Li Ruikang looked at two colleagues and two professors.
Yan Tiejun was the first to speak, saying, "We can interact, and it is best to establish close contact. Separated by fog, unable to connect with higher-ups, acting independently has already become the norm. The biggest threat laid before us is just one—survival. Since Wang Hu, Zhao Yaqian, and Cheng Zhenyong have all said Su Han is reliable, we can at least be sure that he is a decent person."
Li Ruikang nodded slightly, finding Yan Tiejun's words perfectly aligned with his own thoughts.
Given the current situation, it was not only that Su Han was decent, but even if he were not, he was still gathering survivors and protecting humanity's vital forces, not ravaging kin. That alone would not make South City take the initiative to make an enemy of him.
"However, Wang Hu did not ask for the location of Su Han's camp, so even if we wanted to contact him, we wouldn't be able to," he said.
Guo Wutao frowned, somewhat critical of Wang Hu's overly cautious approach, but that couldn't be blamed on him since he was not a diplomat.
Li Ruikang chuckled and said, "Old Cheng said he headed westward toward Happiness Community. It should be in the northwestern part of the city. With ample water sources, defensive measures, and a sizable area, such a camp shouldn't be too common, right?"
He drew two or three circles on the map hanging behind him with a red pen—one around South City No.1 Middle School, one around Southern City Prison, and the last one strikingly was Shanhu Villa District.
Yan Tiejun pondered and said, "Southern City Prison is located in the suburbs, and is generally not marked on the map. It's unlikely that regular people know about it. So the biggest possibilities are South City No.1 Middle School and Shanhu Villa District. Should we send someone to make contact?"
"No," Li Ruikang shook his head and said, "Sending someone right after making contact can easily cause misunderstandings. Plus, there are two more issues before us. One is our own camp is still a mess, and we can't spare many people, especially with the urgency of Second Order matters.
You've seen it, ordinary bullets no longer pose a threat to Second Order monsters, and handguns are becoming less effective."
"I'll lead a team to make as many explosives as possible, the more powerful kinds, but the conditions are limited," Tian Jiaxuan took over the conversation, mentioning that the bombs Wang Hu and his team brought were actually made by him, but due to limited time and chemical plant materials, their power was not very great.
"That will have to do."
Li Ruikang offered a word of comfort, then continued, "The second thing is, what can we use to establish contact with Su Han?"
Shouting slogans, forming connections, what's the difference between that and pyramid schemes?
Either mutual assistance or an exchange of interests.
With the fog causing isolation, and the great distance between the northwestern part of the city and the southern part where they were, it was basically out of the question to help directly and naturally forming a connection was also not feasible.
Therefore, the emphasis would have to be on interest. What do they have that they could use for exchange?
Guns? Or perhaps the much scarcer food?
"Information and injections."
Bai Qiuwen spoke up, "They are also researching monsters, so they should be interested in the injections, as well as information about the apocalypse and monster research. Exchanging such information is essential, and they would definitely be interested. Besides, there is a natural information gap between you and him, isn't there?"
Bai Qiuwen was hinting at something—regarding the knowledge of the entire city, especially confidential information, Li Ruikang and his team knew far more than Su Han about things like oil and food storage.
Li Ruikang nodded slightly, confirming decisively, "Professor Bai is right, but all this can only happen if we are well organized. Thus, we might have to set Su Han aside for now, giving priority to acquiring experimental equipment and setting up a lab to produce real enhancement injections. That would be the real opportunity for establishing exchanges."
Having both the injections and the apocalyptic research in hand would then provide a solid foundation to establish relations and even exchange information on enhancements.
Tian Jiaxuan said, "Besides the Aoke Biological Research Center, there are actually several nice labs in South City, I will mark them later."
In the blink of an eye, the egg had grown almost the height of a person. The Tree-born Worm inside was clearly visible, its appearance particularly ferocious.
"Pfft"
Finally, ten minutes later, the worm inside fervidly flipped out, its sharp split mouth immediately tearing through the egg's outer membrane, the entire Tree-born Worm breaking out of its 'shell'.
The worm in front of Su Han rolled onto the ground, then approached and 'sniffed' Su Han, as if recognizing his scent or... psychic fluctuation?
It was not aggressive but lowered its fearsome head.
Performing the same action, the remaining forty-nine worms neatly aligned themselves toward the Ancient Worm Tree on the ground, as if they were on a pilgrimage.
Feeding on flesh couldn't sustain the Tree-born Worms; only the blood and energy of the Ancient Worm Tree could keep them alive.
Thus, the Ancient Worm Tree was their life, the pinnacle of their entire lineage.
Su Han closed his eyes, feeling the miraculous connection between the Ancient Worm Tree and Tree-born Worms. His thoughts moved, "Go hunt."
The information was conveyed, and all Tree-born Worms stirred into action, burrowing rapidly under the ground and scouting far afield.
Under Su Han's intervention, Nos. 9 and 10 villas' human residents were not within the hunting range, but farther afield creatures were uncertain.
300 meters, 400 meters, 500 meters....
Su Han estimated the activity range of the Tree-born Worms and was startled to find that it reached about 600 meters.
This distance was not trivial; it covered an area more than one hundred times that of a soccer field. This was the hunting ground of the Tree-born Worms, extending further than the reach of the Ancient Worm Tree's vines.
"Given this distance, fifty worms are too few, but starting slow might also be a good precautionary step."
Su Han's eyes narrowed slightly as he considered the additional uses of Tree-born Worms, not only as hounds to nourish the Ancient Worm Tree but also as perfect sentinels.
"It's just their intelligence isn't quite up to the task, but having them coordinate with the patrol team at the first sign of trouble is also a good strategy, though their numbers are too few."
The sentinel worms would return and signal to the patrol team formed by Ye Kailing when they detected any disturbances, ensuring timely action and enabling the Tree-born Worms to play a more significant role.
But their numbers were still too few; fifty people scattered over a soccer field would seem sparse, much more so for an area more than one hundred times that size.
However, this was only temporary.
Su Han waited about ten minutes. The ground rumbled as the first hunting team of Tree-born Worms returned, moving underground, dragging half a carcass.
It leaped up, depositing the body next to the roots of the Ancient Worm Tree. The Man-eating Vine extended and completely devoured the body, offsetting the cost of hatching the worms.
'The worms are somewhat independent, can't the sensation reach each individual's specific movements?'
With a flicker in his eyes, Su Han approximately tested the condition of the Tree-born Worms. His thoughts moved, and he issued a new order: Regular hunting but stockpile creature carcasses.
Compared to simple devouring, Fusion was a better choice for the Ancient Worm Tree.