Chapter 294 I want to see it too.

The agricultural team immediately got to work.

With the help of the new equipment, what would normally have taken weeks began progressing at an astonishing speed.

The machines efficiently cleared and prepared the soil, planted seeds, watered the crops, and performed the other necessary tasks with minimal human intervention.

Before long, Hope Base’s farmland had expanded dramatically.

And because the automated equipment required very little human intervention, a large number of survivors who had previously been assigned to farming were suddenly freed from their agricultural duties.

However, Ivy had no intention of letting those people remain idle.

Everyone had to contribute to Hope Base.

There was no time for slacking off in the apocalypse.

Only the children were given the grace of not having to work.

The survivors who had previously worked in agriculture were quickly reassigned to the food-processing section. Meanwhile, the fully automated food-production equipment was installed inside the newly established processing facility.

Instead of simply storing the harvested crops, Hope Base could now process them into various food products.

Grains were processed efficiently.

Vegetables were cleaned, sorted, and packaged.

Fruits could be preserved for much longer periods.

The entire process was far more efficient than anything Hope Base had been capable of before.

"Ding!"

{Hope Base’s food production has increased significantly.}

{Base prosperity has increased.}

{Available food reserves have increased.}

{Productivity ranking updated. Hope Base is now ranked first among all bases in the apocalypse.}

Ivy stared at the system panel, her eyes widening slightly.

She couldn’t believe that Hope Base had surpassed every other base in food production.

Even the larger bases that possessed thousands upon thousands of survivors couldn’t match Hope Base’s efficiency.

The machines had completely changed the situation.

With the combination of automated farming, automated food processing, and the abundance of land available to Hope Base, their food production had reached an entirely different level.

A small smile slowly appeared on Ivy’s lips.

This was exactly what she had wanted.

As long as Hope Base continued developing at this rate, food would no longer be something they had to constantly worry about.

*****

Meanwhile, news of Hope Base’s astonishing agricultural development quickly began spreading among the other bases.

At Diamond Base, Justin, the leader of the settlement, listened to the report with growing interest.

"Fully automated farming equipment?"

His eyebrows rose in surprise.

"That’s what they said."

The person reporting to him nodded.

"According to the information we’ve received, Hope Base has expanded its farmland several times over, and their food production has increased dramatically. Apparently, the machines can handle most of the farming process with very little human assistance."

Justin fell silent.

He had already been impressed by Hope Base’s previous development.

Now, however, he was even more curious.

Even though he hated Ivy, he couldn’t deny the fact that she was a capable leader.

In such a short period, she had managed to transform Hope Base from an ordinary settlement into one of the most rapidly developing bases in the apocalypse.

"I want to see it too."

Before the person reporting to him could respond, another voice suddenly came from the side.

"Funny how I only wanted to deliver a letter to you, but it turns out you’re interested in going to Captain Ivy’s base today."

Justin turned his head.

Erick was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

Justin raised an eyebrow when he saw him.

"You want to visit Hope Base too?"

A smirk appeared on his lips as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Yes," Erick replied.

He straightened from the wall and walked a few steps forward.

"I’ve also heard about the news. And ever since that mission, I haven’t had the chance to see Captain Ivy again. So, this is a good opportunity to visit her and, of course, see how much Hope Base has developed."

Justin’s eyes flickered with interest.

"So you’re curious too?"

"Of course." Erick nodded. "That farming equipment isn’t something we see every day. If Hope Base really has technology capable of automating most of its agricultural work, then it’s worth seeing with our own eyes."

Justin immediately stood up from his seat.

"Let’s go, then."

Erick raised an eyebrow.

"Like right now?"

"Why not?" Justin replied with a grin. "I really can’t wait to see the development for myself."

He glanced toward the person who had delivered the report before adding, "Besides, it has only been three days."

Three days.

That was all the time that had passed since their previous mission.

Yet, within those three days, Hope Base had already undergone another astonishing transformation.

Justin couldn’t help but wonder just how much more Ivy had managed to accomplish in such a short period.