I'm a zombie, what's the point of awakening the yellow-haired system?

Zhang Chen was too tired to think any more and soon fell into a deep sleep.

In his dream, he vaguely felt two warm bodies pressed against him, giving him a sense of security...

In the turbid dream, Zhang Chen seemed to be floating in the sky, witnessing the horrifying scene below:

Rolling dark clouds covered the sky and the sun, and lightning danced ferociously in the clouds like a giant snake.

The howling wind created huge waves and heavy rain poured down.

But this rain emitted a strange purple-black light, and made a "hissing" corrosive sound when it fell to the ground.

"Help! Save us!" A shrill cry came from the direction of the dungeon.

Zhang Chen watched the purple-black rain pouring into the underground city.

The fortifications continued to collapse under the corrosion of the toxic rain, and the underground passages were soon flooded.

Those residents who didn't have time to escape struggled in agony in the poisonous rain, their skin ulcerated and bloody...

The most despairing thing is that the rainstorm lasted for seven days and seven nights.

By the time the rain stopped, the three underground cities had turned into a dead zone.

The corpse floated on the purple-black water, emitting a disgusting stench...

"No...No!" Zhang Chen woke up suddenly, covered in cold sweat.

Yinyue and Luna were awakened and looked at him with concern.

"Master, are you having a nightmare?"

Zhang Chen didn't have time to answer and immediately grabbed the communication talisman: "Send a message to the underground city immediately and tell them to evacuate! Quickly!"

"Collect all usable soil immediately!" Zhang Chen ordered frantically, "Space ability users, use your abilities to store fertile topsoil! Everyone else, collect plant seeds that have not been contaminated!"

Everyone looked at each other, not understanding why they were doing these seemingly meaningless things.

But seeing Zhang Chen's anxious expression, he took action immediately.

The space ability users opened their dimensional bags and put the fertile soil from large tracts of farmland into them.

Farmers are busy collecting seeds of various crops.

Less than half a day after the last group of residents evacuated the underground city, the sky turned gloomy.

Strange purple-black clouds covered the sky, and lightning danced fiercely in the clouds.

"Everyone put on protective clothing immediately!" Zhang Chen had already prepared special protective equipment.

At his insistence, everyone wore this full-body protective clothing, and even the gaps were sealed with special materials.

Boom! With a loud noise, a poisonous rain poured down.

The convoy struggled forward in the heavy rain.

The elderly, the sick and children were all placed in sealed compartments.

People walking outside in the strong wind watched the purple-black raindrops fall on their protective clothing, making a "hissing" corrosive sound.

The plants on the roadside quickly withered and rotted in the poisonous rain.

After a big tree was soaked by rain, it looked like it had been splashed with sulfuric acid and turned into a pool of black water in an instant.

The team was silent.

Everyone was terrified - if they hadn't followed Zhang Chen's orders and evacuated in time, if he hadn't prepared and distributed protective clothing, they would have ended up like the plants...

"Chief...you really have foresight..." someone sighed in a low voice.

Zhang Chen's face was solemn. He knew that this disaster might have just begun...

On the seventh day, the heavy rain finally stopped.

The team has reached the edge of the Nanling Mountains.

Zhang Chen sent out several special beasts to explore the way. These wolf-like creatures had keen perception abilities.

"Report to the leader!" A silver-gray supernatural beast rushed back and transmitted the message with its mind, "We have discovered a large group of caves in the southeast. The interior is spacious and has fresh water resources, which is suitable for human habitation."

Zhang Chen immediately organized people to go and check it out.

As expected, this mountainous area is dotted with natural caves, the largest of which can accommodate thousands of people.

What's more, these caves are interconnected, forming a natural underground network.

"Distribute the caves in groups of 500 people," Zhang Chen ordered, "and set up a temporary command post in each cave to coordinate the distribution of supplies and personnel management."

The survivors began to enter the cave in an orderly manner.

Some caves are located at higher altitudes and can be used as lookout posts; some are close to underground water veins and are suitable as water storage points; and some have open spaces and are planned as public areas.

"Luna, you lead the medical team to take care of the wounded," Zhang Chen continued to arrange, "Yinyue, you are responsible for setting up the defense formation."

Soon, more than a dozen settlements were established.

Each cave was cleaned and separated into living areas with simple curtains. Everyone began to settle down in this temporary shelter.

"Chief," an old man came over, "thanks to your wise decision, otherwise we might have already..."

Zhang Chen waved his hands, "It's not time to relax yet." He looked at the land outside the cave that was corroded by the poisonous rain, wondering when this disaster would end...

Luna led the distribution team to distribute the stored food and daily necessities to each cave.

Looking at those exhausted survivors, her heart couldn't help but ache.

"Dad, let's eat something first." A girl with a dirty face took the ration and immediately handed it to her father who was slumped in the corner.

The old man shook his head and wanted to refuse, but at his daughter's insistence, he took a bite of the dry food with tears in his eyes.

Similar scenes played out in each cave.

Although people were tired, they distributed the food to the elderly and children in their homes first.

At this moment, an urgent report came from the guard post: "Leader! Outside... there are strange plants growing outside!"

Zhang Chen immediately rushed to the cave entrance.

I saw large patches of scarlet plants sprouting from the scorched earth that was originally corroded by the poisonous rain.

These plants grow at an astonishing speed, reaching three or four meters in height in just a few hours.

Chapter 642 They are building some kind of structure!

Their stems are covered with sharp barbs, the edges of their leaves have a cold metallic luster, and their flowers are like open bloody mouths, emitting a disgusting stench.

"Call all scientific researchers immediately!" Zhang Chen made a prompt decision, "We must find out the origins of these plants."

A team of researchers in protective clothing quickly arrived at the scene and began collecting samples.

"These plants...seem to be absorbing the residual energy of the poisonous rain," one researcher reported after observation. "Not only can they survive in the highly toxic environment, but they can also convert the toxins into nutrients..."

"Continue to study," Zhang Chen frowned, "Perhaps these monsters can give us some inspiration."

In the distance, more blood-red plants are emerging from the ground, like a strange jungle, spreading towards the mountains...

"Preliminary research shows that these red plants pose no direct threat to humans for now," the research team leader reported with a worried look on his face, "but they are... madly plundering nutrients from the soil."

Zhang Chen stood at the entrance of the cave, looking at the expanding scarlet flora outside.

These strange creatures are like the vanguard of an invasion from some alien planet. Their roots are deeply buried in the ground, greedily absorbing all available nutrients.

The researcher pointed at the detector and said, "The soil in this area is becoming barren at an alarming rate. The content of basic nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium has dropped to less than one percent of the normal value. This means..."

"It means that this land will die completely,"

Zhang Chen took over the conversation, "No ordinary plants can grow anymore."

"Yes. They are like parasites," said another researcher, adding, "The morphological characteristics of these red plants are completely inconsistent with the evolutionary laws of life on Earth."

"Look at these metallic leaves and the strange way they absorb nutrients... They are like alien life forms."

The sight was horrifying: the scarlet plants swayed gently in the breeze, their flowers opening and closing, as if silently mocking human powerlessness.

Their stems are covered with spikes in regular geometric patterns, like the surface decoration of some precision instrument.

"Fortunately, we collected a lot of uncontaminated soil and seeds in advance," Zhang Chen took a deep breath, "otherwise, we would be facing a real food crisis."

In the distance, more red plants are breaking through the ground.

They weave into a huge web, dyeing the entire earth blood red...

As the researchers continued their research, a team of patrolling mutant beasts suddenly discovered even more shocking changes.

"Chief!" The silver mutant sent a message through his mind, "Those red plants... they seem to be gathering in some way!"

Zhang Chen immediately rushed to the observation point. He saw the scarlet plants in the distance began to wriggle strangely, with countless vines intertwined and gradually forming a huge honeycomb structure.

The flowers that were originally open then shrank and closed, with a faint blue light emerging on their surface, like some kind of energy circuit.

"This is not an ordinary plant invasion..." an elderly researcher said tremblingly, "They are building some kind of structure!"

Suddenly, a low humming sound came from the center of the honeycomb structure.

Dozens of huge flower buds rose from it and slowly bloomed.

Each flower contains a crystal clear ball that emits strange energy fluctuations.

"Collect samples immediately!" Zhang Chen ordered, but before he finished his words, the spheres began to vibrate, releasing a large number of tiny spores, forming blood-red clouds in the air.

"Everyone retreat to the cave!" Zhang Chen made a prompt decision, "Yin Yue, activate the protective formation!"

Fortunately, the spores seemed unable to penetrate the mountain, but they began to drift on the wind and spread further away.

Luna rushed over: "Master, abnormal energy reaction was detected in the groundwater. The roots of those plants have penetrated into the groundwater veins!"

Zhang Chen frowned. This disaster seemed far more terrible than he had imagined...

"Chief, I sorted out the inventory..." Luna handed over a list of data with a serious look, "The situation is not optimistic."

Zhang Chen quickly scanned the report in his hand.

Although he had ordered space-based psychics to collect a large amount of uncontaminated soil and plant specimens, these reserves were far from enough to meet the huge needs of a population of more than 100,000.

"According to the current consumption rate," Luna said softly, "the food reserves can last for four months at most, and the drinking water can last for five months..."

Zhang Chen walked to a larger cave, which was a temporary supply storage point.

Dozens of space-based psychics are taking inventory of the supplies in their dimensional bags.

Although every psychic's dimensional bag is filled with supplies, facing the huge population base, these seemingly sufficient reserves seem to be a drop in the bucket.

"If this continues..." Zhang Chen looked at the busy crowd, a trace of worry flashed in his eyes.

With more than 100,000 people, the daily consumption of staple food alone is an astronomical figure, not to mention other necessities of life.

A young psychic opened a dimensional bag, which was full of soil and various plant seeds.

This is humanity's last hope - but without suitable land for farming, these seeds will be nothing more than empty talk.

"We must find a way," Zhang Chen whispered to himself, "otherwise, within half a year at most, we will face a real disaster..."

From afar came the cries of children, the comforting voices of women, the sighs of the elderly...The lives of hundreds of thousands of people were now weighing on his shoulders.

A few days later, the research team received exciting news.

"Chief!" A gray-haired researcher rushed into the command post excitedly, "We found that those red plants contain a lot of edible protein! After special processing, they can be used as a food source!"

Zhang Chen immediately called a meeting of core members.

The researcher opened a sealed container, revealing a pile of light pink powder.

"The cell walls of these red plants are extremely special,"

"By centrifuging the cells, we can extract the proteins and polysaccharides," the researcher explained.

What’s even more amazing is that after being processed, these substances are not only non-toxic but also extremely nutritious!”

"Tests have shown that 100 grams of this powder has the same nutritional value as 1 kilogram of ordinary grain,"

Another researcher added, "And these plants grow at an amazing rate, reproducing themselves almost indefinitely..."

Zhang Chen's eyes lit up: "In other words, we can turn the crisis into an opportunity?"

"That's right!" the researcher said excitedly, "We have designed a complete processing flow. Using the power of the psychics, we can achieve mass production!"

Soon, a temporary processing plant was built in the caves.