576: Chapter 571 It's time to say goodbye.

The medical station was completed, two professional doctors and four nurses were stationed, and the concept of 'surgery' appeared in the tribe for the first time.

A deep water well was drilled three hundred meters underground by the 'Pioneer' engineering team.

Clear groundwater was transported through pipes to every corner of the tribe.

Children played under the water pipes, and for the first time, women no longer had to trek dozens of miles for a bucket of water.

Everything Shen Yan had promised was becoming reality at an unimaginable speed.

Only one thing was progressing slowly.

In the fields opened up to the east of the tribe.

The improved seeds, named 'Oasis One,' had already sprouted.

Tender green seedlings broke through the dry earth, bringing a trace of vitality.

But they were growing too slowly.

The desert's extreme diurnal temperature variation and thin water vapor were testing these fragile lives.

The Priest Sang Mu guarded the fields almost every day, praying for a bountiful harvest with the most ancient rituals.

But he knew this required time.

A very long time.

Inside the temporary command post of the base.

The air was icy cold.

On the huge holographic screen, dozens of small windows were divided.

There were real-time feeds from the mine, drone surveillance around the base perimeter, K-line charts of the global energy market, and internal footage from the Shenyan Technology Artificial Intelligence laboratory thousands of miles away.

Shen Yan sat in the commander's chair, his fingers gently sliding across the data pad.

He had been here for ten days.

The mining and refining of the ore had already settled into a routine.

The first batch of crudely refined 'Stardust Cores' had been transported away by the 'Kunpeng' transport aircraft last night.

His continued presence here was no longer necessary.

His battlefield was not beneath this yellow sand.

But within the ever-changing torrent of data.

He pressed the communicator.

"Elder Wu He, please come to the command post for a moment."

Wu He arrived quickly.

He was still leaning on his bone staff, but he had changed into a clean linen robe.

It was one of the supplies Shen Yan had sent over.

As he entered the command post, he immediately felt a chill.

It wasn't the temperature, but the absolute sense of control that this room represented.

He saw the green seedlings on the screen.

That was what concerned him the most.

"Mr. Shen, you called for me?"

Wu He's voice carried a hint of deference.

Shen Yan did not turn around.

His gaze remained fixed on the screen.

"I am leaving."

His voice was calm, as if mentioning a trivial matter.

Wu He's body instantly stiffened.

The bone staff in his hand creaked as he gripped it tightly.

"Leaving?"

He took a step forward.

"Where are you going? Our crops haven't even grown yet!"

"According to the agreement, you must guarantee our tribe's food source!"

His voice rose with agitation.

The thing he feared most had finally happened.

This outsider, having obtained what he wanted, was now going to abandon them.

Shen Yan slowly turned his chair.

He looked at Wu He.

"I am not a farmer, Elder."

"I do not have time to sit here and wait for a seedling to become a stalk of rice."

Wu He's face flushed red.

"But you promised us!"

"What I promised was the result, not the process."

Shen Yan's tone was utterly flat.

"The growth cycle of this land is longer than I estimated."

"This is a miscalculation."

"But I will compensate for this miscalculation."

Wu He stared intensely at him, his eyes full of distrust.

"How will you compensate? You leave, who knows if you will ever return!"

Shen Yan tapped lightly on the armrest with his fingers.

"Starting tomorrow, a transport aircraft will air-drop enough food to sustain the entire tribe every three days."

"Vegetables, meat, and processed flour."

Wu He froze.

Airdropped food?

"That's impossible... How much would that require..."

"That is not your concern."

Shen Yan interrupted him.

"Furthermore."

He paused.

"Your tribe's cooking methods are too monotonous."

"Roasting meat and boiling water are a waste of quality ingredients."

"I will send a professional team of chefs from the city."

"They will stay here and teach your tribesmen how to process ingredients and how to cook until you all learn."

Wu He was completely speechless.

He had expected Shen Yan to use various excuses to get out of it, and had even considered using force to keep him here.

But he never imagined Shen Yan would offer such a solution.

A solution he could not refuse, one that even carried a hint of extravagance.

Hiring chefs to teach them how to cook?

It sounded like a fantasy.

"You... Why are you doing this?"

Wu He's voice was incredibly dry.

He couldn't understand.

Shen Yan stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

Outside the window were the busy mining area and the silent desert in the distance.

"Because your stability aligns with my interests."

"A Sand Viper Tribe that is well-fed, warm, and hopeful for the future is a qualified ally and a reliable guardian of the base."

"What I need is not a group of savages who are constantly hungry and might rebel over a piece of meat at any moment."

"What I need is order."

His words were like a cold knife, slicing open all the illusory hopes in Wu He's heart.

Interest.

Everything was for the sake of interest.

This man did not make any investment without expecting a return.

Wu He fell silent.

He knew he could not stop Shen Yan.

Never mind him failing to stop him.

Even if the entire tribe's warriors, wearing that light exoskeleton armor and carrying electromagnetic rifles, could not shake this base in the slightest.

They were separated by an entire era.

"Will you return?"

Wu He asked his final question.

Shen Yan's gaze drifted towards the distant horizon.

"When everything here is operating on the track I have set."

"I will return."

Wu He took a deep breath.

He slowly lowered his head, his bone staff lightly tapping the ground.

"I understand."

"The Sand Viper Tribe will guard this land well."

"And... and we bid farewell to Mr. Shen."

Saying these words seemed to drain all his strength.

From this moment on, he completely abandoned the illusion of equality with Shen Yan.

He chose submission.

For the future of the tribe.

Shen Yan turned, not sparing Wu He another glance.

He walked towards the 'Peregrine Falcon' vertical take-off and landing aircraft parked in the center of the base.

The hatch opened, and cold air rushed out.

He stepped onto the ramp without looking back.

The hatch closed silently behind him.

The roar of the engines tore through the silence of the desert, and the aircraft lifted off, shrinking into a black dot before vanishing into the azure sky.

Wu He stood in place, looking up until the black dot completely disappeared.

He knew that the sky over this desert had changed.

Inside the aircraft.

The cold light reflected off the metal interior.

Shen Yan leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.