My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Chapter 501: Chapter 329: The Oasis Miracle by the Yellow River

Many sections of the Yellow River had already begun to freeze, especially in the gentler downstream areas. However, it was the dry season, so the water level was low. The ice didn’t hinder Li Xiang’s operations; in fact, it was the perfect time for waterway construction.

While Li Xiang was dredging the Yellow River, Zhao Xueqing and her team rushed to a patch of saline-alkali soil by the river in Lankao. Even though heavy snow was falling and the weather was frigid, government intervention had led to the construction of heated greenhouses on the site. These served as an experimental base, and with excellent heating, the inside was as warm as spring.

Furthermore, this was an official, government-funded assignment. They didn’t have to pay for anything out of pocket, and they even received a generous monthly stipend.

Zhao Xueqing brought a few of her own people along. One of them was her cousin, Han Qifeng, who had recently been discharged from the military and whom she had recruited for the team.

Lei Xiaohui already had too many of her own people on the team—dozens from Lei Family Gully, led by Lei Jiaming and Lei Xiaonan. They served as powerful ”outside support,” so Zhao Xueqing was keen on bringing in more of her own allies as well.

Zhao Xueqing wasn’t the only one; Yao Yao had also recruited several of her own relatives. While both women had younger brothers, they were still too young and in school, so they couldn’t join the workforce.

「The Lankao Yellow River shoreline experimental base.」

Outside, the heavy snow wove a white curtain against the explosion-proof glass. Inside the greenhouse, under the LED grow lights that kept the temperature at a constant 25°C, Zhao Xueqing stepped barefoot into a cultivation trough. The black soil and salt frost clinging to the soles of her feet mixed into a mottled pattern.

On the ten-meter-long alloy experimental bench, three hundred and seventy-two plant samples awaited inspection in their petri dishes.

”Team Leader Zhao, this is the Siberian salicornia that was just airlifted in yesterday.” A researcher wearing thick-lensed glasses handed her a sealed jar. Frost had formed on its surface in a spiderweb-like pattern of ice.

Zhao Xueqing glanced at everyone, feeling a natural sense of pride. After all, she was only a high school graduate. It was only after she got together with Li Xiang that, with his encouragement, she earned an associate’s degree through a correspondence course and later a bachelor’s through self-study. She had worked very hard and truly gained knowledge, but the actual weight of those credentials, if one were to dig deeper, was nothing to speak of.

But her resume wouldn’t mention correspondence or self-study; it would just list a university and a bachelor’s degree. Though she didn’t need to look for a job, it was bound to come up in professional settings, during self-introductions, or on promotional posters. Out in the world, you defined your own status.

But now, the people working under her were all master’s or doctoral graduates from prestigious universities. Some had even studied abroad. There were even senior engineers, associate professors, and full professors. And they all acted so deferential, calling her either ”Team Leader Zhao” or ”Teacher Zhao.” How could anyone not feel a little giddy? It was only human nature.

She was just a young woman in her early twenties, after all.

However, she always maintained a poised and gentle demeanor and wouldn’t let such emotions show.

Besides, once she immersed herself in her work, she would cast aside all these distracting thoughts.

A jadeite-colored halo bloomed at Zhao Xueqing’s fingertips. The gray-green seeds in the jar suddenly trembled, and two cotyledons broke through the Ice Crystals to poke out. Old Wu, the engineer monitoring the salinity, felt his hand tremble, and his pH testing pen dropped into the nutrient solution.

”The root system’s toughness meets the standard, but the cold-resistance gene chain is 17% deficient.” Zhao Xueqing opened her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly. A residual green shadow, like the veins of a plant, lingered in her dark pupils.

She turned and walked toward test area number three. The tips of her hair brushed against a withered experimental reed—it was ”Salt-Resistant No. 3,” a specimen the original team had spent half a year cultivating. Now, as the young woman passed, its scorched-yellow leaves seeped a rust-red sap, as if in shame.

By now, the power of Li Xiang’s team of Extraordinary Beings was gradually coming to light. After all, the ”Mysterious Armored Man” had made his presence known across the globe, making it impossible to hide the fact that Extraordinary Beings existed in this world!

And with the Apocalypse looming, a partial reveal of their identities was beneficial for everyone.

Everyone present had also signed non-disclosure agreements. The country had a vast number of confidential projects and a mature system for handling them, so there was no need to worry.

Zhao Xueqing knelt between the rows of improved soil and plunged her hands into the hardened, saline earth. Threads of Spiritual Power, like dodder vines, seeped from between her fingers and burrowed into the ground. Fifty meters away, a holographic projection displayed the root network in real-time: the once-stiff reed roots suddenly twisted like snakes, actively avoiding areas of high salt crystallization. The root nodules of a wild tamarisk burst with fluorescent light, absorbing the surrounding sodium ions and forming them into star-shaped crystals.

”Reverse the base pair sequence on gene editor number seven,” Zhao Xueqing said, sweat beading on her forehead as she stared at a suddenly convulsing oleaster seedling.

A doctoral assistant frantically operated the terminal, but then he saw the young woman simply pluck three strands of her own hair. The moment they hit the ground, they transformed into jade-green vines that wrapped around the oleaster’s rootstalk and injected it with a pale gold liquid.

The previously blackened root system instantly unfurled, and it sprouted new shoots so quickly that even a high-speed camera would have captured motion blur.

Everyone was utterly stunned.

So, this was the power of an Extraordinary Being. No wonder she held the rank of ”Lieutenant.”

Someone muttered, ”If she gets credit for this achievement, Team Leader Zhao’s military rank will probably get bumped up again.”

As for Li Xiang’s rank, they couldn’t even imagine. It would definitely be more than a single promotion.

As for why this would be considered a military achievement? Making a contribution to disaster relief and prevention naturally counted as a military achievement.

Merit gained in non-combat military operations, like earthquake and flood relief, wasn’t technically a ”Wartime Third-Class Merit,” but it was often treated with the same weight. For the purposes of resettlement after discharge, it was worth double the points of a Peacetime Third-Class Merit.

Moreover, throughout history, anyone who successfully contributed to taming the Yellow River was not only immortalized in the annals of history but also enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks. What was a simple promotion in military rank compared to that?