Life was difficult for people all over the world, as everyone was living in hunger. Without food, they would soon die. However, the global temperature plummeted, freezing countless plants to death. Many people believed trees were immune to the cold, having endured winters annually and sprouted new leaves and bore fruit again. In reality, many plants feared the cold and were killed by drastic temperature changes. Thus, even those living in the mountains found it impossible to find wild fruits, as the mountains were covered with withered trees.
After countless plants died from the cold, animals that fed on them suffered even more. Countless herbivores died, and the food chain collapsed. Without herbivores at the bottom, carnivores could not survive. Even those who wanted to hunt animals in the wild to supplement their hunger found it impossible, as the wild beasts in the mountains had vanished almost overnight. Even if some beasts survived, they hid in the depths of forests, making them incredibly difficult to find.
Hunger enveloped every region, from Eurasia to Africa, from the continents to the Americas. All places were plunged into hunger. Obtaining large quantities of food in a short period was almost impossible. Many scientists speculated that the meteorite provided by the aliens must contain crucial information.
"No one should give up, because as long as we find the meteorite and obtain the technology left by the aliens, we might be able to produce food ourselves. As long as there is carbon dioxide in the air, we can produce starch!" a scientist exclaimed loudly on television or radio, seemingly hoping to prevent despair among the public.
However, even a fool would not believe such a statement. How could ordinary people believe that placing the hope of human survival on aliens was so ridiculous?
Ultimately, the aliens perished due to energy shortages. But no one knew if the aliens had mastered the technology for artificial food production. This was merely speculation. If they hoped to gain useful scientific technology from their diet, only to be met with disappointment, wouldn't that be even more unbearable?
"We scientists are always talking nonsense. We believed that nuclear bombs would not affect ordinary people, so we supported using nuclear bombs to kill insects. But later, a large number of people contracted cancer and died, their genes collapsing, their bodies rotting. And now you are still talking nonsense, saying that as long as we find the meteorite, everyone can live and won't have to worry about food. It's all a lie!" someone cursed at the scientist.
Most people remained silent in this situation, as there was no way to solve the crisis without food. Whether it was to divert attention, make people believe in future hope, or to shift people's focus outward, none of it was possible. The most fundamental conflict was survival. If the food crisis could not be resolved, it was tantamount to letting people wait for death.
Currently, no one could solve this problem or make this crisis disappear. Other than making people believe in future hope, nothing else could be done. At this moment, besides remaining silent, the only option was to find ways to produce food.
In China, there was only one esper, Chang Jianyi, who could promote plant growth. This ability was extraordinary, as with her power, crops could be harvested rapidly every day.
Although summer had arrived, the temperature was much lower than usual. Even during the day, it was only in the low twenties Celsius. This temperature could only be maintained for three to four months, after which the land would be covered in snow again. Especially in the Siberian region, there were already several meters of ice. Even if this ice were chiseled open, it would quickly snow again and cover it anew. Thus, the vast northern country declared itself extinct.
It was also clear to various regions that to ensure normal crop growth, greenhouses were necessary. Greenhouses could rapidly cultivate crops and protect them from environmental influences. Therefore, even in Antarctica, people would try to build greenhouses to enjoy fresh vegetables.
However, building one or two greenhouses was simple, but building vast expanses of greenhouses was not so easy. Shen Feng gathered the strength of three provinces to establish a food production base of tens of thousands of mu. But now he faced the problem of being unable to expand further, which meant the capacity for food production was limited.
At this moment, someone arrived from the southeast and found Shen Feng near the wind power station. Shen Feng was observing the construction of the wind power station. The progress was relatively rapid each day, but building a massive base was not easy. He was remotely handling various affairs in Yuzhou daily and would not return until the refugee problem was resolved. Therefore, he had no desire to jump into the fire pit.
Even though Shen Feng wanted to avoid this crisis, he was still found, and the person who found him was an old acquaintance.
Upon finding Shen Feng, Wang Ao Ye directly said, "Chen Feng, you hypocrite, how long are you going to be a turtle hiding in its shell? The whole world is counting on you to save it, but you're hiding now. What kind of Wind God are you? Tell me, how many people will starve to death if you continue like this?"
Shen Feng did not expect to receive such criticism, so he replied without politeness, "What does this have to do with me? I only need to ensure that the people under me do not starve to death. As for people in other places, it's none of my business! I want to save these people, but I can't. You don't understand!"
"You say I don't understand? What is there for me not to understand? You are nothing but a selfish person, so now you've encountered danger and trouble and are hiding, like an ostrich with its head buried in the sand, ignoring the outside world. Is that right?" Wang Ao Ye continued to question.
"You speak of this simply. I only need to take care of the people under me, but you're placing the food crisis of the entire world on my shoulders. What kind of logic is that? Do I manage these people? They are not my subordinates, and I don't have extra food to support them!" Shen Feng replied unceremoniously.
As the two were arguing, two young boys suddenly ran over from a distance, looking at each other with unfriendly expressions, and asked, "Master, do we need to provide support now? This guy looks very strong. If the three of us go together, we can definitely kill him!"
It turned out these two boys were also Shen Feng's disciples. Shen Feng had brought them out for training this time. Seeing their master arguing with someone, they assumed it was an enemy and were immediately ready to help.
"This is my friend, it's nothing! You two go play somewhere else quickly. Don't let anyone overhear our conversation here!" Shen Feng said to his two disciples. Upon hearing their master's reply, the two disciples quickly left. They didn't expect the person arguing with him to be his friend. He looked somewhat familiar, but they couldn't recall where they had seen him before.
"This is because you are very selfish. Because of your selfishness, you are unwilling to share your achievements with others, so you monopolize the ability to produce food. If you state your difficulties, everyone will help you solve them. That's why I came to find you this time, it's all about the food problem!" Wang Ao Ye said earnestly.
"I remember that your giant coconut tree in Southeast Asia has also died, buried by volcanic ash and ultimately met a tragic end. So now you can't produce food in large quantities, can you? Do you have any other methods now?" Shen Feng asked.
"That's right, my coconut tree has indeed died. But that doesn't mean I know nothing about food production. I heard that you have built a massive food production base here, almost with the combined efforts of everyone in the city. It took four months to reach its current scale. But now you are constrained by plastic and cannot produce enough plastic film, is that right?" Wang Ao Ye asked.
"I don't know who told you about this, but it's true. Do you have a solution? As far as I know, you don't have any oil fields under your command, so can you still provide me with a large amount of film?" Shen Feng retorted.
"I can't provide you with film, but others can. This time, I am entrusted by people, bringing their hopes to negotiate with you. When I passed by the Three Gorges, I saw many people reduced to cannibalism. I believe you already know about this. I cannot let this situation continue to spread!" Wang Ao Ye stated his purpose frankly.
"So you are also entrusted by people. Then you can tell me how you can solve my problem. What are you prepared to negotiate?" Shen Feng asked.
"The people of our seven southeastern provinces have deliberated and know that we cannot produce enough food. But food is a necessity, so we have decided to help you build production bases and large-scale greenhouses. In return, we need a large amount of food to feed the people under us," Wang Ao Ye said.
"Seven southeastern provinces? That's a significant force. You must have enough plastic. This can solve my crisis. However, do you have no other demands besides this? After all, the food production base will only be on my territory, and you won't enjoy these benefits!" Shen Feng asked suspiciously.
"You call yourself a hypocrite, and you still don't believe it. Now you are using your selfishness to speculate about the selfless actions of others. Isn't that obvious? Right now, we have only one demand, and that is to obtain food. As for you wanting to build production bases, the people of our seven southeastern provinces can all help you do it!" Wang Ao Ye replied.