Chapter 26: As Easy as Turning Over One's Hand

"My apologies, Host, my authorization is limited to that much. But Host, had you already figured it out?"

It wasn't so much "figuring it out" as it was curiosity. Although the apocalypse had descended, the rules of this civilized world had not completely collapsed. She frequently observed the safe zones on her map; the little green dots that entered these zones rarely disappeared, and their movements followed a certain pattern. It could be inferred that these zones had sound rules, proper management, and were generally satisfactory to their inhabitants. Furthermore, there were people patrolling on schedule every day, with shift changes at 6:00 PM.

The Crimson Fire Safe Zone, however, was the exact opposite: the order was chaotic, and little green dots would vanish every now and then. There were only a few dots that patrolled, and they were clearly always circling around a single point. Tang Miao guessed that this specific point was the leader of the Crimson Fire Safe Zone. What puzzled her was that the zone was quite populous, yet despite the ruler's chaotic and cruel nature, everyone was willing to remain under his thumb. Even his subordinates—since everyone had guns, they could easily band together to overthrow him and take his place.

"What is this place? Isn't this a university? How did a forest like this grow here?"

Li Yong, standing on the other side of a redwood tree, struck the trunk twice. He complained while tilting his head to stare up at the towering tree. The canopy rustled and began to twist; the massive trunk slowly parted like a door swinging open. Behind the "door" stood two rows of figures arranged in an inverted-V formation. The men wore suits and the women wore gowns, their skin a sickly grayish-blue and their pupils milky white.

"Roar!" Welcome to Miaomiao Farm!

Li Yong scrambled back in terror, immediately leveling his gun: "What the hell? What is this?"

Tang Miao stepped out calmly: "Stay calm. This is a unique cultural feature of our Miaomiao Farm."

Behind the trunk, the little ones wanted to show themselves, stretching their small hands out and craning their necks toward Tang Miao. Jiang Nanxing held her back and took a few more steps away, patting his younger sister’s sea-urchin-styled hair. *Behave. Miaomiao has her reasons for not letting us appear; let’s just stay behind the trunk and listen.*

Lin Chaofeng also pressed against the trunk, perking up his ears to listen to the situation outside. He and Song Mingchen had a blood feud with the people from the Crimson Fire Safe Zone, so staying hidden was the right move.

Li Yong slowly lowered his gun. The woman before him wore a simple white T-shirt and black shorts, her black hair brushing her shoulders, her features bright and lively.

Unless he saw it with his own eyes, Li Yong found it impossible to associate Tang Miao with that group of zombies. He scanned the area, and instead of asking about the farm, he asked, "Do these things really obey your orders?"

Tang Miao didn't speak. She reached out to the tall, thin figure beside her, and several A4-printed trade contracts were placed into her hand. "I’ve already sent the list of tradable farm items to your WeChat. Can we start discussing the contract?"

As she spoke, the trunk nearby sprouted branches, which twisted and wove together right before their eyes to form a round table, while roots grew from the ground to coil into small stools. Yang Sen was dumbfounded, unable to process what he was seeing. Li Yong, however, showed surprise only for an instant before it was replaced by intense jealousy.

All three sat down, and the tall, thin figure brought over a glass of plain water. Miaomiao had said that today’s trading clients didn't deserve tea.

Li Yong flipped through the contract casually and glanced at Tang Miao: "You grew all these trees? Like you did just now?"

"That’s right, it’s as easy as pie. Let’s start with my terms: 15 chickens, 15 ducks, and 15 geese, 5 grass carp, and 60 pounds or 60 individual pieces of fresh vegetables of your choosing."

The A-grade vegetables grown on the farm were high-yield and high-quality, perfectly uniform in size. Tomatoes, potatoes, and sweet potatoes were almost all exactly one pound each, so it made no difference whether they were sold by count or by weight. As for the 10 grass carp Tang Miao had initially stocked, half a month had passed, and the system shop had notified her that they were ready for sale, weighing about four pounds each. Tang Miao felt they could grow larger, so she decided to sell only half and keep the rest to see how they progressed.

As she finished speaking, the dormitory matron walked out holding three ropes, each tied to five pieces of poultry. With the ropes tethered to their feet, the birds waddled along behind her, looking left and right.

"Plumpie" brought a bowl of goose soup over to the silent Yang Sen, thoughtfully placing chopsticks down for him. Unlike the pure broth Tang Miao had given them in the underground garage, this bowl was brimming with goose meat, making both Yang Sen and Li Yong swallow hard.

"You look a bit puffy in the face. Is there a food shortage in the safe zone? Are you filling your stomach with water?"

Tang Miao’s sudden show of concern caught both men off guard.

Li Yong interjected with a smile: "The safe zone isn't starving him. Maybe he just stayed up late last night, right, Li Sanjiu?"

Tang Miao didn't respond; she kept her eyes fixed on Yang Sen.

Yang Sen remained silent for a long time before speaking: "...I did sleep a bit late last night."

After speaking, he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat. Li Yong watched hungrily, but Yang Sen made no move to share. *Damn it, eating alone right in front of me.*

Tang Miao understood: "Alright then. Make sure to get more rest. I’ll give you two chickens to take back for your brother; it should be enough to make soup for the dozen or so people in your room."

Yang Sen froze. How did Tang Miao know there were a dozen people in their room?

Li Yong, seeing Tang Miao’s focus on Yang Sen and his group, felt annoyed. "Look, the number of chickens, ducks, and geese you brought out isn't enough. We need to negotiate the payment properly. As long as you guarantee a steady supply, I, Li Yong, can find whatever you need."

"I’ll pay 30% as a deposit first. The rest will be delivered once you fulfill this list."

Tang Miao needed medical supplies: gauze, alcohol, anti-inflammatory drugs, IV equipment, and so on. The Crimson Fire Safe Zone had a hospital, so these things wouldn't be hard for them to find. Once the farm expanded, she would recruit human employees in addition to her zombie staff; she couldn't be the one to treat every injury. Her mental energy had to be reserved for crucial moments; unless it was a matter of life and death, she wouldn't intervene.

The tall and plump assistants brought out two more boxes of small bottles and jars. Tang Miao required the people from the Crimson Fire Safe Zone to collect samples of soil, water, and plants from within and around the safe zone every three days, marking them with detailed time and location information, and having Yang Sen deliver them once a week.

"Anything else? I can manage these conditions for now. Do you want me to arrange two people to help out on your farm? I see your farm only has three living people—you and those two brats who offended me earlier, right?"

*Too good for them.*

"There should be a girl named Lu Qingyun in your safe zone. I want her to come to my farm to cook." The dormitory matron’s cooking had its limitations; stewing chicken and duck was fine, but she insisted on stewing the vegetables too. It would be better to have more variety in the farm's meals.

"Fine, I’ll look for her when I get back. But regarding the condition of collecting sample data—if this is a long-term partnership, this..."

He didn't know who Lu Qingyun was; it was just a name. Anyone could be Lu Qingyun. If the person turned out to be wrong, he could just claim it was a case of having the same name. What could Tang Miao do about it?

Tang Miao raised an eyebrow, making a show of taking back the contract: "Collecting data samples every week for free is one of the preconditions for my trade with your Crimson Fire Safe Zone. If you can't do it, there are plenty of others who can."