TL: Moonlit

Wen Qingling returned to Ling City when it was already dark. After taking a walk and getting a rough idea of Ling City’s construction, he started building the city walls of the central city upon his return. The central city wall was 15 meters high and had a longer perimeter than the inner city and the core city.

After resting for a night, by noon the next day, Wen Qingling’s wood-based abilities had fully recovered. He energetically began building the outer city wall as well. The height of the outer city wall was the same as the core city wall, 20 meters. Moreover, the four directions of the outer city wall were built more carefully and solidly, with four outpost cities serving as the main fortresses protecting the entire civilized city. These fortresses couldn’t be taken lightly.

Wen Qingling used almost all of his wood-based abilities in the construction of the outer city wall. The grand scale and magnificent architecture impressed all the civilized zombies.

In addition to the outer city wall, Wen Qingling divided the civilized city into four directional cities: East City, West City, South City, and North City, using cross-shaped inner city walls. The core city remained as a whole without directional divisions, while the inner city, central city, and outer city were divided into four directional cities. For example, the inner city was divided into East Inner City, West Inner City, South Inner City, and North Inner City. Each directional city had gates and small outpost cities to prevent mixed residency among the residents of different directional cities.

In each of the four directions, there were three sub-city masters and one directional city master. The sub-city masters were responsible for managing their own cities and reported to the directional city masters. The directional city masters could handle all affairs within their own directional cities, not limited to the civilized city but also including external matters under their jurisdiction.

Important decisions were sent to the Chief City Master, Wen Qingling, in the core city. Whether Wen Qingling personally handled these matters concerning the civilized city was another matter, but this was the overall plan.

All the architectural planning of the civilized city was based on the existing foundation of Ling City. Dirty and damaged buildings were cleaned and repaired. Wen Qingling wanted the civilized city to be not only civilized in spirit but also in appearance.

With the tall city walls separating them, the gathered zombies had no choice but to continue migrating outward. The outer city wall of the civilized city extended beyond Wen Qingling’s originally planned area. The four large suburban areas that were initially designated for zombies were all included within the outer city, becoming part of it.

The four suburban areas had many villa districts and residential areas with more open spaces. Wen Qingling desired these empty spaces for planting as it was more convenient within the city. In addition to the enclosed suburban areas within the outer city, Wen Qingling also planned to enclose areas outside the outer city as planting zones. With this, the total area of the civilized city would be larger than the original Ling City, capable of accommodating a larger population. If developed, it would definitely become a prosperous supercity.

Regarding the planning of the planting zones, Wen Qingling intended to tilt them towards the south. The South had Xiang County, and the distance from Ling City to Xiang County could be developed into a planting zone.

The best way was to build a fence, not too high, just enough to block ordinary zombies. Constructing a fence from Ling City to Xiang County was a massive project, and it wasn’t something that Wen Qingling could handle alone. Since Xiang County wanted to rely on Ling City, they had to figure out their own solutions. Otherwise, Wen Qingling couldn’t guarantee the safety of those coming from Xiang County. He wasn’t someone’s bodyguard who could protect everyone 24/7.

After completing their escort mission and returning from Xiang County Base to Ling City, Xiao Hen and the others saw numerous zombies roaming the wilderness halfway on their journey. As they continued forward, the number of zombies increased. When they arrived at the south suburban area, looking at the towering city walls before them, all four of them were dumbfounded.

They had only been away for a day and a night, yet Ling City had completely transformed. It truly reflected Wen Qingling’s style of swift and decisive action. The city was built without delay.

On the sturdy gates of the outpost cities, the words “South Gate” were inscribed, while the main city gate displayed “Civilized City.” The gates of the outpost cities and the main city gate were all wide open, unguarded, and occasionally zombies wandered out from inside.

Xiaohan knew that Wen Qingling had likely just finished building the city walls, and the zombies inside had not been expelled. Most importantly, there weren’t many civilized zombies residing in the civilized city yet. Wen Qingling had only established the framework of the plan.

As soon as Xiao Hen and the others returned, they were summoned by Wen Qingling for a meeting. The meeting discussed the construction of the civilized city and its surroundings, as well as Wen Qingling’s general plan for the civilized city. Apart from Xiao Hen and his parents, the sisters and blood corpse were also present, along with some capable civilized zombies promoted by Wen Qingling through observation.

They had no objections to Wen Qingling’s plan. The only one who had an objection was the blood corpse, as he wanted to become one of the four directional city masters.

There were four directional city masters who governed the four directions, and they held the highest positions below the city master. They could be considered as ranking above everyone else.

No matter how Wen Qingling and the sisters looked at the blood corpse, they didn’t think he was suitable to be a directional city master. Apart from him, even the sisters felt the same way.

The blood corpse was unhappy. “This is racial discrimination! Why is it that others can be directional city masters, but I can’t?”

Xiao Hen mercilessly replied, “Being a directional city master requires intelligence. Do you possess that?”

The blood corpse became furious and shouted that he wanted to fight Xiao Hen one-on-one. “East City is my territory. Not only did you arbitrarily include my East City in the civilized city, but you also won’t let me be a directional city master. You are going too far!”

Wen Qingling said, “Governance through culture and martial prowess. You can’t handle governance through culture, and as for martial prowess… it’s a bit worrying.”

The blood corpse shouted, “Wen Qingling!”

Wen Qingling stopped him from shouting loudly. “How about this? Besides having a directional city master, a directional chief general, and deputy chief generals, each directional city will also have a city master, chief generals, and deputy generals responsible for civil and military affairs. How about you become the deputy chief general of the East Directional City? You will be in charge of military strength.”

This was the highest position that Wen Qingling could offer him. Given the blood corpse’s rebellious temperament, Wen Qingling was afraid he would cause trouble, and he also worried that the East Directional City’s chief general might not be able to control him.

The blood corpse hesitated for a moment and said, “Why am I not the East Commander?”

Wen Qingling glanced at him and replied, “You can only be a vice commander. Being a commander requires more than just strength; you also need to have a brain.”

The blood corpse: “???”

He felt like Wen Qingling was insulting him, but he had no evidence.

Xiao Hen frowned slightly. In his opinion, the blood corpse lacked the ability to be the Vice Commander of the East region. He didn’t see him as a managerial talent, and placing him in an important but unsuitable position would inevitably lead to problems. Having an unreliable Vice Commander would only burden the East Commander.

The blood corpse shifted his gaze and looked at Xiao Hen, asking, “What is his position?”

Wen Qingling replied, “Grand Marshal, in charge of all military forces in the Civilization City.”

The blood corpse was shocked and then exploded in anger, “So I have to be under him? Why?! When I was in Ling City, he didn’t even know where he was. Why should he suppress me?!”

Wen Qingling was annoyed by his outburst, clenched his fists, and wanted to teach him a lesson.

Suddenly, Xiao Hen spoke up, “In addition to the Four City Masters and Four Commanders, why don’t we establish Four Corpse Commanders? They will be in charge of the four directions of zombies. The position of the Four Corpse Commanders will be equivalent to that of the Four Commanders, and they will be led by the level-six evolved ‘Leaders.'”Xiao Hen glanced at Blood Corpse and continued, “Although Blood Corpse is not a ‘Leader,’ his strength is equivalent to a ‘Leader,’ so he can be the Corpse Commander of the East region. Tiantian and Xin Xin can be the Corpse Commanders of the West region. How does that sound?”

After Xiao Hen finished speaking, he asked for Wen Qingling’s opinion.

With so many wandering zombies in Ling City, a leader was necessary. This arrangement would provide a solution for the Blood Corpse and the sisters, giving them something to do.

Blood Corpse preferred to be with zombies rather than dealing with civilized zombies and humans. When he heard that the position of the Four Corpse Commanders was equivalent to that of the Four Commanders, it sounded like a high-ranking position. Blood Corpse was satisfied with it.

Having resolved Blood Corpse’s complaints, Wen Qingling looked at the sisters and asked, “What do you think?”

Tiantian replied, “We will follow the arrangement.”

Xin Xin added, “Indeed, we are more suitable for being with zombies.”

With everyone in agreement, Wen Qingling immediately confirmed the decision to add the positions of the Four Corpse Commanders. Now the West and East regions had Corpse Commanders, but the positions for the South and North regions were still vacant. Wen Qingling quickly remembered the little girl who was left in Rong City to watch the airport but shook his head rapidly. It was better not to torment each other; she should stay there honestly and watch the airport. “Leaders” should be easier to find than “Generals.”

Wen Qingling temporarily had no candidates for the Four City Masters, but there were candidates for the Four Commanders. He appointed Ji Rong as the East Commander. The East Commander and East Corpse Commander would inevitably have contact with each other. Ji Rong’s strength was not inferior to Blood Corpse, so let the two of them torment each other.

These three members of Xiao Hen’s team had both strength and intelligence, making them top talents in the human army. Wen Qingling wouldn’t waste their potential and said, “Shi Chong, you will be the West Commander.”

Shi Chong promptly responded, “Understood.”

Wen Qingling continued, “He Lin, you will be the South Commander.”

He Lin was taken aback. He knew his own abilities and was clearly unfit for the position of South Commander.

Wen Qingling reassured him, “Your abilities are sufficient, don’t worry about your strength. I will ask the research institute to expedite their research and see if there’s any way to enhance your abilities.”

He Lin nodded in agreement.

Wen Qingling turned to Xiao Hen and said, “You will temporarily assume the position of North Commander until we find a suitable candidate.”

What else could Xiao Hen do besides nod? He now suspected that the reason Wen Qingling didn’t let him leave Ling City was to exploit him and use him as a workhorse.

With limited manpower, Wen Qingling temporarily assigned the positions of the South and East regions to Xiao Hen and himself, respectively, while he oversaw the West and North regions. The officers promoted from the zombie army were assigned as sub-commanders in the South and East regions. The Three Major Sub-City Masters of the South region and the Three Major Sub-City Masters of the East region were all appointed by Wen Qingling himself. They were all veterans of the Civilization Base, with backgrounds that were not simple as humans. Having their help in governing the newly established Civilization City was the best outcome.

Whether it was the Four City Masters, Sub-City Masters, Commanders, or Sub-Commanders, all the candidates had to be civilized zombies. Humans were too complicated, and zombies were simpler in comparison. Wen Qingling felt more at ease with civilized zombies.

Needless to say, the Four Corpse Commanders are more than capable, not to mention humans.

With the positions settled, it was time to address the construction issues between the South City and the Xiang County Base.

This was not something Wen Qingling could discuss on his own. He had to meet with the Xiang County representatives. Considering that Xiang County was likely in chaos at the moment, Wen Qingling decided to wait and approach Chang Boheng later. For now, the most important task was to organize and tidy up the Civilization City.

After the positions were assigned, Wen Qingling felt a sense of relief. He spent his days running to the research lab, pushing for progress, and exploring the outskirts of the outer city, contemplating how to develop the planting area.

The planting area was currently overgrown with knee-high weeds and numerous decorative trees. Apart from the necessary trees, everything else needed to be cleared. Wen Qingling, being an Earth element ability user, could promote plant growth and drain the vitality of plants, causing them to wither. However, simply withering the weeds and decorative trees was not enough. The land needed to be cultivated and the roots removed to prepare for planting.

At times like these, Wen Qingling especially missed the plowing machine. Since they didn’t have one, he had to make use of Shi Chong, transforming him into a humanoid plowing machine. Shi Chong, who was already suffering, wandered around the planting area of the South City every day, using his ability to till the land. When the land in the South City planting area was ready, Wen Qingling called upon the civilized zombies to help with sowing.

Wheat, corn, dry rice, soybeans, mung beans, red beans, black beans, and more were all planted, regardless of their habits or the season. They continued until the planting area of the South City was completely filled. Just when the civilized zombies thought they could finally rest, Wen Qingling unleashed a powerful Earth element ability, resulting in a bountiful harvest in the entire planting area of the South City. The ground was covered in golden crops, ready for harvesting.

All the civilized zombies: “…”

Could they even have a moment of rest? No one could withstand the devastation caused by the City Lord!

Fortunately, they were no longer human. Otherwise, they would surely be exhausted.

While Xiao Hen and the others were busy organizing the Civilization City, the planting area in the South City was already experiencing a great harvest. The civilized zombies had to wield various knives and stoop to harvest the crops. Their postures were awkward, and their movements slow, clearly lacking professionalism.

As Wen Qingling faced the golden field and the hardworking harvesters, he contemplated the need for agricultural machinery. Relying solely on manpower was too slow and wasted both energy and time.

Whether it was due to the environment or the influence of Wen Qingling’s abilities, the wheat and rice spikes were two to three times larger than before the apocalypse. The corn cobs were even more astonishing, each one as long as a forearm, with 5 or 6 cobs on each cornstalk. The corn kernels were plump and juicy. Wen Qingling intentionally left some unripened.

Standing in the cornfield and looking up, Wen Qingling sadly realized that he wasn’t as tall as the cornstalks. The cornstalks were tall and robust. After some thought, he grabbed a few cornstalks, roots and all, and tied them to the top of a car. He planned to bring them all back. It had been a long time since he had fresh corn and almost forgot the taste. This time, he wanted to eat his fill.

With a green rooftop, he attracted quite a few curious looks along the way. People wondered why the City Lord wanted cornstalks. Wouldn’t it be easier to bring just the cobs?

Jiang Lan was preparing lunch when she saw Wen Qingling dragging a few green cornstalks inside. Jiang Lan came out of the kitchen in surprise and said, “Son, what are you doing?”

Wen Qingling had a languid expression but a gleam in his eyes. “I want to eat corn.”

Kui Bao, wearing a little outfit, jumped down from the second floor and circled around the cornstalks a few times. It then leaned over and sniffed, its crimson eyes filled with disdain. Clearly, it didn’t meet its dietary requirements.

Jiang Lan’s face expressed, ‘Is my son an idiot?’ She said, “Just remove the corn cobs. Why did you bring the whole stalk? Are you planning to eat the stalk too?”Wen Qingling pondered for a moment. “Can’t the stalk be eaten?”

Jiang Lan instantly transformed into a roaring lion. “Of course not! Did you participate in fake farm activities when you were a child? Do you have no common sense? Corn is what you eat, not the cornstalk!”

They both grew up in the city. If Wen Qingling hadn’t participated in farm activities as a child, he probably couldn’t even differentiate between garlic chives and wheat seedlings. But because his parents often took him to these activities, he knew how strawberries grew and where food came from. He had witnessed and participated in these processes, so he understood the steps.

Wen Qingling looked serious. “Can’t it be eaten for real?”

Jiang Lan choked for a moment, realizing that their current living conditions were not like before the apocalypse. Many people didn’t have anything to eat, and in extreme hunger, they wouldn’t even care about fresh cornstalks; they would eat tree bark.

Jiang Lan changed her tone. “How about you taste it then?”

Wen Qingling nodded and grabbed a knife. He cut off the base, removed the leaves, and peeled the husk, revealing the smooth cornstalk. He peeled it like sugarcane and took a bite of the pith. With a “crack” sound, it was quite crisp. Wen Qingling chewed and spat out some fibers, then took another bite.

Jiang Lan had been waiting for his evaluation, but he was too busy eating. She asked, “How is it? How does it taste?”

Wen Qingling cut off a piece with his knife and handed it to his mother. He replied, “It’s sweet, and it has a lot of moisture.”

Jiang Lan imitated Wen Qingling’s expression and took a bite herself. She was immediately shocked. Doubtful, she carefully examined what she was eating. Was it cornstalk or sugarcane?

Jiang Lan said, “This is cornstalk. Why is it so sweet? And why is there so much juice? Did it transform into sugarcane?”

Wen Qingling shook his head. “It should be a mutation.”

When Wen Zheng and Xiao Hen returned, they saw Wen Qingling and Jiang Lan sitting on the couch eating something. There were leftovers on the coffee table. Both of them were surprised, but their astonishment grew when they realized what they were eating.

Wen Zheng dryly remarked, “Has our family become so impoverished that you’re eating cornstalks?”

Jiang Lan didn’t have time to respond. She raised her chin and said, “It’s delicious. Try it.”

Wen Zheng and Xiao Hen were skeptical but picked up a piece and took a bite. They were immediately amazed by the sweet juice. It was abundant and sweet, but different from the sweetness of sugarcane. The sweetness of the cornstalk was clear and refreshing. They had never tasted anything like it before, and it was truly delicious.

Xiao Hen had been very busy during this period, managing the entire civilized city. Wen Zheng helped out, and whenever he returned to eat, he brought Xiao Hen with him. The family had gotten used to setting an extra place for Xiao Hen.

After finishing a piece, Xiao Hen praised, “It’s indeed delicious. After corn ripens, the moisture in the cornstalk should be significantly reduced. It’s a waste to lose this deliciousness.”

Wen Qingling shook his head. “It won’t be lost.”

Having personally seen it, Wen Qingling knew that when corn ripened, the leaves withered, but the cornstalks remained a deep green color, with plenty of moisture inside.

To confirm, the four of them quickly finished their lunch and drove to the cultivation area on the southern outskirts of the city. They planned to taste the ripened cornstalks themselves. Fresh corn was incredibly delicious, tender, and sweet. Even though the cornstalks were large, each of them had one. After consuming a large ear of corn, they didn’t eat much of the other dishes. They were too full.

When the three of them followed Wen Qingling to the cultivation area, they were amazed by the sight before them. It was all golden. There were numerous civilized zombies harvesting the crops, but compared to the vast expanse of crops, the population seemed scarce.

During this period, except for Wen Qingling’s leisure, everyone else was busy. Xiao Hen was particularly occupied, and Wen Zheng helped him manage the work. Jiang Lan was responsible for transforming decayed zombies with potential identities. Everyone was busy, unaware that Wen Qingling had silently created such a large farmland outside the city.

Wen Zheng stared blankly, his gaze at Wen Qingling changed. “You rushed the ripening process all at once. Did you consider the issue of harvesting?”

Wen Qingling remained silent.

At that time, he really hadn’t thought about it. However, he didn’t dare say it to avoid exposing his lack of agricultural knowledge.

Wen Zheng sighed, “Fortunately, there’s rarely rain after the apocalypse. If it rained, all the crops would be completely ruined.”

Wen Qingling tried to salvage the situation, “Hmm, I didn’t expect it to rain.”

Wen Zheng glared at him. “Do you think it’s just about the rain? Go and see the legumes yourself.”

Wen Zheng brought Wen Qingling to the soybean field to let him see. The soybean pods were larger than normal, and the plants were taller. They were covered with plump, rounded soybean pods. All the plants were ripe, and the ground was covered in yellow. Because they were fully mature, the plants were fragile, and the soybeans easily fell off.

Wen Zheng said, “Do you see? If legumes ripen too much, this happens. You can’t touch them; the beans will fall off. How can we harvest them?”

The harvested plants were empty husks, and the actual beans had fallen to the ground. Did they have to pick them up one by one?

Moreover, many pods had already burst open on their own, and the beans inside had disappeared.

Wen Qingling silently watched, fully realizing his mistake.

Wen Qingling said, “Let’s harvest like this for now. We don’t need to pick up the fallen beans. Just turn the soil over, and I’ll accelerate ripening again. This time, I’ll pay attention to the timing.”

Wen Zheng taught him, “Accelerate the ripening until the leaves fall and the stalks turn yellow.”

Wen Qingling agreed and took them to cut a mature cornstalk. After peeling off the husk, the four of them shared it. As expected, the juice was still abundant. The ripened cornstalks had a slightly sweeter taste than the fresh ones.

With this discovery, when harvesting corn, they could keep the cornstalks. The corn leaves could be given to the mutant cows and sheep as fodder. Domesticated mutant poultry and livestock had to return to their instincts. They shouldn’t eat things they weren’t supposed to. Since they were cows and sheep, they should eat grass properly, and they should avoid meat.

Watching the busy figures harvesting, Xiao Hen said, “It won’t work without agricultural machinery. Relying solely on manual labor is not efficient.”

Wen Qingling had also been considering this problem. “I will go find some agricultural machinery.”

It might not be impossible to find agricultural machinery in the towns below, but the supply of diesel fuel would be a big problem. Since the apocalypse, most of the gas stations had run dry.

In this era where human lives were worthless, no one expected anyone to extract crude oil and deliver it to various gas stations again. Didn’t the central megacity already develop crystal nuclear energy?