CH 145

Life passed in the image of Gu Langu, the good father, for another half a month, which also meant that one month had already passed since the dry season began. The world outside the Cangyu Mountains faithfully confirmed the era of the apocalypse, and Shu Shuishui often accompanied the exploration teams outside. The world outside left people in silence.

In the scorching heat, they all seemed to have tanned several shades darker. Each person’s face was a mix of sweat and oil, with cracked lips, labored breathing, and eyes reluctant to lift, as if the sun overhead was getting closer to the surface every day.

The exploration teams could no longer glide through the northern hemisphere as they once did, relying on boats. Once they left the Cang River channel, they had to rely on walking to expand their exploration range. The land beneath their feet had become brittle due to severe dehydration, making it feel particularly fragile when stepped upon. Looking around, there were few signs of greenery, not just trees, even blades of grass seemed exceptionally precious.

The once troublesome water resources were becoming precious, not to mention the perpetually scarce food. The current environment was no easier than winter. Every source of water that could sustain life was now teeming with creatures, including mutated beings.

Shallow and muddy water pools, despite their condition, still attracted living creatures like a magnet. Even if a hippopotamus rolled in it and turned into a mud sculpture, it couldn’t stop the tempting water vapor emanating from the pond.

The exploration team had brought enough water with them, so there was no need to risk getting close to water sources. Shu Shuishui crouched down, examined the ground beneath him, and then shook his head, indicating that this area was not suitable for cultivation. It would require too much energy and careful maintenance.

Gu Langu took out a handkerchief and wiped Shu Shuishui’s hands, which had just crushed the soil, removing the sand grains on top. “Let’s continue forward. Shui Shui, don’t rush.”

“With you here, I’m not in a hurry.” Although the current situation was not very optimistic, Shu Shuishui knew that greening the area couldn’t be rushed. He took out a map, calculated based on their current location, and deduced possible suitable planting areas nearby.

With the spread of high temperatures and drought, greening was becoming increasingly urgent. The green areas of the Cangyu Mountains were shrinking every year. Now, the Shui Jing Gong has established a dedicated greening team on the edges of the Cangyu Mountains to stabilize the environment and plant new spirit plants. They were also searching for suitable areas within the Cangyu Mountains to cultivate spirit plants. These hardy spirit plants were the mainstay of stabilizing the environment.

“In this cursed weather, I can’t imagine it will continue for another two months. Where did all the moisture on Cang Zhan Star go? There used to be so much water.” Yu Jin, wearing a straw hat, walked alongside them and couldn’t help but complain about the extreme weather.

Xie Feng’s habit of countering complaints seemed to have become instinctive. “Talk less, and you’ll save some saliva, conserving water resources.”

Today, Yu Jin obviously didn’t have much energy, and his rebuttal sounded weak. “You’d save more resources by staying at the base. Why did you come along? Finally tired of the lab?”

Although Xie Feng was also covered in sweat, he looked fine, and in Yu Jin’s words, he hadn’t yet received the beating of Cang Zhan Star’s dry season. “Work should be balanced with leisure; you can’t always stay in the lab.”

Seeing Xie Feng in good spirits, Yu Jin ruthlessly exposed his intentions. “There’s been progress in your experiments, hasn’t there?”

Finally, a small hint of pride appeared on Xie Feng’s face. “Yes.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a glowing orb, the same one he had unbound from Shi An’an’s body earlier. “I’ve decided to create a new body for this little orb, so it won’t need to bind with others anymore. It’s a form of freedom.”

“Is that even possible?” Yu Jin clearly hadn’t considered this option. This system came from a high-latitude civilization; could it really create a body on Cang Zhan Star? Yu Jin chose to ignore the new name Xie Feng had given the system.

Xie Feng’s head tilted slightly upward. “Others probably couldn’t do it, but I can, naturally. Shui Shui, what kind of appearance would you like for the little orb?”

Shu Shuishui became quite interested and examined the glowing orb for a moment. Then, he sighed gently as he looked at the desolate surroundings. “Let it take on the appearance of hope – happy, green, and lively.”

Everyone subconsciously followed this line of thought. Was the system going to take on the form of a tree? It seemed like a good idea.

Xie Feng nodded in agreement. “Shui Shui suggests a little frog, right?”

Shu Shuishui’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great suggestion, Xiao Feng Feng, a happy little frog!”

“I think it’s a good idea too. Let’s go with that – make it look like a happy little frog.” Xie Feng was satisfied with the plan.

The system: “…” It had once naively thought that a body would at least resemble a person. It was too innocent.

Artificial intelligence development in the Canghai Galaxy was not as advanced as in the Xian Ge Galaxy. After all, in the Xian Ge Galaxy, robots were everywhere and had even rebelled against humans in a civil war. On resource-constrained Cang Zhan Star, being able to create a little frog was already quite impressive.

The reason Xie Feng came out today was that the experiment was nearing completion, and he just needed to wait. There was no need to stay in the lab. Xie Feng had conducted a basic analysis of the system, and it was willing to cooperate. It turned out that the system required binding because it was inherently unstable and needed to find a host.

In the past few days, Xie Feng’s work involved analyzing the pairing conditions with the system and discovering that it wasn’t an unsolvable puzzle. By addressing the system’s instability point by point, much like creating complementary zippers for hybridization, he could produce pairers that would keep the system in a stable state. Of course, discovering these solutions was greatly facilitated by spiritual power, and Xie Feng’s talent in cultivation proved immensely helpful in his experiments.

Spiritual power seemed to be a higher-level energy that could reveal things that instruments couldn’t detect. Xie Feng speculated that the dimensional level of the cultivation continent was not necessarily lower than that of the system’s dimension. Coupled with the system’s active cooperation, this allowed them to unlock the secrets of the system.

However, these breakthroughs only scratched the surface, and understanding the full extent of the system’s power and nature would likely require regular communication with it. Xie Feng predicted that the complexity within this small glowing orb was far beyond that of a supercomputer brain.

As they walked and chatted, it was rare for Shu Shuishui and Xie Feng to maintain such high spirits. Before long, the group finally found a suitable planting area. While the land still appeared parched, it had significantly more moisture than the previous locations.

Everyone skillfully retrieved their tools and began their tasks with a clear division of labor. Once they confirmed this area was suitable for planting, they marked it on their map. Within the next three days, a planting team would arrive here with saplings and planting tools. Accompanying them would be energy stones for setting up formations and personnel responsible for protection.

The process was now running smoothly within the Shui Jing Gong, and many individuals from other bases were actively applying to become members of the planting teams. After all, planting sites could be exchanged for micro-farms.

In this manner, Shu Shuishui, following the advanced exploration team, searched the vicinity and identified three suitable planting areas. As they prepared to return, they stumbled upon an individual in a very sorry state, on the brink of death. This person was at least six feet tall, but now they were emaciated, reduced to little more than a skeleton. They bore numerous wounds, some inflicted by mutant creatures and others by firearms and blades.

The injured man was given some water and carried back. Upon entering the Cangyu Mountains, the people from Jiang Dianzhai actually recognized the identity of this man, but their tone was filled with surprise as if they were astonished by his current condition.

Shu Shuishui didn’t expect that after a brief excursion, he would come across the founder of the Dream Star River fleet, Qing Mengxing, in such a dire state. However, considering the collapse of the Dream Star River, it was understandable that Qing Mengxing would seek refuge near the Cangyu Mountains.

Qing Mengxing had suffered too many injuries, many of which were infected and festering. In this scorching weather, surviving was nothing short of a miracle. Fortunately, the Shui Jing Gong was well-supplied with resources. After reclaiming barren land, a specific area was designated for growing medicinal herbs, and with the assistance of formations, they had already harvested a batch of common medicinal herbs.

Despite his severe injuries, Qing Mengxing surprisingly woke up on the same evening. As he struggled to exit the tent, the people from the Shui Jing Gong were gathered around, enjoying their dinner in groups.

The lively chatter abruptly ceased, and everyone looked at Qing Mengxing with a sense of disbelief.

Even in his emaciated state, this man commanded respect and couldn’t be underestimated. His body showed no signs of frailty despite the numerous wounds, and his sharp gaze pierced through his disheveled hair, radiating a palpable aura of danger.

As they observed Qing Mengxing, who remained vigilant, the people of the Shui Jing Gong were momentarily stunned.

Nan Ge stood up and approached, stopping several meters away from Qing Mengxing. “This is Shui Jing Cheng, Mr. Qing Mengxing, no need to be nervous. Zone A and Zone S can’t enter.”

Hearing this, Qing Mengxing’s gaze swept through the crowd for a moment but didn’t find the person he was looking for.

Nan Ge immediately grasped the situation. “The boss and Shui Shui went fishing, and they should be back soon. I’m Nan Ge. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.”

Qing Mengxing’s eyes flickered, and he suppressed his aggression. “Thank you.” His voice was dry and hoarse as if he hadn’t spoken for a long time.

Nan Ge nodded and had someone bring a bowl of warm water. Qing Mengxing found a place to sit down without approaching the Shui Jing Gong group.

Although the people around had been startled initially, upon seeing that Qing Mengxing posed no threat, they shifted their attention away and resumed eating and enthusiastically discussing the previous topics.

Qing Mengxing’s gaze roamed around the bustling base, taking in the contours of the distant mountains, and the full moon hanging high in the sky, which improved his vision for the night. Familiar sounds and voices filled his ears, and Qing Mengxing couldn’t help but reminisce about the Dream Star River base. If it hadn’t been for the hunting squads, would those familiar figures still be sitting around a campfire under the moonlight, chatting about trivial matters that didn’t really matter?

His thoughts were quickly interrupted as a delicate “chirp chirp chirp” echoed through the air. A small, emerald-green figure swiftly approached, coming into focus. It was a tiny hummingbird, seemingly quite agitated as it vigorously flapped its wings and chirped incessantly as if engaged in an argument with someone.

The irate1an adjective that describes a state of extreme anger or intense frustration. hummingbird darted around, and when it was just a few steps away from Qing Mengxing, it finally noticed the unfamiliar face. Startled, it abruptly changed course, fluttered into someone’s hair, and then discreetly peeked out with a curious yet wary little head, staring at Qing Mengxing with keen interest.

This display of human-like behavior surprised Qing Mengxing for a moment. However, he was soon captivated by another person behind the hummingbird. Among them, there was a widely recognized face—the former battlefield dominator, Gu Langu. However, he seemed a bit different now. The emotionless half-machine man from the rumors appeared to be carrying a fish in one hand and embracing someone in the other. His eyes were gentle, and he exuded the relaxed demeanor of an elderly person returning from a leisurely outing.

The elderly Gu Langu naturally saw Qing Mengxing as well. His face showed no emotional change, and he continued to wear a gentle smile as he spoke, without missing a beat. “Feel free to join us. No need to exert yourself too much; whatever you like is fine.”

Translator’s corner:

I’ll post the remaining 23 chapters tomorrow. Good night~