Dragon Transformation in the Apocalypse

Chapter 40 Harvest from the Power Plant

The next morning, Li Chenglong said goodbye to Yunlan and left the courtyard. Yunlan, Li Xue, Shen Menghua, and the others ate breakfast and then went about their own work. This time, Li Chenglong didn't bring Wu Gang's battalion, but instead brought Wan Dahai's newly formed fifth battalion. Firstly, the Dawn Base had only been established for a few days, and each battalion needed to familiarize themselves with the situation. Secondly, more than half of the fifth battalion's members were selected from the resistance forces that Lei Bao had surrendered to, and even Zhao Rui was in this battalion, so Li Chenglong could observe them.

The power plant wasn't far from the Dawn Base, only about 4km as the crow flies, but people can't walk in a straight line, so the distance was about 7km. Since it was relatively close, Li Chenglong had everyone run there, killing any zombie hordes they encountered along the way. At this moment, a staff member from the power bureau came over and said, "This hydroelectric power station is called Xingmin Hydroelectric Power Station. It usually provides auxiliary power to the university town. Its installed capacity is small, and our area freezes in winter, so its annual power generation is only about 2.2 million kilowatt-hours, while the university town's annual electricity consumption is about 32 million kilowatt-hours. It seems a bit insufficient." Li Chenglong nodded: "It is a bit insufficient, but if we can restore power, we will provide power in shifts and at different times. Besides, it's been more than ten days since the beginning of spring. Once the rivers thaw and the spring floods come, the electricity demand should be sufficient."

Over three hundred people arrived at the hydroelectric power station in a grand procession. Wan Dahai immediately ordered his men to scout ahead. A short while later, the scouts returned and reported that apart from a few zombies, nothing unusual had been found. After a twenty-minute battle, the zombies were cleared out by the Fifth Battalion. Li Chenglong immediately sent power company personnel to inspect the station. Fortunately, the inspection revealed that the hydroelectric power station was largely undamaged. With some repairs and maintenance, power could be restored, although initially the output would be low, barely enough to power the lights. Li Chenglong was already quite satisfied, as recent consumption had depleted their candle reserves. If they could achieve universal access to electric lights within the next few days, that would be excellent.

Li Chenglong left a group of men behind to guard the others and repair the equipment, while he led a group to the thawing river. This river was called the Longjiang River, named after a giant dragon that supposedly ascended from it hundreds of years ago. Li Chenglong smiled and said to Zhao Rui beside him, "You're practically a local. Are there any fish in this river?" Zhao Rui stared at the surface: "Even if there are, it's not easy to catch them now. When it was frozen, we could fish by breaking the ice. Now the ice is melting, and we don't have any boats, so it's difficult to catch fish. Besides, there might be zombies that have fallen into the water; it's definitely contaminated with a virus." Li Chenglong shook his head: "After observing for so long, I've discovered something: as long as the animal is alive, it's fine for humans to eat, but we can't eat animals that have died from a virus, and we absolutely cannot touch zombie beasts."

Zhao Rui's interest was piqued: "I want to try, but we can't just go into the river to catch fish without a net. It's warmer now, but even I, at level five, can't withstand the water for long." Li Chenglong smiled and took out several fishing nets from his storage space, along with some bait to bait the area: "They've been hungry all winter, they must want to eat. Let's bait the area now and wait for the fish to catch." After saying that, he and Zhao Rui each took a net and waited for the fish to gather. Soon, many fish came to eat the bait they had just scattered, and even a few mutated bluefish came to eat some smaller fish, all of which were caught by Li Chenglong and Zhao Rui. Some of the mutated fish were too big to be caught in the net, so Li Chenglong used his special ability to kill them and put them into his storage ring.

Seeing the two men having so much fun, Wan Dahai said he wanted to join in too. Li Chenglong then took out several fishing nets and buckets of bait and distributed them to some people, instructing them to fish separately. If they caught a lot, they could take the catch back to the kitchens at noon and have fish soup for dinner. The mess halls were now divided into four: Meal Halls No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3, which provided food to the residents, and Meal Hall No. 4, which provided food to the staff. These were scattered throughout the Shuguang Base. The military mess halls were not included; for the convenience of combat operations, each battalion had its own mess hall.

Two hours later, the power company staff reported that the hydroelectric power station was basically repaired and ready to supply electricity. However, many utility poles and transformers along the way were damaged, so it would take several more days to achieve full power supply. Li Chenglong decided that after returning, he would notify the construction planning department to help erect utility poles and wires. As for transformers, they could be obtained from other abandoned villages and towns.

Several people were still fishing when Zhao Rui suddenly shouted, "It's so heavy! I feel like I've caught a big one, hahaha!" Everyone rushed to the riverbank to look, and saw the fishing net stretched taut, with Zhao Rui still pulling with all his might. Li Chenglong, curious that even a level five strength ability user couldn't pull something, also ran over to see. He had just reached the riverbank when he suddenly had an unusual feeling and quickly shouted, "Zhao Rui, throw away the net immediately! And you all, step back! There's something big in the river!" Before anyone could understand what was happening, a deep, rumbling sound came from the river, followed by towering waves as a giant turtle burst from the surface.

Many people were swept up to the four- or five-meter-high riverbank by the giant waves, while others were swept into the river. Li Chenglong used teleportation to save those who had fallen in, then shouted, "Zhao Rui, let's take him down!" But there was no response. Li Chenglong turned around and saw Zhao Rui paralyzed on the ground, terrified by the giant turtle in front of him. Li Chenglong had previously learned that although Zhao Rui had helped Lei Bao commit many evil deeds, he had never personally killed anyone, because he wasn't very brave. Seeing this today, he was right.

The giant turtle stared intently at Zhao Rui, who was still holding the fishing net, and was about to charge. Li Chenglong immediately kicked him away, saving his life. The turtle's bite force was astonishing; if it bit you, even a level seven would be finished. Zhao Rui rolled several times on the ground after being kicked before slowly coming to his senses: "My god, such a huge turtle! Has it lived for a thousand years and become a spirit?" Li Chenglong ignored Zhao Rui and directly activated the True Dragon Eye: Level Six Mutant Beast Turtle. Constitution 220, Strength 225, Agility 121, Spirit 107, it had resisted a large number of viral infections and become a mutant beast. Its special moves were a super-high-pressure water jet from its mouth and a giant jaw with an astonishing bite force. Li Chenglong looked at the giant turtle, not expecting its constitution and strength attributes to be so high.

At this moment, the five battalions of superhumans also began to deploy their formations, launching attacks on the turtle with their skills. However, the turtle had high defense and high health, and even the full-force attack of Wan Dahai, a late-stage level three superhuman, could not harm it in the slightest. Suddenly, the turtle spewed out a powerful stream of water, directly collapsing a large section of the concrete dam. Li Chenglong's expression darkened: "You all retreat, it's not something you can handle." After saying that, he directly took out the Dragon Emperor Sword and slashed at the turtle with all his might, "Super Dragon and Phoenix Slash!" A dragon and phoenix roared together. The huge energy transformed into a dragon-shaped light blade that slashed at the turtle, with a fire phoenix flying beside it. The turtle immediately retracted its head into its shell, taking the blow head-on. However, the turtle's head could not be completely retracted like a tortoise. As soon as Li Chenglong finished using his move, he teleported to the turtle's head and slashed at the turtle's head with his sword.

However, the turtle's head was no softer than its shell, and the impact made Li Chenglong's right hand go numb. Taking advantage of the opening in Li Chenglong's attack, the turtle stretched its neck and bit at him. Li Chenglong gritted his teeth and used teleportation again, jumping onto the turtle's back. "It's a pity the Demon-Slaying Bow is with Yunlan, otherwise its armor-piercing ability should be enough," Li Chenglong thought to himself. Before Li Chenglong could even breathe a sigh of relief, the turtle turned its head and bit at him again, its two-meter-long neck retracting freely, just like a plesiosaur in a TV show. Li Chenglong jumped up on the turtle and shouted in mid-air, "Galaxy Explosion!" A bright white light instantly blinded the turtle, and five orbs of light smashed into the back of its neck, exploding instantly.

As the smoke from the explosion cleared, Li Chenglong had already jumped back onto the shore. He saw blood trickling from the turtle's neck, like a tap left running, but given its enormous size, the amount of blood wasn't enough to cause it much harm. The turtle stared intently at Li Chenglong with its small eyes, then another torrent of water rushed towards it. Li Chenglong jumped to dodge, and by this time, Zhao Rui had finally recovered completely. He activated his strength ability, lifted a massive boulder weighing a thousand pounds, and smashed it directly at one of the turtle's legs. A full-force attack from a level five strength ability user, and with the turtle's leg unprotected by its shell, it snapped with a crack. Zhao Rui was overjoyed: "Haha, one of its legs is broken!" Then, with a shout, it flew away. The turtle had used its severed claw to kick Zhao Rui like a soccer ball.

Zhao Rui flew even further this time, crashing into two small trees before stopping. He then coughed up blood, and his right arm drooped down, apparently broken. However, given the physical attributes of a level five ability user, it wasn't a serious injury. The giant turtle, having lost a leg, was now shifting its position. Li Chenglong immediately unleashed a powerful attack: "Galaxy Explosion!" The lightning blinded the turtle. "Super Dragon-Phoenix Slash, maximum power!" Li Chenglong used another move. The Dragon Emperor Sword in his hand vibrated due to the immense energy gathered, its blade gleaming with a golden light several feet high. The onlookers were also momentarily blinded by the light. Li Chenglong shouted, "Slash!" and swung his sword, cleanly severing the turtle's flesh wherever the blade touched. In less than two seconds, a turtle's head fell into the river, and its carapace shattered from the impact of the energy.

Witnessing this spectacular scene, everyone cheered and applauded, some even waving the Dawn Base flag vigorously. Currently, Dawn Base has two flags, a decision made after the general assembly. The first is the Dawn City flag, entirely red, with a golden sun shimmering with five golden rays at the bottom and a five-clawed golden dragon above. The second is the Dawn Army flag, featuring a golden dragon on the left, a fire phoenix on the right, and a sun in the center.

After draining most of the turtle's blood, Li Chenglong placed it in his storage space and instructed Wan Dahai to guard the area before returning to the Dawn Base with the injured Zhao Rui and the other wounded. Upon returning, Li Chenglong's first action was to have everyone treated at the medical department. He then went to the construction planning department and found Li Jianguo, instructing him to prepare the power poles and cables, and, with the help of the power bureau, restore power within a few days. The Dawn Army would also send its fifth and fourth battalions to assist them. Li Jianguo was initially hesitant, but upon hearing of the military's assistance, he immediately assured him that it would be resolved within three days.

With the power supply issue resolved, Li Chenglong went to the logistics department and asked Yun Qian to gather the heads of the canteens. He then instructed them to cut the turtles into portions according to the prescribed amounts, and to have turtle soup for dinner. As for the turtle shells, they were indeed excellent protective gear, and Li Chenglong planned to personally craft some hardened shells when he had time. After all, the shells of these level-six turtles were too hard for most people to handle.

It was already 6 p.m. Li Chenglong helped the canteen managers distribute the turtle meat, chatted with Yun Qian about the base's situation, and then went to the temporary school. Shuguang School currently has three classes, arranged roughly by age, with over a hundred students in each class. Next to the school is a daycare center for children under six. The school operates on a six-day work week with one day off. Mornings are generally for academic subjects, while afternoons are for various training exercises, such as combat and physical training. When Li Chenglong arrived at the school, he saw the children training on the playground and was very happy, as this represented their future.

Today, soldiers from the First Battalion were in charge of providing instruction, teaching students how to fight zombies. Hundreds of students sat on small stools in a large circle, almost all listening patiently. When the instructor saw Li Chenglong watching, he quickly saluted, and Li Chenglong returned the salute, signaling him to continue. However, the children, seeing Li Chenglong, couldn't sit still any longer and crowded around. Li Chenglong had to move to the center as well, giving them many words of encouragement to study hard, and mentioning that there would be turtle soup that evening, made from mutated turtles. Li Chenglong was very generous with the children; each child under 14 received supplies at the same rate as working adults, and sometimes rewarded those who behaved well.

As Li Chenglong left, he mentioned that anyone who achieved excellent results in the various assessments a month later could become his junior bodyguard. The students were immediately excited upon hearing this, and all expressed their determination to work hard.