307: Air time

“Number One, can you change the way you absorb Red Crystal Cores? One Red Crystal Core takes several hours, which is a bit slow,” Tian Ming asked.

Number One shook its head and said, “Master, my intelligence comes from you and the emergence of every Nanometer Avatar. Therefore, energy also needs to be distributed among all the avatars. Absorbing the energy from Red Crystal Cores requires the avatars to simultaneously reach the same energy level to control the stability of the entire group.”

Tian Ming frowned. This explanation from the avatar was a bit counter-intuitive. Logically, the more Nanometer Avatars there were, the faster the energy absorption should be. But it was the opposite; it was slower.

However, this should be related to the way energy is transferred between Nanometer Avatars. After all, Nanometer Avatars are individual entities and are essentially independent of each other. The transfer between individuals involves channel nodes, just like connecting fittings to a water pipe.

With countless fittings, resistance naturally increases, and energy slowly spreads among the Nanometer Avatars like a capillary effect.

“Alright then, this absorption speed should accelerate as the avatars evolve,” Tian Ming muttered to himself.

Tian Ming no longer dwelled on the issue. He waved his hand at Number One, and Number One disappeared, continuing its hunt for Corpse Kings.

Soon after Number One left, there was a knock on the door. Tian Ming stood up and opened the door. A man in a blue uniform, pushing a dining cart, took out two stainless steel lunchboxes.

“You moved in yesterday, didn’t you? This is your food for the day. Eat sparingly. After you finish eating, gather at the community square. The community director has something to announce,” the man said as he handed over the lunchboxes.

Tian Ming took the lunchboxes and said, “Okay, thank you!”

Ever since his conversation with the Yuanchu God last night, Tian Ming had finally clarified his mission. He now had to consider the future fate of all people.

The Yuanchu God had said that only by leading civilization to continue could he become a true god. As Tian Ming understood it, that was roughly the meaning.

The Yuanchu God wanted to completely break through the rules of this universe, so Tian Ming was his successor. Perhaps the power of technology could explore the origin of the world, and that origin could allow that god to become a higher-level existence.

Tian Ming’s thoughts wandered a bit. He smiled and shook his head, placing the lunchboxes on the table.

Lisa walked over curiously. She hadn’t eaten since she came along, but having shared the energy from the Red Crystal Core, she didn’t feel hungry.

Opening the lunchbox, the paste-like food inside instantly made her lose her appetite. This stuff was starch-based, somewhat like luncheon meat, but unformed, yellowish-black, and looked disgusting.

“Is this stuff for humans to eat?” Lisa asked with a hint of disdain.

Tian Ming smiled, “Although it doesn’t look great, the ratio is very scientific. It has carbohydrates, protein, fiber, and vitamins. It’s non-toxic, sterilized, and edible. And there’s quite a lot of it.”

“I won’t eat it. I’d rather eat instant noodles than this,” Lisa said with a look of disgust.

“Then eat instant noodles!” Tian Ming waved his hand, and under his elemental control, two buckets of instant noodles instantly appeared on the table.

As a Superpower User, Lisa couldn’t synthesize food because the seven elements she controlled were chlorine, fluorine, oxygen, hydrogen, silicon, iron, and lead. Without carbon, she had no connection to synthesizing food.

Tian Ming extracted water from the air, then heated it to prepare the noodles. It was a certain brand of pickled vegetable noodles, sour and satisfying.

Lisa swallowed, smelling the unique aroma of the instant noodles. She was just saying that. As the eldest daughter of the Lawrence Family, even in the Apocalypse, she had never eaten such commoner food. And it was Eastern-flavored food, which she ate even less.

“Are you really giving me instant noodles?” Lisa asked.

“Yes, both buckets are yours. Pickled vegetable noodles, I often ate them when I was working part-time. The flavor is superb. Eat up, then we can go down and meet the community director.”

Lisa picked up the instant noodles, took a bite with her fork, and her eyes lit up. Aristocratic food was often bland, not so heavily flavored. This spicy stimulation directly conquered Lisa’s taste buds.

Tian Ming smiled calmly. Foreigners, they just haven’t seen much of the world.

The two buckets of instant noodles were eaten clean. Lisa had a satisfied expression on her face. She glanced at Tian Ming, then turned her head, her face slightly flushed.

“Aren’t you eating?”

“I don’t need to eat. I don’t feel hungry,” Tian Ming said.

Lisa nodded slightly. If Tian Ming said he didn’t need to eat, then he didn’t need to eat. If someone else said it, she might not believe it, but since Tian Ming said it, she had no doubt.

Lisa stood up and said, “Let’s go to the community square.”

“Mm…,” Tian Ming nodded slightly.

When they went out, there were many relatively young couples in the community, and none of them had smiles on their faces. Many of them were temporary couples, just to survive.

In the small community square, a vast crowd of people stood, and a huge Corpse King stood there, with an incredibly loud voice.

“All of you, stand still! You just got your food, it’s not like you haven’t eaten,” the Corpse King sprayed saliva from his mouth, and many women’s faces showed expressions of fear.

Lisa and Tian Ming pushed their way to the front of the crowd. The community manager was a human, a woman, who looked to be in her fifties.

This woman, Huang Taoying, was a childcare expert and an experienced pediatrician. She became the community director because Lord Li, the Corpse King, promoted her.

The tall zombie next to Huang Taoying was actually Huang Taoying’s apprentice. A dignified Corpse King, yet he bowed to a human as his teacher, and he seemed quite respectful.

Huang Taoying held a megaphone and said, “Girls who tested positive with two lines, please report to Silly Big Guy after the meeting to arrange a transfer to a better place. The men will stay. You will return to the base for rotational labor. If you don’t want to be eaten, you must demonstrate your value.”

Huang Taoying glanced at the zombie next to her and asked, “Silly Big Guy, go see if Green Devil has been found? Why isn’t he here for the meeting? Where did he go during his room checks last night?”

Tian Ming couldn’t help but want to laugh. A human giving a zombie the name “Silly Big Guy,” how comical! Some people, for the sake of living, really compromise on anything. This human community director, Huang Taoying, even looked self-satisfied.

Silly Big Guy said, “Teacher Huang, Green Devil was doing room checks last night, and then he just disappeared. I don’t know where he went.”

Green Devil’s room checks were for the newcomers. Last night, a total of thirty new couples moved in. Huang Taoying picked up the megaphone and said, “Everyone who registered yesterday, stay. The rest of you, if you have two lines, report to Silly Big Guy, move out, and make room for the newcomers.”

Tian Ming and Lisa remained in place. In the entire square, besides them, there were twenty-nine other couples, as well as the community management staff led by Huang Taoying.