“The snow is accumulating more and more… If it continues like this, I’m afraid our yard won’t be spared,” Xu Song pointed to the corner of the wall.
“Should we shovel it?” Yue Zheng pondered for a moment.
“But we don’t know if it will stop tonight…”
“Mom and Dad, let Xiao Shu handle it.”
“Yes, Xiao Shu can take care of it!” Mo Tiancheng and Mo Tianyou brought a proud tree over to show off.
“How can it handle it?” Both of them were curious. Did this guy develop some new skills again?
Xiao Shu didn’t really develop any new skills; it could simply convert the snow into water and absorb it directly. Whether it absorbed water from underground or from the surface didn’t make much of a difference.
In no time, the snow in the corner of the wall began to visibly decrease. Did Xiao Shu store it in its body? Or somewhere else?
After communicating with Xiao Shu, Mo Tiancheng explained that it absorbed what it could, and the rest flowed through other tree roots into the soil without much effort.
The heavy snow once again sealed the doors, making life even more unbearable for the survivors who were already suffering from the snow disaster. Not to mention the ones who went out for food and supplies; even the people in the base could hardly go outside.
Those who had managed to gather some food earlier when the snow had stopped were better off, but now, with the door sealed, they couldn’t even find a way to leave their own homes, let alone go looting in the city.
However, for Xu Song and his family, this was not a problem at all. They had a well-stocked pantry, and because of the heavy snow, the people who used to come to beg or look for bargains couldn’t reach their area. Their front door was finally peaceful.
The inability to go outside and move around on this winter day was clearly a cause of despair for most people, especially in the face of a snowstorm and a shortage of food. But for Xu Song’s family, it was no problem at all.
They had plenty of food, warm clothing, daily physical training, and practicing their abilities. They were living comfortably, and the only thing they needed to worry about was hoping the heavy snow would stop for a while. Their supply was running low.
The heavy snow continued for a full week, then stopped for two days and started again for two days, but it was not as heavy as before.
Just as they were planning when to go out again after their crystal had finished charging and they had less than fifty left, Mo Tianyou came over with something yellowish and excitedly shouted, accompanied by a few white things flying around him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Ktf yffr tjnf tjamtfv!”
“Pr atlr… yffr? Rba atf pjvf yffr atja Olaaif Ggjubc Xlgi gjlrfr, gluta?” We Vbcu klvfcfv tlr fsfr jcv jiwbra kfca ab ufa j wjucloslcu uijrr ab raevs atfw.
“Qtb lr Olaaif Ggjubc Xlgi?”
Mjmlcu akb qjlgr bo cfjgis lvfcalmji klvf fsfr, We Vbcu mbeutfv jcv mifjgfv tlr atgbja. “Qtfc sbe ugbk j ilaaif bivfg jcv ifjgc wbgf kbgvr, sbe’ii yf jyif ab gfjv ybbxr… Tfr, P rtbeiv rajga atlcxlcu jybea atf mtlivgfc’r fvemjalbc abb. Qtfc P ub yjmx ab atf mlas ab mbiifma reqqilfr, P rtbeiv ujatfg rbwf ybbxr jcv afzaybbxr ab afjmt atfw ribkis.”
This matter had been neglected before, as the children were still young. However, with another year passed, they were now six and a half to seven years old, the perfect age for starting primary school.
The twins were very intelligent, and in this post-apocalyptic world, there were no schools or graduation exams, and there was no need for diplomas or certificates when hunting for food. However, they must not grow up illiterate.
The three adults at home had no problem teaching basic cultural lessons, especially given Xu Song’s evolution in intelligence and mental abilities. He could easily teach the children from elementary textbooks and more.
The white bees happily flew around inside the RV, and Xu Song and Yue Zheng had Mo Tianyou translate for them. They were astonished to find out that these bees had already developed special abilities.
They could shoot small ice arrows, about the size of a needle at their tails, and what was even more frightening was that these ice arrows were fast and had a milky white color. After some testing, they confirmed that they were “poisonous.”
“What kind of poison is it?” Without any laboratory equipment at home or professionals in this field, they decided to use the evergreen ivy that Mo Tiancheng had cultivated for experiments. The plants hit by the poisonous ice arrows turned slightly yellow but weren’t as horrifying as the black roses from earlier, which caused instant withering in touch with animals and plants.
Yue Zheng thought for a moment and said to Mo Tiancheng, “Grow some four-leaf clovers.”
Indeed, although the four-leaf clovers hadn’t completely evolved, when applied to the injured area, they could alleviate the symptoms caused by the poison.
At least there was an antidote now, and its specific effects would have to be tested in actual combat.
With Mo Tiancheng’s support, the bees quickly settled in the yard and next to Abu’s doghouse. It seemed that because of their attributes, the extreme cold outside had no impact on them, and they could even happily fly around on snowy days.
Mo Tiancheng cultivated some crops that produced nectar, allowing the bees to fly in and out through the window, collecting nectar, and building hives. Once the honey had accumulated to a certain extent, the bee that initially made the deal with Mo Tiancheng transformed into a queen bee. After choosing a mate from the remaining bees, she began to… well, not lay eggs, but prepare for the birth of baby bees.
There were only about ten worker bees left, and while their number wasn’t large, Xu Song had a bright idea.
“We can use them for home security,” he said, staring at the busy workers. They had previously placed one of their sacs in various places in the house, on Mother Xu, in Abu’s den, and where Achi was sleeping in the RV. Now, with the beehive, they had hung one in the hive.
Now, apart from the ones they used themselves, the remaining sacs were placed together with the seeds.
The sacs released energy more slowly, but once they were completely depleted of energy around these life forms, they would probably increase by at least a level or a half.
They didn’t have many sacs left at this point, less than fifty. If they had to go out hunting a couple more times, they would have to be cautious. After the second heavy snowfall, life in the base became increasingly difficult for ordinary people. When they went out to hunt, they had to prepare for the worst, and they had left a lot of things at home, which could attract thieves.
Now, with this beehive, they could go out with peace of mind. Most people who went over the wall to steal from others were ordinary people who didn’t dare to leave the base. These mutant bees were just what they needed.
“Better test them first to see what effect their toxins will have.”
“But… who can we test it on?” The two looked at each other. They weren’t mad scientists, and they had no interest in live experiments. They didn’t even want to test it on Abu, let alone others.
As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. After being snowed in for so long, there were finally some cleared paths in the base over the last few days. In the middle of the night, those pesky thieves, who couldn’t help but chatter, paid another visit.
Worker bees are very vigilant creatures. After Mo Tianyou instructed them to “help Abu look after the house,” the bee queen, who was busy nurturing the next generation in the hive, sensed that someone was attempting to trespass into their territory from the outside. So, the little guys rushed out of the beehive and flew towards the wall…
“Ahhh!!!”
“Ah!!”
Shrill screams echoed, and people in Zone G shuddered in fear upon hearing them, reluctant to venture outside to investigate. Some residents living in the outer buildings secretly peered out their windows but couldn’t discern the source of the screams.
“Could something have come inside?”
“Maybe it’s cannibalism?”
The heavy snow had blocked almost all exits, and the issue of cannibalism was quietly spreading throughout the entire base. Most people knew what was happening, but there was no way to investigate it. If nobody reported a missing person, how could they investigate it? There was no one to manage it unless the missing person was someone close to the leaders.
Such incidents had occasionally occurred even before the heavy snowfall, and now?
“Who would create such a commotion if they were cannibalizing? Are they insane?”
Xu Song stroked his chin, observing the person rolling on the ground. “It seems like the pain is less severe after administering the drug?”
The person on the ground had bulging eyes and was covered in sweat. “Sir, sir, I won’t, won’t dare to, won’t… this idea anymore…”
“It won’t kill you, but it will cause intense pain for a while. This poison seems good.” Yue Zheng nodded.
“In the future, we won’t need to do it ourselves; we can leave it to them.” With fierce bees guarding their home, the painful consequences of this poison would be even more effective than if they guarded it themselves.
“Please, please, save me…” Another person trembled while kneeling in the snow. He had been a bit luckier, only serving as a lookout and not climbing the rope, or he would be in the same state as his companion.
“You won’t die, just endure some pain for a while. If you want to die, go die somewhere else.” They had experimented with this poison, though not on a human body. It shouldn’t have any significant impact on the person.
Yue Zheng stood up, pulled Xu Song, and walked toward the gate. “If you want to try, you’re welcome to stay here.” The other person shivered all over, wanting to turn and run but was held back by his companion. He had no choice but to carry him on his back and stumble toward the gate.
“It causes paralysis, immense pain, but probably won’t be lethal… I think?” Xu Song summed up when they returned to the RV. He was somewhat uneasy.
Yue Zheng smiled. “I just checked. After administering the drug, although their heart rate is still high, they don’t seem as uncomfortable as when they were first poisoned. Their appearance doesn’t resemble the condition of someone fatally poisoned, and the way this toxin circulates is different from that of lethal poisons.” With his enhanced senses, he could at least discern these basic issues.
This toxin would likely cause significant discomfort and pain but wouldn’t be fatal. The person’s reactions weren’t typical of someone severely poisoned.
Xu Song could only sense the person’s surface emotions, like whether they were in extreme pain or telling lies, but he couldn’t see the mechanics of the situation.
However, since Yue Zheng said it was fine, then it should be okay, right?
“Alright, let’s go back and get some more rest.” With that, he opened the RV door.
Their group is slowly getting bigger and better. 👍
Watch-bees. 🐝. 😆
Thank you. They won’t need the base soon, maybe?
Winter watch-bees, pfft! Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️🌳🦮🦔🦗🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝
… Aren’t bee dies after stinging? I hope it’s not the case here…
Thank you for the knowledge! Sorry for late reply I just got notifications back yesterday. Thank you again. I really hope the bee survive.