"This is the situation we are facing now."
The red dragon Carador said to Helagol, who was sitting on the other side of the table as he stood beside a long charred table.
It was one of the few 'rooms' in the temporary shelter that was still intact. It was originally a pipeline control room of a factory. When the shockwave hit, this half-buried facility had withstood the attack with its sturdy structure. But it was not unscathed. There were several deep cracks from the roof to the wall, and some of the cracks could even reach the outside. The howling wind outside poured into these cracks, bringing not only a sharp whistle but also a bone-chilling cold.
The dragon's physique could ignore the cold, but the psychological shock of such a bleak situation was unavoidable.
"How many dragons are there in this camp now?" Heragol raised his head and looked at the silent Ducemore beside him.
"Two thousand — most of them are injured or suffering from serious recoil from the enhancers and hallucinogens. Only less than half of them are healthy," Duke Moore said. "The good news is that many of the injured dragons have some ability to work. At least they can help look for supplies after emergency treatment. Also, now we are sending out search teams every day to look for our brethren who have woken up in the nearby ruins. We have a lot of manpower. "
"How big is the search area?" Helagol asked again.
"It is currently limited to the area around Agundor, as far as the rift valley on the west. Supplies are limited, communication is inconvenient, and there are wandering elemental creatures in the depths of the ruins. The search team dare not leave the camp too far."
"Elemental creatures?" Balogel frowned. "Why are there elemental creatures?"
"In the later stages of the battle, the power of the gods shattered the barrier of the main material world and tore several rifts in the center of Tarlonde that lead to the elemental world. The rifts then expanded to one-third of the continent, and countless elemental creatures surged out from within." Duke Moore knew that Balogel was not on the battlefield at that time, so he patiently explained. "Although the elemental forces have receded and the main rifts have healed, there are still a considerable number of wandering elemental creatures around the radioactive fissure belt, and there are still countless small rifts left. These things will not dissipate completely in the next few decades."
The room was quiet for a moment. After a dozen seconds of silence, Andal said, "The search work has to continue. At present, it seems that there are more of our brethren who have woken up and are waiting for rescue in the ruins. Now that communications in Tarlonde have been cut off, the wilderness has become extremely dangerous, and the chances of these helpless brethren surviving in the wilderness are decreasing every day. In addition, the search area has to be expanded as much as possible, especially in the direction of the City of God, there — "
Before Andar could finish his sentence, the distorted metal gate not far away was suddenly pushed open with a creak. Melita Pernia walked in from the outside with a tired look on her face. She was startled when she saw the scene in the room, and then bowed her head to greet Andal and Helagol. White Dragon Noretta, who was sitting at the corner of the long table, stood up. "You're back? How's the situation outside? "
"Our brethren in the Western District are fighting the withdrawal symptoms of the booster, but the situation in other areas is fine." Melita exhaled and tried to sound optimistic. "I can see that after Speaker Andal and the rest came back, everyone is very encouraged. And the dragon eggs that you brought back today … I feel that many dragons have been rekindled by those dragon eggs."
"Noretta found the storage of dragon eggs at the old site of the incubation factory. She took a team and dug there for a long time, and found hundreds of well-preserved dragon eggs." Carador turned to Helagol and the other three dragons. "We put those dragon eggs in the cave in the center of the camp, and let the dragons take turns to look after them. When the dragon eggs were transported back to the camp, everyone's morale was significantly improved."
"Store them separately, don't put them in the same cave." Balogel immediately reminded. "Now, whether it's the buildings above ground or the underground cave, they are very unstable. It's safer to store those eggs separately."
Carador quickly nodded. "Yes, I'll arrange it in a moment."
"But I really didn't expect … you actually found the dragon eggs in good condition." Andal could not help but say, his voice even trembled. "I thought they were all destroyed after the collapse of the incubation factory … It's good to find the dragon eggs. With the dragon eggs, we can have a healthy new generation, and a new generation that is not affected by the booster and implants from birth … In the coming days, only these 'primitive dragons' can adapt to the Giant Dragon society that has lost the Omega system."
Andal's words made Melita have a deep feeling in her heart. In the short time since she woke up, she had clearly realized a fact: the previous stage of the Tarlonde civilization had ended, the gods and Omega had left, and the previous generation of Giant Dragon who grew up in the cradle had been thrown off the wheel with the changes of time. Implants, booster, automatic system … these things had shaped the entire Giant Dragon society, but the Giant Dragon society that she was familiar with had disappeared along with those things. In the new era … the Giant Dragon who started from scratch needed a new generation from scratch.
The dragon eggs that Noretta found in the ruins were not just a morale-boosting 'hope' — they were the real 'future' of the Dragons.
"There should be more dragon eggs in the collapsed area of the incubation factory." Carador was also touched by Speaker Andal's words. His face was almost solemn. "Next, in addition to rescuing the wounded and collecting supplies, our focus is to excavate those dragon eggs and move them to a relatively safe and stable place."
"Very well, that's the right thing to do." Speaker Andal slowly nodded, but then he shook his head and slowly swept his eyes across the room. "But there's one more question, have you thought about it?"
Carador looked curious. "One more question?"
"… Do you know how to hatch dragon eggs?" Andal looked serious, his eyes swept over Melita, Noretta and other young Dragons, and even Carador, the relatively old dragons. His tone was not joking at all. "Among the young Dragons in the camp, who knows how to hatch dragon eggs without the help of the factory facilities?"
As soon as he said that, the room suddenly became quiet again. Carador's expression was a little stiff for a moment, while Noretta fell into a state of deep thought. Melita thought carefully for a long time before she said hesitantly, "Throw them directly into the magma or the magic pool … Err, probably can't hatch them?"
"You only know how to cook them." Carador looked at Melita with a strange expression, and then looked at Andal. "I … probably know the process. It should be maintained at a suitable temperature, and maintain a stable magic environment … "
"Even a red Dragon like you only knows this, you can imagine the level of the younger and more ignorant dragons in the camp. I don't have any hope at all." Andal sighed and slowly shook his head. "But this is not your fault, not any dragon … After all, before today, no one had thought of this situation."
"… The Dragons have been taken care of by the 'Cradle' for too long, and this kind of thing has happened." Duckmore also sighed, his old face in human form had a bitter and self-deprecating smile. "And hatching dragon eggs is only the first step. How to take care of the Young Dragon without an automatic rearing system and a constant temperature nest is a bigger problem."
"Then what should we do?" Melita looked at the people around her, and felt a little helpless. "We don't even know how to hatch eggs … then …"
"Then learn, learn from the beginning, learn these 'skills' that should be a biological instinct." Helagol broke the silence, and said in a low voice. "At least we old guys from the ancient times know what to do. We will teach the young dragons bit by bit how to hatch dragon eggs and take care of the young dragons. But before that, there is something very important."
He stopped halfway, and Andal knew what he was going to say, so he continued. "We can only hatch a part of it, or even a small part … Before our food supply is stable, the camp can't keep so many Young Dragon alive."
"Start preparing now. Pick some Dragons who are willing and have spare energy to take care of the eggs and the Young Dragon, and then we will teach them what to do." Helagol said slowly. "We will do it bit by bit, starting from scratch, starting from hatching the next generation. We will rebuild the dragons on this wasteland."
"Also, I suggest that at least two dragons claim one dragon egg, or form a group to raise it together." Andal added. "We have to avoid losing labor from taking care of the Young Dragon, especially now that half of the polar day is over, and before the colder polar night arrives, we have to establish a relatively stable living environment as soon as possible. This will require a lot of labor."
Starting from scratch, starting from a wasteland — rebuilding a home.
Melita looked up, and she saw Andal and Helagol discussing the future of the tribe, and then Carador and Balogel began to discuss how to expand the camp and find a stable source of food from the nearby sea and islands. She saw Noretta sitting by the side, and although she was tired, her eyes were still bright. Suddenly, another image appeared in her mind.
She did not know why, but she thought of the small camp at the foot of the Gloom Mountains a few years ago. She thought of the weak humans who built houses in the wilderness and reclaimed the wasteland. She thought of the tents and makeshift houses by the Whitewater River, and the 'pioneer' who seemed to have endless energy and creativity, who stood by the wasteland and outlined the future of the tribe.
Only a few years ago, she was still a spectator.
The image in her memory overlapped with the image in front of her eyes, but the state of mind in her memory was completely different from the state of mind now.
That human had created a lot of interesting words, but which words could be used here? Things remain the same, but people have changed? Or things have changed with the passage of time? It did not feel right.
Melita's mind was in a mess because the things that Andal and the rest were discussing were getting more and more incomprehensible to her. She could not think of any useful opinions on the issues related to the overall plan. But after a while, she turned her attention back to the room, and Andal and Ducemore were discussing the idea of rebuilding society.
"The area we have explored is still too limited," Ducemore said regretfully. "Even if the search team has flown to the end of Agundor and the surrounding factory area, the entire Agundor area is just one of the many cities in Tarlonde. More than 90% of the continent is still in a state of uncertainty. Maybe other places have built camps like this one, maybe they need our help, maybe they have the resources we need, but we can't contact each other at all."
"There are wandering elemental creatures on the surface, and unstable spatial rifts or elemental channels in the sky at any time. All long-distance activities are dangerous. Sending an expedition team without knowing the safe route is suicide," Andal said, shaking his head. "Now communication is cut off, and the harsh natural conditions have separated the various areas of Tarlonde."
"We have found some old communication devices, but almost all of them can't be turned on, and the few that are working can't receive signals," Carador added. "Either there are no other camps in the search area, or the interference in the wasteland is too strong."
As they discussed, Melita listened from the side. Suddenly, she could not help but say, "Why don't... we light a beacon, just like those humans?"
Andal and Ducemore immediately stopped their discussion, and several pairs of eyes fell on Melita. The latter suddenly shrank her neck and said, "I just had an idea … I remember what those humans did when they built the camp. They lit a fire or shot out a light beam in the wilderness to let the refugees know the location of the shelter. Of course, I may not have thought it through …"
"No, we are not questioning, we are just … a little surprised," Andar said. Suddenly, she could not help but smack her forehead with a smile. "Such a simple and primitive method, we should have thought of it from the beginning."
"We were just thinking of repairing the communication system or restarting the transportation line." Helagol spread out his hands. "After all, we have not used fire to communicate with distant places for more than a million years."
"But in this situation, lighting a beacon might not be of any use, right?" Noretta, who had been silent all this while, looked at Melita, and then at Helagol. She could not help but say, "Not to mention how far the light and smoke of the beacon can travel, even if they see it from afar, there are still many insurmountable obstacles in the wilderness. In the places we have explored so far, the area around Agundor is almost completely sealed off …"
"No, it is still useful. Even if a survivor trapped in the ruins sees the beacon and finds the camp, it will still be useful." Helagol shook his head and said solemnly. "And even if the situation is worse, like you said, where the obstacles in the wilderness block everyone, the beacon still has its meaning. It can tell other camps and survivors that we are here."
"Let me prepare for this," Balogel said. "I will prepare the biggest firelight, so that it can be seen clearly across the rift. The beacon that the Dragons want to light has to be big."
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