Wasteland: I Awakened A Plant System

On the way, the few people Vikram had treated as mules for his spoils were still unconscious in the van.

Luna and Anjali sat in the back, holding guns and constantly vigilant for any movement from them.

But Vikram, driving in front, was a bit distracted.

Besides the black fog obscuring his vision, which prevented him from speeding up, there was another reason.

The main reason was the disappearance of the zombies, which left him utterly bewildered.

The van continued to move slowly on the snowy ground. Just as Vikram was deeply engrossed in these thoughts, suddenly, a structure made of wood and a pile of scattered stones abruptly appeared in the black fog ahead.

If Vikram hadn’t deliberately slowed down, he would have almost crashed into it head-on.

He slammed on the brakes, and the huge inertia caused the three people in the car to lurch forward.

Vikram glanced at the ’mules’ in the car, and seeing that no one had woken up, he pushed the door open and got out to investigate.

"What’s going on?" He had traveled this road many times and had never seen any building appear here.

Just as he thought it was another small resource point and stepped forward to investigate, he was astonished to notice that this haphazardly constructed building, besides being made of broken wood and stones, was also filled with zombie corpses as material.

Near the building, familiar roars could occasionally be heard from within.

"Are there all the zombies inside here?" At this moment, Luna and Anjali also got out of the car, and seeing the bloody, blurry building, they asked with surprise.

Nodding, Vikram did not refute.

He had heard the sound of zombies countless times and was already too familiar with it to be mistaken.

Seeing that the zombies had not truly disappeared, Vikram instead breathed a sigh of relief.

Because, judging from his long experience surviving in the Wasteland World, the end of one crisis always heralded the arrival of a greater one.

Even though zombies were rampant before, Vikram had already adapted. If a new threat suddenly appeared, he would have to spend more time adapting.

Looking at the haphazardly piled building in front, Vikram stroked his chin, "These zombies outside neither freeze to death nor are affected by toxins, so why did they suddenly hide for no reason?"

"Could it be that yesterday’s lightning scared them into hiding?"

"It’s definitely related to last night’s lightning."

Although the idea that thunder scared away zombies was too naive, such extreme weather last night was absolutely connected to the zombies disappearing overnight.

Glancing at the dilapidated building, Vikram didn’t intend to investigate it thoroughly right now.

Vikram secretly noted down this location, returned to the van, and drove towards the Shelter... By the time they arrived at the Shelter, it was already evening.

On the way back, Vikram deliberately drove around the vicinity a few more times and found quite a few of these crudely built structures.

From each one, the sound of zombies could be heard.

This further confirmed his belief that all the zombies had moved into these strange buildings.

When he arrived inside Territory 2, the area around Territory 2 had undergone a visible transformation. While it was not yet a forest, the lifeless wasteland appearance had greatly diminished. Green vegetation had sprouted in multiple places. The soil no longer looked dead. The air no longer felt toxic.

Even Vikram couldn’t hide his satisfaction.

This was only the beginning.

Once the Wood Mage and Air Mage evolved into Druids, and eventually Treekins, the speed and scale of this transformation would increase dozens of times over.

At that point, not only Territory 2, but also Territory 3 and the surrounding wasteland regions could eventually become truly habitable land.

Thinking of this, he looked and found that Wood Mage and Air Mage have levelled up.

He then told the Earth Mage to create a prison, and after Earth Mage created it, Vikram casually threw the people from Green Wind Shelter he had captured onto the ground.

Then, without hesitation, he beheaded all the Survivors except Silas with a single strike.

"Swish!" Along with the splashing blood, a pile of supplies also burst out from these corpses.

After sorting through the metal they obtained with Divya and Anjali, Vikram brought a basin of cold water from the living area.

He directly splashed it on Silas’s face, who was still dreaming.

Even with the comfort of territory 2, this basin of water gave him a chilling shock.

"Ah!"

"Don’t...don’t kill me, I’ll give you anything."

Silas, startled awake, saw the familiar corpses beside him and couldn’t stop retreating.

Speaking of which, the guy had been shot in the leg and had used his own clothes to bandage it for fear of excessive bleeding.

However, the gradually freezing cold water on his face made his already bloodless face even paler.

"I ask, you answer, understood?" Vikram looked down at Silas on the ground with a scornful expression and said.

"Understood! Understood!" Silas nodded his head, which was already starting to frost, and replied with chattering teeth.

Even though he knew Vikram wouldn’t let him go easily, as Snape’s nephew, he cherished his life greatly, and to survive, he had no choice but to compromise.

"What is the exact strength of Green Wind Shelter? Tell me the number of high-level personnel and ordinary personnel."

Ron had only told Vikram the exact location of Green Wind Shelter before; they didn’t know some of the key details.

Now, this Silas had a blood relationship with Snape, so he must know quite a lot.

"This... I only know that my uncle has about thirty high-level personnel under him. As for ordinary members, there are too many, I’m not sure?"

"Hmm?"

Seeing that Vikram was dissatisfied with this answer and glared at him, Silas immediately knelt down and begged for mercy.

"Brother, I swear to God, I’m not lying to you."

"The areas where my uncle’s subordinates are spread are quite vast."

"If you just find any Survivor nearby, even if they’re not Shelter members, they should more or less have some connection to Green Wind Shelter."

"It can be said that with Brown Wood Shelter to the south as the boundary, my uncle is the most powerful in this surrounding area."

After Silas’s explanation, Vikram lowered his clenched fist.

He remembered the earlier incident when the land area shrank, and someone came to collect protection fees; those people were probably some of Snape’s subordinates.

Vikram subsequently asked several more questions, then pursed his lips after getting the answers.

Unlike his own territory, which was developing perfectly one place at a time, the other Shelter’s expansion relied entirely on predatory methods.

Regardless of your physique, if you were targeted, you had to join, or you would be hacked to death.

As for after joining, those with strong physiques were recruited to Snape’s side.

Those with average strength stayed in their own shelter, with no one caring about their food, drink, or survival, and sometimes people would even come to demand protection fees from them.

This way, they developed their power without bearing extra living costs, and instead, they received protection fees daily.

"This bastard really became an uncrowned king in the Wasteland."

He smacked his lips. Although simple and crude, in this place without moral constraints, this method of expansion was simply the most suitable.

But this was not his style.

"Then what’s with the homemade explosives in your hands?" With most of the basic information gathered, Vikram casually brought it up.

Although the explosion range and damage of these homemade explosives were mediocre, he was quite curious where they got the materials to make them.

"This..." Seeing the other party stammering, Vikram immediately kicked out his foot.

It wasn’t until Silas’s face made contact with the ground, scraping off a large patch of skin and making him scream in pain, that he honestly recounted the story.

It turned out that Green Wind Shelter had intended to expand its Shelter underground a long time ago.

Its power was already substantial, and the nearby Survivors provided a continuous supply of resources.

Snape only needed to ensure his own safety.

So much so that for a period, the laborers of Green Wind Shelter were constantly digging for his underground Shelter.

It was at this time that they accidentally dug up sulfur ore.

With the black powder made by a few skilled Survivors in the Shelter.

"Sulfur ore dug up?" If Vikram remembered correctly, this stuff was a mineral found at least one to two hundred meters underground on Earth. He didn’t believe Green Wind Shelter could dig that deep with manpower.

However, looking at Silas’s terrified expression, he probably wasn’t lying.

After thinking for a moment, he finally nodded.

Before the Wasteland World was covered in white snow, the geographical conditions could be said to be vastly different every few kilometers.

One moment you could be in a desert, the next you might be in a rainforest.

It was understandable that they could dig up sulfur ore in such a situation.

Moreover, this reminded Vikram.

He had advanced geological exploration equipment in his hands; finding things underground would be effortless.

If he could find large mineral veins, he might even save the effort of going out to collect metal in the future.

He secretly made a note of this, then Vikram had Silas make a video call to Snape using the Survival Platform...

—

Green Wind Shelter

A survivor, striding powerfully, emerged from a deep pit where numerous laboring Survivors wielded pickaxes, and followed Snape’s instructions to the third floor of the Shelter.

"How are things down there?" Snape rubbed his brow, asking indifferently.

Recently, an inexplicable feeling of vexation had been lingering in his heart.

Snape, who deeply trusted his sixth sense, urgently wanted to know the situation around him.

"Everything is normal. If we get more of this sulfur ore, the power of our shelter’s explosives will be even greater."

"By then, whether it’s Vikram, who gives you headaches, or Brown Wood Shelter to the south, taking them down in one fell swoop will be as easy as turning over your hand."

The speaker was Edmund, the Shelter’s third-in-command, whose physique was comparable to Argus’s, but who was primarily responsible for the internal affairs of the Shelter.

"Finally, some good news. Well done, Edmund!"

"Go to the Shelter’s warehouse later and get a mutated crystal to enhance your physique."

In recent days, he had been frequently annoyed by Scott, that guy who was more trouble than he was worth. Now, hearing this news, he immediately waved his hand and said.

"Thank you, Boss!" Edmund’s eyes flickered, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly into a smile.

Although his physique and that of Argus, the Shelter’s second-in-command, were similar, the actual gap between them was significant.

While the other party’s influence in the Shelter was not as great as his own, he was much freer.

Compared to him, the third-in-command responsible for internal affairs, both enhancing his physique and acquiring resources depended solely on Snape’s word.

Unlike Argus, who, whenever he wanted, could pocket most of the resources he collected from outside.

Snape turned a blind eye to this, which showed the disparity between the two.

Therefore, whenever there was an opportunity to improve himself, Edmund would usually work very hard, just wanting to replace the other’s position.

Edmund’s actions could not escape Snape’s notice.

He was able to steadily become the leader of such a large Shelter by relying on the balance of power between his two subordinates.

It wasn’t a very advanced trick, but it was very effective in the Wasteland World.

"Report, Boss, the team that went out to collect resources has returned."

Outside the door, a survivor knocked on the door and shouted loudly inside.

"They’re back so soon, Hahaha, it seems Argus’s outing this time was very smooth."

Snape, who had been frowning, immediately brightened with joy upon hearing more good news. He didn’t even bother with Edmund, who was still standing there, and directly got up and pushed the door open

This caused Edmund’s recently upturned lips to instantly drop, and a shadow of gloom flashed across his face.

However, hearing the conversation outside the door made Edmund raise his eyebrows again.

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