining a multipurpose NPC.

“Tell me, how do you dig a well?” Yun Ling wanted to test him.

Hu Da Cheng was spirited when it came to a matter he was skilled in and started to talk.

“First, you have to judge if there is water underground based on experience. Some wells are okay in the first two years, but later, do not produce water. Others will be fine if used for decades.”

“In the villages, the wells are usually drilled with a diameter of 1-2 meters, and 20-30 meters deep. This is a shallow well. Deep wells need special equipment, and will be hundreds of meters deep.”

“Old people in the village, they can point at a place to drill, and after going down five or six meters, you can touch water! Sometimes, when the rain is heavy, you have to put a top on the well, and it will overflow with water.”

Yun Ling:”……”

A different profession was like another mountain. The saying was not false.

She heard Hu Da Cheng say so much, but did not understand.

Simply said, it was: if you do not have experience, do not be in charge. Even if you dig deep, water may not come out, and if it does, it may not last for long. Those with experience will choose a good spot, and one well will last a lifetime.

Yun Ling felt her head swell, and could not help but interrupt, “How about this, first go around Rising Cloud Town, and see what places are suitable for drilling wells. When you are sure, we can sit down and talk.”

“Okay.” Hu Da Cheng agreed.

**

At 8 O’clock in the morning, the foraging team left on time.

Yun Ling did not go, and went around the territory with Hu Da Cheng.

At this time, the system kept on notifying, [Player “Zhang Fan” is trying to dig a hole and plant a tree at Rising Cloud Town coordinates xxx, xxx. Do you agree? ]

[Player “You Qing Wen” is trying to dig a hole and plant a tree at Rising Cloud Town coordinates xxx, xxx. Do you agree? ]

[Player “Zheng Ming Yue” is trying to dig a hole and plant a tree at Rising Cloud Town xxx, xxx. Do you agree?]

Yun Ling saw the characters “planting trees” and agreed to them all.

After two hours, the system gave a new notification, [Rising Cloud Town’s greening has reached 10%. The temperature of the territory has decreased slightly.]

“This means that planting trees will greatly have an effect on the nearby environment and slightly affect the entire territory?” Yun Ling thought.

Before she could think through, Hu Da Cheng had gotten results. “I have looked, there are five places suitable. They are in all four directions and at the center.”

“No other places?” Yun Ling confirmed.

Hu Da Cheng answered honestly, “If you want, we can drill, but the effects will not be good. Either there will not be much water, or it has to be deep in order to get to the water.”

“So that’s how it is.” Yun Ling thought for a moment, and offered her conditions. “You are in charge of drilling the wells. Five in total, each one you do, I will give you 500 copper coins. I will take care of your three meals a day, and also heat relief drinks.”

500 copper coins? This was enough for a set of new blue equipment in the system shops! It was equal to a house in the territory!

Hu Da Cheng’s eyes were wide. He rubbed his hands excitedly. “How embarrassing…I cannot…”

“No need to be polite. If you can get the wells, you will help me greatly.” In the next moment, Yun Ling’s face turned cold. “If you work hard and honestly, I will not treat you badly. But if you choose bad places, waste time and money…I guarantee you and your family will not be able to stay in Rising Cloud Town.”

“Do not worry,” Hu Da Cheng said seriously. “I am used to such work, I have confidence.”

Yun Ling said meaningfully, “I also hope the matter goes smoothly. At that time, you take money, I get the wells, everyone is happy.”