Chapter 177 - 144: Too Profound

Chapter 177: Chapter 144: Too Profound

Facing everyone’s doubts, Huai Yu turned and pointed into the distance, where only the tiny green tips of bamboo were visible. "Right there, next to the bamboo forest."

Next to the bamboo forest?

Everyone froze.

There wasn’t even a decent-sized tree near the Rose Corridor. The branches on the distant hillside were pitifully thin. Where would a bamboo forest come from?

They pulled out their binoculars.

A moment later, a member of the Defense Army lowered his binoculars, looking at Huai Yu with a complicated expression. "There really is a bamboo forest?"

Could they have missed it during the initial sweep?

Someone beside him took the binoculars and continued to look. "The location is pretty good, too. The terrain by the road is slightly higher, which perfectly blocks the line of sight for most people. The angle of the bamboo forest is also well-chosen. Looking at it like this, it seems right next to the Rose Corridor."

Huai Yu didn’t know what to say, so she simply remained silent.

Liang Zhu, however, was intrigued. "Really? That’s some impressive forced perspective! Let me take a look."

She reached out and took the binoculars. After a moment, a look of confusion spread across her face. "I’ve looked from a few different directions, but why does it still feel like the bamboo forest is touching the Rose Corridor?"

She turned to Huai Yu. "Did this bamboo forest grow naturally? The angle is absolutely perfect."

Thinking about the chain of events that led to Kuang Biao taking root there, Huai Yu didn’t know if she should first mention that it chose the spot after taking a beating, or if it had originally planned to sneakily expand right here in the vicinity...

But before she could speak, the Defense Army soldier beside her laughed. "How could it be fake? If it wasn’t naturally grown, or if it showed any signs of mutation, would the Rose Corridor tolerate it?"

That made so much sense!

Liang Zhu believed it immediately. She looked at Huai Yu again. "Then I won’t dawdle. I’ll start laying the foundation and tamping the soil soon. Could you help keep an eye on the Rose Corridor?"

"Mainly to appease it. If it’s unhappy, you can give us a heads-up. Don’t let it draw blood right off the bat... I’m really no good at fighting."

Her request was so humble, yet so polite.

Huai Yu glanced at the distant Rose Corridor. Honestly, from this distance, it probably couldn’t care less! Still, she nodded.

Liang Zhu, seemingly finding some psychological comfort in this, took two steps forward and looked at the markings drawn on the ground.

"Data confirmed.

"If there are no issues, I’ll begin."

Her companions gathered around the open space and nodded. Liang Zhu took a deep breath and raised her hands.

In that instant, it was as if a giant earthworm had spawned within the ground before them, rapidly arching forward out of sight, churning up layers of gravel and dirt. It also looked like a massive drill bit was moving through the soil along a predetermined path, swift and silent.

Dumbfounded, Huai Yu noticed that the ground beneath her own feet remained perfectly still, completely unaffected.

Meanwhile, Liang Zhu stood there with a serious expression, not a single drop of sweat on her forehead. Her hands continuously flipped up and down in alternating motions, guiding the direction.

No matter how you looked at it, she was doing this with absolute ease!

Even though they were both of the Earth Element, Liang Zhu looked much more impressive than Chen Xing. If Chen Xing’s superpower gave her a sense of novelty, then Liang Zhu’s use of her superpower left Huai Yu deeply awestruck.

Liang Zhu didn’t retract her hands until all the churned-up soil had been pushed to one side, forming continuous small mounds. Then, she strolled over to the edge of the newly formed trenches and carefully verified the measurements.

Huai Yu finally found a chance to ask, "Liang Zhu, you’re so amazing. Are you really not qualified to join the Guard Army?

"This superpower should be very useful against mutated plants, right?"

Liang Zhu gave a bitter smile. "Any superpower is useful against mutated plants; it mainly comes down to combat awareness—and I just don’t have that!"

She gave Huai Yu an example. "For instance, when the Guard Army uses their superpowers, it’s all about instant casting, because many attacks happen in the blink of an eye.

"As for me... you saw it yourself. My superpower intensity is pretty good, but I need a stable environment, an uninterrupted and peaceful rhythm.

"I was screened out right away during the superpower training at the military academy!

"I’m completely unfit for the battlefield."

Military academy training...

It wasn’t the first time Huai Yu had heard this term. But in her imagination, it should have been a group of people undergoing various combat training simulations and practical exercises—similar to the military academies before the apocalypse.

So in actual classes, they also had this kind of screening and classification for superpowers?

Seeing that she was young and also possessed a superpower, Liang Zhu didn’t hide anything and intentionally elaborated.

"So, even though the various benefits in the Construction Department aren’t as good as the Guard Army’s, it’s still a very decent job nowadays.

"Besides, I have partners who calculate the data and determine the bearings. I just need to proficiently use my superpower—it doesn’t require much brainpower, so it suits me perfectly!"

At this point, a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face, and her voice dropped considerably. "After all, before the apocalypse, I only scored a little over three hundred in my first senior year mock exam..."

She was an absolute academic underachiever.

Huai Yu fell silent.

Even though Liang Zhu was mocking herself, Huai Yu herself might very well have been a rural woman who dropped out halfway and got trafficked into the deep mountains! She decided it was best not to comment on that 300-point score.

At this moment, as the Defense Army assisted their companions with quality inspections, Liang Zhu looked at Huai Yu’s big, innocent eyes and considered how she was living alone at such a young age...

In this day and age, anyone forced to live alone near the Rose Corridor had to have some sort of tragic backstory, didn’t they?

Although she thoughtfully refrained from asking, by comparison, her own identity as a terrible student didn’t seem like such a sad thing after all.

As they chatted, Liang Zhu felt much less burdened.

Huai Yu, on the other hand, was curious. "So, what’s the process like when attending the military academy?"

"It’s very simple. Just like how ordinary people can choose between fast-track technical schools and advanced technical institutes.

"The military academy is the same. If you don’t have a superpower and have only unlocked your physical potential, you can choose the Defense Army’s targeted training program.

"Whether it’s frontline soldiers, civilian posts, or logistics and transportation, they try to assign you as appropriately as possible based on your individual potential and personality traits.

"After all, fighting mutated flora and fauna is a matter of life and death if you aren’t careful. Not only does the academy need to be cautious, but the students themselves must also make their choices carefully.

"For people like us with superpowers, we can directly opt for the Guard Army selection. Registration has just opened in the city. Once your application is approved, you’ll be assigned to a major academy, where they first test your superpower and confirm the direction of your mutation.

"For example, my Earth Element manifests as soil manipulation, while others might have core compression. Sounds high-end, right? It actually is very high-end! Rumor has it that it involves profound physics, and taken to the extreme, they can compress soil and rock layers together into structured formations..."

Saying this, she awkwardly touched her hair and murmured, "...But it’s too profound for me to understand."