"Look."

With that, Ni Ge grabbed a vine with a plastic handle beside him, marked with a [8].

Once he held it, the adventure vine wrapped around Ni Ge, transforming into a safety harness buckling his shoulders and waist, lowering him swiftly down from the window to the ground below.

It turned out to be a bio-lift.

Ni Ge ascended again using vine number 8, demonstrating the function of another vine, vine number 4.

This time, the adventure vine was able to transport items while sliding along the ground.

Zhou Yi, somewhat surprised, said, "I remember the adventure vine is a symbiotic plant, right? Can it survive independently outside?"

"It remains a symbiotic plant, but there are 99 here, with each floor having access to 3 of them."

Ni Ge smiled and said, "The adventure vine's symbiosis is based on this Building 11."

A somewhat distant memory came to Zhou Yi's mind.

When first seeing Jade City, Sun Chonglai had led the Black Hand Mushrooms from Mushroom Forest, planning to transform it into a walking mushroom castle, but they ultimately failed.

After nine years of twists and turns, it was finally realized by the Mud Tree Civilization Department.

"Mainly due to Shu Yumei's contributions."

Ni Ge explained, "She employed a large-scale plant modification engineering technology used by naturalists, translated locally as 'Thousand Trees Sailing.' It involves gathering hundreds or thousands of sky-reaching trees and Pan Trees, integrating their root systems into one massive entity that navigates the circular flow like a navigable land."

"The core of Thousand Trees Sailing is root fusion. It can be done by underground grafting or aerial root system induction, known here as root fusion. Currently, artificially cultivated adventure vines are connected through these methods, residing on this Building Life."

Zhou Yi pointed at the adventure vine on Ni Ge: "But doesn't this kind of symbiotic plant require nutrients from flesh and blood? Can they now completely rely on energy conversion?"

"No, please follow me."

Leading, Ni Ge walked to a room resembling a low-voltage shaft. Inside were fixed solid black-and-white pipelines.

The black material was Light Soot, while the white was Light Amber Ceramics.

Ni Ge pointed at the valve in the transmission pipeline, where a glass window revealed flowing currents inside.

Zhou Yi realized instantly: "Soilless cultivation?"

"As expected, you understood immediately."

Ni Ge laughed, "We utilized the Legal Front's intercepting mirror technology, integrating our existing Light Amber Ceramics, allowing these fluids to circulate systematically and stably."

He pointed at a pipe with a colorless, transparent liquid flowing through it: "This is the Element Eumin A Liquid."

Ni Ge then moved his finger to an adjacent pipe containing a viscous milky-white solution: "Element Eumin B Liquid. These are necessary mineral elements, plus microelement eumin, forming the basic nutrient solution."

"Other pipes contain PH regulation liquid, disinfectant, oxygen supplement liquid, biostimulants, and so on, all combined."

"Beneath Building 11's reinforced concrete shell flows this complex nutrient fluid-based biological circulation system. This layer is the key to the dense growth of adventure vines and other symbiotic plants!"

"The materials used in soilless cultivation can mostly be collected on any planet. By being absorbed by Building 11, internal devices can then extract them."

"Communication isn't an issue now, either, as Tree Demons, who are plant experts, and electric cats are present. Plants possess plant electrophysiology phenomena internally; experienced Working Electric Cats can interpret their needs and current physiological conditions through electrical signals within adventure vines."

"We've become quite adept at integrating these internal components."

"According to Shu Yumei, Jade City's Building 11 is a brand new attempt, an organic fusion of Building Life and Plant Life. Now, as Lunar and Mars habitats are being developed, if Building Life can achieve this balanced symbiosis, a Building Life can become a miniature ecosystem. In areas where they exist, these symbiotic organisms can grow continuously and stably."

"Many symbiotic plants have replicated growth through this method; they are crucial tools for the Mud Tree People. With sufficient numbers, they can perform significant roles."

"This is an incredibly powerful biological base!"

"In the future, extraterrestrial planets where Jade City lands will have various plants capable of growing. As long as Building A helps deploy Building Life of class B or above, it can sustain the current ecosystem."

"If combined with the artificial sun for atmospheric transformation, it could change the ecology of a planet in a literal sense. For example, transforming Mars's two moons looks very promising."

"If a base can be established, we'll have more places for resource extraction!"

The Minister of Mud Tree People said with a hint of pride: "Chairman, the Mud Tree Civilization Department hasn't been doing nothing. The project just needs time to push forward. It has to be mature enough to replicate across every Jade City before I bring it up in a meeting."

Zhou Yi indeed felt a sense of refreshment.

It was an unforeseen path.

The ability to remember such complex processes and details was no easy feat for an explorer like Ni Ge; he undoubtedly put in much effort.

"Where's Shu Yumei?"

"She's inspecting Mars, currently surveying Phobos and Deimos to ascertain which is more suitable as a future deployment location for our endeavors."

This naturalist still put her whole heart into her work as usual.

Zhou Yi nodded: "Keep up the steady work."

"Yes, Chairman."

...

In the ninth year, cold waves and freezing rain were frequent, causing the fast-spinning world to slow down during this cold season.

In the past few months, Zhou Yi accomplished his small goal.

He finally recreated hot pot base ingredients!

Despite how it seems, collecting and recreating these ingredients in a pot of broth and sizzling oil was more challenging than dealing with the proxy of the Heavenly People.

Let's talk about the composition of hot pot base ingredients.

Fats were the easiest part, with beef and chicken fat easily achievable, even in the Wasteland era.

It was the spices that posed a significant challenge.

Sichuan pepper, chili, cinnamon were found one after another, but star anise, amomum, and shan nai seemed vanished in this era. The only way was finding preserved products in the old human cities, which were sun-dried condiments and not plantable.

The company's investigators journeyed almost all over both the Eastern and Western Continents, offering high rewards and negotiating with rulers across areas, yet they couldn't find any.

In the end, it was Xie Xun's Scavenger Team that discovered a seed vault frozen in glaciers in the northern mountain ranges. More than half of the seeds had died due to time, but surprisingly some star anise seeds sprouted tender shoots.

Later it was confirmed that it happened because of ultra-low temperatures and Death Light radiation mutation effects, allowing a small batch of seeds to survive until now.

The Agriculture Department, copying this model, continued finding amomum and shan nai seeds in cold icy areas. Through soilless cultivation methods, they achieved their first harvest.

Thus.

Hot pot finally returned to the world!

Zhou Yi's greatest contribution this winter was getting hot pot ready for everyone. Ensuring that the new humans can have steaming, spicy, aromatic food in the cold seasons, simple yet comforting.

This straightforward and bold condiment is compatible with all kinds of noodles and ingredients. Just boil some water, throw in a piece of hot pot base, and everything tastes delicious.

The Agriculture Department has already decided to launch the hot pot industry next year, making hot pot bases a major processed food item, with mass production through the Legal Front's factories, selling it around the world.

And just like that.

The ninth year quietly passed in the snow.