Chapter 379 - 351: Don’t Go to Sea
Mogu said, "Master, I’ll take it back first."
"Go on."
After Mogu left, Yang Long breathed a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.
For some reason, standing next to Mogu felt oppressive. He found it hard to breathe.
’And just like that, the snake is gone...’
His expression was complicated. When he had first brought his men here, the great snake in the pool had yet to show itself. He had led them to the water’s edge, but the snake had shot out, grabbed one person, and dragged them back into the pool. As they fled, it snatched another.
What he had thought was a nightmare had been resolved with such ease.
Some time later, Mogu returned empty-handed from the other side of the Node. The snake had had its bones broken and was locked in a beast cage.
’Moving this tree is going to be a huge, delicate project.’ Qin Ziwen observed it carefully. The tree’s roots grew along the wall, with many extending into the pool. Given its size, the time required would be staggering; a single day likely wouldn’t be enough.
Wei Zhaohua rushed over when he heard the news. Upon seeing the tree, he excitedly rushed forward, stroking the trunk with both hands.
"Judging by its size, this tree must be at least a hundred years old."
He knocked on the trunk, judging its density by the sound to estimate its growth rate.
"I’m afraid it’s more than a hundred years old. At least two or three hundred. The tree is extremely dense, so its growth rate can’t be very fast."
"How long will it take to move it?"
Wei Zhaohua frowned in thought. It was his first time transplanting such a massive tree, so he could only estimate many aspects. After careful consideration, he answered, "Chief, the workload might be quite large. The key to a tree’s survival is keeping the root system intact. But this isn’t an ordinary tree. Maybe it doesn’t need its root system as much?"
"Let’s try to preserve the root system as much as possible. It’s fine if it takes a little longer," Qin Ziwen said. For a plant, the root system is like its blood vessels. If the vessels are damaged, its yield will be affected even after transplanting, and it will need more time to recover.
That recovery time would far exceed the time spent transplanting.
It was a simple calculation.
Once he had the Chief’s permission to take more time, Wei Zhaohua was no longer in a hurry. Good things take time, and he needed to make more preparations. "I’ll go back and ask around, see if anyone in the Gated Community has experience with transplanting trees."
"Alright, you handle the arrangements. Pick the fruit from the tree first, so they don’t accidentally fall into the pool during the transplant."
"Yes, Chief."
...
「Two days passed in a flash.」
In the Martial Arts Arena, on the second floor of a small building, Qin Ziwen held a Long Spear, thrusting it at a wooden stake before him.
He hadn’t practiced his combat techniques for a while and felt a bit rusty.
Wei Zhaohua ran up the stairs. He waited until Qin Ziwen had finished his routine before approaching. "Chief, we found a stone tablet on the wall behind that tree. There’s some writing carved on it."
"I’ll go take a look." Qin Ziwen frowned at the news. ’Writing? Don’t tell me this Sea Pear Fruit Tree was also planted by someone.’
’If I transplant the Sea Pear Fruit Tree, is someone going to track me down through the internet again?’
’And that snake in the pool... was it deliberately raised here?’
Several thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.
He placed the Long Spear on a nearby weapon rack and picked up a towel to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Let’s go. We’ll take a look."
They returned to the heart of the cave.
Many of the roots on the wall had been detached, then wrapped in soil and rolled into balls.
The tree had also been moved forward a short distance, revealing the wall it had been blocking.
From its appearance, it looked like a stone tablet embedded in the wall.
It was clearly man-made.
It seemed this tree was not without an owner.
"Chief, this stone tablet must be quite old. A lot of the characters on it are blurry and hard to make out."
When Qin Ziwen got closer, he realized it wasn’t just that they were hard to make out—he couldn’t understand the characters at all. They didn’t even look like Chinese characters!
However, the quality of the tablet itself seemed good. It didn’t look like pure stone; its surface had a faint metallic luster.
An idea occurred to him. With a subtle change in expression, he used Insight on the stone tablet.
[Stone Tablet: @#¥ Do not go to sea! Do not go to sea! &# Long voyage... dangerous!]
The other party had used some unknown method to leave a partial message on the tablet, one that could only be deciphered using Insight.
Some of the information was incomplete. He didn’t know if this was intentional, if his Insight Level was too low, or if there was some other reason.
But the general meaning was still clear: a warning to those who came after not to go to sea.
’But the ships from the Gated Community have been going out to sea quite a bit lately, and there haven’t been any problems...’ Qin Ziwen’s gaze fell on the two words "long voyage" at the end. ’Perhaps when they said "go to sea," they didn’t mean the waters around the island, but the true, distant ocean?’
’Did someone really come to this world and then sail a ship into the far distance? What would be the point?’
’This map only lasts for forty-five days. In that short amount of time, without any nautical charts, how far could they even sail?’
Beyond this message, the stone tablet left no other information.
’So it’s not a warning against transplanting the tree. That means it should be fine for me to move it.’ Qin Ziwen thought for a moment, then said to Wei Zhaohua, "Go find some chisels. I’m going to leave a line of my own next to it."
Someone quickly brought a chisel and hammer. Qin Ziwen took the tools and began to CLANG CLANG CLANG against the rock wall.
He blew away the rock dust and contentedly examined the new line of carving he had left on the wall: *Borrowing this tree.*
’Taking without asking is stealing. Since I’ve announced it, it’s not stealing—it’s borrowing!’
...
「Desert. Mountain Stronghold.」
Xie Ya had just stepped out of her small room when a hearty laugh approached. A burly figure walked over quickly. "HAHAHA, my girl! I heard some news. Weren’t you always trying to get a ticket to the restaurant? I found out there’s an auction coming up that’s selling tickets."
Xie Ya’s eyes lit up at his words. "Where did you hear that? Is the information reliable?"
"Of course it’s reliable! This solid tip cost me a Level 1 Marvel," Xie Cheng said with a laugh. "I’ll help you pull some resources together. We’ll try to win a ticket."
Xie Ya was excited, but she quickly reined in her emotions, suppressing her joy. "Okay."
After her dad left, Xie Ya’s thoughts drifted unconsciously to a recent transaction.
That person had asked her how to make up for a weak innate foundation. What he didn’t know was that she, too, was constantly looking for a chance to enter the restaurant.
And now, a ticket to the restaurant had appeared.
After a moment of reflection, Xie Ya considered it. ’That person probably can’t afford it. The restaurant tickets always cause a mad scramble.’
’I could take him there to broaden his horizons.’
’Ambition breeds desire.’
’Otherwise, if he just stays cooped up in his own little corner of his Home, oblivious to how big the world is, how could he ever become ambitious?’
’Once he has needs, I’ll have my chance to get my hands on that Heaven-Reaching Fruit Tree of his.’
At this thought, the corners of Xie Ya’s mouth curved upward.
...
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