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Returning to the territory, the blazing sun still hung high in the sky.
The time spent outside wasn't long, and it was still possible to enjoy a hot lunch.
At this moment,
Tang Yu looked disheveled.
The combat suit made from high-grade demonized beast fur had a deep scratch at the waist, a mark left when a demonized beast got too close and swiped with its claw.
This scratch was so deep that it almost pierced through the combat suit, and even Number Two barely got there in time to save him.
There were too many demonized beasts at the time, and Number One only managed to distract a portion, leaving the rest charging toward him.
That scene was full of ferocious demonized beasts, and Tang Yu felt it was no less severe than a Demon Tide.
He hurriedly loaded the rough stones of the crystal ore into his backpack. By the time they retreated, the basic warrior puppet, serving as a miner, had already been dismantled into parts.
"Too dangerous..."
Tang Yu frowned. The number of demonized beasts indeed exceeded his expectations. He speculated that it might be because of the giant tree with transparent branches.
When they finally left, the demonized beasts did not pursue them relentlessly but instead returned to the base of the giant tree.
"But... this crystal ore has to be put on hold for now. There are probably more demonized beasts beneath the giant tree. If they all charge out, even Number One and Number Two wouldn't be able to handle it."
He felt satisfied.
Looking at the three space backpacks in his hands, Tang Yu's gaze was intense.
These rough stones contained varying amounts of Source Crystals. He didn't even need to extract the Source Crystals from the stones and went directly to a storage room in the castle.
Clatter.
All the rough stones were poured out, instantly filling up the small storage room.
The value of Source Crystals detected on the panel kept rising.
596.
2,635.
6,963.
11,596.
"18,351.9!!"
Tang Yu took a deep breath; this was a fortune!
How many Source Crystals did Wang Tai accumulate over a month? Just over five thousand; it was unbelievably poor! Perhaps that was why his sanctuary was overrun, even the demonized beasts couldn't stand it!
Even if Wang Tai had Source Crystals, they were useless to him, as he had no means to utilize them!
Everyone knew how precious Source Crystals were. The officials had long disclosed the information that demonized beasts might contain Source Crystals, yet ordinary people could only use them as diamond rings when they got their hands on one.
Tang Yu estimated that small and medium-sized sanctuaries couldn't utilize Source Crystals. Perhaps only large sanctuaries, through research, could develop some means to use Source Crystals, although they were probably still quite crude. Officials collected Source Crystals primarily for research purposes.
He was different, though. He could spend Source Crystals to summon followers, rejuvenate markets, and construct buildings...
Not only had he gained a large amount of Source Crystals, but at this moment, his body was also filled with an abundance of soul power, almost to the point of overload.
During the late stages of mining, Tang Yu's body even started to reject the soul power—it was a feeling of being so full that he couldn't swallow any more.
It was the first time he realized there was a limit to soul power absorption. Once he refined this batch of soul power, Tang Yu believed he could level up at least one more tier.
While Tang Yu was lost in a daydream, the castle's sensing system chimed.
This was akin to a doorbell, but much more advanced. It could identify individuals and relay information without any operation needed, which was remarkably convenient. To this day, he still didn't know where the recognition system was installed.
Soon, Tang Yu saw Chen Haiping with a worried expression.
"Director, if the population keeps growing like this, our food might not be sufficient."
Although Chen Haiping was assigned to the patrol team, he had been doing clerical work these days due to the lack of suitable personnel in the territory. They had to make do with whoever was available.
The territory didn't have many people. Even though Chen Haiping was overwhelmed, he still managed to organize the survivors' statistics properly.
Early this morning, when he compared the remaining food with daily consumption and growth rates, he couldn't stay calm!
If the population kept increasing, the remaining food in the shelter might not last long!
"Not much food? How long can we last?" Tang Yu asked.
Chen Haiping replied with a bitter smile, "Calculating based on the current population, we can last about half a month. But every day, the population in our shelter is growing. Based on this, we can probably only sustain ourselves for ten days at most."
"Moreover, we've exhausted all the resources we can find within the resort. As for the outside, it's only Captain Luo's team exploring every day, and the food they bring back is not much, far from enough to cover daily consumption."
Chen Haiping left some things unsaid: the meals Director Tang prepared for the survivors were indeed too lavish—not only filling but also with meat and vegetables. Even though it couldn't compare to pre-apocalypse life, it made others envious among other shelters.
He wasn't saying it was bad; there just needed to be a precondition—ample food supply. Once all the food was consumed, Chen Haiping dared not imagine whether the entire shelter would collapse immediately.
"In the previous shelter, what was the food source like?"
Chen Haiping thought for a moment, "The food source before mostly came from external searches. But back when the apocalypse just broke out, every search yielded good finds. Now, most of the surrounding areas have been scoured, so Captain Luo's searches result in little gain."
"Captain Luo also hunted a lot of demonized beasts, but unlike wild animals, the majority of the meat on demonized beasts is inedible. It's difficult to distinguish which parts are safe to eat and which are poisonous, so hunting demonized beasts isn't a viable solution either."
He took a breath and continued, "Initially, Wang Tai had prepared ample grain and ordered some quick-growing, easy-to-sustain crops to be planted in the valley. I remember there were sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn. But those crops were destroyed by demonized beasts. Moreover, much of the grain stored in the resort was also destroyed, leading to our current shortage."
"If we wanted to plant crops again now, it might be too late. Even if we drastically reduced our food expenditure, it would still..."
He looked quite frustrated.
If only he had noticed the food issue earlier, they might have been able to find a solution. Now, despite racking his brains, he couldn't think of any way.
Tang Yu, after hearing this, wasn't worried.
The two main challenges for a sanctuary in the apocalypse were safety and food issues.
He hadn't paid much attention to the food for the shelter because he wasn't worried. No matter what, running out of food was impossible.
The difference lay in how to acquire food.
Should he let Luo Zhe take the space backpack and go out to find food? That seemed troublesome as well.
Buy a food resource pack from the market? Too expensive! He himself would squeeze every Source Crystal for value, so how could he use it on something like this? For his enjoyment, perhaps, but for the survivors' supply, he'd think twice.
After contemplating, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Who said it's too late to plant crops? It's definitely possible, and we can still have a bountiful harvest!"
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