Leaving, Planting the Seed of Hope! (Third Update)

Why are there babies?

Su Mo was a little stunned, not immediately realizing how the game's drop-off mechanism could allow babies to enter together.

Chen Shen, who was behind, quickly explained:

"Su Ge, don't be angry. She was about to give birth right after she transmigrated here. With Doctor Song's help, she gave birth to the child in this camp. The child wasn't directly teleported here."

Pregnant woman?

After listening to Chen Shen's explanation, Su Mo remained silent.

After a while, he turned around and walked out of the dugout, and then opened the shed of dugout number three.

Fortunately, this was the only pregnant woman and her child in the entire camp.

What do you usually eat?

As he walked down the hillside and looked at the supplies on the ground, Su Mo's tone was no longer heavy, and his voice was no longer cold.

This time, without Chen Shen's reply, the man still slumped on the ground pointed to the supplies they had scavenged nearby and whispered, "We usually eat tree bark and grass roots, and then they'll give us some muddy water. After boiling it, we can barely eat half full."

"Then there will be a snack every four days, which is potatoes, and each person will get half a potato."

Potato?

Su Mo bent down and dug around in the bag on the ground. Sure enough, the bag was full of potatoes.

Occasionally, a few potatoes that had sprouted but hadn't rotted were mixed in.

Su Mo was very familiar with this. In fact, when he first tried to grow vegetables in Culture Medium, Su Mo hesitated about whether to grow potatoes, but in the end he chose to give up.

The movie "The Martian" from the Earth era made almost everyone aware of the importance of growing potatoes on a large scale: they are filling, delicious, versatile, and can even be used to survive.

Therefore, in most time-travel novels, when faced with a food shortage, the proposed solution is almost always:

Plant potatoes! Compared to other crops that require delicate care, potatoes are cold-resistant, filling, and their starch provides a lot of calories and nutrients, making them the best crop to grow in the current environment.

With its yield of several thousand kilograms per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.165 acres), it seemed that everyone thought it was a Divine Object.

However, Su Mo's reason for giving up was very direct and real.

Energy is conserved, and the potato's exaggerated yield and nutritional value must require other forms of energy to be converted.

This energy is what we broadly understand as soil fertility!

In general, poor soil produces small potatoes with low yields, and without suitable fertilizer, the yield will be further reduced.

Furthermore, historical lessons have clearly shown that if potatoes are grown on a large scale and get diseased, the plant is doomed.

"Let's boil them! Boil all the potatoes, and then we can all have a good meal before we talk about anything else!"

There was still about one and a half bags of potatoes left on the ground. When distributed to everyone, each person could get about two.

Although some potatoes had sprouted and might produce solanine, in this environment, no one showed the slightest concern after hearing Su Mo's words.

A deafening cheer rose from the center of the camp. Instead of acting immediately, everyone bowed deeply in gratitude before starting to perform their duties.

Some people searched for pots, others started fires, and a group of people went to deserted places and dug up handfuls of slightly clean snowflakes.

Every refugee who passed by Su Mo had a look of relief at surviving a disaster and excitement at the prospect of a big meal.

Two potatoes for each person. "So this is the simple happiness of ordinary people in the apocalypse?"

Looking at these people, Su Mo suddenly understood why, throughout history, even numerous major catastrophes on Earth had failed to wipe out humanity.

"Perhaps I am a decisive person, but I am definitely not a cold-blooded person, at least not now!"

Su Mo stood quietly in the center of the camp.

Watching the people around him bustling about, Su Mo even had the idea of bringing them all back to the base to live and set up a small camp.

Humans are always lonely.

Even with Oreo and Big and Little Spark by my side, after half a month, when I returned to group life, a sense of belonging that had been lost returned.

This feeling is hard to describe.

Even seeing the smiling faces of his fellow human beings, Su Mo couldn't help but want to smile.

"However, my current camp has not solved the food problem at all, and I don't have enough people I can trust to manage these people. If they rebel, I will have no way to deal with them!"

Silently flipping through his own Doomsday Laws, Su Mo's heart, which had just been burning with passion, gradually calmed down again.

Anger can make people lose their minds.

Excitement is also possible! Before understanding the other person's character and way of doing things, no stranger other than family members is allowed to enter the three-kilometer radius of the shelter.

Otherwise, they can only be enemies! Standing in the corner, deep in thought, Su Mo was like a statue, as if the words "Keep Out" were etched on his face.

Of course, no one would bother us at such a time.

The pregnant woman in the dugout was also helped out by the crowd. The baby in her arms seemed to feel the cold outside and cried loudly.

All the men spontaneously formed a circle, protecting the pregnant woman in the middle, and walked all the way to the center of the camp.

The aroma of salt evaporating in the water, the perfectly round potatoes, and the blazing firewood below all piqued the pregnant woman's curiosity.

On his dark face, a pair of lifeless eyes regained a glimmer of life.

Then she saw Su Mo standing in the corner, and a look of anticipation appeared on her face.

The firewood was still burning, the water was already bubbling, and the potatoes in the water were bobbing up and down like small boats.

All the refugees stared intently at the white steam rising from the pot and the flames below, as if bewitched.

After glancing at the baby and then at the refugees whose faces were filled with a longing for survival, Su Mo slowly approached the pot that was not yet boiling.

With a single, empty gesture, the remaining 200ml of Psionic Water appeared in Su Mo's hand. He lifted the lid and watched as the Psionic Water slowly seeped into the Earthen Pot.

A fragrance unlike that of potatoes wafted out, instantly stunning all the refugees! No one could resist the smell of Psionic Water!

Almost everyone who smelled it for the first time could feel the craving for this scent deep in their genes! Looking at Su Mo, who was standing in the center and had put down the pot lid, a complex emotion appeared on the faces of these people.

Having witnessed the ugliness of human nature, anyone who is even slightly normal is seen as no less than an angel.

"Consider it payment for helping me collect saltpeter!" Su Mo thought to himself, while walking out of the camp and saying aloud:

"I'll be back soon. These potatoes will be divided among the pregnant woman and the child, four in total. Anyone who tries to take them will face the consequences!"

Having grown accustomed to the food he prepared during his refuge, this potato did not elicit the slightest change in Su Mo's taste or mood.

Everyone watched in awe as Su Mo followed the path he had come from and slipped away through the gate, his desolate figure gradually disappearing from sight.

"He's a good person!"

Someone said this, and everyone else nodded in agreement!

But then, as the aroma from the pot grew stronger, everyone turned their attention back to it, staring intently at the contents.

"Oreo, do you think I should get involved with these people? I clearly have the ability to do something about it."

Walking on the snow, Oreo ran over affectionately and rubbed its head against Su Mo's trouser leg.

Upon hearing Su Mo speak, Oreo raised his head, his eyes filled with curiosity and confusion.

Woof! Woof! Then, still puzzled, it revealed a human-like smile and puffed out its chest.

"You mean they're very powerful?" Seeing Oreo nodding repeatedly, Su Mo laughed and shook his head in relief.

"Perhaps I underestimated their resilience and courage."

Stopping in his tracks, Su Mo turned to look at the camp behind him, where flames were still raging.

This flame, in the blink of an eye, can become a flame symbolizing hope, or it can become a hellfire that devours everyone.

He paused for a moment, then his gaze gradually hardened.

They drove back to the dugout where the ground tiger was kept, lit a fire, and drove the ground tiger out.

As they drove towards the camp, Su Mo estimated the time and drove slowly.

The midday sun shone on the car window, Oreo lay lazily on the passenger seat, occasionally revealing a satisfied smile as the road undulated.

When they arrived at the camp gate, Su Mo honked the horn, waking up all the refugees who were still eating potatoes inside.

Upon seeing the earth tiger, the refugees' faces first showed disbelief, which then turned into relief.

"Bring me all the saltpeter and the treasure chest!" Su Mo shouted into the carriage through the window.

The refugees, who were still eating, received orders and quickly put down their still-warm potatoes to get to work.

One piece of saltpeter after another was moved to the front of the vehicle and then sucked into the Earth Tiger's Storage Space by Su Mo.

The treasure chest from the kill of the kobolds was also stored by Su Mo in the Game Panel's Storage Space.

After everything was moved, Su Mo shook his head as he looked at the refugees who were holding potatoes and trying to hand them over, wearing masks.

"Chen Shen, come here!"

After beckoning the Little New Year over, before Su Mo could speak, Chen Shen timidly asked, "Su Ge, are you leaving?"

After a moment of silence, Su Mo did not answer directly. Instead, he reached out and patted Chen Shen's head, his gaze fixed on the distance ahead. "Remember this, head west for fifty kilometers from here. There are human refuges there. Take all the remaining supplies and go. Survive!"

After saying that, Su Mo slowly released the brakes, and the Earth Tiger began to slide forward.

The rubber snow chains left huge tire tracks on the ground as the car gradually moved forward.

Upon hearing Chen Shen's message, all the refugees stood at the door, their eyes filled with awe and hope, watching the Earth Tiger disappear into the distance.

Even after the earth tiger disappeared beyond the horizon and could no longer be seen, these people remained standing there, stunned.

Suddenly, a startled cry woke everyone up:

"Look, what's that?"

The others followed the direction the man was pointing and looked curiously. In the haystack at the camp entrance, there seemed to be a colorful clump of things:

Everyone hurried over and, in the haystack, they were astonished to find the cotton-padded jacket that Su Mo had collected earlier, stained with blood and yet to be washed.

On the cotton-padded jacket, there were two stacks of Dead Dough Pancake, with a piece of paper sandwiched between them.

All eyes turned to Chen Shen, Chen Shen showed no fear. He quickly stepped forward, picked up the note inside the pancake, glanced at it, and could no longer hold back his tears:

"Su Ge said that joining the shelter in the west is a test for us. If one day he feels that we have passed the test, we can join his shelter!"

"Su Ge... he... is a good person!"

Whoosh!

Once again, without anyone suggesting or speaking, all the refugees spontaneously knelt on the ground in the direction the earth tiger had gone.

I bow in gratitude! [PS: Brothers reading pirated versions, please support me on Starting Point by subscribing! I can't hold back anymore! Please!]